Our in-house poser is just getting warmed up in sustainable kids brand @nimbukids
We love local, female founder led brands that promote sustainable, heart strong designs. This Rakhi outfit grows with #Soleil. I hear one day my girls will not consent to be dressed up by mama. Quelle horreur. That’s why it’s an all out campaign to inculcate them with an appreciation of pre-loved, ethical and collaborative consumption.
#slowfashion #collaborativeconsumption
After patiently teaching my daughters a series of affirmations like ‘I am kind’ and ‘I am loving’ they heard me say ‘I’m the boss’ and this is their current anthem.
To say we are utterly devastated by the news coming out of #Beirut is an understatement. #Lebanon is my husband’s country of origin, but it’s also a land that I feel intimately connected with, through visits that exposed me to its wrecked beauty, and the expressiveness of the culture as well as through the people’s indomitable collective spirit. We are all praying for relief and healing for #Beirut.
#FeminaTalkies: “I hope they (her daughters) never take no for an answer if they really have their hearts set on something. I hope they think creatively, and learn to dance with both their logical and metaphysical sides.”
– @Lisaraniray (2019)
One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being
– May Sarton
Is adornment meaningless in times of tribulation? Is joy a nuisance?
This morning, instead of surrendering to despair and the dissonance of living through times that take my emotions from exultant to darkly depressive in the space of a single hour, I decided to dress up in hot petal pink @kalakaribyakanksha and take my mood for a spin.
Of course I miss India, I miss my people, I will miss festival season but I have the privilege to articulate my reactions, to feel deeply, to whirl. To sing and dance through darkness is a duty and a right.
The river is famous to the fish.
The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.
The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.
The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.
The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.
The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.
The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.
I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.
I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.
– Naomi Shihab Nye Sri Lanka
This is a series of old photos, taken at a cultural event I attended shortly after I had just been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. I was confused and overwhelmed, grappling with the side effects of nuclear doses of steroids and a course of chemo. A few weeks later, I announced my diagnosis despite people around me advising me to keep it on the low. Truth. Gives. You. Wings. Of. Steel. And with love and authenticity as your guides, all manner of trauma is alchemised. Even a decade on, I excavate the experience for what it has taught me about the nature of resilience. There’s so much surfacing for us collectively right now to remind us what’s essential in times of crisis. Reminds me, I’m not particularly brave, just utterly receptive to what life has to teach. And that’s the secret sauce.
Now i have become myself. It’s taken
Time, many years and places,
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people’s faces…
Now to stand still, to be here,
Feel my own weight and density!
O, in this single hour I live
All of myself and do not move…
I, the pursued who madly ran,
Stand still, stand still and stop the Sun
May Sarton
A lot of friends and people I know wonder about the purpose of a retreat. Granted we can’t travel right now, but we can retreat inside. My experiences of travelling to an isolated location or wellness/meditation centre to live a pared down existence, leaving behind not only city life, but all of the distractions which fill our days might seem rather pointless in our fanatically goal oriented culture. Try facing your deepest fear by hanging with only yourself instead of losing yourself in a blur of socialising? Do you feel me?
COVID has presented us the perfect opportunity to retreat. Without leaving your home.
On the surface my reasons for detoxing mentally are connected to my health gremlin. I have no doubt that it was years of stress, negative emotional patterns and neglecting my body that led to a diagnosis of the big ‘C’ a few years ago. My new normal means being ‘married’ to healing lifestyle choices that promote balance.
But on another level, sitting with yourself is a surrender experiment. Surrendering the ego, the pressure to conform, the illusion of control, surrendering all the voices that keep you scared and stuck. I’ve discovered my strength in my differences, when they say fit in; my strength in allowing vulnerability, when they say be hard; strength through acknowledging the beauty of my flaws and imperfections, when they say, ‘but we need you to look flawless, darling.’
I found by regularly stepping into silence that all those voices lose their power. From a place of stillness, it’s easier to recognise those opinions, judgements, criticisms and eerily one sided arguments as sound clouds drifting through one’s mind with no real substance – your choice to listen to them or not. Then saying no is as easy as saying yes. And the pleasure of meeting yourself is only matched by that of meeting the world. There’s so much we take seriously – especially the monologue in our head – that’s completely meaningless, like the constant drone on tv these days. Tune out to tune in otherwise we live, as Buddha put it, like the spoon that doesn’t know the taste of soup.
And I’m not one to pass up a tasty bowl of anything.
Rest your wary mind. Shillim Peak
On the 8th day of the 8th month there happens a cosmic alignment called the Lion’s Gateway when the earth lines us with the star Sirius.
Increased creativity, enhanced powers of manifestation and an aura of pure love are activated for the mystic and ascension inclined. I experienced a deep process ritual tonight with my soul group sisters, that filled me with answers, guidance and light from the Great Central Sun. Even if you are not mystic inclined it’s always a perfect time to tune into heart energy, to commit to living from love, compassion and your highest self.
Some questions to ask (culled from online)
What does my heart and spirit need to feel full?
In what ways can I show myself more grace and love?
What is my hearts truest desire?
#leo #lionsgateportal #standinyourlight
I’m not in Mumbai, the city that made me, broke me, breathed new vitality into me like the severest smelling salts. And so this is just one of many sunsets that I documented with devotion of my home-yet-not. Bandstand , Bandra , Mumbai
Probably need to update this to include COVID sanctified activities such as ‘doesn’t do Zoom calls on the weekend’ and ‘shares cherry souffle baking experiment with others’ and ‘forcibly offers social distancing tips to elders’
Repost from @mysolesisters using @RepostRegramApp – We’re excited to send out our order to our youngest sole sisters 💚💖 #minisolesisters @lisaraniray
Repost from @rohinidevasher using @RepostRegramApp – #lookup #flowermoon #augustmoon Shot last night when #themoon was 98% illuminated and at a distance of 383140 Km away from the #earth #sturgeonmoon #grainmoon
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
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Shot with #fujixt20
200mm lens
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#keeplookingup #skywatch #skywatcher #fullmooncycle #moonphotography #moonwatch #moon #moonwatcher #artistsoninstagram #observation #fieldnotes #luna #astrophotography #astronomy #moonwatching #moonphases
I just love this.
Repost from @archdigestindia using @RepostRegramApp – What if nature’s creations—fictional or otherwise—took over traditionally populated common spaces that were brought to a stand-still? What if they never left? With Lockdown Dreamscapes, the design team at Good Earth (@goodearthindia) paints a hyperbolic picture (four, to be precise) exploring the many possibilities of life cultivated during an extended lockdown. The “majestic landscapes” comprise everything—from exotic flora and enchanting merfolk, to air-borne chariot-riders. Everything but earth-bound humans and the interferences they bring along. Their absence, however, in no way implies their erasure. In fact, it does the opposite. Good Earth founder and creative director Anita Lal describes it best when she terms the series a personal interpretation—“about merging nature with its wondrous creatures including human beings and hoping for mankind to live with heightened awareness and positivity”.
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The series celebrates the recent “return of nature” through four limited-edition art prints, each translated from their digital counterparts, and each borrowing motifs from the brand’s design library and ancient miniature art. Proceeds from the collection’s sales will help support the wellbeing of frontline workers (Van Rakshaks) of state forest departments. “We are proud to partner with the Wildlife Trust of India to protect our earth warriors whose contributions to the conservation of our forests and wildlife is invaluable,” adds Lal. #linkninbio
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Writer: Shristi Singh
#architecturaldigest #ADIndia #goodearth #prints #art #artworks #limitededition #wildlife
Sunday reading Via @pia_lotus_
#closetothebone
Thank you for your email! You are receiving this message because I am frolicking in my mind with courtiers and I will not answer. Time-sensitive inquiries will be completely forgotten as soon as they are received. If you need to reach me, write a book.
Image via @pia_lotus
#spotmybook #closetothebone
Repost from @bookbugbitten using @RepostRegramApp – #BBBreviews
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QOTD: Do you like to read memoirs?
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Reading ‘Close to the Bone’ by Lisa Ray has made me realise how differently all of us lead our lives, it’s almost unreal how all of us have adventures of our own. I hadn’t read the book for a long time because of this preconceived notion that ‘stars’ are superficial, writing about artificial and less important things. But Lisa really did change that for me, she has written extensively about her body issues, anxiety, journey towards Buddhism, adapting to a different culture altogether, relationships and her cancer. The book in no way is an ‘overcoming cancer triumphant tale’, it reflects on the ugly side of it gracefully, how tough times call for tough people, and moreover I think it has taught me a little about how self love is a way of life. Lisa’s story made me laugh, she doesn’t pretend to know her words she is just herself throughout the book, it was almost like she is talking to you through the pages. And lastly, I could relate to her words because most of it reflected with my life too, the struggles of an only child, always looking for brighter pastures, ambition, escapism and the never give up attitude. Any book that could feel like a part of me is a book I love.
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My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
@closetothebone.book @lisaraniray #closetothebone #lisaray #bookstagram #harpercollins #bookstagramindia #igreads
I am grinning maniacally as I type this. Congratulations to my friend and a writer I greatly admire @avnidoshi
Her debut book Burnt Sugar/Girl in White Cotton is on the @bookerprize long list. Aspiring writers read about Avni’s multiple drafts and tenacity to getting published. The stories behind the stories are also worth telling.
Repost from @avnidoshi using @RepostRegramApp – Surreal #bookerprize #booker2020 #bookerdozen @thebookerprizes #burntsugar #avnidoshi
Link in bio 💔
Via @daliaskitchen
A reminder from Begum to pre-order #ClosetotheBone which is releasing November 3, 2020 in North America through @penguinrandomhouse imprint @doubledayca
Link in bio.
Image via @pia_lotus_
Access Life is an NGO which has recently come to my attention. They provide boarding, food, care & support to families who come to Mumbai for their child’s cancer treatment. They have 6 centres in Mumbai & have so far supported close to 500 children as they receive treatment for cancer.
Unfortunately, due to COVID fuelled fears some of these families were made to vacate one of their shelters by society residents where that centre was situated.
Access Life is setting up a new centre in Chembur in a stand alone property and this place will house 30 families.
This Raksha Bandhan let’s protect those who need us the most right now!
You can donate a 1000₹ E-RAKHI in honour of your loved one. The proceeds will go towards building a new shelter 🏠 for kids who are fighting the double-edged sword of COVID & CANCER🎗
Donors will receive personalised e-cards in the name of their sibling telling them about the gesture.
Ditch the sweets and hampers this year and gift blessings instead 💝
Support this initiative to celebrate in the truest sense 😇
One can donate on –
https://www.accesslife.org/bondsofprotection/
For receiving the e-rakhis – 9819850221 / 8080222377
#RakshaBandhan
#BondsOfProtection
#AccessLife #TeamSpreadingSmiles @accesslifeindia
