Princess Diaries

All you need to know about Tourism

Hey fellas,

Hope you are doing great.

As a tourism student, I’m often asked a lot of questions, so I just decided to answer all those basic questions which I often come across and all that you need to know about it.

So, let’s begin

Let’s start by defining Tourism

What is Tourism?

Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.

Who is a Tourist?

A Tourist is a person who travels outside his/her place of residence for any purpose like business, leisure, entertainment and stays at another place for more than 24hrs and less than a year.

Who is a Traveler?

A Traveler is a person who not just travels, but gains experience by interacting with the locals, trying out different cuisines, and stepping out of their comfort zones.

A tourist stays within their comfort zone, traveler makes an effort to meet people from all over. A Tourist only sight sees, but a Traveler converses with locals

When is the World Tourism Day celebrated?

The World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on the 27th of September.

Now, some basic terms

UNWTO – The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

IATA – The International Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world’s airlines founded in 1945.

ICAO – The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It changes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.

Let’s move on to Types of Tourism. There are 2 types of tourism ie- International and Domestic Tourism.

International Tourism : When people visit a foreign country, it is referred to as International Tourism. International tourism further divides into two types; Inbound Tourism & Outbound Tourism.

Inbound Tourism : This refers to tourists of outside origin entering a particular country. When people travel outside their host/native country to another country, then it is called inbound tourism for that country where he/she is traveling.

Outbound Tourism : This refers to tourists traveling from the country of their origin to another country. When tourists travel a foreign region than it is outbound tourism for his own country because he/she is going outside their country.

Domestic Tourism : The tourism activity of the people within their own country is known as domestic tourism.

The main questions I come across is about my degree and what do I study, the subjects and what is the future in Tourism.

Let me tell you about my degree, I am pursuing Bachelor’s in Tourism and Travel Management (BTTM), it is a four year course including training of a year. After that I want to pursue Masters in Tourism Management ( MTM), earlier I was planning on doing it from IITTM ie Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, but now I intend to do it from IGNOU ie Indira Gandhi National Open University. I’m currently in my last semester.

Dept. of Tourism and Travel Management, Punjabi University, Patiala

The subjects I studied were –

Introduction to Travel and Tourism Industry, Tourism Geography, Tourism Products of India, Emerging Trends in Tourism, Adventure Tourism both land,water and air based, Food Tourism, Airlines Management, Transport Management, Hotel and resort MGT, Accounting, Research Methodology, International Tourism, Rural Tourism, Customer Relations and Service Industry Management, Eco Tourism, Airlines Ticketing.

Career in Tourism

Tourism is the fastest growing Industry and the potential is enormous and encouraging for students opting for Tourism.

The public sector has opportunities in the Directorates and Departments of Tourism of the Centre and the State as Officers, Information Assistants, Tourist Guides etc.

The private sector has opportunities in travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels, transport and cargo companies etc.

Overview of Jobs in Tourism and Travel :

Be a Travel Agent/ Open up your own Travel Agency
Tour Guide in a luxury train like Palace on Wheels or just a Tour Guide
Travel Writer, Travel reviewer
Travel Publicists
Aviation: Cabin Crew ( Air Hostess, steward), Ground staff and operations
Event Planners/ Organisers
Tour Operators
Hotel Manager, receptionist, front desk, concierge/travel desk.
Adventure Sports Guide/Trainer
Sales and Marketing
Public Relations/Human Resource Manager
Itinerary Planner
Foreign Exchange
Destination Manager
Interpreters
Travel security
VIP lounge services
Luggage potter
Tourist information centre representative
Online customer service representative
Travel Blogging
Vlogging
Write Travel Magazines

Another question that I’m often asked is that Is Hotel Management and Travel and Tourism the same ?

Hotel Management and Travel and Tourism Management are often considered the same but are two different streams under the hospitality course sector.

The basic difference between hotel management and tourism management is- hotel management is a field that focuses on all aspects of operations including hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, amusement parks, country clubs, and convention centers while tourism management focuses on tourism development, management of the travel industry, tourism marketing, and tourism services.

You cannot do a course in Hotel Management and land up in Cabin Crew services. Although you can do Tourism and land up as a receptionist at a hotel.

So, these were some of the few questions and answers on Tourism. I also gave you guys a good overview of Tourism and Travel Management.

Hope you had a good experience reading this post and you gained knowledge on the subject.

What do you think about this post and how it helped you let me know in the comments section below!

Stay connected for more and I’ll be back soon…

The Notebook

One of my favourite romantic novels, The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks released in 1996 is a beautiful love story which was also adapted into a film later in 2004.

Pages: 214 Genre: Romance Author: Nicholas Sparks Series: The Notebook and The Wedding Rating on Goodreads – 4.1/5

If I had to rate this book I’d rate it 4.5 out of 5. The emotions are captured beautifully in this novel and it is a heart rending novel which will wet your eyes at the end. The novel is short and sweet and is an hour’s read for an avid reader.

The story revolves around two characters Noah and Allie and their irresistible love story.

The novel begins with Noah Calhoun, an old man, reading to a woman in a nursing home.

The relationship that Noah shares with his girlfriend Allie is truly magical, one that withstood the test of time and circumstance. A story of true love The Notebook tells us how the journey of true love withstands all obstructions and makes its way to heaven.

The novel begins with an eighty year old Noah Cauldron sitting in a nursing room reading his notebook to a woman.

They meet, fell in love, face separation and Allie starts meeting a guy named Lon, but still she is rethinking her love for Noah. Allie decides to see Noah one last time but is it really a last time or the discovery to their future? They remember the beautiful summer they had spent together simply looking into the oceans in their eyes, the romance unexpectedly returns, the feelings fuelled up and the desires burning in their hearts.

Despite all this will true love find its way or will the boat of love sink into the deep oceans of obstacles? Will they take their relationship to marriage and if they do will their married life be a happily ever after?

The answer to all these questions will be found in “The Notebook”.

This book was gifted to me by a special person and I will forever be thankful to him for giving me the opportunity to rediscover true love through the medium of this novel. This novel instantly became my favourite by reading it just one time.

I believe in love and in destiny

I recommend this novel to all the lovely people reading this post.

My Durga Puja Diaries

Hey Friends,

In this blog, I will try to capture the emotions and the vibes of Durga Puja through my experiences.

Puja at Lucknow

I remember when I first fell in love with Durga Puja, it was in Lucknow in 2013, then as a kid, walking around the pandals, relishing delicious food and enjoying the vibe was a beautiful experience. I remember the lavish Pandals, I also got some Hannah Montana books from there. I remember watching the Dunuchi dance, feasting on the bhog food, watching Late Actress Sridevi live. It was an unforgettable experience.

Puja in Patiala

Yes, in Patiala, my hometown. I didn’t know that people celebrated Durga Puja in Patiala. Dad, me and mom we decided to explore where the Puja was happening. We got there and saw the small but beautiful pandal, we ate dosa there, yes you heard that right, Dosa. I enjoyed a lot.

The Puja at Gwalior

When I was at Gwalior during the Puja, I remember when the first time a draped a saree and looked at myself in the mirror, that time mom knew that her little girl had grown up. When we reached the pandal, I remember registering my name for singing, yes, I sang. It was a memorable experience.

South Delhi Puja

The Delhi experience was lit. I remember walking down the streets at midnight with family and we didn’t used to get tired, we used to inhale the positive, happy and festive vibe of the place. The streets were filled with aromatic delicacies and streets were hustling bustling with people. The Dhak sound was audible all over the pandals.

This year, we cannot celebrate Durga Puja in the streets but I’m sure every house is lit with Durga Puja memories, festivities, delicacies and the festival vibes.

Joy Ma Durga 🙏

Kadambini Ganguly

Dear Kadambini,

The phenomenal journey of your struggles against men, society, and of being India’s first female practicing Physician, was all very inspiring, courageous, and motivating. Born in Bengali society, in a time of 1800s where women were seen as objects of marriage, you dreamt of becoming an independent lady. You stood up for your passion, even when your family wasn’t convinced. You did not let your discouragement come in the way of your passion when you were deliberately failed in the exams by the professors.

You fought your way through the professors who believed that an unmarried woman in a medical profession along with men is unacceptable in society.
In a fight between such thoughts and societal pressures, you were a fighter, who courageously fought all the problems and did not give up on your dream/passion of becoming a Doctor.

Thank you Kadambini for reminding me that “If a woman is determined to do something, she will win and despite the societal pressures, she can stand above all like a shining star, guiding others behind her.

Reviving Indian Tourism post lockdown

Incredible India

One such beautiful country where every year 11 million ie more than 1 crore foreign tourists visit India, which is every year growing at a rate of 3.5%. In fact, the Tourism Industry contributes to 9% of India’s GDP but this amazing trajectory came to a sudden halt due to the pandemic, this has not just affected the economy but has left 12% of India’s population unemployed or jobless and this was the source of income for them to run their household but there is hope and that hope is YOU.

There are many simple ways in which you or anyone of us can make a difference and help in reviving the Tourism Industry.

First

Explore India

Every year, 5 crore Indians travel outside India ie. to a foreign country. Now, how about we explore our country first, did you know that each state in India is equivalent to a foreign country.

Gulmarg of Kashmir has more beautiful mountains than Switzerland, Meghalaya is known as the Scotland of the East, Radhanagar beach in Andaman is regarded as Asia’s best beach, Tulip Garden of Uttarakhand is bigger than the tulip garden of Amsterdam. So, before you explore the world, explore your own country.

Second

Stay at local Hotels, Palaces, and Homestays.

India is known for its rich history and culture and there are many such forts and palaces that are converted into a hotel which are usually run by locals or natives. There are many beautiful homestays in India, where you can explore its local food, culture, and language and an added plus in many homestays, there are no hosts, so you can get the entire house and kitchen for yourself in the new place maintaining 100% social distancing.

Well, as a travel blogger, most of our trips are already planned and we stay in a hotel but whenever I come across the opportunity to learn closely about the destination, I ensure I visit the local’s house. Sharing food, listening to their endless stories, learning their language is a unique experience and you get to know much about the place, in this manner, you also help them.

Third

Gorge on Local Food

It is a popular saying that goes like “If you want to know the culture of a place, explore its local cuisine”. Indian food is like Indian culture, extremely diverse and extravagant and food is not just limited to butter chicken, paneer makhanwala, and biryani. Every corner of India has invented its own food, Wazwan meal from Kashmir or Daal Baati Churma from Rajasthan, you will experience a difference.

So, bring out the desi foodie in you and visit local restaurants to gorge on local food just like them.

Fourth

Shop at local markets

Who doesn’t love shopping while traveling in India, but next time before shopping from the high-end brands, do visit local markets Souvenirs jewelry, clothes, handicrafts, the streets of India has everything to offer. Delhi’s Dilli Haat or Shillong’s Bara Bazar or Jaipur’s Bapu Bazaar, in every city or village of India, you’ll get something that is special to the place. Well, this provides an income and encouragement to the local art and artisans.

And in fact, I have experienced this myself. When I traveled to Jaipur, I visited the local craftsmen and discovered exquisite blue pottery. Every minute spent there was magical and learning about the explicit designing of the pottery and the hard work and history behind making them from the artisan itself was an enriching experience.

Fifth

Use Local Transport

Yellow taxi from Kolkata or cycle rickshaw from Lucknow, a boat ride from Varanasi, the houseboat of Kerala or Shikara from Kashmir, use local transport as much as possible. This is not just an enjoyable experience but a unique one too. And their one trip can feed them for a day.

Sixth

Teach the locals for free

While traveling you may come across many such experiences where you will have to spend your time rather than your money. When you travel to a new place, you definitely learn more but you can also teach them. Teach them about your place, your language, teach them how to expand their business or any new skill which may help them.

Few things are priceless and with the learnings drawn from, they will definitely contribute towards the Indian economy in the future if not in present.

And now I request all the local service providers, “Atithi Devo Bhava” which means the guest is God. Whenever a tourist travels to your destination, ensure that you make their experience so memorable that when they return to their place, they recommend your service, your destination to the people they know. Charge a few extra bucks if required but never compromise on quality.

Invest in India and it shall revive itself soon. ‘We’ people are the makers or breakers of a country and we have it in our hands to take India from a developing country to a developed one.

I hope you liked my writings. I would like to hear your thoughts on this too.

Love

❤

Quarantined

Hey everyone!

I was just lying down in my bed when I thought hmmm it’s been a long time since I’ve penned down something. So, here I am...

It was in the month of March when due to COVID -19, we all were quarantined at our respective places. I wasn’t different. The University came to a standstill and so did my MSTs. I was so bored at even the thought of a full month of quarantine but another wave of discontentment came along when I got to know that the lockdown had been increased.

The start is always difficult and in my case it was boring too. Our classes were scheduled online and assignments too. My mom started nagging me Mahima why are you being so lazy? Me – I’m not lazy I’m just chilled out.

Every day seemed boring. To get out of my boring days I decided to help my mom with cooking. It was not long when I started finding it interesting, I thought of cooking something and started watching YouTube videos. So far I had already tried baking a biscuit cake or making Maggi or making an omelet or making chapatis and I was doing well with it so I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at some serious cooking. The first thing I cooked was egg bhurji and let me tell you it wasn’t a disaster.

My newly found love for cooking grew stronger with every passing day. One day just like that something clicked me. That was making my own YouTube channel. Yes, I actually did that.

I cooked all things from easy to difficult.

Collage of the dishes prepared by me during lockdown.

Show some love here – https://youtu.be/9t03ebHNSek

Well, this cooking thing lasted for a month or two but after that, it ended. Now I had to find something different to do.

I decided to edit my CV and apply online for work from home internships. I started applying. I also enrolled myself in various online courses.

I also decided to read some of the novels which had been ignored for long at my bookshelf.

Some of these included…

The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks

Turtles all the way down by John Green

P.S. I love you by Cecelia Ahern

1984 by George Ornwell

The Great Gastsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I also watched a few shows on Netflix and the hotstar. I recently watched Stranger Things and Friends and am currently binge-watching How I met your mother.

Soon, I got used to staying at home and working on discovering my hidden self.

At night my family and I, we used to all sit together and share the things we had done all day. I also got to hear some of the most intriguing stories of my family and yes, I never knew I had such an interesting family. Dad also used to sing sometimes and I was like really you sing well dad!

It was all going well until we discovered that we had all gained weight. Oh my! look at my stomach, I frowned looking at the mirror. We knew we had to digest whatever we had relished with full madness and did someone tell us that gaining weight is easy but reducing that weight is difficult.

We all couldn’t agree on one thing so we decided on doing different things. Our area was a safe one and we hadn’t heard of any positive cases nearby so we could roam outside but we took full care. We wore masks and carried sanitizers. Mom decided to walk, dad decided on cycling and me, well i was being too lazy at first to workout, but when my friends and mom pushed me I decided to take the plunge. I decided to do push ups and squats. I also did skipping and sometimes went cycling with my dad. It seemed a bit hard at first but later it seemed fun. Did we loose weight? Well, just a few inches.

In the meantime, I also tried my hand at photography. Which let me tell you went on for a few days.

So to sum it all up, my quarantine was a nice time and maybe a break that we had long been desiring for.

So, this was my time spent during quarantine. Tell me yours in the comments section below. I’m excited

The journey so far…

Life is uncertain so why paint the sky as everyone does “blue”. Why can’t we paint it “pink”? Why can’t we paint it the way we want to paint it?

This is my story….

How did writing come to me…?
I didn’t like writing since childhood. Well this kind of surprises me as now I love writing so very much and it has become a part of me. Sometimes we just have to go ahead and try things out, we don’t obviously know that I’ll work out or not but if it does we fall in love with it and if it doesn’t work out, we gain experiences, which later we think it’s sometimes important. Right? Well, hey that’s not only the thing I like, but there are also many. But you know what I’m passionate about? It’s writing. I wish to write books someday soon. I started expressing myself through papers since I was in class 6. Much later in life, I learned about the concept of blogging from my best friend as she wrote blogs. I found it interesting and I was convinced of giving it a try. Well, maybe that’s why I’m here now.
The struggle

When I crossed my teens and reached my twenties, I felt a kind of surprisingly independent and confident, I don’t know what it was hormones I guess? I was over-equipped with thoughts like maybe I should write a book on my life. But I’m still living my life what if I tend to miss an interesting chapter?
I could never paint my sky the color I wanted to paint it with. It was always painted for me, my parents were the painters. I made mistakes in my life. But hey, not everyone’s life is flawless. Right? I trusted someone who didn’t trust me back, I couldn’t make many friends. I couldn’t party at night, I couldn’t go to any of the school trips my classmates went to. I witnessed some of the horrible fights between my parents. I started becoming isolated and started feeling lonely but I found my solace in “books” and in writing my heart out on a piece of paper.

Unfolding my heart

When you are at an actual workplace you realize a lot of things. When we top in our class we feel very proud we feel like we can now do anything it all seems easy. Now when we start working in an actual workplace, we realize that it is different. We feel a lot of pressure that’s because we have never left our home and been in this world. This life teaches you that when you start working in a workplace, a job you realize that here you are all alone and all you have got is your self-motivation and courage. When a month finished, my salary came it was 5000, I thought it as low. But then there were my people who encouraged me. This reminded me of the encouragement my dad gave me…My dad started working at the age of 19. His first salary was Rs 2500. I felt something touch my heart, it was motivation. Motivation to work hard, to achieve success, to face struggle. And at a point, you realize that it was the struggling years which made you who you are. I learned to be independent. I understood the value of being independent. It filled me with a different kind of confidence.

My Internship at Zirakpur

I did my internship at Travelopack, a travel agency at Zirakpur. It lasted for 6 months and I took a pg at Zirakpur.Did I tell you that I haven’t lived alone for such a long time? Well, more than me it was difficult for my parents. My father cried once while seeing me off at the bus stand. I tell you he’s adorable. I took an independent pg. I hired a tiffin service to solve the problem of food. I had to wake up daily at 6 am and go down to the shop to buy milk packets and after coming back to my room, I had to boil them over an induction. Then I had to prepare my breakfast. It was usually cereals with milk or bread with cheese. Then I had to get ready and rush to my workplace. As it was a change of routine for me, I also fell sick sometimes. But I still managed to work. My office timings were from 10 to 7.

The staff there was strict and there was a very quiet environment there, and I often got bored when I didn’t have much to do. I used to call clients and sell them packages. I also gained knowledge about many tourist destinations and made tour packages. In the first few months, I was struggling hard to fit. I used to often get scolded for not paying much attention to my work. However, some days were nice when I also got appreciated. I learned patience and I knew how it felt to step out from my comfort zone. Days went by and I finally bid farewell to Travelopack. I was confident at first, I whispered to myself I can do it! But then life gives you a reality check. The first 2 months were hell, like a living hell, but with encouragement from my friends, I tried pushing myself hard.

My French classes
I spent my first salary on my french classes. I decided to learn French as I wanted to learn it for a long time. I started by registering myself at Alliance Francaise at Chandigarh. I had registered myself at weekend batches at Alliance Francaise, Chandigarh. The timings were 1:30 to 4:35 on Saturdays and 9:30 to 12:35 on Sundays. I had to wake up early and catch a bus from Patiala to Chandigarh.

I thought it’ll be fun. I registered myself at the weekend batches of Alliance. When my marks came of A1. 1, I was disappointed as I had scored less than my peers when I told my dad about it he was calm and said it’s okay to scoreless when you try a thing for the first time. The teachers are great and they teach nicely. I made new friends and I’m having a great time there. …I have till now given many interviews, gone on internships and tried many new things and it has boosted my confidence and made me a woman out of a girl.

Little girls with dreams become women with vision.

I hope you loved reading it as much as I loved writing it. Tell me some of your memories of reaching 20s and your struggles.

Thank You

❤️

Living with 2 states

Hey there beautiful people reading this. Today I’ve got a very beautiful love story to tell you.

It goes like this…

Once upon a Time in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) an aspiring chef met a very beautiful housekeeping supervisor at a hotel. It was love at first sight for that man. The lady had long black hair, a very cute face brightened with a smile and she had a short height which made her appear more cute. The man was also very handsome he was tall, slim and had a whitish skin colour with red lips adding to his charm. He wore spectacles.

He desperately wanted to talk to that lady but he had a very quiet and reserved nature little did he know that the lady he was staring at loved men like him who had a reserved nature as she felt she was bubbly and talkative so reserved nature would compliment her.

Finally he saw her standing on a road with her friends, he gathered up his courage and asked the lady that he wanted to talk about something in private. She very suspiciously walked aside with that man almost against her wishes. The man proposed her directly for marriage. He said he liked her and that she could think of him and answer him according to her wish. The lady was furious in the first place she told the man, how can you just come over and ask this ? You are just 23 yrs old. You are still struggling with finding a job. The lady took a rikshaw and hurried home in anger.

Later after many futile attempts he finally managed to convince her and she soon reciprocated his love and agreed to marry him.

Now there was just a small issue. Marriage is not only love between two people, it is love between two families. In this case, it was a little complicated as it was not just two families but two communities as well. Yes! It was a love story which had a backdrop of two different communities. The lady was a Bengali and the man was a Punjabi. This was tough convincing both the families for marriage.

Boy’s family – couldn’t you find a tall, good looking Punjabi lady for yourself ? There are many Punjabi ladies waiting to marry you. What did you find in her ?

Girl’s family – couldn’t you find an intelligent, well settled Bengali man ? How will you adjust in a Punjabi family? You don’t even know how to make chappatis. I can find a decent Bengali well settled man for you.

After all this chaos, true love finally made its way to marriage. They were soon happily married. Her in laws taught her to make chappatis and other Punjabi delicacies patiently. They also supported her and helped her in completing her education.

An year passed and a baby girl was born where they resided in Patiala. They named it after much thinking the name which both the families could pronounce properly. After a few years they were settled and are currently professors in a government university.

It has been more than 20 years of them being together, they had their shares of fights, but their love overcame it. They had their shares of ups and downs but they always faced it together.

And this is my favourite love story ever no matter how many romantic novels I read. This love story made me believe in true love and that there are happily ever after marriages.

A marriage made in heaven

The name of their daughter is Mahima Dhillon.

Mom was a Gwalior born and Dad a Patiala born. Mom had only seen patiala in the map of Punjab. She didn’t know that she was destined to be a part of Punjab.

This was a fusion and an intercaste marriage between two entirely different communities. People often tell me that a movie could be made on your life. Just because I’m a fusion of 2 states.

However, I do have both traits of a Bengali and a Punjabi too.

I love eating roshogullah, but I’m also fond of kheer.

I love eating fish but I also like butter chicken.

I love the sweetness in Bengali language but I adore the swag in punjabi language too.

I love singing and I have a fondness for literature but I also love gidda and humming Punjabi songs.

I love Durga puja but I also worship gurus and celebrate Gurupurab.

I love being a part of two amazing communities.

Can I call myself a ‘Benjabi‘ ? (a term invented by me)

A fusion of two communities. People often ask me who are you ? A Punjabi or a Bengali ?

And then, I asked Dad this and he answered –

You represent the true spirit of Unity in diversity.

And to answering your question it doesn’t matter what community you belong to, you are always a human being first.

I loved hearing his words and they will forever be imprinted in my heart.

I hope you enjoyed reading a slice from my life as much as I enjoyed penning it down. I would love to hear your thoughts on my story in the comments section below. And for more stories stay updated.

Thank you!

❤️❤️❤️

The unexpected companion

Life has a way of unexpectedly pulling the rug from under your feet. Till it happened to me, I always thought that these are the kind of things that happen to other people. These are the kind of things that happen in Bollywood movies. These are the things that you read or hear about. It can never really happen to you.

Yet it did…

Can you recall the movie ‘ Jab we met’ or ‘DDLJ ‘, now remember the train scenes in both the movies. What was common, that the protagonists meet in a train and their friendship continues forever.

Now just imagine, what if something like that happens to you ? Well, a bit different from these movies but I met someone the same way.

Rewinding a few months from my life.

…………………

It was a bright day and I was traveling in a train from Delhi to Patiala with my mom & nani. They had their seats but my seat was in the next row. We had chair car seats as it was an evening journey. I sat down on my seat, I was happy because it was a window seat.

Soon a man, who seemed my age entered and sat beside me. He seemed like some rich man who seemed to call someone or the other almost continuously. I was reading a novel and I was definitely not liking the distraction. 😑😐

I wanted to give something to my mom at a few times and I had to tell him to pass that to her. He seemed happily obliged to serve. I thought hmmm I think he’s cool. 😂😅

You know sometimes it’s like you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t always readily like a person you meet but as time passes you realize his value and his uniqueness.

He finally got a chance to talk to me. We talked about almost everything ranging from our respective universities, our purpose of visiting both the cities, our DOBs and many more. He seemed talkative.

When we were close to reach Patiala, he very sarcastically told me that we have talked a lot but we still haven’t known our names. He told me his name with a formal handshake and I told my name by doing the same. 🤝

When we had reached and it was time for good byes I reached out to him and told him “it was nice meeting you”, he smiled and replied me the same. We waved each other and got off the train. I was smiling ‘he wasn’t that bad ‘. 😅

I hate goodbyes but little did I knew that it was just the beginning of a new story…

Soon, days passed and I was there busy in my work at the University. But suddenly something unexpected happened….

I got his message on my email address which had his cell number. It totally surprised me. If you had seen my expression, you would have been rolling in laughter. Then I remembered giving my email to him in the train. I saved his number in my phone and dropped a ‘hi’ through WhatsApp. 🗨️

A few more minutes and he replied’ hello’. So finally a stranger whom I had just met in train, a few days back had become a WhatsApp friend of mine. Weird naa ?? Wait there’s even more to come…

So, we chatted almost everyday. It felt good talking to him. We even called each other many times. 📞

Gradually, as a month passed, we discovered that we had become the best of friends.

We had the same thoughts ‘ I’m surprised at destiny, I never knew a partner on my train journey would become such a great friend of mine in a short time. ‘

Since, then we never stopped talking to each other. There was no looking back. It was fun.

So, this was my weirdo story.

Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Many unexpected turns take part in the road of life. Planning may miss out some exciting twists and turns. Don’t forget to Live laugh and love .

Our life is a train journey. Many people travel along with us as per their destination…but we get attached only with few co- passengers…not with the entire train passengers.

It happens with us all, somewhere, something unexpected happens and we’re left surprised. I was seeking a friend and I got one in the most unexpected way. 👫

Sometimes what you seek is seeking you.

Well, it was true for me… having experienced it, I can definitely vouch for that.

Like most bloggers, I too think in terms of blog- posts. Any event that occurs in my life immediately goes through an analysis as to whether it can be converted into an interesting blog post.

I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for taking out your time to read this post. I would love to hear your weird & unexpected stories too in the comments section.

And I’ll see you again with another story soon.

❤️

The Royal city Patiala

Hey friends,

Today I’m going to take you on a tour to Patiala. A city which has a lot to offer to every person who visits here. A city which needs to be explored.

Patiala, the city of kings 👑

The Tourism tagline for Punjab is ‘India begins here’ but for Patiala I would love to say ‘Royalitiy begins here’.

Patiala is a city in South eastern Punjab and North western India. Patiala is named after it’s founder Baba Ala Singh who founded Patiala state in 1763. There are 10 gates around the Royal city.

It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. It is one of the famous princely states of erstwhile Punjab.

It has a literacy rate of 75.3% which is decent. Patiala is a very clean and green city. It is pollution free and it’s air is fit for breathing. 🌲

Best time to visit Patiala is from October to February.

You’ll love Patiala for its rich culture. Historical monuments, Shopping hub. Patiala is one of the most safe and secure City for women in India.

This is where I was born, where my childhood memories have been created. This is where I’ve enjoyed the raindrops, the scorching sun and the chilling winters. 🤗

History of Patiala

Patiala is Punjab’s most well-known princely state. Its history, entwined with the lives of flamboyant rulers, has bequeathed it with a rich legacy of art and architecture.

Patiala was a part of Sirhind during the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal. Following the ascension of Aurangzeb as Emperor, Wazir Khan, the governor of Sirhind, bricked two of Guru Gobind Singh’s young sons alive. This caused widespread anger and disenchantment, leading to many battles between the Sikh and Mughal armies.

Sirhind was destroyed, and Baba Ala Singh carved out an independent principality. He laid the foundation of the Qila Mubarak in 1763, around which the town of Patiala, as we know it now, flourished. One of his descendants, Maharaja Narinder Singh gave the city some of its finest buildings, including the Moti Bagh Palace and the Sheesh Mahal.

Patiala’s most flamboyant ruler, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, said to be the first Indian to own an aeroplane, was an enthusiastic patron of sports, while his son, Yadavindra Singh, played an important role as Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes, agreeing as he did, along with 22 other rulers to accede to the Indian Union.

Long synonymous with peg measures and royal peccadilloes, this erstwhile state has in fact been culturally enriching, too. 🍺🥂

Culture

It bestowed Hindustani classical tradition with one of its most notable schools of music, the Patiala gharana, which produced the likes of Ustad Ali Bux and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan as its most celebrated exponents. 🎹

Well known for its many product-specific bazaars, it is a remarkable experience browsing through ones selling traditional crafts: juttis👠 (embroidered shoes), parandis (coloured braids) and nallas (silken drawstrings). Phulkari Punjab Govt Emporium supports the making of Phulkari an embroidery very famous in Patiala. 🌸🌼

NRIs often come to patiala for Phulkari shopping.

Patiala also has a long tradition of excellence in education and sports.

Mohindra College, one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in north India, was founded by Maharaja Mohinder Singh in the 1870s. Besides, the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports( NIS ), was established within the Moti Bagh Palace following Independence, and is said to be Asia’s largest sports institute. 🏇🎯🥇

Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, decided to come up with a school on the lines of his alma mater — Aitchison College, Lahore. On February 2, 1948, the foundation of Yadavindra Public School (YPS) was laid in Patiala. 📖

Tourist places to visit in Patiala 🚕

It’s magnificent forts and palaces, museums and places of worship, gardens and wildlife sanctuaries serve up a perfect melange of history,
Culture, art and craft.

Quila Mubarak
Sheesh Mahal
Moti Bagh Palace
Baradari Gardens
NIS
Kali Temple
Omax mall
Gurudwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib
Gurudwara Moti Bagh
Bir Bhundher Wildlife Santuary

Colleges in Patiala 🏛️

Punjabi University
Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law
Thapar College
Indira Gandhi National Open University

Additionally, the old bazaars of Patiala offer many a gourmet delight for foodies. Adalat Bazaar’s Sadhu Ram, Jaggi Sweets and Arjan Sweets, to name but a few. 🌯🍟

A major festival that is celebrated only in Patiala is Patiala Heritage Festival. It is an essential part of Patiala tourism itinerary. Saaras fair is also held in Sheesh Mahal which is a delight to visit.

The sad part is that not many are aware of this Royal city which is why I decided to write about it.

There’s a lot to be explored in Patiala. A city with a rich culture and heritage awaits you with open arms.

So, next time be sure to pack your bags for Patiala and be surprised. 🎒

Happy travelling

✌️