Hotel Park Plaza opens after 27 years

Hotel James Plaza, as it was originally known, stood in Sector 17 majestically for nearly three decades in the most sprawling and happening place in town, Sector 17.  And at times, one would just pass by it without even noticing it as more and more destinations emerged around it including the Canadian High Commission opposite it, and Hotel Taj Chandigarh next to it.
Ultimately, it has seen the light of the day as Park Plaza this Monday.
The city will have more rooms and more banquet facilities to host conferences. 

Butterfly Park

'My Chandigarh' has acquired a Butterfly Park.  The Advisor to the Administrator Mr. K.K. Sharma, dedicated the park to the people yesterday with its inauguration.  Mr. D.K. Tewari, Secretary, Environment & Forests and managing director, Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation, hoped that this would provide an additional attraction for the tourists. 

'Out of 65 reported varieties of butterflies available in Chandigarh, around 35 can be seen in the Butterfly Park over a period of time.
This reminds me of a beautiful quote I read somewhere, "If you want to be a butterfly, stop being  a caterpillar". Amen.

Rose Festival

For all those youngsters settled abroad, February is the time of the year to remember the days spent in the open lush-green Rose Garden.   I remember spending afternoons going over from one stall to another, making children participate in various competitions, and then wait for the prizes. 

February 24-26 would be the time again for the blooming varied-hued roses to welcome hordes of tourists and people from the city and surrounding areas to enjoy the 'mela'. 

There is an official estimate of over 3 lakh footfalls at the Rose Festival. 

Do you know Rose Garden spread in a sprawling 30 acres campus in the middle of Chandigarh, is probably the largest in Asia, having 40,000 varieties of rose plants of over 800 rose species from all over the world.  

Spread in 30 acres, Rose Garden was conceived by the visionary bureaucrat, Mr. M.S. Randhawa, who was the first chief commissioner of the city, whose contribution is unparalleled in giving this city a unique character of the garden city. 

The Rose Garden has been divided into 10 sections. These sections are not only for roses but also for a children's play area, scrubs, medicinal plants, a hillock and musical fountains.

Some of the roses at the garden have been named after international and other personalities - from Britain's Queen Elizabeth and former US president John F. Kennedy to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and M.S. Randhawa.

My Hangout

Congratulations to a great writer and friend Amit Roy, who has started his new blog 'My Hangout'.  It is a well designed and well thought out website that everyone would fall in love with it.  The bright vibrant colors and layout is inviting...and so is the enriching content.
More than anything else, it is engaging. And why not, each one of us have our favourite hangout. Or should I say hangouts, because over a period of time we keep changing them. In my school days, the tuck shop was our favourite inside the school premises.  During university days, it was the canteen behind the English department that was favourite for hot cup of tea, and bread 'pakoras'.
During short stint in journalism with Patriot in Delhi, it was the coffee shop outside UNI office, and another  snack bar on Janpath.  Back in the city, over the years, many of us have evolved from the Indian Coffee House, to Mandrin restaurant in Sector 11, and now to Barista or CCD (Cafe Coffee Day).
And the girls had their own special hangouts especially the golgappa wallas in Sector 23, Sector 22, Sector 18, and the like.
Do you remember which was your favourite?  
My Hangout has prizes to offer you for participating in their contests. Time to check that out too.