Off to Nagaland!!

People, I'm headed out to Nagaland tomorrow morning to be part of the exciting Hornbill Festival- Yippie YE!!! I have to share the story of how this trip came about and how I am going only because of this blog(and therefore all of you). I had blogged about Mora and the super talented Ritika Mittal. I also wrote in my post that I spoke to her, infact we hit it off so well that I suggested to her that I feel like joining her during her extended stay in the North East & she said COME! It was as simple as that. Ofcourse it took working around dates, finalising my tickets, but it is happening guys! And only because I wanted to speak to her to meet her & get a better perspective on her work- why? because I write this blog. So I do feel grateful & excited about heading to Kohima. It is a long journey, but oh so worth it.

Wanted to leave you all with some beautiful imagery of Nagaland and I stumled on the legendary photographer Timothy Allen's work.
And just as I was to post some images here, I read "All photography is copyright © Timothy Allen and images may not be reposted." And no time to ask for permissions. But do click the BBC Photography blog by him & have your brains blown.

Meantime this is a picture I googled- couldn't leave you without an image now :)

I will be back with a lot of pictures and stories about the amazing Nagaland & its festival. Adios people!

Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

Get ready for a splash of red and a world of geometry- sorry astromomy. I had been to the Jantar Mantar ages ago & just realised that I haven't posted about it. So here's taking a sneek peek at the astronomical wonder from history(made in 1724) and the neat pictures it made even with my cheap temporary Kodak camera. It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II and continues to attract tourists in New Delhi.
Even for someone like me without any background in astronomy or architechture, its precise spare and aesthetic structure was still a delight to shoot. Composing shots was such fun. Everywhere I turned was a stunning picture waiting to be taken.

The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astrology.

For the curious, the Wiki page does give a brief description of the place and the various structures within.
You can also read this post on Vogue.in

Bombay Series, Tray Designs

The "I am Mumbai" series of tray designs is really close to my heart. I *Love* Bombay and this lot of trays is a lot about different aspects of Bombay. Be it the 'cutting chai' (road side tea), Pandu (local for policeman) or the famous "Kasa Kai, Bara Hai" (How are you I am good in Marathi) or the design which is a typographic take on Bombay local food slang.

I really hope you like this series as much as I do :)

New work, Black and white decoupage

I'm so happy to finally show new work, new work, new work!!! In this series I tried something I have never tried before. Black and White. You will normally not find too much black and white on this blog. Though I think black and white is really classy and elegant, I have always been rather colourful I'm afraid. So here are a set of trays in monochrome.

This one is a personal favourite.

I couldn't resist colour :)
Coming up is more new stuff!

Madras Terrace House, Chennai

When I last went to Chennai, my friend told me , "We will go to Madras Terrace House, I think you will like it". Whatever I expected, it was certainly not this traditional old styled home charmingly reclaimed to be the art and culture hub it clearly is. The contraditions add to the uniqueness, so there is Kolam on the floor, one of the strongest symbols of southIndian culture & there on the funk begins, brightly painted walls, kitschy art, tibetan accessories all fit right in. Its traditional red floor and sea green painted doors are witness to all sorts of creative events ranging from play readings to performances, art exhibitions to film screenings.

The brain child of eclectic and talented Kaveri Lalchand, The Madras Terrace House also has this store which houses fashion which includes the fun ‘K’ collection, a casual wear line designed by her, jewellery from all parts of the country, funky Janota shoes from Goa, wooden figurines from Indonesia, a tea-cup and saucer with Tamil alphabets embossed on the edges, and more. And this is not all behind the house, is the quaint and grungy 'Tea Kadai' which is a tiny cafe which serves a mix of chai (tea), muffins & local delicacies like wada and chutney.

You can also read 2 useful reviews here & here.

Wall Painted streets of India.

India loves colour. So in the streets of its different states you will see handpainted signs, messages and advertisments in bright and full colour. Here's a bunch of pictures I clicked over time across India. When I was putting this together I realised I should have more. Will click.

A freshly painted 'Thumbs up" signage in interior Maharashtra

Amidst all the architechtural and historic beauty that is Jaisalmer, these handpainted advertisements had their own charm.

Colourful Tamilnadu never disappoints. I need to go to Chettinad!