Livinghigh: February 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Livinghigh was here at 1:27 AM / (3) Comments



Necessary Things

Gosh, I need to throw a party soon. Just been way too long since I've done one of those. A real wingdinger - do people still use that term these days? Something quaintly yummy about it - that and 'the bee's knees'! :)

Aaa, but the party will be fun. Eclectic and fun. Blaring crappy Hindi film stuff, including Himeshbhai's fare, and then also the Material Girls (Kylie and Madge) and also Salam-e-ishq-ishq-ishq....!

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

And finger foods. Lots of wine. Port and white, both. Maybe red, also. Bibinca sliced with ice cream and tossed with melted chocolate eclairs, dripping with caramel. Maybe some fish. Yes, probably some fish. The sas ni macchi today at Jimmy Boy's was fun - loved the yummy white sweet sauce, even though I have no idea what it consists of and the Mad Bawi could not really shed much light on that.

But a party is necessary. The last one was ages ago - shucks, August seems like eons away. So a mad, ballistic party is in order. Clean up the flat. Ghost of Monica Geller, arise. :)

Other thing to definietly do soon: Goa. Maybe this monsoon. June or July. Again, necessary.



Saturday, February 17, 2007
Livinghigh was here at 3:54 AM / (2) Comments



Saint Shiv's Day

Three day weekend (or something of the sort, since everyone knows I don't take Saturday workdays at all seriously!) and suddenly I'm a major Shiv Bhakt, all thanks to Mahashivratri that earned me my day of rest on Friday. A lovely day of sleeping in late, shopping leisurely, a coffee date over loads of caramel and conversation, and a great dinner out with friends to a restaurant I haven't been to in ages.

That's the second 'festival', after a more high-profile Valentine's Day on the 14th. A foreign friend of mine remarked today, how surprised he was to see all the usual V-day mumbo-jumbo in India, via cards and banners and posters and ads, when he always thought it was such a (*grin*) Western concept. Aha. I guess the Bajrang Dal guys would be glad to hear the NRI talk, and might even send him a draft to join the party! :)

Anyhow, V-day was spent at a friend's Red Party (soooo imaginative!), and it turned out that nobody really cares for all the hoopla anyway. Even as the 14th began, I got an sms from a friend moaning: "I hate this day! They should have a Random Fcuk Day instead!"

I tend to agree. :) Especially since we didn't get a holiday off work on the 14th!

Now you know why I'm a good Bajrang Dal boy, and loooove my Mahashivratri! :)

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting



Monday, February 05, 2007
Livinghigh was here at 11:11 PM / (3) Comments



Little Bombays

Every city has a festival or two to its name. But not like Bombay. Not like this. Not just the sweep and the scale of organization, more the spirit is what I'm talking about, however corny that sounds. And even though I usually find the Mumbai Festival a bit too farflung and a bit too (erm) pedestrian for my taste, I completely love the knickknacks they have for the Kaala Ghoda Arts Festival. And even though I think the Mahim Fair and the Celebrate Bandra festivals cause way more traffic jam than they warrant, I still think that's a swell idea. And even though I've never been up to watch the folks over at Hamara Juhu sing and dance, it feels nice all the same. I have been down to Kotachiwadi for their little festival, though, and that so completely charmed me. The fish-framed mirrors and the hot vadas with chicken curry, and all the other yummy things I stuffed my face with....!

And yet, the Bombay festivals are not just about the food. Ever since I got the digicam, I've become quite the camera freak, and my friends reprimand me for toting it around whenever we go to any event/ place that could be deemed touristy, cuz they know I'm going to whip it out and dilly dally for pics. And I love that...

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

But I digress from my theory of Little Bombays. Tiny portions of a city that are all so completely proud to mantain their own identity, however completely fused they are to this great big teeming megapolis. Sometimes, you need to be an outsider to notice these things. Sometimes, you need an outsider to shake you out of your reverie and appreciate some of the sillier things. And sometimes you just have to have a camera handy.

To capture all the Bombays, one after the other. Discrete bundles of joy.