L&R, Author at Our Infinity

Travel

Honeymooning in the lap of luxury at Primrose Villas Chikmagalur

April 10, 2015

Primrose Villas Chikmagalur is a cosy boutique hotel

On a wintry morning, we took off on a road trip towards Chikmagalur, the home of the magnificent Mullayanagiri range. The chilly February weather and the traffic-free roads made it especially ideal for travel. Five hours and 155 miles later we reached a beautiful and cosy boutique hotel to spend a weekend of bliss.

As we entered the lobby, we were greeted with a glass of chilled bubbly and warm smiles. The lobby looks like a work of art; it is aesthetically done up with artifacts collected from all over the world. Every nook and corner of the place has a story to tell. From the red sandstone flooring to brass artifacts and Victorian furniture, the owners – Ravi Ramu and Sumitra have given the place a rustic and earthy feel. It’s modern yet has a homely feel to it.

Once we were done marvelling at the place, we were taken to our honeymoon villa and R and I became quite speechless for a while. Built with glass walls, the high-ceilinged villa opens up to the most stunning mountain view. The interiors are plush with an eccentric mix of ethnic, contemporary and antique furniture. Satinder Singh, the friendly manager at Primrose told us about how much work had gone into making sure we had the best time of our lives. From adding our favourite dishes to the menu to decorating our bed, there was so much attention to detail. Since we were the first honeymooning couple to visit the villa, they had baked us a heart-shaped raspberry cake – a very thoughtful gesture, indeed.

To make our first meal extra special, they set up a table for us in a secluded spot in the property. In the midst of a dense forest with sounds of birds chirping and wind swishing through the trees, we had a meal fit for a king. The food was a revelation; it was cooked and spiced to perfection. I don’t quite remember the names of the dishes but R particularly liked how juicy and tender the meat was. Post the meal and a little celebration (we’ll tell you why, soon) we went up to the terrace to watch the sunset. It was the perfect opportunity for R to bring out his camera and capture the changing shades of the sky.

The day ended with a hearty 7-course barbecue dinner and champagne which was served right outside our villa. We were so full that we could barely move. The in-house chefs at Primrose surely know how to whet one’s appetite. As R and I sat in the portico under a blanket of twinkling stars, we couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with all the love and warmth.

We woke up the next morning with rays of sunshine pouring into our room and gently nudging us to wake up. After lazing around in bed for a while, we went to have our breakfast. We were ravenously hungry in spite of having had a rather large meal the previous night. R loved the breakfast spread; though it was the standard English fare, everything was done to perfection. The pancakes were fluffy, the bacon crisped just right and the sausages…oooh the sausages were simply delicious. R being a fussy eater ordered two more plates of them, so you can imagine how good they were. Having tamed our grumbling tummies, we went out to explore the property. The newly-opened retreat is housed amidst the 122-year-old, 600-acre ancestral property. During the coffee picking season, they take you on a guided tour around the coffee estate. They also offer a trek up the mountain but we didn’t get to do it due to a wildfire.

What stood out for us was how each and every staff member was so dedicated and friendly. R was impressed with how the owners had carefully handpicked their staff because he felt that’s what distinguished them against other luxury hotels.

There was a personal touch to everything they did, in fact, we were moved by how thoughtful they were when they packed lunch for our drive back home. Like R says, it’s these little things that make a whole lot of difference. We came back with our heart’s content and stomach full (they really do feed you well).

PS: Even though we couldn’t find any reviews on TripAdvisor we went ahead and booked the Honeymoon villa at Primrose Villas Chikmagalur, sometimes you just have to take the leap of faith

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Our Story The Big Day

Our Wedding Tale by Nishal Lama

April 2, 2015

R and I were very particular about hiring a good wedding photographer. We wanted someone to capture the emotions without making it look too posey. We wanted beautiful candid moments that we would cherish for years to come. And most importantly, we wanted someone who told our story through their lens.

I wrote to a couple of photographers, but nothing worked out because they were either pricey or we just didn’t get what we were looking for.

All along I knew I wanted Nishal Lama (an ex-colleague) to do our wedding photography. I have always admired his work and felt he would be the perfect fit. So I went ahead and called him; luckily he was free on the dates we had chosen. R didn’t instantly get on board with the plan and wasn’t fully convinced either. Whereas I knew that Nishal was what we were looking for. R did his own bit of research about him and looked at every single picture he had shot before making up his mind. Though he agreed, I don’t think R was fully convinced until we had a chat with Nishal.

Nishal had a lot of ideas about how he would shoot and spoke to us extensively about his style of photography. He seemed extremely passionate about photography and R was fully smitten. And smitten was the word on everybody’s lips during our wedding. Everyone loved Nishal, he made a camera-shy person like my dad to open up and pose. Girls wanted his number, aunts couldn’t stop talking about him and all the uncles liked him. He had won over every single one with his amazing people skills. My dad even called him the “best photographer.” Coming from my dad, that is a high praise.

Post Wedding shoot

We did a post-wedding shoot in very ordinary places, but the photos look out-of-the-world! R even developed a man-crush on him after looking at his amazing camera skills (jealous of you, Nishal). Nishal certainly did provide us with long-lasting memories of a very important day in our lives.

You can check out Nishal’s work at http://www.dropdstudio.com/

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Our Story The Big Day

Hello from Mr. & Mrs.

March 6, 2015

Hey! We are back as Mr. and Mrs. and we plan to fill you in on all that happened on the big day. I am going to try and be precise here or I will end up writing a novella. January 31st, 2015 was the day of the wedding reception and my, my what a day it was!

The stage where it all began

I totally felt like a princess with so many people fussing over me. There was a flurry of makeup artists, photographers and relatives hovering around me at all times. Though it seems like a distant dream now, I enjoyed every moment of being a blushing bride. I had two great makeup artists (Anu & Ridhi) to help me get ready on the d-day. When I finally looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t believe it was me. I thought I looked glamorous (if I could say so myself).

Thanks to Anu and Ridhi for dolling me up

As I stepped out of my room, I saw R looking dapper in a chambray suit with a maroon tie and pocket square to match my lehenga. A pretty unusual colour, but he pulled it off quite well. Post a quick photo session, R and I went up on the stage and it was a long and back- breaking two hours of meeting and greeting. By the end of it, I had visible laugh lines – I kid not.

Little did we know that we would end up standing for the next two hours 🙂

Receptions in India are a long and winding event where people come to shower you with blessings and gifts. Initially we felt there were very few people, but as time passed there were so many people that we didn’t get to sit down even for five minutes. It felt extremely surreal; I was in a daze as friends and relatives came up to wish us. At one point my cousin H asked me what was going through my mind and all I could say was, “I’m blank.” The only thing I vividly remember is R pointing out the number of people taking selfies. It definitely looked like everyone had dressed up just to take selfies. Though our legs were aching and we were tired, we felt a rush of happiness seeing everyone around us in such a joyous mood. Usually Indian weddings are a very stressful affair, but R and I completely enjoyed the two days of celebrations!

R praying seriously (is he?)

For R, it was like gaining a whole new family. He never enjoyed the luxury of having tons of cousins like I do. In fact my cousins dote and love me just as my own sibling would. He got along famously with them and they became extremely fond of him as well. Another beautiful part of our wedding was he got to experience love from his own cousins Deepti and Babloo – who are now a part of our big, crazy gang. Our wedding has certainly brought all of us closer.

Deepti and Babloo rocking it

February 1st was the day we were named man and wife. It was an extremely emotional day for both of us. The day started off with rituals like ‘Kashi Yatra’, ‘Padha Puja’ and ‘Kanyadan’.

Kashi Yatra – Where the brother of the bride welcomes the groom by washing his feet

And then came the big moment – I have goosebumps writing this – the moment where I became his forever. It is an inexplicable feeling; I can’t really say what I was going through as he was tying the knot. I felt a multitude of emotions and I couldn’t control my tears.

L looking sombre

It took a long time for me to sink in that I was married (I still pinch myself). Many of R’s friends scared him saying that he might be nervous and his hands might tremble when he’s tying the knot. But he tells me that none of that happened. In his words, “when it is with the right person, you just know.”

L in an ecstatic mood while R seems to be clueless

What followed was fun, fun and more fun! I beat R four times in finding the ring ritual; we had to find a ring in a pot filled with other objects. This is a ritual to guage who will be the dominant person in the relationship and I won four times. Ha! (Not that I am dominant).

R tells me that he let me win but the truth is he was bad at it

We had a lovely photographer to capture each and every moment, and you will get to know more about him in our next post.

R being his usual funny self and making me laugh

It was such a beautiful day that both of us would willingly want to relive it again and again.

The content bride and groom

Signing off as Mrs. R

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Our Story The Big Day

New Beginning

January 27, 2015

When R left Bangalore four months back, I didn’t know how we’d sail through it. Now that the countdown is down to one day, I think all the perseverance paid off. Most importantly, I need to thank R for keeping his cool and being extremely patient with me. No doubt, long distance relationships are hard, but if it is with the right person, then it is totally worth it. It has been an adventurous ride full of important lessons – lessons that will help us hold onto each other in testing times. Though this is the end of our living-miles-apart phase, a new and equally exciting phase of together-forever-and-always beckons! R and I are officially going to become man and wife on February 1st, 2015. Cheers to our New Beginning!

As always we want you to be a part of this special journey.

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General

Sony a6000 better than a DSLR?

January 10, 2015

I have always been interested in photography, but only over the last few months I became more serious about investing in a good camera, mostly because L said we needed pictures for the blog. I have only had a point and shoot camera before and strongly believed that my phone Continue Reading

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General Life Lately Travel

Glorious memories of 2014

January 4, 2015

2014 was a glorious year and here are a few of my favourite memories from the year gone by.

Our room opened up to the most breathtaking view

My friend and I travelled to Sri Lanka last year and we stayed at a beautiful homestay in Kandy. Located on top of a hill, Hanthana Homestay is truly a paradise. Large spacious room, delicious Sri Lankan food and friendly hosts made our stay there extra special. The owner whose name I have forgotten gifted us a bracelet on our last day there and I thought it was a very sweet gesture. Every time I look at the bracelet, it reminds of how great the trip was!

Deadmau5 at Sunburn Supernova Arena, Yelahanka, Bangalore

A girl in the washroom asked me how old I was, when I said 27, she said ‘oh’!

My cousin M, who is a big fan of Deadmau5, very generously offered to take me to the concert and it was an absolute blast! The crowd, the music…was all so perfect. That evening was so magical that we could barely sleep that night. Seeing M let go and sway to the music made me all the more happy!

I highly recommend giving this album a listen

When I met R for the first time, I didn’t know we would ever come this far. One of the very first gifts he gave me was an Above & Beyond cd and a box of chocolates which remind me of our initial courtship period. It was all so exciting and fresh and I loved the whole discovering-each-other phase.

My lovely parent-in-laws

I spent an entire afternoon with my parent-in-laws looking at R’s baby pictures. He is so cute that I wanted to gobble him up. I still can’t get over his cuteness. Most importantly, it was an afternoon of scrumptious food and bonding with my new parents – a day I will cherish forever.

How cute is naked baby R?

R and I dove into each other’s arms after spending three months apart. That feeling is inexplicable. It was such a perfect day that even the rains couldn’t spoil our mood.

So these are my memories of 2014, what are yours?

PS: We have been extremely slow in updating the blog because we’ve been very busy. With the wedding only 26 days away, there is a lot of last minute plans that need perfecting. Expect regular updates 24th onwards.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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