Memories of 2019

Hello everyone who is reading my blog. Hope you had a fantastic 2019. As the year is coming to an end, I thought of looking back and recollecting some of the memories from this year and sharing it with you. There were some sweet and bitter experiences, sweet ones have to be cherished and bitter experiences are meant to teach us a new dimension to life. In this blog, I would share a few things, that made this year special for me.

Places I visited this year- 

1) Jaipur- 2019 started with a trip to the Pink City. I visited Jaipur with my friends in the second week of January. The historic importance of the city becomes evident as you witness the city, famous for its forts and monuments. We visited Amer Fort, Jal Mahal, Nahargarh Fort, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar observatory. The "sound and light show" at Amer Fort was spetacular in itself. The camel ride at Jal Mahal was a new and unique experience for each one of us. As there is a famous saying- "The journey is more beautiful than the destination", we equally enjoyed our road trip. It was a perfect way to welcome the new year. I have written a blog on this trip where I have described this trip in detail- https://kinshuksrv.blogspot.com/2019/01/trip-to-pink-city.html

Memories from this trip->

2) Pune- As the year was about to end, I planned a trip to Pune in the month of December. I just loved the city, though I only got to spend a few hours in Pune city. The city has its own charm and has a blend of its unique culture as well as the vibes of a metropolitan city. We visited Lonavala and Mumbai during the weekends and this trip gave me the much needed break to refresh my mind. 

Memories from this trip->

Books that I have read this year-

Books are my best friend since childhood, though I don't get too much time now to read. (Thanks to YouTube and Netflix :) But still I managed to read a few books this year-

1) Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki- This book is a must read for the people of our generation who are starting with their financial journey. Robert Kiyosaki explains that the first step to financial independence is changing our perspective towards money. Some of the key aspects highlighted in the book are the difference between assets and liabilities, how to make money work for you instead of working for money, different investment options available in today's world, to name a few. The lucid flow of the book impressed me a lot and it really helped me get a better perspective towards financial management.

2) The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins- This fiction by Paula Hawkins is a masterpiece in itself. The novel basically has a thriller genre, with romance forming the backbone of the story. I couldn't connect with the story initially but once I got hold of the story, I was hooked on to it till the end. If you are a fiction lover, I would recommend you to pick this book and you would thank me after reading this. :)

3) Twelve Red Herrings by Jeffrey Archer- This is a colletion of short stories by Jeffrey Archer and each story has a unique plot. Again, this book belongs to thriller genre and the crispy plot of every story kept me hooked till the end. 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie- I have just started this novel and have read only a few pages, but the storyline seems to be interesting, though the author has used some French words here and there which breaks the flow of the reader. I will find more about this as I will read through it.

Besides this, I would like to recall some of the memories/hallmarks of 2019 which is special for me-

• Alumni meet 2k19- The Alumni meet of our college "Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology" is held every year in different parts of the country and this year, I got a chance to be a part of it. The Alumni meet for Delhi-NCR region was held on 12th October in Gurgaon. Initially, I was a bit skeptical to attend the function since only a few of my batchmates had registered for the event. I was in a dilemma myself since I had the feeling that I may feel out of place. But still, me and one of my friends convinced each other to give it a try and that was the best decision, since it was such a grand event that could not have been missed at any cost. When we reached the venue, all of my apprehensions vanished and within few minutes, we felt that we are reliving our college lives. Such was the hospitality and bonding visible that bound each one of us with a common thread. We met new people from various batches, and it didn't feel at all that I am meeting most of them for the first time. We had great fun that evening and it will be a memorable evening for me, and all of us present there.

Memories from this event->

• My first story published on Story Mirror- I recently wrote my first story "Delusion" for Story Mirror and I received an overwhelming response from the readers. Having a passion for writing, it gives me immense satisfaction and any appreciation for my work is a cherry on the cake. I would like to thank everyone, for taking out time to read the story and for their valuable feedback. For those who have not read it yet, you can read it at this link- https://storymirror.com/read/story/english/qvjk6rx8/delusion/detail

To conclude, I had my highs and lows in 2019 but this year had a lot to offer and a few experiences have been valuable life lessons for me. Now it's time that we look forward to the coming year and welcome it with new hope and enthusiasm. I would like to wish you all a very happy new year in advance. May all your dreams get fulfilled in 2020. Moreover, in the context of the current situation of our country, I hope that 2020 will bring peace and harmony for our nation. Let's unite together and pledge to make this world a better place to live. On that note, 'Happy New Year' once again. Stay happy and enjoy life. Cheers!!

Trip to the Pink City

'Pink City'; as the name suggests, welcomes its visitors with a touch of warmth  and hospitality. I witnessed the charm and beauty of this city when I visited Jaipur along with my friends on a two day trip. The month of January is the best time to visit this place and if you are visiting Jaipur on Makar Sankranti, you can witness the famous 'Kite Festival' when it appears the sky is painted with different colours.

Day 1-
We had planned a two day trip to Jaipur and had made our plans accordingly. We decided to take a road trip and booked a cab for 12th and 13th Jan. Excitement was on its peak even days before the trip and I could not sleep the whole night prior to journey in excitement. On 12th Jan,our driver reached our residence at scheduled time in the morning. Luckily, the driver was from Jaipur and was very helpful throughout the journey. The road trip was fun throughout. We had a good time during the journey and the five hour journey did not seem to be exhausting at all. The driver also gave us suggestions regarding places to visit and narrated some of his experiences. His bizarre experience at 'Bhangarh Fort' (one of the most haunted places in India) was so scary that we were shaken to the core.

We reached our hotel at around 12.30 PM in the afternoon. We have booked OYO rooms for our stay in Jaipur. After check-in formalities, we kept our bags in our rooms and went out to explore the Pink City. Our first plan was to visit Nahargarh Fort, built on the edge of the Aravalli Hills. The Fort offers a panoramic view of the entire city. A few scenes of movies like 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Bhool Bhulaiya' were shot in this fort. We were mesmerised by the architecture and magnificence of this fort. It seemed we were back in the glorious times of Rajas and Maharajas. However, due to lack of time, we could not visit Sheesh Mahal and Jaipur Wax Museum.

Next, we visited Amer Fort located in the outskirts of the city. There is a lake just besides the Amer Fort which offers a mesmerising view at sunset when sun's reflection falls in the water of the lake. At the entrance of the fort, we purchased traditional pagdis for each one of us and went inside the fort. It has a spectacular design and marvelous architecture which will leave you spellbound. I was just admiring the beauty of the fort when others were busy taking selfies. We roamed inside the fort for about two hours and decided to watch the sound and light show at Amer Fort, which takes place at 7.30 PM. In the meantime, we visited Meena Bazaar located nearby. The shopkeepers welcomed us with a lot of warmth and affection and showed us their unique and rich collection of traditional clothes and jewellery. I purchased a beautiful traditional 'Maharani Sari' and a set of ear rings from the market. After spending some time there, we went back to see the sound & light show at Amer Fort. We were seated in the open under the sky and the show started. We came to know the entire history of Amer Fort through this show. The description was in the voice of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan which made this show totally worth it. After the show was over, we went to a restaurant for dinner and returned back to our hotel.

Day 2- 
The next morning, we woke up early and got ready to continue our journey. We had breakfast at the hotel, packed our bags and checked out of the hotel. We visited the famous Birla Mandir of Jaipur which is a highly regarded pilgrimage for the Hindus. The temple has a marvellous structure and has lush gardens all around. The walls of the temple are decorated with beautiful drawings.

After this, we went to visit Hawa Mahal, another landmark of Jaipur. Hawa Mahal has 953 windows (jharokhas) in total. These windows were constructed so that the women of Royal family could see the view of the street and any festivals that took place outside the palace, since they were not allowed to go out of the palace without covering their faces. Another purpose of these jharokhas was to keep the palace cool during summers by allowing the cool breeze to flow in and out, thus providing ventilation. Night view at Hawa Mahal is much more beautiful and leaves you spellbound.

After this, we visited Jantar Mantar observatory which features some of the instruments of ancient times which served the purpose of measuring the positions of celestial bodies and calculating the local time during that era. It features the world's largest stone sundial, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.We were surprised by the innovativeness of the scholars of that time. We calculated the time using the sundial and to our surprise the time came out to be very accurate. Overall, it was a very knowledgeable session for all of us.

After this, we went to one of the local markets of Jaipur, Bapu Bazaar. The market has a unique style where shops are constructed on both sides of the road and each shop is given a unique serial number. Some of us purchased a few things and then we went for lunch at 'Natraj Restaurant' where we got a taste of a variety of Rajasthani cuisines.

At last, we visited 'Jal Mahal' that is located in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. It is a five storeyed palace out of which four floors remain under water and the top storey is exposed. We only clicked a few pics as there was nothing much to do, except for camel ride. Our Jaipur trip would have been incomplete without it. It was a wonderful experience for me and the view of the city was simply amazing, while riding on the back of the camel. That brought us to the end of our trip and we departed from Jaipur, with beautiful memories etched in our heart. While writing this blog, my mind is back in Jaipur as if I am reliving those moments once again.

The only low point of this journey was that we could not visit Chowki Dhani (a traditional village resort) due to lack of time. But overall, it was a short but amazing trip which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would like to thank each one of you who accompanied me to this trip- Ankit, Anshul & Pinak (Dada). Thank you guys for making this trip a memorable one.