Munni of all Trades

Award winning Lifestyle and Travel Blog by Khushboo Motihar

Review

Get Set BOLT!

I got an opportunity to visit the Bolt arena in Phoenix Kurla and I was really excited to check out Tata Motor’s latest offering, Bolt! J

 

Five features that really excited me were:

    It has three exciting aspects of DriveNext, DesignNext and ConnectNext which are unique for a car at this price point.

    It is very spacious and you have an option to completely close down the back seat to make way for your luggage.

    Bolt has collaborated with MapMyIndia to give the car state of the art GPS navigation facility.

    It is equipped with, the top-of-the-line airbags and ABS with EBD and CSC as standard.

    And its engine, well it it is too good to be true. A Revotron 1.2-litre turbocharged Multi-point Fuel Injection (MPFi)that has three different modes, Sports, City and Eco.

 

It comes in a petrol and diesel variant as well in five colour options, namely, venetian red, pristine white, platinum silver, dune beige, and sky grey.

What I loved about this car that it is perfect for a family outing and yet it is stylish enough that you can drive it to your office with pride. It is priced reasonably and has great financing options, too.

 

The seats are really comfortable and I think both the driver and the passengers will definitely enjoy a relaxing ride.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bolt has been created keeping you and me in mind. We all have different modes don’t we? An angry mode where we drive a little carefully so that we don’t ram into someone. A happy mode where all we want to do is go as fast as we want and an environment friendly mode where we want to do our bit for the nature by not wasting fuel. It has all this and more!

I admit, I failed in science in school and I don’t know what is horsepower. But what I do know is that Bolt is really fast, yes as fast as its namesake, Usain Bolt. The minute I opened the window, I could hear the wind whistle at the car (Bolt is pretty, isn’t she)

It was lovely going through the features of Bolt with the team who was happy to assist. They had some cool games going on in the arena, too and I must say that the atmosphere was upbeat and fun. Tata Bolt is an amazing car and I am sure you agree. 

Book Review: Orphans of the Storm

The stories of the Kashmiri Pundits have been told by many, yet very few have been able to capture their pain and their agony. Orphans of the Storm makes an attempt, too. But how successful has the author, Ravi Dhar, been in portraying their lives. We will find out soon enough; but before we continue, let’s get to know the book better.

About Orphans of the Storm
A novel about a boy who finds his family completely devastated by the outbreak of militancy in Kashmir valley. It’s about his efforts to support his father’s efforts to eke out a living in the ‘migrant’ camps of Jammu and to educate himself. In the inhospitable environment of Jammu, though he succeeds in earning a Master’s degree in English, he sees no hope of settlement. 

He gets selected as a Lecturer in English in Nagaland University, where he falls in love in the midst of an overwhelming environment of political intrigue and racial conflict. The abrupt end of this love affair hits him hard. But as if this was not enough, he gets isolated in the campus politics that views him with suspicion for proximity to both the groups of faculty. The murder of the Dean draws him into a shell. Life begins to smile yet again when he completes his doctoral thesis and happens to travel together with his future wife from Nagaland to Delhi. The breakdown of the train by which they are travelling gives them the time to come close and by the time they are travelling back from home, the bond between them is already sealed.
My Review
Orphans of the Storm is the story of Sidhhart, the youngest boy of Nund Pundit family, whose family is destroyed one fateful night forcing them to leave their village and become migrants in Jammu. They are treated like second citizens in their own country and are not even given basic facilities for survival. Siddhart, who once carefree, is now burdened with the responsibility of his family. Years pass and Siddhart develops a keen interest in literature that takes him to Nagaland.
This book tries to talk about the pain of the Kashmiri Pundits, their suffering and the author also talks about life. Though the story is well written, the editing could have been better. There are many instances where poor grammar disrupts the flow of the story. Also, in certain instances, the changes appear to be very sudden.  Initially, it is difficult to make sense of the characters that are being introduced continually but one gets used to them as the book proceeds.
Better editing and a crisp storyline would have made Orphans of the Storm a much better read.

Simply Complicated: Book Review

Today I am going to review Shreya Prabhu Jindal’s Simply Complicated. As always, before we dive into the book review, let’s get to know a brief synopsis of the book.
About Simply Complicated
Simply Complicated is a story that revolves around the lives of five young adults, Aastha, Sameer, Rahul, Padmini and Karuna. Recently passed out of college, they have been working for a couple of years. All in an age group where life becomes confusing as they try to sort careers and personal lives, this story is majorly built around their relationships with each other. They all reside in Gurgaon and South Delhi.

My review
The books starts off with an incident where Aastha is molested in a pub, which leaves her shaken and scarred. The story that fast forwards to Aastha, Sameer, Rahul and Padmini’s present life where we see Aastha is still fighting her demons even as she tries to maintain a normal façade most of the times.
Rahul and Padmini, who are very much in love, have constant arguments as Sameer is trying to figure his next move especially, since Karuna’s parents have found the perfect match for her.
Out of all the five, Karuna and Sameer’s story seemed the most realistic. I could identify with Karuna’s problem of having overbearing parents who want their daughter to be the ‘perfect Indian girl’. Sameer came across as a good friend even if he wasn’t always the perfect boyfriend.
Aastha’s story on the other hand seemed a little too far stretched to me. Her constant interference in her friends life and adopting holier than thou attitude made me dislike her character. But on one level, my heart went out to her especially when she had one of her attacks in the middle of the night.
Rahul and Padmini seemed to be characters just out from a movie script and I was not really fond of their constant fights and then making up.
This is my opinion on individual personas but let tell you that when you intertwined all these characters together, the book definitely made an interesting read.
The group’s holiday in Goa is a major twist in the book as find that Aastha realizes that she has feelings for Sameer. Sameer on the other hand has reasons to believe that he has probably hurt Aastha and that their friendship will never be the same again.
I loved the fact that Shreya chose to give the book an open ending where one does not know whether Sameer and Aastha end up together or whether Rahul and Padmini decided to get married and live happily ever after.

The book is an easy read and a good time pass, I must day. 

Cute FabFurnish Haul!

Heylo! (Oops, I started off with a hey and switched to hello somewhere in between and well, here you have an interesting new greeting) The reason why I am speaking in such a garbled language is that I am really happy. I got my hands on some cute things from FabFurnish, and I can’t wait to show it off to you!

You see, that? It is a cute little chocolate shaped silicon notebook! I love the fact that it has a nice chocolaty fragrance, too. Yep, you heard me right. Instead of writing anything in it, I keep sniffing it throughout the day.

It has around a 150 blank pages and very soon, I intend to fill it up with lots of interesting ideas for my blog.
The next thing that I purchased is an adorable spectacle holder. You see, I can’t be bothered to keep my spectacles safely in the case. I am too scatterbrained for that! So, I am hoping that Ms. Almost Chocolaty Brown will help me keep it safe. 

Where are the spectacles you ask? Oh here you go…

So that’s all from me for now. Hope you loved the products as much as I did. 😀

Kya Cheez Hai: Review

I personally have a huge collection of funky stationery but because it is so cute looking, I just don’t have the heart to use them. I have put them in a box and once in a while, I pick them out, exclaim how cool they are and put them back again. But today, I am going to tell you about a website that has quirky and fun products that can not only brighten up anybody’s day but they are functional as well. Isn’t it a match made in heaven? 

So drumrolls for…

Kya Cheez Hai?
Our products not only serve usage purpose but also tell you stories 🙂 Our products are absolute value for money – fun,durable,tasteful and original! They make ideal gifts for any occasion for anybody and everybody, be its kids or grown-ups.
Here are the products I received.

Switty Comb

Location: Wherever I can make the largest group of girls jealous

Me: (Nonchalantly) I need to comb my hair
Rummages in the bag, finds Switty and start combing my hair
Friend: Where did you get THAT from? I love it! I want one! Please!

I give a long monologue about its features and with a flourish tell them that I have brought it from Kya Cheez Hai and then…
I repeat my performance all over again 😀 Oh yes, this is what I am up to these days. 
Coming back to my review; I am sure you will agree that Vibrant, beautifully designed and durable are the words that can describe this gorgeous comb the best.
 
It comes in a cute pouch so that you can protect it from dust or chuck them into your bag safely when in a hurry. The comb quality is good which is a big plus for me. Like I mentioned before, often quirky products are not useful and they end up in my box. But I have been carrying Switty in my bag all the time.
 

 

USB
Aha! This is perfect for people like me whose pendrives are lost in the big black holes of their handbags. I have lost count of the number of times I have to dig deep into my Tote and finally empty it in frustration to retrieve my pesky Pendrive.
I love the quality of the band and it fits my wrist perfectly well. It also makes a cool accessory for regular jeans and tee. The best part is the admiring glances I get when I flaunt my wrist band USB.

 

 

Bendable Magnet
 
Hmm…I am not sure of why exactly it is a bendable magnet, but it sure looks great. I was a little unsure initially, whether it will be able to take the weight of the keys because the ends of the moochies were really thin, but surprisingly, it does handle it well.

Shipping and Packaging
The products were sent to me in a recycled box (which is always appreciated) and each of the products had their own individual packaging. The product reached me in 5 days because I had specifically requested the team to send it to me via speed post. I am glad that my request was fulfilled because most of the times, people tend to ignore these requests and I have to travel a long distance to pick up my packages from the offices of courier companies.
Product Selection
Though they have a good variety of products, some of them maybe out of stock. So you will have to wait for sometime to get your order processed. The products are pocket friendly, too. 
Currently their website is not functional but I have been told that the team is working really hard to revamp it. Till then, you can buy their products from their Facebook page and also on other online shopping websites.
Overall verdict: Good quality products coupled with a dedicated support team that takes care of your request will sum up Kya Cheez Hai the best. Loved your products guys 😀
 
*Products were a PR sample, the review is honest as always