An enchanting evening at O2 Spa

I was invited to visit the newly opened O2 spa at Courtyard Marriot in Mumbai.  This one is in sync with the hotel’s Arts and Crafts theme and has a natural look with fine wooden accents. The dim lighting and comfortable seating sets your mood for a perfect spa day. I met the Spa Manager Abhijit Sinha Roy who welcomed me and showed me around the resplendent spa. I loved the manicure, pedicure and reflexology units which were comfortable yet very stylish with the red hues and soft cushions.

O2 spa is one of the biggest international chains of spas. They offer various Spa packages like Jet Lag Recovery, Oriental Exotic, Ultimate Indulgence and Precious Time Together. They also offer Spa therapies like Aromatherapy Massage, Balinese Massage, Swedish Massage, Traditional Thai Massage and Foot Reflexology. You can even opt for Spa Facials, Body Scrubs or Body Wraps. Abhijit explained me the procedures followed and kits used for all of the therapies.

The manicure, pedicure and reflexology units

I opted for a Swedish massage and the White and Bright Facial. My Spa Therapist Lisa Hmar Pulamte directed me to the spa rooms and we began the therapy. Lisa is from Manipur and has shifted here for work, while her family lives back home in Manipur. She loves Mumbai. Kudos to your spirit girl!  She is a certified therapist and has even worked in Dubai.

The steam bath

The Swedish massage is a deep tissue massage which is a combination of Western concepts of anatomy and physiology. O2 spa uses lavender oil for this full body massage. You can even go for a 4 Hand Massage. I took a 60 min session which made me feel completely rejuvenated. It starts with feet cleansing and massage and ends with a steam bath following the full body massage. This one is great for relieving chronic pain and muscle relaxation. No doubt you feel de-stressed and relaxed. It was a slow and gentle massage and the soft music humming from the music system took me to a different world altogether. There comes a time when you are not thinking anything at all and simply enjoying the moment as your tired muscles begin to relax.

Ready for some pampering!

The White and Bright Facial includes my favourite Christine Valmy facial kit. I like CV as it’s not harsh on your skin and still works wonders on it.  The kit had three face packs, two massage creams and one astringent (toner).

With Spa Therapist Lisa Hmar Pulamte

I am glowing and all set for a friend’s wedding on Sunday :) I highly recommend this wonderful experience. O2 spas are located pan-India- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Nashik, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bangalore, Goa and Bhopal.  

Here is the website: http://www.o2spa.org/

Do let me know how you like it!

Golden Era of Gujarati Ghazal’s

My friend Pranav Tripathi took me to a book launch last Friday. It was at Bhaidas hall in Vile Parle West, which is a famous place for Gujarati plays and events. I could see a huge number of Gujarati’s which indicates our love for literature and art. This was a different kind of book launch of poet Khalil Dhantejvi. His book ‘Sayba’ which is a collection of Gujarati Ghazals was followed by a Mushaira (a social gathering at which poetry is read by different poets)

People buying the books in the foyer of Bhaidas hall

Khalil ji launched his book and spoke of some incidents which had left a mark in his life. He has studied only till the fourth standard, in his village near Baroda, but that’s where he started writing Ghazal’s organically. He would be told by others that what he has written is called a Ghazal. He shifted to Baroda eventually and got a job as a manager in a company wherefrom he was trying to get an advertisement for a small magazine that he had started. He asked his boss after a few months that why was he hired as a manager in spite of being a school dropout. The reply given to him by his boss is an inspiration in itself: “If you could sell your lame magazine to me, and get an advertisement from me for something that I wouldn’t even read, you can definitely handle my clients well.” Amazing isn’t it? So that’s how he supported himself financially while also following his passion of writing. He was a manager to thirty-three commerce graduates that time and went on to become a reputed reporter and wrote books and even wrote and directed Gujarati movies.

Khalil Dhantejvi

There was a short intermission after the book launch followed by the Mushaira. Gujarati’s love food and they have this fetish of popularising different places for different dishes. Bhaidas is famous for ‘bataka vada’. The host announced, “So we have a 10 minute break – you all have to buy the book, eat vada, buy one more copy of the book for your friends and come back – make sure you do it all in 10 minutes as we will start the Mushaira dot on schedule.”

Bhaidas auditorium 

I asked Pranav bhai, “Eat vada? Is that also some Gujarati phrase meaning something else or funny though literally it means eating a vada?” Well, he was helping me understand few words and their meanings in Gujarati as they were heavy for me. He laughed and said, “No beta, you will see soon what he meant. Let’s go outside.”

We came out in the anteroom of Bhaidas and saw around 500 people of the house full hall buying and relishing bataka vada. I relished this sight too! I laughed at the sweet spirit we have of eating the most famous dish of any place and trying out new cuisines. Pranav bhai bought a plate of this really tasty, oily, and crunchy from outside and soft from inside delight for me. While he was busy socialising with his friends, I sat in a corner and relished it mirroring the people around.

Mushaira

The poets and actors

We got back on our seats and the Mushaira started. Some new and very talented poets like Anil Chavda and Bhavesh Bhat recited their Ghazals followed by a great rendezvous wherein some endowed actors who came dressed up as the all-time classic poets, who are no more alive. The actors recited the poetry and Ghazals in the same way they poets would. While Dharmendra Gohil recited Mareez, Chirag Vohra recited Shayda. They gave some brilliant performances, taking me back to the Golden Era of Gujarati Ghazal’s. 

The live art of over population

The most interesting art you can see in any city in India is its population I think. We are so artistic when it comes to creating more and more of us in huge numbers, aren’t we? In spite of being the seventh largest in area, we are number two when it comes to population. As you would expect most tourist places are crowded. You can see the locals in huge numbers. It is impossible to click a picture of a monument or a piece of art that you like, without a person photobombing. No wonder people are taking up photography a lot more as they are paid well to wait for a long time to get a picture without a human being.(Getting a scenic picture without a humanoid is in itself a big deal – using classic angles comes secondary)

The queue outside 

Art work

Another one

The live art of over population

The Kala Ghoda Art Festival 2016 in Mumbai was no different. There was beautiful art displayed, but the only thing you could see was people. I couldn’t even take a snap of any artwork properly. I manoeuvred my way quickly through the Rampart Row and asked the girl at the help desk to guide me towards the workshop section. I was taking time to getting used to finding the venues in the crowd, so I managed to get into a films screening hall. They screened six short films from the recently concluded Rome International Film Festival, namely – Ahlem (dream), Child k, Dimmi Cossa Senti (tell me what you feel), Due Piedi Sinistri, Gas station and Happy Birthday. I liked all of them though I missed the beginning of Ahlem. I simply loved a shot from Child K- a letter going from a person's hand into a post box, in the bag and to the postmaster’s office on the table– the entire sequence done in a single shot. I visited the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Price of Wales museum). I attended discussions on ‘The city as a muse’ and ‘The scenes we made’ – theatre.

Loved this one with the oxygen masks hanging off trees

If I could twist the slogans, here's how I would do it: (I loved the original version, just trying to make another very important point through this art... that's what art does, right? )

Less POPULATION is the best solution

ONLY ONE CHILD, hence more air

What will we do if due to over population the oxygen gets over even though the poor trees try to give as much as possible? We are amazing - we wont think that there are only these many oxygen masks and hence only these many people should be there. We Indians make space- there is always a little room, isn't it? We can squeeze in more, cant we?  So we will get more oxygen masks; tie more and more of those to every branch, till the tree cant bear the weight of tiny and weightless but so many oxygen masks, though it will keep supplying oxygen till its last breath. But... one day, there will be no oxygen left! Even the trees cant help us then. 

The next day I reached the venue at nine thirty as I wanted to attend a Storytelling workshop by Emily Hennessey, who gave nice tips on storytelling. She made us do some activities as well. Check out her profile: https://www.facebook.com/Emily-Hennessey-Storyteller-405363836291240/?hc_location=ufi I wasn’t registered as I had no idea I needed to, but I got a chance to attend this workshop as some people who had registered didn’t turn up.

Thereafter I went to a wine tasting by Elixiir Benedictine, a new winery near Nashik. I had taken up a wine tasting online course from https://www.edx.org/ Though I have been to one wine tasting earlier, this one was special as it was absolutely free! :P :) So we smelt, swirled and sipped the wine and wine coolers. Elixiir Benedictine has really nice wine coolers with nice colours – black currant, Jamaican fruit and berry. We started off with dry wines with high tannin and finished with sparkling dessert wines.

I attended some more workshops – ‘Branding India’, ‘MagEzine’(online and print magazines, love the title) and ‘New York, New York’ (about the confluence of cultures) -a foreigner raised her hand to ask a question in the middle of the discussion, even though everyone knew that the questions are supposed to be asked in the end. Was she, the bright and smart lady, from New York perhaps? :P Phew, where do they get this phony confidence from? Why don’t they get some sense from the same place that this mighty confidence comes from?

Interaction on MagEzine

All in all, I enjoyed Kala Ghoda in spite of the crowd; as I love such festivals. Check out the website to know about the fest in detail: http://www.kalaghodaassociation.com/  I would only say please control the population ya! And yes, amazing how people love black horses in spite of their colour and they are associated with artistic beauty, but the same doesn’t apply to humans! 

The Airlift effect

Read Twinkle Khanna’s blog last week; she jokes about trying to help her husband promote his latest movie, about the Indians marooned in Kuwait as a result of Saddam Hussein’s invasion over there. I am beginning to love Twinkle’s blog and wait for the new posts; she writes humorously on politics, news, the elite class and even her family – referring to her actor husband Akshay Kumar as ‘the man of the house’.

Watched Airlift yesterday and I just had to write about it. I like Akshay Kumar’s movies mostly - the ones which are based on comparatively recent historical incidents. This movie is basically about 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait during the Iraq–Kuwait War.  It was carried out from 13th August to 20th October 1990.  The war was a result of Iraq accusing Kuwait of stealing Iraqi petroleum through slant drilling. The script and screenplay works, but the point the director Raja Krishna Menon makes at the end - that no matter where you are, what you do or regardless of how you feel about your country, during the time of crisis, when you experience severe identity crisis too, only your country will come to your resort – simply won me over. Why? Because this is something I have always felt very strongly about.

I wasn’t even born when this airlift, recorded in Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest evacuation happened, but I never needed to read this piece of history or watch this movie for that matter to feel strongly about being an Indian. What does it mean being an Indian? THAT YOU LIVE IN INDIA. I can’t relate to people who settle abroad in the first place, forget about relating to how I would feel if I was stranded in a situation like this. Simply because I know that even if I am shot dead in India during a war- I would not feel identity crisis – till my last breath. And that is really important to me.  These situations can arise- whether you are in Kuwait or USA or UK or Greenland or Timbuktu or the North Pole. Get the point I am trying to make?

Even if you are an NRI, your friends there would always refer/introduce you as ‘my Indian friend’; even if you get a citizenship, you have to say, “I am from India”, when they ask you where you come from. So where do you belong once you leave the country you are born in? I really can’t answer that question as I haven’t found an answer. What about the children born outside of India to Indian parents? Can’t answer that one either.

As per Ministry of Overseas Indians (MOIA) annual report 2012-13, there are over 25 million overseas Indians all over the globe and whenever need arises, it is the Indian government’s responsibility to bring back the country’s citizens safely. Not only this evacuation during Gulf war, Indian government has successfully executed many such missions – ‘Operation Sukoon’  in 2006  to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals during Lebanon War; ‘Operation Blossom’ in 2011 - Around 8,000 Indians were evacuated with help from Indian Navy from Libya. Haha! I don’t relate to people so proud to settle down abroad due to better opportunities, education or because-life-in-India-is-just-not-good, hence I don’t even feel happy about them leaving and living there. 

It is simple ya – Indians should live (love) in India; Kuwaiti should live (love) in Kuwait; Americans in America; British in UK; Greenlanders should live (love) in Greenland; Timbuktu people should live(love) in Timbuktu (it’s a city in the African nation of Mali); and if you are born in the North Pole by any chance you should live (love) in the North Pole. Get the point I am trying to make? And yes, your country you MUST love. Especially if it is developing one- it needs your love more than anything else. Love makes everything happen. It makes the world go round, so changing the face of your country is no big deal.

I would leave India only if I have unmanageable personal or financial crisis. Or if suddenly one day the oxygen just gets over due to the over and uncontrollable population and pollution – I have dreams like that so just saying. And if I do so – I would be ashamed of myself.

I just know one thing about myself which is 100% true - the fact that I am an Indian. My country is definitely my first love. I cry at times when I listen to the National Anthem. 

The Airlift effect

I Whatsapp mom –

Me: Just watched Airlift. Must watch. Do you remember reading about this in the newspaper?

Mummy: Yes, I do. I will try and watch it.

Me: I feel so strongly about this mummy. I am not ashamed of the filth, poverty or cow dungs here; I am ashamed of running away. I can change my religion every month- until all Gods of the world get confused who I am, but I can’t ever change my citizenship or nationality. All the while in the movie, I was thinking why the hell did they have to go and settle down in Kuwait?!?! Just see- one day this will happen even in the most developed countries. You have to come back to your country ya! Where else can you be during crisis. You should have seen how Akshay Kumar cries when he sees the Indian flag.

Mummy is online. I can see blue double ticks, meaning she has read my messages. I wait for her reply. Suddenly she goes offline. It was 1 AM.

Me: Mummy! How can you go offline?? I am waiting for your reply. Reply!!

Me: How can you do this? I was talking so passionately. I hate it when you do this.

Me: Mummmmmmmmyyyyyyyyy  replyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

I got her message in the morning.

Mummy: Sorry betu, I feel asleep reading your messages. They were too long. I took a while to read, but I read all of them right now. You sound like a patriot. I am amazed to hear you talk like this. Did you have dinner last night? I forgot to ask.

Me: What ya! I am talking about the movie and you are only interested if I ate or not.

Mummy: While you work hard on your big ideals, I need to take care of your small needs, don’t I?

I got airlifted – felt as light as I would if I were floating in the air as I know I have my mom. I thank my mom for making me who I am today and supporting and hearing me out each time, even though she falls asleep at times; even though she might not agree with me or my morals at times, but most importantly to take away my pain each time I confront her with it and make my heart feel light as air.