It's cold. Very cold. I had thought of heading to Goa (Cliche. Tch.) with my friends or cousins or friends and cousins. But it's cold. Because I am home. And I am happy to be home. Not that being happy at home needs any reason, but I am particularly happy because I get to read all cozy in sweaters and blankets with a steaming cup of tea (Yes. Tea. Not Coffee. Without sugar.) and I get to take breaks to find my mom and kiss her on the cheek and see her frowning at me because I woke up late or for so many other possible reasons. But then she smiles because she knows how I am and I know how she is and because we both know how much we love having each other around.

I was always worried that my job will not give me a chance to read (for pleasure). But it does. And I thank God and all concerned parties for that. I have been reading. Definitely not as much as I would like to, but enough to not complain and just be happy. The same holds for this blog. I thought I will write about so much. But I haven't. But I want to. And I have been thinking. I have been thinking about bringing out something meaningful out of it. Because that will help me help others and that in turn is going to help me keep writing in this blog. So this is what I think...

I think writing about my experience with each book is not helping anyone. Not me, not you. Sometimes, though I may be in love with a book but I may not have post-worthy words for it. But that doesn't mean that book is to be left out right? And I am sure you guys have better sources of finding out which books to read than a book by book account in my blog. So here is what I will do now. I will share a list of books that I have loved reading and I will keep updating this list as and when I fall in love with more books. And may be, if you guys can post your suggestions of good books as well! Do you think it's a good idea?

I will begin.

(Each book name is linked to its page on goodreads.com for your reference) 

The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, And the Mountains Echoed

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Genre: Drama, Historical fiction

I love the way these novels bring out the various moral predicaments and conundrums an ordinary human being might face in his/her lifetime. Though I have always cried reading these books, I have always come out stronger. Through all three of them. 

The Wedding

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Genre: Fiction, Romance

Though I have read a lot of Nicholas Sparks and have loved most of his books,The Wedding  is one book I can’t get enough of. It’s a book which catches you off-guard, is romantic in the most practical of ways, leaves you in tears (as do almost all Nicholas Sparks novels) but most important of all, it caters to something almost all of us can connect to and seek help with.

Anything more I say and I would have ruined this amazing book for you. So I will shut up.

India after Gandhi

Author: Ramchandra Guha

Genre: Non-fiction, Indian history

This book is long and rightfully so. One should experience this book to get an objective and a comprehensive view of the history of this great country of ours. The detail is just enough to give you sufficient context on various events which have shaped India post-independence but at the same time leave you with a yearning to know more. It took me a good 3-4 months to finish this book but I am glad I did. And I keep referring to certain chapters again and again.

The chapter titled, “Why India survives” is one of my favorites.

Love story

Author: Erich Segal

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Tragedy

It’s the best love story I have read till date.

Master of the Game

Author: Sidney Sheldon

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

I have read of lot of thrillers by Sidney Sheldon but most of them never stuck.Master of the Game was a first. The characters have a strong foundation, are persevering and conniving and are endearing still. I love how this book is mind numbing-ly spooky one moment and sad the next.

Twenties Girl

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Genre: Fiction, Comedy, Chic lit, Romance

To tell you the truth, I found this novel really boring in the beginning and was just about to leave it mid-way when it took a surprising turn. I will not say much about this novel lest I spoil it for you but read this novel for some light, adventurous and a quirky read.

The Palace of Illusions

Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Genre: Speculative fiction, Indian mythology

This novel re-tells the story of Mahabharata, so the story is obviously spicy and juicy enough. What I love about the novel is how Chitra Banerjee so beautifully and perfectly brings out the intricacies of Draupadi’s mind. She definitely knows her women characters and even better, how to make her readers fall in love with them.

Rebecca

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Genre: Fiction, Classic, Mystery, Romance

Rebecca is one of those novels where there is nothing special about the lady in the book (who is also the voice and not Rebecca). I cannot say this book is a page turner but there is just something about this book... about the way it is written, about how you connect with the lady despite her desperate and sometimes spineless behavior, about the haunting beauty of Manderley.
(You will realize why I keep calling the lady, "lady" once you have read the book!)

Before I go to Sleep

Author: S. J. Watson

Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Oh! Its a page turner. The concept is similar to that of 50 first dates but the similarity ends there. Its nerve wrecking. Its mind numbing. You will literally be at the edge of your chair or your bed. Read this book and you will know memories, good or bad are good to have.

Those Pricey Thakur Girls

Author: Anuja Chauhan

Genre: Fiction, Romance, Comedy, Chic lit

Chic lit. But an Indian one. With a message. It was a first for me and I loved every bit of it. The characters have a spine, are fun and very romantic. Moms are super cool too!

Next post with 10 more books! 

History: Don't you just love thoughtful gifts? Gifts which describe you, speak to you and gifts which only belong to you?! Gifts such as a heartfelt letter or a card or something hand made? I for one love such gifts. I have never really been a fan of expensive gifts especially surprises. For I feel money is well spent only if it buys something to one's liking. But there are always exceptions! 

For sometimes someone gifts you something you would have never thought of buying for yourself (or ask someone else to buy it for you :P) It is these gifts which make you realize that surprises are not bad now are they?! 

My leather skirt was one such gift. Me being me, I was a little skeptical about it in the beginning but give me 4 months and I have finally come to love it. 

Top: Wills Lifestyle
Scarf: Forever 21
Skirt: Zara
Sandals: Soles
Clutch: Metro

 Why I love this outfit?: For starters it's something risky and a little unconventional (for my style at least) and yet so comfortable. Secondly, its just effortlessly stylish. All I had to do was pair up the skirt  with an office top and a scarf I have had since ages and I have an outfit I can wear to office, to a dinner date or an exclusive shopping day in a fancy mall :)

Oh, and you know another reason why I love this outfit? I just stumbled upon the very stylish Lisa Haydon and Neha Dhupia sporting the same skirt!! I think that seals it.

Lisa Hayden wearing the Zara Skirt
Photo Courtesy: Google Images

Neha Dhupia wearing the Zara Skirt
Photo Courtesy: Ndtv.com

 Keep it simple and stylish!

Friends are such a lovely thing to have especially when they love travelling. Not only do you get a good company but you can also entice them into writing a whole blog post for you! This is exactly what I did :D What follows is my friend, Prateek Gupta's list of recommendations for things one should be doing in Goa. I am going to do all these things when I next visit Goa, will you?

Traveling to Goa always feels like traveling home. There is this refreshingly calm and serene ambiance during the day and then there are nights when one would think all the party-loving  people have assembled in a 30-km radius space and are willing to mingle and party with anyone and everyone around.

A piece of advice you can hang on to: If you are a peace-loving person and looking to just relax in Goa, try renting an apartment instead of a hotel/resort. I lived in a 2 BHK furnished apartment in the quite ambiance of Vagator which turned out to be an amazing experience. You can search for apartments @ www.airbnb.com.

Having been to Goa 5 times now, I have discovered many places, big and small, where one is recommended to go. Some of them might already be listed elsewhere, some may not. But then, read along if you are just too lazy to go blog-hopping.

Before I even get to the places you must visit, here is one you mustn't: Tito’s ! It’s like a booby trap and it will keep sucking you towards itself while you are in Goa with advertisements on every wall you will encounter and the huge buzz outside on the Baga beach. If you haven’t been there, you’ll probably think it’s the most happening place ever and this is one place you must must go. And as soon as you go inside, you’ll realize it’s the most dingy and down-market club you have ever been to. And if you have been there before, you’ll know what I am talking about.

What follows is a heart-felt review of some of the best places in Goa:

Curlies, Anjuna Beach

This is probably my and most others’ most favorite place in Goa. Reason is very simple: There is just so much to do there. You will probably need at least 5-6 hours (or more) there to enjoy every bit or probably need 2-3 visits instead. There is this normal café which serves probably the most amazing Arabiata Pasta I have ever had. It also serves Hookah if that fancies you. Then there is this arena with small mattresses and minimal lighting made of small bulbs hanging almost at the same level as your head. This is where you can lie down, take a power nap and rejuvenate yourself or just keep talking to your friends for as long you can. For some weird reason, this place is reserved for couples. Then there is this small open field, probably the size of a half Volleyball court. This place is heaven for trance-lovers since you would have only “high” people around, dancing their heart out to some never heard-before trance music. And then there is the best part: The beach ! The sound of the waves. The faint music. The chilly breeze. And the beach-side back-rests. If you don’t chill out there for an hour, you might as well have not come to Curlies. Trust me!

Image courtesy: Google Images

Deltin Royale, Panjim

<Read along only if you are interested in going to a casino or else skip>

They claim to be the best casino in Goa and I don’t find even one thing wrong with that claim. There is a barrage of casinos on that river along Panjim and all of them just serve as Plan Bs or Cs to Deltin. When you’re on the bridge connecting Panjim to North Goa, look out for the most expansive ship on your way: That’s unmistakably Deltin. They take you in a small jetty and then you descend to this amazeballs ship. Inside is everything you imagined about a ship after seeing Titanic. The food and drinks are free inside (of course they have to, since they burn a hole in your pocket before they even let you in on the jetty) and what you see is a sea of people happy, sad, excited, frustrated, abusing their throats out regardless. If you’re a first timer and there to just experience the life inside a casino, don’t even dare to go near the Poker table or the Blackjack table. Just keep playing small bets on the Roulette and you’ll be just fine.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Mango Tree, Vagator

Imagine partying till 4 last night and waking up at 12 Noon, famished so much that you can go eat an entire Turkey yourself. Where do you go? You come to Mango Tree to indulge yourself with wine and one of the most amazing English Breakfasts being served in Goa. The place is just so chilled out, you’ll see folks in their night ensembles with one eye still closed with sleep, all around. So just walk in in those cute pyjamas and boxers and gorge away to glory.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Café Laval, Baga Beach

This is one of the many nondescript beach shacks you’ll see in Baga and you’ll never be able to figure out where to go. So my suggestion here would be instead of going to an expensive place like Britto’s, try Laval. Once you enter Laval, you might wanna come back and whoop my ass that why should you even go to this place. I’ll tell you the reason: the Music. Every shack in Baga will offer you cheap beer, Hookah, massage and tattoo services but not everyone will play Bollywood, Guetta, Axwell and Honey Singh on the same music system like there is no effing difference whatsoever. There is no dance floor as such, but I have never come back from that place without dancing.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Club Cubana

 Imagine a small hill converted into a night club: That ladies and gentlemen, is Club Cubana for you. There is an entry fee but it’s peanuts considering the drinks are free inside. It feels like a big resort when you go inside and the biggest challenge is where to go first. There is this kickass disc (needless to say, playing trance) with a separate area for women to dance. You might see some beautiful latino women gyrating better then Shakira, if you’re lucky that is. There are three bars, a pool-side area and countless cozy places to chat with people you meet there. They say it’s one of the best places to mingle in Goa because somehow the crowd that comes there is so very open to conversations. Imagine having a conversation with a hot and/but cute media person from Mumbai while one of your friends is being hit upon by a Russian hunk and the other one hitting on 3 girls with mixed nationalities, simultaneously.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Down the Road, Panjim

This place is literally, well… down the road. Located opposite a small bridge in Panjim, this is a really small and cozy café. You can spend hours looking and observing the local Goa cadre while sipping your beer while there are couples (both blind dates and actual couples) happily chatting away in the back alley. Unlike a typical café in Goa, they also serve amazing north Indian food which is usually hard to come by in Goa.

Image courtesy: Google Images

So, this is a list of places which I usually visit when I am in Goa. I am sure there are many more which I haven’t visited and are equally amazing or better. Would love to hear about such places from you guys and visit them in my subsequent visits.

Prateek Gupta is a 24-year old soap-addict, compulsive traveler, blog-hopper and Quoraholic by choice and Strategy Analyst by profession during the day. By the night, you can find him either partying at a friend’s place or curled up in front of his laptop listening to electronic music.

After a hectic work week, last minute cancellations of a Friday girl's night and a failed attempt to understand a movie everyone on FB was raving about, I really wanted a Sunday that would pat me on my back and tell me that everything is Ok!

In comes (drum-roll moment)  a colorful scarf, a good book and a cafe which was good enough to serve me some hot chocolate on a wooden chair (you could choose to sit on a Grandpa chair or a bean bag or simple a cushioned one as well) with some of my favorite Hindi songs in the background.

Cafe Wanderlust, Galleria Market, Gurgaon

I had a couple of books lying at my place, some mine, some borrowed from friends years ago, some half-read and some barely touched. I took them all in my Jhola bag ( for that's the beauty of them, isn't it?) and headed to Cafe Wanderlust. I finally settled on finishing Lowland  for it is such an endearing read. Only a few books are worth welling up for and Lowland is certainly one of them. I love the way Jhumpa Lahiri has intertwined subjects of traditions, love, responsibilities, passion, revolution, vulnerabilities and tragedy into a single book. It's a book you just keep reading and sobbing along. It's a book which can turn your Sunday into a soulful one.

Top: Melange
Jeans: Only
Jhola bag: Lifestlye
Dupatta: Mysore Silk Udyog, Bangalore
Earrings: CP

I think little deviations from normality is what makes you revel in those simple pleasures of life later. At least that's the case with me. For movies like Interstellar are ingenious but I still love Jab We Met, Devil Wears Prada and Julie and Julia. For a royal blue blazer is really sexy ( I think!) but nothing beats the (conventional) charm of an off white top, a pair of blue jeans with big earrings and a silk dupatta. For there is no world better to escape into than that of a good book.

Keep styling, keep reading and keep wandering!

History: I have to wear formals 5 days of the week. It's actually not those collared shirts and boring pants formals per say but you get the drift right? So when it comes to those heavenly Saturdays and Sundays, I experiment with clothes I am not allowed to look at for the better part of the week. This outfit is a concoction of exactly those kind of experiments. I have had the elements of this outfit for such a long time and all bought separately. Can you see the joy when I put them all together?!! :D

Shirt: Globus
Women's Nehru Jacket: Quirkbox, flipkart.com
Pants: UCB
Earrings: A roadside stall in Srinagar
Ballerina: jabong.com

Why I love this outfit?: Apart from the fact that it guarantees public attention (I have heard some people whisper, "Is she really wearing cartoons?"), it's just so much fun. It is definitely perfect for a colorful Saturday when you are enjoying the present as well as the future (Sunday is a holiday too :D). 

Budget: As you would have probably guessed, the shirt and the pants are like so normal. You are essentially paying just for the Quirkbox jacket. It's an investment really :P For it can brighten up any outfit you want.

P.S. I love my job. Don't you think otherwise.