Valentine Romance My Way

 "I'm not an actor, I'm not a star. And I don't even have my own car. 

But I'm hoping so much you'll stay. That you will love me anyway."

He sang this lovely song for me in 2002 on Valentine's Day and gave me a piece of paper with a couple picture drawn on it with cute stick figures. The sparkle in his eyes waited for my YES and I was moved by his innocence..The Cupid's arrow pierced my heart even deeper when I read this poem he had composed for me ~~

The love he showered me on that Valentine's Day 12 yrs back is still being sprinkled on me with utmost care bcz I could not afford to miss breathing in so much of true love to live happily with him...and that 'special' person became the 'most important' person in my life as we tied a knot in 2005. Since then, no day had been less than a Valentine’s Day for us that brings along an undeniable feeling of love inspite of the silly fights we have on stupid issues ;) But having that someone special by my side who takes care of my every whim and fancy is truly a dream realized with God's grace..

Our Valentine's celebration completely avoids the plasticky, artificial feel of pretending like teenaged love birds bcz no added pleasure can be experienced by spending beyond our limits on one specific day; but definitely I would keep my thoughts centered upon those things to make my soulmate's memories to be sweeter and longer-lasting this year too...

I am eager to accompany my man to a less-visited serene yet lovey-dovey exotic location away from home (and ofcourse office) to discover a new element to our relationship.... where I want to wake him up with the sight of me standing in front of his bed with a bouquet of Yellow n Red Roses and a handwritten love-note with those touchy couplet composed by me that is bound to make his heart melt and earn me a 'kiss-of-love' to begin the day on a sweeter note ;) And hey! my man is a foodie to the core and so every meal of the day MUST be nothing, but the best from his favourite food list...Though we enjoy cooking together at home when he gets some leisurely moments, but frankly I don't want to involve any of us in cooking on V'Day rather I am planning getting the PERSONALIZED food prepared at the place we are enjoying our day with certain modifications suggested by me to the original recipe to fill his day as well as his tummy  with delight ;) :P

Now for getting ready for some scenic outing at the romantic destination, I will not miss the opportunity to reveal how I would look like in a bit tempting attire of his choice to get my guy in the mood ;) We may not gaze at each other for hours, but would catch up with light conversation to fill up the silence between us because the day of love is incomplete without expressing the deep feelings of affection that we hold for each other....

I know it would sound idiotic to you, but I won't buy any surprise gift for my beloved hubby... hmmm the surprise gifts usually create quarrelsome situations when he doesn't like using the gift I give. Though I know his likes n dislikes exactly, but would prefer taking him along to the multiproduct store to buy a gift that his heart smile on, else it can be a better idea to explore some exclusive V'Day gifting guide at online shopping destinations like Baggout.Needless to say, I may even cut out some expense this way without messing up the celebration :) A cozy cuddly hug in his arms to re-live the tale of our romance will recreate the moments that made me fall in love with him..

True Love needs no hugs, kisses or winks,

When our hearts beat in perfect sync :)

I wish to conclude the day of love with a promise to zest up each other's life with countless reasons to add bright sunshine to our steadfast n meaningful relationship. Ameen!!

This post has been written for Baggouts' Blogging contest on Valentine's day. Baggout provides awesome deals on Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, Snapdeal, Amazon and 100+ other online stores.

'From Miss to Mrs' for Soha Ali Khan

Indian weddings have always been popular for their grandeur and energetic atmosphere, but when it comes to planning them, it's a whole different ball game.
Its overwhelming for the 'bride-to-be' to imagine herself walking down the aisle, seeing the love of her life who stole her heart with arms wide open and then holding his hand for lifetime. She dreams of those unlived moments of love and togetherness that actually begin its journey from the wedding day itself.

 You might be wondering why I'm sharing this gyaan today ;)
Well!! since the day I have kicked off my monotonous corporate job and took up my passion of 'Wedding Planning' as my profession for last 2 years, there is a still cherished desire in my heart to showcase my talent to someone special...

Engrossed in similar thoughts one fine day, I was sipping my evening coffee on terrace that my mobile vibrated in my pocket.

After the general exchange of greetings and some lovely admiration for my previous projects, the person on other side inquired about whether I would be able to plan a BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING the coming month??

My spontaneous reply was "Sir, lets meet up tomorrow morning to discuss the details so that I may work out the dates after checking my schedule..."

Now, the person said "and what if I say that it can be your dream project to plan for wedding of none other than 'Royal Daughter of Pataudi Family'!!"

My heart almost jumped to my throat and i could utter just these words "You mean Soha Ali Khan .... yes, yes its a thumbs up from me, whenever is the wedding date"  :) 

I had read that Soha was proposed by Kunal Khemu in the City of Love Paris, but never ever expected myself to be associated with the GRAND EVENT  in any way :) That night, I could not sleep ... coz the scenes of dhol, music, laughter, twirling dresses, dancing in Soha's wedding in full desi glory had already started flashing in front of my eyes ;)

 I was planning to meet Soha the next morning with a minutely detailed blue-print so that her extravagant and elaborate wedding affairs could be invested for a greater good by me...

Digging the search engine on my lappy for few hours, I zeroed upon a fantabulous web portal baggout.com that was showcasing the li'l thumbnails of almost everything I was looking for...
I decided to list the major tasks in advance, so i started with...

1. Wedding Ring for Groom and Jewelery for the Bride herself 

Thinking of Kunal's chrismatic yet down-to-earth personality, my preference was to pick a elegant finger band for the groom that he might wear 24x7. Baggout had arranged awesome cashback deals from wonderful sites like jewelskart and suratdiamond...I was flattered by the alluring designs and finally loved this timeless wedding ring to be shown to Soha for her Soulmate :)

http://www.jewelskart.com/myraa-jkdt004gr056-18-k-gold-men-s-diamond-ring.html

My next thought was to shortlist which jewelry types Soha will favor for herself.  Suddenly my mom's usual statement "If there is one thing we know Indians love, it is gold. Illustrious, shining and charming gold sweeps every woman off  her feet " brought smile to my face and then i knew it exactly .... I came down to a decision based on her royal taste, family traditions and wedding attire. I had a gut feeling that  Soha would love the Queenly look, so I must opt for jewelry that features epic  polki diamonds, jadau or kundan for the Wedding Day. And might pick other favorite pieces of ornaments from a variety of styles that coordinates with their dresses on pre pr post wedding events. The Indian Solah Shringar  that includes everything from the top of the bride's hairline down to her toes, so I made a long list of ornaments for her...

2. Bridal Attire n Closet
I could now imagine Soha adorning a flashy lengha blinged out  with rhinestones, beads, zari work in a mixture of textiles like velvet and lace. Bridal lenghas are traditionally maroon or red with blue or green accents as well as gold embroidery. Baggout once again proved its versatility showing me some cool websites, where classy ethnics as well as modern outfits were being sold at great cashback offers ... some nice stores I could see there were ShoppersStop, Fashionara, Zovi, Fashion And You
but my eyes were struck on amazing collection by IndiaRush whose designer clothing range was just perfect for Soha's taste and could match up family background of bride too. So the post bridal closet was a mix n match of varied styles of outfits.

and a traditional motifs embroidered multi-hued lehanga was kept at the top of list for approval of the princess ...

Some handpicked classy Anarkalis for Soha from Fashion And You are real must have to pep up her wardrobe ..

3. Venue Decor for Green Wedding

oops, I forgot to share with u that 'one' special instruction by Soha's representative that day on phone... He conveyed me the message that the couple wanted their wedding to have least harmful effect on the planet without compromising the charm n elegance of the event. And it really filled my heart with respect for both the families.

Since the wedding venue 'Pataudi House' was pre-decided, I had already woven my ideas for earth-friendly decor for the same..

The Ferns n Petals store and FlowerAura Store on Baggout gave me the amazing deals to decorate the whole venue with non-pesticide ridden flowers rather had so many variety of organic, sustainable and seasonal flowers arranged in lovely bouquets and centerpieces :)

I could imagine the lovely flowers conveying the sentiment "The Earth Laughs in Smiles" so beautifully with a lasting message to guests "Green is Serene".
But here a unique suggestion was added by my mom to send the wedding floral arrangements to child care homes, nursing homes and old age centers just to share a smile on their face :)

4. Guilt Free Indulgence (Return Gifts)

No celebration in India is complete without a boxful of tempting sweets. But in the present scenario, most of the health cautious people are missing that sweetness rolling down our mouths. But I knew where do I get an answer for this. I explored some sweet stores at Baggout  that might be preparing and serving sugar-free sweets. Indiatimes.com had numerous options for every sweet-tooth :)

I shortlisted a mithai ka dibba containing sweets made from sugar subsitute (for elderly people) and packed beautifully in a reusable wooden box covered with colorful satin.

And those naughty li'l guests must be gifted their favourite sweet i.e. chocolates :)

 5. Romantic Honeymoon

Last but not the least, When two people decide to stay together for lifetime, they should begin their journey with a loving note. Indian weddings are such big social occasions that the married couple need the time to just kick back and be together.... "just two of them";So that they could open up to the most important person in their lives and get to know each other in-and-out.
So I worked upon the idea of an exotic honeymoon location for Soha n Kunal. There were various sites listed on Baggout but I was mesmerized by great offers provided by Yatra.com
I was in love with luxurious cruise packages including air-fare of round trip, delicious food, visits to scenic locations and comfortable accomodations etc.

 

Now, after pondering much attention to all important aspects for Soha's wedding, I was feeling quite chill out and could just smile thinking about what would be my first words to greet the lovely bride-to-be........ "Hey Soha', Congratulations on your engagement and upcoming nuptials... Wishing U every happiness u deserve when you become Mrs. from Miss !!"

                                                                                               
P.S. This post is a part of Blog n Win activity on Baggout.com and is entirely a work of fiction.

Miraya and Baggout trim Nani's 'Whole Nine Yards' Shorter ;)

Baggout's Blogging contest

P.S. This post is being written for Baggout.com ongoing blogging contest and is purely a fictional work with no intention to hurt anybody's sentiments.

It is such a GRAND thing to be the mother of a mother - 

that is why the world calls her a "GRANDMOTHER" ...

I bet every granny must be feeling privileged reading this cute, yet meaningful expression :)

The same stands true for Sonia Gandhi Ji too. Sonia ji, pretty fond of her grand daughter Miraya, feels proud pulling out leisurely moments from her packed schedule to spend special time of uninterrupted play and talk with her darling princess. The fascinating bond of these two lovely ladies with each other always gives them a feeling of 'undivided attention' and 'pure endearment'.

Like all grandchildren love hearing stories of good old days of what their grand-parents were like when they were little, Miraya has been no exception to that... For her, every summer vacation spent at nani's place has those curious, chirpy, dreamy moments at night when nani opens her virtual storybook and reads her li'l princess soulful fun stories or sings songs. Miraya too loves holding treasure troves of happy memories passing down their family heritage to her generation by Nani close to her heart.

That day, wandering from this room to that.... feeling bored with nothing much to do, Miraya thought of glancing at nani's old photo album kept on the top shelf, which she never had seen. Flipping through just few of those B&W pics only, Miraya was like "OMG, nani looked no less than a charming film star in these lovely outfits !!! "

 Suddenly, her HOTS (high order thinking skills) lightened the bulb of her creative thinking to make her day worth memorable (*wink wink) .... she quietly catwalked to nani's studyroom where her workstation (a latest PC with all facilities to get connected the the world) was set up and got it powered boost. She knew exactly how to execute her plan ... In her browser window, she quickly typed Baggout.com (the name of the online shopping buzzword which she overheard about from her school teacher recently)

Miraya kept smiling-n-talking to herself "I'd not ever imagined myself exploring this whole sea-full of exciting deals n offers on Baggout.com so soon, but i think its high time now to dive in to discover something unparallel.."

woah!!  The shopping extravaganza welcomed her to take a walk through many popular websites like Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong on a central platform that she knew till then from TV commercials only ...

She fanatically logged in and was mesmerized by the divalicious collection of products available, best suited for people of all age groups, physical appearance or even varying budgets... The cool accessories (bags, footwear, eyewear, jewelery, makeup, watches nd what not) to go with every outfit with such vast variety had been showcased so gracefully on the site.... And there she started handpicking those thoughtful gifts for her nani by clicking on WOMEN tab on the top of page...

Nope, it was not that easy as she expected it to be...  the choices were so pleasant to the eyes that she didn't realize spending almost 3 hours or so, when she looked up at the wall clock after zeroing on some classy stuff...


Hey, but that's not the end of all the fun n frolic here...
As she decided to go through the fine details of products before placing an order, a new term "Cashback" caught her attention ... Now what the hell does it mean here ??     Digging in more deeply, Miraya discovered another fantabulous "icing on the cake" kinda feature that Baggout.com has been generous enough to share a part of its earning from online retailers with the shoppers in the form of cashback that gets credited to shopper's A/c.  

Oh My My!!   It felt just heavenly getting every desired products from any shopping portal right here sitting on my comfy couch and also getting rewarded for that ;)  I could see myself as a lifetime customer of Baggout as i grow up ...  Aaha !!

Few days later, Miraya was now ready with her pristine expressions and a considerably strong script in her mind ...   Stepping in the room where Sonia Ji had been busy in some work, Miraya touched her chin gently to have eye contact before she could actually start expressing her wish in a lighter mood ...  
then she continued "Nani, I always admire your
style quotient that speaks volumes on how elegantly you drape yourself in pretty sarees and your personality is beaming with the fervour of being drenched in 'Indianness'.  I have got a surprise for you today .... Come with me & you will surely love it..." 

Stepping in the studyroom with nani holding her hand, Miraya tilted the computer screen towards Nani showing her the exact replica of the tunics/kurtis that she had worn years ago when she had just got married..... Miraya could observe nani's moistened eyes behind her spectackles and her emotions chocking up her throat with unuttered words of nostalgia.... Miraya continued saying "I know how much it matters to keepsake the things of such sentimental values with us, so i have already ordered these dresses for you to wear the warmth of your love around you. I hope you like this token of my respect for you and please accept my wish to wear these dresses ..."

Sonia Ji was touched by the thoughtfulness and selfless love of her li'l princess and didn't want to leave her heart broken. So she nodded 'YES' and hugged Miraya lovingly and could say "My princess, you filled a place in my heart that even I didn't know was empty" <3

And the li'l princess had one more pleasant word to share with Nani, when she giggled and said "Nani, and you know I also got a decent dress for Veera (their cook's daughter) with the Cashback money I saved that you were wanting to gift her on her engagement coming week.."
 
Nani's joy knew no bounds and she could just  silently thank Baggout for discovering a newer n transformed version of her persona !!