August 25, 2013

Goa in Monsoons...Loner's Paradise...
(June 2013) 


Goa in monsoons…I named it loner’s paradise…I would define loner “who enjoys one’s company amidst nature” and yes Goa in monsoons is actually a loner’s paradise :)


Just you and the lush green palm trees swaying in the coastal monsoon breeze. The long and winding Mandovi river bulging with rainwater and serenely flowing along to meet the encompassing Arabian sea. The showers bring an amazing transformation to the state. With the cloud canopy above you can spend time walking on the virgin sand of beaches while it drizzles. Sitting in the terrace overlooking the sea and spends hours and hours while feeling the mist on your face. Amazingly cool weather gives you the comfort on being in this heaven and enjoys every bit of it. Rain showers are so unpredictable that it can catch you anytime…and then disappears within a fleeting moment. 

Red...Pink...Blue...Yellow...These are the colors of the houses in Goa and they look amazingly beautiful in monsoons when everything around them is green…

How do you deal with the questions like- 

Goa in monsoons??? 
How boring??? 
Loner’s paradise… what nonsense??? 
How can you enjoy Goa when there are no parties??? 
All hot places and shacks are closed??? 

Well…well…well… How’s that when crowded beach turns into your private beach… you can walk miles and miles alone without bothering about the crowd. When you enter Goa you feel the romance in the air. Sports Activities turns into in your personal games like beach volleyball, football and many more. You can spot your personal shack which is open just for you. Spend whole day at the beach side while catching up on the reading you missed because of your busy schedule…sipping some beer and listen to your favorite music…enjoy exclusive Goan cuisine and most importantly spending time with your family and with yourself…evenings can be spent while having candle light dinners at beach side or at decent restaurants in Panjim and north Goa. 

Goa in monsoons is something which brings exhilaration to the run of the mill lives of people, especially those from the big cities. Normally people call Goa the land of Sun, Sand and Sea, So true... but in monsoons its turns different... sharp sun disappears and the entire state is rain soaked and lush green…A leisurely day exploring quaint nooks and corners, watching the waves of rain sweeping in from the Arabian sea and getting drenched on the vast lonely beaches is the definition of a perfect monsoon holiday. 

During the monsoons, Mother Nature is in her full element and brings a fresh aroma, romance and liveliness to this coastal state. Spend some quiet time by just watching the rough waters.

Family memory box…I do believe in that…we are the ones who creates good and bad memories for our family and kids…I always say holidays make you come closer to your family and relaxed holidays add so many memories …you can actually fill your memory box while collecting sea shells at the beach side, driving on empty beaches with your family, playing football on the rain swept empty beaches with the flying sand hurting your legs reminding you of the strong gusts of wind blowing in from the sea in tempest are experiences of a lifetime and add a lot to your memory box to savour throughout your life. Enjoy nature...enjoy rains...enjoy the wild sea and learn so much for….











...this is what Goa is in monsoons adding bright colors to the striking sights of Goa ensuring a relaxed body and mind :) 

Happy Holidays :) 

August 1, 2013

Life is Beautiful!!!!

Start living!!!!! 

Childhood….the best time of our life… Childhood was a nice cozy bed, clean sheets and Mom’s kisses .When we were carefree to do whatever we wanted to. We were free to choose our own games, own friends, own tricks. When we were young our parents always tried the best possible to make us independent so that we could take our own decisions, can live our life as per our desires, we could do things which made us happy.

Time has changed now and we are Independent???

Oh really…are we free enough to take our own decisions???
                                                                    
Time has taken a toll on us. Just to avoid day to day hassles we forget to live. We start doing the things we don’t like and stop doing the ones we love to do. We end up talking to people whom we don’t like and start avoiding the ones with whom we are so damn comfortable. Our Carefree nature has turned into in compromise. Our mind is winning over on our heart. Our life is becoming like a puppet controlled by others.

We forget to live!!!

Just give a thought how many of activities are we doing which we actually wanna do???

Once again just peep inside your heart and look out for the things what makes you happy…what brings smile on your face…what brings spark in your eyes…what excites you to get up early from the bed and can’t wait to do it…what keeps you awake till late night without bothering about your sleep….there is still a child in us who wants to live carefree!!! Once again just peep inside and search happiness!!!

There comes a time in life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. Surrounded yourself with people who make you laugh, who makes you smile, who makes you live, forget the bad ones and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t. Life is too short to be anything but happy :)  Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living

Life is Beautiful and I strongly believe in living life fully!!!

Thanks to my Husband who understands me completely and supports me on every step of my life…he is my best friend and my support system :) 

Thanks a lot for letting me live my life on my terms…I am lucky to have you in my life!!!!

Start living!!!!! 

I believe “If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older....

Stay Blessed....

March 21, 2013

Speed Sprint Experience- 2013

Life on a FAST Track...

Life is Beautiful….it is like a thunderbolt…should always move on as fast as lightning…

It depends on us how we take our life and I guess that’s the most important thing you should think about…For me…Life is about keeping ourselves involved and make it exciting in our own way… I really don’t understand why people get bored with their lives…

If I start to reflect…for me even 24 hours are too short … I want to do so much more in life…

I have a long list of my desires and have a strong urge to do something new every day….I want to be an awesome Mom… A friendly wife… A passionate lover…A prolific writer…A boundless traveler… An avid Photographer…. An amazing cook… …Somebody who is equally adept at balancing family life with professional life… A  sought after social symbol... Sometimes a child…Sometimes a responsible daughter and daughter in law…sometimes a stubborn friend and an adventurer…and a new thought to keep me going everyday :) 

I am always high on life and I am happy that I am doing almost everything I wish for…

Recently one of my desires goaded me to participate in a Rally… since I am high on life my car also moves on the fast track… I am a fast driver and here I give all credit to my husband who taught me driving.

I got a chance to participate in Speed sprint, the motorsport event held near Khuda Jassu village in Chandigarh on 17th March 2013... My First ever Speeding Rally...

If I think of speed I think of My Swift dzire… We own a Mercedes-Benz, a Fortuner, an Alto and an Opel Astra but for this kind of track I decided to drive the Dzire… it’s extremely peppy and handles like a dream :) 

This was the second edition of Speed Sprint and the categories for this event were Zip…Zap…Zoom…

Zip – For normal road going cars

Zap – For rally prepared cars

Zoom – For motorcycle

With over 150 participants and a track of almost 9 kilometers, Speed Sprint placed our city beautiful on the motorsport map. Professional racing teams like Team Thunderbolt, Team KTM and BG Racing participated in the event. 

Friends and organizers of Speed sprint Gulpreet Aulakh and Nikhil Deep Singh Jaspal as well as Nidhi Aulakh inspired me to participate and I filled my entry in the Zip Category… 

When I reached for the scrutiny on Saturday- 16th March, my heart skipped a beat…thanks to Nikhil who took me for a test drive in a Chevrolet cruze and the way he drove was extremely impressive. It was time to check out the track and I was really thrilled :)

While taking the recce of the track in the cruze, I realized it’s going to be a tough day tomorrow. The Cruze was a road burner and had an amazing softness to the ride… you can say it was handling like a rally car with the luxury of a sedan. End result…I enjoyed driving it :) but tomorrow was a different day altogether.

A few more lessons added by Mr. Sudev Brar, a part of the organizing team, who taught me about driving and drifting the car. My love for motorsports started gearing up. 

Speed Sprint was organized by Team Chandigarh Adventure Sports (TCAS) in association with Incarnation Sports, Chevrolet and Thunderbolt.

TCAS is a city-based motorsport club formed about seven years ago. My organisation recently sponsored and I participated in SantaBanta.com’s Women’s Rally and Vintage Car Rally organized by them.

Coming back to reality… My car was assigned # 006…1 number less than the inimitable & slick James Bond :)

I was definitely stirred but not shaken for tomorrow’s adventure. 006 stickers were pasted allover on my car and I was driver no 86 for tomorrow… all paper work was done and I was there till late evening, all excited for an action packed tomorrow…

Just as the sun was bidding goodbye to the track and the scrutiny area in came another inspiration from Superfast Sunny Sidhu…he took over my car and literally set the track on fire in my car… That was his way of preparing a budding driver for the speed sprint tomorrow. He was too good and as usual a true professional :) It shows when you eat, sleep and breathe rallying and cars…

Went back home famished after a hectic day but absolutely ready for tomorrow… raring to go for it

Well… it was a long night…I guess the adrenalin was pumping a little earlier than I thought… Had a sleepless night and hence next day morning I was there at 7.30 sharp and I guess I was the first one to reach…All the work was going on and JCB’s were making the track more interesting and challenging... but by then I was ready for anything that they planned to throw at me….. My Motto at that time was “Bring It ON.. I Can do it better” 

Slowly all the participants started coming and soon there was a long row of participants…

Finally, around 11.00 the event started with Zap and Zoom category…

The spectators, mostly consisting of people from nearby villages and motoring enthusiasts from the city were excited to see the event. They were clapping and rooting for all the participants. I loved the dust clouds speeding cars made. It was a nice experience but I was pretty nervous for my turn...

I enjoyed every bit of it… meanwhile I missed some action as, twice I had to go to a far away hotel to use a washroom…It’s so tough to be a Woman Driver :( 

Finally our category started at 3.00 pm and I was supposed to be the first one to be flagged off... However, due to the previous sections the track we were supposed to use was damaged and the organizers were forced to make some last minute changes to the route for Zip category.

New 5 kms. Long route… We followed Mr. Sudev Brar in a row for a recce and again lined up to race :) It was action time folks…

My heartbeat was like a superfast train and with a helmet on I was so nervous… first time in my life I wore a helmet while driving a car... First time in my life I was driving a Car without MUSIC and I was all set to go…

The GO light blinked and I went like an unfettered wild horse… I am a fast driver and wherever I get a chance I love to race my car…but trust me it was so tough to drive on such platform… speeding and controlling your car at the same time is actually challenging… it was just not high speed driving, but also highly skilled driving, with extreme control on part of the driver in negotiating the turns.

The track had incorporated all the challenging aspects like tight turns, high speed dips and jumps as well as elevation and terrain changes. Take along the pressure of competitive driving, and the event becomes a very absorbing spectacle.

It was a mind blowing experience to drive on a road full of obstacles such as gravel, stones and slush… on the entire track, I had butterflies in my stomach… my heart was pounding fast all through. In hindsight, I realized I could have done much better...but my second round was worse than the first one :( 

Well… Not a bad effort for the first time I guess…

5 Minutes and 18 seconds was my final score...Lost my 9 seconds :( 

Since childhood I had a passion for driving. But Speed Sprint was a different experience all together. With the support of my husband and continuous push from Sunny Sidhu, I ended up being the 1st runnerup in women’s category….I wanted to speed up more and more but to be very frank at the same time I was more concerned about my car & my nears and dears…I guess you need to be like a wild horse to opt for this passion... unfettered and unbridled
Next time I will try to be more furious and will take the No. 1 position :)

I always appreciate people who are dedicated to this profession and I am really looking forward to learn from their experiences… it was so nice to meet and interact with different set of people specially friends like Nitin Yadav, Harmeet Gill, Mini Sidhu, Purnima Rana Jaspal, Kabir Waraich and Ruban Grewal  and many more friends.   

It was a great event and looking forward to participate and win titles in many such events :)   

Briefing of Drivers 

Mr. Kang- My support # 1 

A beautiful Click by Nitin Yadav 




























Looking forward for the Next Event....