Contemplations and Ruminations

Every year, setting up the crib is an experience... when we were kids, the crib was made with this sweet smelling wild reed that dotted the landscape back home. I don't know what they call it, but the scent of the freshly built crib wafting through the house spiked the excitement levels. The reed though it smelled nice and looked great, was a time consuming project that involved dexterity, planning and patience.  So over the years, buying the reed gave way to other forms of constructing the Nativity scene... it became much easier to form a basic structure in the shape of a hut and then put a different spin on it every year. like the one in 2013   and  2012 ... Here is this year's crèche, named it the Interstellar crib... cause of those floating specks of light wafting through the time space continuum. You can't see it here, but it sort of looks surreal with only these specks lighting up the nativity scene.  And with a little bit of light, it become...

I've written about Tyler Knott more than once on my blog... how I came across his poems , how one poem of his evocatively captured all I needed to say after my recent trips, and how the phrasing in his poems is what gets your attention even though you don't necessarily agree with all that he says. So when I read on his instagram account that he would be visiting New York in November (2014) I was behind my sister and brother in law to attend his book signing event at a Barnes & Noble store. I had to plead, and make deals with them to ensure that they would attend the event. They assured me that they would, but every now and then, they would resort to blackmails and threats. If I said something they didn't like or if I pulled their leg, they would be like... 'do you want your poems signed?' So anyway, after all the trauma they put me through, they finally did go to meet him and they got my poems signed. Here is the man himself, Tyler Knott Gregson signing a...

I started documenting my trip here and inspite of nobody  reading it, I've come to the final post of my 2013 Eurotrip. And there is only one way to describe it, like warm sunshine spilling over my being, shrouding everything in a warm hazy glow. Like Gene Kelley says, 'There's a smile on my face for the whole human race, why it's almost like being in love .' That perfectly sums up my three months roaming with the siblings in Geneva, France and Germany.. You know how a book can take you to faraway places... that's what I've been doing since I fell in love with the written word. Now to finally discover the world beyond books and pictures is nothing short of incredible.   In a way the special school was like this too, those years are always shrouded in warm hues of sunshine. It was great being with those kids, every day in school was an adventure... I used to wake up thinking what is going to happen today, it was that exciting. I should visit the school...

So this is the November issue of the magazine with a few articles by me. Thomas Rhett's 'Beer with Jesus ' has been included here and I wrote something about the entertainment industry which might be a bit preachy...   Entertainment is not what it used to be When you switch on the TV or listen to songs by the biggest names in the music industry, you cannot help but cringe and wonder at the abasement of it all. How did this degradation seep in? When did it become cool to objectify women and let derogatory comments pass off as comedy? Most of the famous shows today have this cool character whose life revolves around drinking and sleeping with different women, perfect examples would be Charlie Harper and the legendary Barney Stinson. These characters are the epitome of being cool and having it all, and they have the best lines on the show. This is the idea that is being propagated to young people who watch these shows, that your life is enjoyable only when you drink...

So Autumn was just starting when I was in Geneva last year and all the colours of fall were pretty fascinating. I would pick up lovely autumn coloured leaves and preserve them in a book while I explored so many beautiful places with my sister. She would scan the ground too, to find leaves that declared the poetry of the season. And if my brother was with us, he'd stand at a distance away, pretending that he was in no way related to us sisters who were running around collecting leaves.  This is what I made for my brother, framed autumn leaves. It's pretty easy too, collect pretty autumn leaves and preserve them in a book. Make sure you preserve them properly with no folded edges, just place the leaf gently between the pages of a book and let it remain there for a few days. Gently stick the leaves to a chart paper; I used a black chart paper here. Then use a transparent nailpolish to gently brush all over the leaf to give it a glossy look. Write a few lines (or not), and ge...

The Plainpalais flea market in Geneva takes place every Saturday and Wednesday, at the Plainpalais grounds. I visited it last year during the last week of October... Saw so many records on display...  Pretty vases and bowls... Small pouches made with Indian fabric...  Art to hang on walls...  I especially liked this one of the boat... How cute is this dish... three little kids as the stand.  Another pretty dish... with three Victorian women on either side. A really large mirror... and me, I look like a walking advertisement for  Anokhi  (both the kurta and the scarf are from Anokhi). It was starting to get cold towards the end of October...  Pretty blue vase...  African masks...  Textile from the exotic land of India... It was fun, just walking around and seeing everything... there's a farmers market that takes place at Plainpalais every Sunday too. 

So I've grown used to taking pictures of anything and everything... before it was mainly for my blog, but now I do it for Instagram. I've even started attending functions where I have to socialise with ' elders ' (not something I'm fond of .. I prefer hanging out with my crowd of people), mainly because I get to instagram the event. Anyway, these are pictures of the food I cooked at home in Geneva and other dishes we ate in restaurants. My mother used to make puff pastries often when we were kids, they are unbelievably easy to make and quite tasty too. I made quite a few of them at my brother's place. Here the puff pastry dough is rolled out onto a baking sheet...  And lined with ham...  Then some sauteed onions and capsicums...  Added slices of cheese...  Braided the dough then applied an egg wash. And here it is, the ham and capsicum puff pastry...  Made this pasta for us, the smaller one is for my brother cause he likes his pas...