My Home and Garden

My Bengali Home...

12:11 PM


A home should have a character...this is something I have always believed and that faith got etched on stone when I joined the design school. The very first lesson was to find my own style...something that defines me...something that I believe in.

Much later when I got married and started setting up the house I had no set vision. All I wanted was to combine easy elegance with functionality. I was lucky to have got a blank canvas and buy everything that we needed.

When it started taking shape I wondered how my aesthetics lied in my Bengali root and Indian philosophy.The most important characteristic of Indian theory of beauty lies in the concept of 'Santarasa'...

where silence or quietness is not only the absence of sound but the silence of desires and thoughts.  A state of mental concentration that brings inner peace, a spiritual experience par excellence.
it was a blessing to have grown up in Santiniketan, where Tagore's idea of being surrounded by nature and beauty in the most basic and mundane form inspired and influenced my senses at very early years.
The various aspects and substance of art and culture were imbibed in me during my school years itself and later carved me as a person. That very essence of Tagore’s teaching was, to encourage a person to be what he is, was a big confidence booster for all of us. 
We learned to live with the nature and appreciate beauty in simplicity. Nature, its forms and Tagore’s ideologies are a big part of my designing aesthetics and it gets reflected in my home decor too. 
So my haat pakha (hand held palm leaf fan), Kansa'r Bason (metal utensils) or Dhama (cane baskets) are not only used as props in my food styling but they posses their own space throughout the house.
Every thing that are handmade lures me and I love to use all sorts of Indian handicraft in my house.
Overtime during our travel to other countries I have collected a few items that I keep close to me and display proudly.
Both me and my style are desi, Bengali to be precise and it's very nature lies in every things indigenous to my own country. 

Home truly for me is where my heart lies. It's the most sacred of them all...blessed by the almighty...
With this I believe to have found my calling. What's your style? Will you share...



Memoir

I will be back soon...

7:29 AM

I know I have been missing in action for quite some time but trust me this time, I have a really good reason for that. 
I will come back soon with some good news and some exciting new recipes and yes... with all your requests.
I apologies to all all those who mailed but dint get any reply. Please allow me some more time to get back to you.
Thanks a billion to all those who messaged, mailed and called to check...I cannot thank God enough for having you all around me.


My Home and Garden

Hello to a brand new Week...

11:36 AM


If you are regular to my page then you know how much I love plants and gardening. I can spend hours in the garden, digging soil and getting my fingers dirty. I was a happy girl in Bangalore with a huge garden to do whatever I wanted. I planted vegetables and flowering  sapling and it was my fvourite place in the whole house.

My Home and Garden

Magical Monsoon

10:46 AM


I often talk about my Mom's garden so just thought of sharing a few of her rain drenched garden pics. 
Bleeding Hearts

My Home and Garden

Green Corner

12:07 AM



The temperature in Kolkata right now is extremely hot, wet and humid. By afternoon the roads are all deserted as no one can dare to face the scorching sun. The sonny boy has started school too and once he is off for the morning I get the whole morning by myself to finish off the household chores. so when he takes his afternoon nap I get enough time to what my heart fancies. Last Friday changed the setting in the drawing room a little bit. Here are some glimpses...

The lotus on the wall is an unfinished wall art that I started then lost interest as we will have to move house soon. Then my son found it uninteresting and tried to add some colours with his crayons.

Have a fun filled Sunday!!!

Memoir

Shubho Nababarsho 1419

8:48 AM


Wish all my readers, fellow bloggers and friends a very happy Bengali New Year. 
Sending lots of cheer from my Orange nook, from where my Scrap metal Durga maa looks after all of us.

Love the magical play of light and shadow on the wall.

My Home and Garden

Mid-week Cheer

7:03 AM


Winter has finally entered our part of the world. After a month long peek-a-boo we can finally feel the chill in the air. And to cheer us all various fairs and exhibitions have started all over Kolkata. Every weekend is like a fun trip around the city. But things are always not such fun. This weekend at the handicraft fair my purse was stolen. This is my first such experience and I was stunned. It took me a couple of hours to believe what actually has happened. By that time we reached home and hubby and I were busy blocking the various credit and debit cards that were also lost. Finally after 2 days the works are done and to cheer my gloomy self I baked a fresh batch of Moroccan Orange muffins. Will share the recipe soon but today here are some clicks that brought immense happiness to me.

First, my 2 and half year old little sunshine. This is his bunny face that he makes if given something that he does not like. I gave him some carrot juice to drink when he was back from school…rest of the story is written on his face.
This is what I did with the leftover orange peel. Saw this at pinterest and wanted to try this at home. Very easy to make. check out this video for the how to part. That smelled amazing.
Filled the home with a soft and sweet citrus-y aroma. Am definitely going to make this again and again through out winter.
Last but not the least the handmade dry flowers. I bought some at the craft fair and was so enthused, made some at home too. 
What do you think of them? Aren't they gorgeous?


What brings you cheer in the middle of the week? Share you stories too.

My Home and Garden

Buddha Scapes and More Awards

3:14 AM

Right now am daydreaming of a bright, sunny, breezy day. Its been raining here non stop and giving my domestic help enough excuses to bunk another day...my knees are aching from the numerous times I have to mop the floor to get rid of that sticky humid feeling, ligaments are sore for climbing up and down the stairs with heaps of wet clothes. The baby is also sick of reciting 'rain rain go away' and now finally he has resorted to scare it away by saying (with a heavy voice)'Rain, Ja, chole ja bolchi, Akdom Ribhu'r barite dhukbina (Rain go away. dont dare to enter Ribhu's house).I guess I should join him too. 
The Auspicious Diwali Night
Well am really tired and this light will also not allow me to take good pictures of the 'Aamer Morobba (sweet Mango Chutney)' Ma made this season. So, let me shelve it for another day, a sunny warm day....yeah!am back to my reverie again.
My blogger buddies have showered me with their love and appreciation with these awards. Am really honoured to receive them but what touches me most is the fact that they remembered and chose me to share them with. Lots of love coming your way Deepa, Indrani, Ambreen and Babli. You made my day girls. 
On our Book shelf

Am also pleased to share them with every new bloggers who have started their journey in this beautiful blogosphere. Come and collect it for all the mouthwatering recipes you bring in here friends. 
On the corner rack of our Dining Space
Recently I saw this great theme of 'Buddha Scapes' at one of my favourite lifestyle and decor blog Colours Decor. we have few statues that we adore.
The Zen corner
Though, My house is not ready yet to be clicked and the light now is miserable but still here are some Buddha corners in our home, that bring peace and happiness to us.

Events Awards Interview

Up, Close and Personal

10:30 AM

Do you believe in God? I do. I have faith in him for the minutest thing in my life and with his grace I never forget to count my blessings. I believe if we are true to ourselves God would always be there to help us. Remember this post where I talked about the terrible condition of my garden and cribbed about how we don’t get anyone to clean the mess? Then that weekend (next day) only a person came with a shovel asking if he could clean the garden. 
He brought couple of his friends later and cleaned all the weeds within an hour. I asked those guys to come regularly on weekends to help me with the gardening but they said they came here for construction work and will go back very soon. So still am without a gardener but hubby has promised to help in preparing the flowerbeds. Now am happy and preparing to sow seeds for the next season.
On a happy note here are some garden pictures, not much as most of the pictures are lost with my last laptop.

Also yesterday Jay of the beautiful and inspiring blog Tasty Appetite tagged me with 8 questions for 8 food bloggers. This interview is described as a rolling interview by Anthony at Flavorful World Food and drink Blog  to get to know our fellow food lovers and giving  new comers  to our respective sites a chance to see what makes us tick . Thanks Jay for thinking and passing it over to me. I find it very interactive and interesting.
Here are the answers to the questions that Jay asked:
  1. What are your favorite regional cuisines or specific foods?
Well being a Bengali I love our cuisine but also like to experiment with different recipes from the world.
Other favourites would be the mouth watering delicacies of Kerala and China.
  1. If you could have any four people, from any where at your place for dinner, who would they be? 
I would invite only one person, Sachin Tendulkar and then will instruct the security gourd not to let anybody else in for the rest of the evening.
  1. What made you decide to start your site?
A few things like the praise that our family always get for the food Maa or dida cook. I wanted to share the recipes and preserve it through an online journal for the next generation. Also being a part of this beautiful world of blogging fascinates me a lot.
  1. Give your Top 4 Food blogs that inspire you the most?
   1. Deeba’s Passionate about baking
   2. Suma’s Cakes and more
   3. Soma’s Ecurry
   4. Pree’s Preeoccupied

  1. How would you describe your site to new readers?
I believe cooking is all about passion. If they get that passion in my recipes, pictures and blog my work is done.
  1. What's the best and worst thing about being a food blogger?
Best thing is being a part of this world where peers pat your back for good work, readers try out and appreciate your recipe and Husband gets complement for the hard work that you put in (that’s Bad!!!)
Worst thing is the plagiarism…Food blogging is lot of work, which some people don’t understand and steal without blinking.
Niece 'R': A flower from my elder brother's Garden. 
  1. If you could just banish any one food, from the earth, what would it be?
It’s a Lentil called khesari (don’t know the English name). Studies show that this increases the possibility of cancer but still poor people in rural Bengal are  eating this as it is cheap compared to any other protein. Shame on us.

  1. What's the one super power you wish you had?
Anything that can stretch the day with a couple of more hours and can give little more sleep in my son’s eyes. Am tired of running and cleaning after him.

With this am also tagging some of my favourite bloggers whose life and blog fascinates me
  1. Indrani of Appayan
  2. Anjali of Anna Parabramha
  3. Preeti of Ising cake
  4. Pree of Preeoccupied
  5. Deepa of Hamari Rasoi
  6. Soomo of Oriya food
  7. Satrupa of food for thought
  8. Aipi of US Masala
I loved the questions that Jay framed so opt for this for my chosen set of bloggers. 

Switch on the best in you my Dearies...

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