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Night sky in Singapore
While I am completely happy in our home in Mumbai, we do not have a ‘view’. Our choice of location was motivated purely by practicality – close to the highway to scoot to the airport or other parts and close to my partner’s mother.
On my December trip to Singapore, I stayed one night with a friend in ‘CBD’. We went to see the documentary ‘Naked DJ‘ at the Singapore International Film Festival then returned to this view. It was a most enjoyable evening sitting and chatting on the rather large balcony, with the evening lights our backdrop.
I’ve had the privilege of many fabulous views on my stays in various cities. Do you have a favourite?
Other Sunday Snaps:
Big B in Bandra
India’s greatest superstar of all time remains the “Big B.”
For those who never heard of Bollywood (is that possible?), Amitabh Bachchan, is the ‘angry young man’ who took Hindi films by storm in the 1970s and 80s. Who made “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) the ONLY show you heard blaring from every single home, with streets deserted so all and sundry could be glued to the TV set. Who remains film royalty even in his 70s.
Part of the Bollywood Art Project, this image can be found strolling along the bi-lanes of Bandra.
Other Sunday Snaps:
“When is duck not duck?” In Bombay
So… when is duck not duck?
It could be a fish if you live in Mumbai!
I first had ‘Bombay Duck‘ in New York when visiting a Parsi friend from Mumbai. It was masala dried – stinky, chewy, very different but also quite good.
Then I moved to Bombay and discovered fresh bombil, deep-fried is beyond yum! If ever asked what goes superbly with a chilled beer? The answer is ‘Bombil Fry‘ aka ‘Bombay Duck.’
When a duck ain’t a duck
Bombil is actually a lizardfish… uh yeah… this duck is now actually a lizard? What is it with the misleading names and this fish?
It is rather popular with folks from Maharashtra… and the dried form is privately ‘smuggled’ across borders – hence my tasting contraband ‘Bombay Duck’ in New York back in the early 90s.
Any food in your ‘hood’ with a misleading name?
I’ve also come across :
- 水煮鱼 aka Shanghai “water boiled fish” that is actually drowning in oil!
- Or “prairie oysters” that are… ahem… fried baby bull balls
Other Sunday Snaps:
We have our home back!!
I cannot even begin to describe the amazing pleasure it is to FINALLY have our home back! No lingering construction work, no workers crap cluttering our balcony, no walls waiting for plastering, no unfinished painting to be done. Nada!!
The work only began on our building in March 2015. And was only supposed to take 2-3 months. Hmmm….
We aren’t yet truly ‘home free’ as work continues on other flats so we still contend daily with the whir and whine, pound and bang, however our home is blissfully worker free. And back to normal!! (more…)
Obsessions… playing with piano keys
My partner suffers from the occasional bout of artistic obsession…
For some time, it wasn’t a new film, play or even music. It was piano keys!
No it wasn’t playing piano… it was creating art installations out of piano keys from one of first pianos in Bandra… as in over 100 years old!
The keys laid out after manic cleaning
What happened to the piano that came with these keys? Well… it was transformed into a bar some time ago. I recently met its owner and saw photos of its transformation – remarkable!
What happened to the piano keys? Here are a few of the pieces my partner created.
One project in process…
Wait…. wait… wait….
And the finished product:
There are also very practical “Keys for keys”
He also created a “Leaning tower of keys” and the final project was the “Key Lamp” which had a few iterations before finally becoming what you see here…
I’ve often been the beneficiary of his obsessions. When he says, “Let’s not get rid of it. I have an idea…” Chances are something quite interesting will be the result.
Anyone have an obsessive quality? Any interesting outcomes?
Related posts:
Vienna Store’s Elephant Sized Surprise
Once upon a time there was a humble store on Hill Road in Bandra, Mumbai, India.
Then along came an artist who transformed it into a great big happy blue elephant! Festooned with red, this pachyderm attracts smiles from passerbys.
Vienna Store, Bandra, Mumbai
A young friend recounted the tale how excited she was to check out this amazing quaint little place.
And what exactly is it? A cheerful cafe? A cute curio shop? An artful daycare?
Nope!
It sell eggs. As in wholesale eggs. As in cartons and cartons of eggs. That’s it.
They say not to judge a book by its cover but… in this case one can be forgiven for not instantly connecting elephants with eggs!
Related posts:
Punjabi khaana in Delhi!
When traveling, a gal has got to eat! In 2015, I had several trips to Delhi. Normally I keep it a quick ‘grab and go’ kinda meal unless it is a sit down business lunch or dinner.
However during my December trip, with the chill in the air and a little time on my hands between meetings I had a ‘proper’ sit down Punjabi lunch with chole (chickpeas), laccha parantha, pickles and salad. It was simple and completely satisfying!
Punjabi lunch
Now I’ve ordered hot chole bhatura from a local dhaba in Bandra and have even been known to make it at home from time to time… however it is just not the same as the spicy tangy incredibly delicious version most joints make in Delhi.
There are lots of other amazing Punjabi dishes… any other favourites out there? Ones that are simply not quite the same outside of either someone’s home or a particular location?
Related posts:
Confessions of a recovering academic
Once upon a time I flirted with becoming an academic. Perhaps a serious affair is a better way to describe it… but after a decade I had commitment issues.
Sure I loved teaching, I could even handle the hours of meticulously marking papers, gobbling up thick heavy tomes? No problem! Regurgitating papers and essays? Well… I would start by procrastinating then spew out content – sometimes with passion and sometimes merely intellectual curiosity.
You need to understand, the University of Manitoba (U of M) environment was where I grew up. I was a professor’s brat which meant the University was where I went to nursery school, where I learned to swim, where we went each summer to Mini University for ‘camp’, where I used to hop a bus from school to attend piano lessons… in short it was always home.
Photo: UManitoba.ca
Zoe’s becoming a woman!
I don’t know how many folks out there have pets… or lived with a cat in HEAT… however we’ve gone from being new kitten slaves to managing a horny little munchkin in under a month!
And she is hilarious!
You weren’t reading that, were you?
Let’s just say I have new insight into the phrase ‘heavy petting’.
“It’s the coconut man!” in Delhi
One of the delights about living in Asia is access to an array of fresh food. Pure and unadulterated.
In Canada if you want coconut water? You get it from a can or a drink box imported from Asia.
In India, if you want coconut water? The coconut man brings it fresh to your door.
You can sip it with a straw or even have it in a glass if you prefer (why?).
He’ll then ask if you want the ‘meat’ and proceed to take part of the coconut shell to scoop out and roughly chop all that good stuff so it is easy to eat as is or store to have later.
Practically everything from the coconut can be used.
Related posts:
Everyday Asia 