DocDivaTraveller

Bari is the capital of the Puglia region in Southern Italy. Bari itself is quite an important commercial centre itself. But for tourists, its significant for other reasons. Firstly, its the connecting link to the UNESCO World Heritage site Alberobello. Secondly, its the home of St.Nicholas. Our hotel was named after St.Nicholas and was at a walking distance from the Basilica di San Nicola.

Bari had always been an important commercial port owing to its vast coastline along the Adriatic Sea. However Bari has two very different faces. One is the modern Bari and the other Old Bari or Vecchia Bari (vecchia meaning old in Italiano).

Vecchia Bari is a fascinating little place. We had deliberately chosen a place to stay in the old part. The moment we stepped into this part of the city, we knew we were for a treat.

This entire part is paved with white stones. There are no trees. Of course how can there be? There is no soil! So people and restaurant owners have planted greens in really enormous pots. We explored it at night. So the quaint narrow alleys were dimly lit and really charming.

We started from the Basilica di San Nicola. There were a lot of tourists at that hour of the day too. There was actually no one who could speak Inglese or English and my newly learnt Italian helped us a lot in communicating. There were a lot of cute cafes and restaurants. I was loving the bustle of the tourists and the live music playing in the background. It seemed like a never ending party!

Then we walked to the Swabian Castle or the Castello di Svevo . Built in the 12th century, it was destroyed and then rebuilt again. It was closed at night. But now its used as a place for exhibitions.

We crossed the main road and came back to the paved area. However we just could not go back to our hotel or the Basilica di San Nicola. We kept on circling around the Piazza Mercantile: the hip square of music and food. At one point, we were really scared. We had not faced any mishap in Italy (which is infamous) and wanted to leave that way only. Finally after walking through the maze of stone paved alleys, we made to the basilica and then our hotel.

Later we learnt that earlier no one entered the Vecchia Bari zone because of crimes. Thank God we were safe!

Blazer: HnM (Italy)

Dress: Globus

Purse: DResslink.com

12/07/2018 2 comments

What do you do when you have time to spare? Wait! I got a better one, What do you do when there is nothing good to watch on your TV? The answer is pretty simple you turn to online streaming services. But, that was not the case a few years back. Back then our only source of entertainment was TV, and there was nothing else to turn to. Listen I’m not here to pick on TV, in fact, I am always thankful to the TV for exposing me to such good quality content. But the times have changed and so have we. We don’t want to watch what TV has to offer anymore, rather it all depends on the kind of mood we are in.

Tamil families have always had an unbreakable obsession with entertainment, be it movies, TV serial, talk shows, etc. Movies and TV shows are not just another sources of entertainment for us, are they? We treat these stars as a part of our family. So, no wonder why so many actors are treated like demi-gods in Tamil Nadu. But earlier, If you miss out on a movie when it was in theatres, you had to wait for months for that movie to show up on TV or some time years, believe me, I have. But that’s not the case anymore, all thanks to the online streaming services. Now you can watch any movie you like right at the comfort of your home, without having to wait, which is just great.

Since the inception of the internet, I knew that the day is not far when we will not be confined to only what TV has to offer. And now that the days are finally here, we just can’t have enough of it. But now the problem is that there are so many online streaming services, we have no clue as to which one is better than others. I took some time and did some research to find the best online streaming service. If you are like me and like to watch only Tamil content and are not obsessed with English and Hindi content, who watch Hindi movies anyways? Then, you must take a look at the Tamil subscription plans that ZEE5 offers. They provide an extensive content library at a fraction of your regular subscription prices. Trust me, that’s not the best part. The best part is that you can also opt for only Tamil contents by subscribing to Tamil Pack for just Rs 499 for one year or Rs 49 for a month. For that price, you get some good collection of Tamil movies and all the TV serials that ZEE Tamil has to offer and Live TV. But one service that truly stands out is the ‘8 Hours before TV’ feature. On a subscription of ZEE5 premium, you can get watch your favourite Tamil shows 8 hours before it airs on TV. This option surely will keep you ahead of everyone in terms of the upcoming serial plot.

So, in short, ZEE5’s Tamil Pack suffices everything a Tamil family looks for and that too at a much affordable price. If you are still sceptical about this offer, then I would highly suggest you try their Tamil Pack for one month and decide for yourself. For me, ZEE5’s Tamil Pack is perfect!

12/04/2018 4 comments

A Nazm is a term used to define all sorts of Urdu shayari which do not fall into any other category. However, if you talk about its literal meaning, a nazm is a well organised, logically evolving poem where each individual verse serves the need of the central concept or theme of the poem.

I love reading shayaris (I guess most of us do) so when I came across this book by Smita Parikh, I was intrigued. It's not very often that I pick up Hindi literature to read (not that I am proud of) This thin book promised me hours of delightful read and I am glad that I did.

About the author: Smita Parikh is a writer, actor and an RJ. In a world (read especially India) obsessed with English literature, her Hindi compositions are such a welcome change. She started writing at a very early age and even got awarded at the tender age of 15 years. She has won many awards thereafter and loves writing poetry. Her first book of poems was 'Main Panth Nihaarun'. She believes in expressing herself openly and that it how she penned down her emotions one after the another in Nazms, and compiled them into this wonderful book.
She is a self made woman, an entrepreneur and is the owner of E bizz Entertainment. She also handles the Mumbai Lit O Fest.

About the book: This is a 140 page book published by Vani Prakashan. It's a compilation of 89 poems or 'Nazms' that have been written straight from the heart. Each poem is short and crisp, pregnant with meaning. The lengthiest one is about 3 pages long.
Usually the poems depict questions from lovers. While reading those lines one may definitely resonate with those situations at one time or the other. We all have been heartbroken or been hurt at some point of our lives. There are so many questions that we seek answer too although we ourselves know that we may never get those answers.
Some of the poems are happy reads too, which express the ecstasy and butterflies in stomach pertaining to happiness or a new relationship.

What I loved about this book?
The fact that the poems are very short, it's a very easy read. You can just pick up, read a few poems and then keep it down. You can pick it up whenever you want and engage in hours of emotional sojourn. Pick it up from here.

I really loved it. Looking forward to her next release!

11/28/2018 2 comments

I love to pile up on scarves, beanies and gloves to combat cold weather.

Is it just me or everyone else is feeling the chill? As November is on the verge of winding down, and so is the level of Mercury. Though Delhi gets pretty warm during daytime; early mornings and nights have become really cold. And that has prompted me to take out my winter wardrobe.

If you want to enjoy cold drinks in winters, you better be warmly dressed up!

After almost seven months of sundresses and tees and jeans, its finally time to don those chic coats and cozy cardigans. Like every year. I just take out my belongings and make a list as to what all is missing; so that I can buy it on time and be weather ready, fashionably. So this year I decided to stock up on more chic coats (I have an obsession) and more denim and leather jackets, If I need to stock them up, you too should upgrade your wardrobe! I came across Luvyle and they seem to have an excellent collection of winterwear.

Overcoats with warm animals are the perfect companions to beat the cold!

So here are a few absolute chic winter essentials:

Not only I love this bordeaux colour but its shape is to die for. I love overcoats for more than one reason: They are not only chic and warm but can be worn over many layers. Its my perfect stylish companion for cold temps.

A white sweater is what you need to uplift your mood during the gloomy days.This is a flowy cardigan; not too thick, not too heavy and is perfect for those pleasant Sunday brunches. Find lots of women sweaters.

Can a girl do without a leather jacket? You dont need to be a moto chick to wear this. You just need it. I have quite a few myself but I definitely need this tan one!

Like a leather jacket, a denim jacket is a must too. Its warm, but not too warm making it the perfect daytime piece when its not freezing out there! Moreover, you need it for fall and spring too!

My obsession for overcoats is not new. However when its neck is fur trimmed, it becomes a fashion mandate. I love this coat's silhouette, colour and of course the fur trimming.

Winters are definitely incomplete without killer boots! Weather be it the ankle boots or uggs, over the knee type or even snow boots, you need to have more than one pair. Personally I love these over the knee boots. Get loads of fashionable women shoes online.

So which one of these do you need to buy? Or you want them all? Let me know!

11/28/2018 No comments

As clichéd as it may sound, but the truth is that a mother is also born as soon as a baby is born. I had been a 'non baby' person throughout my life. I am a single child myself, who has been brought up in a nuclear family far away from cousins. Also none of my friends or neighbors had any small kids; so basically I never came across small babies. So my daughter was the absolute first baby of my life.

Being a medico, I had delivered babies although during my maternity posting. But that was just taking the baby out and handing it over to the paediatrician. I had just learnt that babies can't hold their neck themselves, we need to support their necks all the time. But how much tough this situation is became apparent only I had my own baby to hold and manage.

My daughter was born underweight, so she was way tinier and wrigglier than other neonates. The first time I held her in her arms, I didn't immediately feel that connection as I was in severe post surgical pain of my C section. And the fact that she yelled all night long, on the second day made matters tough for me as I was unable to rest and sleep. After three days, I came home with my new born but she continued to cry the whole night long and my mental and physical health deteriorated.

This continued for 2 months continuously. I used to rock her in my lap the entire night and roam around in the house while everyone else slept. I never got a single moment to rest. She was born on March 11 and exactly after 2 months it was Mother's Day... the first Mother's day of my life as a mom. I didn't fall in love with her at the first sight. My health issues coupled with the fact that she never let me sleep at night made matters worse. On May 11, exactly after 2 months, I was rocking her the entire night, trying to make her fall asleep. The entire night of struggle had passed. It was exactly half past six in the morning when I layed her down on the bed, hoping she would fall asleep and let me rest too. But I was taken aback by the most startling gesture. She gave a me a wide, toothless smile...her first smile!

For the uninitiated, newborns don't smile. It takes time to do so and it's an important milestone in itself. But that smile came so unexpectedly, that I forgot all my woes! That was the best Mother's day gift ever and I vividly remember that precious moment. She fell asleep but for the first time in those two months of motherhood I waited for her to wake up so that I could witness that smile again.

There began my love affair with my munchkin which continues to grow everyday. I don't think I can love anyone else in this world as much as I love her.

I very vividly remember the time when she was born. I was a young, naive mother and she was weak and helpless. Baby cleanliness is a constant activity especially in newborns. Sometimes you have to clean the barf, sometimes poop or sometimes just general wiping. The safest method is to use water and cotton but it's neither convenient nor travel friendly. That's why we mothers use wipes. But the cardinal question is are they safe?

Baby wipes if made from polyester will cause rashes on your baby's skin. So I started scouring the market for cotton wipes and that's when I came across Mother Sparsh baby wipes.

These wipes are made of cotton and 98% water and hence are as good as pure water. The wipes are fully bio degradable too. That means firstly only natural materials are biodegradable. And secondly you are doing something for the environment too! That's a major bonus.

What do I love about these wipes?

These wipes are the purest water based wipes and hence are suitable for your baby right from birth. These are 100% alcohol and paraben free and hence absolutely safe and mild for the delicate baby skin.

These are made of pure cotton. So no chances of diaper rashes.

Easy to pull out from the pack.

These contain jojoba oil and glycerine too for moisturising effects.

These are hypoallergenic in nature.

These wipes are non soapy and non greasy.

They cost 175 INR for a pack of 80 wipes.

This post has been sponsored by Mothersparsh but the views are completely personal.

11/26/2018 6 comments

With every trip, I fulfill my self made goals of covering newer waterbodies. During this Italian trip, I had swam in the Ligurian Sea in the Italian Riviera. Then I had a very brief encounter with the Adriatic Sea in Lido Island, Venice. The water was warm and lovely and I was not satisfied since I was in it for a very less time. I however knew I would meet the Adriatic Sea again, in Bari. The region of Puglia is along the Mare di Adriatico or the Adriatic Sea and is known for its beaches. Bari, the capital of Puglia, has a very long coastline. When we were on our longest train journey from Venice to Bari, more than half of the journey had been by the sea. The waves were crashing as if they would flood the rail tracks. It was a new and a wonderful experience indeed.

We were dead tired when we reached Bari. It was our last destination and so the exhaustion was natural. Also the train journey was of nine and a half hours. It was almost three when we reached the station and another half hour later we reached our hotel. I rested and arranged our luggage (the next flight was on Ryan Airways and they had very strict luggage limitations) Hubs went to the departmental store to buy chocolates and wine as souvenirs. After he came back, we went out for exploring Bari. Although we felt like slipping into our beds but it was our last day in Bari. We had to make the most of it.

We started walking from our abode in Vecchia Bari (old bari) to the seafront promenade. The promenade is really long with the Adriatic Sea on one side and all the administrative buildings and shopping districts on other side. We found the city of Bari to be very modern, very un Italian/ European like. It seemed that we had landed in some different country altogether.

Our sore feet got energised by the sea air. We did not mind the long walk; in fact loved every minute of it! Suddenly it started drizzling. With so much experience in the uncertain weather of Europe, I am always equipped with umbrellas, everywhere.

After an hour of walking, we reached a beach. It was secluded and a bold warning forbidded swimming. The tide was high and the sea was wild. Very obvious why it was prohibited to swim.

We just touched the water and then took pictures in the lifeguard's tower. It was a bit overcast after the mild rain. Suddenly the setting sun could be seen. It was half past seven.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Literally. We saw a full rainbow in the sky. I can't remember the last time I saw a rainbow. Back home in Delhi, the sky is studded with buildings so you don't have a horizon! I was honestly thrilled. Wish the rainbow could be captured in our camera as beautifully as it had been shot in our minds.

We ended our day by walking back and stopped by the Bari castle by the sea. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and looked magnificent at night. On the promenade I bought myself a plate of fried chicken and a vegetable roll for hubs. It was the first time in our Italian viaggio that I spoke purely in Italian; as that man knew zero Inglese. I felt really proud of myself :D