CAUSE THERE'S MORE TO DO THAN JUST MOVE IT MOVE IT.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Phoneography

I love photography.
And am constantly buying cameras and camera related stuff I don't need.
Like this.

I wish I could take pictures with my eyes just by blinking.
Maybe it's something you will be able to do with Google Glass.
But guess what Google, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy sort of beat you to it by 18 years.

[See 5.15 minutes into this video.]

Unfortunately for me, I don't have powers like Ethan and Julie and have to master other forms of photography available only to the common man.

via
After having mastered (I'd like to think that I have) photography with:
a DSLR - it makes even bad pictures look great with it's depth-of-field-blurry look.
a regular Point and Shoot - for days when my bag is too small to fit any other camera.
a Lomo - so I can blame all my wonky pictures on the lens.

I'm currently, trying to master iPhone photography.
I am obsessed with instagram and almost love it as much as I love writing my blog.
But, now it's time to move on. To a more advanced level and learn some cool new tricks.
So, I've enrolled in the Photojojo University for Phoneography 101.


It's 2 lessons per week for a month.
With tips and tricks and fun challenges!
Only for $5.

I can't wait for my first lesson tomorrow.
I'm all charged and ready to go click click click.

So here's to me becoming an amazing phone photographer.
Yes, I actually did just say that.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Oscar morning with Mrs. Obama

Did you just watch the Oscars?

Like every year I did.

I didn't manage to wake up at 6am.
But woke up a little after and fastforwarded through the commercials which was great.

But there's something I just love about watching the Oscars while being curled up in bed.
Maybe it's about being in my PJs while the moviestars are as well put together as their wax twins at Madame Tussaud's.

But this year was a bit disappointing, wasn't it?
I didn't looove the dresses.
Or the performances.

Loved how Adele said Fank you. She was cool.
And so was 'the Boob song'. Especially the Kate Winslet part.
I think that woman has showed enough of boobage for her next ten lives as a movie-star.

But the star of the night for me was Tarantino.
That man talks like he's chatting with his pals at home while watching a football game and drinking some beers. But wait, that's his Oscar speech.
Love how he is just oozing with so much confidence that it almost seems intimidating.

After hours of watching the Red Carpet glamour and the entire award show, it finally came down to Michelle Obama presenting for the Best Movie category.
Now I felt pretty bad about how Jack Nicholson was sidelined.
Because the First Lady totally stole his thunder.

But you've got to love Michelle Obama.
Especially after this.


This lady knows how to have a good time.
And say it's for a cause - the Let's Move Campaign.

Here's to no more fat kids in America.

Hooray!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

I live under your sky too

Art installation by Shilpa Gupta. Photo by me
I walked by Carter Road last evening to see an Art installation by Contemporary artist Shilpa Gupta.

It was a simple thought put forward with the simplest words.
In three languages.
English, Hindi and Urdu.
Each one lighting up for a few seconds.

It was a beautiful evening with great weather, a speech by the artist and sweet music by a choir.

With these simple words forming the backdrop:

I live under your sky too.

It was pretty.
And made you think.
What's not to like?



This animated light art installation can be seen at the Amphitheater, Carter Road, Bandra, Mumbai untill 9 March, 2013.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

In a straight line

You know the test.
Where you walk in a straight line to prove your sobriety.

Well, for me the test was cycling in a straight line to prove well, that I can cycle.

I didn't own a cycle as a kid.
I only bought one 3-4 years ago.
It's pink and has a basket in front.
And it's called Ladybird.

I've had it for a while but I couldn't get myself to cycle.
No training wheels. No helmet. And no courage.

And then yesterday I did it.
I had my brother-in-law (who also doubles as my Tennis coach) hold the back of the cycle while I pretended to be confident and started cycling ahead.

 
 

After doing this for a while I saw that he was running beside me instead of behind me and I was obviously beaming with pride.

I won't lie, there were moments of 'Are you sure you're holding the cycle?', 'Make me go straight' and 'Promise me you wont leave it'.

It was no different than when I tried learning 20 years ago.
Only now, luckily my feet touch the ground.
With those backup brakes you automatically get about 10ml of extra courage.

All in all it was a day of achievement.

With no training wheels and no helmet.

Now I'm all ready to enrage car drivers.

All I have to learn is how to turn.
Or then how to cycle through walls.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Where the sky kisses the sea

Photo & poem by me.
I've always wanted to walk to the end of the Earth
The edge of the ocean
From where I'd look down and see the stars
And be filled with emotion

Will I burst Columbus' bubble?
Am I a girl asking for trouble?

All I want is to walk to the end of the Earth
Where the sky kisses the sea
In that special place
Where everything is meant to be

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Live by the Sun. Love by the Moon.

It's Valentine's Day.
Do we make a big deal of it?

Cynics would say it's just another special day created by Hallmark to make you feel like you should be celebrating something. 

Well, I think everyday is a day to be celebrated.

Life is good.
Love is great.

It's the stuff sweet dreams are made of.

Photos and Typo by me.
It's human to be a searcher.
And we are all looking for that special someone or something in our lives.
But, it's not always easy to solve the puzzle of the human heart and figure out what that actually is.

So,
If you are in love, say it!
In more ways than one.
Celebrate!
Not just today, but everyday.
Life's too short.

If you have a maimed heart,
all you need are a few sutures.
Or maybe some Kintsukuroi.
There is nothing that can't be fixed.

And if you're better off on your own,
close that chapter of your life that you once called love and move on.
Now I'm going to stop being Ms. Preachy Preacherson because I have a beautiful evening ahead of me. With an old black & white romantic movie on a terrace with what I'm hoping will be great food and some stargazing.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Too many questions. So little time.

I absolutely hate having to answer questions.
About myself.
My work.
What I'd like to eat for dinner.
Or even something as simple as what's on TV.
Either I'm just not interested or am just too lazy to exercise by vocal chords and give out unnecessary information.

Empty responses via

These days I often get phone calls from my sister after 7 pm when she asks me strange questions in a very worried tone...


What happened?

Is Carrie Ok?

Did Saul get hurt?


Let me tell you now that we don't actually know anyone named Carrie or Saul.

We're just Homeland Addicts.

We sort of live and breathe the show.

My sister tries to rush back from work to catch the 7pm show. But, till she manages to get home and switch on her TV, I have to give her a scene by scene narration of what's going on.

I feel like I'm being questioned at Langely and have to carefully think about how much information I should be giving out.

And as I said before I hate being questioned by anyone.

Which is the the reason why I decided against having a career as a big Hollywood movie star because then I'd have to deal with this guy.

Oh! The dreams I've had to let go off!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Conversations had & lessons learnt

via Sharesomecandy
Can we meet? I'd like to discuss some work with you.

Can we go to the park for a walk instead?

No, I really want to discuss work.

Or how about we go to the park and discuss work and kill two birds.

No, I'd rather just discuss work.

I meant kill two birds with one stone. Walk and talk.
And not literally go to the park and shoot birds.
I am not even that cruel.

Ok. Got it.

Moral: Always speak in complete sentences.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Homemade with Love

There was once this boy who I really liked and the first time I met him, he bought me a bag of peaches to eat. 
It made my day!

He bought them from the market and didn't actually grow them but the thought was just as sweet.

So todays blogpost is about how we can grow our own fruits and flowers.
Eat them. Gift them. And make everyones day.

I doubt planting anything could be a Herculean task.

My grandmother used to grow all kinds of plants at home - of the flowering variety, Tulsi (because we're Hindu/ as a substitute for Basil?), and lemongrass (for tea).
She was clearly very enthusiastic. She even made her own wine and beer.

I'd like to think she was the inspiration for the Jamie at Home show.

My grandmother loved plants.
Like she loved everything else in the world.
With her whole heart.

She cared for them like a mother.
Watered them. Changed the mud. Washed the leaves.
And even spoke kind words to them.
She said you have to speak to them lovingly and it helps them grow well.
Like happy plants.
Maybe they can learn something from us and we can learn something from them.


I on the other hand have only ever grown anything when I was 6 years old.
We were told to put cotton in a small plastic bowl and put sprouts in it and water it.
And I'll never forget how happy it made me when the sprouts actually sprouted.

The lady who works in my sister's house has been throwing seeds of various fruits into her plants in the balcony and then one day she told my sister to expect watermelon and papaya trees soon.
She looked just as cool about it as my sister looked worried.

Well, luckily it isn't that simple.

But it's simple enough.

So here's some basic and slightly more advanced tips that should help you make your own little green haven in this concrete jungle and build a healthier future.

Hope your day is just peachy!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Metamorphosis

I was watching the end of The Social Network yesterday and as the credits rolled, I read that Erica Albright (Zuckerberg's ex girlfriend) was played by Rooney Mara.

Yes, Rooney Mara of The girl with the Dragon Tattoo fame.
I mean she is the girl with the dragon tattoo.



And all this time I thought only Madonna could metamorphose into new versions of herself.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Chikoo

There are very few things that I can make.
One of them is milkshake.

Milk + fruits + sugar = a firecracker of a drink.
Water + fruits + seedless dates = the healthier version for the lactose intolerant.

I'd make them for my mom when she'd come home after a long day at work.
I'd lay the table like I was serving up a 7 course meal.
But all she got was a milkshake.

It was like an amuse-bouche and no entree, plat et dessert.

And now she is returning the favour.
Almost everyday.

Tiger (the dog) guarding my chikoo tree.
Since it isn't mango season, and because my mother has got a gazillion chikoos from the tree outside my house I've been drinking chikoo milkshakes pretty much everyday.

And I seem to have a love-hate relationship with it.

Because as good as it tastes, after I drink it my lips get all weird.
Like I've worn a super glue lipstick.
And it doesn't come off with facewash, body scrub or even handwash that removes 99% bacteria.
I thought that stuff was hardcore but clearly it isn't.
It's kind of gross and looks like I took a bandaid off my lips and the glue didn't quite come off.
Now do you get what I mean?

Does this happen to everyone in the world?
Or just me?
Is it an allergy?
Or just the sap?
Or does the Chikoo God want my lips to get stuck so I finally shut up?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Am I a superhero?

Over the last year I have noticed a change in myself.

I have become a lot more sensitive.

To sound

Smell

[Not sight]

Change in temperature

And Taste.

Especially onion and garlic.
Maybe I need to sort out my issues with Rahu*.
I can't eat it anymore and avoid it unless I'm having it in small quantities.
Or have to follow it up with running my mouth through a car wash.

My friend Mallika found this piece of information hilarious and asked me if I was recently bitten by a spider.
I certainly hope not since I'm petrified of all insects.
And I thought 'Oh my God! With great power comes great resposibility'.
Do I have the time?

But I doubt I'm becoming Spiderman anytime soon with my deteriorating eyesight.
Clearly I have given it a lot of thought.

via
 * In the Mahabharata, during the Samudra Manthan, Amrit (the nectar of immortality) emerged from the Milky Ocean. Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Mohini, the enchantress and served this nectar only to the Gods. Swarbhanu (a demon) disguised himself as a God and tried to get some of this precious Amrit. When Surya (the Sun God) and Chandra (the Moon God) noticed this, they told Mohini who then took the original form of Lord Vishnu once again. He then threw his Sudarshan Chakra (divine discus) at Swarbhanu (the demon) and this separated his head (Rahu) from his body (Ketu). When Rahu fell to the ground there were drops of blood that fell to the earth from which emerged plants of garlic and onion.
Click here for an even more detailed story.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Haii know

Haii know you've got your own town
Haii know you got your own ways 
Haii know you got your own lieefe

I'm just sayin' come on down to my place 

Come on make some new friends 
And tell me what you drinkin' 
Haii know there's no place like home 
But I know you gonna like it in my citaaay


Don't ask what that's about.

But if you insist, Haii will try to explain what it's all about.


It's a new music video which plays on Vh1 all day long.
It has the stupidest lyrics ever written.

I wrote a little poem when I was 7 years old called By the Seaside that only made it to the School Magazine but it makes more sense than this song.

In my City is Priyanka Chopra's first song and features Will-i-shouldn't-have-done-it.

In the song she talks about how amazing it is - in her citaay.
And after watching the entire video I still don't know which citaay it is.
You can see a Rickshaw and what I think is the Gateway of India.
And then you see a London phonebooth and an Underground sign.
And a big Ferris Wheel.
Is that a random Mela or the London Eye?
We will never know.

Now Priyanka Chopra can sing.
She's not wow but she's not bad either.

But when you sing ridiculous lyrics, make a low budget looking video, wear clothes that make your waist look so freakishly thin that you'd give Dita Von Teese a complex, and do a very Yo dance interspersed with Namastes+desi-girl-moves and tribal-capoeira-like pieces in between, do you really want us to take you seriously?


And Will-i-Am is singing lyrics like - Coming out inside my car.
What?!?


I'm sorry Priyanka, but we stopped taking you seriously when you got Daddy's lil girl tattooed on your wrist.

And Will-i-Am is now Will-i-Made-a-Big-Mistake.
Oops!

Friday, February 1, 2013

The one and only

Photo by me.

I wasn't sure whether to write a post about God.
It's such a touchy topic.

My sister always told me that there are 3 things that you never talk about at the dinner table.
Religion. Politics. And sex.

I suppose God falls into the religion category but so what.
When did I ever take my sister's good advice anyway?

Everyone in my family thinks of God in a different way.
I know that I believe in God.
The idea of something much bigger than us.
Out of convenience I picture a Ganesh.
I've always liked him for some reason.
And he is the remover of obstacles which is also great.

But, I don't know if I believe in all the stories about our 330 million Hindu Gods.
While some have the face of an animal as can be seen with Ganesh, others are seen with skin colours like blue*.

Or is that just the artists interpretation of the God?

The artists from the Rennaisance period drew Jesus a certain way and that's how we see him today.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that thats exactly how he looked.

Whether I believe it or not, I still love reading all the stories about the Gods. And their incarnations.
And so I'm currently reading children's books written by Gauri Kelkar about Hindu Goddesses. Being children's books, they are very easy to read and have beautiful illustrations. And they also have fun things like stickers at the back.
Also it's quite interesting to see how the Gods and Goddesses who are usually seen together reunite as a couple in every incarnation.
True love!

I suppose I should just enjoy the books for the stories and look at it with an open mind.
After all they are Gods. So why expect them to have human-like qualities like us?

According to my mother, I have always been a tad bit rebellious especially while accepting traditions and beliefs relating to God.
But I know there have been those few moments in my life when I have felt his presence.
- In times of need.
- When I've been fortunate enough to have more happiness than I could expect.
- Or even when I'm working and being creative.

Someone told me that everything already exists in this world.
Nothing is actually invented or created.
But when you open your mind to it, you see it.

For a moment there I thought then what am I doing as a creative person?
But then I realised that that's sort of how I feel when I work and come up with new ideas.
Somehow they never feel like mine.
But more like God dropped a bag of ideas in my head.
And it usually happens during that time when I'm not asleep and not really awake either.
It feels like there's a blackhole in my mind through which ideas just fall through with ease.
Does that make sense?

Or am I alone on this one?

So what I'm trying to say is...
Open your mind.
Open your heart.
And you will see that the world is a beautiful place.


*Blue is the skin colour of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna and Lord Ram. But for different reasons.
Ram and Krishna are shown to have blue skin as blue depicts their dusky skin tone. Some say this colour also stands for great spiritual attainment as according to Indian spiritual tradition blue is the colour of superconciousness.
Lord Shiva on the other hand was also shown to have blue skin. In the Mahabharata, during the Samudra Manthan, along with the Amrit and the 14 Ratnas, a poison emerged that was so powerful that it could have destroyed all of creation. Lord Shiva on the advice of Lord Vishnu inhaled the poison and on doing so his neck turned blue. This is why Lord Shiva is also known as Nilakantha (the blue throated one).
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