Unique gift ideas for Haldi Kumkum

As soon as Makarsankranti is over, you will start getting invitation for Haldi Kumkum. This is the social gathering of married women for exchange of Haldi and Kumkum for the long life of their respective husbands. Haldi means yellow turmeric powder and Kumkum is Red turmeric powder or vermillion, it is symbol of married women. It is a Hindu festival hostess by a married woman for married women. All women gather together, exchange haldi kumkum along with tilgul – sweet laddo made by til and jaggery and give (vaan) small return gift too.

Source: Google free pic

History: (Info from goggle) …This haldi kumkum started from the Peshwa (Maratha Ruler) Maharashtra State. Queen of the Peshwa invite other married women for this ceremony. All married women exchange haldi kumkum and prayed to the God for the long life of their husband. The queen also gave all this women a beautiful sari and with blouse piece and coconut and grain of rice. The tradition started from this period and it is still followed by all Maharashtrian women during all the auspicious day like marriage, baby shower or namkaran of baby etc. 

Source : freepicspot.com

Anyway the topic is the unique gift idea for this haldi kumkum ceremony – so I am giving you the ideas which are pocket friendly. We usually host the event and invite many friends. It is very difficult to choose the most beautiful gift. So I am there to help you out.

I am categorized this gift item as per our (women’s) requirement. So let’s start -

Kitchen items: if your guest list is more than 50 and your budget is low then try to give some useful items of kitchen.

Source : Google free pics

1.  Juicer: It cost (small one) around 60 to 75 /- which is also    very good gift item.

2.  Steel vessels: Steel is always a healthy, so try to give out anything of steel in smaller size. The gift items are like steel bowl, glass, oil container, spoon, small plate, spatula, cheese grater, strainer, steel container for spices etc.

3. Beverage item: Try to give small sachet of Tea, coffee, oats, corn flex etc.

Bathroom items: These are most consuming product which we can offer as a gift-

1.       Small jugs or mugs used in bathroom

2.       Soap dispenser

3.       Small size soap and shampoo(there are many variety)

4.       Dishwasher packet or hand wash packet.

5.       Small size Colgate packets

6.       Rugs or brush

Yup….it looks funny but tries to give out some useful items which are in our budget. I used to get all this things.

Makeup Category: We women love to do make up..!! So why should not give any make up related gift items? But make sure it should be of a nice quality. If budget is no issue then you can gift the items which are made for specially travels.

1.       Oil container.

2.       Talcum powder in small packets of any brand.

3.       Lotion or moisturizers.

4.       Kajal and bangles specially kadas.

5.       Nail Polish or Lip Pencils.

6.       Comb: try to give out the wooden one.

7.       Clutches or tic- tac pins or hair bands.

8.       Small Mirror.

9.       Face wash or face pack sachet.

The list will be going on. Do try to give out the best as you can.

Next will be some more realistic gift items which one really liked by everyone.

1. Recipe Book: you can give out small recipe book including all cousins.

2. Photo Album: Go online you can get a number of varieties of small photo albums.

3. Photo Frame: There are so many website or local shops too which provide very beautiful photo frames. 

4. Bags: Bags are the most favorite items of our, yes or no mommies? There are so many varieties of items in bags like – sling bags, potali bags, clothes bags specially made up of Sarri borders, small coin bags, and small mobile holders which is made up of woolen etc.

5. Last but not the list you can give out the pot with Tulsi plant. This is one of the unique gifts which look precious but it cost nothing to our pocket.

I hope all mommies; you can get the ideas for gift items. Do let me know what gift items you pick for your haldi kumkum ceremony. Don’t forget to send me beautiful images of yours.

 Disclaimer : All pics are from google .

Review of 2018

Yup, I am quite late for this post. The post was ready, but my laptop was not ready to publish the post. What whirlwind 2018. Really it was like roller and coaster, which give me a lot of push towards positivity. This 2018 give me the taste of success and teach how to respond to the negativity.  Every bitter experience gives you a new lesson and confidence to boost with your problems. Ahh.....I don't want to give any bitterness to my viewers😝. But in short , yes this is the best year of my life. Lets rewind it.....

31st December 2017 at 11.30 p.m. I had bad accident in which I got stitches towards my middle area of two eyebrows. ykkkk…..yess…. It was 31st December celebration night, towards the end of the party game met with the accident. At midnight we ran to the hospital and got the 4 stitches above my right eye. What a great start of 2018! I am about to loose my eyes, but for God sake that didn't happened. 

The first lesson of 2018 which teach me to have positive vibes over a negativity.

New member in our family....Avengers 150,...Mr. Hubby's most awaited dream....I can see the achievement in his eyes!!

Mr. Hubby

This is the very first stage performance of my daughter. She used to cry whenever listen music on DJ with loud speaker. Whether it's GaneshChaturthi, Navratri or a marriage baraat, whenever she listened the DJ music, tend to sit on my laps and even don't get down on floor. This dance surprised us that she tried to manage to cope up with her fear.

Her first dance of Subby Dubby...from Three Idiot. Like every parent we also feel proud specially for her courage.

My childhood hobby is to learn dance with proper institute, where as that was not happen but yes, I learned Zumba - Dance Exercise, with my mentor : Mrs. Shubhangi. Thank you Shubhangi for 💃, Please check out the detailed post on Zumba here. link : https://www.memoryflies.com/2018/05/zumba-fitness.html

I really missed all of you buddies.

Next, yup....me and Anu (my friend....people used to say that we are sisters..👩👩) learned Four Wheeler. We still need to do a lot of practice to go on road....ha...ha...ha.... but yes we got the License and have the best time yess or no Anu ? Yes she is the one who taught me how to overcome to your fear and taught me scooty.

Getaway : We have three getaway this year unexpectedly and unplanned. The most awaiting my dream tour is Kashmir. The trip is the most memorable in my life. Heaven is heaven !!For detailed post please check out the link :

https://www.memoryflies.com/2018/05/shikara-ride-on-dal-lake.html

Small tour like Shaniwarwada and Sihagad was also gave a warmth experience. Pune is always on my wish list and will love to explore more there. yup....the post is on the way.

with my mother in law ( Atteysasu)

The first birthday of my nephew (my brothers son), which was enjoyed by himself so calmly without a single tantrum. We  were surprised that he enjoyed a lot. Otherwise you know how was the 1st birthday party,tantrum, crying baby and irritating parents. But yes we have a nice birthday party.

with betterhlaf

Almost after 30 years I met my childhood friend Mr. Nitin Divekar. We are almost together from Senior Kg up to completion of graduation but never talked with each other. We were in the same class up to grade 4th. Then share the same high school, same tutions and even same college but don't have a communication.😐quite strange! He found me through Facebook and have a meet up and chat like we never had through the life.

It was like my all childhood memories come in front of eyes. How we used to spend the day in school, the Teachers who love us more than any other students, our favorite teachers, (Sadhana mam,😊 we still miss you, hope you are reading!), friends and family. Husshh….how long this journey is from childhood to settled life with our kids! Really feeling blessed to have happy family and old friends.

Some creativity...Diwali special..😜

h

Love to mingle with small kids always. Kids are the best refreshment, I believe it, do you? Here is the celebration pics with my kiddos. Love you all my children.

How was your 2018? Have you looked back ? Share your one of the best memory of 2018 in the comment section.

Happy Makarsankrant 2019

It’s 2019, new start, new refreshment, new goals. Wishing all of you, a healthy, happy and positive 2019.

Makarsankrant: It is the first hindu festival of 2019. The festival itself suggests having a new start without keeping any disputes in your mind with anyone and have healthy relationship. As it said, “Tilgul Ghya ani God God bola” (it’s in Marathi, means take the laddo of til and talk sweet). Forget whatever happened in the 2018 and have a new start to your relationship. So guys I will suggest you to take the advantage of this festival and strengthen your broken relationship.

Image : google.

India is diversified country where the one festival is celebrated all over India with different name and rituals. It has different names like it is called Makarsankrant in Maharashtra, Bihu in Aasam, Lohri in Punjab, Pongal in Tamilnadu and Bhogi in AndhraPradesh. January is the harvest season where you can find multiple of local produce abundantly which is worshipped on this day. The method of worship is different according to the region. Every ritual suggest to destroy all your negative thought on this auspicious day and have positivity towards your life. Try to apply from this day and have wonderful year ahead.

Image : Google

Generally we celebrated by making delicious food and distributing Til Gul, yes or no guys? I love this festival, specially love to prepare and eat Tilgul Laddo. How many of you love to eat this? And now my daughter is also going on the same track. She love to eat this laddo. Just finished one batch and we already eating half of them.

I love to make our family favorite rice kheer along with this Laddo. For detail recipe please click on this link : https://memoryflies.blogspot.com/2016/10/first-anniversary-of-memory-flies.html

Image : Memory Flies

In Maharashtra the delicious food is prepared like Bhogichi Bhaji is made by using variety of vegetables. Laddo, Tilachi poli - til (sesame) and Jaggary mixture, and Puran poli - chana dal and jaggary mixture.

Image : Google

Our festival teach us to stay with the root and enjoy each rituals with this. Every food have its own nutritional value according to the season and we must eat that which is much healthier option rather than packaged food. Todays in this readymade world I would suggest that we should prepare all this seasonal recipe and teach to our next generation. Otherwise our Marathi dishes will get lost. I request to all Mommies, please take out the time and try to prepare all this dishes with your kids.

Image: google

I am signing off with  “Til Gul ghya ani God God bola”. Don’t forget to comment down below with pictures of your delicious recipe which you made on this Makarsankrant Day ?

Happy Makarsankranti 2019.

Kahwah- Kashmir Tea and Kesar Farm

Hi all,

This post is from my Kashmir Diary. We explored so many things over there. Kahwah was one of them.

How many of you know Kahwah? Wondering what is Kahwah?  

It is the special tea of Kashmir which is made by boiling green tree leaves with Kesar (saffron strand) and all dry fruits.

You will not get our regular ginger-cardamom tea in kashmir but you will get KAHWAH at every place which tastes awesome.  I don't know whether it will give out the same taste in Mumbai or not. We have humid weather compared to the Kashmir and every place has its own specialty. I believe the things are special due to its place and weather.

The first time we had Kahwah on Gulmarg visit in a tiny hut. The old man boiled this tea in a copper kettle on coal. Then at every point throughout the whole tour of Kashmir even on normal tea stall, we had the same drink with a little bit of variety in taste. 

Shopping is always an invitable part of any tour. We tourist love to shop special  things belong to that place. We followed the same rule. This is a shop - a wholesale shop where we had 😊 shopping of Kesar (saffron), dry fruits, and this Kahwah.

Once we tasted kahwah at Gulmarg we started to search it at every point. We got the stall and without wasting a time, I rushed to the stall because he was making a Kahwah in front of us on a stove. I try to collect information about Kahwah as much as possible because they did not speak proper hindi. I think it is one of the awesome drinks in the world. According to the tea stall person there are three types of tea masala, which make Kahwah i.e. Zeber, king, and pine. This was his specialty only. You can get varitey of masala all over the Kashmir. He did not add any tea leaves but added the tea masala and little bit of sugar and many dry fruits. Have a glimse of it.

cashew, almond, cardamom along with the boiling water

We all had it and purchase the Kahwah from the shop.

Behind this shop, there was a kesar farm. Yes, saffron grow in this field. But due to off season we have to satisfied with this plain farm only. 😌

And this is the KESAR, which is a highly expensive product

I love this packaging. It cost around approximately Rs. 3500/-, Rs. 2500/-. Rates are varied as per the quantity. 

It was really difficult to find real KESAR. Most of the people will sell you duplicate saffron. You have to be very careful while purchasing it. The shopkeeper guided us on how to find it. We had a test for real Kesar and then only we purchased it. We put the saffron strand in water for a while and after some time the colour of the water changes to yellowish one.  We kept it for some time as we spend almost one hour there to shop variety of products. We shopped some of beauty products too. 😉But the saffron water and colour does not changed at all. Finally we purchased it from this shop in a bulk. 

One of the most adorable was the APPLE FARMS. Kashmir is well known for it's apple, we all know this and when you have a chance to hop in 😎, voila! On the way of Pahalegam, we stopped for our lunch and exactly opposites to it there was a big apple farm. We hopped on the farm like small kids, took so many pics and had lot of fun. These are the baby apples. We travelled in wrong season due to which we miseed many things.

Baby apple 

Highway of Pahalgam.

  It took almost 4 hours to reach Pahalgam from Srinagar. But the nature beauty was awesome. You will never get tired of this travel because of the nature. Just do one thing, switch off the phone and enjoy it.😊

The most interesting part was, almost for three times the Army Soldiers checked our bus. It was really a thrilling experience to saw the soldiers with the cap, metal gun.  Checking was for our safety but felt conscious.😑 This was one of the most critical tour in our lifetime. 

I love this apple farm. 

Have you taste Kawaha in your life time? Do you like it? Have you been to apple farms?

I would like to know your experience. Please share it in comment section.

Till then, 

Happy Travelling

Shikara Ride on Dal Lake

Srinagar is Largest City in Jammu and Kashmir that is lie on Kashmir Valley and on the bank of Jhelum River.  The arc of Green Mountain and soothing climate surrounds the city. The city is famous for its natural beauty, Shikara ride on Dal Lake, landscape gardens and most beautiful handicrafts items. I loved about the city is that constantly a green, snowy mountains follows you wherever you go and Jhelum river is with you across all the streets. The water fountains on the Dal Lake and all sky touching slanted tress are like a painting.   No wonder, from this place only the artist get the inspiration for the nature painting. Srinagar is the place where you can seat with your love one for hour and hour without whispering a single world. It is like soaking the beautiful moments where Mother Nature has gives out plenty of blessing to you.

pic source : google

You should go with your loved one; either it is your boyfriend, girlfriend or else your spouse. The Romantic climate called out to be a mesmerized with the nature by forgetting the real world. It is like a meditation on Himalayas lap. I will not stop to describe the beauty…so let’s jump into today’s post i.e. Shikara ride on Dal Lake.

Dal is the longest lake in Srinagar, which is also known as Jewel in the crown of Kashmir. The shoreline of the Dal Lake is encompassed by Mughal Gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels.  The Mughal gardens are like Nishat Bag, Shalimar bag, Chasmeshahi garden which all built by Mughals Emperor Jahangir, which is Char Chand of the Srinagar.

pic source : Google

Shikara are nothing but small Oak wood boat that is floating on the lake in which you can see the reflection of Snow Mountain.  While on shikara ride, you get to see the 8 points that is all built on water. The main beauty of this Dal Lake is everything including daily lives too is floating on the water.  We saw the normal houses where actual people live other than tourist. We use auto or bus to travel from one place to another, but these people are using small boats. Not only male but female also sail the boat very well. You can see the doctors, museum, shops, stores, garden, fishing, etc. all in one floating on this lake.

pic source : google

Choose your boat as per your preference, lay down back on the Shikara with your family and enjoy the beauty. Cost of Shikara ride per person is Rs. 100/- to 150/-. Yes ….you need to bargain…we bargain almost for 30 minutes. To have a romantic and soothing view of Shikara ride please check out the video on my FB page, the link is :

Important tip: Do not waste your time in taking tons of photographs, ☺instead seat with a peace with your loved one to enjoy the paradise of the earth. I have enjoyed a lot with my family and friends. Hence not able to take photographs. That is the reason you see many pics from google. I took a very few photographs but yes shoots lot of videos. If you want to see, the video just let me know in the comment section below so that I will post a link on my FB page.

Dal Lake is another floating city of Srinagar. Whatever you want to buy, the boat will landed at your favorite shop so that you can get it down and buys the product. You can get many things like shawl, handicraft items, carpet, sweets, kashmiri salwar suits, gift items, medicine, milk, bread, fruits, even grocery. Yes, this is the floating market. Just have a look….

Another interesting thing is while your Shikara floating on a lake, most of the seller selling the fruit salad, kabab, handicraft items in a boat and convince you to buy them.

Looking funny na….!!!

I like this Kashmiri girl photoshoot. Yes…..the photographer sail his boat with kashmiri suits for Raja Rani with ornaments and flower bucket. He can take a multiple photos and give the hard copy until you finished your ride on the seashore. One copy cost around Rs. 140/-

Floating garden

This is one of the floating gardens, which is cultivated in the season. Right now, it is in this condition. You can see many birds floating on this lake that you never saw before. We saw the various types of plants, which are under this water. The people continuously clean this flesh. Lake is also known for fishing. We saw a variety of fisherman seating on seashore and some of them fishing while sailing on the boat.

plants /flesh under the water

So How was your ride guys….enjoy na ….!!!! Let me know in the comment section.

Don’t forget to like, share and comment. It means a lot to me.