Mumbai Scribble, Day 65: Secret Garden

Down the road, by the market, there’s a secret garden.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrasts / Mumbai Scribble, Day 61

I look forward to the Weekly Photo Challenge every weekend because I am purposeful when I have a theme that I need to render. This photo challenge has also increased my observation skills.

As I walked along Kala Ghoda Street this afternoon, I noticed a leafless tree in front of a building undergoing restoration. It was ironic that the construction net was green and the tree wasn’t. In this frame, what is man-made overrode nature.

I continued to walk down Kala Ghoda and noticed that the blue in this shoe repair shop popped. I switched to the color accent mode in my camera to emphasize the blue.

As I was waiting for my lunch inside the Westside department store, it dawned on me that the paper receipt could be easily crumpled, torn up, thrown away, while the glass table was more solid and less malleable.

 

Mumbai Scribble, Day 59: Infinity Mall

I’ve got a long weekend, one of many this year. Originally, I signed up for a tiger safari in Ranthambore but there were no more train tickets. And catching a plane plus renting a car didn’t seem worth it. So here I remain in Mumbai!

I decided to go shopping in Infinity Mall at West Malad. I’m not a mall person because I’d rather save than spend, but from my limited Mumbai mall experience this is my fave mall. If you go early, which means before 3 pm, there’s no one! A luxury in Mumbai! No need to squirm and wiggle your way through a crowd.

I also have a newfound fave shop. Mango! I stayed away from this shop in Manila because the clothes are quite pricey. And Filipinos (or should I say China?) has a way stealing Mango and Zara designs and making copies that you can find in tiangges, the Filipino word for bazaar, entrepreneurial stores where you can bargain!

So far, I’ve only found one bazaar store in Colaba with designs that I really like so for the meantime, Mango it is!

The have designed clothes that are sexy, carefree and perfect for a woman’s body.

I’m glad my trip to Ranthambore didn’t work out because now I can rest and pamper myself.

How do you take care of yourself?

 

Happy Holi! (Mumbai Scribble, Day 58)

It’s Holi today. Ear-splitting Hindi music beckoned from downstairs. Unwashed, I tied my hair back, slicked coconut oil on my skin on and wrapped my camera in kitchen plastic.

Trek trek trek. Six floors downstairs. Unarmed. No powder nor gun. Just a camera. Cling wrapped.

“Miss Sacha!” Children screamed. They water sprayed me. Pelted water balloons. Slathered powder on my face. All in the spirit of fun.

Holi, festival of colors, signifies triumph of good over evil. More color wars. Pelting pelting pelting. The evil that pervades. Rainbow colors used as weapons.

Tradition attaches colors to meaning. Red is purity. Matrimony. Pink meaning nothing I can find.

Holi (for me) ended with a sweet milk drink, peppered with cardamom and pistachios.

But from my sixth floor cave, hours after a hot shower, the music plays on. To the beat of the color war.

Pelt pelt pelt.

 

Mumbai Scribble, Day 57: Steak!!

Spontaneous dinner with K tonight in Le Pain de Quotodien. Oooohlala! I haven’t had a juicy steak in so long! I definitely want to go back to Le Pain to try out their strawberry cheesecake too.

 

Mumbai Scribble, Day 55: Sheetal’s Sarees

I’ve been posting a photo about India everyday for almost two months. Today, as I walked past this shop at the Oberoi Mall, I realized that I’ve never featured a sari. (Hand clonks forehead!) Perhaps it’s because I prefer more understated colors when it comes to clothing, a.k.a. black. And also perhaps because I’ve never worn a sari, since I’m too afraid that it will fall off. Whatever the case, today, as I passed Sheetal, I couldn’t help but find these sarees pretty. Now I want to keep my eyes open and look, really look, at Indian clothing.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Distorted, Victoria Terminus in South Mumbai

I took this photo more than a year ago using the fish eye effect.  Victoria Terminus is now called Shhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.  It’s the main railway station in Mumbai with trains that run to hundreds of cities around India.  It is now a UNESCO world heritage site.