My memories of hills go back as far as i can remember from my first memories as a kid.Perhaps my affinity for hilly regions are because of living(when i was one year old) and travelling across through many hilly regions/making yearly visits to the temples with family,most of which are located in hilly areas.

It didn't mean anything to me as a kid when i'd rather couch in my urban environ in front of the tv/play with my neighbour friends and their cousins instead of going to places far off with my parents and my brother whose idea of fun was to torture me.It's almost as if i had felt nothing for it.

It was a strange withdrawal feeling when i realized that i had almost reached the city after a two-day away to the hills. As rushes of my weekend whirled past my train of thoughts i began to wonder if it actually spoke of my dread for returning back to the world of mass consumption and more so because that puts me in a place when my choices/decisions would invariably be influenced by it.
Sometimes a transition in places can put things in perspective...I am not sure if it has given me an alignment but has definitely rekindled my love for the hills and all those things that i have learnt from it which are hard to put on words.

Someday

It's been more than a year i started reading Shantaram,but i still haven't done with it.I can't seem to decide if it's the book(although i enjoyed reading most of the half it is just too big a book for my liking) or just my new found companion-procrastination!Sometimes it's also hard to reason why,like in this case i don't know why i am being put off with completing the book.I sense my logical ability derated.
The book is a heady mix of mumbai's culture/anatomy and the exhilarating life of a convict turned fugitive.Cultural fiction/non-fiction being one of my fave genres i should have completed the book in a go.
It's amusing how there always a flurry of excuses scurrying through my mind when i ruminate over incompletion of things!But i feel dogged enough for now to fasten atleast a few loose ends.

On our way back from Khalo dhordo we stopped by at a hamlet adjoined to the main market of Khavda,it's primary population is potters.The family we visited has been keeping up with the tradition since 3 generations and i think that there has been outside help from which they have developed designed wares and painted clay articles. It was surprising to see rolls of bubble wrap,these little things has taken me aback at times! Commercial sensibility/intervention in a place which is the least populated regions of india,which has been seismically damaged wiping off an entire village,where people have to travel a 30km to a hospital and the movement of outsiders into this region limited by a strict permit policy  is a bit of a shock.

Little hands at work

They were my guides through the hamlet-Band of beautiful gals

The collection of articles,wares,curios

All pictures are copyright to Not-so-wordy

I had half of a watermelon on a sunny yesterday.Although i have been taking various forms of vitamin c hoping it helps heal the wounds but the cyst on my leg continues to spread to different areas causing much discomfort.Basically i limp,sleep-straddled,sit only on chair with both feet touching ground and can't even begin to think of how many days have passed without my suryanamaskars.Its a strange thing because what seems like a little itch develops into this massive pimple oozin with blood in just  a day.
I have a paranoia of hospitals.Only when i have to go there for my own treatment.And when it involves a wound that needs cleaning up which means there will be twisting and squeezing of pus and blood straight up on my own skin!It sends me into a nervous tailspin.
When the first cyst appeared my mother insisted i go see a doc but i managed to convince that i would give my immunity a chance to work its power but what a disappointment!My granny always thinks my ideas are weird but she doesnt assert as much.I know that she eschews surgical/nursing as much as me.
After a point when it began to spread over like some bloody vessel had conspired against my self-induced reiki i gave in.I must say it got me excited to visit the doctor cause i was gonna put on some decent clothes after 4 days of vegging out!
What happened in the clinic was exactly what my mom had mentally prepared me for.I knew the game but was hoping it wouldn't be as hard. It was harder.All the while i shut my eyes,said a lil prayer that was interrupted with a rather postive streak imagining my leg being cut(influenced by what i read somewhere that in an extreme case,the abcesses in an ulcerating leg wound can produce gangrene and lead to loss of limbs!!)which made me less queasy.
It felt rather relieved after the gunk out.

Ramapir

 In my endevour to pin down my eclectic experiences of gujarat i often rewind into what happened a month ago and those feelings and thoughts etched so deeply that i find no difference from then to now.I guess that's how good things are.Timeless.
It was a day scheduled to visit ramapir no tekro,the largest in ahmadabad with about 1.5 lakhs population.Having a slum near the vicinity of my house where i have lived all my life or even travelling through a regular route which runs parallel with a slum area in bangalore the idea of my visit to ramapir was more familiar and practical.
Ramapir no tekro is accessed by a bridge over narrow channel of open drain.Just when you hop on to the other side we were greeted by innumerable boxes of blue with a red roof along with the cows and buffaloes that are lazing by the ground(which looks levelled for some kind of construction).The walk from the vast ground took us about 7 mins when we entered the tekro to a swarm of kids playing with a new born puppy(it was raining puppies)

As we walked past the houses on narrow lanes we saw a groups of people engaged in talks,piling,removing,cleaning of one of the houses which had caught fire that morning.There was no hue and cry,i didn't know who the house belonged to but about 20 people(assuming neighbours) lend their hand into bringing some order with the blackened mess.
We further walked up,going past a few houses that were empty/locked/opened with kids playing inside/the woman making rotis by the door/an old woman watching tv who was seated 2 steps away from the door and the two steps from the tv.Some of the families here belong to the potters community,they have potteries inside the slum where the clay ware are made and are let out on the roofs of houses for drying/storing.

We made our way to what my co-volunteers had warned me not to miss,the community centre of ramapir no tekro. It is an initiative of Manav Sadhna and built by collaboration between well known architects with sustainable and waste materials indigenous to the slum .It has a full facilitated school,an OPD,a creche,mandir,AV room and a courtyard ground.

What took me by surprise was that it has a gym!It is a brilliant way to expose the indigent to the world outside from within and i guess the objective is to create health awareness.
I went back walking to Manav Sadhna,as i was still taking to Ajay-bhai,realising that stoicism is seen often in those who have a constant battle in life.

'Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.'-M K Gandhi

All pictures are copyright to Not-so-wordy

On first summer showers

I don't understand why cupcakes are better when i bake out of a whim!There are times i have done hours of preparation and put in extra effort to just be able to successfully bake my own cupcakes and it has bombed!Although i always believe in going by the recipe to the hilt there is no exact reason why it didnt rise.And just of out of frustation over my futile mission i have sometimes repeated the same day to derive some logic to why my cupcake aren't coming out.I have relentlessly tried and when i hit the peak(or most often when my mom raises concern over wasting products) i just send my baking urge into hibernation.
At times when i make triffle out of the detriment remains which is not very often cause when it either turns out like an elixir or like an absolutely unappetising!
Baking is one of the things i love doing.I had always tried recipes from the some of the baking blogs(which introduced me to the blogging world) and a while later after a few experiments ended in disasters I went for a basic baking classes where i learnt to make cakes,brownies,pies,cookies and two types of frosting.
I gradually started baking on a regular basis and tried concocting different flavors.I still remember how kicked i was when i took out my first apple caramel cake out of the oven!I went on to bake my own b'day cake when i turned 20 which is when i attempted at icing for the first time. It was a pineapple pastry which looked like it made it through an earthquake,but tasted like it can erupt a volcanic appetite :)
Consequently i was thrilled and baked cakes for four birthdays within the family and some for my cousins and friends which i think amplified my decadent passion much.
Its raining outside and i have the kitchen to myself.Why not try a cupcake?My brother has a sudden obsession with coffee flavoured muffins that he brings home on his way back from work.Although it tastes alright,the surge of egg smelling from the still gooey part kinda puts me off.So i tried altering my chocolate cupacke recipe giving it a dash of coffee-y edge and cutting down on the egg(added milk).
This is what i was talking about....it came out scrumptious minus any prepping/fretting!I will just be happy for now after a fleeting reminder of murphy's law ran through my mind.

Choco-coffee cupacke

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Buddy bonding

I have been spending much time reminiscing my school days offlate.I am not much of a indulger for recollecting memories with people or over everyday talk, intrinsically. Usually a conversation with a close friend from childhood or when i go through old photographs is when i slip away into the land of cherished memories.

Its strange how what i feel and think when i look at those pictures is constantly evolving with each time.I have also observed that as time passes it has become easier to fess up to integral part of your shaping up that you probably once evaded.

A good friend from schooldays,who now lives in the US,was on a visit to India and was it fun to see him after so long!!(5 years)Its incredible how some relationships are so much in sync without having to try too hard,just the way true friendship is meant to be.Its almost frivolous how much joy it brings when you find out that.

We swapped stories,tried as much to catch up on our lives oceans across,discussed plans..those which went kaput and those that we will never give up on..and we recollected our days back in the same neighborhood,how the streetscape has started to wear a perplexed look,the sudden surge of westernized fast food joints that is capable of causing regurgitation,lamenting over the lost charm among many expressions of disappointments over fast-paced urban life.

We chatted over for hours through coffee and then dinner and dessert,but we could have sat many more hours yapping away!Its also one of the reasons why we hit off so well,to be able to have a perfectly relatable conversations about things that matter.And sometimes its just the thing you need,a good friend to have a talk with,to put the quest of existential fretting into perspective!

While i spent time co-ordinating for product photography at gramshree i was left with ample to discover tiny things like cloth basket,grandma's sewing doll(forgot to click!),intricate design embroidery on little key chains,knitted doll key chains and some miniature crochets dangling from the chains .

I dont think i may be allowed to feature all the pictures from the shoot,but you can find them at the Gramshree store.

Along with the accessories and clothes the store also displays the talent of kids from Manav Sadhna,an NGO closely with associated with Gandhi Ashram dedicated towards upliftment of those kids from slums areas/those neglected by society.

                                                                      All pictures are copyright to Not-so-wordy

A stroll around the old city

The gaieties of uttarayan had left us seeking a relatively relaxed sunday,but we didnt wanna just veg out at home considering my time there was shortening by the day.

We hadn't seen the older side of a'bad and after giving it a thought we weren't sure if we wanted go there on a sunday,when the commercial centres overflow with energy(not the kind i'd wanna embrace on a lazy holiday),crowd and navigational chaos.But we couldn't think of anything else.

I didnt have a vague idea of how busy the 'gallis' would be when we stopped our rickshaw at manek chowk and embarked upon our journey by foot.

From what was a pleasantly warm start our lil sojourn thwarted into a land of colorful spices,fruits and nuts,fabrics and embroidery 'pattis'.Being on the verge of turning into ochlophobic i was subcnsciously trying to pace up to reach the monumental quietness when my friend Sujata lost me.After doing a few jumps with my bright red cardigan in hand we made way out.Slowly pacing through the main road leading to Teen darwaza i learnt that these three arched entrances are of the ten built to enter the fort of ahmadabad.

Walking with Su made it so easy for me to look past the dirt and grit and to engross myself in our historical trivia,trying to find out more about curios that came our way,talking with the vendors(some of who insisted i take a picture of them),constantly looking above my eye level to see the juxtapositioning of the old and new and to gather many smiles from new friends i made that i will probably not meet again!

Dexterous arrangement of cashew blew me away

Teen Darwaza

All the days in spent at gramshree i felt elated at the turn of events and often wondered how the exact cards were unravelled that was of progressive imperative.

I may have mentioned before that i volunteered at an NGO in ahmadabad in january.It had always been on my list of things to do before i finish college to spend my time working for a non-profit org.I did not have any one in mind and while i was doing my research i stumbled upon a blog whose writer was involved in upliftment of women through arts and handicrafts.i contacted her and she told me about gramshree.

Granshree deals with empowering women to a sustainable living condition by offering jobs in weaving and stitching.It has proved itself to be a successful synthesis of arts and social cause over the years.

The next step was to find out more about this organization and to know if they were open to volunteer work.It was sorted and it worked in my favor.

I gave it a few days to plan out my trip.And finally i was set to go.

I arrived at gramshree and met punit bhai(who took care of my work schedule) to get an introductory tour of all 3 floors including different departments of the workshop and to the leads from teams who gave me warm friendly smiles and probably refrained from talking with a general assumption that i did not know gujarati.

I was only listening to punit bhai describing the names of different department with their meanings and was closely following the syntax of his hindi.I knew i had to pace up my hindi for the next few weeks.

Back in the prayer room i met another volunteer Anita and Raghu bhai(who also is the care-taker of gramshree).I was further introduced to various other causes initiated by gramshree and raghu bhai individually.I subconsciously drew comparisons with the success of each of those causes if it were to happen in bangalore.

As evening drew closer i was told to visit seva cafe.a cafe which runs on pay forward philosophy,where i met a cluster of people(volunteers/visitors/friends from gramshree) from eclectic background,who i could recognize were treading the path towards ' being the change'.I met my roomy Sujata,to her huge smile and inquiring after whether i was feeling hungry,amidst the gaieties of the evening organized in remembrance of Eshwar Patel kaka,and i knew this was going to be larger than what i had come expecting!

Archana ben

I don't know her name but we exchanged many smiles and laughter during my quilt-making doncumentation. Inspite of linguistic impediment(not sure if she understood/spoke hindi) or rather non-communication its amusing how comforting she was to be around.

Bina ben.Her effervesence shadowed everybody else in the room.

She was the quietest,doing her work like it meant everything.
Notice how the little water bottle is tucked at the crevice in the wall.

Onset of summer is a a prep stage for many things that come during the season.Some thats exciting and some anything but exciting.

I have developed a massive cyst  on my knee which has put me under an uninvited test.Just when i have things to attend to,which basically involves moving around,the predicament intensified over the last two days.My movements are restricted to home and occassinal visits to the terrace.

At times,when i have a lotta spare time uncomfortability sets in.I have a fetish for schedules.I need to have a few things to do.I need to prioritise those things.And usually that depends on my mood,but a schedule always!

I am having an experiment upon myself to break this habit.I have been incorparating a couple of methods to get through.I do not want to disclose the details of it all but its go to do with reading and trying to implement all that i imbibe during the course of it.A conscious effort,i realised take me a lotta pushing to do,but i am hoping i will be able to continue to hold it through.

Apart from this little test,i have been trying to renconcile with all the plants at home.My mom's passion for gardening has brought home a vast array of flora.Her love for them is sublime.Gardening has been an integral part of my growing up.My mom made it a point for me to involve myself in the watering them,adding of fertilisers and the re-potting process with her.Although i have been out of the loop since a while, i think all of that has subconsciously added to my love for nature.

After all the travel document pictures in previous blog i feel like i need a break.
I have been,for the past 2 weeks,working a bit on food photography.My (self-assigned) project is based on whatever(food related) is within close reach(home!)
I have been reading a lot online/offline in a hope for some brilliant ideas to dawn upon me.I work on it on and off.And i have this strange obsession to calculatively add up everything in my head and that almost gives me an illusion that the job's done!
To counter to this decepption i am kinda making it be a non assignment and infact i have been clicking more often hence!Yes,strange i know!
This is one of my fave tea cups that i brought from ahmadabad.I noticed that the potters here produce some wonderfully designed wares...and there are a lot of collaborations with product designers to exploit the use of this natural element.Some of them can be found at the design shop at NID campus.

Smiles

My most fave times from Ludiya has been with the kids.I have always gotten along with most of kids that i have come across and even baby sit a few of my baby cousins when i was a kid.But it has been a while since i closely dealt with a kid.So i was looking forward to see how i would behave since  there were a lotta kids in ludiya and they were so friendly with the visitors, hovering around the area almost all the time.
My routine in ludiya was laidback and provided me ample time to study the lives of people here.I tried to make the most of this opportunity by trying to infuse myself in all the activities of the family that hosted us.A woman's priority jobs here were to fetch water,clean the house,cook,milk the cow and if she had any spare time after all of it she weaved.
I usually helped korah ben with making the rotlis in the noon and on some evenings.Most of the times she told me not to trouble myself.She probably felt that i am doing it out of obligation.
I have not been much into cooking back at home.Although i love baking and do so quite regularly i never liked cooking(the regular food) on a regular basis.
Subconsciously i did feel morally bound to help her seeing that she cooked for the 5 of us all by herself.
From cutting the veggies and peeling them i decided to stay back to cook rotlis. After spending a few times cooking,i realised how it helped me get to know her better. I always felt a sense of warmth with her. When we had our conversations while cooking i learnt how giving she is.
There are many things about her that i will always remember. When my friend annie came back home with a few embroidery pieces that he had brought from some of the neighbours i saw a wilt on Korah's face . But the very next minute i saw her enquiring if she had brought it for lily(annie's daughter who spent a week at ludiya last year).I felt it is normal for her to be disappointed at this after having showing to annie her own embroideries.But it was as if to counter that negate that previous emotion that she began asking annie more about what she was gonna do with the embroidery.
Hila and hina were my buddies in the hood.We hung out all day.They watched me while cooking with Korah,washin my clothes and even as i read Shantaram :)
They spoke very little,but smiled a lot.I observed most kids there are like that.Shy but they are so easy to understand and be with.

Krishna

Most of them go to schools which is within the hamlet.
Evenings at ludiya resounded with their laughter.Kids here have two names.In Kutchi and
hindi.

Puja and priya

Kamlesh was the first kid i met right when i just about entered the hamlet on my first day.

After his school hours he works with his dad at their wood carving workshop.His little hands were still learning to hold a grip of the instruments.

It was unusual to see him there everyday unlike the other kids who played in the evenings.His mother told me that he infact insists on learning how to carve than to go out and play with kids his age.

I had gone for a walk one afternoon when kamlesh returned home from the workshop hurt with saw dust that had pierced into his foot.Saajni(his mother) tried to get it out of his skin.

He cheered up a little while later.He doent speak much but his smile is so endearing that it tells of a happy world enveloped in it!

Kutchi women

I have been trying to improve my blog all through this week and its a good test for my patience!

Searching for the right layout,editting pictures to use as background,trying various color theme combinations!I think i have reached half way to what i wanna have it look like.I shall leave at this for now.

So,i was talking about the sartorial elegance of kutchi women in the previous post.Here are a few pictures from ludiya.

Most of them are immensely photogenic and i noticed how some women refused to pose for some foreign travellers,but they obliged quite well when i asked them.I still dont know why.

Hila and Hina

Kutchi women are intrinsically hospitable,hard working and make all the heavy jewellery they adorn look so effortless.Their dressing is very similar to that of rajasthan and sindh.

Most of the women are into weaving/pottery which also provides them a decent earning from selling it to the travellers.

Krishna's mom trying to finish an embroidery before she leaves to Delhi for an exhibition by the government

Their jewellery is heavy and there is practically one for every part of the body!
 The disc like thick white bangles are something thats unique to this region.They are almost stitched to the arms and no freedom from it even while sleeping or bathing!

Saajni
Korah(in the pic) was bangle-d  when she turned 7 and has had it since.She told me that they consider it a symbol of womanhood and they change them every year(phew!that was relieving)

Korah ben making us bajre ki roti