Even though my claim to “fame” is as a travel blogger, I confess that I had never heard of Vangani. Initially I was not even able to pronounce the name properly and literally curled my lips and tongue to utter it correctly “Wa-n-ga-n(r)i”. Yes, the pronunciation is not as phonetic as it looks. Therefore when it was decided that on Independence Day we would be going to Vangani, expectedly I was not very excited.

Vangani is an inconspicuous station in the CST-Karjat railway line. It took us around 2.5 hours to reach Vangani from Mumbai. Vangani railway station is small and gets a very colonial feel from the British style warehouse next to it. By road Vangani can be reached through the Panvel-Karjat route or through Airoli-Sheelfata-Badlapur MIDC route. Vangani is 13 kms from Badlapur and only 10 kms from Neral(which is en-route to Matheran).

Vangani is a serene village with River Ulhas flowing on one side and chain of small hillocks on the other. It consists of mostly farmer population. Therefore everywhere scenic farmlands at the bottom of hills or hill terraces can be seen. The farmers mostly belong to Muslim community and thus lots of beautiful Masjids and Urdu schools are scattered all over the small hamlet.

However the real beauty of Vangani lies in its waterfall. Our car took a muddy and heavily potholed road zigzagging through the farmlands to reach the bottom of the hill from where the waterfall originates. The journey was bumpy but the scenic beauty compensated. We saw clouds floating above the hills to which my son asked innocently “Mamma is the hill smoking?”

The muddy road took us to the bottom of the hill where we left our car. From there we started to trek on another muddy stretch to reach the hilltop. It was not a difficult trek and surprisingly even my 5 year old managed. The only difficulty we faced was the slipperiness of the narrow muddy path and the intermittent rains. After about 20mins of trekking we could hear the roar of the waterfall. Slowly the waterfall became visible from a distance.

The view from the hill top was a display of absolute greenery. Different shades of green from pale to deep made the region visually exciting. I guess every possible shade of green could be seen. The green colour in the paddy field was light green with a smooth and silky surface whereas the greenery in the hills was a shade of blackish green. The farmlands appeared as if they were wearing a bottle green kanjeevaram silk saree.

After reaching the waterfall we found it extremely crowded. The place was full of tourists and I was surprised to find that so many people knew of this place whereas I a self declared travel blogger heard about it only 24 hours ago. The water was ice cold and it almost felt like there was some glacier above. But this was simple rain water.

The water from the waterfall was getting collected in a small dam underneath. From that dam the water was flowing slowly into the farmlands. I was told that this water that gets collected in the dam during the monsoon is used for agriculture throughout the year. And therefore good amount of rainfall is necessary. More water flows in the waterfall more the farmers feels relieved.

Vangani also gave me an opportunity to savour home cooked Maharashtrian cuisine. Simple tasty food served with warmth. Even though I was not very excited to come here but after coming I lost my heart to it.

We hoist our national flag from the red fort, at police stations, schools, government buildings but have you ever seen flag hoisting by the waterfall? Well, this Independence day I had the rare opportunity to witness flag hoisting by the waterfall. I never knew that patriotism runs so deeply through us that we don’t miss out on flag hoisting even while holidaying or taking shower at a waterfall. I was witness to this unique scene at Jummapatti waterfall where few weekeneders hoisted the national flag while taking shower.

Have you ever been to Matheran on a Mini Train? If yes, then you might have noticed a small station Jummapatti in the Neral-Matheran route. This station overlooks a dam in the distant and has a beautiful waterfall in its treasure.

Calling Jummapatti picturesque would be an understatement. It is a medley of green in different shades. As I have repeatedly mentioned in my various posts that Maharashtra during the monsoon months is a visual treat. Jummapatti is no exception and the abundance of natural beauty was apparent everywhere. The hills were covered with a carpet of thick green and the moistness in the atmosphere gave a silky texture to the green. As it was drizzling rain water was dripping from everywhere mainly the tree branches.

Enclosed by hills, the rail track and road runs parallel to each other. The meandering road to Matheran has amazing view at each curve.

Small and medium sized waterfalls and streams are scattered all through the road. But the biggest one is at Jummapatti just few kilometres before the Matheran parking.

Below are images of the waterfall that I Captured through rain lashed car window.

It was raining intermittently all through our Journey. The amazing thing that I observed was the volume of the water in the waterfall was increasing each time it was raining heavily. Otherwise it was a thin thread of water stream. The rains, the moistness in the air, water drizzling from tree branches, the fog, the waterfall, the streams, and the greenery from this trip will remain etched in your memory forever.

We usually go for a picnic during the monsoon season, this year we chose the bank of River Ulhas as our destination. River Ulhas originates at the foothills of the Sahyadris near Karjat in Western Ghats Range and enters Kulgaon-Badlapur towards the north of Ulhasnagar and then moves towards Kalyan.

We entered the banks of River Ulhas through Vangani. The river runs parallel to Vangani station and it took us few minutes to reach. One has to cross the railway tracks and through the main market place it is only 5 minutes walking distance. There are also multiple resorts on the river bank where you can spend the day.

River Ulhas is considered holy as it flows through Bhimashankar a popular pilgrimage where one of the 12 jyotirlings of Lord Shiva is found. But the amount of plastic waste I saw on the banks of River Ulhas is definitely an unholy practice. I often wonder when our country will learn to really honour the holy rivers.

As it was mid August the river was full. The quaint bank of the river was full of Teak plant. The air was fresh and the place was extremely calm. The eerie silence of the place was unfamiliar to our over exposed Mumbai ears. The greenery, the monsoon, the swim in the river makes it a place worth visiting.

"Ala re ala govinda ala" Mumbai was reverbrating with this sound yesterday as it was the annual Dahi Handi or Govinda event. It is celebrated on the following day of Janmashtami or the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. A earthen pot containing Dahi or curd is hung high up and human pyramid is formed to reach the pot and break it. This event is in honour of Krishna who was notorious for stealing curd from his mother Yashoda's kitchen which she used to hang high up, out of reach of little Krishna.

This year due to directives from the High Court the celebration was slightly subdued. Every year quite a few number of accidents take place during Dahi Handi. Therefore High Court put across certain rules and regulations regarding the event. Nevertheless the spirit of the enthusiastic Govindas hardly dampened from the HC diktat. Everywhere truckload of Govindas came to take part in the event.

Nowadays political parties organise dahi handi involving lucrative amount of money. Therefore the competition between various Dahi handi Mandalis or club is high. The higher the pyramid bigger the cash amount.

If you are planning to visit Mumbai try to coincide it with the annual Govinda event to witness this unique festival.

“The Udaipur Palace Vintage and Classic Car Collection” should be a must visit place in your itinerary. This museum is a unique private collection of vintage cars from the House of Mewar - the world’s longest serving dynasty.

Well, when we visited Udaipur for the first time we had no idea that such a place existed. One day our hotel manager casually referred about this grand museum and we immediately went ahead to see this place. This Place is near Gulab Bagh and it was walking distance from our hotel.

The collection is housed in the original semi-circular Palace Garage. The grand limousines and cars showcased in the Collection are still in perfect running condition. Visitors are privy to the display of the magnificent Rolls-Royce, 1939 Cadillac open convertibles, rare Mercedes models, 1936 Vauxhall and 1937 Opel models. It is probably the only collection of its kind in India.

The Maharaja of Mewar being a eco-sensitive person also introduced Solar Carts which is also housed in this garage. It looks a little clumsy but nevertheless effective.

The horse driven vintage royal carriage and the old bullock cart also found its place in this garage.

An old school bus that was used to ferry royal children is also kept here.

One of the original Burmah Shell petrol pumps is not only still standing, but also in a usable condition. The garage itself was built at a time when the only cars in town belonged to the Royal Family and the present-day surroundings make this garage as wonderfully stylish as it must always have been.

The interiors of the old royal cars with manual gears and luggage carriers at the rear end was quite interesting.

The Garden Hotel Restaurant and Bar is also within the same premises besides the garage. Our entry ticket also included a thali lunch in that hotel. After spending the whole morning in the car museum we had lunch in a royal manner and came back home with grand memories of royal opulence.

Entry Fee:
Rs.250 per Adult
Rs.150 per Child 5 to 12 years
Rs 400 per Adult (Inclusive of visit to The Vintage & Classic Car Collection, and Lunch/Dinner at the Garden Restaurant)
Rs.300 per Child 5-12 years (Inclusive of visit to The Vintage & Classic Car Collection, and Lunch/Dinner at the Garden Restaurant)

Life in Mt.Abu is slow and relaxed and centred around Lake Nakki. As the saying goes “all roads lead to Rome” in Mt.Abu all roads lead to Nakki Lake, a picturesque lake surrounded by hills. One of the hills has the Palace of the Maharja of Jaipur and another has a huge Toad Shaped Rock on its top. On one end of Nakki Lake there is the Bharat Mata(Mother India) Temple where a huge idol of Bharat Mata is placed. From early morning till late night Nakki Lake is hub of all activities in this only hill station of Rajasthan.

We went to Mt.Abu to relax after attending a hectic wedding in Ahmedabad. Therefore unlike other tours here we slept a lot. As our hotel was overlooking the Nakki Lake we did not require much sightseeing. After waking up in the morning I used to sit with a steaming hot cup of coffee on the hotel balcony and just admire the beauty of the serene lake. Breakfast was also enjoyed on the balcony. So was lunch and dinner. Only in the evenings we used to go to take a leisurely walk near the lake while son used to enjoy a ponny ride.

The road encircling Nakki Lake has a number of shops selling souveneirs, Rajasthani artefacts, bandhni printed clothes, puppets, carpets, fast food, and also gaming shops. Locals as well as tourist gather at the Nakki Lake for walking, shopping, eating or just enjoying the beauty of the lake. In the evenings the tourists can enjoy a boatride on the Nakki Lake. Children as well as others can enjoy pony ride near the lake. There is also a water fountain show which I personally enjoyed. The hit movie Qayamat se qayamat tak was also shot by this lake. Thus the place gets a romantic character making it an ideal honeymoon destination.

The area around Nakki Lake has lot of monkeys. They have a tendency to snatch food from the tourists so it is advisable to be careful. The best way to roam around is by walking. But if your feet get tired you can always hire hand pulled carts or tractors. Be sure to fix the fare before you board as they often tend to overcharge.

This place is an ideal place to relax and I truly felt refreshed and geared up for my next trip to Udaipur.

In my hometown Kolkata Ganesh Chaturthi was hardly celebrated. My first acquaintance with this festival happened during my stay in Hyderabad, where it is celebrated with grandeur equivalent to Durga Puja in Kolkata. And, ever since I shifted to Mumbai this festival has taken a more permanent position in my life. My son who was born in Mumbai is more familiar with Ganpati Festival than Durga Puja. He can sing “Ganpati Bappa Morya” more effortlessly than “Balo Dugga Mai ki Jai”, which we Bengalis sing during our annual Durga festival.

Ganesh Puja is known as Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayak Chaturthi and is a very popular festival across Western and Southern India. In Tamil Nadu this festival is known as Pillayar Chaturthi and in Kerala it is known as Lamboodhara Piranalu. In Goa this festival is known as Chavath or Parab and the rituals are widely different from the traditional customs followed elsewhere.

Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated as a public event in Pune since the times of Shivaji. But with the fall of the Peshwas, Ganesh Chaturthi lost state patronage and became a private family celebration. In 1893, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak revived the annual domestic festival into a large, well-organized public event. Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesha as "the god for everybody", and popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a public festival in order to generate nationalistic fervour among people in Maharashtra against the British colonial rule. Tilak was the first to install large public images of Ganesh in pavilions or pandals. He also established the practice of submerging all public images of the deity on the tenth day after Ganesh Chaturthi in rivers, sea, or other pools of water.

Public celebrations of the festival are hugely popular now, with local communities (mandalas) vying with each other to put up the biggest statue and the best pandal. Today, the Ganesh Festival is not only a popular festival, it has become a very critical and important economic activity for Mumbai, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. Many artists, industries, and businesses survive on this mega-event. Ganesh Festival also provides a stage for budding artists to present their art to the public. In Maharashtra, not only Hindus but many other religions also participate in the celebration like Muslims, Jains, Christian and others.

Unlike Durga puja where all idols are immersed on the fourth day or Vijaya Dashami, Ganpati idols are immersed on 1.5, 3, 5, 7 or 11 days. Most public idols are however worshipped for 10 days, from Bhadrapad Shudh Chaturthi to the Ananta Chaturdashi. On the 11th day, the image is taken through the streets in a procession accompanied with dancing, singing, to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of the Lord in his journey towards his abode in Kailash while taking away with him the misfortunes of men. All join in this final procession shouting "Ganapathi Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya" (O father Ganesha, come again early next year). After the final offering of coconuts, flowers and camphor is made, people carry the idol to the river to immerse it.

Every year when the monsoon is about to bid goodbye, flu virus comes as a send-off gift to Mumbaikars. Unthankfully my family also received the gift, only yours truly was spared. Therefore, since last week it has been a house of maladies resulting in slightly dampened spirits during the Ganpati festival. However we disregarded all the sneezes, coughs, body aches and managed to visit two creative Ganesh Mandals in Andheri.

During my initial days in Mumbai, I often made the mistake of comparing the eleven days of Ganpati festival to the four days of Durga Puja in Kolkata. In Kolkata during the four days of Durga Puja hardly any work is done and the entire city gathers to eat, drink, and hop pandals followed by the quintessential Bengali adda. The city is decorated like a new bride, the roads turn into human sea, makeshift food stalls mushroom all over the city selling everything from egg roll to Biryani and chowmein to fish fry. Pandals compete with each other in the aspect of theme, design and lighting. Every pandal becomes unique and long queues in front of pandals become a common sight.

However Mumbai is different, this city loves to work and therefore offices and schools remain open. Work goes on as usual. In Mumbai long queues are reserved for the popular pandals of Lalbagucha Raja, Ganesh Galli, Parelcha Raja, Andhericha Raja and likes where the waiting time in the queue can be as long as 20 hours. And the sea of people on road is essentially saved for the eleventh day, the final day of visarjan.

We braved the flu and intermittent rains to visit few of the lesser known nevertheless creative mandals. One such is the Ganesh Mandal in Model Town, Seven Bunglows, Andheri where they had recreated Egyptian civilisation complete with Pyramids, Pharaohs, Sphinx and Tutankhamun. They also made a mini museum exhibiting replicas of urns, utensils, scriptures from the era of Egyptian civilisation. The entrance to the pandal was guarded by statuettes of four Egyptian soldiers. Once we entered the pandal as if time machine took us back to the ancient Egyptian world. The lighting was dim and replicated the ambience inside a pyramid.

Our next stop was a pandal in Amboli. The theme of this pandal was a south Indian temple. This pandal had intricate designs on its pillars and idols of God Balaji and Goddess Rukmini. The most interesting aspect was the light design which recreated the Eiffel tower of Paris. The lighting reminded me of Kolkata’s Durga Puja where every Durga Pandal has these kind of lighting popularly known as Chandannagar(a suburban town) Lighting.

Eiffel Tower created using Chandannagar Lighting

I have been procrastinating my posts on Middle East for the longest time. The Surprise Prize from Ministry of Oman for my post Oman: Land of Desert Rain for the contest Beauty has an Address encouraged me to finally start the over-pending series. In this series I wish to write about three Middle Eastern cities, namely Kuwait City, Dubai and Istanbul.
I usually start writing after settling down in front of the laptop with a strong mug of coffee. My brain doesn’t seem to work without caffeine. Similarly I feel this long postponed series also needs a caffeine kick to get going. Thus, I start this series by introducing my readers to a special Middle Eastern Coffee, the Turkish coffee.

I had my first sip of Turkish coffee in Istanbul. It is probably the strongest and thickest coffee I had in my entire life. Turkish coffee has thick foam at the top (köpük in Turkish) and a thick layer of sludgy grounds deposited at the bottom of the cup. Turkish coffee is a method of preparation, not a kind of coffee. Roasted and then finely ground coffee beans are boiled in a pot (cezve), usually with sugar, and served in a cup where the grounds are allowed to settle. The coffee is never to be stirred in the pot (or in the cups) and never allowed to rise over. The coffee is sipped and once finished; the cup is always turned over in its saucer until the grounds slowly pour out. These grounds are always glanced over for quick fortune read or a more elaborate one depending on circumstance and ability to read the images. The grounds pattern in the saucer is also taken in consideration, this method of fortune telling is known as Tasseography.

Traditionally Turkish coffee is served with Turkish delight. Most neighbours of Turkey which includes the Arab world, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia prepare coffee in this method.

Kuwait as a country does not endorse tourism; therefore getting a tourist visa to travel is slightly difficult. It is even more difficult if you are a single girl. I anyways had to never worry about visas as mine was a business trip. My counterparts in Kuwait not only arranged for my visa, they also made elaborate arrangements for my stay.

I boarded the Kuwait Airways flight early in the morning, 6am to be precise, from Mumbai. It takes about four hours to reach Kuwait from Mumbai. When I landed in Kuwait my watch (which was still running as per India time) showed 10am, which was 7.30am Kuwait time. The time difference between India and Kuwait is two and half hours. I was happy that I did not lose any time and had the whole day.

Let me confess, I had a love at first sight with this desert city. It is possibly one of the cleanest cities in the world. Kuwait has converted the desert country into an Oasis. Here they have painstakingly created manicured gardens and beautiful boulevards adorned with variety of colourful flowers and lush greenery.

The roads are broad and compared to Mumbai standards almost traffic free. My driver was driving the car at 160/kph. If we try that speed in Mumbai we will either be in jail for culpable homicide not amounting to murder or ICU.

It took me hardly ten minutes to reach hotel from Airport. From the tenth floor window of my hotel, for the first time, I had a bird’s eye view of Kuwait City and the Persian Gulf. The skyscrapers of Kuwait were kissing the clean, clear and blue sky. There was no trace of smoke in the air. At the horizon Kuwait’s blue sky was meeting the greenish blue Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf almost resembled a carpet of emerald.

I could have stood there the entire day and admired the beauty of Kuwait. But I had work to do. A long day was waiting for me. So I quickly got ready and left the hotel for my office.

Pujo asche this is what we Bengalis start feeling from the month of August. After the monsoon subsides and the black cloud in the sky is replaced by the feathery white ones, we know that our annual festival is on its way. The pujo committees start their preparation, shopping gears up and cleaning of the house begins. Our hearts dances when we see shiuli flowers scattered on the ground, kash ful adorning our river banks, the reddish tinge in the sky before sunset, the floating feathery clouds in the sky, these are signs that declare the imminent arrival of puja.

The festivity starts with Vishwakarma Puja, which takes place roughly 20 days ahead of Durga Puja. Then on the Mahalaya day we wake up early in the morning to the chanting of Birendra Krishna Bhadra and the mesmerising songs of “Mohishashurmordini” or mahalaya as popularly known. The final countdown starts with Mahalaya and within 3-4 days Ma is there in our beautifully decorated pandals.


While in Kuwait, I couldn’t feel the coming of the Durga Puja as such. One fine day when I was talking a walk on the promenade by the sea I saw few beautiful Kash Ful. Immediately my heart danced with joy. Even in a foreign country this common sight reminded me of home and Durga Puja.

On my second day in Kuwait I decided to explore the Scientific Centre located in Salmiya. I took the hotel car and it took me about 10 minutes to reach. Scientific Centre is one of the worth visiting places in Kuwait. It is beautiful. The centre overlooks the Persian Gulf and from here I got a beautiful view of Kuwait’s skyline and the Kuwait Tower.

Scientific centre serves as a centre for environmental education of the gulf region. The centre attracts hundreds of students each year on field trips, organized by schools and the Scientific Center. The aim of the Scientific Center is to spread awareness to the people of Kuwait and visitors alike about the different ecosystems of the region as well as the history of the country. This place is home to one of the largest aquariums in the Gulf region. Besides the aquarium an IMAX theatre and a harbour of historic dhows is also situated here.

The promenade next to the Centre is used by joggers, walkers and picnickers. Kuwaitis usually are very family oriented and love hanging out during weekends with entire extended family. This place thus serves as an ideal venue for those hangouts. Expats also enjoy picnic here. Irrespective of the crowd the place is calm and serene and I could get lost in my thoughts sitting there. It was reminding me of Mumbai’s Marine Drive without the beggars and hawkers.

The Scientific Center of Kuwait, located in Salmiya, serves as a centre for environmental education of the Gulf region. It spans over 80,000 square meters with the building covering over 18,000 square meters. The centre houses the largest aquarium in the Middle East, holding over 100 different species of animals. The Aquarium contains a 1.5 million litre water tank full of different kinds of fishes and sharks. An entertaining journey into the aquarium takes a tour of 3 different environments. All three sections provide specimens of animal, plant, and marine life of that particular environment. The first through the desert section which contains animals found in the desert such as the caracal, snakes , and hedgehog. The next environment is the coastal edge, with animals such as penguins, otters and coastal fish. The third is sea zone which offers visitors a unique opportunity to see ferocious marine animals and unique creatures. Some were collected from the Arabian Gulf, while others were imported from the Red Sea and South Africa.

When my son was about six months old we shifted to a new flat. I initially loved the flat as I got a good view of the busy road from the window. The road was always full of hustle bustle. The shops and restaurants remained open till midnight, whole night cars zoomed pass and people walked all through day and night, and in a word the place was always vibrant and full of life. But I noticed a change in my son’s behaviour ever since we shifted. At first I thought that the change of place must have upset him, and he must be missing our old home but something was abnormal about his behaviour. Within two days he fell sick and became very cranky. He stopped taking feeds properly and was always clinging to me not even letting me go to the bathroom.

After about a month, one day while my son was playing I saw a strange behaviour in him. He was playing in the bedroom and I was sitting diagonally opposite to him. There was no one else in the room but my son was staring in the front and his eyes were moving in a pattern as if he was watching somebody strolling in the room. His eye balls were following somebody. I got scared looking at him. I rushed and picked him up and asked him what he was looking at? He was barely seven months old and had not even started talking but he gestured with his hands as if he was pointing at something/somebody moving from one side of the room to the other.

Few days later I filled up my son’s bath tub with warm water and went to pick him up from the next room. It took me less than a minute to come back. When I came back I found that the warm water had turned into very hot almost boiling water. My husband was at home, he denied to believe this and said that I must have forgotten to add cold water and it was nothing else but my forgetfulness. However I distinctly remember that it was warm and not that hot when I went to pick up my son.

One day in the afternoon I was taking a nap with my son. Suddenly I heard my son giggling, I opened my eyes and saw my son was sitting on the bed and throwing his small yellow ball and giggling. He was as if playing with some invisible being. I got up and picked him up and went to the living room. He got very upset and started crying to come back to the bedroom. When I wanted to play with him he was just not interested.

My husband never believed all these and always discarded it as my illusion. I had a massage lady who used to come to massage my son. One day I told her that ever since we shifted to this new house my son was falling sick very often. Even before I said anything further she asked me “aapne kuch dekha kya yahan? (Did you see anything here?) I was shocked to hear this. What does she mean? On enquiring further she revealed that this house is not good as a lady had committed suicide in the house a year before we shifted. I was horrified, I confided in her that even though I never saw anything myself but I have a feeling that my son saw. I told her in detail and to my relief unlike my husband she believed every bit of it. She told me that the lady who committed suicide was an old lady who loved kids and therefore it is not unusual for her to play with my son.

I stayed in that flat for more than two years. Throughout our stay we suffered from sicknesses, especially my son and I also suffered two miscarriages. When time of renewing the lease came my husband wanted to renew but I stubbornly insisted on changing the flat. I was relieved after leaving that haunted flat.

In his famous Madison Square speech the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi made an important statement “India is no longer the country of snake charmers but (computer) mouse charmers” (sic). Thanks to the IT revolution Indians are now prospering not only in India but all across the globe. IT industry induced travels have led to the exchanges of cultures. Survey says Indians are travelling like never before. Most West bound Indian passengers have chosen Dubai, or the German cities of Frankfurt and Munich as their favourite stopover destinations making these cities more familiar to Indians.

Recently I watched this very interesting advertisement where a grandfather and his grandson is travelling to New York on Lufthansa Airline but they are worried that being a German Airline Lufthansa Airline would have nothing Indian onboard. Finally after boarding the aircraft they are surprised to find that the German airline has immensely customised itself to cater to the Indian passengers. The grandfather-grandson duo finds that Lufthansa Airline is more Indian than they think. From food, hospitality and entertainment there is touch of India at every step of the journey.

For obvious reasons all foreign brands now consider India as an immense and potential market which needs to be lured. Dense population with emerging spending capacity have forced the big corporate houses to explore the Indian market and customise itself to cater to the Indian mass, thus we have KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut serving paneer, Lufthansa Airlines showing Bollywood movies and Amazon CEO wearing Indian clothes and dancing on top of an Indian truck.

India’s exports to the world include Human Resources in the form of IT workers, scientists, nurses, technicians. However the biggest Indian export is undisputedly the ancient Indian form of physical exercise ‘Yoga’. Today all over the world people are practicing yoga including celebrities like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Jon Bon Jovi, Sting amongst noteworthy. Yoga came to the attention of educated western public in the mid-19th century along with other topics of Indian philosophy. The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience, Swami Vivekananda, toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s. Since 2001, the popularity of yoga in the USA has risen constantly. The number of people who practiced some form of yoga has grown from 4 million (in 2001) to 20 million (in 2011). It is estimated that around 30 million Americans and 5 million Europeans regularly practice some form of Yoga. In Australia, the number of practitioners is about 300,000.In New Zealand the number is also around 300,000.Even the US president acknowledges the benefit of yoga and encouraged people to support yoga.

“Yoga has become a universal language of spiritual exercise in the United States, crossing many lines of religion and cultures,... Every day, millions of people practice yoga to improve their health and overall well-being. That's why we're encouraging everyone to take part in PALA (Presidential Active Lifestyle Award), so show your support for yoga and answer the challenge.”(sic)
President Obama.

In the West in particular, a more modernized “New Age” version of Indian medical science Ayurveda has recently gained popularity as a unique form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Westerners are also converting to Hinduism. George Harrison the famous Beatles and Hollywood actress Julia Roberts are the leading example. Vegetarianism, nonviolent ethics, yoga, and meditation—all have enjoyed spates of Occidental popularity in the last 40 years, often influenced by ISKCON directly, if not indirectly.

Diwali is no longer an Indian festival but a Global festival of lights. Diwali is celebrated across the world in countries like Mauritius, Australia, Japan, Malayasia, South Africa, Thailand, Nepal, Trinidad and Tobago. Singapore's Diwali celebrations are amongst the brightest in the world, the place called "Little India" located in Serangoon Road, is fully covered with lights, colorful arches and garlands. Since Indians are the second largest ethnic minority group in Britain, Diwali is the highlight of the Indian calendar in the country. The festival, though primarily celebrated in much fervor by NRIs, does not remain limited to them. The festive spirit trickles down to people of other cultures and is also celebrated at the House of Commons. Leicester city is particularly noted for its major Diwali celebrations as a large number of people gather there to celebrate the Indian festival. Diwali is also celebrated in the White House ever since the Obamas took charge.

Indian food has also conquered the world. Britain’s top food is Chicken Tikka Masala. Indian costumes like saree and salwar kameezes have been adorned by the likes of Lady Diana to Mrs Obama. Today Indian designers are a craze among Hollywood celebrities. Bollywood is no longer restricted to India. Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bacchan are now global stars. Their statues also adorn the famous Madame Tussaud Museum. Therefore we can definitely say that more India is getting globalised it is indianising the world in return.

In India we get to see Barbie dolls wearing sarees, lehengas, and salwaar kameezes therefore it was not surprising to find a barbie look-alike doll covered in a burqa on my trip to Kuwait. This doll is called Jana and she is the middle eastern counterpart of Barbie. Similar to barbie she also accessories like comb, hand mirror and vanity bag along with her. I saw this doll in Avenues Mall, Kuwait.

Diwali in my part of India was celebrated as “Kali Puja” or “Shyama Puja”. After Durga puja this is the second largest Puja for the Bengalis. As a child I used to be terrified of this day. I was scared of the darkness of “amabasya”, the protruding red tongue of the deity and of course the myth surrounding the goddess.

The idol of Kali is intimidating in itself. She is stark naked with dishevelled black hair and a protruding red tongue against blue or jet black complexion. Her ornaments are not the ordinary ones made out of gold or silver, instead she wears a garland of severed heads and a skirt of chopped hands. Out of her four hands she holds a “kharga” (a form of sword or axe) in one hand and a bleeding severed head in the other, a fox sitting beneath that head to lick the blood. Below her lies Lord Mahadev on whom she had stepped mistakenly. Legend has it that after mistakenly stepping on Shiva she protruded her tongue out of shame. Readers now tell me isn’t the description of the idol scary?

The legend of Mahakali states that she is the tamer of ghosts and spirits. A day before Kali puja is known as “Bhoot chaturdashi”or the fourteenth day dedicated to Ghosts. On this day Bengalis light fourteen lamps and eat “choddo shaak” or an assortment of 14 green leafy vegetable. I remember as a child I used to be scared to death on this day, as per legends this is the day when ghosts and spirits roam around freely. Now tell me which child would not be scared of such legends?

Kali puja is performed at midnight. Kali is worshipped by dacoits and tantriks, a religious sect who are said to believe in cannibalism, at odd places like crematoriums and jungles. Legend has that on the day of kali puja the dacoits sacrifice a human child in front of Ma Kali and drink its blood. Even the tantriks do the same and they drink the human blood out of a human skull. Among the unique offerings that is made to Ma Kali is meat and “karonbari”(alcohol).

I used to be so scared of this puja that I hardly used to step out of my house. Ever since I shifted to Mumbai am slightly relaxed. Firstly now I am a grown up and secondly here they worship goddess Lakshmi. Among Bengalis a girl should be like lakshmi or Lokkhi(Bengali pronunciation for Lakshmi) and not Kali. We refer to a quite, docile and good girl as a “lokkhi Meye”(meye means girl). So in Mumbai it is all Lokkhi Lokkhi and nothing to be scared of.

Eight years of marriage and a son later “WE” have completely metamorphosed into parents and lost our identity as a ‘couple’. As we live in a nuclear family and getting babysitter is a near impossible task we have to obligatorily tag our child in whatever we do and wherever we go. Therefore we take him for movies on Valentine’s Day, where he nags and cries and we listen to his “ghaynghayn” throughout, instead of listening to the movie’s dialogues. We compulsively take him for fine dining on our anniversary where he runs all over the place with an alarming speed threatening the crockery spread around. We take him for shopping where he literally hangs from our knees nagging for toys, candy, cookies, ice cream and whatever he can set his eyes on, pestering us to the brink. I also take him for my seminars where he irks the speakers and audience often to such an extent that in most occasions I am diplomatically and politely expelled out of the venue. At home also the situation is no better. On a Friday night we are unable to sit cosily on the couch and watch a Rom-Com but watch “Shinchan” typically empathising with Mr and Mrs Nohara. On a supposedly ‘romantic’ weekend long drive I sit on the rear seat simply to control the energetic little fellow furthermore constantly twisting and turning myself to control his hyperactivity, often getting bruised in the process.

All these misadventures hardly leave any scope for romance. Forget romance, what I desperately seek is rather a “me” time, where I can sit with a book and sip my coffee without accelerating my pulse rate. Therefore last weekend when I could sit in the wilderness for full FIFTEEN MINUTES without having to worry about anything worldly it was sheer bliss. That we also could spend some couple time was an added bonus. Diwali is after all the season of bonuses.

For Diwali we had gone to my sister-in-law’s place in Belapur, where my son got busy playing with his cousins. We utilised this opportunity and sneaked out for some shopping. While coming back we saw the hill next to D.Y.Patil insititute of management studies and spotted a flight of stairs next to it. We instantly decided to ascend those stairs. After climbing about hundred steps we got a bird’s eye view of Belapur. In one frame we could see the Belapur creek, the skyline, the rail tracks and passing trains and also the Navi Mumbai Municipal office with its huge national flag fluttering. We spotted a small temple on top. As we are not the exercising types, hundred steps was pretty excruciating for us however the temple gave us a target to climb ahead.

The following steps were covered in wilderness and after climbing about hundred steps more we reached the small temple. Although the temple was closed we had a look through its shut gates. The temple is located in an absolutely secluded place and I wonder if anybody ever visits. Other than the Kali temple there were couple of other temples. One was a Shiva temple and another of Devnarayan. All the temples were closed. This place is within the city limits however completely isolated and noiseless. Even a drop of a leaf could be heard.

We were quite exhausted after the trek. We sat there for some rest looking at the breathtaking view of the city beneath. I sat in that silent spot quietly for about 15minutes. The ringtone of my mobile broke the silence. My sis-in-law had called up to inform that my son was getting restless and she was unable to control him. Better I get back as soon as possible. I understood that my road to ‘nirvana’ has not yet come and it is time to get back to Mommy duties.