Best of India...

I love the country i call home..

Seriously, i love everything from the colorful folk-lore to the fast paced urban life!

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I love that we are obsessed with adrak Chai (Ginger Tea)..

I love that we still whistle at our movies ... every time there's a song-and-dance number,

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i love the cool new auto-rickshaws that zip around the city (specifically the colorful New Delhi ones)..

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I love the bizarre graffiti behind the Truck/carriers,

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I love paan(betel leaf- preparation!)

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I love the sun-n-sand in Goa...

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...and the peace and quiet at Rishikesh,

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I love the dunes and colors of Pushkar

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and the calming backwaters of Kerala...

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Oh, there's always a 'best-time' to go to some corner of India - all year round.

There's always an unchartered territory waiting to be explored. A myriad of colors ... like a kaleidoscope, waiting to be captured

the various favours of india - a li'l tangy, a li'l sweet, but mostly spicy.... waiting to be tasted!

No wonder its called 'Exotic'!

I even love the fashion scene..... from Sabyasachi's traditional inclinations to Manish Arora's pop art drama... from Wendell's simple lines to Tahilliani's draped wonders... and the new crop of designers like Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Kallol Dutta, Anamika Khanna besides others, is just beyond fabulous.... Check out this shoot from Vogue India featuring some of the BEST designers!!

I know the Independence day is far off and Republic day is also a few months away... the only justification i've got for this sudden 'patriotic' post is that I'm truly in love with this country and cant wait to explore it even more.

Infact, I'm thinking of doing a few posts dedicated to the things I LOVE about India....

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Much Love,

The Photodiarist

If you haven't visited this beautiful blog till now, well then its about time. the pictures are so immaculately shot and behind ever frame, there's a beautiful feeling or story attached. The mysterious artist behind this blog had me so inspired by one of her post, that i had to work this post just as a dedication. I'm stealing her stunning photograph and quoting her words just to express the way i feel right now!!

Image by The Photodiarist

"I am Summer's biggest fan. Spring is a good "friend" because she precedes Summer. But let's face it . . . neither Spring nor Summer can compete with Fall's glamour"

I love that.. its so true nothing really can compete with the flaming color of the leaves... the crispness of the air... the warm embrace of cashmere.... and a cup of steaming coffee.

just to reinforce this idea, i've collected the following pictures from various other blogs.

Images by Garance Doré

Image via Sea of Shoes

Much Love,

TEchNIcoLOr!

I subconsciously fall back on greys, olives, chocolates, berrys and charcoals as soon as the temperatures go low. Yet, i LOVE some splash of color in the form of a pair of neon green shoes or a flaming red patent belt or even a chicken yellow bag... some fuschia, some lime... a technicolor winter!
anyway, so when I saw the Dsquared2 RTW Spring'10 collection, I just couldn't stop drooling :)

What are you wearing this fall?

Read the complete review here

Much Love,

Goodbye October!

I missed the sunrise for about an year!! Yeah, I hadn't seen the sunrise in months and today seemed like the perfect day to see it. Yes, I planned* to wake up early and drive down to this beautiful park that I used to visit as a child... i've had kiddie picnics there for years and yet hadn't been there in 6 years!!!

It was a chilly october morning, me and my sis put on our sweat-jackets and left for the park at 6:30 AM!**

It was an amazing morning.. the chilling breeze, the chirping birds, the beautiful flowers, brisk walk, the dewy grass, and my absolute favourite part... crunchy autumn leaves.. walking over them, crushing them.. running after each other.. me and my sister were 5 yr olds again.***
then came the actual Sun in the sky.. and spreading its warm rays and when it was bright enough for us to miss our sunglasses, it was time to go back home.


What childhood place have you been longing to visit??




PS :

* I did PLAN it out but it took my dad 5 wake-up screams for me to get up with frowning face :P

** We sure did put on our jackets.. OVER our PJs!! Its totally acceptable to be out in your PJs till 8 AM.

*** Quite literally 5yr olds.. we were ON swings.. we were loud and the ones meditating around us in the 'peace and quiet' were throwing some NASTY looks in out direction. Did that bother us.. Not at all.. infact I took out my cell phone and started taking pics.

Here are some pics from our morning photography session :P

Me and Amulya.



See you in November,

Much love.

Little Ironies...

I heard a track over the radio the other day.. found it catchy the first time and crappy the next, only to later LOVE it, when a dear friend pointed out a part of the track that i totally missed.
These are the lines that describe the BIGGEST urban phobia we all are consumed by.

Atleast, I am.

Read this :

All we've ever wanted,
Is to look good naked.
Hope that someone can take it..
God save me rejection.
From my reflection,
I want perfection!


This part had me sitting awe-struck, its like my mental state defined in words, everytime I look at myself in the mirror, everytime I'm ordering for that Salad, Everytime I think of my Imprefections... and they are countless!

And then there is Ella Fitzgerald crooning about her Funny Valentine :

My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine,
you make me smile with my heart.
Your looks are laughable, unphotographable.
Yet, you´re my fav´rite work of art.
Is your figure less than Greek ?
Is your mouth a little weak ?
When you open it to speak, are you smart ?
But don´t change a hair for me, not if you care for me.
Stay little Valentine, stay ! Each day is Valentine´s day.


With all my heart, I want to believe in every word that Ella sings, but I know there's nothing that can shake the former words out of my head.

Sad but True... I wan't perfection!


Much love,

A Day away, An Year closer..

Yes, I'm just a day away from my 23rd Birthday!

I'm not as excited as i used to be.. instead I'm retrospective.

Things I was to achieve before turning 23, things that I didn't...

I didn't find the dream job I had in my head.

I didn't get to travel to the places I wanted to go.

I didn't find the one 'true' love of my life.

I didn't find my 'determined, sensible and mature' self.

But the only thing I'm glad I didn't find is ...

REGRET!

When I look back to my small, small life of 23yrs... I see happiness, love, friends, family, accomplishments... small and big..... and most importantly, HOPE (tonnes of it!).






I may be walking the fine line between cheesy and overly-emotional but well, thats just how I feel a day before my BIG 23.




I hope to find all the great things I set out to find and I HOPE my life is just as perfectly happy as it is now. I wish for strength and motivation to realise my dreams, I wish for love, happiness and contentment, I wish for travels across the seven seas and I wish for.......
......so much more!




Thanks to everyone who reads this! Thanks for keeping me motivated.






Much Love,






All images from Amy

Fashion Learning 2 : The classic Jacket

Girls, pay attention.. but boys listen harder.
This is one of the coolest fashion tips you'd find. you must, must, must invest in a Fitted, tailored jacket. Its a wardrobe staple.
And boys, you should consider a formal pant-suit too...

You dont believe me, well, then you gotta hear it from the following lovely bloggers, who I love and adore and totally look upto for inspiration :

"why do american (make that MOST) men wear their suits baggy and ill-fitting? They look like little boys playing dress up.
a well fitted suit-pant can make an okay-looking-man into a good-looking-man. a good-looking-man into a great-looking-man. and so on."

Meg Fee from The Wild and Wily Ways of a Brunette Bombshell

"The big trick to why this jacket looks so cool is how slim the sleeve is in the upper arm. If there is one alteration that guys don't do enough it is having the sleeves slimmed down on a suit. That separation between upper arm and chest drops ten pounds on the look of an average guy - try it you'll see. "

Scott Schuman from The Sartorialist

I found this amazing quote by Emanuelle Alt on the contributor's page in the new Vogue Hommes International “FORGET TRENDY DESIGNER LABELS..... JEANS, A SWEATER OR A T-SHIRT (or a dress!!) WORN UNDER A JACKET THAT SEEMS WELDED TO YOU. WHEN IT’S JUST RIGHT, WHEN YOU DON’T SEE THE EFFORT, IT’S IRRESISTIBLE.”

Found on the Jak and Jil Blog





So, Boys and girls make sure this fall, you put on a fine fitting jacket and take on the world looking Irresistible!!

(combine the lesson # 1 White shirt with the lesson # 2 Classic Jacket and you get the Lesson # 2.5 of Effortless Chic)

All Images from The Sartorialist

Much Love,

Fashion Learnings

Fashion Lesson 1 : White is Magic

'Brana and Nina know the strength of a white shirt and a pair of sunglasses' - Scott Schuman

'Happiness is a little white dress...Especially if it’s white, and with nice tan underneath' -

Garance Dore.

Classic Wayfarers/Aviators/Cat Eyes + Classic White shirt = Classic casuals!

From Fall to Summer, from work to casual, from day to night... White shirt works it!!

Much Love,

Last Goodbye

His haunting voice struck a chord with my heart. I was intrigued..... deeply. I wanted to hear more of him. I found him and his bundle of pain. I fell in love with him instantly. I searched more of him and caught a steeling glance at his face. The attraction, the curiosity and the longing grew stronger, more intense with every rising note of his song... The chiseled face, the ravenous hair and the blank eyes.. I couldn't have him out of my sight for a minute longer.



I wanted to touch him, feel him and be wrapped and enveloped by the pain in his voice and allow my heart to rhyme with every beat of his heart's. We shared a moment, a moment outside the boundaries of time, space and mass... long after he was Gone... yes, He was gone. Even before I heard the first whisper, much before I could lay my eyes on that perfect face, and long long before I even had a chance to tell the world that I loved him... he was Gone! But he did leave me his 'Last Goodbye'



I found you and lost you in a matter of minutes. But I want you to know that you've found a corner in my heart forever.




Jeff Buckley, you'll be loved and missed deeply ....

Much Love,

I've woken up, now that September's ended...

September is over, the craziest month of the year its oughta be.

First there was crazy work schedule that got the best of me.

Bombay trip recharged my batteries and I was back once again.

Then came my parents' anniversary and the biggest, prettiest and most beautiful gift shopping - An emerald ring, surrounded by two rounds of sparkling diamonds set in bright gold, resting in a tiny Navy velvet box waiting to slip onto my mum's delicate fingers and shimmering just as bright as the smile reflecting in my mum's eyes! Oh, she is so proud of me... she could JUST not believe.

There was a change of workplace.. My company shifted places and the huge amount of packing, coordinating and unpacking again got me totally stressed only now I have an entire cabin to myself, a massive desk and envious eyes around me!!

Then a BIG meeting with the Old Navy designers... preparing for it, getting the samples ready as per their Spring/Summer 10 mood-boards.. it was all worth the effort.

There was also the nicest l'il round of catching up with my dearest friends... Gossip, Lunch, reminiscing, laughing and then goodbyes!

Also, my folks are doing up the house just in time for the festivities ahead - Diwali, my favorite festival is just a couple of weeks ahead... But the best part is doing up the house... the colors, the wall papers, the decoration... I've been going crazy .. even dreaming about purple walls with giant vintage mirrors..! I'm gonna put up pics if my visualization comes out half as good...

I'm back on my toes, only a little calmer, now that first of the chilly fall winds are slowly creeping through the window... The Month of weddings, celebrations and festivities is here... October, what took you so long??

I know my blog was the only one who kinda suffered during this insane month... But I promise u'll be better taken care of henceforth....


Much (more) love (than ever)!

NO CLOTHES, really??

I open my cupboard every morning, to let out a sigh, 'I have no friggin clothes'!!

I do manage to put a decent Outfit together, almost everyday but yet I'm totally lusting for some outfit that hasn't found its way into my wardrobe yet. Being a stylist (for a short while), a fashion designer and an immensely creative person (so I would like to believe)... I am always unhappy and find my way to the mall quite often... and my life is a one BIG circle.

Lack of clothes - Impulsive buys - total Bliss - Many compliments - more desires - lack of money - Dissatisfaction ..... BACK TO MALL!!

I go on living this weird pattern (knowingly) and then comes along this spirited young girl.. looking fabulous everyday, working her way to a (Noble) cause ... while i lay mostly bankrupt with an overflowing wardrobe and yet no where in the same zipcode as Noble!!

Where did I go wrong? I should have taken a few tips from Sheena (the noble fashionistah ;)) and invested in one (or few) great dress(es) and accessorised my way to fame and fabulousness while collecting big charity and attending the fashion weeks around the world.

Yeah so that is plain day dreaming, right? NO, not for Sheena at THE UNIFORM PROJECT !! If you haven't paid a visit to it yet.. well its about time..

I featured it on my blog earlier and doing so again for those of you who missed out.

Put your creativity to some good use. I don't intend on being charitable (in a big way!) anytime soon, I'd just let my materialistic side get a few tips on styling from this fab blog/project.

I hope you find your own reasons though..

Much Love.