Sankranth and Goa.

My blog is super happy today. Three posts. This has to do something with the song posted before this post. I've heard it like 20 times already. I did mention something bout chaos today? No? Alright then. Last one for the day i hope.





This picture was shot a year back by my clumsy hand. But i still like the way it turned out. These small earthen pots (called chirki) are a part of a festival practice in Goa called 'Haldi-Kumkum'. After Makar Sankranth(the harvest festival of India), married women in Goa invite other married women over at home and share Til-ghul(sugar coated sesame seeds). The chirki is customary to be distributed by a newly wed bride for her first Haldi-Kumkum. It was my first last year. I had loads of fun. And my second one just went 15 days back.

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Dil to baccha hai ji (The heart is,yes, a child)

Today mood is mad-angle at best. Behaving like a whimisical kid. The movie Ishquiya released on the friday that went by. Got decent reviews. Has 3 of my fav actors. Is on my must-watch list. Meanwhile it's off-beat music has me captive for now. The lyrics of my current favorite is here. Written by Gulzar and sung by Rahat fateh Ali Khan(amazing talent this guy has)(who is, by the way, nephew of late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)

"Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi
Walla ye dhadkan bhadne lagi hai
Chehre ki rangat udne lagi hai
Darr lagta hai tanha sone mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil to baccha hai ji
Aisi ulji nazar unse hatt ti nahi
Daant se reshmi dor katt ti nahi
Umar kab ki baras ke safaid ho gayi
Kaari badari jawani ki chatt ti nahi


Kisko pataa tha pehlu mein rakha
Dil aisa baaji bhi hoga
Hum to hamesha samajhte the koi
Hum jaisa haaji hi hoga
Hai zor karein, kitna shor karein
Bewaja baatein pe ainwe gaur karein
Dilsa koi kameena nahi
Koi to rokey, koi to tokey
Iss umar mein ab khaogey dhokhe
Darr lagta hai ishq karne mein ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Dil to bachcha hai ji
Thoda kaccha hai ji
Haan dil to baccha hai ji"

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Fresh new Patterns. Mad angle loots.

Today i'm in touch with my creative side. This new year began with new patterns for my room. Florals, Stripes and Circles,... all came with me thru the door on 1st of jan 2010 to add more happiness this new year. All simple stuff picked up with my dear sister-in-law. I'm eager to hit the store with more ideas next time. The pctures are shot with the camera on my mobile phone which might not do justice to the beautiful fabrics. But i'm still in a mood to show-off so cannot bring myself to put it off any longer. so here goes



This was actually a curtain. But this fella now is on my table and happy to be there.





The prettiest thing bout this cushion is that b/w pattern on the side. This one was a steal.

There's more. But the photographs dont do justice to it as yet. Part II to be uploaded as soon as i get betters pics

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Where are you from

SO,...Where are you from?

This question irritates me. Honestly. I mean, why is this question asked?
It is one of those clever little detective questions in disguise which make u blurt out things you wouldn’t have bothered to answer if asked in any other form. Don’t agree?

Ok!! I'll be one of those insane people who finds fault with an innocent little question. What's wrong with asking "Where are you from?"

But for me, this question is very difficult to answer. Every time this question is put in front of me, my brain fumbles to find what could be the correct answer to it.
It's been pursuing the right answer for so long now.

What should be the correct answer now?
Well, I was born in Bangalore, India (The IT city that I love so so much). But, my parents are from Mangalore(The beautiful coastal city of Karnataka,that I’m proud of too). My Grandparents were from Kerala/Udupi. So if the person asking this so-called inncocent (read twisted) question, should I say—“Ahh!! I’m a Mangalorean born in Bangalore. But I could also be from Kerala! And by the way I live in Goa now.” And have that person look at me like I’m some idiot?

Another perspective-

Should I wonder if that person is asking me Where am I from as in where I belong? Which element of the Universe is it that truly calls me it’s own? And should I explain to him how I belong to every bit that this world is.


Or even worse should I start explaining to him how I think i probably descended from the Greek and traveled all the way to India over a period of million years to sit and explain to him how difficult I find his question is to reply to.


Or maybe I should keep it simple and ask him if he means, Where are you from you Middle-class migrant in the modern world.

How I wish, that the next time I’m asked this question, I could yell at the top of my voice and say, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY WHERE I’M FROM?? COULD YOU PLEASE ELABORATE?”



But mad-angle that this life is, I will probably just smile and go on to explain about how, ‘I’m a Mangalorean, born in Bangalore but living in Goa now.”

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That little bit of change.

Sun sets on 2009. 2010 is here. Feels like this year passed in the wink of an eye. A lot happened in the past year if I come to think of it. Some eventful, some not so much. But,it's time to welcome the big two zero one zero. It's his time now. It's also time for something interesting. Resolutions. I've not been much of a resolution person. Meaning, I haven't bothered to resolve on new year to avoid breaking them later anyway. Easy way out. But this year-end, I take the step. I resolve.( :). Is that the right word?).
1. To be a little more dedicated to whatever I do.
2. To be a little more patient with life.
3. To do that extra little bit to find the divine I've been hoping to find on accident.
4.To be a little more patient
5. To be a little more mad.

Well, I can think of more. But let me keep it concrete only on these. Less risk-more return (ah it works here).

Have a happy new year everyone. More madness in 2010.

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Spoon (feeding) time

What do you do when midnight hunger pangs strike??

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Angels and demons.

Happy holidays fellow bloggers and everyone else too.
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One for each day.

When you live in a place like Goa, you don't run easily out of pictures of sunset. Another fabulous one for the album.
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Ah the Happy bull.

OR Ox. (Cant figure the difference anyway). This pair, that is the Shehnai(an Indian instrument) guy and his bull are a common sight in India. And they visit street-to-street, the guy blowing his Shehnai and the Bull, strutting in bright colors to earn a living. Well, it's a different story that this pair generally sets of all pet dogs barking their lungs out. These Shahnai-wallahs are usually a great talent. And.. these bulls are considered to bring luck when fed. Ahh!! The Happy bull. :). Unlike his brothers, he gets to visit so many people instead of ploughing fields on a hot day. And look at the colors he's wearing. The bright Indian colors. There's Red,there's green and there's fuchsia too. Note his accessories as well. There's beads, bells, frills. Whoa!! No wonder he gets an audience often.

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New home!!

Mowgli has now found a new home. I'm so eager to blame this too on the Global warming. But he seems content here. This was at a peanut fair that happens in southern india where many farmers from around bring in their harvest of peanuts to sell in various forms. Raw, shelled, boiled, roasted. Yum!
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A new beginning

Blessed are those of us who get to see such a beautiful sunset often. And being able to sit at the not-so-crowded seashore and watch the sun go down, priceless!
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White butterfly

As beautiful as the flower looks, it smells even better. This fragile little flower blooms in the evenings and is a common sight in many houses along the konkan coast. My grandmother says this flower can draw snakes like a magnet but i have't seen one near ours. It's also called Ginger lily for a reason i dont know.

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Monsoon saga.

Whoever said monsoons in Goa end in august is set to eat his words. It's pouring endless. And the skies are grey like never before. The picture inset reflects the grey mood of our backyard. Cheers monsoon!

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"Freedom", just another F word? Said a write- up on a fashion magazine. Smart one by the writer. I rarely "read" from a magazine about fashion. The usage of F to catch attention always works. I was amused by what freedom meant for Bijoy Venugopal. I was actually smiling after I finished reading it. I wondered how many more people in the world actually felt truly free when they din have to answer tests in mathematics and physics. I personally(yes, weirdly) loved the pressure of exams. After the exams I would miss the last minute frantic studying. Din have the chance to study physics in school, but mathematics was a pet paper. It was the pressure of results I could not take.

Anyway, Bijoy got me thinking for a while. What did freedom actually mean to me? No answer. I asked myself again. Wait a second, said a small voice. Was I not free yet? I was getting to do what I want. Oh at least most of it. But was I truly free? Did I complain bout how unfair the world around was. Did I envy people with lesser boundaries. I did. So often. All I needed was freedom of being chaotic when I wanted. :). I wanted to be the person who doesn't wait for opinions and permits to live my own life. But that would mean I would have no access to people I care about. I'm chaotic enough this way. Let me spare poor souls around me. And whoosh went the crazy thoughts OUT. The freedom I already had was scary enough. If I just knew how to thank god for what I have. Let me go back to my book. I might find more dangerous questions to ask myself. So long.

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Lillies

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