My Weekend Stay At The Park Hotel, Hyderabad

March 25, 2018

Since late last year, Hyderabad has pretty much become my second home thanks to work. However, like all business trips, my stay would start on a Monday and get over on a Friday evening so I could never really see much of the city. It was just hotel to office and back to the hotel at night and the same old routine for five days. This month, I spent nearly 2.5 weeks in the city and got a chance to explore. And also, thanks to The Park Hotel, Hyderabad, I spent a weekend in their beautiful property and felt like royalty.

The Park’s Chronicles of the Deccan

The Park Hotel, Hyderabad

Location:

One of the best features of The Park Hotel, Hyderabad is undoubtedly the location. It overlooks the Hussain Sagar Lake so the view from the rooms is incredible. Hussain Sagar is one of the most popular sights in Hyderabad and I was told not to miss out on watching the sunrise and sunset by the lake. I did not have to venture outside at all for the view because all I had to do for those two days was to just walk up to the window and see the beauty unfolding right in front of my eyes.

Traveller’s Tip – If you are staying at The Park, definitely opt for the Lake View rooms.

Another reason why The Park Hotel, Hyderabad can be a perfect choice for a tourist visiting the city is again the location. Major tourist spots like Charminar, Salar Jung Museum, Chowmahallah Palace, the old city is all within a distance of 30-45 mins. Considering Hyderabad’s traffic scene, it definitely makes sense to stay somewhere near these places if you are a tourist.

Read on to know more about the property, the rooms and the dining options.

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How To Figure Out Her Ring Size Without Asking?

February 23, 2018

If you are ready to pop the question, you need a few things to make sure that everything goes smoothly. You will need to create the perfect atmosphere, a suitable location, and of course, an engagement ring. When picking out a diamond engagement ring, you may be so focused on the four Cs of diamonds and finding the ring that suits your chosen one perfectly that you may end up forgetting the most practical aspect of picking out a ring – the size. Even though the band can be resized and changed, wouldn’t it be ideal if you got it perfectly the first time? Here’s How To Figure Out Her Ring Size Without Asking.

How to Figure Out Her Ring Size without Asking

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Kolkata Street Art Festival, An Initiative By Berger Paints India Ltd.

August 29, 2017

Kolkata Street Art Festival

The first time I heard of the Kolkata Street Art Festival, an initiative by Berger Paints India, I thought of a friend Soma, who lives in the US. Soma is pretty much a street art/graffiti/mural expert and she keeps posting beautiful pictures on Facebook of her finds in and around the US. I was thinking how happy Soma would be to see that something like this has also started in Kolkata because the lack of street art in the city has been a topic of much discussion. Not just with her but also amongst groups of artists and photographers in the city. Take Delhi for example. Lodhi Colony is the country’s first public art district and there is a growing culture of street art spreading its canvas in Mumbai as well. Kolkata started late but we are getting there too and it is all due to the efforts of Berger Paints India.

Kolkata Street Art Festival

The objective of Berger Paints India in organizing the Kolkata Street Art Festival is twofold. First, to clean & beautify the prominent walls of Kolkata with the colors of Berger and secondly, to give an opportunity to the artists of Kolkata to showcase their talent in beautifying their city. Eminent artist and Member of Parliament Prof. Jogen Chowdhury has mentored this program and the team of artists has been led by senior artist Mr Barun Saha along with Mr Rintu Roy. The plan is to paint city walls, metro station walls and trams across the city.

Kolkata Street Art Festival

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The Grand Tour – A Walk Through The Bylanes Of The Oberoi Grand

August 12, 2017

“It is all this that makes The Grand Hotel a great one. And more than all this, the fact that it is embedded in the memories of six generations. That it shared the momentous events of modern India. That it bore witness to two world wars; the heyday and passing of an empire; famine, flood, fire and riot; a bloodied Independence and a comparitively bloodless revolution. That it has watched both triumph and disaster and, taking the poet’s advice, treated “these two imposters just the same”. – Bachi J Karkaria, To a Grand Design.

The Oberoi Grand Lobby

Like many refugees who came to Calcutta from Bangladesh in the 1940’s, my paternal grandfather had a tough life. On a very meagre salary as a government official, he had to support a family of more than 20. This included his brothers, sisters, their families, cousins and even friends who crossed the border looking for food and shelter. It was a life far far removed from any luxury hence one day, when my grandfather, courtesy his job stepped into The Grand Hotel, it was nothing short of paradise for him. The white marble, the sparkling crystal chandelier in the lobby, the grand piano, the well-dressed ‘shahebs’ and ‘mem-shahebs’, it was a new world. And I remember how many years later when we were crossing The Oberoi Grand one day, his eyes were gleaming when he recounted that experience to me. The charm of the Grande Dame of Chowringhee has always been magical.

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Celebrating 15 Years of ITC Sonar With 15 Hours Nostalgia

August 8, 2017

I can’t believe that it has been 15 years already! I remember when the ITC Sonar building was under construction, there was so much curiosity amongst the general public. That time, Kolkata did not have too many luxury hotels so we were all very excited. My first visit to ITC Sonar took place soon after they launched and it was a visit to Peshawri. For the last 15 years, it has been one of my favorite hotels so I felt really special when the management invited me to be part of their Crystal Anniversary celebration. On this special occasion, ITC Sonar has come up with a range of offers for their patrons. One of them is called 15 Hours Nostalgia where you basically spend 15 hours in the hotel experiencing luxury at its best.

ITC Sonar

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