What am I now that I was then?
May memory restore again and again
The smallest colour of the smallest day;
Time is the school in which we learn
Time is the fire in which we burn – Delmore Schwartz
All my problems ended the day I stopped trying to end my problems and felt gratitude for them instead. Of course they re-emerge whenever I forget this and that’s why I see them as such fine teachers. Along the way it seems I forget less and less that this is ALL a gift and the only appropriate response is gratefulness. I like to call this gratefulness for being a grateful mess 🙂
– Nithya Shanti
Beauty everywhere.
Don’t miss it.
Don’t
Miss
It.
Already nostalgic for tinier hands and toes.
I think I like hubby with hair though.
#oneyearago
Whatever it is that pulls the pin, that hurls you past the boundaries of your own life into a brief and total beauty for even a moment, it is enough- Jeanette Winstersen
Sufi perfecting her insta-poses with singular commitment and focus. (Since the park was closed we improvised!)
#mydakinis #mydevis #futureisfemale
Our winter care routine is always with our favourite- @johnsonsbabyindia products. Cold winters & low levels of humidity call for extra care and extra moisturization. We start our babies winter routine with a gentle massage using J&J’s baby oil, splash our way into bath time with the NMT shampoo and end the routine with moisturizing.. With no formaldehyde, no asbestos and no harmful chemicals @johnsonsbabyindia’s range of products provides my little ones with 100% gentle care. The baby lotion and Johnson’s baby powder continues to be our fav ✌🏼
Dreaming lyrics on the grass.
Or solving the climate crisis.
#Souffle Bandra Band Stand
Where in the world is @bysarahkhan ; itinerant Hyderabadi Rani, relentless explorer and one of my favourite travel writers? @tajmahalteahousemumbai this Sunday, in case you’re wondering.
The sheer vastness of possibility for two souls committed to movement means we have met in places as diverse as Capetown and Bandra. I love sudden dispatches from Sarah – ‘I’ll be in Bombay for the weekend, let’s meet!’ – perhaps because her attitudes and passions reflect mine (though I’m way older!) I signed a copy of my book for her this time, feeling like I had won a prize. It’s a heady feeling to present #ClosetotheBone to a writer friend I respect so much.
We laughed and swapped stories until she had to leave for brunch @thebombaycanteen (did I mention she’s mad about all thing food?) so we got the waiter to take these ‘plandid’ images (‘planned candid’ – useful little phrase Sarah passed on)
It’s these border transcending kinships that give me hope in a disquieting time. Let the power of the interloper, the writer, the feminine gaze, the sheer force of empathy reign and I know – I know like a song passed on in my bones- the world would be better. Maybe just a little. But better. And cuter. And way more fun too.
Be interested in the questions you don’t know how to ask .
.
Thomas Hubl
Repost: #ShveitaSharma
I got to know her and her family in the short time that she was in Hongkong. We would speak on the phone every other day and I felt extremely close to her. We shared our life stories and started confiding in each other.
Then one day, something trivial happened and we stopped speaking to each other. I felt very hurt and thought to myself, well she is a diva after all and is entitled to her diva ness and I want nothing to do with it.
A few months went by and we did not speak or communicate with each other, then as if nothing had happened we reconnected. Lisa invited my husband and I to a dinner at her house. She and Jason had laid out a beautiful spread and the moment I saw her I felt a rush of love for this beautiful woman. We talked, we ate but I felt the undercurrent of our silence. Lisa then took me aside, gave me the warmest hug and gave me three beautiful paintings. I don’t remember what happened next but I do remember thinking how completely transparent and unassuming was this person standing in front of me. I had made up these stories in my head which were completely in my head.
Now that I am reading Lisa’s memoir I can see exactly why she had reacted the way she did to my seemingly innocuous query about a meal choice at a gala dinner. Lisa was at a retreat and I messaged her asking what she wanted as her meal choice. As I did not hear back I sent her another message to which she responded very curtly saying, she won’t be attending the gala dinner as I was being too impatient
Little feet.
Big dreams.
#Souffle Bandra Band Stand
Beauty everywhere.
Don’t miss it.
Don’t
Miss
It.
#SouffleinMumbai
Repost #ShveitaSharma
I distinctly remember that call from my friend and fellow Tedx wanchai organizer Shelly Govila“ Shveitta, do you know Lisa Ray ? I have heard of her but I don’t know her I said. “
Shelly then excitedly told me that a common friend had connected us with Lisa and we now had to meet with her and see if she would agree to be a speaker for Tedx Wanchai.” I emailed Lisa, Shelly and I set up a meeting with her at Cova cafe in pacific place. Both of us were really excited at the prospect of meeting a Bollywood celebrity. As we arrived at the cafe, we saw someone wave at us. I was taken aback and both Shelly and I looked at each other and surprised that a celebrity was there before us and she even recognized us.
She had us at hello !
We talked, we laughed, we hugged, and decided to meet again soon.
After Lisa left, Shelly and I stared at each other with our mouths open and recalled what just happened.
Did we just meet a celebrity ? She was so down to earth, so normal and so much like us.
We left the cafe exhilarated at our meeting and I decided to follow up with Lisa and see if she would agree to speak at the Tedx wanchai stage. Sadly that did not happen but something amazing did happen. Lisa and I became very dear friends.
Beauty everywhere.
Don’t miss it.
Don’t
Miss
It. Mumbai, Maharashtra
The story of Sufi and the dream catcher
Thank you @roohdreamcatchers
Via @lama_tsultrim_allione
Happy Dakini Day everybody: “The Mandala of the Five Dakinis has deep, profound roots that are timeless and inclusive. It is a practice that can help you meet the challenges of everyday life— when you feel scattered and pulled in many directions at once, when you need centering, when you have a decision to make, when you feel hopeless or stuck; by entering the mandala and meeting the dakinis within, you will access deep clarity and power.” ~ Lama Tsultrim Allione, from her book Wisdom Rising: Journey into the Mandala of the Empowered Feminine.
Via @artvocab
Privately, all these years, I hoped to attend @jaipurlitfest with a book of my own. The time has come. This will be my first visit this year, as debut author of #ClosetotheBone published by @harpercollinsin
I know the story I’m meant to tell, that hard work and conviction pays off. But really, in this universe of parallel expression, chance and grace play equal roles. I believe that language was never meant to be exact, rather instinctive. And so I write to discover, I read not to dispel mystery but abide by it and seek out authors whose words bloom wildly in our souls with inspiration and beauty: fixations that will save us when all else fails.
I’m excited to be in conversation with @sanjoykroy and grateful for those who have supported my passion for words, books and my secret aspirations. You know who you are.
Repost: Meet HCI author @Lisaraniray at #ZEEJaipurLitFest2020.
#HCIatZeeJLF
@JaipurLitFest, @SanjoyRoyTWA #thegreatestliteraryshowonearth
In elevated company. Thank you @dsmoments for sharing.
Happy reading!
#ClosetotheBone #40rulesoflove @shafakelif
Repost from @eatpraylove.in using @RepostRegramApp – 1/20 books I’m reading in 2020 @lisaraniray yay! What are you reading at the moment?
#bookstagram #lisaraniray #closetothebone #booksofinstagram #booktoday #bookphoto #indianauthor #booksaboutwomen
Repost from @plusgrouphk using @RepostRegramApp – Lisa Ray’s bestselling debut novel ‘Close to the Bone’ chronicles her life in a personal and moving narrative. Her illustrious career in the modelling and entertainment arts began at the early age of sixteen. Recognised as one of India’s first supermodels, Lisa has made several forays into acting, memorably in the Oscar-nominated ‘Water’, and television (Top Chef Canada and Oh My Gold). Her upcoming acting releases include A.R. Rahman’s first production, ‘99 Songs’. When she was first diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2009, she chose to share her experiences in a blog called ‘The Yellow Diaries’ which led to the publication of her much-acclaimed memoir. She is a well-known advocate for cancer awareness through her writing and public talks. Catch her live at #IBB2020 on February 15 at @asiasocietyhk
.
Registration: 13:45; Discussion: 14:00 Close: 15:00 at @asiasocietyhk
$125 Asia Society members / Friends of IBB; $175 Non-members; $625 Group of 5 ($125 per person); $75 Full-Time Students
.
Book your tickets: Link in the bio
.
@lisaraniray #LiterarySaturday #IBB2020 #indiainchina
Repost from @_zami_mizo using @RepostRegramApp – Next read will be #closetothebone #lisaray
So excited…📖👏
@lisaraniray
Repost #ShveitaSharma
That’s when I thought to myself, there comes out the Diva. Not realizing that Lisa has always had such an interesting relationship with food and that food was the last thing that she would be thinking of at a retreat.
I learnt later that around then Lisa was going through a very turbulent time as regards the surrogacy. Things had not gone as planned and she was dealing with all that stress. I had over reacted and thought she was being rather churlish and I wanted nothing to do with her.
As I am reading her book, which I should have read months ago, I am understanding the Lisa that I thought I knew. She never wore any masks, it’s me who saw her with the mask of a Diva. If there is anyone most unlike a Diva, it is Lisa. She is as raw and as unadulterated as they come.
I am half way into her book that I started reading yesterday after having had it for months on my bed side. I thought I knew her well enough and what would I read in the book that I did not already know. I am unable to put this book down. I regret not having read it six months ago.
This book is not just her story, it’s a story of hope, story of fear, story of courage, story of vulnerability and the story of a life lived close to the bone.
I am only half way, I think I’ll finish the book by tomorrow as it makes for such a page turner that despite my tired old eyes am glued to it.
Lisa, a hat tip to you and can’t wait to see you get that tight hug from you.
