A sampling...

...of the good stuff - my cousin is scheduled to get married this year. The wedding hall, the caterer are to be booked well in advance in today's times. Sometimes, the wedding date is even adjusted to suit the availability of halls and good caterers.
The caterer who is almost shortlisted called us today to sample his offering - and my uncle, aunt and myself landed up to check how good his food was...This was a Kerala style meal for a Keralite wedding and everything tasted superb! I've just come back home an hour ago and I'm taking time out to update this space - you can imagine how tough it is for me to sit up after eating a yelai- saappadu (banana leaf spread) like that  :)

Saving the earth

Compared to most other cities in India, Mumbai is one city where it is easiest to resort to public transport. BEST bus system, which plies all around the city is extremely reliable and safe, and one such bus goes from inside our colony to the station, making life so much easier and preventing all the cars from jamming up the busy area near the train station. It's almost like a personal bus service here. BEST is simply the best.

More about BEST here.

Bandhani

During college days, I was absolutely in love with this tie and dye fabric from Gujarat. The soft cotton fabric with vibrant colours and delicate designs was just so good! Then having worn too many of them I lost interest.
The suburb where my parents live being a Gujarati stronghold, there are quite a few shops that sell these salwar-kurta-dupatta sets and this is one colour combination I fell in love with - purple and green...
It's going to be perfect to bear the summer heat...provided I get it stitched soon!

Human or statue?

I've seen statues made to look real like humans. But here, outside this small exhibition hall in the market, it was quite the reverse. A man was painted white, had lights strung all over him and was made to look like a statue welcoming the crowds inside.
I first assumed it was one of those moving statues and I went close to take a proper look, only to see that he was for real :)

Fudge in the making

I'm quite dreading the weighing machine now. After eating three meals a day for the last ten days, at mom's place, I'm sure I have to go on a strict diet once I'm back home. Luckily the above fudge was not made for me - my aunt was making this to send for my nephew's first birthday in Bangalore. Step wise pics have been taken of this simple paal cake (milk fudge) - hopefully to be posted on the food blog.

Bindis for the Indian beauty

Found one such exclusive Bindi shop while shopping around the locality - they had the best collection of simple and ornate Bindis and I managed to select quite a few of them.
While you wont always find me sporting one, I love adorning my forehead with these cute spots when I'm wearing a saree or a traditional salwar kameez.

Autorickshaws...

...are an inseparable part of Mumbai suburbs. What separates them from those that ply in other parts of the country (Bglr, Hyd and Chennai) is that they rarely refuse customers and they ALWAYS go by the meter - it is extremely difficult to find such autos in places mentioned above!
Autos in Mumbai make travel extremely easy and I'm actually enjoying the rides taken in and around where I live!

Open air markets

Walking around a suburban Mumbai market in the early evening - usually it is bustling with crowds, vendors and autos, but I managed to capture a relatively empty stretch.
After shopping in malls and supermarkets, loitering around these open air markets, haggling with vendors and braving the sun seems like so much fun! My body must be thanking me for the extra dose of Vitamin D.

Swami Atrinanda

Nothing but Atri cooling off in Mama's tee shirt that is like a flowy robe for him - the yellow colour is what inspired the title :)

Fryday

While visiting the neighbourhood mall to meet my school friend, I found this new food stall called 'Fryday'. While the name is creative, my only reaction was 'As if we need one more of this!!'

AfterBath

I am having a breather from giving Atri a bath here as my mom has taken over that chore - S would take over the duty off and on at home. It's not the bathing that's difficult but the drying up and getting him ready...This is a sample of Atri's after bath expression!

Family gathering

The theme this week is turning out to be 'Family' - since I'm here till end of the month, I'll quickly have to find some new themes / subjects :)

Atri with his aunts

Ready for the groom

These decked up horses were all set to give the groom a ride in our colony.