My name came from a dream which my maternal Aunt had after I was born. And so instead of getting a longish name as per our community traditions, I got a beautiful one: Mukul.
Source: Names Look
The above was all I knew about the origin of my name and grew up knowing that it means a Lotus flower. But since now we have access to online search engines, I searched again and found interesting perspectives regarding my name, which I share in this post.
Vedic Astrology In the name Mukul, letters M, K & L occur once and U occurs twice. Name starts which M, which is the only letter you can pronounce without opening your mouth, just by using your lips. The persons with such names are usually quiet and mysterious by nature. (Seems quite true). Source Moon Astro.
Wikipedia Mukul is an Indian name which means “blossoming”. Frankly I love this since it matches with my niche of wine e.g blossoming like a fine wine.
Today’s prompt is just three words “What motivates you” however it’s the most difficult one for me till now. Here are my thoughts on this.
Sometimes I feel that motivation naturally comes to humans. One can say that we are inherently made up that way. I means imagine the world we live in, each person knows that death is certain but still we endeavour to do our best towards our slated goals during our lifetime. The human spirit for ‘achievement’ is universal and that’s the primary factor of our evolution and success.
What Motivates Me On a personal level, the main motivation factor for me is always keep trying to create an environment for me and my family, which is much beyond and better than what it presently is.
And going a step further, the two intrinsic ways in which I go about my motivation cycle is through a Quest for knowledge and Pursuing Passions.
I will not go beyond this since I see this becoming autobiographical. But here I would mention that my chosen niche of wines is surely helping me in my current motivations in life and I see it as a driving force towards achieving my goals.
Hopefully all the above made sense to you all as it’s certainly a tricky thing to articulate. Looking forward to knowing about your own views on this prompt too. Cheers.
Preface Today’s prompt made me relive my wine journey so far, since watching wine movies/ documentaries has been a constant activity with me from the time I started pursuing my passion for wines.
Cinematic Liberty Since we are talking movies so I too have indulged in a sprinkle of cinematic liberties, by sticking not only to the the topic i.e. movies, but also listing out wine documentaries and TV Series which side loved watching. (Hope WordPress and the readers will approve of this harmless liberty I’ve taken).
References Since we are talking about cinematic production by different agencies, I have sourced some of the description from producer’s channels like Netflix, Apple TV and also about some good reviews available online.
For Wine Enthusiasts If you are passionate about wines, chances are that you’ve already watched some of these suggestions. However, to in general to all wine enthusiasts I can vouch for sure that the movies/ documentaries/ TV series illustrated in this post would surely be a source of joy and learning…especially if you watch over a glass of wine. Cheers (in advance)🍷.
1. Toscana
A Danish chef goes to Tuscany, Italy, to sell the goods he inherited from his father, but he meets an inspiring woman who makes him rethink life and love.
2. Barolo Boys
Several friends begin producing a red wine in northern Italy, and 30 years later, their product has become famous the world over.
3. Uncorked
A young man upsets his father when he pursues his dream of becoming a master sommelier instead of joining the family barbecue business.
4. Bottle Shock
Steven Spurrier, a British expatriate and wine shop owner, heads towards the Napa Valley to prepare for a wine-tasting contest, pitting his favorite French wines against the Californian wines. Based on a true story.
5. Sideways
A middle-aged Miles is a budding writer while his friend Jack is a soon-to-be married actor. They take a road trip through Santa Ynez Valley wine country in order to celebrate his bachelor party.
6. A Year In Burgundy (Documentary)
Seven families discuss the cultural and creative process of making wine in the Burgundy region of France, shedding light on their connection to the land and their grape vines as well as the vagaries of the seasons.
7. A Year in Champagne (Documentary)
Seven families discuss the cultural and creative process of making wine in the Burgundy region of France, shedding light on their connection to the land and their grape vines as well as the vagaries of the seasons.
8. Somm
Four wine stewards prepare to learn everything about wine as they ready for the master sommelier exam, one of the world’s most challenging tests, which is presided over by the notoriously secretive Court of Master Sommeliers.
9. Rotten: Reign of Terroir (Documentary)
In the south of France, frustrated winegrowers go to extremes to stave off cheap imports from Spain and new competition from China.
10. Drops of God (TV Series)
While the world of wine mourns the death of Alexandre Léger, his estranged daughter, Camille, learns his extraordinary collection is now hers. But before she can claim her inheritance, Camille must best Alexandre’s protégé, Issei, in a test of their senses.
It is said or rather I personally believe that you get pleasure out of writing something twice. Once it is when you finish writing it, which gives a feeling contentment and achievement. And the second time is when you read it yourself soon after you have completed writing it – in my case this gives me a lot of happiness and I often reel in self praise of having written something very well to the best of my capability.
Image: Pixabay
Well if that sounds amusing then do share your own views about this in the comments as also if you share the same thought as I mentioned in preceding paragraph.
Coming back to the prompt and having given a thought to it, I can say that the following are the things which I enjoy the most about writing:
1. Sense of Achievement I relish the sense of achieving something great once I finish writing. It’s almost like being relived of the project or task of writing which I had taken on myself.
2. Research I love the research work which I do to learn more about the theme about which Im writing. One one hand this helps me in writing confidently whereas on the the other, such research adds immensely to my knowledge.
3. Readingit Myself I As brought earlier, I love re-reading myself whatever I have written. This gives me a feeling of contentment especially when I’ve been able to write in a concise and easy to understand manner.
Besides above, I also feel happy if people read my post on WordPress and give it a ‘like’ or engage me with a comment. I mean we all love the views/ likes/ comments on our posts, don’t we ? 😊
If you’re reading this post then it’s a given thing that you’re a writer too, sharing your posts here on WordPress as also elsewhere on social media etc. So we are in the same proverbial boat, as also are so many others of our tribe. And the one thing which we all pursue the most is content or content creation, to be more precise. Isn’t it.
Aperol at Le Cirque Delhi
That’s where it’s get challenging. Continuous writing also demands content material such as pictures, photographs, videos clips etc and at times we feel constrained for these. Personally speaking, I often dig out these from my mobile phone memory bank and sometimes, like today, I request for pictures from my better half’s phone. She happily obliged and sent me a couple photos from a family dinner we had in recent past at Le Cirque New Delhi. Today’s post is around some of those pictures of Aperol and a cocktail made from it.
Image: Aperol.com
What is Aperol ?
Aperol, which has been around in Italy for many centuries is a type of bitter which was invented by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri in 1919. Normally taken as an Apertivo, this bright orange liqueur is intended to be consumed before a meal as an appetite stimulant. However we ordered it along with our meal as an Aperol based cocktail called as the Aperol Spritz.
As per the Aperol official website, making of the perfect Aperol Spritz Cocktail is as easy as 3-2-1. That’s a ratio of 3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, 1 part soda water. If you’re measuring, that’s 90ml Prosecco, 60ml Aperol, 30ml soda. If you’re not measuring, just pour and judge by the colour.
Aperol Spritz is best served with ice, in a large wine glass, garnished with a slice of orange, in good company.
Aperol Spritz
Coming back to our family dinner, we ordered Aperol Spritz with a sea food risotto. Now unlike wines, cocktails normally do not pair with any food. However, this one certainly added a zest of freshness to our dinner with its bright orange colour and a delicious taste.
Instagram Friendly
Image : Aperol.com
With its bright orange colour and a trendy feel, everyone loves to pose themselves with a glass of Aperol Spritz which also drives it popularity. But besides being Instagram friendly this refreshing cocktail is also an equally wonderful drink.
What I love about my city New Delhi is that it is a hub of art, wine, and culture, with its vibrant galleries, rich artistic heritage, theatre amazing wine restaurants, bars and clubs.
“I asked my soul, what is Delhi? She replied, the world is the body and Delhi its life.” Mirza Ghalib
I have a deep passion for art, wine and culture and as a family we often try to self curate our outings at Delhi around these three interests. Here’s a post about one such event where we watched a play first and then went to an Italian restaurant in Delhi for wine and pasta. Hope you like reading it.
