Meditation

This is a humble note of gratitude to a bunch of white folk who visited my primary school for a few days and taught each class by class, each student at a time, the magic of meditation.  It has meant a world of a difference to me.

Airline Travel

OK here goes, and I am hanging myself out to dry this time - I loooovvve airline travel, I love airline food (ok, mostly) and love airports too (most of 'em anyway).
 

...and Facebook too !

Hi, you can now also follow my blog on my facebook page for updates about this blog - my handle is Herearemyfaves BlogSpot

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Herearemyfavesblogspotcom/552366628161818

 

Hey I am on Twitter

Hi, you can follow me on twitter for updates about this blog - my handle is Herearemyfaves

https://twitter.com/HereareMyfaves

 

Nigella Lawson

Ok let’s get the obvious out of the way. As the stand up comedians say, ‘‘it’s impossible to talk about ____  [INSERT BUXOM CELEBRITY’S NAME HERE] without using your hands”.

And yes, that is a prominent aspect that strikes you – the abundant, bountiful, wholesome, hearty goodness – a figure like the Venus de Milo sculpture and the voluptuous women from the renaissance paintings.   (It ‘d be easier and less offensive for women to describe her – Seema Goswami, an editor with HT described Nigella’s cleavage ‘quivering like a well set blancmange’).  So yes, that's the obvious that everyone knows and likes, but there's a lot more...

UPPER CRUST – the magazine

One of my favourite things to reach out for to pick me up is the magazine Upper Crust.

In fact if I may say its one of the best kept secrets and you are unlikely to know about it until you come across it accidentally because a) there are only four issues in a year, and b) it is not circulated like other magazines. So the few issues printed and given to stores are normally sold out like real fast.  (The best way to ensure you get a copy is through subscription, and now if you are an NRI they also deliver to foreign shores)

Notting Hill – the movie

I just completed watching Notting Hill for the nth time on one of the movie channels that does repeats regularly, and, naturally I had to write about it.

It’s hard not to like the film, and having seen this so many times I think its one of the few films that can give one so much pleasure and relaxation as it did when you saw it the first time.

Dick Francis

I discovered Dick Francis much later in life and it took quite a bit to get to like him.   But once I did get a hang of him, it was hard not to consider him one of my favourites.

I do not read intense stuff like what comes in Oprah’s reading club nor a fan of classical literature. (In fact books like ‘to kill a mockingbird’ and ‘Color purple’ used to leave me rather depressed and frustrated). My preference has always been popular pulp fiction. In fact I dig anything that is an easy read – preferably the faster I can finish it the better – which means my brain is not taxed much, and yes, usually these books also help me fall asleep. 

Elizabeth Gilbert and ‘EAT, PRAY, LOVE’

Imagine you are an editor/ publisher and get a request for a book – where the author asks you for a major advance. An advance to spend a year travelling across the globe. Those travels would include a mix of sun, sand and lagoons, as well as one of the most expensive locations in the heart of Europe, and there would be one of the muckiest places somewhere in between.  And then, there might be a book about all of this somewhere after the end of the year. Would you buy into this pitch, however less or well-known the author was?

Well the world, at least millions of readers like me, shall forever be grateful to this kind soul who approved this request for it produced one of the most brilliant, literally life-changing books ever – EAT, PRAY, LOVE

Oprah...

Some of my best learning's have come out of watching the Oprah Show. However, most of it would be serendipitously, for the majority of Oprah’s shows didn’t interest me – from makeovers, the book reading club, some odd American celebrity that I didn’t know anything about, and then the episodes which I hated the most – Oprah’s giveaway programs where you just simply hated everyone lucky enough to be in that audience!.  Clearly it was mostly targeted mainly/ and only to Americans.

Indian Chaai – Tea

It seems ironical to write about Tea, after writing about such a significant influence on my childhood and psyche like ACK – but this blog is about things both big and small, the trivial and the significant – all that have in their small or big ways helped enrich my life both intellectually, spiritually as well as provided me relief, succour etc.

I was in Colombo earlier this year on a company led jamboree, and there were about a 100 of us.  In one of the most natural group formations, another vegetarian and I were hanging around together. He was a Gujarati, and by the first afternoon, he was dying for chaai. 

Amar Chitra Katha

An important part of my childhood, and one of the most defining contributions would be that of Amar Chitra Katha comics.  My generation in fact owes significant gratitude to the founder Anant Pai for helping shape our thoughts and opinions, and also educating us about history and folklore.

It is inevitable, so let me declare that I don’t have any relation to Mr. Pai, but have basked in the rub-off of having the same surname.  So when I refer to him as ‘Uncle Pai’ it is only using the name by which he was popularly called.

As the story goes the founder was quite disappointed to see students at a quiz not able to answer questions on Indian History but cracking all questions related to the US. (This was in the 70s – decades before the internet, telecom and liberalisation –so history is what we had a lot of!)

Why this blog?

For long, I have been sold on to the dry Brit wit and ‘humour’ –  condescending (‘interesting’ they would say – you can only guess what that meant!).  From sitcoms to fashion, there are sooo many countless and creative ways to put someone  or yourself down (watch the fashion reviews of the red carpet for any event and you know what I mean!).

However, in life there is so much to be grateful for, and one should really count their blessings and privileges. This therefore is a small, well not small but pretty large collection of ‘these are a few of my favourite things’.  I can tell you this will not get too philosophical or spiritual, but let me warn you it might get schmaltzy, nostalgic and melancholic.  And for sure, there's going to be lots and lots of foods and drinks that shall pitch in (so if you're on a diet plan stay away!)

Would encourage each one of us to make their own gratitude dairies.

(the logo image was sourced from http://www.synergyart.co.uk/category/coca-cola)