Long Republic Day weekend attracts tourists
Every travel lover who couldn’t accomplish #travelgoals in 2020 is excited to make the best of the 15 long weekends that 2021 has to offer. For the upcoming Republic Dayweekend, a large number of people are headed to quaint destinations to relax.
Vipul Prakash, chief operating officer of a leading travel firm, says, “Travel enthusiasts are looking to pause and unwind in the hills of Himachal or Uttarakhand, or beaches of Goa and Puducherry. Bookings indicates they’re already searching, planning and booking staycations for long weekends in 2021. We are noticing a 30% increase in bookings for the upcoming Republic Day long weekend, in comparison to the January 1 weekend. As travel sentiment revives, we hope to see more takers in the coming months.”
Devendra Parulekar, founder of a chain of private vacation homes, says, “Despite no discounts, we’re sold out for the long weekend.” Aman Upadhaya, owner of a hotel in Shimla, says, “People are willing to spend now, aur ab darr bhi kam ho gaya hai, vaccine ke aane se.”
While the travel industry expects 2021 to be better than 2020, so are travellers. Namit Khanna from Delhi, says, “The long weekend I’ve been waiting for is almost here. My bike is all set and I just can’t wait for my first solo trip of 2021. This time around I plan to stay in old Manali.”
Manjhi Shahpurkar from Mumbai will drive to South Goa on January 22. She says, “It’s like Shimla for us, without snowfall. I love spending time near water. I like to sit alone, meditate and feel that oneness within. My mom will join me from Pune and we will spend some quality time together, after so long.”
Basking in all the appreciation coming her way for Hundred and Unpaused, Rinku Rajguru is charged up to do more interesting work in 2021. The Sairat (2016) actor reveals that after these two web projects, offers have been pouring in from Bollywood.
“My social media is filled with messages stating how much people liked my chemistry with Lillete [Dubey, actor] ma’am. I’ve learnt so much working with her in Unpaused. Even Lara [Dutta Bhupathi, actor]
ma’am helped me during the making of Hundred. When you work with actors like them, you end up gaining more knowledge,” says the actor, who’s Bollywood debut was supposed to be Sairat director Nagraj Manjule’s Jhund, which is yet to hit the screens.
The 19-year-old has already signed a Hindi film that is slated to go on floors next month, in which she plays a pivotal part. Moreover, two of her Marathi films are ready to release, and then, there’s season two of Hundred.
“After Sairat and now, these two projects, I’m aware of the expectations. But I don’t think much about it. I’m a director’s actor, I surrender myself to the director from day one. The idea is to create characters that resonate with the audience. Whenever I get a script, I discuss the same with my parents and Manjule sir. Mujhe sabke saath kaam karna hai, sabse seekhna hai,” she adds.
Rajguru doesn’t want fame or money to get into her head. “I was 13-14 when I did Sairat, I have no formal training in acting. I don’t understand stardom. People often tell me I should behave in a certain way, but I enjoy being the way I am. On set, I’m an actor. And at home, I’m studying, spending time with family and friends,” she explains.
All praise for the web, Rajguru feels the best thing about the medium is that your work is being viewed across the globe. “In a web series, the characters are well fleshed out. You get time to tell a story, people can watch things at their own convenience. There’s scope for everyone to do so much. I find the space quite interesting, and I feel there’s much more that can be done,” she concludes.