Monday 30 April 2012

In time

Just yesterday, I was thumbing through (well not literally... what do you expect in this digital age?) some photographs from last year's trip and I stumbled upon some photographs that I hadn't processed, uploaded or shared with anyone. Going through them, I realised that back then I'd let them be because I wasn't sure they were good enough and also because by the time I got around to this last set of photos, I felt everyone had heard enough about my trip... I really couldn't stop talking about it back then!!!

But then as I browsed through these pictures yesterday, I saw a story emerge. The story that I had observed personally as I went to visit the floating villages on the Great Lake in Cambodia and had managed to capture to some extent in the pictures. A year ago, each photo was an individual moment in time, capturing a part but not the whole of that experience (it was one of the experiences that touched me the most on that trip simply because taking a boat down that river, all on my own, brought me a serenity that is often hard to come by). Yesterday, seeing the photos again, I could see what had amazed me and the story that I wanted to tell of a life lived so differently from anything I know and of the incredulousness that I felt at some of the things I saw -Churches, Schools, A restaurant, a tourist shopping complex - all floating in the middle of an humongous lake!

Sometimes, distance and time are good things I suppose.

The set of six photographs that I finally uploaded out of this lot is on my flickr stream.

Itchy fingers


Next room makeover idea!What a beautiful study!

So this seems to happen to me every time I have a new place to go to, a new home or room to set up. Last year when I was shifting out from Mumbai to Chennai, I spent hours browsing the internet for interesting ways to do up my bedroom. Some of that fructified, others didn't (I did end up with a pink and blue bedroom complete with butterflies on a wall and color coordinated pin boards that I made myself).
Love the colors!
As I get ready to move to Mumbai again, I am back to browsing a dozen websites for ideas and inspiration on what to do. This time I am actually toying with the idea of taking an unfurnished apartment and see how little (or more) I can do it up in (within the constraints posed by rental accommodation of course!). So I am browsing not only for inspiration but also for little do-it-yourself tips and tricks.
Now where can I find some of these?

I am keen to see which of these many many ideas, collected over the last few months and the many more that I am going through now I'll end up using. But I'm all for a pastel, soothing, feminine home filled with lovely lights (I spotted two funky lamp stores on my last trip to Mumbai and they are definitely getting visits from me).

I am also toying with the idea of taking the sewing workshops at the Hab Store and making at least some of my own cushion and pillow covers and other knick knacks to put around the house.

Now all I have to do is find the house and wait the one month till I can get going on transforming it.

Note: All pictures from my pinboard on Pinterest

Saturday 28 April 2012

To think or not to think

We live in age of self-reflection, analysing every aspect of our work, micro-commentating on our own lives online, reading articles urging us to ponder what makes us happy. Much of this may be worthwhile, but we also need to put thinking in its place. Djokovic’s return was both the culmination of his life’s effort and an expression of careless joy. It kinda worked. 

We are often told not to be worry warts - and for good reason too. As this article from Intelligent Life magazine points out, thinking or rather over thinking hampers the decision making power of the brain. David Eagelman also makes a case of intuitive decision making, based on prior learning or experience.

It is perhaps, then not a surprise that hyper connectivity, the constant need or pressure to articulate with language what may be going on in our minds is leading to an increasingly cynical and pessimistic generation. A generation that finds it difficult to simply "be". As we become slaves to logic, we are losing touch with a much more important tool to living - our emotions and intuition - that take thought leaps based on information that we already know. 

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Friday 13 April 2012

Past present future

Down a long winding road I met you when I was not expecting to meet anyone. I even tried to shake you off. You persisted. And here you are.

I search the nights for your hand now... to walk with the waves crashing in the backdrop, a little ice chilling our throats in the balmy summer.

It's been a long time since I looked closely at you. I no longer need to look to see. We know every line, every frown, every smile. Each wrinkle is a memory along that long winding road.
 

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