My lady looks more elegant now- Go dive in to the shopping spree

Festivals are always an excuse to get ready and look fab and enter in to a full on celebration mood!We are all lucky to be born in a country like India where we have numerous festivals and celebrations which give us an opportunity to get dressed in the bestest possible way which exudes style , fashion , grandeur and elegance. The selection of dresses, accessories , the matching clutches , watches, suitable make up  is a challenging task. If a man can get dressed in 10 minutes after a one day shopping it takes nearly 10 days for women to purchase all her choicest accessories which go with dresses and it will take a total one day for them to get ready for an event or a festival if you keep aside the parlors , facials and hair-dressing so on so forth :) 

Thanks to Online shopping which atleast helped in saving the time. In our today's fast paced life it is very tough to spend more than one week on shopping but its definitely feasible to comfortably sit with lap top and select the most desirable products in the wide spread of collections, on line stores have. Many online stores may even lure you with their false offers and vouchers which cant be vouched. But when I entered shoppers stop I really felt the discounts are reasonable and products are tempting!

Ensembling the products and bringing the best out come using shoppers stop has been very challenging but enduring and worth the time spent! I am extremely pleased by myself once I was done with the ensemble. Before I dive in to the description of products let me tell you that here I have stuck to my favorite colors and choices . I hope you also get as pleased as I was once I finished my window shopping  and I actually added many products to my cart and planning to buy most of them now !Thanks to shoppers stop for this contest in association with Indiblogger.
Red alert : Am no fashionista . What I wrote here is purely my choice which I feel is stylish and gorgeous enough :)

The first ensemble I did is for festivals or any family functions or parties. 

I chose a black colored Biba chudidar / Kurta dupatta set . Black is my most favorite and royal color  . Every one know that people look slim in black. More than looking slim I feel it gives the elegance no other color gives . Hence my pick is the royal black which you can wear on your birthday, any party in office or family function or to that matter any festival ranging from Diwali to Christmas to Ramzan. The bluish green embroidery on the black kurta is a tempting and a drool worthy combination .It eased my choice of jewellery and other accessories.

BIBA Churidar-Kurta-Dupatta Set - 6500/-

The bracelet I chose for the black chudidar is  a Infinity Bracelet Collection 450059R  worth 1880/-   Its so simple and beautiful and silver always goes well with black. As and when I saw the below bracelet I didnt feel like checking many other bracelets, though there is a wide collection. I felt this one will suit the chudidar better than any other

The ear rings I chose are the below rhodium plated ones with montana crystal, Infinity Earring Collection 091906RM  worth 1592/-  after the discount. As I chose them  I immediately found the similar rhodium plated necklace which goes with the ear rings! Am not much in to gold ornaments and I always have my eyes ears and oohs and aahs only for these kind of crystals and any other fashion/ artificial  jewellery. I would spend my whole life on them rather than buying gold as property :)

I couldn't take my eyes off from montana crystal and the rhodium plated neck lace above. The crystal and CZ quality seemed good and this would also look appealing as the dress has a "V" shaped neck . So my choice is the above Infinity Necklace - N59984RM  worth 2750/-

If you don't want the crystals and want to go with a plain silver colored  set it would also look extremely good if you are not particular about having V shaped necklace for the V shape neck ! The one above is a rhodium/ silver plated Zaveri Pearls Fish Design Set - 2970/- which you may buy instead of the crystal necklace and ear rings above . It may save your money too. My personal choice would be the crystal ornaments though! Actually am tempted to buy both :)

Its always good to check time when you are in a late night party or a function . Hence a trendy  , cool watch from my favorite brand FAST TRACK. A Fastrack Ladies Watch  worth 2295/-

A lady may look beautiful but not royal enough if she doesn't hold a clutch. I loved the below clutch and am going to order it as soon as I finish this post . Haute Curry Clutch - ICORCL3  worth  899/- Along with it the pair of sandals to go with the dress are LEMON - Sandals worth 1299/- Beautiful , smooth and to me they seem like almost shouting " My highness !Please wear me :) " 

So this is my "Royal Black" ensemble , the total of which comes like below 6500 + 1880 +1592 + 2750 + 2295+ 899 + 1299 = 17215 . Ain't all the great stuff coming at a reasonable price ? Also if you want to buy the Zaveris fish pearl set worth 2970 instead of the crystal set your total would come to around 15,843. You may opt this if you want to save .I personally would buy both as the fish pearl set would go with many dresses I have.

The below ensemble is for any Wedding / Haldi / Reception ceremonies of Indian wedding. This ethnic wear can also be worn at any cultural festival or a big gala party.

The first and foremost in the ensemble is my most favorite Kashish Chiffon Embroidered Saree. Its attached Brocade Border and embroidery just seduced me . I couldn't chose any other saree though I added many to cart. After a lot of thinking this looked best to me. Am not much in to too many sequins , crystals or dazzle on a saree. This just suits me. Vibrant , dashing with a classy blouse !

Kashish Chiffon Embroidered Saree - 2999 /-

Haute Curry Clutch - ICORCL2 - 799/-

Along with the saree the clutch I chose is a golden color Haute  Curry clutch. You cant disagree with my belief that this is the best pick!

I chose the below Zaveri pearls set which is long gold plated with American diamond pendant. I mean, c'mon look at her. Wont she attract many envious eyes ? Watch down for one more set which will definitely draw 100s of jealous ladies' eyes and 1000s' of men's desirous eyes :) The pendant will come dangling in the slit of the blouse if you get it stitched like in the image!

Zaveri Pearls Set- 1990/-  

My Lady will look no less than a princess when she wears the below  golden heels along with the saree. The Upper made of Diamonds and Beeds makes it look royal !

Inc.5 - Ladies Footwear - 1995/-

This is the set I was talking about. If you don't want the Pearls set you can go for the below set of ear rings and necklace and it goes well with the color and design of the blouse. The pendant will just show up dangling in the slit the blouse has and hence it will make the blouse look more gorgeous and mysterious. It may seem as if the pendant is stitched in the blouse :) They are 18 K Gold plated paisley earring and necklace with topaz crystal.

Infinity Paisley Earring -624706GTOP - 3960/-

      Infinity Paisley Necklace -652815GTOP - 3960/-

The watch and bracelet I chose are gold straped  Titan raga collection- Ladies watch with champagne colored dial and analog display. I love analog watches  and this one is an exact match to the blouse , heels , clutch and almost every thing . The below infinity bangle I chose is a 18 carat gold plated with clear crystal. I simply loved it.

Titan - RAGA Collection - Ladies Watch - 3100/-

Infinity Bangle 44407G- 2880/-

Your total comes to 2999 +799+1990+1995+2880+3100 = 13763. If you want to buy  Infinity Paisley  necklace and ear rings as well it will come around  13763 + 3960 + 3960 = 21683.

Lastly the below Maybelline Water Shine Pure Lipstick Glazed Red Apple worth 275/- is just the essential in your make up kit which goes with your yellow saree as well as black chudidar. Am sure all the eyes will gaze at you with this final touch!

For a wedding its ok to spend some 21k +  :) This  yellow saree ensemble to me is simple, gorgeous, money saving yet grand and elegant . Do you agree?

Want to have a quick look at both the ensembles? check them out 

If you like my ensembling do share your opinions and give me better ideas if you want to make my cart more beautiful :) My post is at  "My lady looks more elegant now" 

PS: click on the images for better view

Thanks to "Indiblogger" and "Shoppers stop" for this great opportunity which made me think and improve my selection . Love you guys . Am on a shopping spree now ;)

                                           

                        

The "Power" Grid failure

click on the toon for clarity
Courtesy : Toondoo.com

Few pages from the chronicles of Infosys - Nov27 - A DATE TO REMEMBER!:)

Mysore Training campus- Entrance

Even though I am out of Infy (half heartedly) I still feel attached to it. I can cite 100 odd reasons as to why I still stay attached even if I hated few aspects during my stay. I got a cold shoulder over there on which obviously I couldn't lean and the time always comes in life to move to next phase and I had to do that. There are many memories attached to Infy which make it a place near to heart.

My fav click. View of cricket ground, multiplex and building with
top in the shape of NRN's signature

• First and foremost thing is Infosys was the platform to improve my writing skills and get few great friends. Hence the fact that Infy blogs were being destroyed lead to a heart break (well almost ;) )
• It is larger than my Btech life. The  duration , the kind of friends and experiences are unmatchable to any happenings in pre infy life atleast to me!
• I dont think the college feel one gets here is possible in any other company. Of course it has its own benefits and losses.
• The forever friends who even after crossing so many phases in life remember you always and never forget to stay in touch
• The Mysore training is one marvelous experience and the hyd infy days altogether make a big chronicle!

There she is ! The magnificent GEC 1

Swimming pool at ECC

Rules which were never followed

The royal life in Mysore which was short lived but seemed long due to the never ending training period will forever be etched in my memory. By the end of the training we only wanted it to get extended. It is the most romantic place a student can stay at least in India. The aura and ambiance by evening lifted the moods and spirits but we always stayed back in GEC only to do revisions for the next assignment / comprehensive test but ya it is a different story whether we ever seriously studied!

I very well remember the triumphs of success , the valleys of frustration , the peaks of boredom , the easily shed tears , friends , enemies, farewells ,gossips , crushes , movies(hit and flop) at multiplex, the GAZEBO breaks which were relaxing, samosa- Appy combos and frooti , Drum stick chicken which I used to love and had it on the day one of my best buddies was leaving , the coffee day breaks , FC 1 maggie counter and juice (favorite of all), Panama chicken Biryani which used to have a single large piece which I and my friend Ipsita struggled to finish with forks and knives in the long lunch breaks which were huge affairs , Sandwiches at loyal world ECC, laundromat, amul butter-bread and maggi which come under the major staple food there , the couples, stories which even lead to marriages , romances which were short lived behind the bushes or on the GEC steps and ended as they entered production :P (Post training period. Describing it so that non infoscions understand) and so much more .

The memory of the day is still strong, when I spoke to a guy who was not a great friend but lifted my spirits when I failed in the test saying , "you are not the only one here . Go and count in every Classroom FR3 , TL1  etc etc. There are many. Many who even were gold medalists or stood first in their respective colleges. Don't give up". Those were moments when I realized all were sailing or sinking in the same ship :)  I still remember that 2 AM talk and the blinking lamp posts and we both talking standing at the center of the road ! Where else will you get such lavish empty roads occupying 100s of acres and neatly manicured lawns in a training institute ? Kudos to the  house keeping staff there. The road shines better than your sprawled bed spread which will be neatly folded by the time you come back from classes. I always missed that royal treatment once I entered production!

Neat and  tidy hostel room

I missed those long mid night talks and violation of the rules , the primary violation is-  boiling Maggie in the kettle. I was the only one who used to get up early in the morning on Sundays , atleast in my wing to enjoy the view, to have a walk around the campus ! I can never forget the movies I watched in multiplex starting from Casino Royale to namaste london , Guru and many more !

The ROYAL multiplex. I was visibly perplexed when I came to know about the weekend movies here !!

When we parted we only sighed wishing few more months in that spectacular campus with no compres , 0 classes , 0 rules and only fun but I guess we value the place much more as the tenure was short and as we came out of it in flying colors . The surge of messages and wishes from all batch mates made me write this. Feels good to be wished even after drifting away or as we say moving on after leaving Infy. The first love is always the first and has the best place in every ones' hearts !

GEC2 - which was only under construction during our stay

Rain - View from a new food court which sprang just behind the multiplex

 The 4 1/2 to 5months of life if described elaborately will it self make a good story but I believe this is not the right place and time to do it. Infy happened ages back but still feels like it was a month back. We had mixed emotions then but now looking back, we can only smile and feel proud that we got a chance to stay there and feel special. The talks and the lectures are forgotten but the memories are still afresh!

Keep smiling and rocking !

PS: All these snap shots were taken when I visited Mysore last year and was quite amused by many new editions but GEC-1 remains an all time favorite adda for obvious reasons!

"Life in Nature"

The deep blue sea is timeless, restless and endless any day.

Who doesn't want their good times to stay?

Funny to see the timeless sea surrounded by sand.

It slips away like time even if you hold tight in your hand!

The waves roaring loud, rise high and fall down.

They look small in front of a swimming fish which won’t drown!

The waves are in a rage when they hit a stone.

We create havoc in hard times and we moan!

The sky is huge interspersed with sun moon and clouds here and there.

Our life is big interspersed with challenges and smiles here and there.

The effort is endless and for a life time we make a living.

The huge sky is tiny compared to a flying bird’s wing!

The clouds too turn grey once in a while and shed the rain.

The smiles may turn to tears once in a while to shed the pain!

The sun sets every day between the hills only to rise again.

We fall down and get up to fight even if we are in strain!

Sky and sea are merged with an invisible border line between.

Our hearts are intertwined with strong strings unseen!

Sand, trees, rock, hill and sky surround the sea making it beautiful.

I need you and only you to be around me and make me feel beautiful! J

PS: All these heavenly shots are taken in vizag at different beaches. In order 1.) beach at Totlakonda Buddhist complex 2.) Rushikonda beach 3.) Araku 4.) Yaaraada beach

The heavenly place and snap shots made me write these lines :)

A Trip to the "Lion City"- > Singapura

I am writing this after a long break. Hence will be taking my own sweet time as I lost track of details :( This post is continued from Malaysia Trip .

We started for Singapore in a starmart bus on the 4th day morning as per our Itenary .Had tasteless south Indian breakfast early in the morning in one of the restaurants of First world! Lack of proper food and lot of roaming around made me feel little sick and Migraine attacked me the night before and I was feeling bad thinking I may not enjoy Singapore. The luxurious comfortable bus with massage chairs which were as spacious as couches relieved me and I stared out of the window at rain droplets as we moved on. I switched on the massager and felt heavenly. Rain, the bus , clouds and hills . Didnt feel like wishing any thing else in life !

Fog at bus stop- Genting in the morning

                                            

Singapore is at the Southern tip of the Malay Peninsula . We reached Singapore in no time. It took 2 and 1/2 hrs precisely but the drive was so heavenly that we didnt realise how much time it took. Made some Indian friends in the bus among whom one exclaimed that her Chachi's daughter looks exactly like me. Where ever you go in the world it always feels good to see intervening Indians :) It feels like home!

Our hotel FORTUNA was in Mustafa Center .  As and when we checked in we tossed luggage in the room and hunted for a Indian hotel in Mustafa. Food is  very expensive. We had Hyd Biryani (which was not exactly Hyderabadi) on which we spent 700-800 Indian Rupees .I was not tracking expenses as I was too tired but remembered to get  the dollar conversion  done as soon as we entered Mustafa . One dollar == 39 INR it was. We were offered free paapads with green chutney which I munched on rest lessly as If I just arrived from a drought area ! Post lunch we went exploring the Mustafa center as we were on our own for that half day. We roamed around electronic shops, Some local goodies , clothings , were happy to see sarwana bhavan and anand bhavan hotels of Delhi there. Mustafa was totally INDIA. Its lot better than the Little India of Malaysia!

                             @ Mustafa

After some window shopping we decided we will discuss on buying a Sony/Samsung LCD TV(32 inch) as those were at the cheapest possible prices one can pay. Next day morning our cab was waiting outside the hotel and we rushed after gobbling some upma and drinking some cold tea (Tea which cooled down). The cab driver kept on boasting about Singapore and the life and how fast every thing progresses there unlike India . He showed us the "KRRISH" building. Building where Hrithik jumps in Krrish but as stopping there was not allowed we took Pics from the moving Cab!

The "Krrish" building

. The driver Mohammad/ Mehmood , I dont exactly remember his name succeded to irritate me in 15min. Unlike the Christopher of Malaysia this guy I guess was born and brought up in Singapore so he doesnt know how much India progressed or changed. When he showed  MLCP (multi level car parking) and told - You wouldnt have seen this in India Imran in a high pitched voice shouted that there are 100s of these in Gurgaon and 100s of such malls too. I too shouted ,  "we have MLCP in our office" . He said "Oh ! Is it . Good . Good!" Thank heavens he didnt brag about INDIA not being sophisticated after that .

I remembered a comedy movie in Telugu (Manmadhudu) where Brahmanandam behaves similarly saying "PARIS is like INDIA fast forwarded for 50 years " and learns a lesson later when a thief steals all their bags :D :D Its  a ROFL scene and I was controlling my laughter when ever Mehmood spoke. He showed the clear roads and said - " You wont find any beggar here like in India. Clean Roads . No beggar. " I wished the coffee which he was drinking from a plastic cover using a straw spills on him !It was odd to see the plastic cover and straw. I didnt see any where this unique style of tea/ coffee. Imran asked him - "Is this the way you drink coffee here. He proudly nodded and then said, "Some of the Indians say its bad."

Then we quipped in chorus, "Its extremely bad . Anything in plastic may lead to cancer and its not hygenic. In our country we never drink a tea if it gets cold." :P He thought to be silent for the rest of the drive other than just guiding and mentioning the history and importance of few places. He then took us to some memorial built in the memory of warriors which was not that fascinating . Just a tall tower with names engraved on it. We just took photos around and entered the cab in 10min.

Our next stop was "Merilion park" . Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa". To know more go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion . Actually Merilion Park has a great view in the night but due to lack of time , as we have only one and half day for Singapore as per Itenary we had to wind it off in the morning .

Merilion park (night view)- This image made me tad sad when I saw in friends' albums. The below one is googled.

Flyer on the way for singapore city viewing

Now You Know what we missed ? Isnt it sexy :( ?

So, we cursed our travel agent  and Mehmood for giving us stipulated time where ever we went and got down to enjoy Merilion!

@ Merilion

We at Merilion

We took many photos in different angles in and around the mysterious Merilion - which felt like the heart and pride of Singapore City ! History of how the city evolved is fascinating . You may want to google and know if interested. We were happy at Merilion and spent more time than the alloted minutes to us :) and our next stop was a Chinese Buddha temple which I loved but shall discuss in my next post soon.  Theres not much left as we spent  very less time in Singapore but theres some thing important and beautiful to discuss in the next post :) Hence taking a break

Till then C ya!

Jab Tak Hai Jaan- Sadly not a true Homage to Bollywoodish Love stories :(

Direction: Yash Chopra
Actors: Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Anushka Sharma
Music: A.R. Rahman



Not in my worst dreams I ever thought I will dislike a SRK's movie to this extent. I was never a die hard  fan of all Yash Chopra's movies but I do like the dreamy feel , love and its intensity, the breath taking locations , beautiful heroines and if I  tell in brief too many elements in the movies always made it tough to dislike them even if they are unrealistic at times. Be it Veerzaara , Dil to paagal hai or the legendary dilwale dulhania lejayenge to mention a few. You can never get bored by these movies as there are too many interesting elements like dance , Madhuri,  the nativity , family bonds , unending romance and last but not the least our dimpled charismatic SRK!

Jab Tak Hai Jaan being Yash Chopra's last one I thought it would be his best or may be atleast a jumble of all his gems but sadly as it turns out it didnt even stand at 2 on the scale if you rate the best Yash chopra movie at 10.
If there is one pit fall you may ignore but the story has gone to toss and the routine beauty born with silver spoon who travels in a Bentley and whose engagement gets printed in magazines falling in love with a pauper like SRK who works in markets or shovels snow or sings to earn extra money is not new in a Yash chopra movie but the blunder lies in how unreal the roles are, specially Katrina's who asks for some boon in church and sacrifices something linked to her in return everytime. Seriously ? Did he think audience will be moved by this ?Sadly I could only see audience moving in and out of the cinema hall!

 Thankfully SRK is at ease with his in-built romantic charishma who even at the age of 47 maintains that unmistakable deadly gaze at her girl and woos her effortlessly . The choice of girls is the next biggest blunder. Anushka with her stereotypical chirpy delhi girl image bored me beyond limits. She is definitely a good actress but she can do tons better in different roles! Kat / Rich Meera ditches SRK/ Samar due to some stupid sentiment she has when Samar meets with a hit and run accident and the moment where I seriously wanted to come out of the theater was the same stinky sentiment repeating in the second half after a second accident where he gets something called retrogressive amnesia and giving a shooting pain in audiences brains and A**es he forgets anushka and remembers only Kat !! There are no great punches nor noteworthy dialogues by the ladies other than the one where Anushka says She is an Instant make up break up kinda girl who thinks of love later. 

Srk was tempting in that military uniform with the skill to diffuse any bomb any time any where but the reason to do it is love as declared by Anushka the discovery  channel reporter / documentary film maker in the end.

Gosh! Thats it . I was doomed. I felt I should get my money back as I spent extra bucks for the FDFS. SRK whose enticing charm never failed to charm me failed the very first time in my life, the major reason  being the leading ladies on whom the charm was directed, the story line which has gone to toss , the long 180 min movie which will make audience yawn , the expression less Katrina who along with looking as stunning as in amsutra ads should learn some acting too, now that she is on the toppers list of bolly wood , Anushka Sharma and her repeated dialogues about her being a supergirl and careless bitch and her fake tears. 

Come on if you dont passionately love SRK dont fake it . Seriously I felt I can do better:P and there was a competition between Kat and Anushka as to who can be more FAKE!? and the winner is Kat .The root cause for the movie to be a bore is Anushka and Katrina sans the Yash Chopra factor unlike the naturals like Sridevi , Madhuri , Kajol and so on. The elegance and the radiance missed here how ever hard Katrina tried wearing a white salwar  or chiffon saree. There are few hot making out scenes and SRK's first lip lock kiss but even they just become lukewarm in the king-dumb of boredom.

Music : A.R. Rehman definitely was sleepy when he did this. Other than the title sequence(poem) , Challa and Heer I liked nothing else. Kat looked ravishing in Ishq shava though. Thats the best she can do - LOOK gorgeous!

Hoped Katrina to turn to a ghost for a twist when ever she wore black or white . Wished SRK did not do this movie ! Dreamt Yash chopras last one to be an intense love story like a veerzaara or to be much more dreamy and magical - Only tempting thing is Leh-Ladakh , and may be Katrina's trinkets and bracelets if you AVOID that expression on her face and last but not the least SRK's gaze and the look in second half  but ofcourse  his killer looks, shades, the well built body in 2nd part have gone wasted .That's the best way I can put
it . All in all , highly disappointed.

Lastly if you love SRK like me  you may enjoy few bits and pieces or if you want to go  watch Yash Chopra's last for the sake of all his beautiful creations till date , well do watch it. 

My Rating : (--___2/5_____--)

Happy Diwali to one and all !!

To Brighten up came the festival of lights.

The sound of fire works is the sound of joy.

Stars and moon are in competition and gave a try!

Failed to increase the beauty of the illuminated sky!!

Times are so dark and the worries are increasing.

The festive mood for a while makes us feel its all ceasing.

Before you kill the evil in others target the evil with in.

There are many fears to wipe off which are built-in!

Rejoicing for a day and forgetting is not done.

Happiness is a pursuit of one and only "the one"!

Remember to cling to the hope even when its dying.

You may reach the skies, you should keep trying!

Gone are the days when we gathered in groups and celebrated.

Busy are the hours and the festive hours are limited!

Hurried are the wishes some times formal and belated.

Facebook eased the life where you type wishes copy pasted!!

Like people who are always prying,

galaxies tried and in a rage are sighing.

The bird cooed in a distance and started to fly.

Diwali we celebrate it with spirits so high!

Like a beacon of light when it is all dark,
just when you start losing direction!
Like a ray of hope when you lurk,
which just can lead to that resurrection!!

Happy Diwali * One and all*
PS: A beautiful starry night inspired me to write this :)
_ Afshan Khan--