admirerist

work is worship

2011-09-04T18:18:00.002+05:30

we were taken to a corrugated box factory yesterday, as part of a course i'm doing. the bus meandered through the garbage and slums of goregaon east industrial galas to stop before what looked like an overflowing gutter. we had to dodge through dirty water and waste paper to make our way to what looked like one machine in a hut. that lead to another little room, and yet another machine, towards yet another room and yet another machine - there were rooms and machines to cut, stick, fabricate, crease and print boxes.

the workers were listening to religious music, oblivious to all but the task at hand. the young man running this operation was guiding them with such dedication and devotion. to quality and to the job at hand. work is worship. it was humbling to say the least.

rain

2011-07-14T17:12:00.000+05:30

blasts again
mumbai weeps in pain
in the pouring rain

eight year old gears for school
tests today
spells *julry* wrong again

big pain
small pain
the rain pours down again
and again and again

sari tale

2011-07-12T21:08:00.005+05:30

oh, oh cringed the cream kanjeevaram, shrinking into the corner, longing for the days of yore. i knew i'd only meet bright plastics...

ice gola lips

2011-06-14T20:10:00.006+05:30

ice gola lips. rangeela indeed.

Real Beauty

2011-05-26T10:54:00.001+05:30

"Beautiful" he said to his shy, young bride in the morning, when she was fresh out of the bath drying her wet, long, jet black hair with a towel.
"Yuck" he said in the evening, when he found a strand of the self-same hair in his dal.

"Hmmmm" he had replied, not taking his eyes off his laptop, ten years later, when she asked if she looked "OK" to attend the party.
"Beatiful" said their seven year old, emphatically. "Mama looks beautiful".

"Beautiful" she had said when the sun rose over the hills on their holiday in the mountains.
"Can't bear this sun" she said suffering the mid-morning heat on their trek, reapplying her sunscreen.

Beauty...depends so much on the right time, right context and right mind.

sugarcane juice

2011-05-03T19:01:00.003+05:30

sugarcane juice vendor - a lot of people love this sweet juice spiked with a little lemon - some of us would agree had we not seen how it was made :)

balanced diet

2011-02-04T19:52:00.002+05:30

and this is how i balance my diet - icecream, mirinda and pineapple.

the sari

2011-02-03T16:55:00.002+05:30

love this sari. bought for my brother's wedding. from kalaniketan, juhu. not conservative, not blingy. silk and cotton - gold and silver. love.

travellers

2011-02-01T16:28:00.002+05:30

wise words

2010-12-14T10:34:00.002+05:30

morning bliss

2010-12-13T13:13:00.002+05:30

mysore coffee + italian mocha express coffee maker = instant bliss

revelation

2010-12-04T10:58:00.001+05:30

who is a blogger who doesn't blog? a non-blogger!
who is a writer who doesn't write? a non-writer!
shocked as she was with who she wasn't, she hit the keyboard and hasn't stopped since.

the happiest strays?

2010-11-19T14:18:00.001+05:30

stray dogs near the rumtek monastrey, gangtok. fat, happy, furry, peaceful, quiet.

the nicest street

2010-11-17T09:37:00.004+05:30

one of the nicest streets ever - MG Road, Sikkim - music playing, shops on both side, no vehicles, very interesting people to see. great bakeries and eateries. short and sweet.

gobi manchurian

2010-10-15T21:24:00.001+05:30

the national dish. gobi manchurian. cheap. tasty. available everywhere.

jewellery loot

2010-09-06T14:56:00.005+05:30

its amazing the pleasure jewellery can bring to a lady. especially when its eight Sia sets - big and happy, shiny and colourful all for less than Rs.3000/= :)

bought thanks to spending a day in bed watching homeshop18. very well done scripts. very good presenters. good deals. a lot better than the news and soaps.

check it out at

http://www.homeshop18.com/shop/u/y/p-Sia-Q-Maya-Q-Collection/Home_Online-pI_58240-clI_2-q_sia+maya+collection-

mojdis in jaipur

2010-03-17T10:07:00.003+05:30

a roadside shoe seller in jaipur. colourful, celebratory, stuff. would be even more buy-worthy if they were gentler on the feet.

fire engine watering plants

2010-03-08T10:20:00.002+05:30

what does a fire engine do when there's no fire? waters the plants :)

Wonderful, wonderful

2010-02-03T15:26:00.003+05:30

Harishchadrachi Factory is a wonderful movie that celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of Dadasaheb Phalke, who made India's first movie in 1911. A cheerful, upbeat, celebratory movie. Must watch.

moving advertisement

2010-01-15T15:56:00.002+05:30

an autorickshaw with an ad - surprisingly rare, when you come to think of it.

high (recessionary) spirits

2010-01-06T16:43:00.001+05:30

sign outside a bangalore pub ;)

the best tea - truly none such

2010-01-03T10:34:00.004+05:30

here's a highly recommended but hard to find tea - grown on the hills of the nilgiri mountains. its a light, delicate, aromatic tea - made for brewing. available at the nilgiri supermarket in bangalore, but very hard to find here in mumbai.

i am king

2010-01-01T14:22:00.002+05:30

i rule. any doubts?

hot jalebis...

2009-12-09T16:38:00.003+05:30

hot jalebis, straight from the pan - makes a little boy happy like nothing else can. shot in chidawa, rajasthan. the town is actually very famous for the chidawa pedha.

and campa cola lives...

2009-10-24T16:45:00.002+05:30

good maintenance, says the owner of this stall at bits pilani, rajasthan has seen his campa cola cooler through the twenty years he's graced this place.

Murud fort

2009-08-17T15:20:00.005+05:30

built in the sea, with three fresh water wells inside, unbeaten always - truly a fort to admire.

bidai supari

2009-06-12T17:09:00.003+05:30

bidai supari - available in pakistan :)

the power of indian tv.

None Such Tea, alright

2009-06-03T09:45:00.002+05:30

one of the teas we enjoy most, a brand called NonSuch, comes from the these hills of Ooty. it is a mild, flavourful tea with a light flowery perfume, ideal for brewing. i wish the brand was available in mumbai.

mother's day special - krishna and yashoda

2009-05-09T21:28:00.003+05:30

salute to the adoptive mother,

who makes another's her own

he is her life, her kindness, her care -

she loves, she worries, she tends.

she is only his -

for he has made her a mother

laurie baker's architechture

2009-04-20T16:18:00.003+05:30

It is so admirable to be able to create something functional, beautiful, meaningful, original. To be able to stand apart from the crowd and do it one's own way, not for the sake of being different, but while trying to create a better product. Laurie Baker's archituecture was just this. He used local materials, local talent, an orginal brain to solve local problems.

http://www.lauriebaker.net/ has this to say of his early years: "After a meeting with Gandhiji he was convinced to come to India, initially as the chief architect of the Mission to Lepers building leper homes throughout India. He then lived in Pithoragarh in the foothills of the Himalayas building hospitals and schools and in the tribal areas of Vagamon in Kerala before finally settling down in the city of Trivandrum".

red rooster bag

2009-03-17T16:09:00.002+05:30

my red rooster bad is something i admire everyday. after a lot of more expensive and not-so-sturdy buys, i came across this gem. big, bright, happy, cheap, strong and lasts long. made by Esbeda. don't know much about this company. their showrooms look like they are full of bling, but their bags are good. a well spent Rs. 1000/=.

the road travelled before

2009-02-12T17:47:00.002+05:30

Who needs sunscreen?

2009-01-21T08:48:00.001+05:30

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meanestindian/2306848552/

trinkets in kerala

2009-01-02T20:33:00.002+05:30

snakes, dinosaurs, puppets, rickshaws and cars. a little boy is spoilt for choice.

green house

2008-12-29T17:21:00.002+05:30

grace

2008-12-19T18:33:00.001+05:30

http://flickr.com/photos/sukanto_debnath/

what is it to be old and grey,

whey there is love in your eyes

a sparkle on your lips

and such amazing grace?

what a smile :)

2008-12-10T11:06:00.003+05:30

source:http://flickr.com/photos/maniya/541287799/

despite it all, happy.

the cat

2008-12-08T17:20:00.007+05:30

what makes you so content mr. cat?

what's your purpose in life, don't you worry about that?

how are you planning to catch your next rat?

you seem so sure of your place under the sun.

you don't seem to be keen to impress any one.

how i admire your style,your poise.

you've so much class and yet, make no noise.

the taj mahal hotel, mumbai before nov.26, 2008

2008-12-05T20:38:00.003+05:30

img source: Taj images

this is how the taj once was. before the terrorists tried to bring it down.

why is destruction so much easier than creation? so much quicker? why does it call for the baser human emotions.?

the taj will stand again. mumbai will stand again. stronger. and more vigilant. my city weeps. my city cries. my city prevails. god bless mumbai.

the blue kitchen

2008-11-25T13:40:00.004+05:30

check out this old, spacious traditional kitchen. at the end of the raised platform sit the gods. the cupboards are built-in with a netted cover to prevent insects entering. the floors are cool, black, stone.

check out my sari

2008-11-24T15:41:00.002+05:30

love the pose. and the sari - a traditional maharashtrian khan. this photograph was shot in a museum near ganpatipule - featuring traditional customs and ways of life of people in the konkan region.

on my wishlist

2008-11-08T15:01:00.004+05:30

beautiful, fun, creative. sabyasachi's clothes are always to pine for.

marketplace

2008-11-05T08:33:00.003+05:30

the marketplace in sangli, a town in maharashtra, india. check the cap and pajamas of the cycle holding guys. and the caps. these caps are known as 'gandhi' caps and are very common here.

mavlas for making diwali forts, sangli, india

2008-11-01T17:27:00.004+05:30

these colourful soldiers and warriors are used to decorate diwali forts that kids make. the stall was still being set up when this photograph was taken.