A talent to watch out for!

I don't know if it is because I consciously kept away this year, but I really didn't feel the buzz of fashion week! It just came and went without any major brouhaha. I dropped by the other day to see two completely new designers - I loved Anuj Sharma's origami dresses! The next show was one hour late, so I bunked it and instead walked around the showcase area, where each designer had a boutique-like space.

I chanced upon the booth of a young designer duo, Rahul & Firdos (Rahul Mishra and Samar Firdos). These two are still studying at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, but have already gone places, and will travel even higher, I am sure. From the moment I walked into their booth, Rahul drew my attention to their designs and started talking about their work with refreshing passion and enthusiasm. It was so incredible to hear someone so new and talented speak without a trace of arrogance about introducing new techniques, working with local craftsmen, and creating magic on a very small budget, yet having the guts to forego sales until they get their due profit.

Also at the booth were a bunch of young girls helping out, from both the boy's families, and a gentleman who, as far as I understood, helps them with chikankari work. It was heartwarming to see the support and team effort. But most of all, it was a welcome change from the "I'm too important for you" attitude of fashion week. I hope these boys never lose their humble approach! Definitely a talent to watch out for!!!

I could have bought and worn every single design on display. Not only were the clothes very wearable and yet spelt killer chic (off-white, Indo-Western cuts with beautiful subtle chikankari work on semi see-through fabric, very light, excellently structured to flatter a woman's body at the right places), but their USP was truly amazing - almost no seams!!! Rahul showed me pieces where there was absolutely no stitching on the shoulders, underarms and on the front. It supposedly not only saves tons of fabric, but it helps envelop the body like a glove!

The duo also refuses to use China-imported silks for their other creations.

Photos courtesy nowrunning.com

Rahul & Firdos stuff is available at AZA, at Kemps Corner in Bombay. Definitely worth a look!!! AND your money!

Cooking Indian is not for sissies... like me

Last night I tried to cook mutton rogan josh for Gurtaj's birthday and it turned out a complete disaster. The kitchen was smouldering hot (how the heck does my cook do this on a daily basis??); it took me half an hour to just lay out the ingredients (separately for the "meat", "paste", "vegetables"), measure and grind them; I found out half the stuff was missing, so I had to run to the neighbours to borrow it. And finally, I ignored the instruction of cooking the meat for two hours (!) and of course it turned out completely undercooked! We finished by eating out and getting into a fight. LESSON LEARNT: On the next special occasion I would rather gift my husband with a pleasant wife, rather than a 5-star meal. AND I will stick to things I know rather than experimenting!

Join the club!

There's a club in Bombay called Breach Candy. Right next to the hospital of the same name, it is THE place to be a member if you are a European passport holder in Bombay. Until a few years ago, membership was opened only to Europeans and it was dirt-cheap. But I refused to become a member because the whole concept seemed really racist to me. When I finally woke up and smelt the humungous salt water infinity pool, the first class gym and the crepes counter, membership fees had increased ten fold and the waiting period is a year or more. Anyway, my papers are still waiting for approval, and I had blissfully forgotten about it till last Sunday, when I went there for lunch with Steph, Karine, Jill and Sheerine. Apart from the obvious 'kicking myself' feeling, I realised something funny and surprising. Once again I felt how I juggle my life between two realities. First of all, it seemed that half of Paris has migrated to Breach Candy Club for a day. At the pool, dads in shorts were feeding babies, moms in itsy bitsy bikinis were sunbathing (one of them without qualms displaying a huge scar across her stomach, another couldn't care less that her legs were not waxed) or chatting with their best gay friends. Skins were all possible shades of white and pink. I was surprised to realise that I was in total sensorial shock! Had I become more Indian than I ever thought??? This public display of self freedom and comfort with one's own body suddenly felt so alien, like something from another era. In some corner of my mind something clicked - 'yes, you lived in Paris in the past and yes, that was your everyday!' and 'yes, now you live in a place where you wouldn't even dream of wearing sleeveless if your arms are not waxed, and where you would ask the pool boy to put your chair behind the bushes at the Bombay Gym, so that you can sunbathe in a bikini. Where you would rather pinch yourself before displaying affection publicly to your husband, forget about asking him to feed the baby while you are having a chocolate crepe with your friends'.
Then the conversation went about where to find organic beef, frozen blueberries and some complicated cheese. And about going back to Paris followed by tearful reunions with stilettos and clean streets.
I almost felt dizzy trying to juggle the conflicting feelings in my head. It was like I was hearing someone from the past, who was yet in my present and part of my present, yet my present could not be more different. Did you get it? Neither did I! Let's just say it was a funny reverse cultural shock.

Yoga-ing my way to happiness

Well after I wrote about alcohol intoxication, let me elaborate a bit on what puts me down to earth. I have been doing yoga for about two years now. A lot has been written on yoga and the amazing way it makes you feel. I have no choice but add my bit to it, as yoga has really awakened in me feelings, qualities and thoughts that I have never imagined were possible.

I started yoga with a friend. I felt so terribly clumsy and bored, that from the moment the session started, I was already thinking of the moment it would end and I will go home. It was a disaster. I never thought it would last two years, and I never thought I would be able to sustain it. I still don't do it by myself, like I am supposed to, but I enjoy every minute with Rama Ji, my teacher.

She slowly and gently broke my body's resistance, and taught me how by simply breathing I can clear my head, bend a bit more, get a kick of oxygen in my brain to last me the hole day. During yoga sessions, I have had memories of early childhood, brilliant ideas, and many, many good thoughts. It has changed my attitude towards certain things - mainly taught me to let go. And it makes my face glow to an extent that Gurtaj claims that after every yoga session I look like a different person.

How can a series of movements combined with breathing can achieve all that, I have no idea. I sometimes try to imagine the ancient sages sitting under their trees and getting ideas of postures and stretches. It's a mystery how they created this science. But one thing I know for sure - nothing in yoga feels unnatural. And as you progress, the movements become an extension of your body.

I love the way my teacher makes me stop during a pose and observe what is happening within my body and mind. This is when I stop being a machine and actually listen to my deepest self, sense muscles that I didn't know existed, listen to my breathing, learn to "read" my body.

I just want to end up on that note: I recently found out that whatever she charges, Rama Ji gives to charity. She doesn't feel right making a commerce of something she considers her vocation and duty.