An Evening To Remember - Reliving a Royal Experience

This is in celebration of the lovely preview meet organised by Indiblogger and the ITC Grand Chola Luxury Hotel in Chennai on Saturday – October 27. Some of my fellow bloggers have written beautiful posts recounting their experience at the ITC Grand Chola:

Dr. Ganesh Puttu

Ganga Bharani

Karpagam

Now for my presentation:

It was a lovely Saturday morning,
I woke up with a smile,
Knowing it would be a special day,
For I was part of a lucky group,
Who would get to visit –
The ITC Grand Chola Luxury Hotel.

I took a train,
A long journey again,
To reach the destination,
A beautiful palace,
Straight out of the history books,
From an era of forgotten kings and queens,
Of grandeur and awe-inspiring statues.

A security check with a smile,
Efficient service is always beautiful,
Being welcomed like a prince,
Who has returned from a conquest.
I walked into the palace of my dreams.
With attendants in white-finery guiding me
To Rajendra Hall.

I walked in and met a lovely lady,
Who asked me to sign-in,
Voila I was already registered so no hassles I was in!
And there I met my dear friend and mentor – Dr. Ganesh.
A man with a delightfully wicked sense of humour.

Soon others walked in as well.
Some known faces some unknown.
Camera-man foodie Kalyan,
Gitanjali the bird-lover with her friend Jenny,
Karpagam who writes inspiring short-stories!
But I walked up to Renie first and thanked him,
For setting up some more seats for the event.
He truly deserves a round of applause!

Introductions and 60 seconds of fame.
As famous bloggers like –
Fashion-expert and biking queen - Bhushavalli,
Next J.K. Rowling - Ganga Bharani,
Social-activist, media-campaigner - Banu,
Deiva-darshanam guide - Padmapriya
Serial comedian – Chris Prasoon Robin
Talked about their blogs.
It was a pleasant experience to meet passionate bloggers,
Who blogged on diverse topics,
And interact with them on a Saturday afternoon!

Then we had Monsieur Philippe,
Speaking about the ITC Grand Chola,
And signing off with Nanri,
And when we cheered him he said – Romba nanri.
Merci Monsieur Philippe –
Keep up the good work.
More ITC staffers like Prakash spoke
And reiterated their goal,
Of making the ITC Grand Chola – India’s finest luxury hotel.
Of ice-breaking events and Gagnam style dancing and musical chairs
All rolled into one!

Then we broke for high-tea,
What a luxurious spread,
Sandwiches and vadas,
Pakodas and samosas,
Juices and coffee,
Mint-coolers and banana shakes,
Chocolate and fruits,
Nuts and cup-cakes,
Australian cookies and English brownies,
Ooh truly a feast fit for the kings!

We were divided into teams,
And assigned a guide each,
Our guide was a lovely lady,
Called Smriti – truly pretty who,
Patiently answered our umpteen questions.
Thanks a lot Smriti!

We began our exploration,
It was not unlike a time-travel experience,
We were magically transported to –
Both the past and the future,
As we examined chandeliers and 48 different
Varieties of marbles,
Sculpting inspired by the Brihadeeshwara Temple
Then the futuristic rooms,
With a scene straight out of ‘The Jetsons’
As an I-Pad could control practically every function,
From opening and closing doors,
To ordering food.
What a sophisticated room!


Our walk continued,
Of marble work and tiles,
Of chandeliers and pillar-less corridors.
Long-winding stairs that led to probably heaven.
Of spas that smelt of herbal oils and aromatic essences.
Of restaurants that served delights from Italy and the North West Frontier Province.
A lounge-bar where we sampled mock-tails,
A smoking-room where cigars were on display!
A gymnasium that would put the Olympics Federation to shame!
A lovely walk it was through the hallowed corridors of beauty and power!

The evening ended-
With announcements of prizes,
Won by fellow bloggers,
Everyone went home happy as everyone won something!
Truly a generous gesture by ITC Grand Chola and Indiblogger.

As the evening gave way to night,
It was time to bid goodbye and go home,
With beautiful memories,
The joy of meeting bloggers in person,
Making friends with people,
Whom you like immediately!
Life is indeed beautiful!


Thanks again to Indiblogger and the ITC Grand Chola for such a beautiful evening. We hope to come back more often and enjoy your hospitality!

All the best in your endeavours to become India’s finest luxury hotel. You have ticked all the right boxes, be it energy-efficient, courtesy or food and beverages, everything looks promising. Hope by the time you become fully operational perhaps the few people who had some minor complaints would be satisfied as well. – Cheers to a wonderful beginning!

I have been Tagged

Yipee :) I have been tagged by Karpagam, fondly known as Kappu. I met her first at the mid-year lunch meet organised by the Chennai Bloggers Club. Since then have spent many an hour reading her blog. Short stories, musings on life, reviews of books and movies, recipes - a truly entertaining blogger. Keep writing Karpagam!!!!

Your most beautiful post:
This is a tough one - I shall mention a short-story that is very close to my heart.
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/04/meenu-kutty.html

Your most popular post:
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/08/crunch-munch-lunch-with-lovely-bunch.html

Your most helpful post:
Perhaps every movie review that I have written which lets people decide if they want to spend money at the theatre :)

Your most controversial post:
Surprisingly nothing! I am the epitome of the 'Unknown Citizen.'

A post whose success surprised you:
http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/08/meri-teri-teri-meri-prem-kahani-hai.html


A post that didn't receive the attention it deserved:
A true writer does not expect that every piece that he / she writes will win accolades, one writes for the sake of writing! So I leave this question blank - as it is the Lord who decides what just desserts one will receive!

A post which you are most proud of:
Two posts again a short story and a poem:

http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/09/mission-melbourne-assignment-for-jackal.html

http://vincimax.blogspot.in/2012/05/if-onlyyou-would-say-yes.html


Now I tag the following bloggers:

Kavitha Karen Xavier Fernandez:
http://summer--breeze.blogspot.in/
An ex-colleague and friend who introduced me to the motley bunch of fun-loving bloggers that make up the Chennai Bloggers Club. Immensely talented singer, pastry chef, camera-buff and book-lover.

Dr. Ganesh Puttu:
http://audialtempartem.wordpress.com/
Living life king-size - extra large :) immensely witty and intelligent he is a doctor with degrees that run from A to Z and he writes short stories, is working on an e-novel, and is the humour-man of the group.

Gitanjali Naidu:
http://rhapsodic-xana.blogspot.in/
Landmark Quiz team-mate alongwith Dr. ganesh :) Immensely talented, fiercely independent, animal-lover, Blue Cross volunteer, trekker, the list goes on and on.
She blogs on her travel experiences and about life in general.

Sowmya Swaminathan:
http://myspace-ss.blogspot.in/
The kid of the CBC :) a student, Facebook addict and Harry Potter PhD holder :) she writes short stories, poems and her writings have been published in newspapers as well.

Murtaza Ali:
http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/
Self-confessed cineaste; his movie reviews can give established movie critics a run for their money. I am hoping I can collaborate with him and come up with a book / website on the Masters of Cinema.

Friends now you have been tagged; follow the format listed below to publish your tag-post!

Rules of the TAG
A) Write an introductory of the person who has tagged you! In this case me :)
B) Give us links of your

Your most beautiful post.
Your most popular post.
Your most helpful post.
Your most controversial post.
A post whose success surprised you.
A post that didn't receive the attention it deserved.
A post which you are most proud of.

C) You select five bloggers for passing on the tag and inform them about their being tagged.