Festa de Diu - Asia's Longest Beach Festival

"A beach is not only a sweep of sand, but shells of sea creatures, the sea glass, the seaweed, the incongruous objects washed up by the ocean." - Henry Grunwald

Thinking about this quote today, you might find that it applies most to the pristine beaches of Diu, the tiny Union Territory surrounded by the sea. And why not, since Diu is currently the most happening place with Asia's longest beach festival, the Festa de Diu - a 75 day extravaganza that goes on till February!

Diu is not generally the first spot for a beach holiday in India, with Goa usually being the more popular choice. However, the Festa de Diu is all set to change this, with a festival that celebrates music, food, art and life in general!

Diu is a lovely place with plenty of coast, making it the ideal destination for beach lovers. But Diu is also a great spot for adrenaline junkies, with many options for water sports along with bungee jumping, zip lining and hot air balloon rides. And if relaxing and rejuvenating is more your thing, there are plenty of spa facilities available.

The festival will see many luxury beach tents for accommodation, in addition to existing hotel rooms. These tents offer free access to all the areas of the Festival village including cultural performances. Speaking of which, this year, there are many top performers at the festival - Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, Neeraj Sridhar, Kailash Kher, Shubha Mudgal and more. When you're not attending a performance, you can stroll through the all day flea market.

Even when it's not festival time, Diu has many places that are worth visiting. Here are the top 5 picks by us:

1. Diu Fort

The Diu fort was built by the Portugese during their colonial rule in 1535. The fort is a large and impressive structure, with a beautiful view of the sea. The fort also has a rich history of many rulers and kingdoms, making it a must visit!

2. Naida Caves

The Naida caves are truly a breathtaking sight, and entering the caves feels like entering another world! The caves have several tunnels inside and are just outside the Diu fort along the Jalandhar beach.

3. St. Paul's Church

The St. Paul's Church in Diu is one of the most active churches built by the Portugese, and is a fine example of baroque-style architecture. While the exterior of the church is impressive in itself, the interiors are also full of exquisite carvings and details.

4. Shell Museum

The Shell Museum is truly a unique kind of museum, built by a Merchant Navy Captain. On his travels around the world, the captain collected shells from around fifty different countries and each one has been labelled with great care and displayed.

5. Zampa Gateway

The Zampa Gateway is a structure that just cannot be missed, with it's bright color and massive size! This landmark also features carvings of animals and religious themes, and is close to a chapel. The gateway is also said to feature artificial waterfalls.

So if you're looking for a break to refresh yourself for the New Year, you know where to head to! So book your tickets, pack your bags and prepare for a trip you'll never forget!

10 Most Popular Cakes of the World

Whenever anyone thinks about planning a birthday party, the first thing that is arranged is a cake! Even if there is no time for anything else, a cake is the very minimum which makes the day qualify as a true celebration. Such is the power of this baked product, usually made of flour, eggs, sugar and butter. To watch these simple yet disparate ingredients come together and rise to form the most beautiful and delicious thing that can have you forgetting all about your intentions to eat healthy.

If you're wondering why we're suddenly focusing on cakes today, it's because it's Cake Day! And since there are just too many kinds of cakes in this world, we've decided to focus on the 10 most popular varieties, that never seem to go out of fashion. Warning: put a waterproof cover over your keyboard to catch all the drool!

10 Most Popular Cakes of the World

1. Victoria Sponge Cake

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We begin with one of the most common cakes ever - the sponge cake, specifically the Victoria sponge cake also called the Victoria sandwich cake. Named after Queen Victoria, this cake consists of layers of sponge cake sandwiched together with fruit jam and whipped cream. Sometimes, cut fruit like strawberries or raspberries are also placed in the filling as well as used to decorate. This is one of those cakes that stand out for their simplicity, and don't require any additional decoration!

2. Cheesecake

A cheesecake has a more pudding-ish texture when compared to the traditional idea of a cake, but that doesn't mean it's any less delicious! Made of a biscuit or cracker base, and topped with a cream cheese mixture, cheese cakes are available in a wide variety of flavors, although the New York Cheesecake is probably the most popular. Many also have different toppings like jelly or ganache which add another layer to this delectable dessert. 

3. Angel Food Cake

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You've often heard of the term 'food of the Gods'; well, this one is one for angels! This cake is so soft and light, that you can't stop at one slice. The airiness is achieved by beating egg whites stiff, and without using any butter. These cakes are usually baked in tins with a hole in the center to ensure that the cake rises well, giving it that pillowy soft texture. 

4. Devil's Food Cake

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When you speak of angel's food cake, can the devil's version be far behind? And yes, this cake is so sinfully delicious, that the name is just perfect for it! This cake is considered different from your average chocolate cake because of all the chocolate - in both the cake as well as the ganache and filling. These cakes are a deep, dark brown, and just a small slice can take you to chocolate heaven!

5. Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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Most cakes are served the way they came out of the oven, but this cake is served upside down! Slices of pineapple are arranged at the base of the cake tin, usually with cherries filling in the gaps. Batter is then poured over this and baked, after which the cake is upturned to get a beautiful pineapple topped dessert! As you can imagine, this cake requires absolutely no frosting or accompaniments, it's perfect just the way it is!

6. Black Forest Cake

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This is probably the most sought after cake for birthday parties! A black forest cake is also called a black forest gateau, and is actually a German production. It consists of layers of chocolate cake, usually soaked in some sort of liquid, whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings. The cake is set apart from other chocolate cakes because of the moistness from the syrup and the tartness from the fruit, making it a true explosion of flavors!

7. Pound Cake

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No, this cake doesn't cost a pound; it is called so because of the ingredients - a pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. However, a scaled down version with an equal ratio of these ingredients also qualifies as a pound cake. This cake is a little denser than the airy sponge, and nuts or chocolate chips are often added to the batter. This is the perfect cake to accompany your afternoon tea!

8. Tiramisu

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The Tiramisu is much more than just a cake; it is an experience! An Italian dessert, it consists of ladyfinger biscuits with a good amount of coffee, cocoa as well as mascarpone cheese. The result is a rich cake, usually cut into square slices and served at the end of an elaborate meal. This is not your everyday coffee cake!

9. Fruitcake

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This kind of cake starts getting popular around this time of year, and is a common fixture during Christmas feasts. This cake is usually quite dense and is filled with different kinds of nuts, dry fruit and spices, many of which are soaked in a mixture of liquids for several days before baking. A popular variation of this cake is the Plum cake, often seen in Christmas celebrations in Kerala.

10. Red Velvet Cake

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This cake is not for the faint-hearted; but don't let that fiery red color fool you! This is one of the most popular cake recipes on the planet, and in no small account to the contrast of the deep red cake against the white frosting. This is actually a kind of chocolate cake, which uses buttermilk to keep the cake moist and soft. The color is usually due to food coloring or beetroot juice, and is what gives the cake its distinct look!

Besides being informative, let this article be a bucket list of sorts - for the cakes to bake if you're a baker, or the ones to eat if you're a foodie! Do let us know if we've missed out on your favorite kind of cake!

6 Ways to make the Men in your Life feel special this International Men’s Day

If this is the first time you’re hearing about International Men’s Day, then you’re not alone. While International Women’s Day gets a lot of press and publicity, there is hardly a whisper and a nod to the male equivalent of the day. Now if you’re wondering why men need a special day seeing that they don’t need to fight for their rights as women do, well that’s not what this day is about!

International Men’s Day was created as a day to focus on men’s and boy’s health as well as to improve gender relations. In this world of changing gender roles, this day actually achieves more significance as the years go by. When women’s roles are being put in the spotlight (and rightly so), sometimes we tend to forget that the men do work hard for their families too!  This day attempts to focus on a man’s contribution to his family too, which goes a long way in fostering good gender relations, especially among boys.

So this Men’s Day, make it special for your Dad, brother, husband and son, and let them know that you acknowledge their efforts!  Here are a few ways you can make this day special for them.

6 Ways to make the men in your life special this International Men’s Day

1. Adventure Date

Plan a special adventure sports date for your husband, brothers and sons (if they are old enough) and your father and father-in-law (if they are active enough). They probably have fun in their own circles, but not with each other, so this will be a perfect opportunity to have some fun!

2. Laze-around Day

Let your husband have a day to himself. Okay, you probably think that he does have days to himself, but let this one not include any nagging about dirty coffee cups or wet towels! A no-nagging day will be super-appreciated by anyone, and you might just find that you enjoy it too!

3. Grocery Trip

Take a family trip to the supermarket, but let your husband and son take the lead. Let them check out the pantry and fridge, make a menu, list out groceries and get them. Let them do it the way they like and you can sit back and have fun clicking pictures! This is also a great way to get them more involved in the behind-the-scenes process.

4. Gifting Options

Get them gifts!! Women often tend to get men more ‘utilitarian’ gifts, but this time go for something whacky, but something that they’ll love – like a bobblehead of their favorite TV show character or a gun that makes fart noises!! Let all the women go shopping for this together – it’s a win-win situation for everyone!

5. Grooming Special

This month is also called ‘Movember’, a month-long event that promotes growing moustaches to focus on men’s health. Whether the men in your life have moustaches or not they can still enjoy a good grooming session! Book one at a luxe men’s salon and let them enjoy some well-deserved pampering.

6. Health Checkup

The best gift you can give anyone is of course, the gift of good health. Since the intention of this day is also to focus on men’s health issues (which many men ignore), gift your loved ones a full checkup at a reputed hospital. Make sure it’s tailored to their age, so that they’re up to date with all the requisite tests.

So there’s actually a lot you can do, from a simple supermarket visit to an elaborate adventure date. Pick one that’ll work for you and your family and don’t forget to tell everyone how much you love them!

10 Milestones in Internet History

 “We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain” – Stephen Hawking

For most of us today, living without the internet is almost unthinkable – just remember the day your connection died and how you felt. Probably something like this:

44 years ago, this very month, the first ever email was sent, via ARPANET, the first ever network to implement TCP/IP protocols. Of course, the internet has come a long way since then, and today, you can pay your bills, shop, order food and book tickets – all without leaving your chair! So let’s take a little trip down memory lane and have a look at the major milestones in internet history.

10 Milestones in Internet History

1.    1971 – The first ever email was sent, marking the beginning of the end of the postal/telegram service! The email was sent by Ray Tomlinson to himself and contained some insignificant message; no, it wasn’t “Hello World”!

2.    1989 – The World Wide Web was invented and all our websites began with the triple w. Alternative names that were considered include ‘The Information Mesh’ and ‘The Mine of Information’. The World Wide Web does sound a lot better, doesn’t it?

3.    1991 – The inventor of the WWW, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, puts up the first ever website – a move that has resulted in a billion websites, and still counting! You can visit the first website here: http://info.cern.ch/.

4.    1993 – For most of us, Google is the ultimate answer to all our questions. But the first search engine was W3Catalog, started in 1993. This worked in a way entirely different to later search engines, and was retired 3 years later.

5.    1994 – Online shopping rears its head with the first ever online purchase to be made on the website Net Market. By this time, the internet was available on the public domain, and Michael Aldrich pioneered the first secure online transaction.

6.    1995 – The ability to buy online triggers a sudden rise in online stores, and current sharks Amazon and eBay set up shop. Other offline enterprises like Pizza Hut also make their presence online.

7.    1996 – Mobile phones are becoming popular, but the first access to mobile internet occurred in 1996 in Finland, connecting a Nokia 9000 Communicator phone to the Sonera and Radiolinja networks.

8.    1996 – It doesn’t take long for cute or embarrassing videos to go viral these days, but the first ever viral video is The Dancing Baby, which has got up to 3,042,446 views till date.

9.    1997 – Google.com is registered as a domain and becomes the world’s biggest problem solver! Started by two Stanford students, Google fast displaces all other search engines to become the number one.

10. 2002 – The world’s first social network opens its doors to friends all over the world. No it wasn’t Facebook, but something similar, called Friendster. However, Friendster was affected by the rise of Facebook and it was relaunched in 2011 as a social gaming site.

Today, most of us take the internet for granted and many consider it a basic human right! The internet is something that has grown remarkably in such a short while and continues to develop further. And we sure are looking forward to more!

12 Picture Quotes for your Monday Motivation

When people talk of Mondays, they generally speak of it in negative terms. You'll find all kinds of memes and images talking about how you can't survive Monday without a bucket of coffee or how you just wish Monday was cancelled! 

Well we think that Monday is the best day of the week. It is a day of new beginnings, a day to wipe clean the slate and start over. And to make you feel the same and to inspire you throughout this week, we've got a collection of picture quotes here. So this time, we're skipping the words and letting the pictures speak!

12 Picture Quotes for your Monday Motivation

 

Now you can't possibly hate any day after you've scrolled through all those images! So everyone, prepare to start loving Mondays!

Top 10 Winter Destinations in India

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation” – Paul Theroux

In many poems and songs of old times, winter usually has a negative connotation, while spring and summer are described with more cheerful words. Winters are associated with dullness and greyness, when everything dries up and even animals go into hibernation or fly south.

However, no one who’s visited India during winter will agree with such a description; it is, in fact, anything but dull! If you know India, you know that it’s pretty impossible for us to be grey, such a colourful people we are! But there are some locations in India that truly bloom during winters, when their real beauty comes through. For some others, winters provide the respite they need from an otherwise hot and humid climate. In any case, there are many destinations in India that are worth visiting especially during the winter season, and here we list out our top ten picks of these destinations.

Top 10 Winter Destinations in India

1.    Shimla 

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When you talk of winter destinations in India, Shimla is probably the first one to come to mind! This is a place that completely transforms itself with snow, and becomes the kind of stuff dreams are made of – a perfect place for kids and the young at heart!

2.    Mussoorie 

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Known as the Queen of Hills, and rightly so, this otherwise green hill station turns into a winter wonderland. If you love the mountains, then Mussoorie is the place for you! There are many activities too, so that the whole family can enjoy!

3.    Kerala 

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If you are from a place that gets really cold in winters and want to enjoy some warm sun and lots of greenery, come to Kerala!! Kerala’s otherwise tropical climate takes a break during 

winter, making it the ideal time to discover the lush greenery of Wayanad or Munnar.

4.    Manali 

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Manali is another popular winter travel destination in India, and with good reason! Around mid-December, a blanket of snow descends upon the place, and converts it into a snowy paradise. With lots of adventure sport opportunities, this is the perfect spot for adrenalin junkies!

5.    Rajasthan 

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Known for its deserts, winters bring out a different side of Rajasthan, and a lovely one at that! Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer are just some of the many places in Rajasthan that play host to the many travellers from across the globe.

6.    Gulmarg 

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You can’t leave behind the paradise on earth when talking about top locations to visit in India, in any season! Gulmarg is the kind of place that will leave you in awe of nature’s beauty and you’ll want to make that sight your permanent wallpaper!

7.    Darjeeling 

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Darjeeling is a hill station that has the most breathtaking views in all seasons. During winter, the greenery still persists, giving rise to a lovely scene that’ll have you wondering why you didn’t visit earlier!

8.    Lachen 

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Lachen in Sikkim, is a treat to behold, especially in winters as the snow casts its magic all around. A treat for photographers, Lachen is a gem that has many little tourist spots where you can make some great memories.

9.    Ooty 

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Ooty is a hill station that requires no introduction, being a popular spot for movie locales for decades! Ooty is a great place to visit in winter, being cold but not inhospitably so. This is a great spot for people of all ages – there’s something for everyone to do!

10. Kutch 

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The Rann of Kutch is not a place popular in summers due to the hot weather, but winters are another story altogether! The weather is lovely, and the place comes alive with the Rann Utsav, a cultural festival that celebrates the spirit of Kutch.

So tell us, where are you planning your trip to this winter?