Nahargarh fort- Jaipur

This is an old fort near jaipur( approx 350 km from Delhi).This got featured in the hit hindi movie "Rang de basanti". it is known for its spiralling stairs with a pond in the middle of the fort.I had gone there on a day visit.There is not much to see in this place other than the fort, jal mahal( a palace in the middle of the lake) and a boutique hotel situated in the Neemrana fort.
How to Reach there- by bus ( state transport from Anand Vihar), best way to reach there is by private transport

Travel time- 3-4 hours

Best time to visit - winter months as Jaipur is hot otherwise

Other places- Jaipur is 15 km from this place. Hence, we can go ahead and see the city as well.

Nainital- the town of seven lakes

Nainital is one of the most pristine and beautiful hill stations doting the Himalayan ranges. Present in Uttarakhand, this place is easily accessible by buses and train from Delhi.In case of a bus, there is a switch over at Haldwani and the second leg of the journey is around 1 hour. The main lake which is split into two parts- the upper and the lower halves is the hub for all kinds of activities.Most of the hotels,market place,restaurants are situated on the banks of the lake. The best part of this town is that the lake road is shut for vehicular traffic between 6 pm and 8 pm. This provides the tourists a nice chance to stretch their muscles and have a pleasant walk.

There are boat rides available during the stipulated hours till 6 in the evening.One can hire a cab for a day and visit the other lakes situated at around 15-20 km radius.I personally felt that the Bhim tal and the main lake are the best ones and the others are either too small for any tourist attraction or fall under the category of yet another water body.

There are many stay options.We stayed in a hotel situated near the army cantonment.This proved light on our pockets and also gave us a chance of experiencing"home like"stay. The caretaker offered to cook the meals provided the rations were bought by us which was very economical.There are many eateries around the lake which provide a variety of cuisines across all price points.Overall, it was a cheap affair as the budget came to around 3k per person for a 3 day trip.

Must try- 

The boiled egg sprinkled with pepper on the road side during the winters
Sitting on the benches in the periphery of the lake in the night. The chill breeze seriously sets a chill       in your bones.How to reach there- Train is the most cheapest mode of transport.It leaves from Old delhi station and goes upto Kathgodham.It is 45 minutes hill drive from Kathgodham to Nainital.Budget - 4-5k per person for a 3 day trip

Bhuj- the gateway to the unseen locales

The traditional Bandhini style cloth

Rann of Kutch during the annual festival

Bhuj is the district head of the kutch region in Gujarat. Recently, i had a nice opportunity to visit this place to get a quick glimpse of the cultural magnificence of this part of India. This small town is famous for its embroidery and  the traditional Bandhini styled clothes.The local people say that many famous movies like Lagaan,Refugee and some more were shot here. It is also famous for many handicrafts made out of wood and other such material which have the trademark designs of the kutch region. the city has two lakes and technically speaking does not offer much of tourist spots.it acts as the locus for many tourists places situated at 60-70 km from Bhuj. Some of the tourist places which are worth visiting are Rann of Kutch, Dholavira, Mandhvi port
The Rann of kutch is a stretch of white desert which turns into a marsh land during the monsoons and is best visited during the winters. The govt of Gujarat holds an annual festival here every december where in visitors are allowed to stay in the tents and enjoy some of the splendid cultural programs indigenous to the Gujarati people.This place requires a permit to visit and this can be arranged in the DSP office in Bhuj.
Dholavira is the only harrapan site in India( the other being in Pakistan) is famous for its archaeological connections.It has got the ruins and is a must see to know more about the history of the human civilization. This place is very close to the Indo- Pak border and has heavy security.
The Mandhvi port is also famous for its beach. This is one of the pristine beaches doting the vast coastline of the state. It is a very nice holiday spot.Note: Gujarat is a dry state. Hence, Liquor is sold in few of the permit shops.

Places to stay
Budget- Gangaram hotel ( Rs 500-1000/day)
Premium-Hotel prince ( Rs 800-5000/day)
Note: there were few more decent hotels like hotel KBN and Hotel ilak which were also in the same league as prince. i stayed in prince and had an wonderful experience as their servicing is too good.

first of the many to come...

Hi guys,
i have started this blog to fulfill my long time wish of writing something which i love the most-travelling.Hope you add your own experiences and share new information here for me to know as well.

comfort fabric conditioner

Fabric conditioner is one which makes the clothes softer and can be an after wash or pre-wash one. This market is currently a niche market in India as most of the people buy only detergents and assume that the clothes can withstand the onslaught of the effects of the chemicals. those who feel it cannot prefer to go for dry-washing rather than do it by themselves.

This product is more of a luxury offering for a commoner and only a person who is adventurous in trying or doesnt mind taking the pains personally will go for this product. i personally tried this only for the flower smell which it promised. little consumer insight which i gained out of using this product is that it isnt effective for all the clothes but is pretty good for bed-spreads and pillow cases( clothes which does not require day to day washing). the smell is retained for quite some time on the bed spreads which is pretty pleasant. if it is advertised for drapes and such infrequently washed components, it will have a wider reach. watch the ad here

The brand is positioned as a soft fabric conditioner which makes the clothes soft and doesnt let them fade or become old. hence, people have more involvement with getting dressed ( i seriously dont know how this becomes a selling point). good thing is that they have associated the softness and other features of the product with kids in the ad and they have also created awareness about how to use the product by mentioning it. the setting of the ad depicts that this product is probably for the sec A and the sec B customers.
The main threat which this product faces is from the core detergent products which also offer similar features like fragrance and keeping the clothes soft. the market for an entirely new product to perform these functions has not yet emerged. HUL's decision to bring this product to India starts a new war for an emerging market and if it does, it will give the giant the first mover advantage as it has experienced as always in India.

dove real beauty campaign

dove from the unilever stable has been available in India since 1995. with the entry of dove, the premium segment in soaps in India started developing. after nearly 15 years, the premium segment hasnt really taken off and still remains a untapped. this is mainly due to the dynamics of the Indian market and its constituents who look for "value for money" in every purchase. the POD of dove is shown as having moisturising milk ( 1/4) and it being called a cream bar than a soap. though this dint really set the sales figure rolling for the simple fact that it was highly priced and for those who did make the purchase, the wear off rate was way higher than any other good soap in the market. what i really liked about the advertisements were the white background which somehow conjures purity and easy on skin image on the viewers.recently dove came up with another break through campaign " campaign for real beauty". it portrays that beauty is all about the feel good factor and that it is not concentrated in the youth segment who are models or are in the beauty enhanced businesses. this concept is new to the indian toilet soap industry and i feel the market hasnt yet matured to accept that beauty is beyond the looks. indian consumers still look in for beauty enhancing products to look and hence feel good about themselves. only a fraction of the crowd would be really interested in accepting how they are and so embracing this product which is in alignment with their opinion.i feel the campaign is actually flawed to some extent because even this fraction holds a deep desire of one day becoming what the society calls as the beauty. hence, they will also go in for beauty products. if you have noticed, some models in the advertisement belong to the mid 40s age group. true, they might still look good and hence may feel good about themselves. if this is true, then why are there so many anti-ageing creams and age miracle therapies which claims to give youthful appearances. nowadays, they have even lowered the price of the product and are having promotions as buy one, get one free. this might cause brand erosion in the long run and may prove disastrous for the premium segment product.

great beginning

finally made the first step towards fulfilling my new year resolution of starting a blog for penning down my views on marketing and the grey areas around it....though my interest lies in advertising, i will also be writing about the broader picture...