Doozie's Laboratory

MANGO CHUTNEY

2011-07-22T17:53:00.000+09:00

Its sticky, drippy and makes me so happy!
Sweet mango chutney, just like how mum makes it.

Doozie's Laboratory: Long Neck slender arms

2011-07-09T05:23:00.000+09:00

Doozie's Laboratory: Long Neck slender arms

Long Neck slender arms

2011-07-09T05:20:00.001+09:00

Folk Art for the soul

2011-07-07T02:54:00.002+09:00

My Hotshop going public

2011-06-07T15:19:00.002+09:00

Do drop by Onestop.

Food on my table and on my mind

2010-05-28T16:19:00.000+09:00

After 6 months of babysitting I come with this!

Do not wait for plastic to clog us!

2009-12-16T14:33:00.000+09:00

Lately....

2009-11-20T19:06:00.000+09:00

i am devoting a lot of time thinking about a subject to paint/sketch but alas.... the buildup takes more time than finishing the sketch.
Anyhow, i am yet to get busy with my brand new travel friendly water colour kit my bro got me form Germany. You can spot it on the table, I am all geared up for out door sketch and colour wash!

Sunlight

2009-09-22T13:46:00.001+09:00

2009-09-02T19:49:00.001+09:00

Vibrance

2009-09-01T16:45:00.001+09:00

coorg sketches

2009-08-27T17:55:00.002+09:00

...getting back...

2009-08-03T19:14:00.005+09:00

So my juices are running low, I have to gather and practice painting en plein air more often.
Here is a sample I did on Saturday.. the watercolor killed the sketch and the perspective is all wonky.
Unhappy with the attempt, but if I do plenty of urban sketching I'll get back!

2009-06-11T15:16:00.003+09:00

I shudder to think the savage ways of our times have left very little to offer the unborns.

2009-06-11T15:13:00.001+09:00

....and when I can't sketch, can't write, can't cry I stare at you.

2009-06-11T15:07:00.002+09:00

A state of eroded slate, the mind, no sparks cross the horizon.

a trapped soul longs for fresh wiff of freedom,

but alas, no sweet smelling dasies on the path,

no hope for a spurt of revival just a wait,

to wither and fall,

like the last autum leaf, tucked away

underneath the snow, cold, forgotten, removed.

How Frugal

2009-05-26T18:17:00.001+09:00

The other day I saw many wise guys on HBO talking about the climate change and conservation of all that has been spoke about I find one topic intriguing and close to me. Frugality.

One of the wise guy said 'frugality is not being poor' but haven't we all assume it is?!

All this while I knew something about frugality is right before I got swept across by a tide of abundance, I worked I had money so why be frugal?

We all mistake, lack of funds the reason to behave cheaply (read frugality) which is an immediate understanding, but looking at the bigger picture it has a far reaching effect if we stop associating money rather economy so closely with it. Frugality is about having a no waste lifestyle which is idyllic in today's term.

Speaking at a broader term our religious teachings about self restraints leads to frugality and conservation in general but we have totally goofed up with the context as well as the content.

Creativity creeps in when we adhere to frugal ways of living and have a sense of progression without unwanted outputs and using up what we term as waste as by products. Human skill sets are a result of the need to do better than survive, and as part of the nature and the natural process the human resource can be looked as unlimited bounty of creativity, knowledge and energy source.

Well I know my thoughts are loosely based on subjects too vast and layered , but I am just looking at frugality in totality and not a part of the whole.

But to paint a picture I will quote an example, how life was frugal when I was a kid, my grandmother would prepare relishes and dishes out of vegetable peels and refuse. A cow was feed everything else that she couldn't fancy cooking and the rest, which she had no time to cook or can't be fed to the cow went in as raw material for her vegetable garden. Plastic was looked with much wrath by her. A sound cycle that we all have rubbished and forgotten thanks to more money and less time.

I will like to spend more time reading this topic and get back on some useful insights.

Memories of a fine smell

2009-05-26T17:20:00.005+09:00

Nothing smells right! Is it me?

The end of a begining or just the begining of anew

2009-04-30T19:05:00.003+09:00

Life has taken a full circle Full stop questionmark comma a circle has no end nor a begining where am Iquestionmark

At the end of the beginig or just the begining of a new exclaimation question

2009-04-30T18:54:00.002+09:00

72 hours in Delhi

2009-04-20T14:00:00.000+09:00

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me

ee cummings

my five top hits for today

2009-04-16T17:10:00.003+09:00

Music - must watch UTube vedio.

Photos - discover your world, now.

Speakout- an amiable writer, a socialist pens his thoughts in words in scribbles.

Nano- checking out the cheapest car

Grub- My reserach project led me to this, grub grub everywhere....

2009-04-14T14:26:00.003+09:00

NYT/14th April2009/ ‘Welcome Back’

Tomorrow is the Bengali new year, the 1st of Boishakh, it time for the mangoes to ripen, the neem tree is in blossom and so is the badami tree, my morning ritual is to sit and bird watch on my balcony, today I saw a big size spotted bird, never seen it before. I am getting a host of visitors after I have left a pot of water for them to feed from, I think a bird bath and a proper feeding dish is called for.

The wild crow now almost comes in side the room if he gets a chance... I would like to tell him to be a bit more patient , it's not the food he's looking for it's water, we both are worried as no rains happened last few months.

I can just hope we do get some showers before the crows dark feathers gets scroched by the relentless sun. Lets sing for some rain in unision.

Dylan on Obama

2009-04-08T13:28:00.002+09:00

Times: In an interview, Bob Dylan talked about what “intrigued” him about Obama after reading “Dreams From My Father”:

He’s got an interesting background. He’s like a fictional character, but he’s real. First off, his mother was a Kansas girl. Never lived in Kansas though, but with deep roots. You know, like Kansas bloody Kansas. John Brown the insurrectionist. Jesse James and Quantrill. Bushwhackers, Guerillas. Wizard of Oz Kansas. I think Barack has Jefferson Davis back there in his ancestry someplace. And then his father. An African intellectual. Bantu, Masai, Griot type heritage - cattle raiders, lion killers. I mean it’s just so incongruous that these two people would meet and fall in love. You kind of get past that though. And then you’re into his story. Like an odyssey except in reverse.

A Kenyan reader writes to Andrew Sullivan to correct Dylan:

No one wants to be the one to correct Bob Dylan but Barack Obama’s father was not a Bantu, he was a Nilote, one of the three major ancestral groups of people from which most of Kenyas population is derived from. Barack Obama Sr was of the Luo tribe and any suggestion that Obama is a Bantu would be met with howls of laughter in Kenya.

NYT/080409/opinionator

2009-03-16T19:46:00.003+09:00

For further details Please contact:

Shiv Kripa Blue Art Potteries.
Mr.BC : 97724 64203
Son's: GG Dorey/ Bhupender: 93148 78479 / 98292 65939
Factory address: 207, Aasind nagar, New Sanganer Road
Sanganer, Jaipur
e-mail: shiv_kripa@rediffmail.com

Shelved

2009-03-16T18:45:00.004+09:00

So I wished to watercolour these lovely shots....I did some random sketches but they got shelved between doodles and daily chores. I have lots of colourless art pieces ready for some dash of colour....also awaiting a colourful Doozie V2.0....

Hope will get back on it.. now that I have a brand new easel!

2009-03-03T15:18:00.003+09:00

Patching up history

2009-03-02T17:46:00.017+09:00

carving out the design on pop

Stenciling the design on paper

Smoothing out the surface
At Amber palace, artisans are revamping the sheesh mahal.

At Naharghar fort, the broken parts of the fort is getting a fresh lease of life.

2009-02-25T15:12:00.001+09:00

A quite corner at home

Fort Kochi revisited

2009-02-25T14:39:00.016+09:00

The old synagogue

At Maattencherry market

At daal roti

The performance

Shala...pat or madhu?

Tea pots lots and lots of them!

The tea room and some reading

Men at work.. at the fishing nets

Chinese fishing nets and some dolphin watching

These fellas needs to be hanged

2009-02-19T16:35:00.014+09:00

The badami tree is going through a colour outburst, like in autum , the leaves stacking up in the balcony. I am loving everything green around me and definitely the rare orange and the browns. I am upto some serious gardening these day... totally hooked. I got three pots fully of crazily growing foliage which needs trimming every now and then.
Here are they...

Doopper- the droppy with violet highlights!

Wizzy- the out of control poky charecter

Boby - the one with an afro hair!

So fellas you ready to get all hooked up?

Chitra Santhe 2009

2009-01-28T02:32:00.009+09:00

I have been waiting to revisit Chitra Santhe. A day long event where fine artists from all walks of life, locals as well artist from all over Karnataka come and set up open air sales stalls the road facing Windsor manor hotel here in Banaglore. It seemed an endless stretch for SC who accompanied me as I hopped from one stall to the other amazed, sometime with a short sigh of exclamation. Colours splashed every where and I noticed a lot of personalized folksy work, both painting and sketches which really stood out amongst watercolour landscapes, oil and acrylic portraits, still life and photo realism. A lot of strong graphic inspired art caught my attention and so did ink washes of deep blue and sun dip ocher landscapes.

Overhauling in waiting...

2009-01-12T18:11:00.003+09:00

....

Seasons greetings

2008-12-23T19:51:00.004+09:00

Illustartion courtesy: http://www.childrensillustrators.com/content.cgi/index

Oh-Calcutta -I

2008-10-28T19:23:00.007+09:00

When I met Ms. S recently over dinner I was excited to share my experience of pujo in Calcutta, well here's an article from Mr. Vir Sanghvi, a fitting potrail.. a great read.

Most modern Indian cities strive to rise above ethnicity. Tell anybody who lives in Bombay that he lives in a Maharashtrian city and (unless of course, you are speaking to Bal Thackeray) he will take immediate offence. We are cosmopolitan, he will say indignantly. Tell a Delhiwalla that his is a Punjabi city (which, in many ways, it is) and he will respond with much self-righteous nonsense about being the nation's capital, about the international composition of the city's elite etc. And tell a Bangalorean that he lives in a Kannadiga city and you'll get lots of techno-gaff about the internet revolution and about how Bangalore is even more cosmopolitan than Bombay . But, the only way to understand what Calcutta is about is recognize that the city is essentially Bengali. What's more, no Bengali minds you saying that. Rather, he is proud of the fact.
Calcutta's strengths and weaknesses mirror those of the Bengali character.
It has the drawbacks: the sudden passions, the cheerful chaos, the utter contempt for mere commerce, the fiery response to the smallest provocation. And it has the strengths (actually, I think of the drawbacks as strengths in their own way). Calcutta embodies the Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed; the complete transparency of all emotions, the disdain with which hypocrisy and insincerity are treated; the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of emotion over all other aspects of human existence. That's why Calcutta is not for everyone.
You want your cities clean and green; stick to Delhi . You want your cities, rich and impersonal; go to Bombay .. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer; Bangalore 's your place. But if you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta .
When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London , I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park .
When I think of New York , I think of the frenzy of Times Square . When I think of Tokyo , I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris , I think of the Champs Elysee.
But when I think of Calcutta , I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah Bridge . I think of people. Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads. A city is the sum of its people. And who can ever forget or replicate - the people of Calcutta ?
When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life. It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty. I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was a revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect. I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion.
In Bombay , a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta , a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world. Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry And for him, religion and culture will be inextricably bound together.
Ah religion! Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival? I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.
The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess. It may be about religion. But is about much more than just worship. In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to
produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta , the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princess Diana and even Saddam Hussain! Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashami, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?
To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta . And to understand Calcutta , you must understand the Bengali. It's not easy. Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul. But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever.
Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you. I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal . It's a feeling that'll never go away.

Oh-Calcutta!

2008-10-20T03:24:00.007+09:00

Looking back on my trip to Calcutta through some pictures... the sights and smell of the city is very overpowering more so during the festive season of Durga Puja, I have so much to say and I seek your noble ear.

Word it-Vote

2008-10-16T17:33:00.008+09:00

My entree for this month speak up Word it, word of the month VOTE ,you can look up at some of the visual interpretation here.

The debate

2008-10-16T15:12:00.003+09:00

In trying to cast doubt on Barack Obama, John McCain threw the kitchen sink at him — along with the plumber...

“His answer actually scared me even more,” Mr. Wurzelbacher said. “He said he wants to distribute wealth. And I mean, I’m not trying to make statements here, but, I mean, that’s kind of a socialist viewpoint. You know, I work for that. You know, it’s my discretion who I want to give my money to; it’s not for the government decide that I make a little too much and so I need to share it with other people. That’s not the American Dream.”

Zara embroidery work

2008-09-28T03:02:00.006+09:00

Went on a look out for an embroidery master, met this man in his 50's in a spooky lane in the middle of a bustling bazzar. He sits in his dimly lit shop which can hardly accomodate three people. An odd oblong shaped space below a stairway. He sits with his embroidery frame and 'auzzar' a large needle without the needle hole and blunt skewed tip. He seems to be in peace with his space, honks and general chaos of the outside world does not seem to affect his flow. He is not weak but feeble, some thing more than just the bread he earns gives him enough strength and pursuit to carry on and produce some exquisite piece of work day in and out. He asked us not to come during his navaz and that he will only be able to deliver after the Ramzan season.
He nodded and amiably muttered that B did a good job embroidering sequins in her sari. I felt an unknown calmness mingled with ingenuity and grace in his shop. A tired hand after a long days work raises in faith thats keeps him going. Piety never hopes for a shrine.

I travel...

2008-09-05T18:33:00.001+09:00

I travel to understand the world and to understand other people — to understand what’s going on, to understand the television news. If I stay in my country, I only have myself as a reference, with my French opinions. If I never travel, I can’t understand why other people don’t think like I do. So I travel for that, and because I love to see different things. I love to discover places I don’t know, to meet people I don’t know and talk with them.”
Claire Mathieu, 25, a researcher for an architecture studio in Paris

Quote of the day!

2008-08-22T15:03:00.002+09:00

"I would say marry, but make sure it's a man"! -Anonymous

Colour me blue!

2008-08-19T14:37:00.005+09:00

Me and B did this to few of the walls at home, we are on a look out for more strong hearted art lovers who do not mind dash of colours in their living space.

So do get in touch if you like what you see!

Ps: My personal favorite is the blue wall in ma bedroom.

Get in touch: boonieananth@gmail.com or antara.mukherji@gmail.com

Sense-wise

2008-08-08T16:06:00.007+09:00

Looking back at what excited my senses in the few weeks gone by.

Sight: I am currenlty reading a travellog,Travelling with Chairlie by John Steinback,Eating India by Chitrita Bannerji, a contemporary culinary journal and Nasty bites by Anothony Bourdin, a personal account of cook on his job and not so sweet offerings of his proffesion. I also look up to a daily dose of frugal traveller series in NY times..they all paint pictures of what my wish list is made of.Lot of travel, scupmtious platters, a bit of history,a sweaty kitchens and drunken adventures.

Touch: Could finally layed my hands into making treasure out of trash, old boxes is what I like and I turn them into colourful storage boxes, trying out different materials like POP and wall putty to give textures. What is life without textures!?
Hear: Bought some music last sunday, Byran Adams stars is one of my favorites, Gulzar classics for the car and a CD by a local precussionist well suited for the 'it-can-rain-anytime' weather.

Taste: There has been a lot of cooking on weekends, the BBQ smear worked well with desi style chiken preparation and I also learned to make Laccha paratha :) had a bad throat :(, my all time favorite milk and brandy worked well, just liked it did when I had cronic bromchitis as a kid !

Smell: Smelled some crushed germanium yesterday, visited a friend's roof top garden maintained by his owner, fresh bloom of gladolies with herbs and bushed in the faded eveing light looked inviting.

About liberation and all that...

2008-07-18T14:52:00.003+09:00

What can be more librating than having a wall for a canvas?! I can't think of anything else right now...So the other day when I took up task with another friend, B, who apparently done her home with vivid colours and imagination and has promted me to colour my home ...
Come and take a peek yourself!

Getting Rich

2008-06-26T13:08:00.002+09:00

The only time I am rich is when I have the luxury of time!

PS: This thought stuck me soon after I was back from a vacation recently, I was narrating to someone how the long bus journey we took got delayed by the driver as he stopped at every nook and besides every jackfruit tree to pluck them! It stuck me then, I have failed to relish the time I had, to enjoy, to soak, in the jungle we passed and the villages, the small fruit spiling with sweet smells of mangoes, the hustle of an evening in some remote town but all did was to fret that I'll be late the next day already looked forward to a tedious wednesday at office!

Mistress

2008-05-30T21:46:00.003+09:00

Mistress by Anita Nair... The author I must say does her job effortlessly... she brings out a lot of emotions as the story unfolds, I like the intensity she puts in as it makes the plot alive. The story as such in parts made me sit up but mostly it was a dampner an adult novel wrapped up in an arty mould with rasas thrown in to make it upmarket and urbane.
Truely the Kathakali angle did not stir up any cords parlty because it's excotisim is as much alien to me as it was to the english charecters in the novel. Also I though my opinion got coloured a bit by my disgust of the vivid adultrous occurance written with much juice that filled its pages.
Looking for ward to Kite Runner!

Slumber sweet

2008-05-27T19:05:00.004+09:00

How can I not give in to the overpowering waves of Siesta that hits me again and again, it's middle of a not so hot May afternoon..... Why ? Carbon dioxide accumulation or what ever the cause, I long for a gleaming ocean of a bed lofty enough so no body can reach me to drag me out of it!

Flu and you

2008-04-24T16:51:00.005+09:00

Both landed at the same time, breaking away from the routine and taking a toll on my otherwise programmed life. I dread the more time spent alone, the dark sins of singlehood comes back rushing like the pile of clothes gradually increasing on the matress that's been taken over.
Have read this some where 'complains are a manifestation of affection'.

My pig out food

2008-03-12T17:45:00.011+09:00

Food's on my mind... as I contemplate how to package ayurveda to modern sensibilities I am having visions of BBQ sauce smeared chicken wings and mango salsa, guacamole on a burritto bowl and garlicy fettucini with alferado!
I am not to be blamed, had not had chicken for a zillion minutes, no junk food as long as I can remember. I have surprised my self lately by cooking wholesome vegetable meals and carrying a 'dabba' for lunch which normally contains roti and sabzi so it's like a revolt finally coming from within that how can I go on eating boring meals day in and out. Deals done, have to visit the friendly butcher shop New Frosty's on my way back and pick some sausages and meat. Make tangy mango salsa/chutney as fresh raw mango's out in the market!
Also visit likes of MK Ahmed to pick pasta, tuna, dips and some garlic bread.
I have been wanting to go to Russel market for long now as I've heard they have all sorts of exotic vegetables, why not this weekend?!
Ahh... feels better already. Planning is so important you see!

Bliss

2008-03-02T18:52:00.007+09:00

A brightly lit Sunday afternoon, I watch a game on TV in a drowsy state but what keeps me from falling asleep is the badami tree out in the balcony, I can't get enough of the fresh green leaves contrasting with the brilliant blue and the amber colored leaf. Its calming effect overrides the occasional commotion of smoke puffing vehicles that passes below.
I don't remember if I ever secretly wished for a home embraced by a cheerful tree but I did spent the past year witnessing the seasonal changes a deciduous tree underwent that stood out side the balcony of my apartment in Virgina. It responded to the change of season with grace and I admired its contoured form, barren in early winters and when it was covered with white sheets of snow or when its frail pink flowers would veil the branches to announce the onset of spring.
I made many failed efforts to sketch its bare branches and taken several pictures when it had turned flaming yellow from head to toe. Back home I am not sure how diverse state the badami tree will acquire with change of season but I'll enjoy it's state of blissful existence for years to come.

Living in the fast lane...

2007-12-20T17:13:00.003+09:00

It has been a while since I've gotten time to write or do anything I wished for. Past six months have been crazy! Things happened to us that take decades to happen, changing some 4 location in two years time wasn't always fun.. and it comes with umpteen number of chores and following ups. Change when random and happens too often confuses my mind and body.
I have gotten a grip but people are indispensible.

Tulips

2007-07-21T14:42:00.000+09:00

.............. ∫ ............

this is the garden:colours come and go,
by: e.e. cummings

this is the garden:colours come and go,
frail azures fluttering from night's outer wing
strong silent greens silently lingering,
absolute lights like baths of golden snow.
This is the garden:pursed lips do blow
upon cool flutes within wide glooms,and sing
(of harps celestial to the quivering string)
invisible faces hauntingly and slow.

This is the garden. Time shall surely reap
and on Death's blade lie many a flower curled,
in other lands where other songs be sung;
yet stand They here enraptured,as among
the slow deep trees perpetual of sleep
some silver-fingered fountain steals the world.

Whattafall!

2007-07-19T03:29:00.000+09:00

Visiting the Niagara falls last weekend was once again an experience I'll treasure for a long time. We drove some 800 miles around scenic villages of Pennsylvania and New York. The mountainous roads gave a birds eye view of sun drenched meadows, lakes, quaint villages with occasional thunder and lightening and a full blown rainbow. We followed the river Susquehanna for most of our drive. I was also delighted to spot freight train, railway stations and crossings which made the scenes idyllic.

Sunday morning we were at Niagara falls, a two hour drive from Toronto, what caught my eye was the mist that gives an illusion of cloud formation. You get sprayed by it from miles. We took the famous maid of the mist ride which takes you close to the horse shoe fall. We spotted hundred of seagulls nesting around the rocky terrains of the river. Our drive back home was thought interstate highways so we did not pass through the villages but we did drove along lake Erie that looked liked an ocean glistering in the afternoon sun. It is one of the four great lakes in north east of US along with lake Ontario, lake Superior and lake Michigan.

I recently discovered that our apartment is on Virgina Maryland border with Potomac river being the natural border running parallel to Ashburn. Thanks to google earth and all the latest navigation systems it's a great feeling to know a bit of geography of the place you live/visit.

Did you know?

2007-07-09T04:15:00.000+09:00

Adolf Hitler was a fine artist. Take a look at his work here.
S! are you listening?!

Masterpiece

2007-07-09T03:24:00.000+09:00

Last week I had the opportunity to spend two days at the National gallery of Art in Washington DC. I spend an entire day staring at the Impressionist, couldn't decide who's work I loved the most. Cezanne, Pissaro, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh.... the list goes on.
Although the museum do not have much of their master pieces but the lesser known ones are equally engulfing and extremely though provoking. It was a challenge to decide who's print I should buy. The impressionist paved the way for abstraction of art, and gave a multi dimensional aspect to art. They painted with their mind's eye, 'how' they saw things and not always 'what' they saw. They added rich textures and vibrant colours to an otherwise mundane pallate. It can only grow from here on, my wonder for social outcasts, insane, disillusioned individuals with nimble fingers. And my love for them.

Poster Design

2007-07-05T06:24:00.000+09:00

Poster design for Teasim; a store for tea lovers.

2007-07-04T12:49:00.000+09:00

Vicaya's Museum , South Miami

2007-06-22T12:22:00.000+09:00

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last.

Written en route to the funeral for his friend, Ronnie Van Zant of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

We all will miss you, Megha.

Chic Chicago

2007-06-20T06:05:00.001+09:00

Chicago Public library

A kaleidoscope of people, throngs of high rise, blessed by a gigantic lake which offers beaches and a river flowing in the opposite direction. Thanks to the people of the city in true Chicago spirit rebuilt it bit by bit after a great fire that crumbled everything the city once offered. City of parks, city of blue and jazz, city of the Cubs and the Bulls, the windy city which had nothing to do with wind literally. One of the oldest city in America. Soaking in some sun in this otherwise ghastly cold city was a wonderful experience and so was the challenge to walk around the bustling downtown. Here are some memories.

Word it/June

2007-06-20T05:50:00.000+09:00

Happy to be on word it again, word of the month wet. Don't get turned off by some of the submissions, it's whats surrounding us and it's the truth. I am amazed to see the diversity of people posting their thoughts yet the similar emotions that binds all of us together.

ETSY is here to STEY

2007-06-06T08:20:00.000+09:00

ETSY is a online market place for buyer and sellers of handmade products worldwide, if you are a crafter, artist, designer and need a platform this is it! You don't have to be a bulk manufacturer of your work, just enlist items and see them sell. It's not free for the sellers but then it has been a tremendous success for the past two years. Etsy creates a niche for people who appreciate free and fair trade and are passionate about hand made products.
Check out millions of products to buy and enjoy the design savvy search system it offers.

Word it/May

2007-06-02T05:33:00.000+09:00

Speak Up, word it, word of the month Joy.

Appalachain Trail

2007-05-30T04:25:00.000+09:00

View of the Smokey mountain, the gusty winds blow away the pines to mere skeleton.

Jamestown-400 years of Americas.

2007-05-17T03:50:00.000+09:00

Captain John Smith the first Englishmen who crossed the Atlantic and reached the shores of Virgina.

I never knew that the English fought the native Indians or the red Indians in America, but they did around 400 years ago. I went to Jamestown, a colonial historic park some 4 hours drive from DC in Virginia. It celebrated it 400th year this May 13th. Her majesty, the Queen visited this place a week ago, and their was still a lot of hoopla left on the final day of the celebrations. An orchestra with a strength of 400 men and woman and a choir of 1607 people ranging from 9-97 yr olds. It was again a spectacularly sunny day with sea winds making the chill factor go up. Lots to see and experience at this place, the James river, the old glass house, the restored English settlements and the native Indian village are parts of the outdoor exhibits. There are lot of trivia and history to talk but I guess they'll make an excellent dinner conversation so I'll save them for later.

The Powhatans, native Americans in Virginia showcaseing their dance form.

A perfect day

2007-05-10T06:36:00.000+09:00

River Charles as seen from Harvard Bridge in Cambridge, Boston. The water could not have been any bluer.The weather was brilliant and I could not recall last time I saw such a brightly lit day.

On defining oneself

2007-05-09T03:12:00.000+09:00

Michael Crichton climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. And says:

“…..What I learned was this: that I had defined myself as a person who didn't like heights or cold, a person who didn't like to be dirty, a person who didn't like physical exertion or discomfort. And here I had spent five days cold, dirty, and exhausted; I had lost twenty pounds; and I had had a wonderful experience.

I realized that I had defined myself too narrowly.

The experience of climbing Kilimanjaro affected me so powerfully that, for a long time afterward, if I caught myself saying, “I am not a person who likes to do that activity, eat that food, listen to that music, " I would automatically go out and do what I imagined I didn't like. Generally I found I was wrong about myself-I liked what I thought I wouldn't like. And even if I didn't like the particular experience, I learned I liked having new experiences.”

I got this in my mail recently from a friend. I had a discussion on similar lines with S.

We as people are so clannish and dismiss any new or unknown social setup. Our ability to appreciate other society and culture is limited and travel is a great way to realize how most of us are comfortable in our pre-determined world with strong likes and never ending lists of dislike which even an 6 yr old can rattle without much effort.

End-of-the -world Feeling!

2007-04-25T05:53:00.000+09:00

Assateague Island, in east cost marked by Atlantic ocean, calm and composed but the cold water all year around won't make a pleasurable swim!
You can spot seals sunning in winters here or wild horses grazing on the marshy areas.

The barrenness is stark and welcoming in some ways. The unaccountably large beach almost looks like a desert but the ocean makes the picture complete.

Its not the first time for me that sea has been beckoning.

Food is on my mind!

2007-04-17T07:08:00.000+09:00

I've got a fresh food blog. Do visit and shower comments. Queries are welcomed and so are new ideas and thoughts.

2007-04-16T23:40:00.000+09:00

This decorative pot sits pretty on my kitchen top. I rescued this branch of cherry blossom plucked by kids, the blossom survived at least 3-4 days more than it would have.

I Recently picked up a book on Chinese ink paintings, bamboo
being a favorite subject with the artist. The characteristic style is almost identical across different artist as they apply the technique like a formula! The painting done with a single brush stroke without any sketching. The ink is hand grinded till this date and even the brush is hand made.
Another notable style of this painting is signature of the artist in the form of a seal which appear on the paintings.
I have tried to work on the technique but with my own set of colour and brushes.
The other popular subjects are Chrysanthemum and Plum blossom which is the national flower of China.

The painting are done on fine Chinese silk, hand made paper,
China and wood carvings. Modern day popularity has made them
available as prints on everything including shower curtains!

Sometimes old Chinese poems are incorporated along with the paintings in typical Chinese calligraphic style adding a new dimension to the whole affair.

A Flute at Evening

The dewdrops cling
to the green bamboos
like pearls.
The wind stirs lazily
in the lotuses,
and their pale red petals
flutter to the earth.

As the night creeps on the apace,
The twinkling glowworms
light my path,
and faintly, from the tower
in the east,
Calls a bamboo flute.

Huang Wan Ch'iung
Qing Dynasty

Springtime in DC mall

2007-04-11T00:48:00.002+09:00

Tulips

Daffodils, the colour i like!

Cherry blossom pictures are awaited, and so are some painting that I plan will upload them soon.The sudden cold weather have been mensing to lot of early spring blossoms, and the grey cloud cover is not a pretty site. Next week seems like a promise and I am geared up for it.

Spring

2007-04-05T01:25:00.000+09:00

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.

- William Wordsworth-1807

The Spring is here and so are the cherry blossoms, magnolias, petunias, the tulips and of course the daffodils my favorite flower above all. I was glad to witness the sun soaked blossoms and can relate to the jubilation experienced by poets and artists. I remember when as a kid i enjoyed reading Wordsworth poem 'Daffodils' and declared it my favorite flower by what i knew they looked in books. I even painted it for my mother, she being a teacher required it for her school project.

And then the other day when i first spotted a bright yellow daffodil in fact rows of it glistening in the sun my childhood memories rushed back and so did my excitement. I have tried clicking them and will upload the pictures soon.
My recent visit to the Cherry blossom festival in Washington was exhilarating. Around 3,000 cherry trees gifted by city of Tokyo to the people of Washington, DC comes to full blossom around the Tidal basic in the heart of the city. The city celebrate the onset of spring with thousand of folks enjoying the weather and the bloom.

...Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy'd the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done...
- Matthew Arnold

COLOUR

2007-03-27T04:47:00.000+09:00

I have been spending a lot of time reading the art handbooks written by Ettori Miaotti, this Italian genius talks in great detail about the basics in sketching and supply ample notes and examples. As a art student he was able to dig out a lot of information about the artist during the renaissances and post renaissance period including da Vinci, Cezanne, Picasso and the like. I'd like to share his research and some very moving insights on colour.

" Gianni Maimeri is a completely unknown artist both to Italians and to the rest of the world.
He was not willing to compromise and meet the demands of the artistic establishments he was ignored by those in the business of art but because i have read his notes and seen his work i want to bring more attention to him.
In Maimeri's notes I found an incomplete draft of his theory of colour with some definitions and interpretations of colour terms."

December 10, 1932
I would like to attempt a study of colour.To see its function after having established its character, that is, to try to define it.
Different kinds of colour
Physical Colour: specific vibration of light
Colour as material: The colored substance a painter uses.
Ordinary Colour: the tints of objects.
Painting Colour: The variations of tint that an object undergoes int he physical world and its relationship with the visual nature of the painter.
Tone Colour: The relationship between two colours within the same environment.
Pure Colour: The colour in the spectrum in its truest state.
Gradation: The colour of the spectrum with black or white added making them more or less luminous(when black is added) or more or less pure (when white is added).
Chiaroscuro: The shading from white to black of a highlighted object that is either deprived of colour or is uniform in colour.
Value: The measure of the tonal diversity among different painting colours.
Intonations:
Harmony:A constant relationship with reference to a basic colour.
Tint: A colour taken by itself, removed from its environment.
Colour tone: The chiaroscuro relationship between two colours of different tints.
Complimentary Colours: Colours to which the normal eye form a neutral colour image with their composition.
Aura: the exact repetition of a key colour around its center of interest.
Integral harmony:
Influences:
Model Colours:
Sensation Colours:
Transformed Colours:
Pointillism:
Sensory Pointillism:
Nostalgic Colours:
Meteorological Colour:

Perfume Colours:

Sound Colours:
Invisible Colours: Colours which enter a composition as an result of an aural relationship.
when we speak of colour, very common concepts are expressed with wide latitude. Like all concepts of this kind , the expression remains uncertain, especially if the proposition touches on a subject which by nature is quite specific and limited, such as thoses that deal with problems of the spirit.
..... Colour is not an unimportant superposition or an adornments of reality, and thus of art, but one of the manifestations of the essence of the thing.it is only different in the way its classified by the physicists according to certain natural laws. It becomes inseparable from reality by the perception of the artist, through whom its the act of seeing,it becomes reality, because the eye sees everything in colour.

Subject 2: Watering Can

2007-03-23T04:04:00.000+09:00

The second series of watercolor that i did has watering can as a common element.
I enjoyed working on inconsequential things like weeds growing in the neglected corners of a garden.

Subject 1: Pears and china

2007-03-10T08:31:00.000+09:00

I did a set of five paintings with the common subject of china and pears. The one here is done in mix-media using coloured paper bits, water colour and acrylic. See the full set here.

Water color

2007-03-10T08:22:00.000+09:00

My first attempt to shoot landscapes and then reproduce it with water color.
I went wrong here in several places . One very important aspect of real life is to get the time of the day right. A late afternoon shot like the one i have here has a feel of fading sunlight but I did not get the light right and so the hues don't match and you cant say looking at the painting which part of the day it is, then I guess it doesn't matter if the sketch is not an exact duplicate but it is necessary to catch the essence of the picture which I fell is missing. I hope this will help me improve on my next attempt. It'll be great to look back once i am able to overcome such mistakes.

Travel Byte

2007-03-10T04:56:00.000+09:00

Three destinations, more than three time zones, across the entire width of US. A head spinning journey, an experience of a lifetime. Across the heartlands of the Arizona deserts, the dead mountains, scanty vegetation of no mans land in Nevada, splendid lakes, rocky cliffs, snowcapped peaks, rivers, and finally the Californian sea, sand and its bay.

Driving as high as 6000-7000 ft above sea level, more than 1000 miles across three States.
Witnessed the great wonder of the Grand Canyon, the play of light and shadow, hints of native American life and the winding Colorado river in its heart.
The man made mirage in the middle of a dazzling desert. Las Vegas. Its dazzle and exaggeration takes a toll on your senses.
And finally the heady mix of the Californian sun, sand and surf. Leaving behind heat and dust we winded up our journey dipping in the cold currents of the pacific, watching dolphins and walking down a fishing pier witnessing a perfect sunset at the Ocean beach San Diego.

A memorable and a satisfying experience indeed.

NOW!

2007-02-23T08:12:00.000+09:00

Rewind

2007-02-21T05:59:00.000+09:00

Labels: Teamwork, colour red, happiness.

Frozen

2007-02-17T03:57:00.000+09:00

View of our apartment complex.

14th Feb, life got stuck, everything froze. I set out to click the snow, actually its ice, frozen and white, dangerous than snow, cant make snow balls but can slip, difficult to walk, to shovel. It like a huge freezer and you are trying to dig ice. Hell freezing thoughts.
16th Feb, its sunny very bright, it hurts, all that white icy sheets reflecting, watch out a chunk might fall and can be fatal. Cars still have icicles and so does some roof.. transparent daggers.
we are lucky we got away with two days of poor weather.
Up state New York, 13-16 feet of snow, that amount of snow get accumulated over a season this year it happened over a fortnight. House all blocked, roofs cracking due to weight so are the trees, short snow peaks now lines the road, no power, no end to icy misery.

Sneak Peek

2007-02-13T07:01:00.000+09:00

This is sure one of the most wonderful link i discovered lately.
Millions and millions of movie snippets you can watch again and again.

This too is one of my favorites.
You can even buy short films here and gift it!!!
This website has a lot of fun stuff.
ENJOY.

Two for Joy

2007-02-10T00:12:00.000+09:00

Five- Biryani, Fish curry, Calamaris, meatballs in Spaghetti & Chocolate cake.

Four- Beer, Sangria, Beer & more Beer.

Three- Mickey blue eyes, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal.

Two- Dark brown Shoes, Canvas bag.

One- maiden year of Marriage.

Uncountable- Memories

Light, Shadow and Colours.

2007-01-31T03:28:00.000+09:00

The artist who seeks glory from the ignorant masses- who only want beautiful colours- and avoids the beauty of shadows which show the marvelousness of relief in a flat object, has no understanding of the real glory of art as it is perceived by the most noble minds.
What is beautiful is not always good. I say this to those painters who love the beauty of colour so much that they intentionally paint only weak, barely perceptible shadows, insisting that this is the right way to paint.
Shadow is a more powerful force than light for it can entirely deprive objects of light, whereas light can never chase away all the shadows of object because these objects are solids.

Treaties on Painting - Leonardo da Vinci

Beauty of barreness

2007-01-31T01:33:00.000+09:00

Have you ever seen a tree complaining that i am barren, leafless for a long time.

Fresh Air Fiend.

2007-01-23T05:51:00.000+09:00

You can go anywhere you want, do anything you wish to do if you are not in a hurry. -Anon

The opposite of fun is not seriousness but reality. -Freud

Paul Theroux

The Mistress of Spices

2007-01-20T00:55:00.000+09:00

Brush the surface with your hand , and the silky yellow powder will cling to the pads of your palm, to your fingertips. Dust from a butterfly wings.
Bring it to your face. Rub it on cheek, forehead,chin. Don't be hesitant. For thousands years before history began, brides and those who long to be brides- have done the same. It will erase blemishes and wrinkles, suck away age and fat. For days afterwards, your skin will give off a pale golden glow.
Each spice has a day special to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter coloured into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.
I am turmeric who rose out of the ocean of milk when the devas and asuras churned for the treasures of the universe. I am turmeric who came after the nectar and before the poison and thus lie in between.

..The dry chili, lanka, is the most potent of spices. In blister-red skin, the most beautiful.Its the other name for danger. The chili sings in the voice of a hawk circling sun-bleached hills where nothing grows: I lanka was born of agni, god of fire. I dripped from his fingertips to bring taste to this bland earth.
Lanka, I think I am most in love with you.
...Chili, spice of red Thursday, which is the day of reckoning. Day which invites us to pick up the sack of our existence and shake it inside out.Day of sucide, day of murder.

Lanka , whose name the ten headed Ravan took for his enchanted kingdom. City of million jewels turned out at the last to ash.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Gloomy afternoon thoughts..

2007-01-10T06:37:00.000+09:00

Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton
The Amazon review says its a must buy book for those who struggle with typo. Incase you don't have the money try it online, its what they teach in print design schools unless you went to the one i did where the teacher always reminded the class that they aren't as bright as NID students whom she is an alumni.
Helpful tips,examples and typo games.

Logic and design in Art, Science and Mathematics by Krome Barratt
Powerful book on design fundamentals that touches art and maths with equal ease, great examples and explanations, informative and provocative.... I hope some brain wave will happen at the end of it all!

Looking forward to visiting the Dupont Circle, Washington DC with my camera this weekend..have noted a few must visit places, also plan to roam around aimlessly. Took notice of a hike to Mount Vermont on my way to Georgetown, walking down the key highway in rain and windy weather.

S! had something funny to say.. incase we were walking on the other side of the bridge the wind would have blown us into the icy cold water of the Potomac!! Haw haw..Last time i weighted my self i stand rock solid and i am sure so does S! with Virginia's famous Smithfield ham being an intrinsic part of his breakfast now a days.

what else.. a fully functional pantry keeps me going on a rainy 5 degree C ,Tuesday afternoon!

So I resolve...

2007-01-05T07:21:00.000+09:00

To make best of what i have, give my family joy, smiles and gifts i only give in my head, bond with new people ,open up and learn something new. To be more ORGANIZED, (key to survival) include travel literature in my readings, write more often, go running at least 3times a week, THINK,(organized thoughts) travel and document it in a better way, click better, use SLR, better my portfolio, get a better job,use measures while cooking and not be clueless about quantities, watch what i eat, drink enough water,watch more animation films closely and learn some tricks, clay model, dance?!Try my hands on new software, update my knowledge,paint, sketch, illustrate and not forget to breathe anytime doing all of above!!

A thoughtful start

2007-01-03T02:14:00.000+09:00

First day of this year i was glad to wrap up the day with a great movie. Motorcycles diaries.
The movie was in Spanish with breathtaking Latin American settings, and before i miss to mention a very handsome and skilled young actor , who's life is changed for ever after his journey that starts in Buenos Aires,where he has a big protective and loving family, and not quite end in some obscure part of Venezuela.This movie is about awakening, about how each of us can make a huge difference to this world if we look out of the well we live in.The lines that divides countries are man made demons and discrimination that is thrusted on mankind is appalling.

I also was able to finish Life of Pi in a record time.Wonderfully written; i so wanted to believe each and very part the book spells out.Staggering narration of a boy trapped in a life boat with a royal Bengal tiger!What i like most about the book is that the author had reasons for everything he says.. its does not seems a mere work of fantasy any given moment. i like to believe that everything that happens or doesn't not happen have reasons and with a mind full of this ability anyone can come across a winner. Just like Pi Patel.

Another movie, The pursuit of happiness.A very touching narration, reality stricken, in fact based on a true story about a man who chases his destiny with tides of time against him.The movie is about determination, the nothing to loose ,everything to gain philosophy. This apply to us very aptly as we give up on things which matters, without a fight... with ghosts of dissatisfactions chasing us all our lives.
Another aspect of the movie made me reaffirm my thoughts on less is more theory, the greed in us has to be beaten sooner or the world will soon bursts due to our short memory and growing desires.

I'd like many more books and movies that will make me sit up in 2007.

1..2..3..Click!

2006-12-21T02:23:00.000+09:00

Among many new fancy features that Apple is out this year Photo Booth is right out of the box, you can have a video chat with friends or family, record a video at your desk, or take fun pictures. iSight is the new in built camera featuring in the Apple's latest macbook and G5's.

Its simple and sleek and can bring out the best in you on days when things are not going your way!

Comic Life is another fun software which compliments Photo Booth very well, upload pictures directly from your photo-booth and add blurbs and text clouds just like the way you like it in comic strips.
Click here to find out more.

Errors and Trials

2006-12-15T06:54:00.000+09:00

This is what my cook book cover looks now! I am not sure if i like it this way,some more work needs to be done till i am satisfied. The idea is a simple one, i enjoy tossing my frying pan when i cook. I enjoy adding my seasoning while it sizzles, i though of depicting the process graphically.
This is a part of a self initiated project that i wanted to start for some time now.I'll like the book to have dishes I've learned over the past two decades.I'll like the book to begin with my early memories of traditional cooking at home in reference to non-resident Bengali household and gradually unveils all my influences of the cities i lived and traveled.
Currently i am able to explore a wide range of International cuisine, and it has been a very interesting series of discoveries. Thanks to my uncle who is a great source of information as well as inspiration, i have sources to some great cookery books and this phase of trying and testing has been very very satisfying.
Finally i am not sure if this fun project will ever be out in the open but sharing my learnings and experiences with friends and family for days to come is definitely a possibility.

Prima Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya-The ice cream designer

2006-09-18T20:26:00.000+09:00

Read this up its.. i enjoyed reading it so much.

ARt RAge

2006-08-29T17:21:00.000+09:00

I discovered a new painting software called ArtRage, a few days ago. It is an advanced painting software - a treat for armature painters who do not mind the usage of technology, but not too useful for high end graphic generation. The best you could do is to give oil, sketch or pastel effect to your creation.
You can download a free version available on the net but it does not provide a lot of important tools.
Here's an example:

I got to know about it through Computer arts, an UK based graphic design magazine. Check out Computer Arts for tutorials on graphic design, the latest in graphic software and cool links. My favorite bit is the Gallery, where you can upload your work of art. You can get hold of the magazine in landmark. It seems to be the mother of all graphic magazines but it is bloody expensive! (like the brits would put it).
So looking for a second hand magazine shop, I discovered this sprawling basement shop called 'Magazine' at the beginning of Church Street below the Benetton showroom. Phew! I spent a good one hour laying my hands to a dozen odd magazines I've searched for all my life, but the best part about the shop is a huge, black, fat face Persian cat you'll find sleeping over piles of dated magazines!

If not for it's colour, she resembled our very own Garfield although I must confess I was quite petrified initially and did not look hard enough to come to that conclusion. But the one hour I spent in the shop the fat ass feline just slept like a log, dreaming about lasagna. who knows!? :P

Alhough I have no affection for cats but I am sure all cat lovers must pay a visit to the shop to catch a glimpse of that huge feline not readily found otherwise in a flashy magazine store.

3-Quotes

2006-08-25T17:13:00.000+09:00

Andrew Kuntz:

"I find working with glass meditative, almost therapeutic. I can leave the world behind, and focus... The simplicity of form, the drama of rich, intense colour, the joy of challenge, and the challenge of endurance... The piece, when it is over, is not what is made, but how it is made."

Mary Pettibone Poole:

"To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it, requires brains."

Mitsugi Saotome:

"If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth."

Usage of hate

2006-08-10T13:31:00.001+09:00

My post graduate years at Nift have been very memorable; I've come across the best teachers and mentors in the course of two years.
I took up movement classes, among many other interesting workshops, in which we were oriented to rhythm, music, speech orientations, dance, expressions and the likes, it was basically a theatre workshop with inputs on music, lights, space, design, cultures, art, fashion, history and almost everything related to art and design.

I'd like to narrate a small instance that took place during a speech class. We were a class of 16 students, sitting in a big circular formation and each of us had to come up in the centre of the formation and say ‚"I dislike" we had to be clear and loud and say at least 5 things we disliked. So, all of us came up with things we disliked, form vegetables to colours to habits to people.After everybody finished our mentor made us realize that although we started our sentences with "I dislike" almost everybody ended up with ‚"I hate...." He than said something I'd never ever will forget.

Hate is a stong word, and we use it bit too often.

Rum soaked boy!

2006-07-12T18:44:00.001+09:00

In my quest to bake a cake I am trying innovation from the word go, I remembered my French teacher telling me that for Christmas, the french make cakes wherein they soak resins and apricots in wine/rum for 6 months prior to the christmas week....
I bought a quarter of dark rum and emptied it to soak figs,walnut and black currents over night. Today is day 2. Tomorrow I plan to make figs,walnut and black currents chocolate gateau. The images I have in my mind are droolable. Cant wait to get busy.
Happy Birthday S!

Slurpy Tips

2006-07-06T14:04:00.000+09:00

Butter and garlic makes a classic combinations in our daily meals like toasted garlic bread is a common accomplice with soups and stews. This combo got recently rediscovered with the popularity of Mediterranean cuisine and experimentations in my kitchen. I think once you eat a dish couple of times you'll realize that their is a recurring pattern how you must mix these ingredients while preparing it.I remember enjoying grilled fish in butter and garlic at a shack on my visit to Goa. The overwhelming flavor of smoked garlic in butter is very hard to forget.

Mashed potatoes when mixed with melted butter, crushed garlic & rosemary is an all time favorite. Typically in an Indian meal, butter and garlic forms an important ingredient but not necessarily in combination. Indian dishes are primarily curry based so the cooking methods and the mix of ingredients differs.

Take a cube of butter, crushed or chopped garlic, freshly milled pepper & salt, add this to chicken, fish, tofu or vegetables of your choice and you can grill, fry, saute, bake, chill, roast, toss, beat, cut and fold or involve any other fancy cooking method. The result will be most satisfying with negligible chance of things going wrong.

Try this; put a layer of cooked fusselli in a baking dish greased with butter, add boiled boneless chicken pieces, add some chopped garlic, top it with blanched spinach, mashed potatoes & white sauce. Sprinkle salt in the layers with oregano & pepper, finally top it with a dash of chilly vinegar and bake for 15-20 mins you'll have lip smacking dish in no time.

Me thinks even if you try saute our very own bitter gourd or 'karela' with butter and garlic it will be have a soul stirring smell you cant escape.Ofcouse you cant try adding it to carrot halwa or fondue!
Unless you have bet on it. :P

Italy upsets Host

2006-07-05T15:39:00.000+09:00

Cannavaro: Back to the fore

Italy broke German hearts in Dortmund on Tuesday when they stunned the hosts with two goals at the fag end of extra-time to go through to the World Cup final. But if the Italians were able to take the match that far it was mainly because of the unyielding efforts of their captain Fabio Cannavaro. The 32-year-old central defender, who moved to Juventus last year, displayed a cool head and came up with stout-hearted tackling to cut off whatever threats the speedy German striking duo of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski posed. So calm was Cannavaro that the Italians never felt handicapped by the absence of their other key defender Alessandro Nesta, who had to sit out of the semi-final because of an injury. Thanks to Cannavaro, Italy have conceded just one goal right through the tournament, that too an own one against the United States. His clean tackling and quick release of the ball prevented the Germans from making off-the-ball runs and splintering through. He was so quick on the ball that Germany's midfield maestro Michael Ballack was not allowed the space to maneuver and create the openings for his strikers. Born in Naples, Cannavaro has a laid-back approach but widespread popularity in the game. His positioning, timing and reading of the game has made him one of the top central defenders in the world. It is rare to see a spectacular, last-ditch, sliding tackle from the former Parma defender because he hardly ever finds himself needing to take desperate measures.

read more @ Rediff/Sport/news

I would love to take back all that I said about Italy earlier.Their game yesterday came as a pleasant surprise to everybody.it would be wonderful if they crack the finals and win the cup : )

Foul Play

2006-06-27T13:47:00.000+09:00

OK.. Switzerland is out but so should have been Italy!

I have been cheering for Italy since Italia 90'navanta (so it's pronounced) but the way they qualified yesterday for the quarterfinals was quite disgusting, Italy 's game plan have always been defense oriented but with a team like Australia they should have been more attacking.... Wrong decision by the reefer made way for their only attacking striker Matarazzi to sit out so they were reduced to 10 men and they all hurdled up defending to a bold Australian team with no conversion ability.
Sad end for Australians.
Most of the Commentators were heard saying the teams that made to the final rounds in this Worldcup doesn't look deserving at all.
Now Italy play Ukraine in Quarterfinals and I hope they should put their miserable performance to an end.
I forgot to mention France in my yesterday's post, they have performed poorly and the internal conflicts have become too obvious in the field barring the last qualifying match which they won 2-0, they play Spain today, I hope both team play with their full potential but the array of yellow and red cards that was given in recent matches can't be ruled out.

Brazil & Ghana also plays their knockout match today, the African nation have been gritty and fascinating so we might be in for a exciting match.

WorldCup Action,my predictions....

2006-06-26T13:58:00.000+09:00

The Quarterfinals...
1 Germany Vs Argentina
2 Portugal Vs England

Two major contender, Germany and Argentina fights it out in Quarterfinals, what could have been a potential semi's.. so it got to be a cracker. Germany seems to have a fair chance over Argentina.

Portugal Vs England, Potugal have all their star striker lined up with yellow or red cards, still England can't get lucky all the time.

Potential Quarterfinals...
‚Ä¢ Brazil Vs Spain
‚Ä¢ Italy Vs Switzerland

Brazil Vs Spain, Brazil will surely be able to resume their supremacy.

Italy Vs Switzerland; incase Italy manages to win over Switzerland , i don't see them going any further...

Potential Semi-Finals...
‚Ä¢ Germany Vs Portugal
‚Ä¢ Brazil Vs Italy

..... so who plays the big match?

Germany Vs Brazil
will it be a cracker or a dampener? Have to wait and watch!!

The Mango Tree Restaurant

2006-06-14T13:30:00.000+09:00

If you are planning a trip to Hampi do not miss this quaint little place called the Mango Tree restaurant.

From the Virupaksha temple ‚Äì at the heart of the town - , make a right towards the Tungabhadra ghat. About a five minute walk along this ghat should lead you to a banana plantation. Follow the narrow token of a road through this plantation & you‚Äôre at Mango Tree.

Only when you go to the rear side of the restaurant you realize that it couldn‚Äôt have been a better place to indulge in the lazy afternoon sun under the huge canopy of the mango tree right over your head. The place overlooks some fields and the riverbank. It has backrests made out of steps that form a sound low seating arrangement. You‚Äôll find heaps of foreigners resting with their legs up on what are actually the platforms for the food to be served.

Being a temple town you won't find liquor or non-Vegetarian items on the menu but you can get sumptuous pastas, au-gratin and other continental delicacies at a fair price. For those who cannot do without spicy south Indian platter, they have plenty of choices from thalis to spicy Hyderabadi vegetable masala.

What is striking about Mango tree restaurant and Hampi in general is the simple approach to life. No posh hotels or restaurants no 5-star facilities throughout the city and so it doesn‚Äôt draw to many Indian tourists.

Anyway, it feels reassuring to go back to basics. :)