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Sunday, February 28, 2010

General bazaar for just about everything

 

Atri and me visited this famous lane near MG Road which sells just about everything, in old fashioned shops. After some heavy duty exposure to mall culture, this felt so refreshing. Except that it was after noon and the sun was on our heads - I came here accompanying my aunt who wanted to get some shopping done here. I bought a box of the ready frankincense burning blocks, which luckily was in a shop right at the entrance of the lane, so I didn't have to walk much lugging Atri along. I intend to come here for some leisurely exploring and more colourful photos when my little one stays home with the hubby.
It's a pretty crowded narrow lane, so this picture was all I could manage as my son would keep trying to pull the camera while I tried hard to focus ;)

Edited to add another pic - showing some of the shops mentioned in the comments

Saturday, February 27, 2010

6 AM coffee

Saturday morning
Woke up around 6 AM
Waited for milkman to bring in the milk
Had kept decoction ready last night
Fresh milk, fresh decoction, 1 spoon sugar - lots of 'norai' (froth)
Served in steel tumbler
My favourite way to drink coffee

 

Taken in natural light from the kitchen window

Friday, February 26, 2010

Kurta macro


Was experimenting with digital macro - when we were driving to some place. With Atri in the car seat, this is the time I get to make calls to family and do some experimentation with the camera.
Quite liked the result of this digital macro shot on my cotton kurta :)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Happy...

 ...that I'm catching up with my aunt and uncle today over simple food and elaborate conversations. The latter more with my aunt :)



Loved these candy coloured lantanas that grow wild in my compound, put a couple of stalks in a jam jar to cheer up the table (thanks for the name A - it just slipped off my mind)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sea of tomatoes


Rythu bazaar - farmers' market
Mehdipattnam - Hyderabad
11 AM
Sun on our heads
Tomatoes, tomatoes everywhere
3 kilos for Rs.10

More pics from the market here

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Flower seller ...


...inside the temple we visited today

Monday, February 22, 2010

Brightening up our mornings


We are both morning people
Waking up early, shower and ready to take on the day...
Whoever is first to shower, lights the lamp and some incense sticks on the altar

I wonder if we feel so good about it as we've always seen our grandparents / parents do it as we were kids, and following the family traditions makes us feel good in some way

One last stick remaining from this fabulous fragrance we bought at Auroshikha, Besant Nagar, Chennai. This has been brightening our mornings, filling it with positive vibrations and making us look forward to a great day ahead. These sticks have natural resins from Tulsi (Holy Basil), Tangerine and Orange, and I loved the packaging too!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday morning coffee



In absence of decoction, Bru instant comes closest to the taste of filter kaapi

This is how I make my coffee
~Keep fresh milk to boil
~In a cup take 1 tsp Bru instant coffee powder
~Add 1 tsp sugar / 1 table of Sugarfree Natura to the cup
~Once milk boils, pour into the cup over coffee and sugar in a thin stream
~Stir lightly to mix and drink while it's hot

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Chinese takeaway


Vegetables in hot garlic sauce
Vegetable soft noodles
Fried rice

From Pride Inn hotel's restaurant in the neighbourhood
Consistently good stuff
Huge portions
Serves for dinner as well as next day's lunch :)

Friday, February 19, 2010

A current favourite


Pure and Simple by Vidhu Mittal, a must buy cookbook for vegetarians
Borrowed it from a friend and already tried some five recipes
Each one very simple and turns out perfect tasting
Pure peppermint tea for a mid-morning chai boost

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Valentine leftovers


Roses rescued from the valentine bouquet

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Bougainvillea

I never fail to notice this building on one of the roads near my place where lovely white bougainvillea force their branches out from the apertures of a building.
This time I managed to keep the camera ready when we were passing by this road, this pic is taken from the car - so people don't suspect me zooming into random houses ;)
The overhead wires are spoiling the photo for me - but it was impossible to capture the former without the latter.
I also love the pots on the sill of the balcony with the blue roof and the overall red tiled roof.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Anti-oxidant burst

Mid-morning snack of a few berries and tea
Love this Tick-Tock red bush tea - got inspired to drink this after reading McCall Smith's Ladies' Detective Agency series :) It's got a rich flavour and very high in anti oxidants too!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine day breakfast



There's nothing much actually - some Andhra style thattai and coffee (the coffee is not even filter coffee ) shows how I was just lazing all morning, perfect way to start a special day right?

Hope you spent a lovely day with your loved one/s.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Learning physics in the kitchen


This pic is not to show how old the kitchen cabinets in this house are or how shiny my steel utensils are- but to share how babies don't have to be 'taught' laws of physics.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself by spinning one of the lids like a top while creating all kinds of (disturbing) sounds with the other utensils, as I prepared my morning cuppa tea. As long as he gave me enough time to prepare my tea, I wasn't complaining!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Mahashivaratri & the Saras Exhibition

 

Though we did a couple of other fun things yesterday like visiting a regional products exhibition and eating super-oily take-away food - this seemed to be my favourite picture of the day - the red Geraniums contrasting the beautiful black of the Nataraja.
My favourite stall from the Saras exhibition was one called the Guntur-Coop run by the rural women in Guntur where they prepare Andhra style pickles, snacks and other food products in a very hygienic way and packaged beautifully too. Take a look at their pickles below - the Gongura is for S, while the other two are my favourites.


 
They are doing some great work and I really wanted to showcase their quality products here, hence the second photo of the day :) Will amend their address and details shortly. If you are visiting Guntur, their food products are surely worth picking up!

My shopping bag from the exhibition had stuff from different corners of India and this is what I love about such exhibitions-
Kerala
Plantain chips fried in coconut oil
Jackfruit chips
Mace
Gujarat
Clay tava
Clay pot with lid
Guntur
Three pickles
One bag of Chekkalu
Anantapur
Bedside lamp with hand-painted lampshade
Madhya Pradesh
Lemon drops
Dried mango chooran
Imli chooran
Assam
Handwoven woolen jacket for Atri

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Small wonders


Tending to the babies I brought home from the Horticulture Exhibition :)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

For stitching


Kalamkari and Mangalgiri fabric
Will match most of my sarees
Vidya Balan inspired blouses

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Counting my blessings

 A picture of a picture in the papers made me feel very sad for this mother who had to lug all those wares along with her baby!

Monday, February 8, 2010

At brunch


The brunch was just another buffet spread, the skylight seemed more interesting a capture :)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Sunday bliss

 

Sunday papers spread on the floor
Filter kaapi
Vimala coffee works, Madras
Steel glass
Foamy top
Perfect strength
1 tsp sugar NOT Sugarfree

A perfect start to a lovely Sunday morning :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

Ruci & Idoni


Atri and me went to check out this new supermarket in the locality - called Ruci & Idoni (don't ask me what that means or what language it is) - superbly laid out, smartly dressed courteous attendants, parking attendants plus all imported food items along with the regular Indian veggies, groceries and snacks make it a great shopping place for a foodie. It also has a fromagerie, bakery and a cold cuts section. What it didn't have was any interesting stuff in the baking ingredients section, only ready Betty Crocker boxes, not even choco-chips.

After a while Atri was ready to jump out of the trolley - there's only so much shopping a boy can endure :) even if it's with his favourite person!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Hung up


We picked this beautiful mirror from Auroshikha and it was sitting in its four layers of packaging since two months. I've been so wanting to hang it and admire its beauty and its time finally came yesterday :)
Afterthought : Actually two months is not much - some of the stuff has been lying around for years without reaching its final destination, at least this one made it :)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

From eBay to our home

 

This Jodhpuri bed and pair of side tables that we ordered from eBay finally fitted with the mattress today! A king-size bed to sleep on - now only if Atri would let me sleep undisturbed all night :)
Block-printed and hand embroidered bedsheet from Gurjari and cusion covers from Fabindia complete the ethnic look.