Wagentine forever..

Along with all other lovely invitations sitting pretty in my inbox for this valentine, there was this  special one, and I decided that instance that my valentine this year is going to be that extra special.
So here I was all excited and dressed up for my Valentine eve celebrations. I reached my venue all with anticipation and enthusiasm.
Here I got a first glimpse of my valentines, they looked so cute, all on their four paws and little wagging tails , licking me lovingly.
So much warmth and unconditional love- all thanks to Blue cross, PALs and Prani project. For organizing this Dog walk on valentines eve- Wagentine.
The walk was organized in protest for poisoning of stray dogs and to spread the message of stray dog adoption and sterilization.
Killing stray dogs is not only inhuman but of no use, it doesn't stop breeding of new dogs, infact killing stray dogs invites problem that you may have never thought about, like new dogs from neighboring areas take the territories, dog fights, bites increase due to it.
sterilization is the solution for growing number of stray dogs and other problems arising out of this.
For assistance in sterilization of dogs in your area, one can call- 9689928688 / 9552607173 / 9373321134 / 9226108504 (Pune)

Adopt stray puppies, dogs, you will give them a home and love that they deserve
pros for the same-
you don't have to buy them.
they are low maintenance than the pedigree ones.
they are more loving and smarter than the pedigree ones.
They are better guard dogs than most of the pedigree breeds.
All the above are facts which are proved.
Buildings should adopt atleast one stray dog to complement the security as well as give them home.
(I have adopted two stray dogs and they have filled our life with love in every possible way, I can vouch for it.)

She is Naughty-- extremely possessive, loving, loyal and ferocious, I forgot to mention pampered brat.

This handsome dude is Blacky- street smart, ferocious, enthusiastic, very loving.

Tell me can their be a better valentine, than helping these cute ones, who shower us with their unconditional love.

The walk was organized from Alka talkies to FC college

for a cause

My wagentine

I request you all to please do your bit for the cause in whatever way you can.

You can get more information over here -

Blue Cross Pune

PALs - Pune Animal Lovers

Prani Project

Give a home to these loving creatures and see the way they make your life magical.

xoxo

Bhakti

Adlabs Imagica - Magical or Miragical

Today Adlabs Imagica doesn't need an introduction due to its fame and name (good or bad). Still, I would like to introduce Adlabs Imagica an international standard Theme park located amidst the Mubai - Pune express way at Khopoli. Owned and operated by Adlabs Entertainment Limited - AEL.

Its a beautifully designed Theme park on the module of international ones, divided in different zones, each zone having its star attraction ride. The castles, the surrounding, restaurants serving you different cuisines according to the zones, beautiful landscaping.

The star attractions being (not to be missed, in the same order)
Rajasaurus ride
Nitro roller coaster
scream machine
deep space
Gold rush express
Bump it Boats
Dare Drop
Alibaba aur challis chor
Salimgarh
Wrath of the Gods.
 You can avail more information about these rides over here

The food though slightly on the higher side is yummy, I especially look forward to visiting Red Bonnet Diner
True diner experience, the food is awesome and the portions huge, the smileys, the chicken burger,, oh to die for.. they complete the whole theme park experience.

Its a perfect picnic one can have for an entire day, at the price of Rs 1500 pp, (weekday)for entrance only(all rides included). One takes an entire day to finish all rides and explore this place.

Do visit their attractive Website to know more.

They claim and pride themselves with being -India's First and Only International Standard Theme Park, Where Stories Come Alive! Come Experience it! (that's what their tagline is)

Have they proved it?
Is it real magic or is it a mirage a trick ?
Does beautiful architecture, really good rides and well designed theme park suffice the criteria of being on International standards ? Do these things really complete the experience?
My answer is a big NO.
According to me service, relationship with your guests and giving them a beautiful experience, is what makes it magical. I think Imagica fails miserably on service. It is so not consistent. After being a regular visitor, thinking of things to be one off, I have come up with this review, and refuse to visit Imagica again.
Mistake happens once not every time , a mistake repeated becomes a habit. I guess Imagica is habituated with bad service and customer relationship.
After visiting Imagica thrice, I still have not been successful in trying the Rajasaurus ride which is the main attraction. The last two times we had called specifically to ask whether it was working that day, with an assurance of it being in perfect condition but to our disappointment on all 3 occasions it was shut. A big disappointment. Every time at least one or the other main rides I have mentioned was not in working condition. This last time, (yesterday) us group of friends hired the Imagica chauffer driven ac car, so that we could lazily bask in the entire day without any worries. Again to our big disappointment, this was our biggest mistake. Two Taveras arrive, the cars were far from being ac. They dint have window handles, the door couldn't be opened from inside, the driver was really rash, there was no diesel in the car. The driver didn't have any money and we had to pay for the toll. The car broke down and we had to push it. All this with females in the car. When we escalated the matter and got this to the notice of the concerned people at Imagica, we did not receive the assistance required. We had called the cabs at 10 am and entered Imagica at 2 pm from Pune. The officer in charge refused bluntly to escalate the matter to his superiors. To top it all, the vendor called us way past night and started arguing with us that why had we complained to Imagica and Imagica had notified him that we had lodged a complaint against him. We were promised that a so and so senior official will be calling us, indeed, you guessed it right, the promise was never fulfilled. The wait is still not over and we haven't received any call. I doubt whether this officer was really informed also.Adlabs being such a big brand, such a big name, is this the service one should expect. I don't think they need to be taught in customer relationship, then why this lapse, isn't this sheer negligence ?
My questions remain or should I say they are answered already..
International standards... are these now ?
Magic, is it really ?

Am I going there again.... That I think requires real magic now.. huh

A sad management of a property that can be really very huge and magical.

A mis management of valuable resources, I hope the higher authorities are listening.

A failure of a Potential Indian Universal or Disney world.

Adlabs- a brand, a name with fame, does it match the service being offered ?

xoxo
Bhakti


 

DIY -- Mobile Bird Charm -- Sparrow Sorrow

 

One evening I was just sitting in my balcony, everything was right, a bit of light breeze, green plants, monsoon blooms, tinkling of the wind chime. I was enjoying myself relaxing, but something  was missing. That something was the chirping of little sparrows. Those tiny pretty things flying in and out of the house, sitting in the balcony. Growing up on the stories of sparrows, feeding them, being fascinated with them, watching them dance in the courtyard. I can never forget those pretty eyes and those tiny active, cute birds.

 

 It really saddens me that they no longer visit me or the neighbourhoods. It's true, sparrows have declined and are disappearing slowly. Reason being our lifestyle. It's strange how we compromise on the things we have to welcome new changes and new ways of life. It's very disheartening that we do not bother and many of us even fail to observe the absence of such a pretty tiny creature.

 

So wont we try to do something at least. To bring the sparrow tales and the pretty creatures back. To teach children to share their food with them the way we were taught in our childhood (the joys).

Just sitting their in the balcony the absence of this innocent creature made my heart ache with the desire to see it again living in harmony with us. I will try, I won't give up. A sparrow will be back in my balcony to share my food, to dance to the tunes of nature. I will once again be mesmerised by its beauty.

 I will try and I will do.

 

Some Facts:

Reasons for decline:

 

Rapid urbanization

Extensive use of pesticides.

Lack of food and nesting sites.

Lack of insects.

Pollution.

Decline in native habitat and trees.

These are some of the factors.

 

 

Small things we can do from our end:

 

Keep bird feeders, water, in your balcony, terrace, window.

Small nest boxes.

 

Do take a look at these sites to offer a helping hand in a small but significant way.

Greenosai

natureforever

indiatogether

 

 

 

Till the sparrows come back to my balcony, I cannot just leave it vacant.

So I made myself my very own mobile colorful bird charm by recycling worn table mats.

Have a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't it pretty?

 

My very own bright birds fluttering in the wind.

 

If this is the effect of makeshift ones, the real sparrows and birds are magical. Lets value them and bring them back to our home, their home .

 

Happy weekend!

 

xoxo

Bhakti 

 

 

 

Read India - Book in every childs hand

On a regular morning there was this email sitting cozily in my inbox titled 'The Idea Caravan' contest from indibloggers as a result of their partnership with-
Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012.
for a very important cause- brilliant ideas painting a beautiful tomorrow.
This hooked me to my computer for a long time watching contestants and their ideas. The actions which were taken to bring in a change.

Ideas are the gateway to the future, umpteen possibilities, to an interesting, unimagined otherwise, beautiful and better life.

Although I was greatly inspired and admired all the other contestants, the ideology of one  
Rohini Nilekani truly resonated through me.
Rohini Nilekani is a founder and chairperson of Pratham books ( a non profit publishing house) with a motto of a book in every child's hand.

India being a country with a huge population where literacy campaigns are gaining strength due to low literacy owing to poor economic conditions in different strata's of society.
Literacy campaigns will be successful when children don't drop out of school due to lack of interest or not being able to read and therefore cant learn.
This will only develop through interesting reading material which will captivate a young readers mind motivating him/her to learn to read fluently.
People like Rohini have realized this and are acting towards the same through the Read India Movement.
There is a dearth of books available for such a vast population of children in India in so many languages. Pratham Books is working towards this.
Pratham Books has published 215 titles in English and 10 other Indian languages approximately 1500 books. Having printed over 8.5 million books, 10 million story cards and a readership of over 25 million. Most of their books are priced well below Rs 25 and hence are easy on the pocket. The books are available easily in villages and rural areas through partnering with different means and agencies, government, schools and innovative marketing. They have also got  books on creative commons, which can be read, shared, distributed, printed, saved hence helping children to read even in the areas having no access. They believe in creative collaboration and hence believe that every one can be a part of a solution and not a problem. With this mindset they invite everybody to create, retell, recreate, remix more stories on their site and help the children to read. Their vision is to reach 200 million children in India, to put 'a book in every child's hand' and believe this is possible with collaboration.

Every child has the right to that sparkle in the eye on seeing a new story book. Every child has the right to cuddle up with a book and be lost in the fantasy land. To dream, to let their imagination fly.
Every child has a right to a treasure house of memories. The joy of reading a story and its memory is sustained with one throughout the life. Living through the characters, fighting the villain, being the hero in our own fantasy land through our favorite book does make one of the most important part of childhood.
Lets do our bit in upholding this cause with Rohini and protect the childhood and its memories.
Lets give wings to little ideas and imagination which will build a beautiful future.




To know more visit on the link below ---

Rohini Nilekani http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BHqFGA78sEU

Pratham Books http://www.prathambooks.org/ We are the change, we are the solution. xoxo Bhakti