Traveller, Twice

Lately I have been finding myself going to most places I have travelled to, twice.
Some travels to places are by serendipity, some by design. The feeling that these travels evoke, are always distinct, and interesting. They range anywhere from renewed wonder to glassy eyed boredom. But almost always, they evoke a reflection of your self - of what you were like when you last went there, and what has changed. You can see a distinct difference in the way you looked at things, and how life, as it is, has changed you.

As a feeling, I love the way Nostalgia makes me feel. I love remembering good things fondly, and travels, which always affect me in a good way, are no exception to this! Because of this trait, I am always excited to do things over again, given a chance! It's not like I don't like to try the new things - but I have been guilty, on multiple occasions, of picking out a book that made me feel contemplative when I read it before - or of picking out a movie that I have watched before, knowing the exact reactions that I would have, or of frequenting the same cafe, listening to the same music, and so on.

I love looking at these things with new eyes, and yet sinking into the familiar feeling that they give me. Thankfully this habit of repetition does not extend to my outfits - I DO NOT like wearing an outfit in the same way twice, and hence, since four years, this fashion blog thrives.

As an extension to this, I have made a mental note to not travel to the same place twice, not on purpose atleast. There is so much to be seen,  heard and experienced- and so little time!

Posting some pictures of my most recent travel to Cochi, Kerela. The last time I visited, I wrote this post.  I visited this time again, to attend a wedding, though the experience was quite different :)
I ended up visiting the close friend who got married last time I visited, and visited familiar temples and walked some streets, once again!

Sharing some pictures now!

Stalls decked up in preparation of the upcoming temple festival.

Me, and some retail therepy. The variety and variations of the simple white saree were mind-blowing! Ended up crushing on quite a few and even getting myself one!

Around the street of the familiar temple - got to see the elephant processions again! Though I apparently missed the big temple festival that was about to happen next week!

The demonitization move has affected  everyone quite badly - From arranging for change, to drop in sales of some goods, the effects have been multifold. People do accept  old currency - Our cab drivers took old 500s and 1000s gladly - along with the new notes. 

More Stalls alongside the Temple Road

Spent some time at the Hill Palace, saw some deer in the park, ate some ice-cream - It was like childhood revisited :)

And this is the simple outfit that I wore to the wedding! 

A photograph from last time, the same temple, the same elephant, and the same me.
But not quite.

Writing this travelogue, because I will probably love reading it later on. I hope you will like it, too!

Love,
Shubhi

A Post that Never got Published

Back in April, 2013, I worked on a post that I never published, for some reason. 

I look back at it, and it's almost surreal :) Nothing much has changed since then, except that...too much has changed!

I love how it has references to almost everything that's special to me in my life even right now, especially the friends and the places! So, here it goes:

10 Things I did Last Month

1. Spent some time with my pet cat, and my camera. 

2. Designed and made this DIY lantern with some steel wire and post-it notes. Mood lighting for my room!

3. Did a photoshoot on the building terracce.

4.Spent some time in our vacation home with family.

5.Welcomed in the bright sunshine. Hola Summer!

6.Excitedly received this parcel from Precious You, I won a giveaway at The Fashion Flite! Everything about it was beautiful, the earrings, the package, and the cute little note!

7. Went for a lunch date in town. 

 8. Reminisced about old friends. Dug out old pictures and edited them...I'm an obsessive compulsive photo editor, by the way.

9.Grabbed a coffee at the newly opened Starbucks with a friend. I love the way Starbucks in India has a whole new luxury brand identity, as opposed to the regular-street-corner-cofeeshop look abroad

10. Booked tickets to this place. I'm going next week to attend a dear friend's wedding! So excited, have to get busy planning some Indian traditional outfits soon!

Hope you'll had a lovely week!

Love,

Hello, Hyderabad!

To the uninitiated, I have moved to a new city. A city as rich, (perhaps more) with a distinct culture, people, and a heritage as my own home: Mumbai. While I live in the new part of the city, a place as devoid of a face and identity that it could be a part of anywhere else in India (will do a post about it soon), a visit to the old city took me back in time where buildings were lovingly carved with delicate filigree, food was carefully prepared with age old recipes, and everything wore a look like it belonged to a specific time and place in history.

I was not without filth and chaos, however. I can't even say that I liked it very much. But it definitely calls me back, to probe a little further into this land and its people.

I look forward to more weekends spent exploring, and writing about them!

 

PS: Hyderabad is popular as the city of Biryanis, Kebabs, and Pearls. This series of posts will involve looking beyond, and also looking within the popular stereotypes that is Hyderabad.


Featured Song: Miriam by Norah Jones will leave you haunted for sometime at least!

Until later then.
Love!

Where Go the Boats?

Dark brown is the river.   
Golden is the sand.   
It flows along for ever,   
  With trees on either hand.   
   
Green leaves a-floating,        
  Castles of the foam,   
Boats of mine a-boating—   
  Where will all come home?   
   
On goes the river   
  And out past the mill,   
Away down the valley,   
  Away down the hill.   
   
Away down the river,   
  A hundred miles or more,   
Other little children   
  Shall bring my boats ashore.
-R.L. Stevenson

The above poem from the 'Child's Garden of Verse' is one of my favourites, it used to be a part of 

the school English text book as well!

The monsoon invariably brings with a sense of nostalgia. After the blazing hot summer months, so 

deeply moving is the feel of splattering rain drops and the moist cool that they bring, it is almost 

impossible to explain. 

The memories of school days and rainy mornings. The building of islands out of mud. The sailing 

of the paper boats. The acute child-like observation of the earthworms that made their appearance, 

and  slid about like harmless little snakes. The unexpected and joyous rainy-day holidays. My 

childhood birthdays, which came around the time the monsoons were at the most vengeful. The 

whistling winds, causing the tall Ashoka trees to bend against their will, laden with heavy moisture.

Such are my memories of the monsoon season, and so they will always remain. 

Love,
Shubhi!

Midweek Inspiration

For a change, I have decided to catch up on some reading this week. Besides re-reading some old classics, I'm digging into fashion magazines too! I recently found an old issue of Vogue in the library, which is their 5th Anniversary issue (October 2012) and boy, isn't it gorgeous? Its like this thick *makes a width-indicating gesture* and is so heavy that I can't read it lying down, because I cannot hold it up! It is amazingly full of fashion and art inspiration too!

For me, Fashion and Art are interchangeable. I derive most of my artistic inspiration from Fashion, and vice-versa! Which is why I particularly cherish this issue of W, which I picked up in New York last winter!

On a separate note about my fashion magazine reading habits, I always seem to read them a season too late, and I cannot care less. I always leaf through them for design and fashion inspiration, and not really for trends. Well, I have my fellow bloggers to update me on them! 

Anyway, here is a super-artistic fashion spread from Vogue. A little research later, I found out that Saira Wasim, the artist, specializes in Mughal Miniature Paintings with a modern twist. The outfits in the paintings are all copies of actual clothes by designers!

Now reading:
_________________________
Age of Innocence-Edith Wharton
W-Fashion meets Art
October'12 Vogue!
Saffronart Catalogue

Hope you'll are having a fabulous week. Will be back with an outfit post,  soon!

Love,

Shubhi!

The Anthropologie Store in Philadelphia

Every once in a while, you enter a space that completely mesmerizes you with its interior design and atmosphere. The Anthropologie store in Philly did exactly that to me, last december! And since i'm on a small break from outfit shoots, I thought I must share these pictures with you!

It was so creatively done up, I felt like Alice in Wonderland! There were paintings used as carpets, doorknobs used as wall decoration, and fireplaces that went on top of each other, all the way up to the ceiling! The dizzingly round antique stairway went up and (down) four floors, with treats like ancient mirrors, life-sized paper reindeer, and crystal shard-garlands, on every landing. The huge asymmetric rope chandelier was awesome to look at!

The store is housed in the Rittenhouse Mansion, and the huge painted ceiling, stained glass, flooring, are left intact, and they go beautifully with the bohemian decor!

I have nothing much to say about the clothing, because the overpriced ethnic-looking stuff is something you easily find locally in India, so it made no sense for me to shop there!

But the store itself is awe-inspiring. If you're ever in Philadelphia, check it out!

Love,

Shubhi!

Travel Post: Gods Own Country

I visited the wedding of a close friend in Kerela. I had the most amazing time, and here is a photo documentation of my trip!

At the very onset, I was unduly attracted by the clouds outside my airplane window. Though it is not unusual for me to be besotted by things other people find quite commonplace.

"As I look out of my airplane window, I contemplate climbing these tall, ethreal mountains of the Gods, suspended in mid air; Standing, aloft on their mighty peaks, and feeling oh, so high.

Maybe I will wait until dark and reach up to touch the stars."

Then I looked down and saw mountains covered with coconut trees, and rivers meeting the seas. So I focused my thoughts on the world below. And I was not disappointed!

Green backwaters, mouthwatering local food, greenery everywhere, colourful houses, and a million temples, churches and mosques!

The wedding was a traditional affair, with food served in a banana leaf. I met new friends, witnessed new ceremonies, and braved the sweltering heat in a saree. I spent the next day taking in the sights of Cochin.

Cochin is a wonderful city. Colourful houses, flowers in full bloom and winding streets.The gulmohars here are red, vividly so. The seafront is clean, the the remnant traces of the Dutch colonization is quite delightful.

I have so many ideas lined up for outfit posts, haven't been able to take pictures because of the trip! Hope you've had a wonderful weekend too.

Love,

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