J is for Jaunt to Fairyland?

March 2017,Gurugram, North India

By now you all must know that my A to Z posts are about Travel Epiphanies. What does travel mean to you? Is it about making a journey to a distant land, of exploring the unexplored, or revisiting places away from home?

For me travelling does not just translate to leaving town and going on a break. I believe that each day we travel in our own little ways through time, place and space. That morning jog, the little walk to the market nearby, driving down to the green grocers for fresh veggies, or a trip on the tube rail to the other side of the town to meet and greet old friends and new alike, or maybe that commute to work. Each one of them qualify for travel of a unique kind, a journey that leaves us with memories that are indelible, yet non-reclaimable.

I live in India’s, New Delhi Capital Region, also known as the NCR, in a metropolis called Gurugram. Once upon a time Gurugram used to be a village surrounded by jungles, but slowly urbanisation took over and so did industrialisation. This place is unique because it’s a melting pot of various cultures. We have people from the length and breadth of the country co-habitating along with a large number of NRIs and expats. Though Gurugram is a city, the beautiful range of Aravalli hills run around it’s periphery and the jungles there boast of diverse forms of flora and fauna. If you’ve been following my posts you probably know by now that I’m not too fond of cities. The pollution, the crowd, the traffic, and sometimes the high and mighty attitude just gets to me. Yet, after having lived in Gurugram for 7 years this place has grown on me, slowly but surely. I might tell you the reasons in my subsequent posts.

I’m not much of a mall rat. I usually keep away from them, and visit them only when work demands, or if i’m meeting a friend. A bright, bubbly friend I had recently gotten to know, asked me to meet her for coffee at the Mad Tea Pot café, at Wishing Chair, in the South Point Mall. I love Wishing Chair and it’s an all time favourite. It’s a lifestyle retail brand for home accessories, decor and gifting space. Their products are a reflection of strong creative and feminine aesthetic, imparting a sense of wonder and happy nostalgia – an amalgamation of childhood memories and adult ingenuity. I hadn’t gone there in a while and the moment I walked into the store I was transported into a land where fairies dance and pixies prance (that’s one of my poetic renditions, that I use liberally, after all I’m such a big fan of all things magical) The store is like an enchantress. It has a way of casting a spell upon you and holding you hostage. (As you can see in the pictures)

The friend and I had tons to catch up. And then the impending AtoZChallenge was lurking on our heads so we brainstormed over a full-bodied Latte, a coy “First Flush with Lavender and Lemon Grass” tea and a sumptuous and hearty Whatzizname sandwich. This friend has a certain zing to her personality and her presence is lively and infectious.

This particualr jaunt to Wishing Chair also transported me back in time, when my closest friend was visiting from Bombay. She and I had shopped for these quintessential looking lamps that were made out of tinted glass jars. We just had to put fairy lights into them and Lo! behold we had  exquisite pieces of beauty to adorn our homes.

Wishing Chair is just one of those places in Gurugram that imparts good cheer and radiance, a place where beautiful memories are spun, a place where I can pick up these magical knickknacks that are a reminder to stay enchanted and enthralled by the little joys life has to offer. And to cherish and treasure memories with friends who are in our life for a reason.

We all have a Wishing Chair within us, which we can turn into a beautiful reality with life’s lovely offerings.

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My theme for this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge is Travel Epiphanies that are my very own tales of adventure and revelation. I will be writing 26 posts throughout the month of April. You can read my theme here.