Happy 2009!...

Chilly days, and chillier nights

Hot coffee under warm quilts

Blooming garden, and multi-coloured butterflies

The smell of baking wafting across the house

Can the new year be far behind?

Here's wishing all my readers a happy, peaceful, and safe 2009!

I will be away from my blogs for the next few months as I will be moving houses.

Hope to be back with you all, dear readers and visitors, in the middle of 2009 when I share fresh snippets from my life and experiences in the new house.

Happy And Relaxed

I am really chilled out these days, enjoying life as a home maker and full-time mommy.

It is so much better to enjoy the festive season without worrying about rushing to office the next day.

I am working on creative projects that I have been wanting to do for a long time now.

I am keeping busy taking pictures in the garden, and planning for a family vacation next month.

I get to spend so much more time with the kids, playing with them and goofing around.


Here’s a picture of them taking a joyride in the toy train at a school fete.


Life is bliss! :) And I’m planning to keep it this way for sometime – no unnecessary pressures anymore. The sole focus will be to enjoy the small things that matter…

Tis’ A Time For Change

It is that time of the year again… when there is a nip the air

Large white clouds float across the blue skies making fascinating shapes

The chameli flowers (Indian jasmine) spread their sharp fragrance in the air

Photo from external source; click on photo for original source

...and the mornings become chilly.

Monsoon showers try to assert their weight in one last show of day-long showers before the autumn sets in.

Autumn in India means the advent of the festive season. The sales start in earnest as festive buying picks up. The Ravana-makers start making bamboo frames of the demon king. (I'll tell you more about this in a future post, promise!)

As the days become shorter, everyone starts counting days for the upcoming holidays.

And in this time of change, I have decided to bring about some alteration in my life. Yes, I am standing on the verge of another ending, or maybe… it will be a new beginning after all!

At the end of the month, I shall quit my well-paying full-time job for the sake of home, family, kids, and most importantly, for myself. My heart tells me that I owe my time more to my kids at this point in life than to some random software product. And I have chosen to hear the sayings of my heart...

Of course there are mixed feelings – slight trepidation for the financial setback (after all who doesn’t want money to raise two kids), but somehow the feeling of freedom and liberation is far greater. I feel more confident of finally leading the life I had always wanted - with my paints and brushes, and the attendant creative chaos. To me this is leading the charmed life, and I am so thankful to have a partner who not only understands but supports my decision.

What would you follow at the important junctures of life – your head or your heart? I have mostly followed my heart, and never regretted a moment for it!

Am leaving you with this lovely image of the fall colours that I saved from some e-mail forward. We don't get these in India but here's wishing all my readers all the beautiful hues in your life...

Weekend Additions

Long time since I posted something… well, I have been busy. What with my daughter turning three and starting playschool, I’ve been on a whirlwind. But I did manage to catch a stationery fair over the weekend; you can read about that here.

And I bought some gorgeous kantha embroidered material for myself. See here to find out more about this amazing embroidery style.

I find the black one looks very elegant, and will look even better when stitched and worn as a kurta. Can you spot the peacocks in there?



And I love the traditional rural motifs on the white one.… aren't they sooooo lovely?

I find that some self-indulgence always boosts my spirits! :) How about yours?

Chaat Cravings: Celebrating Street Food

India has a thriving street food culture. You’ll find it everywhere - in the middle of busy markets, at local street corners, even mobile street food vendors with their push-carts and trolleys laden with yummy goodies, meandering through residential areas.

Street food encompasses a huge range of gastronomic delights, right from mouth-watering snacks that vary with season to sweetmeats and lollies. Any Indian worth his or her salt will tell you about the ‘chaat’ that this country loves.

Chaat is basically a mix of local savouries, and is prepared from locally available ingredients. So the definition of chaat, and the ingredients that go into preparing a plate, can vary from one part of the country to another depending on local flavours.

Here is a picture of the plate of ‘bhel-puri’ that I lapped up last evening after work. Made from puffed rice, it contains a mish-mash of onions, potato cubes, tomatoes, chillies, bhujia (dry savoury), and is generously garnished with coriander and tamarind chutneys.

And don’t miss the display of ingredients at the chaat counter. I love the way the green chillies are made to stand up against the 'sev' and limes.


Notice that small image of Lord Shiva in the bottom left corner? Just a gentle reminder that you surrender yourself to street food only if you have immense faith in God! :)

Go, give in to a lip-smacking treat...

Are My Pictures Perfect?

Blogosphere is so full of interesting people.... like my new artist friend Debbie who is holding a giveaway. Go over to Reflections Of Debbie to check out the details. And then rush off with your cameras....

Debbie, here are my entries for the Gallery Days Giveaway. And at the cost of sounding immodest, I really, really wish one of these becomes the winner. Though I am half-way across the globe from you :) but I would so love to have a picture in my post!

Yellow Pansy

Gorgeous Leaves

Mimosa flower

The competition at Reflections Of Debbie closes on 25August, Monday, so you still have the weekend to take pictures and send across a link.

Keeping my fingers crossed....

Monsoon Magic

It has been raining here this weekend.

Sharp showers and overcast skies made me want to share a few glimpses of what the monsoons mean to me…

Pitter-patter raindrops, as they create their own music

Lush, leafy green all around… and toadstools popping up here, there, everywhere

Bhuttas (corn on the cob) roasted over a charcoal fire to a golden yellow, with a dash of lime and masala

Colourful umbrellas on squelchy, waterlogged roads

And of course, everybody’s favourite – chai and pakoras (tea with vegetable fries)

Happy soaking this season!

Guess what?

Can any of you guess what that packet in the picture above is? Oho, so you thought I smoke, and that was obviously a packet of lights. Right?

Wrong!!! ….that is actually a packet of chocolates! (ta-da)

Remember those chocolate sticks wrapped in a paper cover, and made to look like ciggies? I’m not too sure how popular they are now, but they used to be hugely in style with kids back in the 70s.

I got this packet from a trip to a quaint little town called Carpinteria in California. That place has an old-worldly confectionary called Robitaille's that stocks some amazing stuff. (It is a must visit if you ever venture into that part of the world.) Their mints are to-die-for...

And today I finished my last piece of the chocolate ciggies, along with my kids. Glad I could share some of my childhood memories with them. :)

Happy weekend!