Tag: Exhibit Magazine India

16 Offbeat Travel Getaways to Take-up 2022 in Style

The year 2021 went well, at least better than 2020. As of December, the pandemic situation was pretty much under control in India, but with the arrival of a new year, another variant (Omicron) landed here. As a result, many state governments added new COVID-19 restrictions, not allowing people to stretch their travel legs. However, the new variant turned out to be a faded rendition, and according to experts at WHO, it shall pass within a few weeks, and with that, we can hit the outdoors again. Going for a trip to popular places would be a bad move in current times, and it’s a pretty outdated move. That’s why we’ve come up with 16 off-beat travel getaways to take up 2022 in style.

Historical Places & Ruins:

  •  Champaner & Laxmi Vilas Palace, Gujarat

The ancient city is considered one of Gujarat’s most fascinating historical attractions. The off-beat destination is as old as the 8th century, and it will hook you instantly with its heritage places, including a number of forts, mosques, monuments, tombs, arches, temples, and step-wells. The Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park located in Champaner is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that offers an authentic flavour of architecture. The famous Laxmi Vilas Palace – the Vadodara’s royal family residence is a must-visit place if you’re planning to explore around Champaner. The palace is built over 500 acres (four times the size of Buckingham Palace), and it is about 50 Km from Champaner.

  • Basgo, Ladakh

Basgo is a historic castle town located on the mighty Indus River in Ladakh and is famous for its Basgo Monastery and Gompas. The ancient temples and structures around Basgo are part of the UNESCO world heritage site. The monastery is a perfect example of Tibetan architecture, and the Basgo Palace is among the 100 most endangered heritage sites in the world. The once proliferated town is now wrapped in ruins, with almost zero infrastructure. The Basgo town has been featured in many Bollywood movie songs, including Satrangi Re from Dil Se and Dil Dance Maare from Tashan.

  • Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

The name Orchha means ‘Hidden Place’, which is enough to pay a visit to this historic town. The beautiful city of Orchha is nestled royally near the banks of the Betwa River. The historical place is built with a vision that one can find historical landmarks every time a river makes a turn. The site is far away from the reach of regular tourists, making it a more peaceful destination. The place’s main attraction is the Orchha Fort, an architectural marvel of the town built on an island on the Betwa river and Chattris, memorials to the rulers of Orchha. If you decide to visit Orchha, don’t forget to attend the light and sound show at Orchha Fort, which starts at 6:30 PM in English and at 7:45 PM in Hindi.

  • Shettihalli Rosary Church, Karnataka

Ruins and forgotten structures are always fascinating, especially when connected with folklore and Shettihalli Rosary Church is one of such gems. The French missionary church located in the Hassan district of Karnataka is popularly known as India’s only floating church. Interestingly, this dilapidated church remains submerged in water during monsoons, and when the water level decreases, it slowly starts appearing as a full, allowing the tourists to witness its glory. The hauntingly beautiful church was built in the 1860s in the French Gothic style of architecture, but later on, in 1960, the government deserted the area to construct the dam, and the church lost the centre of attention.

Beaches & Islands:

  • Maravanthe Beach, Karnataka

Maravanthe is a uniquely positioned beach offering an incredible view with the mesmerizing Arabian Sea on one side and the Souparnika river on the other side. The beach is an ideal choice to hang out with friends and family. The place is about 105 km from Mangalore, and one must catch a lovely boat ride across the Souparnika River during golden hour and watch the sunset. You can visit the nearest Padukone village, birthplace of famous badminton star Prakash Padukone and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone during your trip to Maravanthe. 

  • Bhogwe Beach, Maharashtra

Goa and Gokarna are the places that made the Konkan coast popular, but the coast has much more to offer than these usual places, only if you’re willing to go off-road. The secluded, loneliest and pristine Bhogwe beach is one of India’s few cleanest beaches selected for blue flag certification. The picturesque beach is situated on the shores of Sindhudurg District and is famous for being the merging point of the Karli River and the Arabian Sea. The beach is located at the base of Nivati Fort, which offers majestic views of the Bhogwe beach along with the Golden rocks and a glimpse of Tsunami island.

  • Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu

Dhanushkodi – often referred to as India’s Ghost Town, is situated on the southeastern tip of Tamil Nadu’s Pamban Island (Rameshwaram). In 1964, a monstrous cyclone turned this once-bustling trade hub into an eerie ghost town. Except for a few fishermen folks, nobody lives in Dhanushkodi, and no tourists are allowed to enter the town after 6 PM. Dhanushkodi has extreme natural conditions, and it is a bit risky to get into the water due to high waves, but the experience you’ll have while driving towards the tip, walking on the beach and exploring the ruins is out of this world.

  • Majuli Island, Assam

Majuli, nestled amidst the mighty Brahmaputra River, is the world’s largest freshwater island. It’s a must-visit place for every traveling enthusiast because due to climate change, in the next 20-25 years, the lush green and pollution-free island may completely disappear from the earth’s map. The isolated island is over 420 square kilometres in size and home to several tribes, mainly the Mishings. The green fields and the water bodies of Majuli island will stay in your heart for a long time, and you’ll feel blessed for the rest of your life.

The Hidden Paradise of North-East:

  • Bhalukpong, Arunachal Pradesh

The Seven Sisters of India offers everything you’re looking for in a serene trip, but the beautiful town of Bhalukpong has its magic. The unexplored town is located along the southern reaches of the Himalayas in the West Kameng district, and it is surrounded by the evergreen forests of the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary. Due to limited connectivity options, Bhalukpong hasn’t been nourished as a proper tourist destination, but if you’re looking for a calm and cozy holiday destination, then the breathtaking town of Bhalukpong is the place for you.

  • Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

If you’re a fan of independent music in India, you probably have heard the name Ziro Valley before. The underrated town is surrounded by untouched forests, offering unmatched scenic and wildlife grandeur. Zero Valley is located 15 kilometers from Itanagar and is one of the best places to visit in North East India. The photogenic valley is famous for hosting the Ziro Music Festival, rice fields, lush bamboo forests, scenic trails lined with pine and bamboo trees. The hill hamlet provides a sound and peaceful camping experience as it is home to 300 birds and 170 butterfly species.

  • Sandakphu

Sandakphu is the highest peak in the queen of hills – Darjeeling, which offers an incredible panorama of the world’s highest snowline. The town is named after a poisonous wolf’s bane plant that grows naturally around the peak. Sandakphu is famous for its treks and is popularly known as Trekkers Wonderland. The place offers excellent mountaineering and adventure sports possibilities due to its location. If you’re a mountain lover, you should consider visiting this place and going on a Sandakphu Phalut trek, as it is one of the best winter treks in the Himalayas.

  • Mechuka

Situated in the West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, Mechuka, Mechukha, or Menchukha valley is a must-visit tourist destination in North-East India. The Buddhist hamlet houses several tribes, including Libo, Bokar, Ramo, and Memba Tribes. The Valley is located 29 km away from the famous McMahon Line that separates India and China. The rhythmic sound of the river Siyom, snow-capped mountains, wooden bridges with colorful Buddhist prayer flags, vast grassland with grazing horses, and dotted houses can make Mechuka a perfect off-beat destination.

The Territory of Big Cats:

  • Jawai, Rajasthan

Jawai Bandh (Dam) is one of the few places where you can spot a leopard in the daytime, and that’s why the place has become one of the hot favourite tourist destinations in Rajasthan. The site has plenty of natural caves for leopards, and they live peacefully here without causing any conflict with humans. The big cats have been winning hearts here with their human-friendly nature, and tribes who live here consider these big cats the guardians of their local deity. Along with leopards, you can easily spot crocodiles basking in the sun at river banks and migratory birds, making Jawai a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts.

  • Hemis, Ladakh

Hemis is the ideal place for people who wish to spend some time in the lap of nature and to see the globally famous, rare and endangered snow leopard. The scenic hamlet is located between the snow capped mountain ranges of Ladakh and is bounded by the ever-gorgeous Indus river and the majestic Zanskar range. The Hemis Monastery is ranked as one of the wealthiest monasteries in India, and it houses an iconic copper gilded statue of Lord Buddha along with stupas made of gold, silver, and other precious metals. The Hemis National Park boasts about 200 leopards, along with other endangered species such as Asiatic ibex, Tibetan wolf, the Eurasian brown bear and the red fox.

  • Sundarban, West Bengal

Inscribed as a world heritage site by UNESCO, Sundarban is the kind of place where you’ll witness the true side of nature, a tale of survival. The place lies on the delta of three rivers, Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. The mangrove forest is home to Royal Bengal Tigers. Once you’re on the boat to spot the Bengal Tiger, you’ll not feel less than you’re a guy from an episode of the national geographic channel. Besides Bengal Tiger, it is home to various wildlife species, including red-faced rhesus monkey, saltwater crocodile, spotted deer, crested serpent eagle, oriental honey buzzard, and Goshawk.

  • Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka

The rare species always attract the crowd, and if you’re a staunch wildlife enthusiast, especially the one who’s into felines, then you must have heard the name “Saaya.” The word Saya means Shadow, and it is the name of the elusive male black panther that wildlife enthusiasts and tourists often spot in the southern part of the Nagarhole National Park. The majestic park is quite picturesque with hills, valleys, streams and Kabini, a part of the park, has become famous in recent years for the sighting of a real-life Bagheera. The black panther is exceptionally confident, and it will hypnotise you with his appearance.

Say Hello to the Future of Dating – The Metaverse

Back then, life was a bit challenging, especially in terms of dating because asking someone out in person is not everybody’s cup of tea, then and even now. About 25 years ago, entrepreneurs Gary Kremen and Peng T. Ong decided to come up with a solution and launched the first dating site in the form of Match.com. Since then, the online dating world has evolved dramatically, as it changed the course of dating and brought everything on our plate within one click.

We enjoyed the online dating phase on websites, going ahead with time, several marriage sites launched to help people find the right partner and then the app culture arrived, which turned out to be a milestone in the dating universe. We were swapping right-left all the time, and then the COVID-19 pandemic swapped right on us. So, dating companies started figuring out a solution to help singles and this time, they came up with something unbelievable.

Imagine you’re sleeping on a couch while your TV is on, and your dog is wagging his tail near you because your phone is vibrating. Suddenly, you woke up from a nap only to realize you’ve promised someone a date. Now, she’s already there, waiting for you, and you’re still in your shorts, thinking about a reason to convince her. Well, in real life, this kinda situation might lead to a quick argument, but when the metaverse dating arrives, you will endure the situation. Let me tell you how?

But first understand, what is Metaverse?

You’ve probably heard a lot about the metaverse already, but most of us didn’t care to know what it is actually? The term metaverse first occurred in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. In simple language, the metaverse is a shared digital reality where users can connect to each other, build economies and interact in real-time. It’s the future of the internet, where anything can be done, but it remains to be seen like AI and blockchain.

All the top companies worldwide are investing tons of money in the metaverse, from Facebook to Nike, everyone wants to be a part of it. If you ask about dating companies, tinder’s parent company Match Group is already working on building a dating metaverse. For now, I’ll suggest, don’t dive deep to learn more about the metaverse because it’s way too complex, and the term doesn’t refer to any specific type of technology.

What will dating be like in the Metaverse?

I hope you’ve visualized yourself in the above scenario where the guy in shorts is thinking about what to say to his date? You might suggest convincing her with truth or perhaps with a lie. Now, I’ll tell you how metaverse dating will help you duck a similar situation? First and foremost, such concerns will not even occur in metaverse dating because here, you’re a 3D avatar, and to activate it, you only have to wear the necessary Virtual Reality (VR) gear.

You don’t have to leave your couch, you don’t have to drop your dog at your friend’s apartment, and you don’t even have to take a shower because you’re going on a date in metaverse where none of these things matter. Your metadate will look like this: You both have to wear VR headsets to track eye movements and facial expressions. Besides VR gear, both of you will have to wear haptic gloves, a wearable device that mimics tactile sensations of virtual objects.

You can decide any place that exists in the metaverse to meet each other. Now, imagine you’re waiting for your date in an outdoor cafe, and then a date tracker notifies you that your date is about to reach. You put your headphones on to avoid anxiousness, but you’re having a hard time focusing. And then you look up and see a beautiful girl in a skirt with a button-up shirt walking towards you. She has what we call a perfectly toned figure and eyes like pearls that shine like stars. She waves at you and joins you for an ice-cream date. You both are having a good time, and then the waiter shows up with a bill. You’re about to pay, and then your subconscious warns you, “Split it bro! She might like it if you allow her to pay her part” And “What if she didn’t like the gesture?” says the other one.

Finally, you prefer to wait, and she puts her hand on yours, of course through the haptic gloves (don’t worry, you’ll get the same feelings) and says, “Let’s split it for now”, and then both of you pay your share of the bill with tinder/bumble coins. While walking her out, you plan to ask her for another date, this time – a real one, but again your subconscious stops you by saying, “Don’t rush the things, wait for her message and what if she’s not this captivating in real life?”, and you drop the idea.

The benefits of dating in the Metaverse

What do we do while preparing for a first date? We think, we think a lot and then overthinking kills us; sometimes, it even adds pimples to make it worse. We usually look for a nice outfit, we make sure that we’re behaving well, we rehearse all the table manners, and many more things. While in metaverse dating, you don’t have to follow these old-school rules. In meta dating, you set your own rules, you choose your looks. Basically, you have a right to do whatever you want!

When meta dating will come into our lives, please don’t overdo anything. Choose your avatars carefully, and try to create an avatar that really matches your persona. Otherwise, you might end up dealing with rejection on your actual date with that special someone. Metaverse dating is beneficial for every one of us as it will allow us to meet our date in a virtual world where you can get an unbelievable amount of information about how your date feels about you without them saying a word.

Did you know?

On 5th Feb, a Bhopal-based couple, Abhijeet Goel, a tech entrepreneur and Dr Sansrati Jain, a pedodontist, tied a wedding knot and became the first couple in India to marry in the 3D Metaverse. The couple created a scenic beachside environment to host their wedding, where the guests also joined in via their digital avatars. The virtual wedding took place on Yug Metaverse, an Indian company that creates a metaverse for marriages, virtual events, exhibitions, business meetings, and conferences. The wedding was associated with two media agency brands, Wavemaker India for ITC Ltd. and Matrimony.com. Who conceptualised, organised and executed the wedding.

How Big is Twitter?

Twitter has always been a highly active social media forum where a single tweet can create a conversational conflict across the globe. The microblogging platform was created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March 2006, which means soon it will turn 16. Since then, the platform has emerged well, from allowing people to speak their hearts out to coming up with the breaking news before news stations. Over the past few years, the revenue of the ‘diary platform’ has skyrocketed, and it will only fly up in the future, thanks to the digital revolution.

Recently, when Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, announced his surprising move of stepping down from the position of chief executive officer, and Parag Agrawal took over his CEO position, everyone was in awe. The day Jack Dorsey announced his replacement, Twitter India flooded with thousands of memes on “Agrawal ji ka beta”, which shows how pleased Indians were after the announcement. The selection of an Indian-origin Parag Agrawal as CEO of Twitter creates a buzz in the social media circuit, causing us to pick Twitter for our How Big is feature.

How was Twitter Formed?

Evan Williams teamed up with his neighbour Noah Glass for a business venture and started working on a podcasting platform, Odeo. Later on, Williams convinced one of his Google co-workers and friend Biz Stone to join the team. Along the way, Engineer Jack Dorsey joined the trio and became part of the Odeo team. Unfortunately (at least for the Odeo team), in June 2005, Apple announced that they would include podcasting in one of the popular services, iTunes, cursing Odeo’s chances for success.

The announcement shook the management team of the Odeo, and Evan Williams told his Odeo employees to put their everyday tasks at Odeo on hold and work on whatever side projects they had. The results were outstanding, but the idea that Jack Dorsey tossed was the strongest one, and the management trio decided to go with it. A lot more happened in between, such as Williams firing Glass due to increased workplace tension, acquiring the majority of assets from Odeo’s investors and shareholders and then finally, in March 2007, the completed version of Twitter debuted and won the best startup honour at the South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas.

The Birth of the name ‘Twitter’

Every project starts with an idea, followed by a name, which identifies the brand. The original project code name was twttr, and then the founders of the company, mainly Noah Glass, came across the word Twitter for the first time and decided to go with it as it means “a short burst of inconsequential information” and “chirps from birds,” which sounds perfect for the platform. Initially, it was referred to as a social network as well as microblogging because it didn’t replace anything, but in a brief span, it became a popular social media network in the world with over 330 million daily active users.

The First-ever Tweet

Twitter co-founder typed out a simple yet effective message, “just setting up my twttr”, and posted it on Twitter. The message became the first-ever tweet, and after 15 years, it has gained over 172k likes and received over 121k retweets.

The Initial Years of the Twitter

In April 2007, Twitter became an independent company, and Twitter, Inc. was created as a corporate entity. Due to the Interactive conference at South By Southwest, Twitter gained humongous popularity, with about 60,000 tweets being sent on the day of the event. The prominent events such as election polls, FIFA World Cup, NBA Finals played a crucial role in the growth of Twitter, especially during its initial phase.

The platform was made for sharing thoughts, daily life ventures, and comprehending what people were doing based on their status updates. The company experienced rapid growth initially, from over 4,00,000 tweets per quarter in 2007 to a whopping 100 million tweets per quarter in 2008. The company moved up to the third-highest-ranking social networking site in January 2009.

The New Twitter

The company upped its game and rolled out an entirely revamped edition of twitter.com in 2011, often referred to as New Twitter in popular culture and also considered Twitter’s first big move in terms of redesigning. It features a complete overhaul of the interface and allows users to see pictures and videos, from a variety of supported websites, including Flickr and YouTube, without leaving the Twitter app website.

The new Twitter was formed to make money through promoted tweets, accounts, and trends as many brands were ready to pay considerable amounts to show their tweets at the top of search results pages. The new Twitter also introduced features like related content and mini-profiles. In late 2011, Twitter overhauled its website again to feature the Fly design, which was easier to understand, even for the new users.

Twitter Algorithm

Over the years, Twitter has established itself as a platform where brands can express themselves willingly, and that’s a selling point of the platform. The Twitter algorithm was introduced in 2016, allowing users to track tweets based on relevancy and popularity. The algorithm was criticized by many people when it underwent a significant overhaul in 2017 where it replaced the feature “while you’ve been away” with “in case you missed it.” The change is not taken lightly by Twitter users, and that’s why in 2018, Twitter allowed users an option to choose between an algorithm organized feed and a regular feed.

Twitter Valuation

Twitter ranks among the most prominent social networks worldwide, with over 330 million monthly active users. The company is funded by 36 investors, and as of January 2022, it has acquired 67 organizations. Twitter is a public, real-time, global platform, and as of 1st January 2022, its net worth is $34.37 billion.

7-Course Meal with Volvo XC90 ft. MasterChef Shipra Khanna

Europeans are always obsessed with the cars they make and the food they eat. Europeans are always obsessed with the cars they make and the food they eat. They always fulfil the quest of hunger of the gourmet and never fail to impress an auto enthusiast with its overall product offering. One such Swedish car accompanying is Volvo, and its latest offering is the flagship 7- seater luxury SUV – 2022 XC90. Just to spice things up, we invited Master chef Shipra Khanna on a 7-course meal to discuss a luxury palette and the luxury SUV over a hearty meal.

Shipra Khanna is one of the most glamorous Master chef from Shimla. Apart from making delicious food, she is also an author, TV Host, content creator and food consultant. She has achieved the milestone of earning the tag of “Youngest Female Celebrity Chef in India” and knows what goes inside to make great dishes. Along with Volvo XC90, we have come up here in the majestic and exclusive farmhouse restaurant, Saltt, a 2-hour drive from our suburban Mumbai. Well, if you own a chopper, you can land up directly here because this place also has an exclusive helipad. Still, we preferred the XC90. The drive is always more fun if the destination, company, and conversations are exciting.

The 2-litre mild-hybrid petrol-powered Volvo XC90 is an ideal choice for such weekend gateways. Whoever owns this car wears a badge of honour and respect in society. It is targeted and Built for an ambitious individual with an appetite for success and a taste for luxury. It is not just about simpler and sophisticated looks or the best family haulier; Volvo XC90 is way more than that. It is equipped with tons of mind-blowing features and unique characteristics. We are on our quest to taste the 7-course meal where the Master chef will talk about the dishes, and Editor-in-chief will throw lights on the Volvo XC90. Both experts in their own fields.

1st Course – Lets Soup it

On the Bowl: Minestrone Milanese Soup

Shipra: It’s the safest thing to start your meal and to warm up your system. Hearty root vegetable and tomato flavoured thick soup with pesto, Parmigiano and pasta. A good Soup acts like engine oil and gets you a good start that you need for the 7-course meal coming forward.

RS: Since it’s on safety, Volvo has always been known for providing its safety masala in the beautiful dish – we call it car. With best-in-class safety ratings, Volvo XC90 also gets an intelligent Driver assistance System that detects and helps drivers to avoid a collision with other motorists and pedestrians on the road. The car is smart enough to detect any danger on the road; the brakes are applied automatically without thus avoiding mishaps and further damage. Cool, isn’t it? It also gets a 360-degree camera, a blind spot Information System, and lane keeps assist features to keep you all safe and secure while travelling. Just like this Soup, it’s as safe as a car can get.

2nd Course – Lets get Healthy!

On the Bowl: Goat Cheese Ball, Rocket and Citrus Salad

Shipra: What we have now is the second course meal, which is a fresh garden salad. Freshly cooked vegetables are always good for your health. It has got a lot of antioxidants, and we have got proteins in the form of cheese. The salad also contains a lot of essential fibres and iron that are always good for health. Most importantly, it has got orange vinegar, which acts as a palate cleanser. It is one of the most exciting courses because it has got a different medley of flavours.

RS: Talking about health, Volvo has made the environment cleaner and healthier by providing a hybrid engine option in this vehicle. Not only this, but the brand has also committed to putting one million electrified cars on the road by 2025. Such initiatives make a great impact on decreasing the pollution level in the atmosphere. By the way, did I tell you that this Volvo xc 90 comes with an air-purifier system that filters the polluted air and allows its occupants to breathe clean and healthy air inside? It gets a synthetic fibre-based filter and ionization, which kelps the cabin up to 95 per cent healthier by filtering out PM 2.5 particles inside the cabin.

3rd Course – Lets make an appetite for the Appetizer

On the Bowl: Avocado and Goat Cheese on House Sour Dough Toast.

Shipra: This is the third Course. It’s an appetizer. The idea for an appetizer is to build an appetite or rather space for the Main Course. And this is Avocado on the Sovada Bread.

RS: Talking about the space, the boot space comes as an extreme necessity to carry all your baggage for long road-trip journeys. Despite being a 7-seater, the car has an expansive 397 litre of boot space to gulp your entire essential luggage.

4th Course – Lets dig on to Mains

On the Bowl: Parmigiana Eggplant Vol-Au-Vent

Shipra: This is the French dish – Vol-Au-Vent. It looks extremely beautiful on the outside. No Doubt. But on the inside, it is stuffed with vegetables, Primula Cheese, and many flavors.

RS: Most of our time will be dedicated to experiencing the main Course, just like the one will spend most of its time inside the cabin of the car. Volvo xc90 feels like a posh European coffee lounge. It has got matte natural grain wooden inlays with a chrome strip running across the dashboard with the premium Nappa leather everywhere you touch. Xc90 gets a big tablet-like infotainment system and a massive digital instrument cluster. XC90 seats are best in class with ventilated front seats with massage function and four-way electric lumbar support. One would not complain about rear seats as there is plenty of legroom and headroom on offer. This car, on the inside, cocoons you with its luxury offerings.

5th Course – Still on the Mains

On the Bowl: Tofu meal

Shipra: This is our fifth meal out of our 7-course meal. Tofu meal is actually a complete meal. It is a total powerhouse loaded with energy and performance.

RS: Performance always excites me, and talking about performance, the new Volvo XC90 is now BS6 updated and gets a 2.0-litre engine churning around 300hp and 420 Nm of torque which is mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox powering all four wheels.

6th Course – Lets have some Desserts

On the Bowl: Vegan Berry Tart

Shipra: Vegan Berry Tart is the first of our desserts. The dish is made with almond flour, and it’s got chocolates and berries inside it, making it one of the classic desserts.
RS: Classic! That is precisely the perfect way to describe the Volvo XC90. Volvo cars are known because of their minimalistic and simple design language. All new chrome grille, a restyled lower fascia, reprofiled rear bumper and beautiful looking 20-inch alloy wheels make it look sharp and simple.

7th Course – Lets end with Chocolates

On the Bowl: Chocolate Mousse

Shipra: Finally, we are on the last Course of our 7-course meal, and this chocolate Mousse is the perfect way to end our meal. You see, a good dessert is something that will give you a great aftertaste.

RS: You are spot on Shipra. The aftertaste is of great importance, and Volvo understands this very well. One can feel relaxed and totally accomplished if the external factors of owning a luxury car, such as after-sales service and warranty, are completely sorted. Volvo has come up with the scheme wherein it promises a lifetime warranty on the spare parts purchased from its authorized dealers. It is the first time in India that such an initiative has been offered to luxury customers. The company also cares about its customers by providing them with an interest-free monthly EMI for the service cost. Thus one can enjoy maximum coverage without having to worry about the cost. The car also comes with two year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. With around 29 dealers spread across pan India, Volvo provides a hassle-free and secure ownership experience.

Well, that was the 7-course meal with the Volvo XC90. Good food and a great car are 2-important factors in making any journey , destination or the journey of life beautiful. Isn’t it ?

7 Course meal with Volvo XC90 | Exhibit X Masterchef Shipra Khanna

We took the 7 seater Volvo XC90 on a 7-course meal with the Masterchef Shipra Khanna. What happened is a tasty conversation where Ramesh Somani explained seven features of the Volvo XC90 and learn about the Seven course Gourment meal from the Masterchef.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G – First Impressions

Gone are the days when the month of February was celebrated as a month of love, as this year it’s undoubtedly going to be a month of smartphones as several top players from the smartphone industry are in the pipeline to launch their newbies in the market. 

Earlier in the month, we witnessed a launch of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Series & Galaxy Tab S8 Series at the Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, and today, another smartphone tycoon, OnePlus, launched their Nord CE 2 5G in India during a virtual event.

Alongside the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, the company also launched two smart TVs – Y1S and Y1S Edge in India, which comes under a company’s affordable Y-Series smart TV lineup. The company claims that the new TVs will bring a more “accessible connected ecosystem experience” across different screen sizes at an affordable price point.

First Impressions:

The OnePlus Nord 2 exactly looks like its elder sibling Nord CE 1, but when you turn it around, it seems poles apart as it features an all-different camera alignment, though both the smartphones are pretty sleek and stylish. The new Nord features an AI triple camera setup, where the primary camera has a 64-megapixel lens, the secondary camera has an ultrawide 8-megapixel lens and a 2-megapixel macro lens.

The company unveiled the smartphone on the OnePlus India YouTube channel and the company’s website. Design-wise, the smartphone looks premium, and has the power to hold your attention. It comes with Android 11 out of the box and sports a 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz, HDR 10+ support, and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

The handset comes with a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front, which provides you with a prospect to shoot videos in 1080p@30fps. The 5G-ready smartphone boasts a MediaTek Dimensity 900 Octacore Chipset and 65W SuperVOOC fast Charging, which will fill the smartphone in mere 30 minutes.

The new Nord comes with two variants, 6GB/8GB of RAM, both in 128 GB of storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro SD slot that supports up to 1TB. The smartphone runs on Oxygen OS, and it will be available in two colours – Bahama Blue and Gray Mirror. The base variant of the smartphone is priced at ₹23,999, while the 8GB variant is priced at ₹24,999.

Why Indian Govt. Issued an Order to Ban Garena Free Fire & 53 Other Chinese Apps?

2-years back, in September 2020 Indian Government banned the massively popular online battle royale game, PUBG Mobile, and 118 Chinese apps. Now, the Government is all-ready to repeat history as it issued an order to ban Garena Free Fire & 53 other Chinese apps due to the same concern, a threat to natural security. The Government has forbidden over 300+ Chinese apps over different tensions until now.

The list of 54 banned apps includes apps from music players to selfie cameras, app locks, notepads, gaming, and video chat. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology confirmed the news of the ban and stated, the apps allegedly obtained various critical permissions and collected sensitive user data and were involved in transmitting the data to servers located in a hostile country.

According to the IT ministry, these applications were involved in surveillance activities via camera/mic, accessing the GPS of the user, running malicious software and sending user details to China-based data centres without user consent.

The full list of 54 banned Chinese apps:

1 Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD

2 Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera

3 Equalizer – Bass Booster & Volume EQ & Virtualizer

4 Music Player- Music.Mp3 Player

5 Equalizer & Bass Booster – Music Volume EQ

6 Music Plus – MP3 Player

7 Equalizer Pro – Volume Booster & Bass Booster

8 Video Player Media All Format

9 Music Player – Equalizer & MP3

10 Volume Booster – Loud Speaker & Sound Booster

11 Music Player – MP3 Player

12 CamCard for SalesForce Ent

13 Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite

14 Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade

15 IS/APUS Security HD (Pad Version)

16 Parallel Space Lite 32 Support

17 Viva Video Editor – Snack Video Maker with Music

18 Nice video Baidu

19 Tencent Xriver

20 Onmyoji Chess

21 Onmyoji Arena

22 AppLock

23 Dual Space Lite – Multiple Accounts & Clone App

24 Dual Space Pro – Multiple Accounts & App Cloner

25 DualSpace Lite – 32Bit Support

26 Dual Space – 32Bit Support

27 Dual Space – 64Bit Support

28 Dual Space Pro – 32Bit Support

29 Conquer Online – MMORPG Game

30 Conquer Online Il

31 Live Weather & Radar – Alerts

32 Notes- Color Notepad, Notebook

33 MP3 Cutter – Ringtone Maker & Audio Cutter

34 Voice Recorder & Voice Changer

35 Barcode Scanner – QR Code Scan

36 Lica Cam – selfie camera app

37 EVE Echoes

38 Astracraft

39 UU Game Booster-network solution for high ping

40 Extraordinary Ones

41 Badlanders

42 Stick Fight: The Game Mobile

43 Twilight Pioneers

44 CuteU: Match With The World

45 Small World-Enjoy groupchat and video chat

46 CuteU Pro

47 FancvU – Video Chat & Meetup

48 Real: Go Live. Make Friends

49 MoonChat: Enjoy Video Chats

50 Real Lite -video to live!

51 Wink: Connect Now

52 FunChat Meet People Around You

53 FancyU pro – Instant Meetup through Video chat!

54 Garena Free Fire – Illuminate

Elon Musk’s Starship could finally make us Interplanetary Species

Despite technological advances, we as human species have managed to travel only a little over 4 lakh kilometres to the dark side of our moon. Why have we not explored further? The answer is simple – The lack of powerful rockets capable of transporting humans and their bare necessities any further. We’ve been sling shooting satellites beyond immeasurable distances across our solar system’s circumference for years at this moment in time. Speaking of which, Elon Musk, his SpaceX organisation and their latest Starship in its third iteration powered by innovative new boosters might just be the tools required to make the human species an interplanetary species.

Elon Musk and SpaceX showcased their new plans with their newest Starship in Texas on 10th February 2022. This new Starship is 50m in height/length, 9m in diameter, has a propellant capacity of 1200t with a thrust capacity of 1500tf and a loading capacity of 100-150t based on the orbit trajectory. The Starship is SpaceX’s main vessel that shall transport humans, materials, tools and much more from planet Earth to destined planet Mars. This being the third generation Starship, it has improved from the ones shown two years ago and has larger dimensions and relatively powerful yet efficient boosters named Raptor V2.

This new propulsion system is said to be smaller, efficient, have fewer parts and produce more thrust power than its predecessor, Raptor V1. One of the critical components of the mix is their new Raptor engine configuration, which beautifully aligns 33 propulsion nozzles with achieving optimal thrust levels. There’s something unique about the launch and catch towers designed for Starship and the Super Heavy (yeah, that’s a name) booster vessel. The Starship vessel shall be thrust into the earth’s orbit by Super Heavy, a 69m long, 9m in diameter just as the Starship, has a propellant capacity of 3400t and a whopping thrust capacity of 7590tf. The Super Heavy booster can thrust one Starship into orbit, return and land on its pod, all in six minutes!

SpaceX plans to make and launch 50 of these Starships and Super Heavy thrusters before the end of 2022. Why so many, you ask? As Elon Musk explained on stage, the human race will eventually need to become an interplanetary species as the sun’s radiation destroys our solar system in the next million years. This is humanity’s first viable step towards carrying life beyond our planet and dwelling through the multi-verse. Elon Musk also spoke about the plan to colonise planet Mars. The new Starships’ ambitious production and life cycle will have SpaceX making one whole Starship each month. This is necessary as the Starships with payload will be refilled with fuel in Earth’s orbit by another fuel filling Starship. We are already fuelling flying jets and planes via other planes on a harsh gravitational pull, so doing this in space shall be relatively more straightforward or challenging considering the sheer size of the Starships.

Fuelling the Starships is necessary to carry the payload to Mars and back. Elon Musk claims that with time, they will be able to produce one Starship and its booster each month and bring that close to making each unit in about three days. Coupled with the announcements of making 7 Raptor V2 engines per week, SpaceX is all in to make Starship the vessel of transportation from Earth to Mars. While SpaceX waits for approvals from Federal Aviation Administration in the USA, the first orbital flight of the Starship could be seen as soon as the first half of 2022. Subsequently, the first trials of orbital fuel filling shall commence as soon as 2023-24. Being super optimistic on stage, Elon Musk announced that the boosters could be refilled and reused in less than an hour while the Starships can do the same in 6-8 hours. If managed well, we could see three Starship launches a day in the future of time.

The ISRU is working closely with SpaceX and scientists to plan this Mars invasion of humans powered by massive Starships. The first few Starships will have no humans and carry essential goods required to set up an infrastructure for human colonisation. Plus, the first people to land on Mars could be groups of crucial workers and experts who will build a habitable infrastructure on the red planet. That said, each Starship can be configured to take about 100 humans and a payload each flight. The first trip of Starship shall be reserved for artists worldwide to witness a round trip around the moon. It took us years to achieve these advancements in space travel. Elon Musk is confident that SpaceX’s Starship, Super Heavy boosters, launch and catch towers and the new Raptor V2 engines will propel humanity towards becoming a multi-planetary species. We sure hope this becomes real in our lifetimes.

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