Down to the City Beautiful

So this weekend my family planned a sudden trip to Chandigarh to meet my cousins since rakshabandhan was around the corner. Chandigarh, often refered to as 'the city beautiful,' is only city in India that is a join capital of 2 states - Punjab and Haryana. The city designed by the french architect Le Corbousier is not only 2nd planned city of India(after new delhi) but also the cleanest city in India. This city is also my birthplace and holds a really special place in my heart. The wide tree lined roads, the distant view of hills at the horizon, the freshness of the air, warm people, beautifully planned houses, beautifully pruned round about circles... the city is truly as close as a city can get to Utopia!

Here are some pictures I clicked while on the way:

Delhi Truckers have the most insane sense of humor!

Here's another one.

This one has the Gayatri Mantra on it!

Rain followed me once again.. no surprises!

The wired Ravana

I saw some very interesting truck closures... ideas for a bag maybe?!

We stopped at this really beautiful haryana tourism resort at Rai, Haryana for some snacking!

An exact half an hour stop - just enough to grab a bite and click a few pics :)

Top - Delhi, Pants - Fab India, Bag - Jaipur, mirror belt - Mela, Shoes - Bruno Manetti,

Bangles - Assam

Camel Leather hand embroidered 'Potli' bag from Jaipur Fair

Dad and Mum

The drive through the village side on this really awesome expressway is really so much fun, specially with my dad touching 140-150 km/hr. Yes, we are a family of adrenaline junkies.





So close to our destination, four hours down... tired and excited.

Even more pics in next post.

PS - M, I hope you are happy that i refrained from any heavy collages.

Much Love,

The Pink City journal!

Jaipur or the pink city is the capital of Rajasthan or the land of royals!

The people are polite.. buildings are beautiful.. food is spicy and the crafts are insanely gorgeous.
I was in the city for 36 hrs and what fun it was. Work trip with most of the hours spent walking the aisles of FORHEX fair, a fair for furniture, handicrafts and gift items. The fair exhibitors included some of the leading Rajasthan based exporters who create the most exquisite of products only to exhibited in Europe and US.

Considering this was only the second edition of this fair and was open to general public at a reasonable entry fee... this exclusive fair was an eye opener for the Indian consumer. From traditional to Kitsch to modern minimalism.. the fair was amazing.

Also participating were some of the craft clusters of Rajasthan showcasing their traditional crafts intricately designed and reasonably priced. The merchandise on display would make you wanna throw every last piece of furniture in your house to replace it with these gorgeous things.

Enough said, here are some pics from the trip:






Rain followed me to the desert.. I mean from Bombay to Delhi to Jaipur and now back in Delhi... I've been living under the grey skies for past 2-3 months! I'm not complaining. Totally love this weather.

The Bar unit was made out of recycled wood. Making each piece unique and every product a boutique item. Cool concept of reusing wasted furniture pieces to assemble and finish.

Camel Leather is one the most used material for handicrafts from Rajasthan. The hand embroidery is painstakingly carried out on such a thick material making these products even more exquisite.

My favourite was the pop art inpired furniture... the mythological characters on the table actually pop up! perfect combination of mythology and contemporary styling with big ass dollop of funk! ;)

You must visit the next edition for some kickass deals and out of the ordinary furniture!

Must also visit the Amber fort's Son-et-Lumiere (Sound and Light) show. It was simply spell binding. Makes one so proud of such architectural gems and ones rich cultural heritage!

Much Love,

Men Are Back?

Images Courtesy Lanvin Spring'11 at Style.com

With second edition of Van Heusen India Mens Week around the corner, 27 - 29 August at The Grand Delhi, its that time of the year when Fashion's step sons take spotlight. Its quite a challenge to design menswear, the lines have to be perfect, the finishing immaculate and textures innovative. With Indian designers still hooked on turning Indian men into 'pretty boys,' we can only hope that this event will make them as competitive as their western counterparts.

While the drama on John Galliano's 2011 Spring runway would make Charlie Chaplin pop right out of his grave, its the insane detailing in the Lanvin collection that made me sit up and take notice of infinite menswear possibilities. The pointelle knit pants, the check trimmed jackets, the ridiculously sexy Biker Jacket variations, Denim Suits, Striped pants, Bomber Jackets... ahh the collection is to die for... or the reason to Live? You decide!

What is extraordinary though are the accessories - The modern strappy Floater slip-ons, The messenger bags and the KILLER jewelry. The designers Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver, the geniuses behind this collection remark, "When women can wear pants, men can wear jewelry!" You Bet.

May the forces of madness and creativity forever rule design!!

Much Love,