Top 5 Health Benefits of Eating Dry Fruits

It is a known fact that dry fruits are an abundant source of vitamins and minerals. Many dry fruit items are rich in dietary fibres that not only helps in with digestion but also give nutritional benefits. There are umpteen choices and options to pick from in the dry fruits and nuts category and online stores like Place of Origin stock up on a huge variety from almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios to dates, dried mangoes, pineapples, cranberries, dates, and a whole range of seasonal fruits and berries.

Packed with proteins, minerals and anti-oxidants, dry fruits do not just give medicinal benefits but are also great for the skin. Here are top 5 reasons why reasons why dry fruits and nuts must figure as an important part of our diet.

1. Helps in warding off heart diseases 

Dry fruits are the best when it comes to tackling cardiovascular problems. Almonds help to reduce the risk of heart ailments. Cashew-nuts too promote cardiovascular health as they do not contain cholesterol and are loaded with mono-saturated fats. Dates too help in maintaining heart's health as they protect against atherosclerosis which is the major cause of strokes and heart attacks. Pistachios also help in preventing heart problems as it contains a healthy dose of Vitamin B6.

2. Helps in weight management

Dry fruits have optimal levels of vitamins and minerals and a natural solution for weight management. The high mount of dietary fibre present in cashew-nuts  too are very efficient for weight management. If you are looking at gaining weight, then raisins and dates are the fruits for you as these fruits help in weight gain and also provide anaemic people with lot of vitamins and minerals.

3. Reduces risk of cancer

According to a research study conducted by Pennsylvania State University, almonds are considered to be strong suppressors of prostate and lung tumor growth. Also, the presence of flavonoids in almonds have proven to be very favourable for suppressing breast cancer by reducing by reducing the growth of those cells which are exposed to cancer causing agents. Besides almonds, dried apricots, dried apples, pistachios and walnuts are also protect us from cancer. 

4. Helps maintain the digestive system

Dry fruits play a significant role in maintaining overall health and are beneficial in warding off diseases. Besides the help with keeping cancer and heart ailments at bay, they are also known to control hypertension and thus help beat stress. The high fibre content in dry fruits like fig, dates and pistachios make them ideal for consumption to treat constipation and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) maintaining a healthy digestive system. Walnuts are another dry fruits that helps in easing constipation because of their laxative effects.

5. Boosts Immunity

Dry fruits like walnuts, almonds, figs and dates provide essential vitamins and minerals for building immunity. These fruits are powerhouses of essential minerals like potassium and manganese while also possessing antioxidants that boost our immune system.  Doctors also recommend ground nuts, cashews, almonds and walnuts since they are high on vital nutrients that help in strengthening our immune system.

The health benefits of dry fruits are multi-faceted but it's imperative that like any other food, they should also be eaten in moderation. Also, make sure that you stock up your dry fruits and nuts from reputed sellers, for   inferior quality of these food items along with careless packing and preserving techniques can become a health concern. 

Time to Stock Up Your Jewellery Collection!

The elegance of ethnic attire does not really shine through that strikingly if it is not adorned with matching jewellery. One can be dressed to perfection in their bellowing anarkalis and ravishing silk sarees, but if the matching jewellery is missing, the charm of the attire is lost in the incompleteness. But accessorise the dress up with a stunning pair of jhumkas or chandelier earrings and there you go - the magic of the dress comes alive. There's no doubt that jewellery plays a major part in accentuating the beauty of a dress and the right kind of jewellery can take one's fashion and style quotient notches higher. 

Recently, while shopping online for ethnic wear for my cousin's wedding, I was besotted by the gorgeous suits and sarees collection at Craftsvilla. After I was done short-listing the items I liked, it was time to go hunting for matching jewellery, and as I had assumed all along the website's jewellery section did not disappoint me.  From earrings, maangtikas, necklaces and anklets to armlets (bajubands), nose-pins and toe-rings, Craftsvilla jewellery section has an exhaustive range of jewellery items to pick from! Within 5 minutes of browsing the jewellery section I was confused about what to buy and what to leave out!

To say that Craftsvilla's jewellery collection is stunning would be an understatement. In almost all the sections, there's whole range of patterns and styles to pick from and a shopper can pick from anything under Rs. 500 to over Rs. 5000 as per their budget. Browsing through the necklace category, I was left mesmerised by the collection there - from coral beads and shell pearls to oxidised silver plated and traditional south Indian designs, all popular varieties of necklaces are listed on the website. Trust me trying shopping from here and you will spoilt for choices, thanks to the innumerable options!

The offbeat jewellery collection on Craftsvilla is no less enticing. I was particularly awed by this striking oxidised brass designer necklace and for just Rs. 500, it's a steal actually! Most of the items in this category have attractive discounts, in fact there's almost 50% discount on some stunning designer items. So if you are looking at stocking up on your jewellery collection for the festive season ahead, you know where to shop from!

 Happy shopping! 

Go Ethnic with Craftsvilla!

Fancy maxi gowns, lacy dresses, smart jumpsuits and curve-hugging denims - when it comes to dressing up, the modern Indian woman today have no dearth of options in her wardrobe. From office parties to excursions with family and friends, she has her sartorial sense sorted to the tee. To add extra zing to her fashion sense, she's ready to experiment as well - mixing designs and patterns, colours and prints and bringing together a beautiful amalgamation of different styles.

But when it comes to festivities, nothing can steer us away from our choicest ethnic wear collection. Dressed in our finest sarees, lehengas and suits, we make the festivities come alive with our bright and beautiful desi attire. No glamorous western wear can match the inherent charm and elegance that our ethnic wears exude and this is the reason they will never go out of fashion.

A few days ago, while browsing through the many online stores to buy a couple of ethnic dresses for my cousin's wedding, I was awed by the exquisite collection at Craftsvilla - a leading platform for ethnic products. From sarees, lehengas, salwar suits and other ethic clothing items to matching jewellery, footwear bags and accessories, the website is a one stop shop for all things ethnic.

To say that Craftsvilla's collection is stunning would be an understatement. In the saree section, there's whole range of price, fabric and style pick from and a shopper can pick from anything under Rs. 500 to over Rs. 5000 as per their budget. And when it comes to the various category listing of sarees, browse through them and I am sure the exhaustive collection would leave you confused about which one to pick, for from Banarsi, bandhani, silk, cotton silk, Kanchivaram and Jacquard to handwoven and heavy work sarees, all popular varieties are listed on the website.

The salwar suit collection on Craftsvilla is no less enticing. I was particularly awed by the gorgeous designer salwar suits and the icing on the cake is the heavy discount that is offered on most of the items! There's more than 50% discount on some stunning designer salwar suits and with a Rs. 5000 worth of salwar suit available for as low as Rs. 2000, it's a steal actually! So if you are looking at stocking up on ethnic wear for the festive season ahead, you know where to shop from. Make sure you make the most of the attractive discounts on offer.

Happy shopping! 

Chandigarh - The City Beautiful

A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams. ~ Herbert Caen

There are very few cities in our country that can lay claim to matching this definition of a city, expressed by America's Pulitzer prize winning journalist Herbert Caen. We all know how most of our cities are a picture of chaos so far as their design, lay-out and attitude is concerned. But there are a few exceptions too - cities that were designed with precision and attention to details, cities that stand strong today, a beautiful testimony to the dreams of its planners and makers.

In a recent blogging campaign, when the popular auto-mobile brand Tata Motors asked bloggers to write about their favourite city with respect to three key features - design, drive and connect, names of few cities popped up in mind. As I started analysing them one by one, I realised that if I were to pick up one favourite city that has vision and greatness as its foundation stone, it would undoubtedly be Chandigarh, the city fondly nicknamed - The City Beautiful.

About Chandigarh: Design

Chandigarh, the dream project of India' first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, was designed by the famous Swiss-French architect and designer Le Corbusier. Corbusier prepared the master plan for the city and also contributed specific designs for several buildings in the city.

Located at the scenic foothills of Shivaliks, Chandigarh is known as one of the best experiments in urban planning and modern architecture in India. The city is composed of sectors, enclosed by roads allocated for transport. Each sector caters to the daily needs of its residents and also has a green strip where vehicular traffic is forbidden. 

Chandigarh: Drive

Chandigarh's roads are broad and well laid out, making driving around the city a pleasurable experience, unlike our metros where even a little time out on the road is enough to stress anyone out. Moreover the roads in the city are divided into categories that keep the traffic flow sorted. Beside this, the presence of roundabouts at all intersections also helps keep traffic jams at bay.

Chandigarh: Connect

Chandigarh is well connected to other states and cities by road, rail and air. By road, the city is well connected by NH 21 and NH 22 and Inter-state bus services operate buses to the neighbouring states such as Delhi and Himachal Pradesh and different cities of Punjab and Haryana.

Needless to say, the vision and planning gone behind building Chandigarh is the top most reason for its popularity. Now before I wrap this post, here's some trivia about the city!

• Chandigarh's official emblem is the 'Open Hand' which signifies message of give and receive. The symbol also sends out a message of peace and reconciliation.
• This city composed of sectors has no sector 13, following the popular belief that number 13 is not auspicious.
• There are no roads named after any person or historical figure, neither are there statues or memorials at crossings. This was a condition put forth my Le Corbusier and is followed till date.

This post is a part of #madeofgreat zonal war campaign by Tata Motors, in association with Indiblogger. To know more about the campaign, please visit the Tata Motors website.
Zone: North
Photo courtesy: Chandigarh Tourism

When the Kids Get Grooving! #MaxFreshMove

Colgate's new advertisement Taazgi ka dhamaka, featuring popular south Indian star Allu Arjun and glamorous DJ Anushka Manchanda has become quite a rage among children, thanks to its foot tapping beats and the fun choreography. The promotional song is so full of energy and positive vibes that it does not take long for even non-dancers to get grooving to its beats. The video for the song shows both Arjun and Anushka jazzing up a wedding scene with their fresh and peppy taazgi ka dhamaka composition. Their fun and infectious moves affect the guests and everyone from the wedding party joins in the fun!

Given how much fun the Taazgi ka dhamaka song is, when I asked kids from my neighbourhood to dance to its peppy tunes, they were more than happy to oblige. What followed was hours of craziness, with the kids giving a free reign to their dancing skills. While many of them opted to go freestyle and were unique in their own ways, I made this video of little Kittu dancing with such élan that others stopped dancing to watch her perform. It was a pleasure to watch her gyrating to chatak patak Taazgi ka dhamaka...

Check out this video below and I am sure that you too would agree that she is quite a natural when it comes to dancing. Click on it and I am sure you will have as much fun watching it as I had recording it.

Hope you enjoyed the video and if you too have participated in the #MaxFreshMove campaign then love to read about you dance stories. Do share!

I am dancing for #MaxFreshMove activity at BlogAdda. If you are not blogging, you can join me in the #MaxFreshMove facebook activity.

Theme 3: Kids dancing to the music

Grooving to the Tunes of Taazgi Ka Dhamaka!

“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching..."

Every time I lament my two left feet, this lovely inspiring line by William Watson Purkey springs up to my rescue, and prompts me to let go of my fear of dancing and give in to the call of music. And only when I let go of all my dancing fears that I realise how liberating it is to try something you are not very confident at or something that intimidates you.

So for Colgate's latest MaxFreshMove campaign, all I had to do was channelise these inspiring words to get myself to grove to the immensely entertaining Taazgi ka Dhamaka song. This foot tapping number features popular south Indian actor Allu Arjun and DJ Anushka Manchanda energising a wedding scene up with their fresh and rocking Taazgi ka dhamaka composition!

The song is all about fun around singing and dancing and the reckless abandon showcased in the video is so infectious that everyone who listens to this foot tapping number get energised! So besides Purkey's words, the foot-tapping music of this video too motivating me to get going on the make-shift dance floor! Of course it helped that I had chilled out friends to dance with! We laughed, we giggled, we acted goofy and WE DANCED!

Every time I faltered, these lovely little friends were there to cheer me on. Needless to say I had a fun time dancing to chatak patak taazgi ka dhamaka! Here, check out the video and I am sure it will cheer you up too. And if this video inspires you to dance and you need dancing lessons, now you know whom to contact! ;)

I am dancing for #MaxFreshMove activity at BlogAdda. If you are not blogging, you can join me in the #MaxFreshMove facebook activity.

The video is based on theme 2 of the activity - Dance with your friends or family.
Photo courtesy: Quotes for Healing

Airtel's 4G is Here. At 3G Prices!

As a travel and lifestyle blogger, most of the times my biggest woe while travelling or while attending an event is the dismal phone speed. Imagine this – I get super excited about some amazing view or experience and want to share it with my friends and readers, only to discover that the network bars on the phone are putting up a poor show. Many a times, even the 3G speed is so slow that investing more money on a recharge seems like a huge waste of money. But now with the commercial launch of Airtel’s high speed 4G services (also called LTE), it looks like my woebegone rants about slow phone speed would soon become a thing of the past. 

What's adding to the fun factor is the fact that Airtel has put up a challenge too - if your other network is faster, then they will pay your mobile bill for life! But guess with a challenge like that, I am sure they have some sure shot aces up their sleeve to beat their competitors.

I had been hearing my tech savvy friends discuss about the 4G launch and now with the kind of buzz the launch has created, it looks like people are really looking forward to get their hands on the free 4G SIM – yes, if you already have an Airtel 3G pack, you are entitled to a free 4G upgrade, and get the same data benefits as your 3G pack. So in effect, if one has an Airtel 3G pack, they will get to enjoy high speed 4G speeds at no extra cost.

Another great initiative by Airtel is that the brand is offering unique 4G SIM delivery service wherein any Airtel user with a 4G compatible handset can tweet suing #GetAirtel4G to get a 4G SIM delivered to them for free. Once a user tweets #GetAirtel4G he gets a reply from @Airtel India handle directing the user to a link where the user needs to enter their details for SIM delivery. Of course I have already tweeted for a free 4G SIM and now eagerly await the delivery. I am sure with 4G service all my slow internet woes while travelling would be taken care of and I would be able to share all my travel updates in real time rather than waiting to arrive at destination with stronger network.

The 4G services have been commercially launched in 296 towns across India, and Airtel customers can enjoy 4G services at 3G data prices, with packs starting at Rs. 25. To know more about Airtel 4G services, and the other aligned products launched today, you can browse through the Airtel website. The brand's new website will take you through all the offerings of the new services. 

nexGTV - Premium Entertainment on the Go!

In the current tech-savvy age, smartphones are smartly taking care of all our day-to-day planning, shopping and infotainment needs. Be it news updates from across the world to latest weather details to notification about flash sales on your favourite eCommerce website, there's plenty on our mobile phones to keep us engaged.  And of course, besides the constant stream of updates, there's Live TV right on your mobile, to provide you with non-stop entertainment.

When it comes to mobile TV apps, nexGTV app is making waves as an interesting and exhaustive app for premium entertainment. If you have not heard about the app already, nexGTV is an entertainment application offering 150+ LIVE TV channels, movies, TV shows and videos on demand.

I had heard about this app from a friend and had a vague idea about it being an app that offered an assortment of TV channels for mobile phone view. But on downloading the app, I discovered that there's more to nexGTV than just TV channels - from breaking news to trending videos and latest movies and songs, this app is one of the best apps to find comprehensive entertainment on the go. What's more, the app is pretty user friendly with easy to navigate interface for enhanced viewing experience. 

Now that I have explored nexGTV for a few days, I find that it is indeed a pretty engaging app providing non-stop entertainment for the non-stop generation. Sharing here some nexGTV app features that make it stand out as a reliable destination for mobile entertainment - 

1. nexGTV provides access to over 150 live TV channels, latest movies and songs, TV shows and videos on demand.
2. While more than 80 channels and the entire TV shows library are free to watch, the rest of the premium channels and movies are available at a nominal monthly price.
3. The app runs across 2G, 3G, 3G, EDGE and Wi-Fi networks.
4. nexGTV is compatible with most of the popular smartphone platforms including Symbian, Android, BlackBerry, and iOS. Consumers can access nexGTV irrespective of their bandwidth limitations or operating platform.
5. Full screen viewing and picture-in-picture mode for quick switch between channels.
6. There's a feature of Pause and Resume where you one can resume watching movies and videos from where they left off.
7. The interface is easy to navigate with genre-wise and language-wise content display
8. Social media sharing via Facebook and Twitter that enables you to share what you are watching with friends.
9. Integrated Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of one week for all channels.
10. Adaptive bit rate streaming to auto adjust the video quality as per network bandwidth.

With all these features, nexGTV indeed makes for an engaging one-stop destination for entertainment on the go. I love catching up on my favourite films on this app, and also being a news geek, staying updated about the latest news developments too has become easier.  In all, nexGTV offers a great combination of free and premium entertainment that cuts across different niches and that precisely is its USP. So what are you waiting for? Download the app and explore this exciting world of mobile entertainment for yourself. From your favourite TV shows and comedy series to the latest songs and movies, it's all in there!

Dud in Dancing? Some #MaxFreshMoves For You!

I have two left feet. Dancing is beyond me.

Some people just cannot keep a beat. They will sway to their own music or at best may just clap along to a beat. I am one of them. No matter how hard I try, I never seem to remember dance steps. But then, this might change real soon, for Allu Arjun's superb dance moves in the Colgate's #MaxFreshMove video is looking like a crash course in effortless dancing!

Colgate's new advertisement video featuring superstar Allu Arjun and DJ Anushka Manchanda is hitting just the right notes among music and dance lovers. More than a product advertisement, it is coming across as a fun video inspiring people of all ages to freshen up and get up and get grooving to life's happy tunes! Set against a theme of a wedding, the video has popular DJ and singer Anushka Manchanda getting ready to liven up a wedding party with her entertaining tunes. Just as she is done setting up yet music station, Allu Arjun joins her to set the dance floor on fire with his explosive moves!

Ever since I have come across this video, I have been so taken in both Arjun and Anushka's dance performance that I have earmarked a few steps to practice and flaunt on cousin's birthday.

In the music video, Arjun cuts a naughty picture twisting his jacket collar from side to side. I absolutely love the way he executes the step with such ease, and since this step looks easy to do, I am definitely picking this one up. Even with my bad dancing skills, I am sure with a couple of practice sessions, I will get the hang of it!

Here is another interesting step from the video. The hand movements look tricky but both Arjun and Anushka are absolutely in sync in this one and it has come out really good in the video. this is it! It looks like they are both fluttering their hands like butterflies and then they change the hand gesture to make it look like they are sprinkling freshness all around.

And this one is another fun step! The chair step, I will call it - holding on to friends on your sides and pretending to be sitting on an air-chair.  If you want to add more fun to this step, just rock to and fro like Arjun is doing in the video! I am sure my friends and cousins too would love to experiment with this one! 

Now that Allu Arjun and Anushka's entertaining dance moves in the #MaxFreshMove video have inspired me to try my hand, or rather leg at dancing, let me get going with the practice sessions, and master the moves before the 'two left feet' excuse strikes back!

I am blogging for #MaxFreshMove activity at Blogadda in association with Colgate MaxFresh.

Tired? It's Time for Some Taazgi ka Dhamaka!

Colgate's new advertisement video featuring superstar Allu Arjun and DJ Anushka Manchanda is hitting just the right notes among music and dance lovers. More than a product advertisement, it is coming across as a fun video inspiring people of all ages to freshen up and get up and get grooving to life's happy tunes!

Set against a theme of a wedding, the video has popular DJ and singer Anushka Manchanda getting ready to liven up a wedding party with her entertaining tunes. Just as she is done setting up yet music station, Allu Arjun joins her to set the dance floor on fire with his explosive moves!

The Taazgi ka dhamaka video is fun enough to eliminate boredom and tiredness out of any soul. And now that I am all rejuvenated with this dose of freshness, I thought why not prepare a playlist to go along! After-all, when one's dancing, who says no to more of foot tapping numbers! So here, when you are done with dancing to the very entertaining Taazgi ka dhamaka, there are 9 more foot tapping numbers in store for you!

Song number 2 in my Taazgi ka Dhamaka playlist is the supremely entertaining Oh la la oh la la from The Dirty Picture! Remember the frenzy and furore this song created - the very sensuous Vidya Balan and the overtly mischievous lover-boy Naseeruddin Shah romancing each other with some hilariously over-the-top dance moves! But then the song fit seamlessly with the theme of the movie and fits seamlessly in my playlist too!  

Song number 3 in the list is Mera joota fake leather from Gangs of Wasseypur 2. Thank you Sneha Khanwalkar for this psychedelic, foot tapping number! Its magic is such that even those born with two left feet can effortlessly dance on this one.

Song number 4 is the soup song! Or the flop song! Hahah...'Why this Kolaveri di' it is! It is one of those songs that can compel anyone to burst into dance moves.  Song 'Why this Kolaveri di' did not just get south India actor Dhanush into limelight, but also played a huge role in popularising the concept of 'viral videos'. 

The next song on my Taazgi ka Dhamaka playlist is all about positivity and living life to the fullest! And icing on the cake - it makes for a beautiful dance number! Ik Junoon - Paint it Red it is - song number 5! Easy on the ears and fun to dance on!

'Tu mere agal bagal hai' is one song that everyone around me loves dancing on. Right from the grown-ups to the still-learning-to-walk toddlers - everybody loves this cute song! And the most fun comes with the lyrics - tere doggy ko mere bhonkne na nahi - and everyone goes berserk mimicking Shahid Kapoor's doggy step! So yes, 'Tu mere agal bagal hai' is song number 6 on my Taazgi ka Dhamaka playlist! 

The next number in my Taazgi ka Dhamaka playlist is a veteran if you were to compare it to other songs listed here. But they don't say 'old is gold' for nothing! 'Beedi jalayi le jigar se piya' is pure gold! Song number 7!

Song number 8 brought to life the hitherto forgotten dance number - Hungama gya...and how! Featured in the film Queen, this one shows Kangana Ranaut going all out enjoying herself on her single honeymoon. Her cute dance moves in bar in a phoren country won people's heart and it showed in the film's box office collections!

At every wedding, I can see the DJ putting this one on loop! And why not, it can get even those with two left feet to shake a leg or two on the dance floor! And frankly one does not really need any dancing skills to master this one! It's so much fun - one solid thumka and you are done! Here's it is - song number 9 - London Thumakda!

And now for song number 10, I have the flavour of the season in my playlist! Of course it has to be Chittiyaan kalaayiyaan! Everyone seems to humming this one, and also swaying to it's tune! What a fresh feel this song has - right from vivacious Jacqueline Fernandez', her gorgeous aura, the fun dance steps...everything has a breezy feel about it!

So this is it! If you are tired or bored, this Taazgi ka Dhamaka playlist will sure rev you up, just like it freshens me up!  

I am blogging for #MaxFreshMove activity at Blogadda in association with Colgate MaxFresh.