my little terrace garden...

...is blooming!!

even though i don't care too much my plants seem happy with me and have decided to bloom towards the end of spring..:)

oooh its such a happy sight...and sometimes i find butterflies and bees buzzing around...it is simply delightful! so i thought i'd share a few pics with you....enjoy.

and the faff award goes to...

kanika instructed me to be witty with my introduction...and i told her you know how my jokes make you fall off the table (i wish!). so with that, i am vivek currently doing a masters in something obnoxious. to give you a little background, i got into movie watching..cinema is what i like to call it at times (i can be a snob) about 7 odd years back when i was doing my undergrad in Delhi.

i was lucky to be living in central Delhi and thus most libraries were only a few minutes away. it all started with FIRC (French Information Resource Center, 2 Aurangzeb Road) and the film club at Habitat that i walked into a whole new world (what a cliche!). i was watching anywhere between 3-5 new titles a week and i couldn't stop. Godard hit me and next came Fellini and then Herzog..Kieślowski..Antonioni..Bergman..Wong Kar Wai (kanika just said i am way too formal and i'm throwing too many names). i love hollywood and off course bollywood..(i'm supposed to love bollywood aren't i)

too much has been said already so to get on..i hope you enjoy reading my reviews and if you get bored do tell.

shagun

remember i had talked about the custom of giving money in India on religious or festive occasions? that was my 51st post (ikyavan=51 in Hindi).
so i recently figured out the reason why the custom of adding that one rupee to the total sum of money as Shagun (something auspicious) exists. the reason is simple and logical. an amount that ends in zero=0 means the end of the transaction; there is no continuity in the amount, so a rupee is added to make the amount odd and hence guarantee future exchanges...:)

i think its a really sweet custom and i like the significance of that rupee.. what do you think?

i cannot believe i missed it

now i know i am really bad with dates...but to have missed celebrating the 1st birthday of my blog is shameful!
its been more than a year since i started blogging people...and i am really pleased with the slow but sure progress that i have made. :) on this happy realisation that i missed the date i would like to introduce a co blogger(who by the way doesn't miss anything)...if you will allow me... to keep the activity alive on my blog. the co blogger however is not related to any aspect of design.
he'll be here talking about movies!! what do you think? is that a good idea? why not? lets try it.
Vivek (my boyfriend remember... and now my co blogger) is an avid film watcher and critic. he watches a whole lot of movies and needs to share what he feels about each one of them.
somehow i feel it justifies film watching if you can share the reviews with somebody doesn't it?
so how should we do it...fix up a day...every week to give you a weekly dose of movies? let me check with him and we'll take it from there...do let me know what you think about the idea ok?
cheers
kanika

!!!HOLI HAI!!!

the festival of colour beckons and i am so looking forward to celebrating it with my family..well my mom dad are in gujarat while my brother is in bombay..but i will be at my maternal grandmothers' and have a whole lot of cousins who don't let me miss anyone too much :)

but i'll miss my brother...he's always been very enthusiastic about all the festivals....when we were kids he'd wake up early morning..before anyone else in the house to fill gubbaras (water balloons)!! he loved doing that and hitting everyone with them gave him such joy! he's always had a naughty streak in him. my dad would make amazing shammi kababs ooooh being a kid was so much fun :/ :)

so i have made a list of sorts of the essential things you must do to liven up the holi celebrations:
1.

Eat and share lots of Gujiya, it is like a pastry thats filled with khoya, nuts, sometimes coconut (the naughty ones fill it with a little bit of bhang) and sugar deep fried and then dipped in sugar syrup, yummy! even though gujiyas were not a big part of holi for me as a kid it is a very UP thing and not so Punjabi i guess:), but i love them and cannot stop after eating just one!

2.
buy lots of Gulal. gulal is the dry colour which is sprinkled on one another to play holi. organic/herbal gulal is always a better option as it is skin and earth friendly! learn how to make some at home here.

3. get your hands on that Pichkari(water gun) now!

i prefer the old steel ones, like the picture above, to the new chinese plastic guns. the steel ones can be used again next year while the plastic ones usually get spoilt. the water come out with more pressure in the steel ones too and travels a great distance:)

4. fill those buckets with gubbare....what fun!5. must play Rang Barse song from the movie silsila. i love that song so much! listen to it right here .

6. make lots of thandai.. i am having lots of fun already.

7. don't forget to oil yourself properly (face and hair). it doesn't let the colour get absorbed and so makes that painful post holi bath easy.

8. buy some holi art. i love miniature paintings. the perspectives the details and intricate design the colours and themes the gossamer fabrics and costumes the size. help preserve this dyeing art and buy some today. this art comes from various parts of india and largly draw themes from the mughals, radhe krishna, rajputs and ramayana. kangra school of pahari paintings is among the more famous.

some holi inspired miniatures.
miniature painting showing Lord Krishna and Radha celebrating the festival of Holi!
this painting is from Orissa, again showing Radha and Krishna playing Holi.

i hope you have enjoyed my list. please do share your holi experience and let me know if i have missed out on a holi must do!

have a fun filled holi!