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LIVE EDITION

The Journal of Hiranandani Fortune City, Panvel

A journal that aspires to inspire the stepping stones of our community building initiative. Be the playground of our children, the platform of interaction for our youth and the mouthpiece of our residents and stakeholders at the picturesque Hiranandani Fortune City as we set sail towards realizing it as the City of the Fortunate Ones.

Our objective is to bring out the beautiful aspects of life as it unfurls in the spectacular surroundings of Hiranandani Fortune City, Panvel.
The initiative aims at showcasing people and stakeholders at hfc, their talent, their happiness, their aspirations and their vision towards a brighter tomorrow.

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THE EDITORIAL BY SANTANU, HFC

Welcome to this exciting new edition of Life@hfc, Live Edition. Since we launched Life@hfc, The Journal, it has received overwhelming response from Residents n Members. We’ve been viewed across 40+ countries spreading across 5 continents and have evolved as a credible platform for the community at hfc. Over the last 12 months, we’ve come up with 3 distinct Editions, The Monsoon, Rain & Celebration Editions. And now, we’ve decided to change.


Welcome to our new Live Edition. With this Life@hfc shall be a continuous and ongoing journal sharing snippets of life at and surrounding hfc. Youngsters are at the core of our inspiration and taking their suggestions, Life@hfc shall be available thru YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, expanding our presence in the major Social media platforms of this generation. Links to our YouTube Channel shall be shared on this website and emailed directly to all our subscribers. Kindly join in and be part of our community and enrich our social footprint with your contributions.


“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” - said Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher. We’ve chosen to change. Come, join us in building the new.

Welcome to Life@hfc, Live Edition.

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LIFE@HFC NOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Visit, Subscribe & Share us on Social Media Platforms

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INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY 2022

Celebrations at hfc

Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science, which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body.The word Yoga is  derived from the Sanskrit root “YUJ” meaning ‘to join’, ‘to yoke’ or ‘to unite’.


Yoga increases your GABA. {Positive Neurotransmitters} According to Patanjali “YOGA CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHA” meaning the removal of the fluctuations of the mind. Patanjali taught an eight fold[ashtanga] system of Yoga emphasizing an integral spiritual development including ethical disciplines. Yama and Niyama, Pranayama, Pratyadhara, Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi. This constitutes a complete and integral system of spiritual training. Yoga can be traced back to the Rigveda itself, the oldest Hindu text which speaks about yoking our mind and the insight to the light of truth or reality.

Lord SHIVA is the greatest of the Yogis or Adinatha.OM chanting has its own significance and it resonates with the frequency of our higher self. Yogasanas are practiced slowly and the positions are maintained for longer durations.  Asanas make the mind tranquil and all the cells in the brain start working in cohesion.

 Practicing YOGA in a consistent manner definitely brings changes in our overall health and in my personal opinion there has to be at least one yoga practitioner in each home to make this planet peaceful & blissful.

Hemali is a Certified Yoga Instructor. She lives at Aura
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SOME BENEFITS OF YOGA

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1. It improves postures and increases flexibility.      
2. It builds muscle strength.
3. It controls blood sugar.
4. It raises self-esteem
5. It improves heart health.
6. It reduces stress.
7. It boosts immunity.

~ It is a combination of Yogasanas and Pranayama.
~75% muscles work during Suryanamaskar and is the best way to lose weight.
~Best time to do Suryanamaskar is Brahma Muhurat.

SURYANAMASKAR

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The last decade has revolutionized the world’s perspective about Yoga.The recent pandemic has shifted focus on overall health and immunity. Yoga is practiced world wide to help people cope with this sudden change.

Meditation and Breathing are also important components of Yoga.
Yoga is the need of the hour and kids should be taught these practices from an early age.Talking about my personal Yoga jouney I am practicing Yoga since last decade and it has helped me immensely in improving my physical as well as mental health.It has given me a different perspective of life.  I am still reasonably new to yoga but what I love the most about is that it’s an endless self-discovery journey.I always feel light,happy and peacefull after doing Yoga. Now,I have started teaching Yoga & when I receive positive feedback from my clients it gives me immense pleasure.
Last but not the least I would like to conclude my write up with few beautiful lines on YOGA.
*Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self to the self.---THE BHAGAVAD GITA
*The brain is the hardest part of the body to adjust in asanas.---B K S IYENGAR
*Yoga is the practice of quieting the mind---Patanjali ,The Yoga Sutras.

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“Sa tu dirghakala nairantarya satkarasevito drdhabhumih”

The Yoga Sutra 1.14 says that Practice that is done for a long time, without break and with sincere devotion becomes a firmly rooted, stable, and solid foundation. I am delighted that I attained this foundation at HFC but more about this later.


When the Yogathon was announced as part of the Christmas celebrations, I finally got an opportunity to learn and practice Surya Namaskars which I had wanted to do for a long time. To my great delight, my life partner Shilpa became my Yoga partner as well and we both acted like accountability partners for each other, pushing each other to learn and ultimately complete the challenge of 108 Surya Namaskars. We were the only couple to do the HFC Yogathon together and to be able to do so within a week to ten days of starting practice gave us a lot of satisfaction and confidence. 


Coming back to the Yoga Sutra 1.14, I am happy to share that I could continue the practice and have integrated into my daily lifestyle. I took a Sankalp of doing Surya Namaskars for 108 days without break and since January 17th 2022 I have been doing Surya Namaskars every day and intend to do so in the future. The practice has helped me both physically and emotionally. A special thanks to Dinesh ji for teaching us Surya Namaskars and Yoga. This wouldn’t have been possible without him.

Anand Mahesh is a Yoga Enthusiast
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PEDALING INTO A BRIGHTER TOMORROW : FORTUNE CITY RIDERS

As cycling became most loved fitness activity around the world many of us still fantasize to take it up. Today’s adult once child have enjoyed and cherished their love towards cycle. For many of us it was either gift or reward that our parents gave us then. Such guerdon was result of best scores in the subjects or for discipline. Through this article Praful Borde, the young and enthusiastic professional from concept marketing background turned entrepreneur shares his love for cycling and his journey in establishing the first ever cycling community of HFC - Fortune City Riders.

He shares, “even today the legacy of gifting of cycles to kids continues with Indian families. I too like many kids got my first cycle while in class sixth. It was dream come true. I got one of this bestest cycle of the time, then I felt in love with it. To and fro to school on bicycle became favourite activity of mine. Evenings and weekend were spent riding bicycles in the vicinity and those fun rides with friends are simply unforgettable. However, along with the time you grow and passion often replaces career plans and responsibility. Much before I knew cycle was replaced with public transports like bus, trains and planes; sparing no time for cycling.


But, in the year 2017 I learnt about Randonneuring. Randonnering is long distance endurance cycling rides ranging from 200, 300, 400, 600 and 1,000 kms. It is known as Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRMs). This style of riding is non-competitive in nature and the rides are self-supported. The ride event is controlled and recognised by Audax Club Parisien (ACP). Audax is a cycling club founded in 1904, in Paris and is the oldest cycling club of the world.


Due to Audax love for cycling regained; I planned to attempt my first 200km. With some practice of six months the attempt was successful and I earned my first Parisien Medal. Apart from passion, I always knew cycling have other health benefits too, so with the age it will help me stay fit”.

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Health Benefits of Cycling

Cycling is an aerobic activity to keep your heart, blood vessels and lungs fit and functional. During this form of exercise you breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which improves your overall fitness level.


The health benefits of regular cycling include increased cardiovascular fitness, increased muscle strength and flexibility, improved joint mobility, decreased stress levels, improved posture and coordination, strengthened bones, decreased body fat levels, prevention or management of disease and reduced anxiety and depression

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The Hfc Community

I am so fortunate to meet likeminded people like Mr. Dinesh Bhojwani, Mr. Prakash Natrajan, Mrs. Lalitha Prakash and Mr. Deepak Wadhwa (also mentor of my business) I am grateful to him, he got me to HFC.


I, quickly learnt that we all had similar passion of developing cycling culture here. Soon, morning group rides started and we rode together to explore the vicinity around HFC. These were fun rides. I must mentioned here I am so inspired with riding style of  senior couple Mr. Prakash Natrajan & Mrs. Lalitha Prakash, yes age is just the number. I am sure many senior couples would like to take some cycling lessons from this great couple. I am also thankful to Mr Vithal Mane for introducing me to meet Mr. Ajay Shukla. Mr. Shukla a cycling enthusiast and have completed many century rides. He stays in Mumbai and he is also HFC resident.


HFC is gifted with treasure that every cyclist might search. Whether in monsoon around here is the bliss... Beautiful roads that this country side offers are unique adventure, they are also very close and safe to explore. May it be foot hills of Sondai fort or elevation of bhor ghat, Dolavli pond, Mahad ganpati temple or Gurdwara at Reez. Even the loops starting from main gate to Garden enclave and internal round have become favourites of beginners. Away from cities endless traffic congestion and pollution HFC is such an idle place for regular riders or beginners to pedal. There is so much to see and experience around while pedalling here.

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THE FOUNDATION OF FCR

We, regular riders came together and co-founded cycling group named by 'Fortune City Riders' or FCR. I remember the whatsapp group was created by Mr. Deepak Wadhwa so spontaneously it gave platform to FCR. Mr. Dinesh Bhojwani is the most loved co-founder, I could see that his passion towards cycling is no lesser then mine. Out of many brain storming session with I remember the search for title and naming session of community as FCR. He is also a co-authour of ‘FCR CYCING GUIDE 2022’ which will be released soon. The guide shall help all new riders and experience cyclist from HFC to know cycling and FCR better. Madhavi Bhojwani his wife and my friend is working exclusively on Logo of FCR, we look forward to release it along with FCR CG 2022.


FCR is dedicated to develop cycling Culture for all age group at HFC. Also to create a platform wherein we cyclist get exposure to world class cycling events conducted in India such as BRMs, Cycling trails, races and expeditions etc. Weekly session during weekend rides are conducted for beginners where they learn about safety measures while riding on roads. Interaction sessions with experience and pro cyclist are arranged. FCR intends to build active cycling COMMUNITY at HFC. With this intention FCR is now in the league of small and big about 10 Clubs around Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Panvel and Kalyan. Today, we have 25 active riders and numbers are growing gradually.


Young riders like Nilay Ozha (is also tech support of team FCR), Kaustubh Patil(new but passionate cyclist), Sachin Yadav (ardent group member) and Nitin Tarani (regular solo rider) transpire this wonderful thought of Cycling community at HFC and are motivating many others to follow.


During the month of December 2021, with the extended support and cooperation of HFC Celebration team, FCR invited Everest Cycling Culture (A club from Navi Mumbai having 3000 riders under their ambit) to promote cycling at HFC. They rode to HFC with 25 pro cyclists. Amongst these 25 riders was Kabir Rachure the only third Indian to complete RACE ACROSS AMERICA (RAAM) SERIES. He not only rode to HFC but was courteous enough to enlighten the host with his experience and anecdotes from his ride across America.


Come, Join and Pedal together to build a Cycling Culture at HFC.

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THE FEELING OF GETTING LOST IN A BOOK

Meet Tanisha S. Paras. An avid reader, co-author of 5 anthologies including an international piece. An artist who loves to paint. Poetry for her is an expression of self and experience.

Reading is to the mind, is what exercise is to the body. The feeling of getting lost in a book is inspired by that inexplicable experience of reading, to be lost in a book.

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It's midnight when I open this book,
Every articulate word of the author has me shook;
To its intriguing story am I completely hook,
Oh how do I describe you the feeling of getting lost in a book ?

Battling every schedule I make myself free,
Everyday I enjoy my little reading spree;
As if I'm on a mountain high or a colossal tree,
It's my secret escape from the world's reality

We weep and mourn with the characters cry,
To this, no true bibliophile would ever deny;
Books being my greatest ally,
Within them I confide all my emotions without feeling shy

When I open a book and start reading,
Emotions intense start bleeding;
A world full of fantasies does my mind keep me feeding,
Getting lost in a book is an experience unyielding

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It transports my mind in a world of fiction,
Losing myself in this ocean of imagination is my new addiction;
No matter what, reading is always a springy solution,
Wandering away into a book is a riveting ambition

When you get lost in a book, you'll enrapture a new dimension,
They are your distinctive guides to an unknown delusion;
Its a land with the absence of any form of suppression,
You experience unforeseen persuasion

A wonderland of stories, your imagination starts to cook,
A new fascinating journey is what you undertook,
A roller coaster ride it is, as the events unhook,
Oh, that is how the feeling is of getting lost in a book!

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WHEN MINERALS FORM ART : A VISIT TO THE MINERAL MUSEUM

Minerals. The very word reminds of mines and boring metals. The Editor narrates while on one of his countless business trips when a colleague spoke about Mineral Museum, he was amused. Mineral, and art that requires a museum to showcase. Does that even sound like a possibility….just to satisfy his then growing curiosity, he decided to hop by on his way back home from Aurangabad.

The Mineral Museum at Gargoti, just off the city of Nashik is bound to take you by surprise. And it starts right from the location. As you take turn to get inside the MIDC area at Malegaon, you’ll reach a left turn that you’ll hesitate to take. At the end of it is Gargoti Mineral Museum, be ready to be taken aback by the sheer simplicity of the exterior.


A ₹100/- ticket is needed for entering the Museum unless your purpose of visit is purchase. The admirer of art will get fascinated as you enter the main building.

That minerals can be so colourful and artistic, it’s beyond my ability to describe or articulate. The museum has an enviable collection of rare mineral formations from across the globe. The vision of the Museum authorities is to drive awareness amongst general public and Government authorities about these natural resources and help conserve and protect them from disaster. An important focus area of the museum at Gargoti is to showcase natural mineral formations from India, mostly from the mineral rich Deccan peninsular region. You’ll find a delightful collection of Natural Indian Zeolite Minerals & Crystals, Natural Gems Stones, Natural Precious/Semi-Precious Stones, Naturals Precious/Semi-Precious Metals, Fossils, Stone Handicrafts (Statues).

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The drive from Hfc to Gargoti is long. The 212 Kms journey will take around 4 hrs drive if you follow Google map and take the route via Thane-Nashik highway. The road becomes quite nice after you cross Kalyan, especially if you’re driving monsoon or post-monsoon with plenty of greenery along the otherwise barren landscape. If you’re planning a day-trip and same-day-return, I’d suggest you start early morning and reach Gargoti by 10:00 AM. The museum closes for visitor by 6:00 in the evening and open all 365 days. VIP visits are common at Gargoti and the museum can be shut for public, so, it’s worth calling them in advance while planning your trip. However, a better idea can be to plan your stay at Nashik, that hosts some really nice places to stay put and unwind. More about that in my next article. Forgot to mention, while driving to Gargoti, ensure that you take the right turn after crossing Igatpuri and not drive into Nashik. You’ll save on time and traffic, both. There are plenty of places to have your breakfast/ lunch/ dinner along the way. The museum itself doesn’t have an eatery and hence it’s a good idea to fill-up before you reach. I’d recommend trying the restaurant at Manas Resort, Igatpuri or a choice of multiple restaurants at Food Hills, next to Indian Oil Petrol Pump.


If you’re a shopaholic, care to carry enough space as ranging from show pieces to jewellery to idols, the Museum at Gargoti will entice you to the brim. The staff is very supportive and help you with picking your choice of mineral art. So, the next time you have a weekend to yourself, add Gargoti to your list.

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HYDRATION IN THE ELDERLY

This's the most cruel summer in more than 100 years. Hydration is the key to protect self and stay fit. Dr Kalpana Mehta is amongst the most renowned names in Nephrology in our country. Prof & Head of the Dept. of Nephrology at TN Medical College, Mumbai & BYL Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai.

Dr Mehta is the Hony. Secretary of Mumbai Nephrology Group, Member, Scientific Committee : West Zone : Indian Society of Nephrology. She's on the Advisory Board of Journal of Association of Physicians of India & Executive Member : Women in Nephrology, India

Elderly & family caregivers should have hydration knowledge & problems associated with inadequate intake as they can be prevented.


Hydration is important for all age groups , but special mention for elderly, as intake of water may be poor or less :  due to cognitive dysfunction with age, reduced thirst sensation, reduced mobility, loneliness due to nuclear families & not to forget, reduced capacity of aging body to conserve water due to various factors; mainly kidney , hormonal & neurologically related. Many elderly are on various medications like diuretics [which cause increase in urine volume], which itself can be causative factor for dehydration or additional factor.


Infections like pneumonias, urinary tract infections etc increase risk of dehydration, hence early diagnosis & prompt treatment of infections is of paramount importance.


In summer, in this elderly population, poor intake vis-a-vis need as per soaring temperature & increased perspiration,  can further augment dehydration related morbidity.


Less water intake can lead to multiple problems :  mild dehydration, dizziness with low Blood pressure, hyponatremia [less sodium level in our blood], even hypernatremia, decreased blood supply to kidney leading to kidney dysfunction.


All these can lead to altered sensorium, loss of consciousness, fall with fractures & head injuries, convulsions, clotting in veins with resultant increase in mortality. Early signs which can be picked up early include : loss of skin turgor, dry tongue  & axillae, rapid pulse. Loss of skin turgor may not help in elderly as there is loss of elasticity of skin.


Special attention in summer is warranted, as apart from all above concerns, more so in dry Arid regions, heat stroke with its additional consequences can develop & must be prevented.



Prevention is better than cure. Hydration health literacy [awareness] must be stressed upon. Role of good fluid intake not only in waste elimination, but in temperature, metabolism & circulation regulation must be stressed upon. Around 8 glasses per day is standard generalization. Required amount of fluid can be kept in bottles on table, ensuring that one bottle is finished during so much time. Water rich fruits like water-melon would be of great help.

DrKalpana Mehta is a resident of Aura
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THANK YOU HFC COMMUNITY

Since going live, the website has been viewed across over 40 countries and 100 cities around the world. The hfc community, global as it is, can stay connected with the latest news on life@hfc.

for the Overwhelming Support to this initiative

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CEMENTING THE SOCIAL FABRIC

Hfc is an interesting community. Unfazed with pressure of a pandemic of global proportions, a bunch of Members got together to contribute and stand up in cementing the Social fabric around Hfc. 

Shekhar Dixit, the IT Professional turned entrepreneur shares their vision for their social initiative : Fortune City Community

Last year will forever be cemented as a period literally plagued with a global pandemic and fraught with social unrest, both of which rattled people to their physical and mental cores.
However, alongside the chaos of 2021 also came unexpected blessings – a chance for HFC residents to come together for the better good, celebrate occasions, reassess priorities and focus on what matters most while ensuring that we gave ourselves the mental space to process it all having celebrations at HFC as one big family.
For me, one of these blessings has been the willingness to talk openly about many things with like-minded people in our community. Over the past year in my role as the Chief Executive Officer of Envisionard Corporation., was stressful, I have never seen more open and authentic ways of sharing passion and communion in the HFC community than in my lifetime. If 2021 taught us anything, it’s that these are things we cannot afford to ignore the social activities and celebrations to bring people together.
As we look beyond the pandemic, it will be critical for our community to continue to focus on resident wellbeing – getting together and creating a culture of empathy while celebrating festivities and participating in other socio-cultural activities. If we are honest with ourselves, our pre-pandemic ways did not actually work so well. Long hours, the ‘always on’ nature of technology, difficult commutes – all of this contributed to stress and burnout which impacted our social, mental, and physical health. As we emerge from the pandemic, if we go back to the old ways of working, we will have missed the opportunity to make our community stronger, healthier and happier. So, what does this look like? And what are the steps we can take moving forward in our community? Below are three key learnings from this past year that can help support residents in this community both today and into the future:

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FORTUNE CITY COMMUNITY

Prioritise our values

Most community have a set of stated values—at HFC, our values of integrity, empathy, giving back, originality and courage are the foundation of our culture. If you’re an owner or a tenant looking to prioritise wellbeing in our community, start with your values and think about how you can lean into them and contribute to the activities happening all around the year.

Participate and Lead with empathy and authenticity

Of course, we can never know all the personal challenges our residents face. And not everyone is comfortable sharing. But to open the door, we need to reach community members and volunteers throughout the campus on how to lead with empathy – how to focus on the specific needs of each of their individual residents.

This includes:

• Leading from the heart. This means you are extending support to fellow resident as usual – but you’re just doing it with empathy.

• I try to start every conversation by saying, “How are you? Really, what’s going on? What’s happening?” When community members provide space for these conversations, that’s when the connection happens.

• There is no one-size-fits-all, but by making small changes in the way we communicate with our residents, we can begin to create a culture rooted in authenticity.

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“GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY, CONTRIBUTING TOWARDS MAKING THE DIFFERENCE”.

Remember to take care of yourself and your neighbors

Like so many of us, I have a demanding, and at times, stressful professional role. But I have a few tools in place to navigate my everyday stressors. From getting enough exercise and sleep to seeking out joy each day —we all need to prioritise our own mental health and wellbeing. I love my job and I want to have a real impact in the world that is how we have our social initiative extension Udbhav – but I can only do this if I’m at my best. Like so many others, I’ve experienced burnout in my career, and I know how important it is to take consistent small, but important, steps to avoid getting there again.

Mentorship programs

We instinctively know who we enjoy spending time with. A good mentorship program should be designed on the basis of allowing residents to select their mentors/mentees themselves. This was an important topic brought up and suggested by many residents to be able to learn from other’s experiences. We should create environment for such mentorship exchange.

Zero-assumption culture and Zero tolerance to social shaming

It sounds rather fancy, but in truth assumptions hold people back from listening fully to others and responding with clarity and compassion. As we are striving to build a culture of empathy we should, at the very least, encourage its residents to eschew assumptions, ask questions, and act with impartiality and integrity. Social shaming and getting back on social media are inappropriate behaviour, we as a community should have zero tolerance for such behaviour.

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THIS IS OUR COMMUNITY

Patience-building and Meditation exercises

A culture of impatience is detrimental to community, and it certainly doesn’t help with developing empathy. Misplaced priorities, failure to distinguish what is important from what is inconsequential, not knowing when to say no, reluctance to delegate tasks, and insistence on being a perfectionist are some of the rudimentary reasons people grow impatient with themselves. It is critical for people to identify the root causes and take proactive measures to mitigate them.

Foster growth, not judgment.

Understand that most people are works in progress. If you catch someone slipping up, don’t leap to a snap judgment. Instead, foster growth by encouraging them to confront challenges, work hard and take risks.


All of us want some sense of affirmation that who we are and how we are recognised. We have learned so many important lessons this past year when it comes to prioritising wellbeing. Bringing our whole selves to work will require us to keep the positive takeaways of 2021, well, top of mind.  We have gotten through this past year and now it’s up to all of us to create the environment of celebration, happiness and togetherness what will hopefully be a ‘new normal’ rooted in our community.

Shekhar is a Resident of Clio
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TUNING INTO A NEW COLOR : RANG-DE-22

Hemali is a Fitness Enthusiast, in love with good music and food, an avid reader, a passionate dancer. An internationally Certified Yoga instructor with a belief that learning never stops and age is just a number, she’s an active member of the Hfc Celebrations Team

Have you ever planted a sapling. Am sure, you have. Have you ever re-planted a tree….? Maybe you have, maybe you’ve not. Replanting is such a painful exercise. The very thought of uprooting a tree with all it’s roots deep into the earth and replanting it in a new soil, new environment is such a challenging task. You’ve got to be careful while uprooting itself ensuring that you cause the least amount of harm to the innumerable roots and their rootlings is difficult. The process of replanting is difficult, the role of the soil n the environment can make a world of difference by accepting or rejecting.


This is exactly how I felt when we moved to hfc. Acceptance or rejection, what awaits me as we moved to setup our life in this new location. It was early February and there was a bit of chill still in the morning breeze. I still remember my early days of morning n evening walks in the garden of Sector A, with strangers all around. However, things changed sooner than I expected. I started having chit chats. The chit chats turned into conversations as I made a few friends. And then came Holi. Rang-de-22 announcement.


With a mix of excitement n apprehension of the unknown, I reached out and volunteered myself for this event. The days that followed were filled with frequent meetings, fun in knowing each other’s tasks and helping around to make the festival a success after almost 2 years of hiatus.

I spoke, I heard, i argued, I agreed, I ran, I sat, I paused….I soon realised am flying again. My fertile soil of hfc is gripping around my roots. I started feeling like being in a place that I belong. I felt at home at hfc.

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RIOT OF COLORS AT HFC

The entire ambience is full of bonhomie and conducive to expression of ideas. Together with my new found gang, we danced our heart out at Rang-de-22. Today I don’t remember who proposed the idea of having multani-mitti with natural organic colors, or who placed the idea of having the sprinklers for rain dance, but I remember that together we could create an experience that was awesome, memories that shall last a life-time. Such has been the power of inclusiveness and spirit of celebration of life at hfc. I feel humbled, honoured, happy n happening at hfc. My roots have firmed and am swaying in joy at this special location.

Hemali is a resident of Aura
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SUPERCHEF@HFC

Featuring 3 talented women n their exquisite Summer Recipe

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Shibani Mukhopadhaya

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Mridula Goel

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Supriya Londhe

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GAZPACHO SOUP

Heard of Gazpacho? Gazpacho is a classic cold Spanish soup, perfect for sweltering summer days. The benefits of gazpacho go beyond the temperature. Made from tomatoes and vegetables, it carries numerous health benefits, too. It's a source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E, along with several other minerals and nutrients. Mridula Goel from Artemis shares her recipe for the perfect glass of Gazpacho soup to relish this summer.

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Ingredients

Tomatoes 3-4

Cucumber 1 medium sized

White bread slices -3

Red capsicum 1 medium sized

Green capsicum  1 medium sized

Basil leaves 4-5

Garlic cloves 3-4

White vinegar  2 tbsp

Extra virgin olive oil - half cup

Ice cubes-8/10

Topping

Cucumber finely chopped

Cabbage finely chopped

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Take bread slices chop them and keep them in a bowl
Chop tomatoes and keep aside
Deseed both red and green capsicum and chop them too
Chop cucumber also
Now take a mixer grinder and add bread slices, cucumber, tomatoes, both capsicum, garlic, cloves, basil leaves. Add the white vinegar and olive oil too.
Add salt according to your taste
Add 8-10 ice cubes
Churn everything finely
Now take a glass add the churned soup into the glass add the finely chopped cucumber and cabbage and serve chilled

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STRAWBERRY ICELAND

Heard of Strawberry Iceland ? Never mind if you haven’t, as yet. Supriya Londhe, the young and enthusiast mother of two and IT Engineer by profession is here to help you prepare this exciting drink that’s all set to refresh your day on this menacingly hot summer of 2022. She’s a resident of Atlas.

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Ingredients

1. Strawberry Crush - 30ml

2. Litchie Crush - 30 ml

3. Lemon - 1/2

4. Sprite 30 ml

5. Crushed Ice 10 cubes

Recipe

Crush ice and pour it in glass

Add strawberry Crush in half side and Litchie in another half side.

Squeeze lemon and add Sprite serve the thirsty throat with double dhamaal

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GREEN MANGO SPRING

Shibani Mukhopadhaya takes a break from these war of Mango recipes and shares her version of the refreshingly delicious Green Mango Spring. Shibani is known to followers of Life@hfc, being the winner of the first ever SuperChef in 2021. For the unreserved, she’s an avid reader, loves nature and follows Sadhguru. She’s a resident at Apollo.

Summers in India is incomplete without mangoes. Not surprisingly, 5 out of the Top 25 Mango recipes published by a popular global online portal are of Indian origin. In this distinguished list of Mango delicacies that is as varied as Mango French Toast Casserole to the all American Mango Barbecue Baby Back Ribs, you’ll find our very own desi Aamrakhand, the delicious and fluffy Indian mousse and the upmarket  Delicious Mango Kuchen, a coffee cake with fresh mango slices and touch of cardamom from southern India.

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Ingredients

250 grams raw mango

200 grams jaggery

Tbsp roasted jeera powder

2 Tsp rocksalt

1.5 ltr water

Ice cubes


Recipe

Roast mangoes.

Cool them and extract the pulp.

Pour it in the blender along with jaggery and rocksalt and blend it to a smooth consistency.

Finally add water and jeera powder to the blended mango pulp.

Serve in a glass with some ice cubes and a dash of roasted jeera powder.

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THERE'S MAGIC IN MIDGEY

Meet Midgey, the pet cat. Self-declared cat slave, the bright alumna of IIM, Balakumar Karthikeyan narrates the magic in Midgey.

My cat master Midgey often likes to give me interesting challenges. Back in 2019, this was her rupturing her diaphragm and staying in the hospital for 3 full nights until she could move around. In 2020, the year of the covid, she had decided to jump from the fourth floor for some reason only God knows. This caused her to break her leg. What followed was a POP cast that she ably dampened, allowing for a lot of necrosis and improper setting of the bones. After these two life threatening feats, we began calling her Midgey seven lives. Clearly, she had lost two of them in the process. In 2021 for some reason, she decided to give me a break. I was hoping that it would be a long break, but then, she decided, let me test out how good my slaves are.


Sometime around 12 yesterday (I know this because that was the last time, I saw her in the house), Midgey decided to go out on an adventure. She was just missing. After searching for her all around the house, in her favorite spots, and shaking the cat food tin to lure her out, we figured out that she was not there inside the house. What followed, was a series of steps that we had perfected to an art over the course of the last one year stay in our building. Step 1, go to the 33rd floor through the lift, take the first stair well, and walk down all the way to the stilt all the while shouting “Midgey.. Midgey”. Step 2. Get back into the lift, go to the 33rd floor and repeat step 1 through the other stair well. Step 3, in the event of not spotting her in the stairwell, go to the security guards and ask them to show us the footage of the lifts. We then skim through that to find out where exactly she is. While we were in the requesting for the video footage phase, I went home to have a relook and that when I started hearing a faint meow. After looking around everywhere, I went to the balcony, just to see if she’s there somewhere on the park downstairs. Given her flaming red fur, it would have been child’s play to find her on an open green field. However, she was nowhere to be found. Just as I withdrew my eyes from the distance and began turning, I spotted something out of the ordinary. I saw Midgey. She was in the floor beneath us. The 16th floor. The daredevil cattu had decided to jump from my floor to the next for some reason. How she managed to perform this feat, I do not fully understand yet. But there she was, looking into my eyes on a balcony that was never washed once since the building was constructors (about 2 years ago). The owners stayed abroad, and no one knew how to reach them.


Poor thing, she must have been terrified. What followed was us sending her food and water in a bucket. All this while, one of us was trying to find out if there was any way we could get her back home safely. The fact that it was a Sunday did not help. The maintenance people promised us that in the morning, at 9.00 when the project office opened, they would get a spare key and help us retrieve her. We were clearly terrified. Both Sangha and I are very fond of her and cannot imagine spending a day without her around. Waiting until the next day was something that we were not willing to do. Given that we could not get the keys from the security team, the next best option was to talk to owners straight and ask them for assistance. For this reason, we decided to find out if we can reach out to the owners of the houses on our own, and ask them to help us with the keys. Our logic was simple, we thought the owners might have left a key behind in India just in case there was some issue precisely like the one we were in right now. For this reason, I sent out a message in our apartment’s WhatsApp group asking for help. There were so many people who prayed for us and offered us excellent advice that was really useful to us. I have no words to thank them!! Our efforts to get the contact information did not bear fruit.


There was absolutely no one in the WhatsApp group or in the projects team who knew who the owner was or where they could get a spare key. Some people called me careless, and used this opportunity to take shots at me. While this entire drama was unfolding, we managed to get some sleep. The key was to not look at the phone at all and focus on the problem at hand. Sleep was going to be useful.


Once we woke up, we started once more. This time, throwing down one cover after the other. Midgey was very fond of covers and was happy to crawl into one at first sight. Our idea was to get air lift her once she enters. This was the only thing we could do at 5.00 am in the morning. If not, she would have to be there for another 4-5 hours at least before the projects and security teams could figure out a workable solution to save her. Hours of pleading with her bore no fruit. I had to leave home considering i had to be in office for a very important meeting. Sangha would have to handle the project on her own. Here is a picture from when I last saw her. I was relatively certain that she would be home by the time I was going to be back.

 Although there was a lot of work to do at the office, the only thing I could focus one as how to rescue midgey. While I trusted Sangha to handle the projects and security people and get them to help Midgey out, I was very anxious. I tried to reach out to the honey extractors, painters, and plumbers. Just in case the project team was unable to find the key in an hour, then we’d need a plan B. It was only then that the projects people told Sangha that they did not have access to the keys of the house. Clearly, this meant that we had to go with plan B.


After having mopped the place thoroughly with her shiny fur, my cat master was apparently a little over the edge. Sangha had gone through tons of youtube videos on how to rescue a cat and was reaching out to animal rescue people. However, they were not interested in coming all the way over to Bokarbada to secure a cat (which I think is a service for which they charge very little). I completed my meetings at the office and was trying to help Sangha out in any way I can. Many of my friends were also coming over to our house to help us get Midgey out. In our mind, we were quite positive that we could go 2.5 meters down, pull this cat and come back safe if provided with the required tools. This is when magic happened and I am sad that I could not see this in person. Midgey decided to jump into the bag after Sangha asked her for the 100th time since morning. Once Midgey was in the bag, she patiently suspended the bag for some more time to make her comfortable  and then began pulling her up, home.


Here are some pictures that were taken during various stages of the rescue mission. Midgey is home safe now. When I got back home, I did hug the hell out of her and gave her a dozen kottus to teach her a lesson. I think Midgey now wants to conserve the rest of her lives now.

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CELEBRATIONS THRU IMAGES

The images of Celebrations are what remains etched in our mind for ages. We are fortunate to have some of the finest photographers who've taken the art beyond just a hobby of an amateur. Here's a collection of images clicked during the recent Christmas, New Year, Holi Celebrations at hfc.

Contributed by Anand, Atharva, Karthikayen & Santanu

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A NOTE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Special Live Edition of Life@hfc would not have been possible without generous contributions from Dinesh (Hermes), Praful (Helios), Hemali (Aura), Mridula (Artemis), Supriya (Atlas), Anand (Argus), Atharva (Flora), Shibani (Apollo), Karthikeyan (Aurora), Sekar (Clio), Vandita (Hermes) & Sushil (Mellona)

You guys are Awesome
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PARTICIPATE & CONTRIBUTE

You can participate and contribute in the next edition of Life@hfc by sending in your entry at lifeathfc.thejournal@gmail.com

You can send stories of nearby places, eateries, places of interest, pictures clicked by yourself, poem, painting or even narrate a story - just ensure that it involves life at hfc.

You can even suggest sections that don’t yet feature and contribute towards building this initiative of Celebration of Life at hfc.

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NARRATE AN EXPERIENCE

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CONTACT US

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Conceived, Created, Designed & Published by Santanu, Mellona

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