Sector 17 Chandigarh

I was about to close my eyes for a blissful nap this afternoon when the phone rang.  It was the guy from the city office to report a problem.  The problem was serious enough to make me drag myself out of bed and drive over to bail him out.  It took me an hour or two to fix his problem.

Our city office is in Sector 22 which is a stone's throw away from my favorite spot in Chandigarh, Sector 17.  I could not resist the temptation to hang out there for a while.  I have lived in Chandigarh (or its vicinity) for nearly 30 years now.  I love visiting the Sukhna Lake and Nek Chand's Rock Garden a lot.  I like driving around its tree lined roads.  I like shopping in Sector 22.  I have favorite spots for most things.

Nothing beats Sector 17 for just walking about, looking in to shop windows, walking into English Book Shop or Capital Book Shop for looking at books and magazines.  One can eat at many of the small snack shops that abound, or walk into fast food restaurants or even fine dining ones.

This is a fish shaped fountain in the center of Sector 17 plaza.  You can see a number of people just hanging around.

This is another row of fountains in the center of the plaza.  Just behind this fountain is the space where platform is usually set up for cultural performances from time to time.

You can see the famous Softy Corner which has been supplying softies and snacks to Chandigarhians as far as I can remember.  This tiny shop doles out softies, popcorn, cold drinks and several such stuff.

Just like the shop in this picture, Sector 17 is studded with little nooks loaded with bags, dupattas, socks, belts, caps, jewellery, cosmetics, umbrellas and stuff like that.  These are lovely to browse in.  Often a bag that looks funky and cute from afar looks tacky upon a closer look.  There are times though, when you could pick something trendy and pretty at rock bottom rates.

This is all what make Sector 17 such a fun place to hang out in.  Large expensive showrooms sit cheek-by-jowl with tiny shops selling budget stuff and pavement sellers who look bored when you pause beside their display.  They know you are just looking.

I took these pictures from my ancient beaten down mobile phone.  Predictably it croaked after these many pictures were taken.  Hope to be able to bring you an update on Sector 17 soon.

Pretty Panchkula

It was a short while ago that my office shifted to Panchkula.  Living on rent, it did not make too much sense for me to commute so much, hence I started looking for houses closer to my place of work.  Alas, Panchkula had already been beset by cash rich IT professionals who were willing to pay good bucks.  The houses that went for ridiculous rents were now beyond reach for me.  I moved into a less popular place, more populous nevertheless, thanks to the numerous housing societies that have sprung up here, turning a green periphery into a concrete jungle.

Now that I was closer to my place of work and took a route through Panchkula, I started noticing how pretty Panchkula is.  Indeed, it is prettier than its more famous cousin Chandigarh.  A tiny little dot on the map, it nestles close to the foothills of the Shivalik mountains that loom in the background no matter where you are.  From Chandigarh you can spot them in the distance, blue and hazy.  In Panchkula you can see the green bushes and the exposed earth and rocks that dot the Morni hills and the hills close to Nada village. The roads are broad here and kothis are more individualistic and opulent than in Chandigarh.  More on these later when I have pictures to back my claim.

This post is about the view of Nada Sahib from atop the  flyover that is built for the convenience of travellers from Ambala-Delhi route who want to rush towards Shimla without being caught in the bottleneck of city traffic.  More on this too, later.  At the moment, enjoy the pictures.

Nada Sahib shines amongst shrubs and rocks of the hills that  are just starting out.

People flock to the Nada Sahib Gurdwara on Puranmashi  days.

Devotees ask for boons here.

Cities grow and overtake everything. Chandigarh airport was once in wilderness, Now it is in the centre of Pabhat (or Bhabat) village.  Visiting Nada Sahib used to be a long drive through a quiet town, now it is a busy road and a thriving Nada Village that dots your road.

Good Hair Day and Indian Coffee House

I use the pink one

I missed my swimming class and hopped over to Tina's Blue Heaven for a haircut last evening.  Getting a haircut is such an upper.  I feel 20 degrees smarter instantly.  Tina has a magic touch that makes your hair look feminine and cute, even if it is just a layered bob.  It was late already and there was no time to hang out in Sector 17.  So I just rushed over to Empire Stores to pick up some soap and shampoo.  I like Herbal Essences, but I couldn't find it on the shelves.  Disappointed, I pick up a Pantene which my son uses.  I will have to go to some other shop now.

I couldn't resist hopping into Indian Coffee House, I was hungry and a dosa-coffee looked appetising.  There is really something about this place that brings out my creativity.  I must go there sometime with a laptop, when I finally own one, that is.  There were a couple of boys seated opposite me, tucking into hot dogs and a strawberry shake.  I know I am being horrid, but it seemed so girly somehow, sipping a pink drink through a straw.

There is a motley crowd around me as usual.  A group of men in their fifties, suitably bald and overweight, being as rambunctious as they can get over cups of coffee; some shoppers clutching bags, looking tired and sorely in need of sustenance; the heretofore mentioned sippers of strawberry shake; a couple of other youngsters not sipping strawberry shake.

My coffee drunk, dosa eaten, half hour spent in contemplating my surroundings, I leave.

Oh O!

Thinking of maintaining a daily diary. What I read today and what I did. This morning I awoke to a cloudy sky, which turned into a cool duststorm, which turned into icy rain. I surfed a bit, checked out my diary post on www.mouthshut.com and did a bit of orkutting, my usual morning routine. Before I knew, it was nearly nine. Rushed off to office and here I am. More later tomorrow.