Sunday, December 26, 2010

Spotting OOTD

So I was shopping in Westside for a new watch. I had seen a cute watch online and wanted to get my hands on it. The shopping trip was unsuccessful but i did find this lovely lady with this super cute bag.

I have to say it was the bag that made me run madly in her direction with my phone clutched in my hands.

IMG00545-20101216-1531I love the way she has accessorised the bag and the added cute scarf. Not to mention the cow keychain. Talk about the few members of Chennai who make this city beautiful and agree to be photographed. :-P

I had almost given up on the fashion blog idea because i had to keep taking photos of my OOTD every single time and they never came out well. I have to thank her for encouraging me again.

TA

VC

Thursday, December 23, 2010

OOTD for shopping!

Definitely need to get a good camera, but considering i got a camcorder instead for the budget, i can’t blame anything but myself for being bad. I will definitely get a better camera soon and I will definitely shoot good pics soon. But till then bear with my grainy pathetic quality.

IMG00668-20101223-1236

IMG00669-20101223-1237

Sorry, I was in a really bad hurry so I couldn’t get all the pictures that I wanted. I definitely will net time, and i will use a good camera, soon.

TA

VC

Monday, December 20, 2010

Fish School

I went to Chemmanur gold the other day, something on display had attracted me. I popped in to check it out and see what else was there when I noticed this. The floor was glass, a very thick slab, and underneath were swimming all these lovely golden orange fishes.

IMG00571-20101216-1821 IMG00570-20101216-1821

IMG00573-20101216-1822

Well considering that the orange colour is perfect for my blog title, i decided to put it up here.

I wonder, are fished fashionable? Because every store now seems to sport a fish tank and the ones who have the cash to waste do something like this.

Yes, according to Feng Shui, fishes are supposed to bring wealth into the house and all. But seriously? Fishes under your feet? I don’t want to get into the scary thought of the glass breaking and someone falling in but do imagine the plight of the fishes having to look at people’s dirty soles all day, and if you take veshtis and skirts into account, god knows what else the fishes have to see!

TA

VC

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Coffee lover!

As you probably already know, I am a mad MAD coffee lover. A sip of coffee can make any day, however awful it is, better. But it has to be good coffee.

So I was out the other day at Kalmane Koffees whis is at Ampa Skywalk and somewhere in Bangalore as well and I found that you could buy coffee from there. So I picked up 250 grams at 90/-. I’m having my second cup and writing about it today.

5760_119073745862_119006080862_2834789_1678350_n 5760_119073735862_119006080862_2834788_5450284_n

5760_119073720862_119006080862_2834787_3050604_n

So the coffee has Chicory, about 20%. My grandma used to make a wonderful filter coffee with equal amounts of coffee and plantation. It was pure bliss, and while this isn’t half as close to that in taste. It sure makes you feel happy. So what does coffee contain? Caffeine – Filter coffee has the highest caffeine content while instant has the lowest (not including decaffeinated).

(Chicory – You might experience milk skin irritation in which case, contact your doctor. Also avoid this herb if you have heart problems as this may act up on the heart)

And what is caffeine -  Caffeine is one of the world's most widely used drugs. Some people believe that it’s use might date back to the stone age. It caffeine is one of a group of stimulants called methylxanthine that is found naturally in plants. It is supposed to be bad for you but I honestly don’t care.

DSC00380

I’ve tried a lot of coffees. Ones from coffee day (they are a little too sharp for my taste) the ones from Krishna sweets (A pathetic excuse) ones from coimbatore native stores (nothing like it) and then this coffee.

Taste – 7/10

Aroma – 9/10

Price 7/10

the price value is less because  the coffee that I got from coimbatore is much better and is definitely cheaper. And the taste is good but not as god as that either. I think I should review the other two as well.

Coffee Day: Taste – 6/10 (I got the purple and blue packs, didn’t try the green one. Aroma 10/10 though it doesn’t smell traditional it definitely smells inviting. Price 4/10 really not worth it if you think about it.

Krishna sweets – Taste – 6/10 it’s too weak, almost like a failure sibling, Aroma – 8/10 it’s deceptively aromatic and the price is 60/- for a pack. Considering the taste i would give it 7/10 but if you chuck the taste then it is 9/10, but why would you chuck the taste.

IMG00556-20101216-1651

What i like about the Kalmane Koffee is that they grind it in front of you and give it to you which makes it so wonderfully worth it. And not to mention the fact that it smells beautiful. Go to Kalmane and ask them to give you a cup of peaberry. If you like it, as i am sure you would, pick it up and enjoy.

IMG00554-20101216-1649

TA

VC

Beads ‘n’ Beads

What I've been noticing this past year, wherever I go. Is this. I have seen at least one of these things in every single club or party that I have been to. Since I deleted and revamped my blog a bit to include more than beauty and fashion. I thought, what better way to get back to one of my biggest passions is to start with what has been trending around here. Since I didn’t have the balls to go ask a strange drunk girl in a club to pose for a photo, i asked her instead where she got it and picked one up myself.

DSC00961 

Sorry about the grainy picture, this is what happens when you are careless with your phone and get stuck with a pathetic phone camera.

There seem to be only three colours everywhere – Green, silver and this. The silver looked way tacky and the green, lets face it, light greens are not my friend.

It is quite an old trend but everyone still seems to be stuck with it. So I thought, why not join the crowd. Have you been seeing this trend going about? And do you wear it too?

TA

VC

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Rape is not a crime?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word rape? I asked a couple of my friends this and they answered mostly Horror while others said disgusting. But quite a few of them made jokes. Well, I now know to stay away from those who made jokes.

But for me the first thing that comes to mind are people like this.

Capture9_0_0

This was the status of one of my friends on facebook. I was quite surprised because not only is the person intelligent but is also studying to get into criminal law. I guess defending criminals is important in the career and this is how they’ve started practicing. 

Women and men who think that it is a joke, that they can make fun of it because it makes them look cool or nonchalant are what makes the world a worse place to live in. Did you know that in India, 5,368 cases of child rape alone were reported in 2009 with Madhya Pradesh accounting for the maximum of 20 per cent cases followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

One can only imagine the pain that these kids go thought. They might be worse than the pain that grown women go though. It seems that just when our world is going forward that things and people like this are waiting to pull it further and further into the depths.

Take into account the following statistics, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be a victim of sexual assault in their lifetime. College age women are 4 times more likely to be sexually assaulted. Every 2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted and 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police even though reporting has increased by about 30% since 1993. This is depressing isn’t it. Now for the more depressing news, Approximately 73% of rape victims know their assailants and only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail.

It is found, in places like India, that the woman is blamed for the assault. Most cases are not reported because parents, siblings or “loved” ones think that it was the girl’s fault and therefore she should be punished. As if she hadn’t suffered enough, parents beat the girl up for allowing herself to be victimised. I was having a conversation with one of my friends about this and he said. “Being raped is NOT the girl’s fault and any prick who thinks so should be anally violated.” Although I don’t think that violence is the answer in most cases, when it comes to rape i think that there is no better solution.

The number of foreigners who holiday in India, mostly Goa, suffer by becoming rape victims and most Indian people will not take their complaints seriously because they think that the girls invited it upon themselves for wearing bathing suits. What more can you expect from a country that makes men marry the women that they raped as a form of punishment or as a solution to save the “honour” of the girl’s family. The girl has not suffered enough by being raped once, I guess, they want to make her live with the monster that tormented her. Not only will she have to see his face in her nightmares, but she has to see face to face every day of her life. Are we saving her or are we punishing her?

A BBC survey says that most women want rape victims to take the blame. I am sure that these are women who have either never been raped or are dealing with their husbands/sons/brothers being blamed for the rape.

Rape victims are not to be blamed or punished. They need love and protection. Most rape victims, especially those who are victims of gang rape, child rape or spousal rape are the ones who suffer the most. They find it hard to trust anyone ever again. I’m going to share the experience of someone who is really close to me, with her permission of course.

A girl, who was working on a project with a classmate at her home, they had been assigned to do the project together. She served two glasses of juice, one for herself an another for the guy. She only remembers that much. She regained consciousness an hour or so later with the guy on her and panicked. They guy got away. She has no idea what happened except that the guy said that it was her fault because she invited him into the house. She didn’t tell anyone, not even her boyfriend, because she was afraid that she would be blamed.

Another girl I know was drugged and gang raped in a dance class by the others who were training with her including the assistant dance master. They recorded it and threatened to expose the video if she didn’t continue to oblige them. Like I said, it’s people like this that make the world a worse place to live in.

In both these cases the girls refused to tell their families and friends for entirely different reasons. But whatever the reason, at the end of the day, the men got away with it and the girls have to live with it forever. And it isn’t just the women who suffer, a man who has been assaulted by men or women gets laughed at or avoided. If its a woman who assaulted him then he is laughed at and told to enjoy it. Men have feelings too and they are capable of getting hurt and feeling insecure. Sexual assaults are not just aimed at women.

Right now, as I am writing this article, someone might be getting assaulted or someone may be getting punished for being victimised. Someone might be suffering in silence because she is two scared to tell anyone else.

When I was writing this post I was checking online for a few references and found this wikepedia article on the types of rape. Summing it up with a list kind of takes away the horror of something like this. But it’s true horror remains with those who have been victimised. Are we doing something to protect ourselves and our loved ones? Or are we ignoring the girl who had the guts to actually come forward and demand justice.

Are we making jokes about it like the girl in the picture about or are we trying to take a stand against this. Whatever your stance, just think of the victims and try to see from their point of view.

It’s women who blame other women that make men commit more crimes. And men who tell other men to enjoy being assaulted by women that make men fear coming out openly about such incidents.

I just wanted to pour my heart out. Seeing this status first thing in the morning has really affected my day.

TA

VC

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Death Of Neighbourhoods

“Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition.” Wikepedia.

How many of you can say that you know your neighbours. I can. I know them in the following order, 1. Door slammer, 2. Super Spy, 3. Curly haired head, 4. Drunk man and acid woman, 5. Stuck up dude and 6. Does someone even live there?/anonymous biker.

Long gone are the days when your neighbour came over for evening tea and a bit of gossip. I can recall those days fondly, my neighbour aunty coming over for tea and chatting with my grandpa and grandma. It seemed like years ago that neighbours came over with food and a welcome basket when you moved into the neighbourhood/flat. When you could go around flat from flat collection for some charity, as part of a school project, and actually know most of the people who answered doors by name. And if you didn’t know anyone by name, you soon would and might even be good friends with them a month later.

Today what happens is you hardly even know if someone has moved out. In fact once I came back from a week long holiday to find that I had new neighbours. No one else, except the secretary of the flat knew. I was atleast on holiday while the rest actually were sitting right there.

No excuses. In fact I know of friends who live in large flats and have to see everyone in the elevator in the morning. they hardly know people that they have been seeing everyday for years.

lgIMG_15306920071546828

Considering today's situation i would say that I know my neighbours pretty well. In fact, let me introduce you to them. Super spy is an old man who is as guilty as he looks innocent. If there is a rumour about you around, you can be sure that he started it. He will, in fact, wake up in the middle of the night just to spy on the lone drunk bus driver meandering home. Door slammer is someone who slams the door everytime someone stands at the elevator. Curly haired head is all i see passing quickly out of the house every time in the middle of the night. Drunk man is someone who has no job and sits in the bathroom all day smoking and drinking, how do I know? His bathroom shares a wall with my living room and I can smell everything he does all day. Maybe that explains my addiction to scented candles. Acid woman is his wife who will have a one man staring contest with you even after you’ve long gone. Stuck up dude is too stuck up for me to describe and anonymous biker is someone whom I know by their helmet. I don’t know what his/her face looks like.

What has happened to today’s generation. I remember even five years ago when I knew everyone, it seems real estate value has made people hostile. Maybe they think, “I have to pay a bloody 25k for this hell hole, I don’t want to know anyone here” could that be it? Well whatever the reason, neighbourhoods have died. It seems like merely a myth, an urban legend.

I long for the days that I can borrow a cup of sugar from my neighbour without her asking me “Do I know you?” or even worse “That’ll be 20 RS” I long for the day that my post will be collected by someone if I’m not home. When, if I come back looking tired there will be someone who asks me how I am.

I wish I could perform a spell, ala sims3 cheats, and make people know me or make friends for me. I sometimes wonder if it is just my apartment that is like this or is everyone suffering this way.

Tell me, have you found that your neighbourhood has died? Has it been replaced with faceless zombies? Do you think aliens have taken over the world? Whatever your thoughts. Come, let us lament.

TA

VC

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Lady of the south

Picture taken in Theni district while I was there for work. In fact she was a big part of my project. I absolutely loved her look. And she’s really sweet.

old earring lady

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Mist in the eve at Thekkady

I spend the better part of 2008 in Thekkady, working. When I was returning to my hotel room one evening because the mist was starting to set in, I was crossing a tiny water body. Asking my driver to stop I started clicking pictures but the moment I clicked two the light started to reduce so I had to pack up and get back. Out of those two pics, this looked good. So I’m posting it for you guys to see.

I am really looking forward to going back to Thekkady atleast to get more snaps.

I hope you enjoy. Comments are welcome.

Image0048TA

VC