Visit to Numaish- 2017

Every year between 1st of January up until 15th of February, there is a very very large scale All India Industrial exhibition at Nampally Exhibition Grounds, Hyderabad. Most of the stalls put up at the exhibition are related to clothing and bedroom accessories, one can find a lot of other things- packed food, furniture/upholstery, electrical goods, plastic ware and some innovative tools. Apart from this, there are a whole bunch of games and of course- FOOD stalls!!!

People/merchants come from all across India to sell their goods. There are stalls from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa etc.

This year, I happened to visit the place twice- once on a Sunday and once on a weekday. Sundays are extremely crowded and best avoided. Also, heavy crowds arrive between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. On both days, I went to the grounds at about 2:30pm. At this time, the crowd density is low. Also, we have had beautiful weather this year in Hyderabad, so it was not too warm to walk about. Please bear in mind this is a large scale and expansive exhibition and demands a lot of walking around. So, please ensure that you wear very comfortable footwear. Another thing to bear in mind is to not visit using your own vehicle. There is no space to park your vehicles. I highly recommend using public transport (if auto rickshaws are to be used, be prepared to shell out about Rs.20-40 more than required). Using services like Uber and Ola would delay you considerably as the traffic in the area is quite bad as long as the exhibition runs.

The atmosphere is quite colourful and electric and gives you a feeling of being in a fair. My biggest purchases were dry fruits and nuts from Kashmir.

Sharing some glimpses of Numaish shared below. Enjoy!!

Sarees and Dress Material from Bengal

Lemonade Shop and Insect products stall

One of the numerous Cosmetics and Imitation Jewellery stalls

Ittar Fragrance Stall

Games and Rides seen at a distance (Giant Wheel)

One of the several chaat stalls

I had Pav Bhaji at Gokul Chaat Stall

Chocolate Fountain

One of the several Dry Fruit and Nut stalls

Colourful Clothes

Wooden and Clay Toys stall

Lungi Stall

I hope you can visit it in these last few days or definitely make a point to visit next year. You will not be disappointed!

P.S: I know this is not really a post related to travel but I just thought it is the most appropriate of the labels. You may disagree but this is my blog, my mind on paper ;)

Money For Nothing by P.G Wodehouse

I bought this book at the Blossom Book Store in Bangalore years back and never got around to reading it until July-2016. I read it partly during my commute to work and partly at home.

I started reading this book right after Innocent Erendira and Other Stories. After the depressing atmosphere of that book, I needed a strong dose of P.G. Wodehouse humour to bring me out of the gloom, and Money for Nothing really delivered.

The story is about a rich miser Lester Carmody who along with his acquaintances- Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly Molloy try to orchestrate a robbery of certain antiquities at Rudge Hall (owned by Lester Carmody) and cheat the insurers and make money. Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly in turn plan to rip Carmody off his insurance money. There are other characters at Rudge Hall- John and Hugo, Lester's nephews who are completely unaware of the grand scheme brewing. There is also Pat Wyvern, who is the lady love of John and a smart-ish dog Emily who is John's pet.

Hugo is a young man looking to set up a club in London but does not have the necessary funds for it and Carmody who is entrusted with Hugo's share until he is mature enough to handle his own affairs, refuses the money to Hugo and thinks of Hugo's best friend, Ronnie to be influencing him for the worst. John's pursuit of Pat and Hugo's pursuit of funds for his new business, unfolds the wretched scheme of Carmody et al in the most humourous manner possible.  In the end almost everyone is happy as expected.

The book really keeps one on tenterhooks right from the inception of the fraud, all the way to the end.  One really looks forward to turn the pages over and eagerly devour the story. The food descriptions in the book are not aplenty but whatever exists is sufficient to feed my appetite. This book is yet another gem by P.G. Wodehouse. It came to me especially at a time when I really needed a good laugh due to the stress I was undergoing at that moment.

On a scale of 5 , where 5 is excellent, I rate this book a 5.

My Goals for 2017

I have read in several places that people tend to stick to their personal life goals if they make it public, as people feel really accountable towards achieving them once it is public. While, I do not really always miss on achieving my goals, I must admit that sometimes they do take a back-seat due to other priorities, so much so that they are  completely forgotten. I usually make a mental note of my goals and never put them down on paper. This year I would like to see if it really works to publish my personal life goals and if I would achieve most of them. It also depends on whether people would actually read my blog and if my goals are going to interest others who might happen to bump in to my blog to make me feel accountable towards them. Well, I have decided to try nevertheless.

This year, all my goals are going to revolve around a common theme- Finishing unfinished business.

This would mean:

1. Finishing reading books that I stopped reading half way or those that I bought meaning to read but did not get around to. I have loads of these. I stopped reading some books as they were boring and some because I wanted to read them when the time and setting was perfect. With passing time, I have learnt that there is no perfect time for reading. Any time is perfect or a book makes any time perfect to read. I have already started working towards this goal. I have made a list of books which I must finish reading and I am really looking forward to finish reading and move on to newer books.

2. Finishing off my half done craft projects. I have started many art and craft projects in the past few years but have not been able to finish them either due to laziness or extreme "busy-ness".  I am determined to take them all to a conclusion in 2017. Again, I have made a list of these projects and based on my interest levels in each of them, have decided which ones to finish first. I will try to post these on the blog once done.

3. Finishing trying out cooking the huge number of recipes that I keep marking to myself favourites to read and try later. However, I have not even looked back once to see what I have marked. I kept waiting for an occasion to try those out. Again, with experience, I have learnt that I do not have to wait for an occasion (what if they turn out to be disastrous- it would make the "occasion" very painful) to try these.

4. Finishing off writing in the journal I am currently writing in. I try and write as and when I find the time. I just need to make it a habit to write very regularly. My friends who had started journalling at about the same time as me have moved on to their 3rd or 4th journal while I am still writing in my first. Mind you, my handwriting is much tinier than theirs- still...I do not want to be so far behind even if it is not a competition.

5. Taking care of myself. This is an ongoing thing for every one. However, I specifically mention this here as I have stopped taking care of myself the way I used to once up on a time. This is partly due to laziness, boredom and work related priorities. I used to run 5km in 30 mins and walk 10000 steps every day for some time. However, I stopped tracking them and completely or just got too busy to take care of my health and this should be a priority for everyone. I also started consuming some unhealthy food which makes me too lethargic to do anything. I have also stopped looking well groomed. In addition, I need to focus on a good work-life balance. I really need to take care of myself in 2017!

6. Regularly updating this blog. I have several half-written posts or posts in draft which I need to review and publish. However, due to the want of time or sheer laziness, I have not published them. So, this year, do not be surprised if you see a flurry of posts on a given day. You know what may have happened ;).

7. Miscellaneous personal projects- I wish I could be more elaborate about this but due to their very personal nature I am not revealing them here. However, these are extremely important and probably more important than any of the above mentioned goals. Some of them are about travelling :). I would write about them once I accomplish them as then it would not be this anymore.

I have a whole bunch of professional goals as well but I know we tend to meet them or at least work on them. I would love to hear from others on their goals. This is it from me for now :).