My Nani - Ved Malhotra

I lost my grandmother - my beautiful nani on 17th June.
It hasn't been easy for my family past week. She was such an important part of our daily life. Everything in our house reminds us of her. Her memories are engraved in our hearts and its so difficult letting go.

She was kind, loving and dignified.. but most of all she was a real woman of substance.
She was widowed 10 years down her marriage and lost a young 16 year old son to cancer. She was a journalist at Tribune and has struggled throughout her life. But these last few years living with our family have been the sweetest years of her life. She used to dote on us kids and loved pampering us. She was so fit and optimistic... its mysterious how we lost her to a sudden heart attack.

Me and my family have mourned enough and are trying to smile every time we think of her. She was so witty too.

She was the first person to read my articles in magazine and enjoyed my blog. She was just so Cool!

I miss you Nani. I miss you very very much.







I will be back to blogging soon.


Much love.

FIFA fever!

When fellow blogger, Scholars' life yesterday remarked, 'Costume party does sound good for the world cup occasion! football-themed?' I thought to myself... yeah right! but never to let go of an interesting challenge, I started thinking how could I pull off a football themed look and yet end up justifying the blog title... Turns out its not that difficult!

okay, so I'm not much of a soccer maniac except when the world cup craze starts building up... that too as an excuse to hang out with friends and guzzle some beer... and mostly every time I root for Brazil coz its got the Hotttest men... yes, I'm Lame, proudly so (have you seen Ronadinho?? yes I think he's hotter than Ronaldo.. so what if he's not even playing this year)!

I don't (obviously) own a single team jersey so I'm making do with my cousin's NBA TimberWolves jersey, which I believe somehow found a place in my wardrobe (le mystery!) And its GREEN so its close to Brazillian flag color!

What do you think?








Jersey - Borrowed/Stolen, Shirt - Dad's, Shorts - Linking Road, Bandra, Shoes - Killah, Bag - Levi's, Hat- Don't remember! :(


I picked up SO many colorful laces an year back from Chandigarh and never used them... I'm glad atleast they found a way of making themselves useful! haha


Oh, anybody else planning to watch World Cup? what team are you supporting?


Much Love,

Go Brazil!

Costume Party, Anyone?

Madhur - 'Spardha Malik, stop living your life like its a friggin' costume Party!'

Spardha - 'Why not, its so much fun?'

Madhur - 'Am I invited then?'

Spardha - 'Depends on what you're wearing! :P'

(Okay, the last two dialogues never really happened!)


Here are my 'costumes' since i'm attending 2 parties - the global desi themed and urban hipster!

Here's what I'm wearing to the 'Global Desi' one :








Afghani Pants - Mcleod ganj, Purple oriental Jacket - Mcleod Ganj, T-shirt - Old Navy, Shoes - Soft n' Sleek, Delhi, Bag - Gift (from Arunachal Pradesh)

...And this one's an ode to the 'Urban Hipsters' / my favourite bloggers J and S at Fashion Bombay. I'm wearing their self created JSo Egypt Scarf!






Afghani Pants - Mcleod ganj, Denim Waistcoat - Uni Style Image (USI) , T-shirt - Old Navy, Shoes - Soft n' Sleek, Delhi, Scarf - JSo Style

We should plan a Costume party for real!! What say?

Much Love,

Art Arrest!

My mum's an artist and it only comes naturally to me to atleast appreciate it. So yesterday mum, My sister Amulya and me had a little girl's day out as we went visiting the National Gallery of Modern Arts to see the Best of Rabindranath Tagore's works on display.

My god, it was even more fun than usual beacause the photography / painting exhibition was supplemented by some of his famous quotes. I'm a sucker for words... I feel that every painting is beautiful on its own but when accompanied with a quote or a phrase, it just gives a magical insight into the artist's mind. This is where Rabindranath tagore and me differ. He believes that a painting's job is to express itself not explain itself. True as it is, I find words very powerful and like the two mediums(art and lyrics) to overlap once in a while to leave me ecstatic!

My mom didn't think much of his artworks from technical perspective but she did say that he seemed to be very introspective and expressive! Even when he drew some one else's face, you could see his own heart in every stroke.... In lay man language... very expressive/bold strokes!

Anyway, this fab afternoon ended with a sumptuous lunch at Yum Yum Tree, the best chinese restaurant I've been to in a loong time! If you're Delhi, must visit it.

Here are some pictures we clicked:










A curator taking notes! I just loved that skirt.... gorgeous!

A bird and some squirrels were sharing a lunch!

It was sheer luck to capture this Ice-age inspired squirrel shot!!! I couldn't believe my luck :)

Nature's attempt at sculpting = Masterpiece!

Amulya and me taking rest after walking through the endless aisles for hours!



My mum wearing one of my designs! Its so difficult to please an artist's aesthetics.. believe me!

Tunic - Golmaal, Lokhandwala, Leggings - ChunMun Store, Delhi, Slippers - Surajkund Fair, Bag - DKNY jeans

Here they store and sell all artist's prints. they are priced very very low and are a must-buy for an art enthusiast whose majorly low on budget. Though I hate people who buy a certain painting just so it matches with their house decor. That's an insult of not only the artist but of the entire community! I feel very strongly about it... I hope I don't find u matching the color of your wall to a painting.. EVER! :P

Much Love,

But it Rained....

Day 2 Started very late and that too with a hangover! Finally began our shopping spree.. You should have seen poor Joey's face when he realised how us 3 girls just wanted to spend the rest of the day shopping and eating!

Anyway, so since I wanted to splurge on all the gorgeous merchandise on display through the entire stretch of Temple road, I decided on taking up a part time job at the Moonlight Cafe. Yeah, well it was this tiny place that prepared all its beverages fresh, hot and old-school way.

Check out -


They weren't exactly happy when they saw that I was giving free Chai to all tourists and I was Fired!
Atleast I got McLeod Ganj's best chai for free. Perks of a fantastic job, you see...

Oh by the way, did u notice that collar/necklace i'm wearing -


Madhur and me saw it while walking up to our hotel last evening and thought we'd go and grab it before the other does! Shopkeeper informed us that he had only one piece.. I jumped grabbed and gave madhur a puppy face. She smiled and said she wouldn't rest until she found another one for herself. DID YOU GET IT??? It was mine.. all mine, my precious :D

But she really didn't let me sit till we found one for her... only her's was more expensive, beautiful and heavy. (Oh you know why Joey's wearing it - to prove the point that I looked like a cow wearing that collar? I mean really, is it that ridiculous. So, who looks like a cow now, JOey ;))


This one's Madhur's :



...She didn't really buy it right away. I clicked this picture and she deliberated on it for hours and gave me pros and cons of buying it. and then she bought the next day!


I loved this wall. You know these bright colors just looked so beautiful against the grey sky! Oh that and madhur's maxi dress is so gorgeous against the blue.. did i tell you she designed it herself! Did I also tell you that she quit her fashion writer job a vogue india to pursue designing at a whim?! Yes, we are very screwed up... directionless, adventurous and passionate! I quit designing to write and she did the opposite. :D

Talking about Passion, I loved this painting. Did you know its hand-painted?


That was awkard?

Anyhoo, I was on my way back to hotel, I saw this gorgeous dog sitting up a flight of stairs. Oh that little thing was by far the cutest dog I've ever seen and when I met his 4yr old owner, my heart melted into a chocolate fudge:

He's got a brown heart shaped out line around his face... my little cutie!



You should have seen them together... the two heart stealers.. Everybody was just cooing around them!!! It was so hard to say goodbye when he blew a kiss in my direction..

Once we were on our way back to hotel, the baap of all surprises swept us off our feet... quite literally! We experienced our first Himalayan storm.. window smashing, tree swaying, dust blowing mammoth of a storm. As a local poet Tenzin Tsundue says,' When it rains in Dharamsala, the rain drops wear boxing gloves!' You bet!

We ran back to our hotel, screaming and shouting and laughing... It was somehow spine-chillingly funny! We were so glad to finally reach back hotel safe to find that the entire hotel was lit with candle lights as there was no electricity or even hope of it :D

Yes, while we were kinda scared that our windows are gonna smash anytime now and wind will throw us into the valley, that's when we were invited to have a candle-lit dinner by the restaurant. On menu were only Tibetatan delicacies and it was hot and yummy and comforting. We were wrapped in layers of thin cotton tops to keep us warm. Then came some bottles of Beer, being the only alcohol available and yet started another night of merry-making!




Yummy Food... oh, I miss thee!

Until tomorrow :)

Much Love,

Eat, Love, Pray!

I know I've been gone for a while... but I'm gonna make-up for it BIG TIME! I was busy travelling to Dharamsala/Mcloed Ganj, beautiful l'il hill stations nestled in the heart of Himachal Pradesh! Delhi heat has been attacking us poor morals for quiet and this plan was a spontaneous result of our idle deliberations. I had to work really hard in the days following up to the travel dates to make sure I earn this little break.

When I call this trip a 'plan' i'm exaggerating, really... it was anything but! How we get there... no idea??! Where we stay.. mmm, we'll find something!! It was so last minute we took whatever closest train station we found aka Chandigarh and took a cab from there and checked into a hotel at 10pm ( after nearly 3 hours of walking up and down the streets , climbing infinite flights of stairs and negotiating tariffs or cleanliness!). Anyway, we woke up next morning to a cloudy grey sky, crazy cold breeze and fluttering colorful prayer flags. Our prayers for a 'Cold' summer were answered!

Our Hotel, ' Pema Thang' at Mcloed Ganj was as perfect as it could get... clean room, spacious and a view to die for ...AND a balcony!!! There restaurant served delicious fresh food too. Lets just say finding a great place to stay ensured nearly 5o% of our trip's success (c'mon you know comfort is important! IT IS!!)

While we were busy walking up and down the streets to Bhagsunak, sightseeing, getting a taste of the local cuisine, shopping, meeting new people, in all this crazy hyperactivity we were at ease. SO much ease that I can't even begin to explain. Tibetan refugees living in this part of the country are truly inspiring people - they are gentle, polite, earnest, proud and friendly. They have been fighting for Tibet's freedom for years and have been living away from their homes and their people for more than 30 years now but are still fighting this battle.

The love and regard they have for Dalai Lama keeps them going through their lives hoping that good karma will help them cross this endless tunnel to find a happy and peaceful existence. I was really in love with this place, its people and its life... no wonder travelers from across the world have settled down in this quaint town and fallen in love with its unassuming beauty.

Here's DAY 1 :

The gorgeous l'il guest house that hosted our stay!

Looking out from the balcony and taking in the mesmerizing beauty of himalyan ranges..

The prayer flags ruffling into the breezy winds as the clouds swallowed up the sun!

Me and my friend Madhur sitting by the Bhagsu waterfall... we took a crazy and spontaneous trek down into the valley!

Joey, Anjani and Madhur -- Super tired after walking back up on the road!! the trek was awesome and the water flowing was FREEZING!!!

Kangra Valley - Gorgeous view form Bhagsu trek

Me and Madhur outside a punjabi dhaba cafe.

Did I tell you that we got invited to a private party at Merina's Lost World Cafe @ Bhagsunak and danced till our calves hurt and drank till... well till the time drinks kept coming! :D

Went back downhill @ 2am and a 45 minute walk later reached our hotel.... it was dark, cold and scary!!!!!

haha

P.S. - i love that outfit... can't believe i'm repeating an entire outfit on 2 consecutive posts.. but who cares! ;)

P.P.S - that Blue brocade bag came from Sikkim, gifted by my friend Garima. (Though I did find plenty of such bags in Dharamsala too!)