Hola Mexico!!

I've been busy working on a whole bunch of quirky colourful Mexican themed designs for my friends at Uba Tuba the spanking new Mexican restaurant thats just opened off Chapel Road in Bandra.Love their delicious Mexican food and salads,their cold pressed juices are to die for.So if you are floating around Bandra be sure to drop in and taste their food.

Heres a sneak peek into what some of the designs,theres so much more!!

Painted,packed,sealed and on their way to Uba Tuba

Gecko Love

I know quite a few people are grossed out or afraid of lizards,I'm not I love their bodies and the contorted shapes they make as they silently go about their business.Theres something mesmerising about their little feet and translucent bodies.Don't get me wrong I'm not obsessed with them but I'm not averse to having a friendly lizard share my room.A few years ago I got two Geckos tattooed on my hand,by a brilliant artist friend of mine I loved the style so much decided to paint one for my wall.

My friendly companion in my old home

Across the seven seas

He docked his ship on my shores,
A passer by with hours to kill,
He told me of tales from lands far far away,
A knock on the door and I invited him in,
I watched as he washed his wounds in my home,
Shed his skin and sipped his drink,
Nursed my thoughts and rubbed my skin raw,
He left at daybreak,breaking more than he knew,
He broke down the walls for only himself to see,
Peeped inside and felt the space,
Held my hand and kissed my face,
With his leaving he took a part of my soul,
I stood there with broken bits in my palm,
Awaiting his return.

Quirky colourful Saturdays

Today was the most super fun,colourful Saturday I've had in a while.Spent most of the day listening to some awesome music and going crazy with some new colourful art pieces.

This piece i painted on one of my dads old vinyl records

There are some words or lines i connect with and rapture is one of them[non-biblical],so thought i do the needful and creatively capture all the feelings it elicits.

Have a whole bunch of designs I'm planning to do just for my own jollies!!Stay tuned more tones of colour coming your way!!

How to grow a woman from the ground-Punch Brothers

Today was my lucky day i guess chanced upon Punch Bothers-How to grow a woman from the ground,love their sound and their lyrics!

Another one by the Punch Brothers-Reptilia

Bombay to Bangkok

Here's a customised piece for someone who is looking at gifting this kettle to a friend who is relocating from Mumbai to Bangkok.She wanted to incorporate elements of Mumbai,the adorable rickshaw being one and the BEST bus being the other,with little personalised messages for her friend.I personally love doing customised pieces,it in a small way allows you to contribute towards something heartfelt that one person is doing for another.Also in this fast paced world I really appreciate people who invest in relationships and take the time to personalise gifts for their loved ones.

Crackling!!

Have you ever heard the crackle of electric wires as they sway like swings abandoned by impatient children?It's a surreal feeling walking below them...So much power just waiting to be unleashed...to light up homes and lives...

I feel like an electric wire today as i sway to the rhythm of life,carefree and ready for a new adventure!!

Holding my dreams close to my heart I swing higher and higher to the point of tipping over!!Dreams that come alive when the world sleeps and the mind wanders into the wonderful world of the unknown...Where magic takes over and reality is so far away!In the twilight i sit with arms stretched high in the hopes of touching delicate candy floss clouds!Take a ride on a whispy white cloud to new possibilities...

Love the crackling of electric wires, the weaving of dreams built on webs of a future untold!!

Uba Tuba-You can almost taste it!_Mexican cuisine,cold press juices and salads

The men behind the scene who made sure we got our orders on time

How can we forget the man of the hour,Shardul my very dear friend who made it all happen!!

Yes I did the unthinkable i caught them mid bite,my bad

The happiest chirpiest two people i've ever met!!

So this is what i was upto to last Saturday,a very dear friend of mine is on the brink of launching his very own restaurant in Bandra called Uba Tuba,its got some to die for Mexican cuisine,cold pressed juices and delicious salads on the menu.For all the heath conscious, pro locally sourced people out there this is a must try!!Uba Tuba is located on St.Sebastian road near Lilavati[off Chapel Road]For starters am soon proud of him for taking the leap of faith and going in guns a blazing, can't imagine all the things he has on his plate[besides the yummy food of course ;) ]


Last Saturday we had a little informal food tasting at the restaurant,this was my first ever food tasting and i had such a blast!!Not only did I get to taste some super delicious Mexican dishes we actually got to create our very own cold press juices,my absolute fave was the watermelon-cucumber-basil,super excited about all the other concoctions we can create in the future!!Had some really interesting people drop in and had some really interesting conversation to match!!

Here's a sneak peek into Uba Tuba,still under the wraps awaiting the launch date!!

Birdies are all ready to fly away

A weekends worth of work and these little birdies are all set to fly all the way to the United States to find a lovely new home!! Fly little birdies,fly!!

Train Spotting

I love train travel! i know it sounds weird for anyone whose traveled in the Mumbai trains,but a train ride never fails to entertain me!Here are some interesting observations on Mumbai local train travel! Njoy!!!  

Train surfing
The act of hanging precariously onto any surface of a train that allows for grip while the train is in motion.Window grills,doors,on top of compartments and last but not the least onto other people!

Butt seat barging The desperate attempt of squishing a butt into the fourth seater in a train.

Train peeking
The restless tip toe to the edge of the platform in the hope of wooing a train to speed up its arrival.

That unceremonious clanging
The incessant chanting accompanied by the clanging of bells usually seen in the early morning trains.The more crowed the train the feverish the chanting and clanging! 

Face tickle therapy 
The strands of deviant hair from the person in front of you, that makes it their mandate to tickle your face as you hang out of the train.

Deep tissue revitalizing treatment 
That unwanted,all intrusive full body massage, as a result of a number of sweaty bodies, in a little to close of comfort proximity.

Armpit space-maker 
The act of creating enough of space to breathe by making sure those around you cant.Letting your stinky armpits do the talking!

Head Shouldering
People using your shoulders as their head rests,this applies to the vertically challenged[like myself]

Jhatka Alarm
People who've nodded off to sleep suddenly losing their balance and waking up with a start.

Chindi Page 3's
People borrowing your Bombay Times, while you read the main newspaper.

Idyllic Saturday afternoons

This is what idyllic Saturday afternoons look like,Tracy Chapman in the background,a pot of tea brewing merrily in the kitchen.Paints,brushes and lots of colour!!This teapot is work in progress one of six teapots I'm supposed to finish soon,four down two more to go.

Colour overdoes,guess i got a little carried away!!Did this on a 4x4 piece of plywood.Love what happened to my fingertips even more!!!

With the setting of the sun,there was more to finish or attempt at finishing,so i have an embarrassing number of pieces i have left unfinished.For some reason today seems like a good day to attempt at finishing them.

You will never know until you try!!

I have the worlds cutest maid ever!!She's new and speaks in a weird dialect of Marathi I can barely understand.Today I was making myself a cup of tea[one of the very many i drink in a day] and asked her if she'd like some,her reaction was so pure and strange at the same time,she looked away coyly and started blushing.For half a second I wondered if she understood me correctly,didn't she think i was suggesting something else? I was only offering her a cup of tea!With the immense need to clarify any confusion I told her I'm making myself a cup of tea and I'm going to make you one,to which she giggled and went back to work.

With a pipping hot cup of tea ready, I handed her the cup and plonked myself down on the nearest chair signally her to take a seat as well.To my astonishment she shook her head and sat down on the floor,now I was the uncomfortable one and decided to join her on the floor,which in turn made her uncomfortable.

We could have gone on and on, for eternity switching places to sit.It beaks my heat to see someone living in a urban metropolitan  city like Mumbai,feel so unworthy and think so little of herself that she can't sit on a chair in the house she works for.That got me thinking about a lot of the things we do or don't do in life,there are so many times we don't say what's on our mind,express how we feel or don't do things,simply because we don't think we are worthy of that.

I used to be someone who couldn't think twice about talking to someone and expressing myself,but after a while and a couple of good hard knocks life felt the need to send my way,something in me changed.I wasn't so surefooted,always questioning my thoughts and never fulling expressing myself.But off late I've decided to dispose of the veil,that i thought protected me from other people and go back to the person I was,just because I was Worth It and owed it to myself!


The last couple of weeks have been pretty weirdly interesting,so me at my gung ho best, decided to quit the project I was working on,after meeting a very dynamic and inspiring person who i hope to work with and learn so much from in the future,plunge into the turbulent unknown with no life jacket,push myself,transcend the boundaries of my mind and just go with my gut.

I've also taken the chance and asked some really interesting people if i could meet with them to have a quick talk[most of these people I barely know or have met enos ago] knowing all to well that they might just say,sorry love I just don't want to,or don't have the time for it.So far every single person I've asked has said yes and I've had the immense pleasure of engaging in some really insightful and interesting conversations.People have shared their stories,bared their souls and connected so honestly for fleeting moments i caught myself thinking am i worthy of their time and blatant honesty especially from people i barely even know.


To a future, of hopefully less blunders and more interesting and honest conversation!!And most importantly to my adorable maid its now become my life's mission to make you a cup of tea and sit with you everyday,till you are comfortable sitting on chair and sipping a cup of tea with me.

Art is a lie

Met up with a friend yesterday and had a very interesting conversation about the correlation between creativity/creative process and destruction/despair.He is also is a creative person and dabbles in film making,photography,writing and art amongst other things.I have to add, that meeting him yesterday was like a breath of fresh air,I had only met him once before in Goa about two years ago for only a couple of minutes ,but we stayed in touch through various social media platforms.It's so nice to met someone who isn't wearing a mask,is totally honest,full of optimism and willing to share so much of himself and his experiences with someone he barely knows.[i guess I don't were masks either so conversation flowed effortlessly]

A couple of drinks down and conversation as always, took a turn for the more personal, where we were both discussing about how break ups have this overwhelming ability to elicit extreme emotions,in his case it would have such a crippling impact that he wouldn't be able to work at that moment of time[not always] and ironically for me it was a more of a cathartic release of sorts.The creative process however, was tear stained and painful,but the resultant art that came out of those moments of vulnerability,would almost be like telling a lie to anyone who saw them without knowing what I was going through.I wouldn't want to take back or regret having felt so intensely at that moment in time, but we were both wondering about creating art but at what price?As creative artists or beings do have have to hit rock bottom,break even, to then be able to rise from the ashes and create art and if so would our lives just be a scattering of emotional turmoil for eternity?

"We all know Art is not the truth,

Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth."

                                                     - Pablo Picasso

Charles Bukowski in his blatantly honest,cut and dry style has this to say.

I lost the rudder at sea one day,
As mighty winds shredded sails,
No compass in hand,
Floating on a sea of memories,
The sea cradles me  in her bosom,
The gentle rocking soothes my soul,
I rest my tired head on imaginary shoulders,
And whisper sweet nothings to the sea turtles,
The only company i keep,
Salt crusted brows frown at the sun,
Its going to be a long way home.

Another brilliant piece by Mia Hollow

Projectiles of life

I sometime feel we are just objects thrown from one situation to another,one emotional platform to another..We live our whole lives in this never ending swinging to and fro,round and round...and sometimes we are flung so far out it seems impossible to get back to any sort of equilibrium...I sometimes think i subconsciously thrive on the plunging myself into the unknown.

I have this innate need or want to meet interesting people and in the last couple of months have had the immense pleasure of working with some really unique,divergent and dynamic minds.Theres no headier rush than having a reaaaaalllyyy interesting conversation with someone,where you walk away feeling enriched.This brings to mind a quote i read a long time ago by Bill Nye

"Everyone you will ever met knows something you don't"

Today i took a chance and messaged someone who i've spoken to a couple of times over the phone but met only once and was audacious  enough to ask him if i could meet [non-work related] just to pick his brains.Lucky me he complied!!I think in this day and age of having the access to technology that in a way breaks down and eliminates geographical boundaries we need to leverage it to build new connections,have more and more interesting conversations,meet and converse with like minded people or more interestingly people who have completely different points of view all in an attempt at enriching ourselves.

Back to the conversation earlier today,considering I've been thinking a lot about new possibilities to the point to mental and physical exhaustions it was a delighful meeting.He's a really busy man but was sweet enough to spend at least an hour with me discussing so many interesting options i wouldnt have even imagined or considered and to add icing to the cake met two lovely ladies who shared so much about their lives and choices in an attempt to reiterate i'm not alone when it comes to trying out new things.

My take away from todays experience has been,theres no harm in asking someone for something[nothing material, I'm not that kind of person but time in this case]whats the worst that can happen they'll say I'm sorry I'm too busy to meet with you.Also the more people you meet only enriches your limited time on this planet so go out there make new connections,say whats on you mind,converse,have opinions that are different and most importantly follow you heart.

Increasingly we'll all learnt to wear mask as a self defence mechanism.

Masks of anger with war paint and gnarly expressions
Masks of indifference like a pantomime with no emotion,totally redundant
Masks of fake laughter big clowinsh smiles,over exaggerated and over the top
Tear stained masks which leave tiny droplets waiting to roll off the chin
Masks of bravery,staunch expressions of valour and battle scars to show,like we are  perpetually waging a war with humanity
Masks of pain like a pin-prick that lasts for eternity
Masks of worry,drilling deep gorges into our foreheads in the hopes of paving the way for clarity of thought
Masks of shame like wilted petals on a once beautiful flower gravity forcing itself on us
Masks of restlessness like a buzzing bee with a sugar rush

If we only dropped the masks,even if that means letting someone into your life,even if you are vulnerable we'd all have truer relationships and richer lives because of it.If theres one thing detest the most is fake people,people who use,manipulate and lie to themselves more than anyone else.

So at this unearthly hour here's to taking chances to make connections!

The bubble life

We create  little bubbles of sanity in this chaotic,insanely fast paced city, for me my bubbles comprise of family,close friends,moments spent alone listening to music or doing what i  love ,which is painting.Every once in a while there comes along a bubble burster, one of those people who love to create drama and disruption.Last weekended i happened to bump into an old friend who said something quite hurtful[I'm going to give him the  benefit of doubt and say unintentionally] but like any sensitive person it shook me up inside resulting a flurry of thoughts about whats become of humanity?can you really trust anyone anymore?why should i be nice to mean people?

I hate when i get into this zone,I'm normally quite an optimist,luckily over the past two days i've had the absolute honour to meet or talk to some amazing people old and new,who've gone out of their way to be nice!!Its so refreshing and so simple,i don't understand why we don't do it more often!!


I've decided i have to value myself and my time a little more, life's really too short to indulge or waste a moment of my time keeping the company of such people.

Here's to saying no and not giving two hoots!!And living a happily in my little bubbles of joy!!

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