Anantam Resort Kasauli: I left there a small piece of my heart

 

In the serene,  picturesque mountains of Kasauli is nestled a small, cozy, and beautiful luxury property known as Anantam Resort, which genuinely deserves a shoutout straight from the heart. 

I was there sometime back to break the monotony of mundane metro life and to feel better after a bad bout of endometriosis flare-up, and trust me, at just 5.5 hours away from Delhi, it was more than a perfect choice.

The view from my room was so extraordinary that even after three days and constantly admiring it, I still did not have enough of it. I wonder how the mountains always do this to me. Just the fresh breeze relaxes my nerves and wants me to compose, and I sit smiling, wondering if I should weave poetry or prose, or should I grab the book whose pages I have been turning for days without being able to soak into the joy of a reader. True travel and books both turn me on, and it is a pure blessing if I get the two together. 

Even better, Anantam resort gave me a pool in my room to enjoy the view from my pool and jacuzzi, and rejoice in Mother Nature and my world of words. The amenities, the luxury and the unparalleled hospitality in the lap of Mother Nature in deep forests were a rare combination. I wonder if my desire to move to the mountains permanently came alive once again.

I took mini strolls on either side of the resort, which were therapeutic, and they also arranged for a taxi for us to Kasauli Mall Road and Toy Train Railway station, which were so rustic and far from developed. I was so glad to see the old world charm, including the church, honestly. 

The constant drizzling and occasional sun playing peekaboo with the mountains added to my joy. The weather was so beautiful and I carried some of that joy with me back, which gave me energy to restart some passion projects that got paused without my wish. 

Also,  if I think about them, I can’t forget the super delectable food I had there. It was truly to die for. For a person like me who has been on a diet forever, to let go on vacations, it's a double treat if the chefs are awesome and value quality. No, this is not a sponsored post but written out of pure joy to have a laid-back and joyful weekend in the mountains quite close to Delhi, and I am sure it shall be my go-to place quite often now on. 

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If you relate to my writings, you can find copies of my eight published works here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women, Soulful Letters On COVID, For My Future Grandchild, I Live to Love You, Soft Strings Of My Heart, and Brave Inked Emotions. Additionally, as the founder of the Endometriosis Support and Awareness Group of India and the Emotional Wellness Support Group of India by BIE Initiative Authors, I invite you to join my mission or reach out to me for any women's health-related (physical, mental, emotional) support you may need.

Paris Diaries: I overcame my worst fear in Disneyland Paris and How♥️ #TravelHeals #MemoirsSeries

 

Before I delve into this precious memoir, let me share my secret superpower with you today. It has actually stemmed from my biggest weakness which is I am very emotional and thus feel hurt easily and though I am getting better at it but still trusting people comes naturally to me. Thus it is understandable that I get heartbroken often and hit rock bottom but my superpower is that almost always I am extremely self-motivated and know how to lift myself up without any help. The lower I hit, the more is the energy with which I bounce back all smiling, concealing all the pain in my heart forever. Today is one such day when I am feeling the strongest and thus wish to make this important announcement.

No matter how short or how long a life I live I now want the world to know my story and hence I am going to write and leave all here absolutely honestly and unabashedly without hiding any single fact. This is going to be my perspective and so no one should feel offended, you may have your viewpoint. By here I mean in my new forthcoming book to be released soon and it shall be called ‘Unapologetically Yours Truly Roma’.

Continuing from my Paris Diaries, today I want to write about my Disneyland experience where the universe earnestly helped me every bit and I had to use my mental power to defeat my physical pain. Just to give you a little bit of background I did not get my Schengen Visa until the last minute and was recovering from a bad bout of viral when I came to know my manifestations have yielded a positive result. Obviously, I didn’t get sufficient time to prepare as I wished nevertheless, I was soaked in happiness to the core.

My Europe trip commenced perfectly as I spend the first four super fun and chilling days in Madrid but it was in the super breezy Valencia when while sipping chilled Sangria my throat went soar and the viral fever relapsed which gradually I kept subsiding over the next six days with Augmentin, enjoying in different parts of Spain but enroute Barcelona to Paris, a critical endometriosis flare up kicked in along with severely cramping menstrual cycle. 

Damn! I was booked for Disneyland Paris the next day. Deep in my heart, I was still a Disney princess and I was set to live my dream. How can my frail health stop me? I channelized all my inner power the next morn at 4 a.m. and meditated deeply. Soon my mind was in peace and joy flew in my veins. I dressed up comfortably, ate a proper breakfast, took my medicine, and started off calmly from my Eiffel Tower Air bnb to Disneyland Paris.

Standing at its gate felt like a dream. I gifted myself a beautiful mini mouse hair accessory(you can judge me on this if you feel this is not age appropriate 😁, if you are a regular here, you know the kind of rebel I am) that I joyfully flaunted the whole day. The rest of the day went in a blink. From contemplating that because I am scared to even sit on a merry-go-round, my expensive Disneyland ticket shall be a sheer waste of money, I actually enjoyed every single wonder offered there, even the 360 degrees star wars roller coaster though the cameras there did capture me keeping my eyes closed. My husband dear bought that exorbitantly priced picture as a memoir of how I set an example by overcoming my fear. Only I know how I managed on the second day of my cycles with an acute endometriosis flare-up and viral fever refusing to budge. 

But who cared? I loved every ounce of the experience and trust me it indeed is a marvel every which way. Reliving the fairy tales we grew up reading, with your child is a real high. Like little babies, we kept hopping from one queue to another so that we don’t miss any wonder here. The longer the wait, the more our excitement soared. We managed a Disney-themed buffet lunch in between where I rested and popped in my next set of meds. I still remember the super customized Disney theme yummy desserts. They too pumped me to discover the next park though I had already covered close to sixteen thousand steps.

Travel does this to us, it heals us, it pumps energy into us and it alone has the power to make us kids again. No matter how cliched it sounds, every moment of that day in Disneyland Paris is forever etched on my heart as the sweetest memory. I am glad I planned this trip after so long. I find travel really therapeutic and given a choice I can travel 365 days a year. Experiential learning is the best learning we can give to our children it is extremely critical in widening their horizon of thought.  Personally to me, it was an eye-opener, for I realized my incredible internal power. Have you tried discovering yours? My thoughts have begun to meander now so I will better stop here, until my next post of this series about…keep guessing😊

This is the second post in the #MYPARISDIARIES Series, you can read the first one here.

If you like what I write, you can grab copies of my seven published works here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women, Soulful Letters On COVID, for My Future Grandchild, I Live to Love You and Soft Strings Of My Heart

Nainital Diaries 2021: Quenching the Starving Souls of the Wanderlusts in us

We have a perennial love affair with Nainital. We fell in deep love in these beautiful mountains while we were doing our engineering in Pantnagar. We used to hit this serene beautiful lake city almost every month and were so smitten by its charm. You won’t believe we have so many tiny precious memories associated with each nook and corner here and it indeed is priceless to get to relive them. Thus this year as the Valentine’s Week commenced we made an impromptu plan to hit Nainital for a vacation. Within moments everything fell in place as if the universe itself has conspired to make us revisit the place where our love saga began, with our little love this time to make it all the more memorable.

I know for the paranoid me it was a giant leap of faith to go for a holiday during the COVID times but this time the deep desire of a wanderlust feeling claustrophobic for the last eleven months without a vacation took over. I tried to secure all ends though, as we decided to drive our own car and stay with an Airbnb HomeStay which took only one guest at a time. So it was just their family and ours.

I felt as excited as a baby as we commenced our travel at 6 a.m. on 12th Feb’21 and needless to say the journey was as beautiful as the destination. It was foggy with zero visibility for a small stretch but the rest of the drive was as smooth as a cake. We set our feet in Nainital around 11a.m. and I felt so overwhelmed, can’t describe that feeling in words. It was as beautiful as ever exactly like it always was, untouched, unscathed, pristine natural beauty. 

Our home stay was a heritage home built by Rohan’s grandfather and staying there was one of the best things that happened to us in this vacation. Yes, Rohan was our super host and I can take his name so casually because by the end of our four days stay he was more of a dear friend than our host. We felt as with we were staying at a beautiful home away from home with super yum home cooked food by Rohan’s wife Achla and his five year old cute little daughter Gargi always around playing with Arsh. It was one of the most relaxing holiday ever.

Honestly we planned nothing but yet our Valentine’s Day turned out to be perfectly scripted perhaps out of a fairy tale. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. and started early to watch the myriad hues of sunrise shades over the Himalayas. It was chilly yet the beautiful canvas behind the mighty mountains painted by Mother Nature herself, was beyond words. Our son went crazy trying to capture the beauty in his cam while we merrily strolled and posed and most importantly let our souls smile and relive our precious memories. Can there be a more beautiful morn. The most simple yet the most fulfilling and it was not it, as the lunch and dinner were going to be as beautiful. 

So yes in the afternoon we descended down to take a stroll on the Mall Road around the breathtakingly beautiful Naini lake as we reached Zooby’s, one of the most famous fine dine restaurant for our Special Valentine’s Day lunch by the lakeside. After all the fun and food and masti we hired a boat to sail back to Naina Devi temple, the place where we professed our love in front of God. The vibes their are soul-stirring, I was transported back in time and couldn’t resist smiling throughout. 

Back in the Homestay it was some naughty banter and cuddling with lots of giggles and anticipation for the much awaited bonfire night  celebrations. Little joys of life like these are what we love always. For a change we didn’t cut a cake this year rather made merry around a sizzling hot fire is extreme chilly star-studded night with S showing how effectively he can master the barbecue and little one having fun with blowing fire and setting up of the barbecue. I can only say it can only seldom get as perfect as this. It was beautiful, thoroughly beautiful. 

Oh yes, I forgot to ask for my Valentine gift but this holiday itself was the most worthy gift😊. Late that night I closed my eyes gently and expressed my gratitude to the Almighty for bringing S and me together in this life. It is like two imperfect pieces perfectly fitting into each other and completing each other to make a perfect combination. It’s a deep friendship of twenty years now from the day we first met in our teens and there is absolutely nothing as valuable for me than this bond of ours. That night I decided to weave this memorable trip in words for us to revisit and relive it as often as we wish and hence this piece. 

For our son Arsh too, this was a much needed break from the monotonous indoor online school life. He loved the astoundingly beautiful Jim Corbett Waterfalls and the trek to Tiffin Top or Dorothy’s Seat with a lot of lessons on professional photography from Rohan Uncle. He devoured the Bal Mithai as Naina Devi temple Prasad, his parents too always drooled over and shopped some gorgeous pieces of designer candles at the Tibetan market. 

For both of us, we didn’t shop but just breathed in and out our joy and felt ecstatic and loved. The journey from our nonstop candid banter to just peacefully holding each other’s hands and strolling with a smile silently, we indeed have come a long way.

Thus as always this time too I brought back a bag full of precious memories from our very favourite Nainital with a promise that we will be there again soon. Though we have always been wanderlusts, never thought travel can be so therapeutic and healing. I discovered a new calmness and my soul came to peace as if it’s chronic thirst has been quenched.

Our special thanks to Rohan of Langdale Homestay Nainital for making our trip so treasurable.

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my five published ebooks here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny, Empowered Women Empower Women and Soulful Letters On COVID, for my Future Grandchild 

Pure Love Can Move Mountains

Hey everyone, a warm hello to you from Delhi. Trust you must be soaking yourself in the festivities till brim. This year festivals have come in with a settling phase for me. Though amidst Ganpati in Pune and now Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali in Delhi, I have another reason to rejoice and that’s my birthday which always falls within. No matter how morose I feel due to leaving my Pune after  spending eight beautiful years there, I can’t escape Delhi’s Midas Touch that takes me back to the lanes of nostalgia. So yeah after sulking for a week, feeling sick, here I am once again bubbling in energy and my cheerful spirit. 

This was my simplest birthday ever. I have a habit of being surrounded by my friends and /or going on a staycation or a vacation with my boys, cutting multiple cakes, partying hard but this one was most different. Our stuff arrived from Pune a day before my birthday and so no points for guessing what I was doing in between attending your calls which were barely audible due to a perennial network issue in our Delhi home. Loved the Whatsapp video calls thing though which made me connect with so many of you and start smiling back gradually and get back to life. 

Well, first thanks goes to my little boy who made a beautiful card with so many messages for me, he was the first one to wish me too after I woke up but mister husband says he has when I was sleeping, their fight over the claim still continues 😊. Got a lot of priceless hugs and kisses from him the whole day, my treasures forever. A cake, flowers, chocolates and a teddy bear delivered unexpectedly took me by surprise.That was hubby’s way of warming me up for the evening surprise date and I loved the whole celebration with my two lifelines first at home and then at a place with which we have a lot of memories of our dating days attached♥️.

The dinner date further did the trick and I was smiling and posing and enjoying to the brim. The birthday celebrations continued the next day with us visiting the Jagannath temple to celebrate Dussehra and then another birthday bash at another old adda of ours in Cannaught Place. Savouring the best food of Delhi satiated and made the foodie in me smile and I remembered my last poem, life is beautiful and I move on.

A peep into my phone time and again and some lovely wishes from all of you further accentuated my excitement and while I have not been able to write much for the past few days, I once again wanted to pen and to begin with my mandatory gratitude to all of you, my precious friends, family and readers, Thank you for taking our those precious time for this tiny mortal and blessing me on my birthday. Pure love has the power to move mountains and you do that magic to me. 

Words fail me to express my gratitude to all of you!

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published books here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women

5 Beautiful Temples You Can’t Afford To Miss In Goa

I first visited Goa with my mum dad and brother in my teens and need I say it was love at first sight when I saw the beautiful island from my aircraft before touching down. Next I visited the land of ethereal beaches with my husband post our wedding and the love only grew fonder and deeper. For the past many years it has almost become our second home and we visit it at least twice in a year. I have already written about its best beaches, properties reviews, eateries but today I wanted to show you the offbeat divine side of Goa which is very close to my heart, the five priceless temples , the hidden gems, you can’t afford to miss. If you are a vivid cultures' enthusiast and have a devotional vein you will definitely strike a chord with these.

1. Shri Mahalakshmi Temple: This historical marvel constructed in 1413 is the one of the most visited temples in Goa, I visited it in Navratri and the opulence and grandeur with which they are celebrated here were awesome. We had a great time soaking ourselves in the mixed culture celebrations, when one of the idols of Mahalakshmi were taken out on a chariot on the auspicious occasion of RamNavmi. It was a pleasure seeing this divine side of Goa. It was about 22 kms from Panjim and we drive there by our personal car. 

2. Shanta Durga Temple:  Again near Panjim, I particularly liked this relatively recently constructed temple( constructed in 1966 though its laterite mud shrine was built in 1738) because of the fusion of Indo Portuguese architecture in its design. We loved the entire large temple complex built at the foothills of Kavalem Village in Ponda and dedicated to Goddess Shanta Durga. Do check out the interesting tale behind this gorgeous monument, when you visit there.

3. Mangeshi Temple: 21 kms from Goan Capital, Panjim, this undoubtedly is one of the really adorable temples of the state dedicated to Lord Manguesh. Shifted here by Marathas, this temple is one of the most famous in the state. A word of caution here is, before visiting this place, please do check online its dress code and clad yourself accordingly.

4. Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple: This one is perhaps the oldest temple in Goa, loved its ambiance, spiritual vibe and abundance of Mother Nature surrounding it. Everything about it is divine including the Shivlinga inside. This site is now declared a protected monument. Lord Shiva devotees gather here in large numbers during Mahashivratri and soak themselves in the ethereal joys of devotion.

5. Shri Saptakoteshwar Temple: Located in Konkan, I visited this temple in monsoons and loved its mesmerising one of its kind architecture which has hues of Mughal and Europeans cultures. It is an absolute must visit and even better if you can visit it on Gokulashtami. It is a temple with a great historical past worth knowing about.

So, it’s a half truth that Goa is all about, only sun and sand and seafood, there is also a rich, prestigious, multi-cultural historical treasure this state keeps hidden within. Do explore it the next time you hit Goa and I am sure you will find the hours you invest worthwhile! 

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published books here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women

5 Reasons I Have A Perennial Love Affair With Goa, One of the Best Holiday Destinations in India

I was fifteen when I first went to Goa. It was my first air travel ever and a glimpse of this picturesque breathtakingly beautiful place from the air, stole my heart forever. It was indeed love at first sight for me. It brought many firsts to my life as a young girl, a shy teenager at that time. While my little brother soaked in the waves and my parents enjoyed their together times, I remember sitting by the shore and painting a poetry of words, something which I always love doing, even till today. This trip remained etched on my heart for a very long time and when as newly weds, I was asked if I would love to go to Goa, I jumped in nostalgia and ecstatic joy.

As I landed in Goa for the second time, I realized my love for it is true and is forever and it hasn’t faded an ounce, in fact with the love of my life, I found it prettier and more welcoming as if I am just back home. I weaved a lot of timeless memories during this trip. I befriended sea water holding hands with S, indulged in water sports, tried my hands in Casino and experienced the oh-so-memorable Goa’s special New Year Celebrations extravaganza. Poles apart to the shy teeny me of last time, I was a young adult bubbling with energy, desire, and happiness this time. Luckily, S too grew equally fond of the place and we promised Goa, we were laying a strong foundation of a lifelong friendship with it😊.

(I am a rebel, conventional doesn’t suit me at all and this place just lets me be who I am. It is an escapade for me to a world where no one judges me for being a recluse, a moody paranoid. The way it warmly embraces me in its arms, feels like it is where I was always meant to be).

Well, so my next trip to Goa was as a mommy to little three-year-old A and the young carefree adult was now a little bit more mature and a responsible mum. Instead of partying hard and dancing like crazy overnight, we have graduated to soft and quiet parents who danced in their resort and sang on the karaoke to our hearts’ content. Our kid has inherited the beach love from his parents and in no time he became our third partner in crime who too loves his vacation to Goa more than anything else. Since then we go to Goa twice a year and it’s almost like our second home to an extent that once a blogger friend living in U.S. actually called up to check if they can put up with us in Goa for their next visit.

In fact, my perennial love affair with Goa is growing rock solid with each passing year or should I say our relationship is aging with grace. If I live that long I will surely like to spend my latter years in a cabin near the sea there. I am sure S is listening, for every time he sees I am going down with my energy quotient, he books us a vacation to Goa and I am rejuvenated at the thought of it. I love everything about the place and actually know quite much about it too. For example, we have stayed in some of the best properties Goan beaches offer(well, I will write my recommendations some other day) and know exactly what to eat, what to wear, where to go, where to party and the list is endless.

Undoubtedly, Goa has always offered us the best of family times, lots of soaking in water, sun and sand, live music bands and of course lip-smacking food and drinks but what I love the most are the early morns that I spend on the beach taking long strolls with the waves kissing my feet and the cool breeze caressing my tresses. I watch the sunrise and find a lovely corner to sit back and pen down my candid emotions or just read or glance at the horizon. It is one place where I do nothing and still feels like doing all I ever wanted. This me is much different from all the earlier mes who visited Goa.

My trance is often broken by my two loves joining me as we build sandcastles or just carve our names, smiling and giggling. What more can I ask from God? Touch Wood!

I just came back from Goa yesterday after our wedding anniversary celebrations and I am feeling so light and so wonderful that I am still dwelling out of the memories of the lovely vacations. I practiced forced digital detox during this trip minus a couple of hours each day and it was extremely overwhelming just to stay in your love’s arms at your favorite place and shut the world to you. I was itching to pen this straight from the heart memoir of the place which has stood a custodian to my life for last two decades in its own special way. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved penning it💕.

Copyright © 2014-2018 by Roma Gupta Sinha

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If you like what i write, you can grab a copy of my 3 published books here The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child and Dare to Defy The Destiny