Mosaic Art by Vandeepp Kalra

A couple of posts ago I said I will feature a couple of female artists on this blog as March celebrated as Women's History Month. I am sure you loved learning about designer and entrepreneur Shivani Patel and I am happy to let you know her crowd-funding venture is going well. If you haven't contributed yet then go to my previous post *here* to read up about her eco-friendly range of fabulous designer bags.

I would like to introduce you to the work of mosaic artist Vandeepp Kalra. She delved into the world of mosaic art as a hobby which soon turned into an obsession and then into a full fledged career. Each piece is a beautiful work of art that you have to see with your own eyes. It takes hard work, immense patience and a great amount of passion to create the kind of work that she does. If you think it's too late to find your true calling in life then know that you are not the only one and it isn't too late to start. Vandeepp did her B.A. in Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, while her P.G. degree was in Business Administration. Her education has helped her in developing a sensibility of handling her business with grace and creativity. She is a self taught artist to top all of that.
She sources her materials from United Kingdom, Netherlands and Italy as well as India. Life inspires her mosaic artwork. The way she captures light and movement in her work is commendable. Each work takes one or two months to complete, the process is so labour intensive. She specialises in hand crafting mosaic portraits that flawlessly capture all kinds of silhouettes. Her studio offers product customisations to cater to client's specific needs.
Vandeepp Kalra is poised to shape a mosaic industry in India, which is still not fully exposed to the medium, through her innovative products and excellence in quality. As the only mosaic studio from India, it aims to educate and create awareness about mosaic as an art form and would like to be synonymous with similar artists that are present around the world.

And here is my favourite mosaic art from Vandeepp Kalra's exhibition that I personally got to gawk at the previous day. This Predator poster can become a collector's item for a movie buff.




image c/o Anupriya DG

You can drop in at her studio, located at Wood Street any time and bring home some of her finest pieces or order something one-of-a-kind that can be customised especially for you.

FlySongbird

Durga Puja 2014 - Trends Spotted

I saw a good deal of Normcore fashion this year while pandal hopping. But, I am not really sure how many of them consciously dressed up that way. Normcore fashion is where people dress up in a normal way to look same rather than stand out. Read this *article* to get an idea of what is Normcore as documented by artist Hans Eijkelboom.

But I did not capture the denim on denim and other Normcore craziness during Durga Puja for you! Here are 3 of the biggest trends I spotted this year. All my fashionable friends wore gorgeous sarees every day. Well, of course I didn't. I did wear an ethnic kurta with a beautiful printed vest on Ashtami. And I gorged on a sumptuous Italian fare at Spaghetti Kitchen that day. Also watched Haider on the first day of release and loved every bit of it.I wrapped up that awesome day by promptly falling down wearing flat shoes and tearing my beautiful red leggings on the way back.

Printed leggings were everywhere, they were mostly paired with bum covering long tops and flats

the Anarkali salwar kameez was everywhere! It was a bit weird how many of these I spotted this time.

No one wore the saree better or more fashionably than city bloggers Soumi and Anupriya DG. Soumi draped her saree over leggings! It doesn't get more trendsetting than that. Love Anu's necklace and clutch. Learn how to put a twist on your traditionals from these 2 ladies.

People really do forget all about calories during these 5 days

And with this I wish you a Subho Bijaya and Happy Dussehra!

In association with Lifestyle International I will be highlighting the food, fashion and atmosphere of Durga Puja here on the blog.

FlySongbird

I promise, I will never be your friend. No matter what. Ever.

Watch this.

FlySongbird

Live Life The Real Way

Look Up

FlySongbird

Smock Dress And Sick Days

When I am stuck home (read, stuck on a chair/bed) because of some stupid illness I spend the 1st day in a haze. No eating (do tic-tacs count?), binge watching favourite shows (it was Sherlock and Veronica Mars yesterday) and then just knocking myself out before 9pm with a good dose of awful tasting medication. 2nd day starts with trying to do something worthwhile even if I am again missing classes and have an intense feeling of lightheadedness (I am currently spelling every other word incorrectly and going back to check it). I try to read and instead wrapping a gift for a friend, I am also wondering if I can attend her party tomorrow. The day has started with reading about Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, Arvind Kejriwal's responses to Delhi Police and the NaMo gang campaigning for the PM post. My head hurts already, I need food, but I can't even look at photos of food, hence I have 2 restaurant reviews pending for Zomato (I can't think about food or look at it, what's the point in trying to write about it now). I realize I am rambling, I do that a lot, I am not a very good writer, or speaker, hence all the rambling. I love Woody's(Allen of course) characters so much because of this. Not that he is not a good writer or director, unlike me he is rather gifted despite his perceived perversions, or maybe because of them and his characters ramble. I like people who do the good kind of rambling. I shall stop now. Have a good day. P.S. - Someone buy me this dress.

Get the Vertebrae Ear Clip Earring here for $1.98. You can use this code DKT10 for a 10% discount.

 

You Have It Very Easy

❝Everyone knows the power of things: life is solidified in them, more immediately present than in any one of its instants.❞

 ~

Simone de Beauvoir

❝A Very Easy Death❞ 

Dress - c/o Front Row Shop; Get it here

Cardigan, Belt, Shoes - B.K. Market

 Tights - c/o Romwe, Get it here

I am in love with this dress. Under different lights the green looks different, not because of any photoshopping. I watched "The Kings of Summer" and was so very disappointed. Biaggio was an interesting character, but he was reduced to kind of a caricature of that weird, crackpot guy who says quirky, crackpot shit sometimes and everyone laughs, even though they feel awkward with his presence/statements. I can't believe some daft nincompoops have actually compared this to "Stand by Me". I hate films which pretend to be something they are not. This is a reason why I find it easier to watch very serious films or even very silly films as long as they are not pretending to be something else. Why does the world need to pretend so much about everything?! They promise something but they never deliver. But, then we realise we are the only ones complaining, this is what is expected of us too. So, we also start promising, knowing we won't deliver. Vicious cycle. Vicious.

Girl, Interrupted

Wishing You 

A

Happy New Year

~

with this rather demented "artwork" (term used very loosely) of mine.

Dress - c/o Front Row Shop; Get it here

Christmas Celebration Guide For The Nonbelievers

By Rashmirekha Basu

'Tis the season to be jolly, “tra la la la la la la."
I think not.
If you count yourself among the initiated who realise the complete and utter hypocrisy of the quoted words, read on. If you are among the legion who have been conned into believing that Christmas is a time for celebration of personal achievements and familial bonds, excuse me while I scoff derisively behind the regular man-sized handkerchief of my friend (and this blog's host).



So, what do you do when your hitherto poised friends flood your social networking feeds with pictures of them sloshed, about to be sloshed or acting as arm candy to someone who is completely sloshed? Well, you join them. Except you use your "little gray cells" and avoid all and any form of human interaction. 

Here is a step by step guide on what to do when you don't want to do Christmas.(that totally came out wrong) - debiparna

Step 1: Plunge into your savings account, visit the cheapest brewery and the poshest wine cellar in your neighbourhood and stock up. Why? You don't seriously believe your savings will help you achieve that childhood dream of traipsing all over the world, eh? Look at it this way, if you can ingest enough alcohol you can trick yourself into believing you have. In Charlie Sheen's dictionary that is a definite "win" (and you have to trust the guy when it comes to liquor..and winning)



Step 2: Arrange your drinks from exotic to dodgy looking. Consider and reject the idea of buying a Christmas tree with all the traditional trimmings. Because seriously, if your Christmas tree doesn't look like this what is the point in having one? Capiche?



Step 3: Don't buy any healthy stuff. At. All. ‘Tis not the season to be health conscious. If you have time, become known in your neighbourhood supermarket as the adult who wipes Twinkies, candies, Mars Bars in one fell swoop from the shelves while smirking snarkily at the children. This will do wonders for your dating life.



Step 4: Invite your one other "loser”, perennially morbid friend (you know the one with shaggy hair and questionable hygiene) so that you can feel better about your life when you hit the mid-binge crisis that overcomes the most intrepid of our kind.



Step 5: Watch the inexplicable Christmas favourite, "It's A Wonderful Life”. Take a shot every time something horribly unfair happens. Alternate that with cramming calorific food into your mouth the moment your mobile blips with yet another Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr update about your "friends" going "craaazzzyyy-hhhh"(towards the end of the night,that's how they will spell it too).



Step 6: If you make it to the end of the movie with full control of your limbs, shoot a piteous glance at your friend passed out stone cold on the floor and somehow move to the balcony or window(since you are reading this, it probably is a window). Your journey should feel like this.



Step 7: Look at the straggling line of revellers, hear the hyena-like laughter and sense the strong smell of alcohol wafting upwards. Ponder over the mysteries of human life, the minutiae that separates their experience of life from yours, the great gasping feelings of alienation that sometimes threaten to overwhelm you, the extraordinary effort that sometimes goes into just appearing ordinary. Then from somewhere in the distance, the sonorous peals of chiming bells will pull your mind back from wandering too far in the Asphodel Meadows and you may find you are half reclined against the wall. And maybe, it is the realisation that the sour smell of alcohol is emanating from your person or that the bells might have been something as prosaic as someone's ringtone but you suddenly realize that perhaps, you too, are a part of the spirit of Christmas. You too are jolly. Just not in the mainstream, euphoric, in-your-ruddy-face kind of way.



Have a good one ya'll!

 

Links I Love

1. Do you know what psychopomps are? I tweeted today it's my word of the day. Read about 10 psychopomps from ancient mythology.
2. The world is not skinny vs fat. "Bodies Aren't Ugly. Bullying Is" campaign created by  "The Militant Baker" is a powerful photo series. Check it out here. There has been 588 submissions as I type.
3. The Outsider by Albert Camus is one of my favourite books. The Outsider (aka The Stranger) and other really short classics that you should read up without any excuses.
4. This Pantene #WhipIt campaign made by BBDO Guerrero that beautifully shows the stereotypes both men & women view each other through.
5. Did you know: the first interracial TV kiss was in 1968 between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek. 10 memorable and defiant firsts in TV history.
6. These women are the bomb!
7. Loving these colour photos from the First World War.
8. This tweet talking about the Indian politicians in the face of the recent LGBTQ debacle is appropriately funny.
9. If you love Bollywood and think posters are an art form then this Minimal Bollywood Posters page is for you.

Ghost World

As I sit here slurping my soup while instagramming it (like all self-righteous bloggers must do to their food) I cannot get this song out of my head, "Beautiful Soup" ♫ by the Mock Turtle. Heard as a kid this song has settled somewhere deep in my subconscious, it emerges from time to time in the form of silly photo captions though. This is the only memory I have of watching that particular "Alice in Wonderland".

I got this floral blazer from Persun. I was talking about not owning any proper blazers/jackets in this post. Now I have this and hopefully will get a few more soon. I quite like that it is not an outright and obvious floral pattern (even though I love those as well). I also like the colours in it, reminds me of Japanese cherry blossoms.

Floral Blazer - Persun
White top - thrifted
Jeggings - Pantaloons
Plaid Boots - New Market
Lipstick - Avon
daisy, rose

❝I just hate all these extroverted, obnoxious, pseudo-bohemian losers.❞

~
enid

Beetlejuice

Stark black and white stripes like these remind me of "Beetlejuice". I am no stranger to strangeness and weirdness. I enjoy watching films which have characters who are totally weird and wacko. I am always the one saying the wrong things with a perpetual inner monologue going on inside my head, I am the one with issues with authority, I am the one down on luck - a perfect combo for a story's protagonist who wins it all at the end. My end is nowhere near. So, let's move on.

I don't think this look is very wacko, it is slightly unusual though. Some of you took a guess at what I paired my new shoes with in this post, but you all thought I would pair it with shorts. Now I liked Aditi's guess, high tops and a saree? Would be pretty cool.

Army Green Color Block High Top Denim Platform Sneakers - c/o Persunmall

Striped Tank Dress - c/o Chicnova

Earrings - Accessorize

Cape Shrug - Shopper's Stop

 Bangles - Some street shop in Gariahat

 I don't agree with most fashion rules, as you may know so I have no problem in wearing either horizontal stripes or sneakers with a dress. I love this dress on me. I love these shoes on me too, I have already dirtied it just like any proper sneaker should be.

Which fashion rule did you break lately?

Dinosaur Eats Man, Woman Inherits The Earth

I watched "Jurassic Park" again today! I realised it is one of the movies I geek out about. Spielberg is the man responsible for some terrible dinosaur chase sequences in many nightmares of mine (I have actually dreamt about dinosaurs several times. I have dreamt of dragons too but not going there for the time being) and an excruciating fear of the blue ocean depths (well this particular fear was always there he just added the cherry on top of it).

Dinosaur Eats Man, Woman Inherits The Earth

fin