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The ultimate struggle of rural girl's identity - Ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga

The sweet romance, Ek ladki ko Dekha toh aisa laga is a significant juncture for the desi LGBTQIA+ community, who has been long starved for depiction. Bollywood’s first portrayal of a lesbian relationship is charismatic, with the supportive presence of Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and father Anil. The act by Anil Kapoor as the patriarch who loves watching cookery shows and had dreams of becoming “India’s best chef” gives an extra score to the film. He himself is battling with his love for cooking because his mother thinks it is something a girl should do. The father of two grownups is still under his mother’s pressures and struggles with his real identity. Sonam K Ahuja well served by the groove of screen facade that keeps sassiness at bay projects a convincing intermingle of accountability and affirmation in a way that only she can. Sonam and her love Kuhu played by Regina Cassandra are pitch-perfect in portraying their emotions.

Sonam brings a sense of susceptibility to her role. Sonam as an introverted, calm girl translates reasonably well on the screen. She has given her finest as a rural community girl coming to terms as her distinctiveness and its consequent complications. Anil Kapoor, as always, gets absolutely into the sway of things and livens up the film with his charisma. As an affectionate father, he nails it, and as a gentle dad who had a dream of becoming a MasterChef.

Anil in the role of Balbeer Singh Chaudhary plays his part not only as a loving but concerned father very well. By profession, he is a rich garment factory owner but his heart is set his life-long dream of becoming a chef. He is amusing throughout the film. The chemistry between the real-life father and daughter feels heartfelt. Anil, like always, is brimming with energy which translates into correct emotions almost all the time. The scene was very well crafted, where Sonam is in a glass cage and the emotions that we see in Anil Kapoor’s face is surreal.

Sonam Kapoor is surprisingly in her best element here. She delivers a powerful performance as sweety who is, for the most part of the film, like a caged bird, trying not to express the stress and grief that fills her heart.

 The treatment and flow of the script of the story could have been better. The plot was woven with a loose knot and lacked chemistry between Sonam Kapoor and Regina Cassandra. There was no passionate romance shown between the two people who are involved in a romantic relationship. Juhi Chawla and Anil Kapoor’s had a cheerful presence and chemistry between them was splendid. The comic timing and humor were good. They did not portray a good love story; it seemed a good friendship like any other female besties. The story seemed out of sync at times. Background music could have been better. The film was shot very adequately; the theatre scenes were brilliantly presented.

Bangalore to Bangkok- Thailand Diaries

My last minute trip to Thailand was so unexpected. My family was traveling to Thailand; no doubt I wanted to go along but couldn’t decide due to some projects. The day before the travel date, I couldn’t resist the mesmerizing idea of traveling with them and enjoying all the adventurous sports with my crazy siblings. I did not regret my decision; it was an amazing trip all along. There were so many relics of the journey of 10 days. I am confused, and where do I exactly start from? It was so well planned and perfectly executed trip, I think the brother should become an official travel agent. We had all the time in the world to do everything. To have fun, enjoy the sports, taste the delicacies, go shopping and just relax enjoy the endeavoring view.

The four beautiful cities of Thailand, Pattaya, Bangkok, Krabi, and Phuket had so much to offer. The tranquil and relaxed islands, amazing food, beautiful boat rides in the ocean and adventure sports. The trip made me tan but I do not regret it, as the tans will fade away but the memories will remain forever. Each city has granted so many striking experiences. Few things that I bonded with are:

• ·       The aquarium in Bangkok.
• ·       Pattaya-: Parceling, banana boat, and jet-ski.
• ·       Krabi-: Four-island visit.
• ·       Phuket-: Big boat ride to James Bond Island, canoeing through the bat caves and a good dive into the sea. Also, open shower on the boat.

 Only some unexpected mishaps happened through the journey. First of all, I couldn’t enter the grand

The stunning view in Pattaya from my balcony was so delightful, the orange sun slowly merged with the ocean, it seemed so compelling. We skipped the tower view and decided to enjoy the sunset from the balcony itself. The Bayoke sky tower view in Bangkok was breathtaking; you get such a beautiful panoramic view of the entire city from an 82m tall tower. The buffet of the hotel had so many options from seafood, sushi, caviar, and biryani too many dessert delicacies. The people were very kind and helpful but you need to be careful at times with the local cab drivers, they might trick you and ask for more than what is required.

Palace of King in Bangkok as I was wearing a short dress, the laws are pretty stern. I bought a wrapper skirt for that but my sleeves were short so I was not allowed to go inside. Some of the mishaps made our journey much more exhilarating. Instead of taking flight from Bangkok to Krabi we opted for a train journey so that we could enjoy the striking ride through the countryside, which we missed by just 10 minutes. We Indians feel joy in missing trains, I guess. And then we booked a car rushed to the 6^th forward station and finally got the train. That was the first time I saw anyone driving in speed, in Thailand or else their speed remains below 80 all the time. During our island visit in Krabi, I drowned my phone in the sea while I was getting down on the island. In Phuket, a part of our trip included, deep sea dive. The deep dive from the boat was really scary, halfway through the jump; I thought I got a mini heart-attack. 

Valley of uttarakhand - Nainital

I was very keen to discover the natural relics of the city. The beautiful lakeside view and how they were a part of everyday life for the locals. The lakes have a marvelous touch to the city but it also is a way of earning money for people around there. It has so many epic stories and religious faith. The view of the lakes from hilltops is spectacular. The Naini-lake is believed to be an eye of Lord Shiva's eye, and the reason behind the city’s name. Naini-lake looks like mango from the hilltop. The boat rowers make their living by showing people around on a boat ride. When I had a chat with one of them I discovered their interesting stories. He has been doing this for years. He also said that swimming and boating are the two things every kid knows since he is very little. My brother wanted to try rowing, so he taught him how to row the boat, it was really a difficult task and I knew I couldn’t do it so I didn’t try it either.

The next part of my journey was to walk through the hills and see the amazing view from the top. I wasn’t planning on literally walking all the way but it turned out that way. It was an exclusive sibling trip, I and my brother were on a scooter and we took a wrong turn, thanks to Google maps, and we were on a very steep road no doubt the journey turned out to be very exciting but I had to climb up quite a long distance. But the view was worth it all. It is said that the most beautiful view comes after the hardest climb. Snow viewpoint has a really fabulous view and we saw different places through the telescope. The people were very sweet and helpful. Then there was Tiffin top, we trekked 3 km to the top and it gave us the most amazing experience and memories and the view was awesome. And after such a trek if you get Maggi and coffee, it just makes your journey inclusive.

The temples in Nainital are also calm and refreshing just as the hills and lakes. Naina Devi temple was very peaceful and it gave me such pious feeling, it was enthralling. It is located on the lakeside. The water is fresh and crystal clear. There are a lot much fish and the best part fishing is prohibited there. When you start your day by seeing the white swan in the lake, it just makes your day stunning. The Tibetan market situated near the temple has some really good stuff and at a very reasonable price. Nainital also has adventurous activities such as paragliding and horse riding on top of the hill. You can ride a horse on lover’s point. Nainital has something or the other to offer each one of you. Either you’re looking for a calm and refreshing weekend or a romantic getaway or you are here for the food, shopping, adventure or just sit and relax and enjoy the spectacular view around. It has it all. And it is a pretty affordable trip. We wanted to enjoy the view and also experience the railways, so we took a train to Kathkodam and then hired a car to Nainital and that way it made our trip pretty economical.

Giriraj hill experience during Diwali.

Festive season with family is over-whelming. Happiness increases when you can make someone else happier with your actions, I guess many people believe that. Diwali in Mathura could be so amicable, I never could have known if my parents would not have obligated me to go there. Three vital festivals among others in Hindu community, which I never thought could make me feel so lighten.

Lighting Diyas on Diwali, near the Mansi Ganga river in Govardhan was spectacular. For the first time, I experienced the safe diwali with my family and  without crackers. [But I bet no one in Delhi thought of a safe Diwali, the pollution aftyer Diwali explained a lot about it] Next day, the Giriraj pooja with my Mother felt so sublime. My mother reminding me and my brother about the story of Hindu mythology, When Lord Krishna raised the hill on his little finger to save the people and animals from Lord Indra, took me back in that lifetime. And the day after was the the bhaiya dooj, I love the festival as it makes me feel responsible and being cared for at the same time. In this festival we honor our brothers for taking care of us and swear to protect him from all kinds of endangerment. It sounds a lot like Raksha bandhan but it's quite different. People in Mathura believes that if brother and sister swamp together in the Yamuna river on this special day, Yamraj (hindu mythology believes that after death, Yamraj collects your soul and takes it to hell), cannot take their souls as Yamuna is his sister and he gave her the boon. Govardhan means nourishment of cows. Lord krishna asked his villagers to worship the hill as the hill provides food and shelter not only to the people but also the cows.Lord Krishna walked the cows to the hill everyday to feed them. Govardhan hill parikrama is one of the auspicious things in Mathura. Devotees believe that if they walk around the hill, their devotion towards Lord Krishna increases, almost everyday many devotees walk around the hills. My parents walk around the hill each time they visit Govardhan. There are two parts of the hill. One of the hill is of 8 km long and another is 14 km.

A RIDE TO NANDI HILLS.

Nandi hills are located about 35 km east of Bangalore and about 4500 ft above sea level. The early morning getaway with your siblings on a bike ride is something wondrous. The whoosh of the bike was miraculous.  I can still feel the frosty wind on skin when I think about the hills. The resistance of the glacial wind while walking towards the hills. Sudden change in weather, with scorchy sun trying to bake my skin. The temples on the top of hill were dedicated to Sri Ugra Narasimha & Sri Yoga Narasimha. The temple on the lower hill is dedicated to Sri Bhoga Narasimha. The walk from the entrance gate was quite sublime. On the top of the hill was Tipu Sultan's summer retreat and remains of Tipu's fort.There were alluring tree houses on the top of the hills.The walk down from the hill was on different road on hill rocks, it was exquisite.

A journey of Manali

The never ending drive to Manali was amazing. The chilled wind that I felt on face gave me the feeling of my hometown(Shillong). I never wanted the road to cease, the scenery was just so overwhelming. Halfway to Manali we took rest in a lodge but I could not wait until the next morning to begin my journey again, so I did not sleep. Next day we left early morning and the weather was awesome, bright sunlight and chilly wind. On the way, we got down to a river and enjoyed the glacial water, the hills, the cool air. On such a wonderful journey, when you  have just the right person by your side, the journey becomes perfect. The icy-cold nights were bewildering. The people were lovely, they showed great hospitality. Their traditional costumes were beautiful. Solang valley was brethtaking, skiing and cable cars. It was an incredible experience.