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.