Foodie Travels: Survival guide for Manali

Hola mates!

So after those dreadful 2 years of high school I'm finally emancipated. What better than to celebrate in the lap of Himalayas in our very own sweetheart town Manali?? So finally after days of sulking and coping with the 'Bored High School Passouts Syndrome', finally on a breezy dawn we jet setted off to Himachal on our cute little Swift. I gotta say, on a ride of about 9 hours with all the dizzying twists, eat really helps to carry a lot of biscuits handy.

It helps also to learn a few things while you travel and eat, you wouldn't want it to get all runny.

1. Whatever your parents might suggest, never go anywhere beyond the good ol' butter sandwiches on the Dhabas. Hygiene concerns apart(hotels have filthier kitchens,we know), you wouldn't want to see the semi-digested version of Dal makhani and the Kadhai Paneer you just ate an hour ago when you throw up on the road.

2. However tempting they may seem, NEVER dine in those floating dhabas where you eat with your feet in the cold water of the Beas. It seems thrilling at first bt even on a hot June afternoon it can give you the kind of cold that lasts days.

3. Ahh even when the 10 km gap b/w the milestones seemed like 50, imagine the relief of finally seeing 'Welcome to Manali' board. Oh wait, there's a hot-air balloon! While I became a balloon myself with joy it only flew upto 50 m. Thats it. Waste of money. And don't forget to grab your 10 rupee per cup Strawberries and cherries on Manali entrance. Dont mind the strawberries not being sweet. Nowhere in India will you ever get sweet strawberries.

4. Continental food sucks in Manali as much it sucks here in Ambala or anywhere else.

Yes we did dine in a really fancy restaurant on the Mall Road. And after that I swore never to touch Mashed Potatoes or Spaghetti again. I had Lasgna al Pomodoro in what was called the best Italian joint in whole Manali, and it was real good and I bet I'll have to jog about 20 days 24/7 to burn off the fat it gave me. Thats where the first pang of nostalgia for Mommy's food struck.

5. The good points:

There's a little bakery there near the temple on Mall that has the best strudels ever. Can't recalls the name but its adjacent to a grocery shop. Check it out.

Johnson's Lodge despite being one of the most expensive hotels in Manali(I actually drank strawberry juice worth 200 bucks), serves excellent Veg kebabs. Despite having my doubt over their Himachal Night, I did relish the elegance of the traditional food they served which summed up to be one of the best meals of my life.

P.S. Try avoiding food near any of the tourist spots. They can be pretty pricey sometimes. And the only way u can survive Manali shopping is by bargaining heavily. I remember a guy selling something at about 120 bucks near Vashisht temple that cost only 25 bucks on the Mall .

P.S.S. Nati dance around the bonfire was way cool..!

Well so what are your food/travel experiences ?? Don't forget to mention them in the comments section.

Love ya'll!!

XOXO Deeps

Preview:My new story entitled 'Felicity'

So here's the first preview:

It all started last night. Heaving a sigh of relief, with sleep in my eyes I crawled inside the blanket, the house wrapped in silence. Mom's bloody body was in the drawing room, my dog's head in the oven and dad was tied at the bottom of the pool. I lay the knife I had used to stab mom five times in the neck on the bed stead and slept soundly.

It was there in my sleep amidst the grotesque shapes and familiar faces that I first met her, Cira. I wouldn't daresay her her my doppleganger, for they are evil in the folklore. She was sweet. Her gentleness surprised me for in my world I had become accustomed to hateful glances I received everyday. And after what I had done tonight I wouldn't be God's lovely child no more.

It was strange how before last night I had never been able to remember my dreams with every detail before. But a break from my world was what I always wanted, even in something as trivial as dreaming.

How I metaphorized capacitance and finally understood physics

Hey ppl!

So I think Scott Young is one of the best bloggers out there. I started following his blog a month ago and the results have been stupendous. I was able to cover up all of what I had ignored in my syllabi for the whole year. Thanks, Scott.

So 2 days ago he started the 'Learning on steroids' program. The first homework for me was to metaphorise some topic I had previously not been able to understand into something I could retain in my mind for long.

So its my physics final on 1st May (Yikes). What best than to metaphorize capacitance?

So here is the original transcript of my reply to his email. See if this helps you to understand and visualize most of your concepts.

P.S. Visit www.scotthyoung.com for more details and how to ace your finals w/out actually studying (yes, really) and make the most out of your life.

P.S.S. Scott happens to be a really charming young university student. I personally admire his personality and charm.

Hey Scott!

Thanks a lot for your last newsletter. I have my physics 12th grade final after 11 days and I must say I was quite spooked out for some concepts. So after yesterday I decided to metaphorise the concept of introduction of dielectric slab and effect of the capacitance etc.

For parallel plate capacitor:

Assume your outstretched hands palms facing each other in front of your torso to be the two plates of a capacitor. A physics student would know capacitance increases on increasing area of plates and decreases on increasing distance b/w them. C= Area*permittivity / Distance

Assume charge to be polyester balls and our effort provided to hold hands like this as potential difference.

so if I increase the gap b/w hands, I would be able to hold less balls, therefore less charge. If one of my friend aligns his hands beneath mine i.e. increases the area, more balls will be held.

If someone brings in a slab (dielectric) below my hands it would support more balls. The effort to hold hands will be same (V remains constant). More balls, more capacity to hold them. Consequently more energy from balls is stored.

So this was the way I finally understood this concept.

Next time I'll be sharing other physics concepts as I keep on revising my notes.

Thanks a great deal for your tips.

Sincerely,

Deepali Garg

India

Lady GAGA all the way!!

I'm a huuuge Lady Gaga fan... her songs are like a breath of fresh air. I think I can never have just enough of her songs. Love ya!

Well in addition to being a great musician, at times she can be a great philosophizer too. Check out this quote. Very liberation for today's girls:

"Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you're wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn't love you anymore."

or take this-

"Love is like a brick. You can build a house, or you can sink a dead body."

Now how do you beat this one??

"I had a boyfriend who told me I’d never succeed, never be nominated for a Grammy, never have a hit song, and that he hoped I’d fail. I said to him, ‘Someday, when we’re not together, you won’t be able to order a cup of coffee at the fucking deli without hearing or seeing me."

TAKE THIS BITCHES:

"People will always talk, so lets give them sumthin to talk about"

Amazing huh?/ Didn't I tell you?? Stay tuned for more GAGA-loo wisdom.

Till then,
XOXO
Deeps

Talk about a change.. duh..

Hola people!
Okay so I haven't been busy nowadays. Just been caught up in some damned Ambala politics.

So lets talk about something for a change. Lets talk about change.

Who is here who doesn't love change? We want to change how that dorky girl in the class dresses up. We want to change why that cute couple holds hands in the school corridors. We want to change the test dates our teachers give us.
We want to change everything about the world. We want to change Delhi before Commonwealth games ( Impossible). We want change the mindset of the youngsters recruited in terrorist camps. ( I personally want change Lindsay Lohan)

So once the need for change is identified, the improvement committee is set up inside us. Of course, God has sent us on this earth with the divine purpose of treating the faulty. We try to change people, sometimes succeed or else get kicked out. But hey, we are good people, we can't bear to see imperfections.

I remember a story from my sixth-grade hindi book. It was about a young guy who got a mirror from his Guru that showed all the flaws of the person who looked in the mirror. The guy toured the world, saw everyone's impeerfection and in the end assumed that everyone in the world was wrong. At the end the Guru asked him to look in the mirror himself and unsurprisingly, he had the worst flaws than anyone else'.

Sounds familiar?

Yes because we try to change everything around us but we forget ourselves.

You have to be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi

So next time before opening your mouth in disdain, remember this. We are not talking to PEOPLE= Reason + Logic. Instead we are dealing with PEOPLE = Emotions. Behind every flaw is a feeling that if you don't respect, then you are in for serious trouble.

Love XX DG

Break up therapy: Chapter 1- Write a diary

Hey people!

I know, I'm never gonna make it to the 'Conde Nast' or 'Harper Collins' for plagiarism charges.

Well we've all been through awful heart breaks. Today I received this lovely sms that's worth a read for the broken soul.

WARNING: Not for those with a sensitive heart ...


HER DIARY: I didn't want him to see my tears. The pain was felt by my broken heart when he walked away. I only want him to be happy forever, because thinking about all the times I made him smile, I can spend the rest of my life.


HIS DIARY: I saw her b'ful face for the last time today. Saw her smile, saw her pass by me.. I wanted to tell her that she means more to me than my life, but she just walked away. Didn't even give a glance. She is really pretty, I DON'T DESERVE HER. Diary, I let go my angel today. But she will be buried in my heart till my last breathe.


Deepali Garg's Golden Advice here- Tear the feelings, burn and throw them away only if you can't express them today. Say it, before it is too late.


P.S. Never wait to express yourself. Be it in matters of love, career or choices.

Love,
XOXO Deps

HSM Revived!!

Hey people!
Remember how much we all loved High School Musical???
It was a joyride.. The cute, trendy high school with the uber-cool it-guy Zac Efron, the pretty, adorable maths junkie Vanessa Hudgens and all their cronies. I remember swooning my way through my own high school over their wallpapers.

But now its all GONE, GONE, GONE.


Can we forget how liberating was 'Breaking free' or how cool were the dance moves in 'What time is it?' or 'All for one'////

I know, right now we've only got Twilight mania in our heads.

But before the vampires sizzled the screen or Megan Fox ate up live men(in Jennifer's Body) or Vanessa hudgens proved to be the next adult-movie star( hehehe), we had HSM.

Lets not forget how we girls drooled over Zachary's smile.

This is for you Zac, my favourite poster boy!

Love, XOXO Deeps