Born in Bombay, raised with wanderlust, in a love affair with life

“I confess Bombay has never failed to fascinate me. To walk along the streets of Colaba and to be wooed by peddlers of all trades, all motives, always imbues me with a measure of excitement. Could I possibly be a tourist in my own city? Could I shed my identity as easily as that?”
- Marazban Shroff, Breathless in Bombay

I stopped by the bookstore at the airport recently on my way to Bombay to buy a work of fiction about this city of many faces that a close friend had recommended. I had no memory of the title and instead of Maximum City by Suketu Mehta, in which I was supposed to be indulging my senses, I encountered a feast of words in Breathless in Bombay by Marzban Shroff. I know I will make time for Suketu because he comes heavily recommended, but for now Marzban has won me over with his beguiling way with words. It only took one and a half pages of the book’s introduction to make blood gush faster through my veins. I waded through it slowly relishing every line and description of what inspired the author to write short stories that reflect the vivid temperament of the city that is Bombay. And, I froze when I reached the lines above as if I had just caught the first sight of the mighty ruin of Petra’s Royal Treasury or the Taj Mahal’s reflection in the pools before you approach it’s grandness. They spoke to me directly.

Marazban’s words resonated with me with greater intensity than they would have otherwise because the past few months have given me an opportunity to visit Bombay, my birthplace, more frequently than ever in my life before. The past few months have also showed me repeatedly how much more closer to life I need to be to be one with it. Thanks to my grandma in Bombay who teaches me to love all of life's moments, a new close friend who finds new adventure for me in my own city each time I visit, and an old soul mate friend who with her challenges for me to keep coming back adds fuel to my burning new love affair between my love for life and my birthplace, Bombay. Could I just be a wanderer in my own birthplace? Could I shed my identity so easily to deepen my love affair with a place where life first came to me? Could I fall deeper in love with life?

As I enter my mid-thirties and bid good bye to a strangely beautiful year, I realize more intensely that one difficult but rewarding act that you can engage yourself in is letting yourself go and losing your identity to be one with an experience - just like you do when you travel to a new place and sit in a cafe as a tourist to watch people go by. There are many big and easy names for such an experience - Nirvana, Zen, Sufi, cosmic force, just being, chilling, ... you decide. It could be a heart-to-heart conversation with an elder, a walk through a new place you are visiting, a nonsense conversation with a child, or a shoe shopping escapade with your girlfriend that can bring you close to just being if you let yourself go. You’ve lived life and become one with the experience when you have shed who you are and immersed yourself in what you have done and done it to the fullest. 

So, as the new year knocks on the door again, I’ve come to a resolution. Some of you may have gotten there already depending on where you are in your life’s journey. For me it’s about letting myself go, being an observer not a judge, and becoming one with any experience that comes my way with the same fascinating intensity as how so many lives happen together seamlessly in Bombay.

Classic Cocktails for the Holidays

A 1939 Cocktail recipe book I found in my
 friend's kitchen. I want one!

The holiday season is around the corner and I am thinking of warm and fuzzy dinner gatherings, tiny white holiday lights in my patio, and fire places. Usually, a glass of good California wine is all it takes to spice up a gathering or a gourmet meal for me. But, when a dear friend once mixed me a classic cocktail, Rosemary Baby, I found a new passion to chase. Bar tending? No. But I surely aspire to become a savvy classic cocktail mixer. I love the chemistry.


What makes classic cocktails classic is the era they date back to - the 1930's. They are probably the only sane thing that came out of the 1030's besides aviation and radio. I found out that these classic drinks are made purely by mixing spirits and bitters or fresh extracts. Today while we easily whip up sweet, fake colored cocktails with mixes, little do we remember that originally the cocktail was a simple drink consisting of two or more ingredients - a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. 


Fancy bottles of breezers, colored mojito mixes, and margaritas put me off. Why can't we hold on to good from the past and mix our cocktails in the purest way like they used to in the early 1900's! What happened to the real cocktail!


If this makes you want to try out a classic cocktail, here are two simple and delicious classic cocktail recipes for the holiday season - 


GOLD RUSH
2 oz bourbon (EC)
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz honey syrup (warmed-up honey)
Shake


ROSEMARY BABY
2 oz gin
1 oz dry vermouth
1/2 creme de violette
muddled fresh rosemary leaves
Shake
Garnish with a rosemary twig


HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Different Like Coco

"INNOVATION! One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create CLASSICS."

- Coco Chanel


I like fashion, but I am by no means a fashionista. Coco Chanel's life and style fascinates me for the ingenuity of how she redefined the modern woman. She lived and thrived at a very eventful time in human history and her influence is addictive and inspiring. For all these reasons and more, I aspire to own a vintage Chanel collectible at some point in my life. It will be my symbol of an uninfluenced belief in one's self and abilities just like the jersey tops and tapered pants that are at home in almost every woman's closet these days.

You may not be aware that Coco Chanel's spirit resides in every woman's closet. A favorite black evening dress, a knee length pencil or A-line skirt, tapered ankle length pants, or a comfortable jersey top - all symbolize the almost a century old vision of an artist and innovator. Chanel's simple and realistic designs were the result of her own experience and commitment to her beliefs rather than influence or trend during the time she lived.

Gabriel Chanel was born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France to poor parents. Her mother died when she was young and her father left her in an orphanage with her sister. Her life began as an out of the ordinary experience and remained so until the end. She learned sewing from nuns in her orphanage and thrived on her free spirit, her quest to learn and create, and her strong will to be independent.

Chanel received her nickname "Coco" during her singing days at the Moulins club in Paris. It was also at Moulins where she met Etienne Balsan, a French socialite, who instantly fell in love with her free spirit and invited her to accompany him. She was introduced to the Parisian high society by Balsan and created her first hats and lounging clothes for women while living in his home. As she spent more time in the high society she realized that the women she met lacked self-expression and self-consciousness - two things Chanel was never afraid to embrace. She simplified the ostentatious feather hat to a simple snug fitting straw hat embellished with a single feather or flower and caught the attention of Balsan's friend Emilienne D'Alencon, an artist and courtesan. Emilienne became Chanel's first client and when she wore Chanel's hat to a famed horse race, Chanel instantly became a curiosity and thus, revolutionized an important aspect of a woman's outfit and identity.  Chanel also crafted her own clothes from easily available materials. She wore her own creations confidently and comfortably. She was not afraid to be different.

During her time with Balsan she was introduced to the love of her life, Englishman Arthur "Boy" Capel, who helped her finance her early fashion business. She opened doors to her first store, "Chanel Modes," sometime around 1910. Competition was the nature of her business but her perfectionist attitude and dedication helped her survive through challenging times, competitors, and World War II. What set her apart was that she first cut all her creations in pure muslin and designed her clothes directly on the bodies that would wear them. Chanel was never influenced by the frivolities of society and her designs came out of her constantly changing life and the lives of women around her. One of her favorite expressions was, "Every day I simplify something because every day I learn something." Her classic perfume, Chanel No. 5, which contains over 50 ingredients, still remains the highest selling Chanel item. 

The spirit of Chanel Couture is carried on by Karl Lagerfeld today who is dedicated to Chanel's simplicity and blends it with his creativity to introduce new designs that make ripples in the world of art and fashion every year. Chanel's aphorism,"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening" sums up why she is remembered as a fashion icon, and a symbol of self-expression. 

Even today, Chanel's life remains as fascinating as the price tag on the smallest Chanel evening bag. Though most of her admirers may never own one of her brand creations, her timeless sweaters, casual jackets, collar less suits, and "the little black dress" will continue to inspire designers, artists, and writers in the world of fashion and beyond. Her controversial and intriguing life story appears in over one hundred book titles including a recently published children's book, "Different Like Coco." Episodes of her life story have also been enacted in musicals, plays, and movies since the last century and continue to inspire and entertain audiences today.

"In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different." 

- Coco Chanel

Further Readings: 

• The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman - by Karen Karbo 
• Chanel's Biography

 

Childishly Inspiring!

Child prodigy, Adora Svitak, tells us what adults can learn from kids. 

Simply brilliant! Click on the link above to go directly to the TED video.

For those new to TED, it is an incredible non-profit movement to spread "ideas worth spreading" through exclusive conferences worldwide, but absolutely free and easy to access presentations from these conferences on their website. Their goal is to spread brilliant ideas, connect like minds, and spread knowledge. They do it superbly well. TED fans will tell you that their talks are addictive and you can spend hours on their website moving from one talk to another, getting inspired, and wanting more.

This simple but profound video will hopefully change how you look at children. Don't treat a child as one just for the mere fact that he/she is a child!

Enjoy.

This I Believe: "The Artistry In Hidden Talents"

A discussion thread from a class I was taking in September, 2010

This week has been a week of creativity coincidences. I tried a hand at oil painting for the first time and painted a travel photo I had shot myself. I also finally picked up the fresh Amazon.com copy of  "The Monk and the Riddle" to read after it had been sitting on my desk for weeks. Then, in my research for an assignment for my Innovation class, I came across a wonderful essay about cultivating hidden talents. 

Our daily responsibilities often consume us and every once in a while we have to find things that revive us. In her essay, “The Artistry In Hidden Talents,” Mary Elen Rusnov, a civil engineer, encourages her readers who find themselves living in “the big gray bubble of ordinary life” to get in touch with the creative side to find happiness, and let the power of creativity transform and connect.

Rusnov learned to play the piano as a child. Life took over and she couldn’t really focus on her talent for many years until she heard a colleague sing a touching rendition of "Silent Night" at a holiday party. Rusnov didn’t know about her colleague’s hidden talent, was reminded of her own, and started practicing the piano again after many years. She recollects that no one applauded a major construction project she had designed while once when she was feeling spontaneous and tried a hand at the “Mozart Sonata” on an airport lobby piano, some people stopped to listen, some smiled, some looked up from their books, and some even applauded.

So, if you find yourself in a rut it might just be time to let that hidden talent surface.

"No problem. Everything will be alright!"

Tel Aviv, October 21: My randevouz with Jon and places in the Holy Land: One problem, one solution, one step- at a time.

I chose a day trip to the Sea of Gallilee over a friendship meeting between our group of Indian delegates and the Tel Aviv Chamber of Commerce officials. A drive through the hills of Golan Heights, the land where Jesus preached, lived, and made miracles, or an opportunity to experience leaders exchanging ideas, cultures, and thoughts on innovation? It was a tough choice; in fact, tough for only a minute as my travel instinct generally takes over most choices. Later I realized that our guide, Jon, made me even more thankful for having chosen frolic over intellect for that day. 

Jon, a smiling little middle-aged man, arrived to pick us up at 8 am. He said it was his lucky day since he was spending it with six lovely ladies. I, the chatterbox with a curios mind, waited long enough to be polite and jumped on to the navigator seat in the 12 passenger van for a better view. Jon ignited the van with words that made us look forward to the day ahead. Little did I know about the profound exchange of ideas and culture that was going to happen between Jon and me on that day of frolic as Jon began to drive us out of the busy morning traffic of Tel Aviv.

We had just recovered from a bad-guide nightmare and a good first impression was necessary. Polite introductions happened and he asked us what places in particular we'd like to see. Negotiations began as six women expressed their choices of must-see spots. We had one day, ten hours, and 300 kms that could be covered. "No problem," said Jon beaming, "everything will be alright! I'll make sure we make the most of the day." What a good attitude! I decided he was the best guide we've had so far and it was going to be a good day.

As we drove through the city and on to the highways of northern Israel, I learned more about Jon. A trained engineer qualified from the USA, he served in the army for thirty years. He has an American wife who loves Tel Aviv and is a great cook. He still acts as a part-time military advisor but loves to drive travelers around Israel a few days a week to keep life exciting. He always finds interesting travelers who impress him with their knowledge of Israel. And, if he does come across some tough ones, he makes sure they get their money's worth. Then, "Everything is alright. No problem." Jon's Jewish ancestors chose to move to the Holy Land during the hard times in the early 1900's when many fled to the new world countries to become bankers and bright business men. His Eastern European family wanted to be close to their God's land and aspired to trace their roots in Israel instead of fleeing farther away from the torment. "No problem," said Jon, "we still had a good life because we were with family. Everything is alright."

The first stop was Nazareth, the home of Virgin Mary and Jesus's conception ground. You drive on a well-built highway through wannabe clean Islamic towns, lovely modern kibutzen, and a few rolling hills to arrive in the busy town of Nazareth. I had observed by then that like many men I know, Jon loved commenting on the traffic, especially while changing lanes, passing, or letting others pass. He was polite, however. Remember, he was with six ladies. He would observe, tell me a bit more about what we were going to see, verbalize the traffic condition, and before he reacted with the van, he'd say, "Once I change this lane and go left, everything will be alright. No problem!" It was an exercise repeated throughout the day. I was amused each time.

We spent the day making stops at various points of interest - the scenic town of Tiberias, the Church of Beatitudes at Tabkha, Jesus's baptism site at Yardenet, and a popular winery in Golan Heights. All through, Jon, was enthusiastic and cheerful. He gave us the history, and answered most of our questions thoroughly. He took us shopping at a lovely organic market where we indulged our senses and resources in the aromas and tastes of local olives, sweets, dates, and more. Without any problems, he was able to guide six ladies out of the market at the decided time and with shopping satisfaction. Later he helped me order a delicious falafel lunch at a very local spot off the main road and joined us at our table with his pizza slice to admire how much spice six Indian women could devour. "No problem," he said, "I'll get you more chili sauce and everything will be alright."

The sun set as we drove on from our last stop at the winery. The falafels that were still sitting in our tummies invited naps and snores. Jon drove gracefully through the hills and a pass that separated Syria, Jordan, and Israel over to the polished highways of Israel. I kept him company as he told me about his days in the army, pointed out bunker sites and tunnels, and reminisced over the tough times that took so many innocent lives. "Ask what they want to a common Israeli worker, a baker from Gaza, or a mother from the West Bank and there is one common answer - a peaceful life," he spoke from his heart. According to Jon and what he observed of people during his thirty years in the army, "When you have a roof over your head, food on the table, and a family that loves you there is no problem. Everything will be alright!"

Close to Tel Aviv, I asked Jon about the kind of music people there like to listen to. He told me, "There's everything here. Rock, jazz, you name it." He often takes his wife to concerts in the city and his favorite bands are the Beatles and Elton John. Soon, he began whistling the song "Imagine" by the Beatles and I hummed it and later started singing it. He joined me and then went back to whistling. "I love that song!" I told him. It takes your troubles away and makes everything alright. He agreed.

All through this, I wondered if Jon fitted his "No problem..." phrase in every context as a wishful reminder of what he and his country don't have or as a lesson from his experiences that it is the little joys in life that solve your problems and make everything alright. I'd like to think it was the latter. Take one problem, look for one solution, one step at a time; we shall overcome then, and everything will be alright.

I asked him for his email so that I could send him a thank you note or a reference. He said it was not necessary and that he had a lovely day with us! I worried about his long drive back from our hotel to another city where he lives during rush hour. He said, "No problem, I'll get home when I get home, my wife will have a hot dinner ready for me, and everything will be alright."

I will tell you of the hilarious jokes Jon told me some other time.

I did it!!!

I am not sure if I really want to be a blogger. My friends told me I should. The challenge is going to be to keep up and I plan to take it on by making sure I write about things that will keep you all wanting for more. Wish me luck!