Vedasri Siddamsetty

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  • Kochi Biennale 2025

    Kochi has attracted various sailors in the past the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. Along with the rulers of erstwhile Kerala These foreigners also left their prints in the state. Muziris, which was a mythical ancient city now under the water was the centre of this trading port, also, a hub where even juice came to sell their wares. Today, very many centuries later, Kochi pays ode to this mythical city of Muziris, while attaching the name to its own for the purpose of the largest art Biennale that is held in India. Biennales are important centres of art as artists are invited to display the collection that they are working on or having in their mind, but a collection that is not ready for sale. And this art whether, performance, visual or aural is put up for sure by a curator of the event aligned with the theme of the year. The Biennale that runs between the months of December to the following March, sets its location alive, abuzz with a plethora of activities and intellectuals. and when one arrives at this venue overlapping with the Christmas season, it is literally a riot. Cause after all Kochi fondly called Cochin is the Christmas capital of India. And during this season, all roads lead to Cochin or very specifically to Fort Kochi!

    The city that is also a bunch of islands together has the venues of the Kochi Biennale sprung across three different islands. Actually, it is two islands and one mainland that is Ernakulam. The islands are connected by ferries, bridges and more recently the swanky water metro. And as one traipses across the art venues of the Biennale one is treated to the architecture of the land that was built over three centuries ago. Even the more recent buildings choose to vibe with the tribe of Fort Kochi! Mainland Ernakulam is a different story altogether, much like any other Indian city, a smaller one though compared to the bustling metropolises of our time. Dotted with restaurants, hotels, villas and museums the urban scape of Fort Kochi seems to be paused in time, the cobblestone sidewalks and the stone slab roads tell a story on their own of a time of the past. With restaurants doling out cuisines of the world, the Kerala cuisines are just about punctuations in the wide array of offerings. A highly Instagrammable city, the Biennale and its host are somewhere we can find dozens of influencers making a beeline for.

    While I thoroughly enjoyed the architecture of Kochi, the perfect amalgamation of Dutch, Portuguese and British architecture styles has lent it a unique style, one that is its own and one that is charming to say the least. The deep sloped roofs and the thick white walls are shelter nonetheless yet so soft and pleasing to the eye amidst the blue December skies and the green foliage as a frame. The simple verandahs and ceiling fans the best hope for the tropical heat, enough to provide comfort in the tropics, truly an ingenious stroke of design in the equatorial zones. The Kochi Biennale is an expo for contemporary art, and is important in the sense that it is in Biennales that artists truly explore the creation of art, without the perils of cost and efficacies, that way keeping the sense of wonder intact. Will the art sell is not the question, how does the art make one feel is the matter in question. Beautifully arranged in one of India’s most lovable cities, the Biennale has a grand list of sponsors including the Tata Trusts, Jindals, Nadars, and many more, the prominent venues of the city turns host too, like the Cochin Club, the Durbar Hall, Anand Warehouse and even the Island Warehouse in Willingdon, not to forget the art galleries in the city too. While the Biennale is not only about visual art, it encompasses all forms of art including Performance, spatial sometimes using the subject themselves to be a part of the scheme. Keenly retrofitting several derelict structures for the purpose like the Pepper House, the city and the volunteers at the Biennale work tirelessly to make this a seamless affair.

    A myriad of art is what defined this Kochi-Muziris Biennale of 2025. While tapestries ruled the roost with work of Sayan Chandra and Ms Correa in the difference of the bright coloured and the timeless black and white respectively, the large-scale installation of the 108 monks chanting on a large visual scale was stunning to watch and imbibe, as the chants washed over each one, similar gripping the five senses is the installation of the engraved wood and a terracotta fountain with salt in the room to bring us back to the present. The setup included a sitout sheltered by woven bamboo and insitu seating that allows one to sit back in a perfectly anthropometrically aligned back-rest to look out into the vast Arabian sea and get a whiff of the salty air, the sea breeze and the visually stunning ships leave the harbour, the ship blowing itst horn is another delight to the senses, with the sense of hearing not causing one to jump out of their skins as all horns tend to do but to enjoy the feel of the ocean. Some art terrifies, some art uplifts, some art dazzles and other art glorifies, but most importantly all art is a love affair, making one feel more and think a little different. While the numbers are left to the wind, the explorations on display are plenty, curating them an even finer effort. While the artist’s guild presented their work with dishevelled toys lying merry and the Art By Children volunteered goaded us to paint with clay, well yes with the right consistency, it is possible and truly delightful, art can be made with anything. But that is truly not the point, the importance of a Biennale is if it provided you a sense of wonder, and in that the Kochi-Muziris 2025 wins.

  • Cloud Dancer

    As a child when I made art, I loved the idea of pastels and lightly pressured work, where the white of the ivory page became a medium as I sketched or painted lightly with colour that would be pasteled as ever with the white coming through. The softness that white brings to every colour ridiculously softens the aura of any painting, art or craft and with that was the love for Monet, then Manet and slowly every other artist, including Serov’s “The Girl with the Peaches”, all fashioned with a delicious dose of white, not the stark Apple kind, yet the soft vanilla kind in warm light. And with Pantone declaring a certain warm shade of white as the colour of the year I couldn’t be happier, because after the mocha brown, it is refreshing to have warm white dominate the merchandise of the design world next year, including the furniture fairs around the world, meaning we may just have a lot of white dominate our lives in the coming year. While everyone has a favourite colour, it is lovely to have a year of white. A colour when fractured gives rise to all the colours in the world, a decided rainbow certainly. What a witty name to name a shade of white, a lot inspired by the clouds that dance over our head in broad daylight. For what its worth, in fashion, I think everyone looks good in a warm white.

    Yes, and cloud dancer has me dancing for sure!

  • Peace over anything

    In this age of hustle and conditioning the ones who finally win are those who choose peace. Yes, peace over purpose, peace over policing, peace over points, for if one is peaceful, one is relaxed and relaxing is key to every enjoyment of the moment. Frenzy, frantic, fierce are all great provided they are only but punctuations in an otherwise calm and peaceful canvas of life. Being peaceful comes real easy to a few people and being peaceful is really hard for some, who cant sit still, but even movement can be done with peace, a sure shot ingredient of which is a word that has been showing up really often in my world which is that of S-L-O-W, well traffic signs also give us this word of wisdom, lest we forget. Doing things slowly meant we cant do as much, but then do we want to do much? Isnt less always more, a fact that we have established a lot earlier in the architecture circles, but even now in the might of life. But then doing this slowly does not always mean not getting anything done. Even in Zootopia, the lovely, lovely movie the sloth does all his stuff all in his good time! Fabulous movie by the way I say this as I wait to watch the second part.

    This morning on my morning walk, my friend exclaimed how peace is the secret to youth, to sense, to an aura of calm, and choosing peace isnt always easy as it always comes with the pre-conditon of letting go. In order to be peaceful time and again there is a huge component of letting go of the situation and sometimes the way our mind determines the situation ought to be. Peace, slow, calm are words that instill tranquility in our thoughts itself, and there in they may ignite the slow fire in our being. Being peaceful also is tremendously good for our nervous system that ensures that all the involuntary functions are taken care of in the best way possible. Meditation is a way to be peaceful and still, yet there are many ways to ignite peace in us using movement, like Pilates, Yoga, walking, swimming, cycling, and would you be surprised, even ironing! The methodical movement and the straightening up of crinkles that it entails is guaranteed to leave the iron-er extremely peaceful. Am not observing my local dhobi, who seems to always be in a pleasant mood, but is always also gossiping, and hence increasing his stress and perhaps thats why isnt a learned monk yet, though he knows a lot!

    But then again the best serum in the world for the skin is peace of mind, the best antidote to stress is peaceful sleep, and the best environment to thrive is a peaceful environment. Even the golden age of Chandragupta Maurya came at a time of peace, when wars were not majorly fought, the age of renaissance also blossomed in the age of peace. Shanti as we say, and pray for the entire universe, solitude, quietness, harmony are all synonyms of this frequency of peace. Peaceful people are also skinnier, since skinny is a byproduct of the golden age of a body, and hence a calm non-inflammed body that isnt fighting. Peaceful people, who are peaceful in and out are not fighting with their minds even, not bending situations with their will are those who thrive sometimes with the best ideas. One can be peaceful as much as one can and though sometimes not, those episodes are better as punctuations of being, the pop of colour in a tranquil setting, that allows the setting to be brighter but not as a continued state. Slowing down is a way to peace, in case you were wondering and I sure hope you read this post slowly! As my friend said, if something is not worth doing slowly, its probably not worth doing at all and my favorite author Donna Tartt said if you aren’t enjoying doing something, you are not doing it slowly enough. Think about this as your car inches slowly in the wonder of the world called Bengaluru (or anywhere for that matter, all cities are the same) traffic!

  • Mark Rothko

    Colour is an emotion, it always is. Think of a blue sky versus a grey one, versus a pink-tinged orange one or the deep velvety blue or black, all rife with completely different moods and hence emotions. Of all the expressionist painters, say Van Gogh who brought sunny, cheery sunflowers to life or Monet who poured a dull hue over every scene, or Matisse who defined block, opaque colour in a different narrative. But an artist who gave colour it’s due, without a subject, or rather a subject that could be arrived at by the bystander themself is Rothko.

    A New York based artist of Russian origin (now that park of Russia is present day Latvia), who painted rectangular floating clouds of art on a large scale canvas to bring out raw, unfiltered colour and hence raw, unfiltered emotion. It is said that in a gallery filled with Rothkos, the average museum goers have been filled with joy or brought to tears at their own accord. He intended to provoke tragedy, ecstasy, doom, as he says. Though his artistic evolution saw him begin with early figurative works and urban scenes, to a period of transition figuring biomorphic abstraction influenced by mythology and surrealism, finally abandoning all rules with his Colour-field work, his mature works feature two or three soft-edged rectangular floating clouds of saturated colour on a contrasting coloured background. The large canvases that he usually painted on be believed could create a sense on intimacy and a rich spiritual experience for the viewer. He insisted his paintings were not merely about color relationships, but were dramas designed to communicate basic human emotions.

    It is true, when one observes a Rothko its floods one with a serie of emotions, while yellow, red and orange are truly uplifting, black, burgundy and maroon could be equally devastating. Its the colour field when our visual senses are flooded with swathes of opaque solid colour and evoke an experience of seeing that colour balanced with another. In this day and age of extreme information, where we can even live vicariously through pictures that can at times be microscopical in nature, that have so much information that it can feel like we have lived it in real, it is a welcome break to have abstraction in art that bring one back to one’s body and feelings. A lot of talk and research is being done in this world on meditation and its benefits, that solely impress to bring one back to oneself in this world that offers a myriad of experiences, can we go back to experiencing oneself. One of the best ways to meditate and ground oneself, could simply be to watch a Rothko painting, or equivalent work that are a part of the Colour-Field painting. The best part of a Rothko or how it stands apart from all the others is the fact that the soft edges of the clouds are almost surreal, but then he had me with the colours and what they are paired with.

  • Project Focus No. 9: Dream a little dream

    When a client comes back to ask one to design their new home after 10 years of completing their earlier one, it is nothing short of a dream and when they ask one to design a home that is dreamy then it is a total dream!

    Thus began the work on this project that was truly nothing short of a dream for a doctor-couple, an eye doctor and his pathologist wife who has also been awarded a Padma Shri for his extraordinary work in the field concerning the Retina, needless to say they shared unmatchable wit and wisdom all through the design and execution process sometimes pulling out images garnered from their insane travelling all across the globes, staying in the fanciest of the hotels and attending conferences in state-of-the-art hotels, this time the clients did not show me Pinterest boards, but real time images for inspiration or ideas! Most of which wouldn’t work, as the most experienced of the designers would know!!

    The home came with a request of tranquility and peace, easy to maintain, and a hue of white touched a little with a sprig of pink and a suggestion of green and with only that as the brief the clients got back to their schedules as the team tinkered away at the project all through summer to turn-key during the Monsoons. With a palate to please, the entire house is swathed in shades of pink hinging on a generous dollop of white. As one enters, one is greeted with a fancy chandelier, that is modern in spirit yet old-school in its make, the entry way is flanked by the niches of wonder as I call it, that houses all the accolades this brilliant doctor-couple has amassed over the years, including the Padma Shri that they sport with no fanfare and a collectors piece by the renowned artist Shishir Sahana. To me it felt like a really big deal, but like they say about humility. A matte shimmery wall paper is bathed on the opposite wall punctuated with an inch beading polished in chocolate brown all along the length of the wall. The foyer leads to a rather large hall, that includes the dining and the living areas of the house. The entire length of the hall opens out to the great outdoors making the entire feel of the house rather expansive. The outdoor here is fringed by a verandah with a wooden swing and art work collected over the years with a wind chime to add rather lovely notes as the wind blows.

    On one breadth of the hall is the utilitarian part of the house with the Kitchen, Utility and the Househelp’s quarters, while on the other breadth are the private rooms of the house. A powder room is tucked away along the dining space. The beautiful dining table in solid wood is attached with a cushioned bench seating and two dining chairs, the wall that it is along is treated with a fluted painted wooden panel to about four-feet high and is finished with a rather simple yet artistic mirror a nice rotund on the wall. A cutlery cabinet tucked into the corner is snazzy with light along the glass thickness adding panache to pretty shade of green on the wall. This arrangement is balanced by a comfortable and large L-shaped sofa-set with circular centre tables at varied heights and a reading chair before ending with a floating television panel wall, designed with metal strips, ambience lights and a sleek storage. The beauty of the space is got bang on right to be exceedingly pleasant and spacious all in the same measure. A lovely set of drapes in hues of floral and the subtle shade of salubriousness echoes the hearty sentiment of the living and dining hall.

    The rooms are designed rather differently also depending on the main use intended. While one flits modern with classical, the beading encompassed wainscoting taken up to a seven-feet height and a gallery mirror, lit along it’s length and a floor to ceiling wardrobe that makes up for a beautiful addition to space and a modern bed, lit along it’s niche and the bottom panel with decorative lights on the wall and lit wardrobes; the other bedroom is more modern it its feel and appeal, bringing on to one portion of its ceiling a bright and cheery blue sky in wallpaper of course and while at that a world map engraved in a three-dimensional effect to add depth and structure to the world as we know it. This world map includes the tiniest of countries and islands in the world, all labelled and engraved for future reference. None the truer word was said then that the world is my oyster and the oyster is my home! A tranquil Buddha sourced from Bhutan adds to the eccentric touch of this room. The bed is skirted by a grand scale piano keyboard as it finishes with a sleek modern line and a arty wall light above the bed, twirling, whirling and curling like Rumi would to Ayin in Fez. Any this shiny, pearly, oyster-hued home is just what dreams are made up of!

    Project Data:

    Project Architect & Builder: Vedasri Siddamsetty

    Project Area: 1565 sft

    Project Timeline: April 2025 to August 2025

    Project Team: Reflex Surfaces, Inder Woodworks, The Town Hardware stores, Vasanth Painting Works, Siddeshwara frames, Trinity Decoron, AURA Lighting, SunMICA Laminates, Somani Plywood, Becker

  • Golden Temple, Vellore

    Temples have begun to commercial, or well they always were, was the debate as we walked into the beautiful Vellore Golden Temple built to worship the Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Venkateswara and the pseudo-Mom of Lord Ganesha who was given to her by his mother Goddess Parvati. This temple houses both Lord Ganesha and Lord Venkateshwara but Goddess Lakshmi is the Lorddess here, well am surprised how Lorddess isn’t a work in English as I find it called out in my paragraph(!), however, in this Temple the main shrine is for Lorddess Lakshmi and what a beautiful shrine it is. Emerging from a pond of water, sculpted to perfection this beautiful Garbha Griha or the inner sanctum is enmeshed in pure gold and all that glitters is definitely gold.

    The star shaped walkway leads one from the main entrance into the temple of the divine Goddess and on the way of the main road leading to the star-shaped walkway are the shrines of the Husband and the pseudo-son of the Goddess. Till my visit to the temple I always worshipped Lord Ganesha before a Lakshmi pooja but was only learning then on the why, that’s because when Parvati loaned Ganesha to Goddess Lakshmi as a son he became a part of the worship of the Vaishnavites, also becoming the tying factor between the devotees of Shiva and Vishnu. What a beautiful way the Hindu deities all come together.

    My favourite Goddess all decorated in all her glory is depicted in this beautiful Golden temple, fit for the Goddess of wealth and prosperity! Everything that the Goddess is believed to love is earmarked in the design of the temple, the lotus, the conch, the owl, the Shri or as IAST helps us say Sri, a moniker used to illustrate all that this beautiful Goddess symbolises, the curly hair, all astrologers believe that the curls on the head is symbolism for the Goddess herself, the owl, the elephants showering prosperity, beauty that the Goddess loves, white and pink and all else that epitomises the Goddess. The root word of the name Lakshmi is literally translated to knowing your lakshya or knowing your goal. In the Rigveda though the Goddess is purely referred to as Sri while Lakshmi is more from the Puranic texts.

    Tossing a coin into the water body that the main inner sanctum of the temple rises from is to amplify the quality of prosperity, as water is said to amplify things, well thankfully it doesnt do the same to humans in water ;), but swelling is a quality associated with water, and in this pond we found currency notes too tossed in! The walk to the main temple is dotted by quotations and motivational lines that help the devotees reflect on words of wisdom in multiple languages as one makes their way to the main temple. The Goddess decorated in all her glory was a delight to see and the alankaram as they say for decoration was befitting that of a Lorddess! A beautiful, stunning and divine experience in all, all in a day!

  • TOFU, MOFU and BOFU

    Being chair of the Ladies Circle this year, I hosted, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore a very interesting Marketing workshop at the premier college of marketing itself. One the building itself is so gorgeous with its stone build, and two the building impresses one to the T, no wonder architect BV Doshi was so celebrated, he made spaces that would raise the spirit, and how! After strolling across the whole campus and marvelling at the beauty of the space I finally settled into one of the state-of-the-art lecture rooms in the campus and began to listen to one of the most interesting conversations in marketing. Ofcourse the subject of marketing in itself is ridiculously interesting as it hinges on the subjects of psychology, economics, scale, and the privileges associated with the appeal to the masses.

    On that subject, the professor began talking about the Marketing pyramid or umbrella and what is at the Bottom of the Umbrella is titles BOFU, in the middle is MOFU and right on top is TOFU. So every marketing material or advert as we can call it for the benefit of ourselves, is targeted as a part of this umbrella, not with that knowledge every poster I see I classify in my head as BOFU, MOFU or TOFU. So the first stage posters that call out on information about a place, event or enterprise is BOFU and is vague, kind-of generic, but tries to capture the concept of the idea, whereas TOFU on the other extreme is highy targeted to an audience who’s response is elicited and taken to the stage of executing the action of selling that is the endgame of marketing. MOFU as surmised is something in the middle.

    The idea that a marketing umbrella could be so wide was something that piqued my interest. As a case study of successful marketing models is that of Parachute hair oil, so when one says coconut oil in India, Marico Industries’s Parachute brand comes right in our minds, and specifically that used for the hair. Though Parachute coconut oil can very well be used for cooking it never springs up to the mind in that reference. That’s successful marketing that leverages the idea that once in the mind is enough, for when the time to buy arrives, the customer will reach out to the brand firmly lodged in the mind with no further thought. The lazy mind is supported in that case to not have to think and that’s the ultimate marketeer’s win!

  • Oh Jeeves!!

    Growing up on a staple of Wodehouse, now as a thirty-something trying to manage a house the person I miss the most and am trying to manifest with all my might is Jeeves. The cook, the maid, the driver and all on one side, a perfect housekeeper, lets say a butler on the other, but to tie them all together wouldnt it be so lovely to have Jeeves in toe! While reading the Empress of Blandings, which happens to be my favourite book whipped up by Wodehouse, I couldn’t help but laugh my heart out heartily. Every tome after that was also something to lighten up the mood and the vibe. In his flowing English English, with matters of marmalade and the ring of a bell, the laid-back nature of the English countryside conjures up in one’s mind, irrespective of which library or hostel dorm room one is perched on.

    Having one to be at the beck of a ring is something by 1931 born Grandfather still manages even at the turn of a century, but he has his butler english and generational precedence to thrive on, today the only bell that has me jumping out of my seat is the sound of ringtones from the mobile phone, all without the depth and the alacrity for sure. The beauty of the tingle of the phone is severely unmatched. I would wonder what it would be to have Jeeves watch over my 7 year old. The conversation that is already so delightful would for sure turn spiffy! Jeeves the character is very smart, so is the little fellow, who reminded me this weekend that he isn’t so little anymore. Much the reason to have a prompt butler to seize the day with copious amounts of wit and wisdom.

    For one he would very aptly answer all the questions put to me by the child and put out once and very quickly at that, the question of why, that is directed to me all along. The husband very conveniently puts out the why with the act of being deaf and somehow the question why comes straight back at me, also because of the time we spend being idle is a lot more perhaps! Again a reason to have Jeeves at hand, and one who can answer along with the son’s questions, mine too that happen to announce the arrival of the benefits of self reflection! The high competence of Jeeves has me all the time. Infact he would have corrected me just now, decidedly proclaiming that even if around, he would be my valet and not a housekeeper. Well, Oh Jeeves!

  • Things I never knew I’ll learn at LC.

    Constituting a very diverse set of women all vibrant, all enthusiastic and always on a high, I have learnt the art of living to its very best at LC. The organisation that buzzes with activities and a multitude of to-dos keeps the quintessence of being alive at its very core. With never a dull day, there is learning everywhere. Whether it is speaking for hours about a cause that matters the most to us, or female friendships that take us along on this boat of life, or the art of making every moment count, the art of food and frolic, the art of gentility or the way of being a community that holds each other close. But more than ever I learnt the art of being in tandem with each other, always as a friend, as an equal, loaded with empathy and the generosity of the spirit.

    The days are different, as different as can be yet the fraternity that bonds for life, the friendships we make through LC are one for keeps. I never knew I’d learn that these friendships are as precious or even more than the ones we make in school! Thats quite a bummer for if chaddi baddis can be made at LC then well it would have to be a school!! 😉 School is where learnings come at its peak and so do the learnings come at LC, from 80Gs as Treasurer or learning when to speak (and give those vocal chords a rest) as CP, the most fun thing I learnt at LC is how to make the best use of Canva! It’s literally like “move over AutoCad” you have a new friend on my deck! Thank God for that software, also, I learnt how to use AI!

  • From the South.


    Vietnam, literally translates to from the south, in Chinese language and they probably hinted at the land that lay beyond China. Steeped in the principles of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism each represented by the lotus, the peony and the chrysanthemum the Vietnamese people embody the best principles from these three religions to form a confluence of their own. Ho Chi Minh, their resistance leader and the first President had quoted, that to reap a reward in ten years, plant trees, to reap a reward in one hundred years, cultivate people. It’s not yet been a hundred years since he proclaimed thus, we stand at fifty years so far, but seven days in Vietnam and we know that they are on this path of reward. Not that trees are any less in this leafy country that is so gorgeously green even if it’s that money plant on the window sill, the basil in the balcony or the leafy trees that line the streets. The best thing about Vietnam is its people, and then of course everything else stems from that. With an oppressive weather, a crippled economy and communism breathing them down or holding them up (it really depends on which side of the capitalist fence you’re on the perspective changes dramatically) if they can still be nice, I wonder why can’t the rest of the world! The French people colonised the country in the late 1800s before which the area was ruled by kings and had a boastful collection of ceramics, art and architecture that spoke of the love for Confucianism by the kings, as the religion mandated dutiful citizens and a general social code. The french imprinted their own love for coffee, that is vastly observed even today with a multitude of coffee shops dotting the major cities in the country. A lack of fresh Dairy even had Chef Giang invent the egg coffee where the yellows of the eggs are beaten together to form a froth implying of the famous frothy top of a perfect brew. The French Quarter in Hanoi and several buildings stand as beacons of the french rule in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, then called Saigon. Later when the resistance movement began, asking to not be under the French rule, the cities saw a unique way of fighting and finally when the French left the country they divided into the North and South with what looks like the use of a ruler, the line is so ridiculously straight! The divide continued to have a completely different influence on the two zones, while the North turned to communism, the idea of the government with all the power and the south with the brew of capitalism. As the years went by the north began to dream of a unified country and tried very hard to take over the south. At this point, defending capitalism more than South Vietnam, the United states dove right into the country offering aid and literally fighting the war for them. This was the United States lost for South Vietnam, as the guerrilla forces employed by the North Vietnamese were of no match. The Hanoi vs Saigon is still around today as some look nostalgically to the past and one up each other!

    On a trail from the South to the North we enjoyed the lucidity of Ho Chi Minh and the haze of Hanoi all while our bodies fought to remain temperature controlled! The heat in July can be nothing short of oppressive in Vietnam. Yet as we strolled the streets ala the French, we were beckoned by the cycle rickshaw guys who give the best views (and commentaries) of the streets and walked through the lush green alleyways. Ho Chi Minh is renowned for its vegan restaurants and options of food that we truly relished through a vegan tour. The tour had us eating over 10 items curated by Spring, a former chef who understands good taste keenly. Famous for Bahn mis and phos vietnamese cuisine can be bland or fiery, as you like it! The tour took us to Tue Tin resturant for Xoi Man, a savory sticky rice served with a variety of toppings like mushrooms, pickled vegetables and soy protein, Bun Ca Ri, a vermicelli with a rich curry sauce made from shitake mushrooms, bell peppers and coconut milk, Cha gio, a vegetable spring rolls, Linh Cafe where we had Da me, a tamarind drink with peanut, Ca phe Muoi, a salted coffee, then to 270 Vo Van Tan in District 3 where we had Bun Thit nuong, a vegan barbeque noodle, Goi Cuon, a summer rolls, then proceeded to Chuoi Nep Nuong Vo Van Tan for Chuoi Nep Nuong Vo Van Tan, a grilled banana cake with sticky rice and coconut milk, then to Ban Co Street for Bot Vhien, a carrot cake with no carrot then finally to Che Hien Khanh for cold sweet soup with longan, lotus seed, jelly, lychee and water coconut. Each of the items on the menu were delicious and at the end of the tour we were stuffed beyond measure. Upon the suggestion of Spring, our guide we ventured to Kido for some hip clothes shopping and discovered Secodee right next door. Ho Chi Minh Fine Art Museum exhibits treasures from the Champa region that borders greatly on Hindusim, Buddhism during the age of the Buddha, oil on canvas from the French times and finally roughly sketched quick drawings during the resistance war scrawled in pencil. The Reunification Palace that functions even today for state functions is a stellar example of modernist architecture. The fenestrations and window system of the palace were absolutely impressive. The Palace was once the Nordom Palace built by the french to be used as a state palace, yet during the wars it was bombed and suffered great damage because of which the original palace was razed to the ground to build this masterpiece. After keenly observing this palace, one begins to identify various such buildings around the city. The palace also features a bunker where the president and his family would take refuge. This was also where the US army commanded their forces in the South of Vietnam. The palace and its exhibitions are executed extremely well and I loved specifically the interior design of the rooms in this palace, the gold room, the green room were my absolute favourites. After soaking in this modernistic marvel and loving every bit of it we went off to Chin Chin Noodle which could easily have been my most favourite place to eat in the whole of Vietnam and the Lia Coffee shop right across. Madame Xo dimsums are as they say to die for but the place itself is so cute and thoughtful that it wasnt surprising to see two girls in satin short dresses taking what could be easily numbered umpteen instagram worthy pictures. A water taxi ride back to the city centre and the upmarket area of the city hall is where one can witness the city totally bustling with people, balloons and a fun vibe. The coffee shops around the hotel Caravelle are lovely. Saigon as it was called is a beautiful city with a lovely vibe that is hip and youthful. The best city in Vietnam for sure. Our airbnb was in a bookstore and it is amazing how much the country reads, the book street in Ho Chin Minh next to the post office is quaint and so fun but almost all the books available are in Vietnamese. Just like in France, we can spot a lot of readers across the city and across the day, like in the metro, in a park or practically anywhere!

    Making our journey upwards to the north is literally like entering another world, Hanoi is historic to say the least and the first place we ended up in the Hanoi old quarter was a temple. The Buddhist temples with the Lady Buddha deity and all the offerings are completed with plants like the holy basil and the lime plant next to the main pagoda housing the altar. The Hoam Kiem lake is a beautiful lake in the old quarter that is fringed by stately buildings housing some major fashion brands, important government buildings, fancy hotels and entertainment centres. Off these main roads leading to the Hanoi Opera house is the Rue Paul Bert now rechristened back to Dam Dai Vang Son a vibrantly happy street that exhibits the development of the street over time through maps, funky art and some black and white ancient photographs. In this area we witnessed the Lotus Water Puppet show where stories from the yore are told with fireworks, music, singing and all the drama for entertainment. The diverse stories in the puppet show document the peoples love for water, for the stories of their kings and the lucky tortoise, dancing, gay singing and funny happenings in the world. In Hanoi the train street where a functioning railway track is transformed into a cafe and restaurant scene is spellbinding. And the train that passes is a full throttle train which is both exciting and interesting to watch and may I add a tad bit hazardous too. One may be blown to a tizzy having been so close to a moving train, I completely held my breath all through the experience or should I say multitude of experiences as the train passes through very many times during the day and even more times during the weekend. The train street is lined with shops along the tracks that sell local merchandise like the embroidery Vietnam is very popular for, food that again Vietnam is very popular for and other shops selling merchandise of the place.

    The next day amid clear blue skies we ventured out to the UNESCO recognised and hugely lauded Halong Bay. An expanse in the ocean that has many limestone formations topped by rainforests, the emerald green waters are the route of immense cruise ships foraying into the area looking into these formations where in kayaking into the caves is the thing to do. For our part we ventured into the beautiful Halong Bay by flight. The Hai Au aviation gets one into the throngs of the bay through a very scenic birds eye view. The view from the top is exceedingly beautiful as usual. Flitting with the expanse below the beauty of the world is brought to one’s notice right to the front. Getting on a seaplane was the first for me and as the amphibian glides across the ocean and then takes flight makes it truly scenic. The pilot kept his door open as long as we were on the water and the fluttering of the wind is tremendous. The Ha Long city is one for the tourists with tree lined avenues reminding one of Miami with long lines of date palms. In the sweltering heat Mixue forms for an amazing stop. This Chinese owned chain has over 26000 stores and is studied in Business schools for how rapidly and consistently they have grown. Back to the city and to the grind of the Old Quarter, we went back to Cafe Giang and slurping on the cold chocolate checked out several blogs that were filled with places to eat for vegetarians in Hanoi. Chay food was a great stop and alongside the next day we checked out Quan Pho Chay anh Hai. Now though the former was splendid, the latter deserves a whole lot of mention. This pho place is possibly the best pho place in all of Hanoi, but the thing is it is open only for breakfast and only till 11 am! And to beat that he has only one dish on the menu every single day, and that dish is very delightfully delicious. So people come there sometimes every single day of their stay to have the dish on menu. We also checked out ivegan a super food store in Hanoi, which was great but not only Vietnamese, it is mostly continental. Sitting down to finally sketch in Vietnam, I found myself discovering new details as I sketched. Finally making a trip to the shopping streets in Hanoi, the wares in the marketplace are of all kinds, with each street hawking one particular type of goods. Gingko concept stores had great soft organic cotton. The width of each building in the old streets of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi are very narrow. A building of 4 floors easily standing on a width of a little over 6 or 7 feet. The Hanoi Museum of fine art has an extravagant collection of lacquered paintings while the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is an ode to the country’s most popular man. His words, quotes and settings of his life are recreated in the museum of the Mausoleum while the mausoleum itself stands against the backdrop of the areas lined with trees and dotted with french buildings. The one pillar pagoda in the compound rising out of the lotus pond teeming with lotuses is quite the sight. As usual, each of the pagoda has lime shrubs and basil plants, but this one was surrounded by bonsai trees in heavy stone pots. The Temple of Literature is a temple for Confucius and showcases the steeles that were erected to show off the knowledge and pay respect to the gurus of the people. The main exhibition had artists of the day exhibiting their works for sale, one of the paintings that really struck me was a silk on silk, wherein an opaque silk art is framed 2 inches away from the front silk that is more of a gauze like bringing out a beautiful three-dimensional effect.

    A country that is in the building, but also a country that stuns with its emerald greens whether its the water or the lush greens of the land!

  • Oxygenation!

    The other day I was listening to a gentleman and guru who has named himself AiR abbreviation for Atman in Ravi. He said that the best thing to do on a plane is meditate, as a plane pulls off the runway and makes altitude start breathing and well deeply breathe all the way, unless you fall asleep and then as the Dalai Lama says fall into the best meditation there is – sleep or simply allow yourself to actually be aware and meditate all through. Well that would be some in-flight entertainment alright. Now in a similar vein I was told that the best thing to do in traffic is oxygenation again! Driving or not, obviously in the former do not close your eyes. In the air while we are 30000 ft up in the air we are dependent on the air-conditioning facility of the plane and the car, well just make sure the air circulation vent is closed in case of sitting in traffic!

    But the best place to fill up oxygen in the lungs is in the surrounds of trees and plants that are harbingers of this gas that is known for multiple life processes. Of the breathing exercises we know of, anulom vilom or alternate nostril breathing is one of the best and can be done for half and hour or so balancing out the parasympathetic nervous system. In addition there are many more, Brahmi for instance keeps the humming within the system and activates the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the human body that connects all the vital organs, when activated also calming the nervous system. Brahmi is done by covering the eyes with fingers and humming while the mouth closed, humming like a bee.

    And then there is a breathing style to beat nazar or the evil eye (!), its called the Sitali, where the breath is drawn in through the mouth and released through the nose. In such a case, while breathing in through the palate one can roll the tongue, else pursing the lips to form an ‘O’ shape is also good. Ujjayi breath that is also called the Ocean breath or the Victorious breath is one where one constricts the throat to produce an oceanic sound from the throat. And the best ones to have immediate calm is keeping the outgoing breath twice as long as the incoming one. In those are the 4-7-8, where the breath in is 4 seconds, a hold of 7 seconds and then an outflow of breath for 8 seconds, and the cyclic breath when two breaths are drawn in instantly and then a breath is left out for twice as long as the duration of the two inhales.

    Breath is life, the way we breathe can showcase the mental and physical body so being mindful of our breath can give away a lot of our state of being. While some practitioners also sing eludes to the fact that too much breathing and too forced can also cause oxidative stress to the body, so breathing gently and slowly are the best ways to draw in the life force. Some sages have reduced their breaths to 4 breaths per minute, which is real slow breathing! While the mammals that live the longest have the slowest breaths, think tortoise, the ones with the fastest breathing speed, live the shortest, think of the proverbial hare. We also lose our excess weight as carbon dioxide that we breathe out and hence aerobic activity brings out the weight loss in this fascinating human body.

    So well then, sit up straighter, give the lungs space to shine, draw in an eager breath, let the abdomen expand and then let it all go in twice the time, all this while making sure you are under a tree and away from the road as much as possible!

  • Man in space!

    Subhanshu Shukla sent out a message to fellow Indians who have got for themselves a taste of space with the Indian origin astronauts Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, Namaskar he said, and drew pride and applause from the country. Slated to complete over 60 experiments during his time in space his flight is said to speed up India’s space missions to follow. While it is thrilling to be in space, the need for such programs are always questioned. His 14-day visit to space will not be the first from India, but will be the second with Rakesh Sharma being the first man in space.

    As we waited for the space ride in a local theme park I wondered that the love for space programs is embedded in the human DNA as my 7 year old’s eyes light up every time one makes a mention of space. The idea of reaching out to the far beyond, in an anti-gravity environment is one for the future or should I say present. While Elon Musk has been running a very successful space program company, the way he works requires a special mention. Talking to a relative who worked real close with Musk in SpaceX his love for working with first principles is quite a winning point.

    Breaking frontiers or finding new frontiers is quite the way forward to keep the world enthused and happening so so say the same. Never a dull day in the world is just an understatement for how it can never be a dull day in space either. Man on earth may well be the man in space, even if that means he’s a tad bit lighter with the lack of gravity. Cheers to India’s future space programs, its a program that lights me up too. Just visuals of the Mangalyaan in space had be covered in goosebumps!