Home » Posts tagged 'India' (Page 10)
Tag Archives: India
Back in Bombay… and straight to Bandra!
Its my first trip home to Mumbai since landing a super cool project in Jakarta. I managed to arrange a flight route (via Bangkok) that permitted me to arrive in time for a friend’s new gallery / event space launch. We reached just as the music began, what joy to be serenaded by a dear friend, munch on macaroon treats, sip wine and generally enjoy terrific company in a convivial atmosphere. Our friend has done well with this new venture!
For those unfamiliar with Bandra, it is a special neighbourhood – a catholic bastion with strong proud traditions that has become rather popular with ex-pats – including those seeking a more ‘regular’ life not bolstered by insane high salaries and expense accounts. You know the type – locally hired foreigners who have chosen to stay and forgo all the ‘extras’ that come with a pampered ex-pat nomadic life!
Particularly the immediate area around Veronica and Chapel road, one can still find old bungalows and a sense of community. The space I found myself just a few hours from landing is one such bungalow… That was falling into complete disrepair until along came friends with a huge labour of love and rather more money than they planned – transforming it into a new avatar – an enchanting space to enjoy for eclectic events and show off funky furniture.
Yes we were a rapt attentive audience!
Happy Independence Day India + Indonesia!!
Today my adopted home India celebrates its Independence Day. On Saturday I fly home from Indonesia – as it celebrates its Independence Day.
While the boundaries of the nation-state seem out-dated in this remarkably connected world we live in… Pride in who we are, where we come from, a sense of community and belonging can be a good thing.
So here’s a cheer to India & Indonesia – may you have much to celebrate on these days with more to come!
— From a global citizen privileged to enjoy both India & Indonesia!
Related posts:
Winnipeg Folk Fest Part 2 – With a LOT of help from our friends
I woke up this morning to an email from the Winnipeg Folk Festival asking for my mailing address in India to send a commemorative poster of the 1974 inaugural fest as a thank you for joining the “40 Years of People” workshop. It prompted me to start publishing posts on our recent trip, starting with one I drafted on the flight back from Canada… And missed publishing in the flurry of preparations for the unexpected job in Jakarta. Enjoy!
Goodnight ‘n goodbye all!
It’s officially over and we made it home safe n sound despite our 1st flight being cancelled.
While there are lots to share, want to begin at the end… with a massive heartfelt THANK YOU to many folks who made it possible for us to fly all the way from Mumbai to Winnipeg with zero camping gear. This was luxury camping compared to my old camping stuff (long since wandered way away to better homes).
Here are a few things for which I’m infinitely grateful: (more…)
1st Quarter Summary
Egads!? It’s been three whole months since I began this blog! Inspired by Zhonggou Jumble, I decided to introduce a summary covering a few highlights (and likely some lowlights too) for each quarter.
“And in the beginning…” I was encouraged my many friends in many places to share every day stories and observations about life in India, work in Asia, and reflect on a variety of experiences from the mundane to the remarkable. This blog is the result.
What I hadn’t expected, yet is hugely enriching, is virtually ‘meeting’ an amazing community of bloggers. Your stories inspire me further, make me laugh, sigh and I especially love it when contemplating a particular topic… up pops a blog about that very thing by another blogger with his or her own distinct perspective and interesting insights.
“Wanna work in Jakarta?”
Whether it was contemplating over coffee shifting from “wants” to “needs” and becoming open to anything, catching up with a terrific ex-colleague in Bangkok at Terminal 21 or merely willing the universe to send something interesting my way, I find myself unexpectedly flying to Jakarta this weekend to kick-off a four month assignment in Indonesia.
Welcome to Jakarta Airport (photo: Carissa Hickling)
Not only is the opportunity well-timed to combat my shrinking bank balance, it is with a gang of guys I adore! At 43, I’m the “baby” in the bunch and the only “broad.” If past experience is any indicator, we will work like maniacs and have an uproariously good time too!
In a delicious turn of fate, this rag-tag team of veteran consultants from the UK to Australia (loosely linked together by our ex-boss) beat our ex-company to win the contract – “Take that oh previous employer!” Naturally we have a ridiculously ambitious schedule to meet and there will be all sorts of unexpected twists and turns along the way, however I’m looking forward to the project on many levels.
Jet lag and a wood chipper? Seriously??
My secret to avoiding conking out in the middle of the afternoon with ‘jet lag’ is keeping busy. We did brilliantly adjusting to the time difference between India and Canada until our first truly relaxing afternoon.
Wood chipper (photo: Carissa Hickling)
While I should have tackled sorting through 60 odd boxes of books, papers and various other items stored at my parents, the lure of a comfortable bed when we planned to camp for the next five days was just too enticing…
About to sink into blissful oblivion, we were startled by the most god awful screeching noise. Something howled and whined its way into the upstairs bedroom at a defeaning volume!
So much for nap time. Up and out I went to discover it was a wood chipper. Yup… a wood chipper.
Gotta admit, a wood chipper as ‘jet lag’ cure was a first for me. What keeps you awake when you are dying to snoooooozzzee??
Related posts:
- Home sweet home – aka how we initially stayed awake in Winnipeg
- TURF – Opening Act for Fest Fun – aka how we stayed awake in Toronto
TURF – Opening act for fest fun!
We all know the role of the opening act – the band warms up the audience, gets them into the grove and the main act then capitalizes on the energy built to great effect! Thanks to a fabulous friend – music publicist Rebecca Webster (Webster Media Consulting) – my partner and I were VIPs at the Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF) on Friday as our ‘warm-up’ for the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
We ARE awake – honest!! (photo: Rebecca Webster)
TURF is a lovely 1st year music festival held in downtown Toronto’s historic Fort York Park – infusing urban energy into the 1793 site best known for the 1813 battle of York. At least the American invaders this time were of the merry musical persuasion and not military!
Here are a few of our TURF highlights:
Home remedies – sick chick soup!
I lost the battle! A nasty cold was ready to pounce even before I left Monday for Bangkok. A couple plane rides, killer air conditioning and sleep deprived day or two later, I returned home well and truly sick. Naturally as I’m a generous sort – my partner also is blessed with sniffles and cough.
With only three sleeps to go before our big Canada trip, we knew we needed to up our ‘home remedy’ game. So in addition to the tried and true (list below), I also made a couple of soups. By Sunday, it was full-on comfort food craving time. Rummaged around the fridge and found carrots and ginger – and voila! A savoury Sunday soup for a ‘sick chick’! (more…)
Coffee Conundrum – Wants vs Needs
Swapping stories over a leisurely lunch with a delightful young German writer and actress, our coffee conversation took an interesting turn. We originally met at the wrap-up party for a film (see Dabba) that our partners worked on. Between the cocktails and canapés, found kindred spirits. We both have adopted India as our home and made deliberate choices in our lives which may be considered a bit unconventional.
Aah! Coffee! (Photo: Carissa Hickling)
Sipping our cappuccinos, she shared that once she stopped expecting to ‘plan’ as she would in Europe or confuse what she ‘wanted’ with what she ‘needed’, discovered that all her real ‘needs’ are fulfilled – often in unexpected and wonderful ways.
Monsoon soup – What to make when the rain won’t stop!
While I do enjoy the monsoon, it does put a bit of a damper on getting out and about. Even prowling around the market for fresh veggies seems an effort. So when the mood to cook hit and rains didn’t abate, decided to make a soup with whatever was handy in the kitchen.
Must say, the results were so yummy, just had to share! (more…)
Everyday Asia 