Laveena recently had a short break for Ganesh Chaturti. It is a Hindu festival, celebrated in honour of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha. Given the auspiciousness of the holiday, Laveena was keen to travel to Varanasi, regarded as one of the seven holy cities of Hindus. The Sapta Puri are seven holy pilgrimage centres in India. While Varanasi also known as Benares or Kashi is one of the seven, the others are Mathura, Haridwar, Ayodhya, Kanchipuram, Dwarka and Ujjain.
I have been a member of the Taj Innercircle programme (http://tap.tajhotels.com/reward-programmes/taj-advantage-plus/taplogin.html) since the past decade and every year, Laveena and I make it a point to cash in with our free night stay coupon…
‘Vita Pulchra Est’ is Latin for ‘Life is Beautiful’ and our recent stay at the Oberoi RajVilas reaffirmed the aphorism. Laveena and I visited the royal resort, built in a traditional Rajasthani fort style, last month, and fell instantly in love with what the grand property had on offer.
For the Dussehra (Indian festival which signifies the victory of good over evil in hindu mythology) holiday break, Laveena and I travelled to Hyderabad, a city over 400 years old and rich in it’s history and culture.
Laveena and I were recently invited to dinner by a very dear couple friend Romil and Aneesha Ratra. Romil is the group director-hospitality at the Phoenix Mills Ltd, a title this suave and debonair young man carries with immense aplomb. His lovely and elegant wife Aneesha is a gifted and talented writer, is ever so charming and an absolute pleasure for company.