tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18771218395607507942024-02-18T19:18:14.673-08:00As life unfoldsPallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-4460383529186284722013-07-22T02:19:00.000-07:002013-07-22T02:19:00.972-07:00LATIN QUARTERS- Superb Collection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV50o_3ZvtohyphenhyphenvFht-41wOasaflxvEvRZvH7D9nId9PAcvdWQg9JYx9sRRjM1gw-MZBF9Dw0JR-TT-JpYQeF1dF7a8GLqvWopwSfbBGnrOlYK-HcXtVUmuNtpPY94RVXR8T2GUrvP_HBI/s1600/4123_1_Latin%2520Quarters%2520Mumbai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bba="true" border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfV50o_3ZvtohyphenhyphenvFht-41wOasaflxvEvRZvH7D9nId9PAcvdWQg9JYx9sRRjM1gw-MZBF9Dw0JR-TT-JpYQeF1dF7a8GLqvWopwSfbBGnrOlYK-HcXtVUmuNtpPY94RVXR8T2GUrvP_HBI/s320/4123_1_Latin%2520Quarters%2520Mumbai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red;"><strong><a name='more'></a>LATIN QUARTERS- Superb Collection</strong></span></div>
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The only reason I can happily go out of the house in this wet weather despite the bad roads is SALE. There’s something magical about this word which releases all the happy hormones in any women’s body worth her newly acquired Zara Pants. As I hop one shop after another and each one alluring me with it’s up to 50% SALE I realize it’s difficult to do justice to all the shops at one go.<br />
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Now days I don’t have the luxury of trying a dress five times before buying it since the baby waits for me back home. In a way that’s a blessing because I try whatever I am sure to buy and before going for shopping I make a list of what I actually want Vs what I like impromptu.<br />
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This season one shop I particularly liked and was spoilt for choices was Latin Quarters. LQ specializes in lace work it seems and they have beautifully incorporated that on their t-shirts, blouses, formal shirts and dresses. Apart from the lace work their color combination and designs on satin are truly worth every penny. I received rave reviews on all my collections of Latin Quarters. Very rarely I come across combination of such unique collection in season of SALE. I have already done two trips to Latin Quartes shop and their fresh addition every week only adds to the excitement. With a 50% discount, value buying can’t get better than this.<br />
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Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-12641673959067378872010-01-28T23:25:00.000-08:002010-01-28T23:33:44.343-08:00My moment of being a Celebrity, all thanks to Mumbai Mirror:-)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjro6oMJOtO1pkCwad8lYCkjuLl5IFRCfipAfGNkkuXeWoBs1tMy5yMpwg8bi4RKZ25OYtJ8orodzflDpN4sgZGuDXM5TH8jXQa-JYee0xoc01_oeydE_ZeXH6b-5QCU4nyzx3v36n2VBae/s1600-h/scan0052+(7).gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 144px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjro6oMJOtO1pkCwad8lYCkjuLl5IFRCfipAfGNkkuXeWoBs1tMy5yMpwg8bi4RKZ25OYtJ8orodzflDpN4sgZGuDXM5TH8jXQa-JYee0xoc01_oeydE_ZeXH6b-5QCU4nyzx3v36n2VBae/s320/scan0052+(7).gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432059852170654338" /></a><br /><br /><br />Wishes do come true afterall in the form of small fishes:-)Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-69539187059652412862010-01-05T03:16:00.000-08:002010-01-05T03:19:25.820-08:00First job interviewLast evening my brother came to me for guidance regarding his first job interview. His excitement was palpable. He has bought a new shirt,tie,trouser and was eagerly looking forward to the interview. <br />Thats when it struck to me how I was almost 7 years back. What it felt like to appear for your first job interview, having that feeling that now you have grown up finally, you can face the world and bag a job. As years passed by I forgot that excitement, in my daily grind life became monotonous and suddenly when I saw my brother's preparation for his interview I realized over a period of time we all become so boring! If one has to experience newness in life than instead of finding something new outside one has to renew one's spirit than we all can relive our childhood/youth. Its not about an interview, any task that we undertake if we look forward to it with enthusiasm somewhere we can rediscover our self.Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-36901052444896515272010-01-04T01:55:00.000-08:002010-01-04T02:48:23.207-08:003 idiots<span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ff6666;">After the latest controversy involving Chetan Bhagat and the movie 3 idiots I decided to watch the movie. I am a big fan of Chetan Bhagat, Raju Hirani and Amir Khan so it was all the more exciting to see the triumvirate work piece. As expected it is a poignant movie and I throughly enjoyed it. However I noticed that Chetan Bhagat's name was not mentioned anywhere in the initial credit. The movie is not a copy of the book and all credit goes to Hirani for giving exciting twist to the story but one can clearly see that broadly the plot is from Five Point Someone. In fact the main characters of the movie are from the book. After watching the first half I was wondering what is the controversy all about. its out and out Chetan Bhagat novel. In the second half its Hirani's work.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ff6666;">It pained me to see that a book which has almost become like a bible for youth has not being given due credit. In foreign films acknowledgement is given to books as "original adaptation" but in India we always see these controversies surrounding "inspired" films. There is no shame if one is inspired by a book, infact its a brilliant attempt to make a movie on one but denying the same is shameful. Both Hirani and Bhagat are icons and they dont need any publicity so this fight over credit leaves a bad taste in mouth.Five point Someone is already a famous book so Bhagat dosent have to cry foul to get attention. probably he should have cleared the terms right at the begining.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ff6666;">With the recent developments of Musicians regarding their royalty against the recording companies I hope our entertainment industry becomes more liberal. in future we can see many beautiful movies inspired by books only when we respect creativity. I am all for Chetan Bhagat and I wish he gets his share of credit.</span>Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-39220356917826563642009-09-18T23:34:00.000-07:002009-09-18T23:37:33.236-07:00No identityThe counting is 25 in half an hour!! My new way of killing time sitting in my car or bus is to count the number of cars on road whose steel embossed brand plates are missing!! It is weird but the alarming rate at which these plates are missing looks contemptuous. Cars are a prized possession for many of us and we look after it quite painstakingly so my heart goes out to see the logo missing from a sleek Honda Civic or a Toyota Camri. I wonder how much those thugs fetch by selling these plates, it takes the sheen out of a car worth lakhs. There must be a thriving secondary market for these plates.<br />Its not easy to punish these thugs who would steal the plates when a car is parked in a mall or open space. One solution would be to catch hold of people who are buying these plates and punish them thereby destroying the market for these.<br />If you also know about this than tell me how it can be stopped or any other information that you might like to share on this. If we don’t take up this matter immediately, very soon we will end up having cars with no logos!!Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-35597925676710860462009-06-04T23:38:00.000-07:002009-06-04T23:39:56.405-07:00Get out of the Loop.It says Get into the Loop. Rightly so, because once you get into the loop, you are doomed. Am talking about Loop Mobile erstwhile BPL Mobile. Few months back they changed to Loop Mobile as if this would make any difference to the pathetic service they were providing. I have lost counts of numerous times when in the middle of the conversation the network will go off. Imagine you closing a important deal with a client and suddenly the network decides to go off when others around you using vodafone,airtel,idea….continues to talk. After that when you decide to reconnect, try doing that at least 5 times before getting connected, their helpline is anything but helpful (that is finally if you manage to get connected). It seems they are upgrading their services( for the past two years!! ) and thus the difficulty. In fact its high time Loop should mention the places where the network is uninterrupted. Following would be excluded<br />1) In the lift<br />2) In the train<br />3) In your house(even when other networks are connecting perfectly fine)<br />4) Specially when you are in the middle of an important conversationJ<br /><br />I happened to take their service 6 years back, all thanks to my then boyfriend for BPL to BPL free call!! That time I didn’t realize that in future there would not be any call only from this network. Presently my mobile number of 6 years is used in my professional life and social circle so the cost of changing the number is huge. I am sure people who still have their number face the same dilemma and not changing it.<br /><br />As a customer I feel frustrated and cheated for their services and repeated complaints haven’t helped . The only ray of hope is Mobile Number Portability. Once that is launched I will be the first person to change my service provider and I know at least 15 people who will do the same. That will be too late for Loop also to get back its core subscribers and most importantly a good lesson for all subscribers to know that Customer is the King.Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-49739780418426464872009-06-02T05:03:00.000-07:002009-06-02T05:04:47.711-07:00Taare Zamin par.This March, courtesy my husband, I got the chance of seeing some stars!! Stars of Bollywood. At the eleventh hour we got two passes for Filmfare award ceremony. I was excited. Not that am crazy about these actors but the fact that I can see how they perform and how do they actually look like in person was exciting enough. Since we got these passes quite late so we had no time to actually dress up formally for the occasion. Moreover I was in office and he was at home so we decided to meet at a common place wherein he carried some formal attire for me and I changed in the washroom of a shopping complex!!<br /><br />Finally we reached the Yash Raj Studio and I understood for the first time what it is like to be famous!! Cameras chasing all the actors, singers, directors and they candidly giving interviews. The performances were awesome..,,Shahid Kapor stole the show. I also saw the first family of Bollywood. Bacchans. All these years I have always said that Aishwarya is plastic and she dosent look real and so on and so forth. I humbly take back my words. She is absolutely gorgeous and as real as anybody else. I also saw Rekha who is a timeless beauty. Infact it was quite a dazzling effect seeing Deepika,Asin, Konkana, Kangana ,Tabu,Sushmita all together. They all looked so elegant dressed in the best of gowns. I saw this side of Mumbai for the first time and it was quite a heady feeling. No wonder these actors put fame above money and power because they are treated like demi gods in our country.<br /><br />I could also see the preparation behind organizing such a mega show. Each and every detail was taken care of and this being a live show, not even once were there any interruptions. Handling these stars and taking care of their ego when all of them are together is quite a task for the event managers as well. It was pleasure seeing the stalwarts of Indian Film industry right from Yash Raj to Amitabh Bacchan to A.R Rehman. They are entertainers in true sense. To think of how much they have achieved with their hard work and dedication never ceases to inspire me. I am looking forward for the next filmfare and inshallah I should get the passes on time:-)<br /><br />.Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-50500732021702648542009-06-02T00:09:00.001-07:002009-06-02T00:14:23.557-07:00That Jamun Tree....The other day my husband brought kala jamun (Indian blackberry fruit) ,not to be confused with the mithai version . It brought with it so many childhood memories. In the hustle bustle of this City I had almost forgotten this fruit. I remember as a kid I used to visit my grandparents’ house in village during summers and Kalajamun is the fruit of summers. There was this huge tree near the pond at the backyard of our ancestral house. Jamun trees are bigger than mango trees and very leafy. This tree would provide shade to passers by on the narrow lane across the boundary of our house.<br />Like other kids I would also not sleep in the afternoon. Now every time I smother myself with sunscreen even before going out for 10minutes, I wonder what fun was there in the scorching sun outside when I was a kid!! Afternoons would be silent in villages with people mostly enjoying their afternoon siesta at home and I would somehow sneak out of the house to go near the Jamun tree. There would be gentle breeze with the occasional rustling of the leaves. I would stand beneath the tree and wait for one jamun to fall on my lap. Quietly and patiently I would wait for the Jamuns to fall and each time I pick up one, it would be like an achievement!! It was an achievement considering half of them would fall in the pond and the other half on the road across the boundary. I would also wait for the birds to come reason being as the birds would peck on the fruit, it would fall down. Later on, after having collected a sizable number of jamuns I would relish them on the roof with rock salt. Divine.<br />As I used to stand all alone near the tree I would observe the pond, small fishes in the shallow water, birds loitering around water body and a kingfisher taking a perfect catch of a fish. That time I never realized how precious those moments were. As a child I would watch all these events totally mesmerized. Sometimes I would see water snakes also, which are harmless, resting near the pond. It was as if that was my “ME” time with the nature around. Disturbing this silence would be calls of hawkers selling sweets, bangles, saris and pickles walking on the road. That reminds me of the sweet mango pickle in every household which would be kept out in the sun. That still is my personal favorite and my Grandma would wonder how come some part of it was reduced during noonJ Am sure she knew it was me. The same ritual I would do early morning also. Since nobody would be around I would go near the Jamun tree and that time there would be so many birds chirping around. It used to be a delightful sight with early morning rays.<br /> Today these jamuns brought back all those days. I wonder how many children these days get to spend so much time near the nature or for that matter how many have actually seen a full grown Jamun tree. Today I don’t know how it is to enjoy a sunny afternoon, which was so much a part of my upbringing. I don’t have time to listen to birds singing or appreciate the early morning sunrays. Today it seems as if I am talking of something of distant past. Times have changed. That Jamun tree has given way to a concrete house now. Its there only in my memory. I am happy, courtesy that tree I could observe nature so closely. Today these fruits again connected me to some lost part, which I had long forgotten. It reminded me to again appreciate the small joys in life. Most importantly it taught me to care for my environment for the next generation so that years down the line someone else can share his or her ”jamun tree” experience.Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-4714547158774327642008-12-01T02:25:00.000-08:002008-12-01T02:28:10.888-08:00We can,We willMuch has been written about the terror attacks on Mumbai and how the politicians have left no stone unturned to further their own cause in midst of this crisis. And we are to be blamed for this state of affairs because we have allowed them to do so, after all not many can drive away the CM from his house calling him a dog!! After every bomb blast it looks like a series of events. The blast, than pain, than astonishment, the anger, condolance, politicizing the event, debates and finally no solution. Again we get back to our daily life for the next “wake up call”. Apart from the loss of human lives and financial loss what these attacks have done on a more grass root level is penetration of terror and trauma in each one of our lives. I don’t know about others but I had difficulty coming to terms with this attack. Every time I was alone at home, I was scared. Everytime I have stepped out of my house I was scared. Where are we safe now? Like many others I salute the spirit of Mumbai and I am also a part contributing to that spirit however let me make one point very clear. Just because I stepped out of my house to earn my livelihood after the fateful day doesn’t mean I need any less of security or I am any less scared of a bomb blast. Its high time the Government stops hiding its inefficiency in the name of “Spirit of Mumbai People”. Mumbai’s contribution to India’s GDP is highest and we certainly deserve to be treated much better.<br /><br />The soft approach of our govt towards the terrorists or the resignation of a politician when there is nothing left has not changed anything in past nor will it change anything in future. As is rightly said if you put the same strategy and effort every time you cannot expect a different result. So its high time the Govt DO something just like it does to close dance bars, prohibit actors from smoking onscreen, change the names of cities, stations, roads, Objecting words in songs etc etc etc which is no way remotely connected to our security. We as citizens who have elected these leaders deserve protection. These politicians are our representatives so that they can serve us and they have to be reminded time and again that they are there to serve us and not rule us. At any given time the security of the nation is far more important than a politician’s Z-security. If they cant protect their own people they have no right wasting our money on them.<br /><br />Lets see from where can we start to make a change. Terrorism is global today so we have to have NSG type forces in each and every state. Now its not only the land borders but the sea also have to be protected and monitored. Lets face it our Intelligence Bureau is weak. If the commercial capital is hold ransom for 3 days and the Army has to be called than IB is anything but functional. Proper training should be imparted to them and decision-making should be made more decentralized.<br />The entire blame games of inter state police sharing information should be immediately stopped. This ping-pong game of who gave the information first is not helping anyone and that’s why accountability has to be there. One way is to track the flow of information and make sure it reaches its right destination with both the sender and receiver officer being accountable for the same. Strict laws have to be implemented for possession of any illegal explosives. We have to be sure of all our check in points and make sure no unauthorized arms; ammunitions and explosives enter the country. If any explosive is seized priority should be given to know its origin. Until we go to the source its difficult to fight terrorism. Lets not forget in 1993 blasts we had our own people who turned traitors. Policemen should be equipped with better arms than just a lathi. Finally it’s upon each one of us to fight this together. As individuals we have to be vigilant. Every time these terrorists have surprised us by attacking a different target which means no place is “safe”, we all have to be alert. This also means the cooperation and promptness of police to act on information. If USA with its diversity and vast topography can fight terrorism so can we. Each one of us, our police force, our politicians have to make a promise to our conscience that we will not let this happen to us again. Our time, money, people, effort are too costly to be wasted on a bunch of misguided fools who take pride in massacres.Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877121839560750794.post-89039938273465738932008-09-25T08:35:00.000-07:002008-09-25T08:41:40.446-07:00High "Local" Spirits18 minutes left and still not a single autorikshaw in sight, will again be late today. Finally one rikshaw. Asked the driver to drive as fast as possible(when running late I assume my three-wheeler will take the speed of Formula1 car). Ran through mud, water, gutkha packets, plastic bags, left over food, slipped in between. Oh! by the way that was the station subway. Somehow managed to get the 7.51a.m Churchgate Fast Local on time. It was entering the platform. Am prepared!! Dupatta properly tied around my waist like a kisan, my purse held close to my chest, absolutely alarmed not to miss a nano second to jump and grab the rod of the door..2,3,1..Jump, take right,push ,window seat, yessssss…finally am inside the train and on my coveted seat as if that’s my only calling in life. Now I look around, the train is full even before I cud bat an eyelid. People who are yet to practice on their long jump are standing. All they have to do is stand strategically near the door and the wave of crowd will place them inside the train. That’s the way to alight the train also:-)Some trying to sit even on half an inch of seat, God knows what comfort they derive out of it except for the fact that they have a place to “sit” where 85% of their body mass is outside the seatJ, some are still fighting for the “fourth” seat meant for three people. In between all these some are reading novels, some newspapers, some prayer books and some are doing what they like to do the most…..gossiping, In a hours time you will know how Mrs. D’souza prefers to bath her dog, Mrs.Gupta settles her scores with her monster-in-law, how Priya changed her boyfriend for the nth time, how the new lady in the office is wooing her boss and how they hate to talk about others!! You must give credit to people who travel by local train in Mumbai for the sense of angle, space and endurance they have. There will be eight people standing in a row meant for four in an angle that they don’t push each other even if that means standing on one foot!! Then there are birthday celebrations, verbal cooking classes, discussions on Big Boss nomination, Sonia Gandhi’s sari collections and antaksharis. There is also brisk business going on for vendors selling kiwi green hair clips to Chinese made hot water bags. In midst of this chaos some people manage to sleep peacefully and they will get up exactly when their station comes!! The day starts like this for me.. and for thousands of other ladies in this city. Traveling in Mumbai locals is in itself an ordeal but when the train reaches Churchgate Station all you will get to see is through professionals who mean business, all charged up to face a new day, Ladies who have left behind their kids and a well managed home to give their best to their career. Their enthusiasm and energy level is contagious. Theres no time to stand and brood and complain. Only one mantra..lets get on with life. In the evening they again become mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends, daughters. They can discuss sub prime crisis with as much concern as they can discuss their “train-friends’” personal woes. That’s the spirit I love about this city. We have every reason to complain about how we waste two hours commuting one way every day in the least comfortable scenario but we bring back home smile and cheerful face for that home waiting. I cant help but salute these women for their courage to live life to the fullest. They are the real winners reporting victory every single day of their life. Way to go girls. Mum-baaies meri jaan!!Pallavi Ghoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05342414930744898547noreply@blogger.com1