Color calibration is a lovely exercise in… hair loss. I wonder if racists feel this more. Now, why do I go on and say something like this. This post was supposed to be about colors in digital painting vs. their print versions. Promise. No race politics here. You paint something digitally - choosing, or if... Continue Reading →
I've been half-mesmerized, half-envious at the way the world has been seemingly contracting into itself over the last two decades. Borders have rapidly dissolved into #travelismyreligion posts thanks to an ever-increasing interest in globetrotting. Whether to discover cultures and places they had only read about or watched on screen, general curiosity or an attempt at... Continue Reading →
The decadent aroma of the 'payesh' wafts up seductively.It is that very specific smell. You know, the kind that makes you fat before a single morsel has entered your body.One sniff, and the buttons start popping.I don't call it seductive for nothing. This bowl of unadulterated goodness, of condensed milk, rice and jaggery (among love... Continue Reading →
from kernels of ideas, a scattered assortment of bits and bobsto twine and paper wrapped packages opened with smiles and happy sobs I was once but a figment of imagination, a need perceived, a solution to a problem"what can I give someone who can buy anything they want?"a mug? a scarf? a bag or two,... Continue Reading →
Nothing soothes There is no balm The seconds slice in Like thorns Stuck Stuck Stuck in a rut I can't untangle my soul Living is slow decay that People fight against But here's me A willing victim Stuck Stuck Stuck in a rut
Slatted windows filter in Slatted rays and slatted shade Slatted love for slotted people Slatted the depths of my heart remain Dappled light through tall trees stream Dappled woven memories of you Dappled love in tiny fragments shatter Dappled, forked alleys in silent prisms of dreams Speckled coats still as the night Speckled bands' venomous... Continue Reading →
Got it into my head to paint my dining table a while back. It's taken me three months of procrastination to get here but I did get here. So now I'm a veritable genius and possible second only to Jesus. He was a carpenter, wasn't he? Whatever he made, I can upcycle and make better.... Continue Reading →
There's nothing quite like arriving at your holiday destination early morning on the first day. I've always been super possessive about vacation days. If I can fly out the night before or early morning the day of, I feel like I've gained time. I do know that's not how traveling within the same time zone... Continue Reading →
Recounting details of a trip years after the event without having jotted down any observations at the time for my great age is like recreating a Dali painting you saw all of once from memory. But I shall try nonetheless. Four of us, bright eyed and bushy tailed travelers (Yeah, right. Who am I kidding,... Continue Reading →
My story at present, albeit morbidly portrayed, is thus I shock, giggle, gossip but absolutely hate a fuss A little jaded, aged, somewhat wilted A few times cruel, in equal measure jilted Caterpillars and tadpoles grown One I named me, one I grew out of - I miss her. I mourn Lacklustre ticks and tocks... Continue Reading →
The concept of mystical green thumbed beings has always seemed a little dodgy to me. What makes one person a foliage whispering garden nymph while the rest of us are human potatoes? I resent that. So I have killed many plants over the years. Mostly neglect due to heavy work load and of course the... Continue Reading →
What makes your iridescent, savage heart tick? What annihilates you, wrings you asunder? Do you pin your hopes on the day after and through the seconds, minutes and hours, flounder-- Do you dream, and invoke your mind? Are you catatonic, your neural alleys in a deep, dark bind? Do you discover dancing shapes in wispy,... Continue Reading →
Riding a cycle used to be a survival skill. Like swimming. I hope it's in the past tense like I think it is. Why? Why do we assume there'll be a cycle at the ready during an emergency in this day and age? And you don't even have to know how to ride a bike... Continue Reading →
Prologue: Great beauty comes with a price. If one is not beautiful oneself, the acquiring of the same will incur payment of said price. Main text: People believe in nonsensical superstitions which I can convert to serve as outlets of narcissism when it suits me. Epilogue: A rather strikingly beautiful gay friend, also the ex... Continue Reading →
I always felt like a misfit in school. I was that particular brand of curiosity that was a typical chai ka baby (plantation kid = junglee snob) studying in a convent in the nearest town which was full of street smart town kids. I had never been inside a shop until I was 13. The... Continue Reading →
I am currently writing this without a functional backspace key. Yes, I navigate with arrows and 'delete' and proceed. That's what I am up against. Not much of a thug life, this. I am also currently unemployed. Physically not homeless, but mentally, irrefutably so. Hence the title. The state of homelessness - usually observed as... Continue Reading →
The year was almost up and instead of writing up bucket lists and resolutions, and ten equally urgent errands I was sat there watching Spectre because if not Daniel Craig, then who? It's just another day, guys. Another day preceded by merrymaking and alcohol. And why not! At least my New Years lantern did not... Continue Reading →
I was very recently recommended a show. Okay, no, I was told about one casually and being the show whor enthusiast that I am, I of course had to start watching it. Yeah, it isn't the best show, but I have to watch it through. Commitment, etc. All 2 seasons worth. Of course. It's called... Continue Reading →
The thing about higher roads is that they seldom lead you anywhere but the very lonely, angry pinnacle. Recently, a friend and colleague of mine sermonized to me, during a meeting no less, in a very concerned manner, about why I should get married soon, preferably by the time I'm 35 as otherwise there'll be... Continue Reading →
My 20s. Manners. A time without bills. Will to window shop.
I woke up this morning and examined my nose for warts. Unmarried 30yr old spinsters are dangerously close to the witchy warty stages of life. People have almost stopped asking you when you're going to marry. They've determined underlying plumbing issues to be the cause of this affliction and bestow upon you furtive unabashed looks... Continue Reading →
I still cannot remember my alternate career epiphany. But, then I am partially blonde now so it's more difficult for me to remember things. Well meaningless clichés wasn't the point of this blog post. India's Daughter was. Heard of it? Well now you have. Go watch it. Well, here's the thing. You seemingly can't watch... Continue Reading →
I recently had a conversation with some friends at work about alternate careers. My initial answer was "critic" - books, food, people, places - I would love to write about any of these with my very critical, cynical, catty world view of course. And then later, I had this brilliant, mind-blowing epiphany about what I... Continue Reading →
Turns out I am terrible at addictions. Couldn't sustain a smoking habit every time I tried. I am however very good with short term obsessions. Current object of my obsession is Cillian Murphy. I cannot stop cyber stalking this insanely private person. But to be fair, more than him, it's Thomas Shelby I am after.... Continue Reading →
Oh, look, it's almost the third month of the new year. This means 2 things: 1. It's March tomorrow. 2. I have 2 months left till I turn 30.
I recently watched Interstellar. And I am reeling since. I also feel insignificant and pretty useless in the general scheme of things. Yeah. Oh, and my flatmate managed to dislocate her knee cap and I am the designated Florence Nightingale. Okay, back to Interstellar. After many glasses of Chenin Blancs, I am of the opinion... Continue Reading →
Now my life can be divided into eras. The pre-phall and the post-phall. And no, I'm not misspelling the American season. Sigh. Gotta go get me some more phall soon. I had a plate of phall during Eid. At Rs.100 a plate, I thought it decent. A nice dish. Then I had the Rs. 40... Continue Reading →
First there's the wedding boom, and then, the baby boom. You can't escape it. It's everywhere. It starts as an innocuous wedding invite here, a status update there, honeymoon pictures on your feed (seriously, no one needs to see those), and then, boom! You're an 'auntie' to 50 newborns. I cannot log into my Facebook... Continue Reading →
Okay, I'll try to not to make this one a rant/hate list. Okay, drawing a very solid blank here. Absolutely nothing comes to mind. Well, there you have it, I am a born ranter. I am one of those scowlers that turn each day into doomsday and mutter unhappily under their breath. In my defense... Continue Reading →
Growing old is not pleasant. One has to deal with aches in body parts one didn't previously know existed. I suppose I mean 'older', not 'old'. I am not old (crossing arms, then my fingers...and toes), but definitely older than I would like to admittedly be. What is the cut-off age for 'oldness' though, I... Continue Reading →
I recently came across this list of things which are an absolute no-no in a man I may want to meet/marry/divorce someday. The obvious things like pathological lying, cheating, wife-beating, drug using, snobbery, eating noisily with mouth open, being shitty at parallel parking etc., I am leaving out. Okay, so this is more a specific... Continue Reading →
So I was at home on holiday/sabbatical/downtime etc. And at home one must do/eat/watch what the 'homies' decree, which I am more than happy to do cause it saves me the trouble of deciding for myself. Yes, the Taurean downtime brooks no activity. None. Recently, a channel called Zindagi orbited into my mother's Anandi/Simar/Madhubala dotted... Continue Reading →
The grains shift, glitter & cascade Filter down half remembered peepholes The relentless ticking melts chords into silence The forked tongue of the past hisses and the air grows still How did this luminescent skin wither? Around my ankles the relentless slither Time runs out, only memories linger Undulating, swirling, the faces dissolve Laughter echo... Continue Reading →
Job Openings! I haven't been writing recently cause I have no time. I have no time because I am inundated with work and need bright young things to help me. If you want me to write more and/or are a bright young thing living in (or would like to relocate to) Bangalore, please send in... Continue Reading →
I don't know a lot about my inherited religion or the associated menagerie of gods. At this point, my grandmothers would frown and nudge me and say "your gods, not 'the' gods". Well, I don't know them well enough and any degree of possessiveness would be farcical. I know of them and something of their... Continue Reading →
How does one remake one's life to get out of a godawful funk? Well, that's easy, you just... err... Okay, so here it is. There is no, forget easy or hard, 'way' to remake/reboot one's difficult situation. You can try and think for a short delusional time that you're putting on a brave enough front... Continue Reading →
Haha! I love the randomness 🙂
The mother of all waylays. On a quick trip to Commercial Street to pick up a few necessities in what can be best described as deathcab for Priya (sorry, Sonu, you have got to calm down :P), we end up buying pretty outfits in Fab India and then a prolonged lunch in a very Halloween... Continue Reading →
I used to love the old DD (Doordarshan) public service message ads. The favourite one being the one about conscientiously wearing a helmet while riding a bike. A serious voice would declare: "Marzii hai aapki akhir sarr hai apka..." while a brawny arm smashed two coconuts on a split screen with a huge hammer. One... Continue Reading →
Kim Kardashian is getting married again. But this time I suppose the cause is noble(r). I do admit I like her with the blonde hair. Somehow it makes her look less vapid. If that were a possibility, that is. Her recent selfie in the white swimsuit (I would like to see someone do a freestyle... Continue Reading →
I know most evil geniuses are allowed long and fascinatingly magnificent monologues of extremely frightening proportions just before they are thwacked out of their skulls by the goody two shoes in red over underweyar. Most showcase cunning and eveeeil. Some give a vivid display of hitherto unimagined dexterity of careful fore-planning. Some are repetitive yet... Continue Reading →
This is what my yellow shoes would have taken me to see had I been there. Rekha Chitrakumar's gorgeous paintings with which I've fallen in love. The play of colours, vivid movement and form is breathtaking. Hosted by Kalarasa Art House in Bangalore now in an exhibit called 'Silent Hues'. Go check out her art... Continue Reading →
Bad times come in rapid relentless succession. Saddled with a month old baby, the Delhi Goswami contingent is going through a bout of phenomenal bad luck. A month old niece who doesn't sleep unless rocked and barely lets her mom rest, a brother who contracted dengue while crusading for the resurrection of a neighbourhood park... Continue Reading →
Recently my yellow shoes took me to a mini hunt for clay pots (with corresponding saucers - somehow the concept be lost on the fancy 'gardening' shops who have the design aesthetics of a tellytubby! But that's the subject for another rant). We met a surly gentleman who was convinced everything was too expensive for... Continue Reading →
My day started reliving my Asda/Tesco/Sainbury visits. The huge ones. The ones you can run down teeming aisles of. The ones where you think of a product and you find it. I found my slice of retail (sub section:grocery) heaven: Metro super market. After an hour of deliberation and deep thought over err a number... Continue Reading →
After months of waiting and plotting & planning and mounting anticipation came to us wrapped in a green hospital blanket and a scrunched up wrinkly leetil thing. Me very first, brand new niece: Aaradhya "Sana" Goswami. Now a month old, an extremely feisty, determined pink bundle ushering in the best kind of phases in every... Continue Reading →
Hello, happy world 🙂 (see, getaways are a major mood enhancer. Have you ever encountered such a happy greeting from me before?) My fleeting visit to Mangalore started with light rains, followed by a promising pink blush of dawn staining the horizon dotted with tiled roofs fringed by coconut palms and a sleepy Shona picking... Continue Reading →
There is so much to be said about good poetry, if only I was as adept with words as those who write it, I would gladly pen them down. As I wind down a busy Saturday, with nary a thought in my head nor the will to do much else, tonight I read Eliot. And... Continue Reading →
I started this blog because I was in the habit of writing poetry on bits of paper and then, not surprisingly, losing them. Then I started emailing them to myself, then losing them in the inbox. The idea of a blog was long overdue by the time it actually started, but at the outset it... Continue Reading →
Cooking leads to untold happiness. Mostly manifesting visually in the specific areas of body where mysterious lumps form overnight. It also leads to manifold miseries (and domestic violence). I am not talking just about hot oil splatter on now unflinching skin or vegetable chopping a.k.a. the most boring job in the world. I am in... Continue Reading →
Priya Goswami 