Last Christmas

As the year comes to an end, it gets all the more busier.This is the time when schools arrange their annual concerts, sports day,winter picnics( in this part of the sub continent) and the Christmas carnivals.Time to have fun and taste lots of goodies. I have so many things to share with you all but hardly getting the time to do a post. So thought of sharing my Christmas vignettes and decor from last year before I  get busy with all my to do's to get them ticked off before the year ends!

 This lovely cherub was picked from the night market in Phuket. It was lying in a corner, amongst  the many other Asian treasures! I pulled it out this time, as I have decided to display the artefacts around my house according to the seasons and festivities.One needs an occasion to celebrate each small things in life after all! 

There goes my pine cones, hand picked by me  during our honeymoons in the hills! Boy that was many years ago and that reminds me our marriage anniversary is just around the corner next month,next year !

Who said one needs a full grown Christmas tree, if you don't have enough space to flaunt ... decorate a branch in a crystal vase I say! 

As a child I used to love these jujubes and I remember my granny used to love them too, they reminds me of her .... she was the baker's wife as my grandpa used to run a famous bakery.So Christmas was the time of the year when we used to visit the bakeries and earn shiny coins, if we could wrap the chocolates and candies and help with the packaging. It was so much fun amongst cousins and family of who earns the most. I still have a newspaper cutting of me with my cousins staring at the cakes made for the advertisement pages! 

Ah,there goes my Holiday corner all bling and happy!

Tables getting ready with the holiday colours Red/ White/ Green, the little bit of bling ,the stars, the wine, the cakes,the turkey roast and more.... 

                Sparkling wines and scrumptious food to enjoy with family and friends.

This was a nice window corner of a restaurant where we had gone to for a Christmas brunch, I could not stop myself from clicking this one. 

 Check out these angry birds cupcakes sitting pretty wearing the Santa's cap .

                    Some Christmas party favours .... Santa pens aren't they cute?

 Can't stop smiling looking at my cosy holiday corner, set in the right mood and the right setting.

         Yes of course I had another small tree tucked up in this corner thought of spreading around its branches, warmth and wishes in the corners of my house for a change!  

                           
                                                Wishing all a very merry Christmas
                                                                  Hugs Auro
Partying @ Ivy and Elephants
                 Have a daily cup of Mrs. Olson

Beat the Blues!

  To beat the Monday morning blues and for that early morning rush hour this recipe is a super time saver for preparing school tiffin and office lunch boxes. Full of nutrients(veggies,eggs, shrimps) carbohydrate and protein to face the  busy week ahead.

                                                                          Bon Apetit!

Joining the parties @ The Dedicated House : Anything Blue Friday
                                The Style Sisters
                                Flour Me With Love: Mix it up Monday
                                A Delightsome Life 
                                Ivy and Elephants    

Remnants of the Colonial Raj

Today I am sharing some beautiful postcards of the city I was born in Kolkata,India. The remnants of the British raj and its influence  perhaps is the most prominent in Calcutta(Kolkata) than in any other Indian city as it was the capital of British India.The British rule in India was known as " the Raj" which was derived from the Sanskrit word raja meaning king.The rule of the Raj as it is commonly referred to is a chapter closed but its resonance is still heard. Calcutta has grown and has been able to outstretch its wings yet an umbilical relation to its British predecessors and its colonial past undeniably binds it.

Built in times of great flourish in the like of the British palaces,these gracious buildings and palaces are still standing tall like the guardian angel of this City of Palaces,as Kolkata is humbly called. Although the shine and shimmer has dimmed and the walls have surrendered to the destructive powers of time the dignity of these mansions triumphs over the decay, as they exist to live on as beautiful reminders of the past.

One of the most beautiful of all the reminders is the Victoria Memorial, built by the Indians themselves in reverence to their empress Queen Victoria.This formed indeed the architectural climax of the British Raj in India.The palace of white marble with its green fringes,designed in the Renaissance style remains forever an asset and Calcutta's very  own heritage site. 

These mossy obelisks and columns, a place rescued from semi dereliction.

The lingering Britishness of the first capital of the Raj continues in the nearby St Paul's Cathedral, with its soaring Canterbury inspired towers.

Calcutta is bursting with dozens of 19th century buildings,those red brick stone or white washed crenelated edifices with stucco decorations,balconies,turrets now crumbling with trees sprouting on their ledges and begrimed with over a century of pollution!

                           These colonial trellis still looks so grand with all that detailing.

                                                 and that winding staircase to heaven!

                             

Its a curious blend of the old and the new, the crude and the urbane.The old is giving space to the new ....  symbolising the rise and the fall.

Old  louvered shutter wooden windows with peeled off paints and wearing a distress look will now be available at the local flea markets, making a style statement named as" shabby chic", if not razed down and sent off for recycling. 

The imperial past has been so well preserved and curated in this city, amidst the old houses of the Zamindars (feudal lords) goverment officials and even the gentry or "Babus" of Kolkatta. They are still full of treasures  and  houses so many odd memorablia of the bygone eras, left unattended and uncared for unless realized and curated by some art lovers and curators.

 

From the Gramophone Company HMV a gramophone treasure curated at my ancestral home in Kolkatta.

One such treasure is this vintage chandelier of hundred lanterns(jharbati). My heart skips a beat staring at this beautiful piece and for some odd reason I am getting hooked onto it like some old connection revived somewhere and finding myself  lost in the tide of time.

    Wishing all a very happy weekend ahead.

                                                                          Auro

Partying @ Ivy and Elephants
                             Have a Daily Cup of  Mrs . Olson

Rise and shine.

Preparing, refurbishing and doing up my home for the festivities I got really busy to do a post in advance but obviously that could not stop myself from sharing with you all, how I decorated my house in this festive season. 

Here are some snapshots of them all.

Aren't these upcycled, coloured bottles strung  up on  burlap strings a perfect adornment to brighten up my windows during this festival of lights? A big thanks to this talented lady who painted them and  for making this Diwali so colourful for me - Sahana Singh of  http://homecanvas.blogspot.in/. Visit her space and I promise you will thoroughly enjoy her creations.

My doors and windows gets a facelift, hope you all liked it as much as I did.

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A dash of gold and bling was just the right mix to go with the

 sparkle and shine around.

So there goes my burlap cushion covers smeared up with gold !

     A  melange of colours and sparkle, went in sync with the festive spirit.
                                Moroccon lanterns and marigold blooms added a 
                                                      fusion flavour to the decor.

There goes the fireworks and the beautifully lit up houses,hotels and buildings around. I had a lovely time spent with family and friends inspite of short bouts of flu and fever at home.Still managed to come out of it by filling up my abode with light and warmth,rays of positivity and good cheer around.

                                                                 Hugs Auro
 Linking up @ Ivy and Elephants
                                        Have a Daily Cup of Mrs .Olson.

Let there be light : Happy Diwaali

Hello everybody

 finally this is the time of the year  when you look around your house and see how you transformed it into your haven, your space. Old things are given away and we welcome in the new, people renovate and redecorate their houses,shops and offices. Houses are freshly painted, renovated, home linens and furnishings are given a fresh look, people  illuminate their houses with lights and decorate entrance with rangoli(floor art) designs to welcome  Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and riches.

Yes.... its Diwaali.(the sacred  and holy festival of Hindu religion)  once again.

Like everyone else, I am also busy with all the cleaning , planning , inviting friends and relatives which of course requires all my energy to be drained off.

In between have managed to click photos of the vignettes created and my mind is full of Diwaali inspirations right now.So thought of sharing in some old (previous years Diwaali vignettes)and some new pictures herein. 

               Since Diwaali is celebrated on amavasya (dark night) of Kartik maas (October-November)  according to the Indian calender, I thought of creating a vignette around  this  stone carved Karthika's statue picked up many years ago from Mahabalipuram( Chennai).

Pulled out a brocade sari border and used it as a runner.

Added in some splashes of colour here and there to brighten up the festive mood.

 Diwaali symbolizes the worship of Goddess Lakshmi and lord Ganesha. In eastern India goddess Kali is also worshipped at this time. 

This wicker framed mirror with a dry flower garland was fixed by me long time ago, used to be at my foyer corridor in my previous house. Thought of pulling it out from my store cupboards and using it as a tray to place the silver Laxmi goddess and Ganesha and use it as my puja thali. 

This festival symbolises the victory of good over evil, light and positivity over darkness and negativities of life. Here's wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous Diwaali. 

Linking in with Ivy and Elephants