The Oscar Ritual

I am so excited! The list of Oscar nominated movies is out! As the run up to the awards continues, I am following my yearly ritual of catching up on all the Oscar nominated movies.

The list this time includes: Big short, Bridge of spices, Brooklyn, mad Max fury: road, the Martian,  Spotlight, Room, The revenant.

photo from google

photo from google

photo from google

photo from google

Here in India, there is a big hullabaloo over the release of Bollywood Indian movies and it's hard to miss a new release. However for Hollywood releases not much marketing is done and it can be a blink and miss situation. Thus, I look forward to the Oscar list which ensures that the creme Dela creme of the past year will be announced and I make it a point to catch up on all the movies which make it to the list.

photo from google

photo from google

photo from google

I started my Oscar movie marathon with Brooklyn.  This movie, directed by John Crowley, is a historical period drama set in 1952. The movie is about a simple story of an ordinary young girl from Ireland who moves to Brooklyn, USA in hope of better oppurtunity for work , leaving behind her mother and sister in her hometown. Her initial days in Brooklyn are full of struggle to fit in to everything new,  right from the all women boarding house to the ways of the large new city to her new job. Things begin to settle for as she finds happiness in a relationship with an Italian American boy whom she eventually marries. In a sad turn of events her sister suddenly dies and she plans a trip back to her hometown. There she meets a boy who shows interest in her and offers a bright future to her if she decides to stay back and not return to Brooklyn. She is torn between the two places but in the end decides to move to Brooklyn to be with her husband. The lead actress, Saoirse Roman does justice to the role.

The movie has been nominated for Best Picture. It's been beautifully shot and was enjoyable to watch,  although I would not really call it exceptional or a brilliant piece of work. 

The high point of the movie for me was the scene where in Brooklyn at a dinner for elderly Irish expats one of the Irishmen sings a soul stirring native song and this leaves of the people present there reminiscing and longing to be in their own land.

Waiting for the Oscar results to see what the verdict on this one!

Cycling diaries: My first 60 Kilometer ride!

Biking on weekends is my passion and I generally cycle with a group of friends who are equally passionate about biking.

We start early in the morning to avoid traffic and because starting a holiday with some good exercise makes us feel like the holiday was well spent. We generally make a pit stop after completing half the journey to catch some tea and snacks. It's invigorating to head out to the outskirts of the city, away from city life, catching glimpses of the farm lands, fresh air and good conversation on the way. I ride a hybrid bike , 20 crossway by Merida. On an average we complete 50 kilometers every time we cycle.

I was starting to get comfortable with a 50 kilometer cycle ride and it was time to push the boundaries a bit and get out of my comfort zone. So today was an attempt to target 60 kilometers on the road.

Start time : 7.30 Am

Kilometers covered:  60 kilometers

Total duration of the Ride: 3 hours

Early morning start

 So today we choose an extremely good road which was smooth as butter. The Farukhnagar- Jhajjar road. The road is good to ride in winters but may not be so rider friendly in summers as no trees line it and shade is what you are looking for when it gets too sunny on a hot day.

The road is mostly flat without any uphills or downhills.

But for a cold winter day, this road was just perfect. Less traffic, smooth and lined by beautiful green fields on both sides.

Extending my usual 50 kilometer ride by another 10 kilometers was not so easy and I did feel a little more exhaustion than usual but all in all it was doable.

It was foggy and cold when we started but by the time we started back it was nice and sunny and the jackets were off.

We made a pit stop at a road side Dhaba and today the snacks on the menu were aloo pyaz paranthas  with dollops of butter on it and piping hot tea.

The fog shed away as the sun brighten up on our way back to reveal lush green fields! Delightful. Good ride today , totally enjoyed it.

Winter Colour Splash- Cycling diaries

Foggy days, chilly mornings, basking in the warm sun, piping hot tea- love winters!

Undeterred by the foggy cold morning, we set of to complete yet another 50 kilometer ride. Fully layered and covered up to face the icy cold winds, we set off at 7 Am. The start was later than our usual ETD of 5 am for rides as the fog is generally too thick early in the mornings these days to allow good visibility.

To our delight , the ride that began as a tedious task at the beginning seemed totally worth it because of the beautiful splash of winter colours that we came across while riding.

The beautiful yellow flowers of the mustard plants in abundance

Riding on a good road is always bliss!

Mustard fields

They say that turn to  nature to look up the best colour combinations! So true!

Fog on the fields

Tree lined good road

Stop over for tea and breakfast was at a Bird sanctuary (Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) on the way. Birds spotted - Stork, Hippo and Egret.

Approximately 250 species of Birds are found at Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary. Some of them are resident, while others come from distant regions like Siberia, Europe and Afghanistan . Every year more than a 100 migratory birds come to sultanpur bird sanctuary in search of food and water.

 Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

After a scrumptious breakfast of toast and eggs we started on our way back with the sun shining on us! Another happy ride, another day made worthwhile.

Driving down the Grand Trunk Road

On a road trip that I had to make all of sudden required me to get from Delhi to Chandigarh in the dead of the night and included a drive of near about 6 hours.

I chose to drive on the 6 lane highway called the Grand Trunk road and completely enjoyed the drive. 

The Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For more than two millennia, it has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian subcontinent, connecting South Asia with Central Asia. It runs from Chittagong, Bangladesh west to Howrah, West Bengal in India, running across Northern India into Lahore in Pakistan, further up to Kabul in Afghanistan. Its former names include UttaraPatha ("Road to North"), Shah Rah-e-Azam ("Great Road") or Sarak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sarak.

The route spanning the Grand Trunk (GT) road existed during the Maurya Empire, extending from the mouth of the Ganges to the north-western frontier of the Empire.

Today, the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) remains a continuum that covers a distance of over 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi). From its origin at Chittagong, it traverses to Sonargaon in the Narayanganj District of central Bangladesh, it reaches India, passing through Howrah, Serampore, Bardhaman, Panagarh (where it passes Ramnabagan Wildlife Sanctuary), Durgapur, Asansol, Dhanbad, Aurangabad, Dehri-on-sone, Sasaram, Mohania, Mughalsarai, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Kalianpur, Kannauj, Etah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Panipat, Karnal, Ambala, Khanna, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar.

It's the easiest way to get to chandigarh from  delhi and a number of road side restaurants (dhabas) can be found on the highway throughout this journey. The restraunts offered refreshing tea and yummy Indian food.

A popular hangout is the Sukhdev Dhaba at Murthal, Sonepat. It's a multi cusine restraunt but it's famous for its paranthas which are served with white butter and piping hot tea. Even at 2 in the night the place is thronged with people and getting a table is a task.

Sukhdev Dhaba completely thronged at 2 in the night.

The 6 hour drive on the highway becomes a breeze by making a few stops at these dhabas. 

Cycling in the Winter Chill

The first day of the month of November! The chill in the morning quite significantly broadcasted that the winters are officially here! It was beautiful foggy morning and a light jacket was required to feel comfortable. Just the perfect weather to cycle and enjoy a non sweaty,  vigorous ride! Here are some of the photos from the Sunday morning ride today!

Kilometers covered today: just round about 20
High point of the ride: the sunrise and fields full of marigold flowers

The ride was followed by coffee at a rider friends 20th floor apartment. Sipping coffee , while taking in the panoramic view from the 20th floor was indeed a treat after a blood pumping 20 kilometer ride! All in all a great start to a sunday morning :)

Cycling tip for the day: the cycle tyre air pressure range is written on the cycle tyre. Always use a gauge to ensure that the tyre pressure is above the lower limit. Appropriate tyre pressure helps in less effort while riding therefore the focus shifts from effort to enjoyment! Follow this tip to enjoy your ride to the maximum.

Delhi to Kasol, Himachal Pradesh -Road Trip

Fully utilising the long weekend which came around the 2nd of Oct, I and my friends planned a trip out to the mountains! The destinition was a small little town of Kasol which lies en route to the popular hill station of Kulu and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. We had 3 days in hand (Friday to Sunday) and without wasting any time started our journey on Thursday night itself after office hours as we knew we had a long journey by road ahead of us.

We started  from Delhi and headed to Chandigarh then to Kiratpur, Bilaspur and finally to Kulu district. The whole journey took almost 15 hours taking up the most of Friday but on reaching our destination i.e., Kasol all seemed totally worth it.

Nestled amidst beautiful mountains this small little town has a majestic river , Beas, running through it.

The touristy attractions of the place are:
1) A trek up to Malana Village or Magic valley!

Malana is a small village nestled on top of a mountain which is 13 kms away from Kasol town. It takes about one and an hour hour to get there by road  and the vehicle can be taken up till a certain point after which the rest of the path needs to be trekked.  The village has its unique culture and practices. It's a steep trek up the mountains to the village and takes about one and half hours.

2) A stroll in the Kasol market which has a number of eating joints serving international cuisines and shops selling local handicrafts and woollens.
We had a scrumptious lunch at a nice, spacious restraunt located in the heart of the market called, little Italy. It serves the best Grilled trout, fresh out of the river! Must try!

Kasol Market place

Lil Italy restaurant

3) A visit to the famous Gurudwara (Sikh temple) , Manikaran Sahab.
The Gurudwara is just 6 kms away from Kasol market place and is famous for its hot springs. A tip is to visit the Gurudwara at night as the place has a mystical appeal to it at this time. Take a dip in the hot water spring, eat  Langar  (food served free of cost to the pilgrims) and listen to the sermons by God men!

Manikaran Sahab

Inside the Gurudwara

Inside the Gurudwara

4)Various camp sites and cafes along the riverside to chill at,  eat and enjoy the view.

Campsite by the riverside

River Beas

River Beas

It's a beautiful place to visit! In case the road journey seems a bit tiring then a flight from Delhi to Kulu is a possibility too! All in all it was very relaxing, refreshing trip full of new discoveries!

Care for your environment - Cycle!

My current city, Gurgaon, has taken a huge step towards making the city ecofriendly! Following the World Car Free day which fell on a Tuesday ( 22 nd Sept 2015), the Traffic Police of Gurgaon has declared every Tuesday, each week a car free day.  The car free day basically means that every resident makes a conscious decision towards the mode of commuting. Every city resident choses a public mode of transport, either a bus, the metro or car pool but avoids driving solo around the city.

The first Car Free Day in Gurgaon saw a few resident participate with a lot of roads still clogged with traffic. But it was a start! I for one picked up my Merida (bicycle) and decided to cycle to work and back. It was a total ride of 50 kilometers. I started early in the morning at 6 am and avoided the peak traffic. The morning ride was a breeze however on my way back I came across peak traffic and the roads did not have any cyclists only lanes. But all in all it was a good day where I felt like a good samaritan who did her bit for the city and it's environment! Here are some of the clicks from my ride that day.

On the Highway early in the morning

Close to my destination

Blessed with Great Weather that day

So to all those people who are fed up of the traffic situation on the road, care enough for their environment and want to be fit but dont find time for it , pick up that bike which is catching dust in one corner of your house and make a lifestyle change now!

Accessories which make a ride comfortable

Accessories which make a bike ride comfortable and fun are few basic ones! Mine just arrived! Here's a peak into my latest haul:
1. Btwin hand gloves - long rides can be tough on the palms. Holding onto  the handle bar for long can be painful. Gloves are a must for long rides.

2. Btwin padded shorts - being on the bike saddle for long can be uncomfortable no matter how good the saddle is. A good pair of shorts help!

3. A saddle bag to carry your bare minimum stuff...money , keys, phone!

4. Good pair of shades for eye protection

Fastrack sport frames

5. Face Mask

6. Btwin Helmet - head protection

7. Last but not the least- My latest mouse pad for office computer
A constant reminder of how much fun cycling is cause it's a heady mix of exercise , being in the midst of nature and friends!

So this was the update on my accessories! I am fully prepared for long rides! Riding to my office to observe the World Car Free day tomorrow (22nd Sept 2015). We are responsible for our environment..let's make a change today!