Sometimes there are some things you�ve wanted to do all your life and for no apparent reason ended up not doing them... visiting a temple I�ve passed by hundreds, thousands of times is one such for me. The temple is Siddhivinayak, right here in the heart of Bombay, a city I was born in, brought up in.

It was work that finally made me enter its sacred portals. But then work is love and love is God. And all�s well that ends well. And I finally visited the Elephant God on a Tuesday during the auspicious season of Ganpati and received his blessings and came away whispering a secret and making a wish in the ear of Ganesha�s agent, the beautiful silver mouse. Such a sweet custom I discovered after a v-e-r-y long time.

Our bubbly cover girl, Ekta Kapoor, was another discovery. Everybody knows about her commitment to her TV production company Balaji Telefilms, but not many know of her simple, sincere faith in her own religion as well as others. The first time I met her was when I bumped into her at Siddhivinayak, in all the hustle and bustle, both of us hot and sweaty. The first time I spoke to her after that was when she was at the temple in Tirupati. Well, Ekta is a lovely girl, who visits Siddhivinayak every Tuesday and also goes about whispering in the ear of Ganpati�s mouse, �bribing him with modaks�, to make her wishes come true. I can see she is blessed, but those who love God, God loves.

Visakhapatnam, the Gourmet Destination, was an eye-opener. This is a city to watch. Apart from the coastal Andhra cuisine, good produce in its well designed markets, it has an easy pace, with wonderful people living there. Content, carefree, yet industrious and unaffected. Give it five years and Vizag will be very happening. I foresee a lot of young people from the rest of lndia, particularly the East coast, making a home there, leading a quality life.

If you are planning a break and budget is not a constraint, head for Vanyavilas. A luxury camp situated near the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. It�s a joy being there. I went there with a friend and enjoyed every bit of it. Right from the moment our train, the Frontier Mail, whistled out of Bombay Central Station at 6.50 p.m. and we popped, in celebration, the chilled bottle of champagne we�d specially carried with us, along with crystal champagne flutes. Our coupe may not have been what a Swiss train would offer, but for me a train journey holds romance and nostalgia. Besides I can very comfortably sleep to the rhythm of wheels on rail, khat-a-khat, khat-a-khat, khat-a-khat!

But don�t let me delay you with my sound effects, I know you are dying to dig into the magazine and discover what else we are offering you. Go ahead, enjoy.

Farzana Contractor