Vedasri Siddamsetty

recent posts

about

Living it up .

  • Busan is good!

    Getting to Busan is easier than you might think—much like the famous film Train to Busan suggests, there isn’t just one way to make the journey. Multiple trains run daily from the vibrant, fast-paced metropolis of Seoul to Busan, a breezy coastal city known for its relaxed charm. The trains are a lot like the latest buzzword in the Indian Railways – the Vande Bharat. The shared technology ensures the cabins and the train rather is exactly the same but with a whisk of the wand and colours that are a lot more sober and neutral, if not way cleaner, the internal compartments of the trains are very pleasant.

    In contrast to Seoul’s high-energy atmosphere and its ever-evolving beauty scene, Busan offers a refreshing change of pace. With its scenic beaches, warm coastal air, and an abundance of experiences waiting to be discovered, the city invites you to slow down, explore, and simply enjoy. The city is quite huge and offers a lot to do, including the stunning observatories that allow one to fly one into the sea with beautiful and soulful views and a sky capsule inching it’s way along the hilly shores.

    The Haedong Yongungsa Temple perched on the rocky cliffs of Northern Busan is a spiritual centre housing the Buddha, and is popular to grant a son for the one who rubs the belly of the deity, a fact that fills up this gorgeous temple replete with the crashing waves with hoards of tourists and visitors across the world and also from Korea. The prayer wishes are tied as lanterns and hung in the air in lined bunches so the wind can carry the prayers into being. The entry way to the temple has statues of the 12 symbols of the Chinese zodiac who are revered to as personality and all giving deities to those born in the year of the specific zodiac animal.

    Apart from the Cheongsapo Daridol Observatory, the Haeundae Sky Capsule, Dalmaji gil Road for the pink cherry blossoms, which are quite robust and taller than their Seoul cousins, the Gwangan Bridge, Somang Square, Huinnyeol Cultural Village which are dotted with pretty scenic cafés and shops of the latest fashion, the Hwangryeongsan Observatory, Oryukdo Skywalk, Arte Museum, the BIFF Square, there is one place that absolutely cannot be missed in Busan.

    And that is the resplendent Shinsagae Mall and its massive 13 themes of spas, the Spa Land with it’s Turkish, salt, yellow ochre, cedar wood, ice bath, Bali, Greco-Roman, electron, make for an excellent experience followed by the onsen type of the heat bath experience. If there was one thing that India could adopt from South Korea, I would say it would be the Spa experiences and if there were two things that India could embody from South Korea it would be the habit of having warm water or herbal teas as a daily habit done multiple times a day! The gadgets and the automobiles are anyway, loaned from South Korea, in terms of technology or the know-how.

    As a culture, South Koreans are a lot like Indians except a bit more obsessed on skin while Indians seem to be more obsessed on hair! The beauty standards of not incomparable, the safety and cleanliness standards are a clear win. Busan is known for the chill vibes and as a seaside location it is but for natural to have a place as lovely and comparatively scenic with a vibe of art and culture on the high. The Busan International Film Festival that is held here is a hotbed of the latest in the world of cinema, Korean storytelling and ofcourse the omnipresent K-Pop!

    And with that am signing off on the South Korean notes on the site but with one last run of Swim by BTS!!

  • Only Jeju

    When the tagline of this city is such one is left to wonder, what would we expect in only Jeju and from the flight above, looking down into this volcanic island while we’re about to land one notices a bunch of glistening long structures which we felt like a warehouse of sorts, but as the plane descends and one comes closer, one still don’t realise what those structures are. Only a drive through the roads of Jiju makes you realise that they were all farms covered with protective material of sheets, in order to grow the beautiful natural produce, that Jeju is known for. This beautiful volcanic island, which is extremely fertile, is known for oranges, green tea, and host of fresh produce along with the umpteen UNESCO sites. While there is a lot to see in Jeju, and the rest of the world as such, I made my pick and headed straight to the gorgeous, Innisfree House and the OSulluc tea Museum. While influencers have frequently described a trip to the Innisfree house in Jeju as an extremely therapeutic and calming event, I could not disagree at all.

    The beauty of this island city is paramount it is fondly called the Hawaii of South Korea with nature, the main character of this land. I was introduced to the world of Korean skin care through my friend Kanika to Innisfree, it is one of the oldest brands or perhaps one of the first brands from Korea and is known for its formulations that are very mild and natural. Today, influencers are trending many other brands because their formulations are super gentle the results dramatic! Yet in their flagship store in this island, it is kept very subtle, simple and classy. The beautiful Interiors and the organic Cafe serving up scrumptious food is a total delight set in the green Tea Fields. The neighbouring O’Sulluc tea museum is just as popular if not more. The concept of drinking warm beverages such as herb teas in the culture is endearing also, because of the climate that they are subjected to. Less populated and serene, this location transports one back to the feel of Switzerland. The bill structure in this place is also keenly natural, inviting the outdoors inside and engaging one with the outdoors as frequently as possible through vistas, walkways or sheer transparent glass.

    The Hallasan mountain, which is the tallest mountain of the country is located right at the epicentre of this island. While trackers can take very parts to reach the top, some easy and some really hard it’s a day program sites are marvelous and the effort totally worth it to the South of the Island and all along the coast are beautiful beaches, best enjoyed in great weather! Waterfalls make their way through the different parts of this island. A great public transportation system connects all parts of this island and a ride along the fringes of the coast is truly scenic. Interesting cafes are found in different parts of the island and stepping into one such Cafe I was stunned by the attention to detail the owner exhibited and how every table had fresh flowers styled serving up, exquisite food, and a lesson in presence.

    The cherry blossom trees blooming all across the region, add to the delight of the volcanic landscape. On just another afternoon, the outdoor gym in parks are dotted by putting Landscape for Golf layering the leisure activities available. Not being densely populated is one of the most charming parts of this island city. The Koreans are very proud of it and so is anyone who steps on this island. The views are stunning and the field is exquisite, but most importantly, the air we breathe is so clean and nutty. The most important part of any trip to Jijo is not the distance from Seoul but it is, in fact the weather if the weather is not conducive flights to this island can be cancelled for weeks at a time though there are multiple flights to it in a day. A clear Sunny day is the best way this island is explored by foot by local transport or by the Taxis. Uber work like a dream here, even without knowing the language allows you to seamlessly transport yourself from one place to another without using the power of speech. Another truly wonderful thing is the volcanic Spa the applies heat to the body.

    While nature take stage here, the Landscape is truly inspiring. Watching the birds fly, hearing them chop amongst the rust of leaves and the blowing of the wind. The vibe of Moana and hence Hawaii is not far behind. No wonder it is called the Hawaii of South Korea. As one gains a sight of the South Pole, as there is no break between the island of Jeju, all the way to the South Pole, the endless blue of the Pacifis Ocean is keenly felt. More than 1000 miles to the east of it is Hawaii. The positive ions of found in nature and the quality of earth is scientific enhance, visiting places where nature is pure and concentrated allows the human mind to truly relax.

  • Seoul for the soul

    Covered over 25 administrative districts Seoul is the capital of South Korea and also the epicentre of everything that comes out of South Korea. K-pop drama locations to K-pop concerts to Design events to scrumptious food this bustling Metropolis offers the sun and sometimes the moon to the average traveller! And if you can move to Gangnam style there is little you cannot do in Seoul! Starting out with a bang of partying at Itaewon we remained like the Koreans undeterred by the flux of rain. The heating umbrellas dotted across the pub-lined streets of Itaewon were the perfect recipe for warmth but fireworks inside literally made the pub scene super lit!

    Starting with a bang, Itaewon district’s lit times are best followed by another district, which is popular, not just for the music that came out of it and put South Korea on the world map, but the beauty treatment industry that dots this district multifold. If you have not jived to Gangnam Style, holding your arms across with your fists enclosed, jumping away in the most funny and may I add fun manner, you have not experienced what it is to hear and move to the beats of K-pop.  Oppa Gangnam Style is the song that hit charts everywhere in the world and it’s hook step has a statue in reverence to the song in this eponymous district. Located right outside the COEX mall  the statue is a huge draw to the tourist, just like the Fairfield library that it houses inside the mall. The books lined up across the walls of the library with the natural light coming in on all the sides makes it a beautiful location point to reflect, read and indulge in what seems to be the most popular activity today – take 1000 pictures! This most Instagram place like all similar others can be ventured out to only after standing in the long ques! Today’s monuments are totally different from those of the past, what we lineup for today as humans is completely different than what we lined up for in the past.

    The beauty industry in Gangnam is extremely revelatory, from the Egg Clinic to the Shinebeam clinic to the ever popular Unni Guide, there is something for all. And at all starts with a skin analysis. The skin analysis is mostly conducted by a machine and then guided by a dermatologist who deciphers the AI generated evaluation for us mere mortals. JANUS and META VU are two such AI power devices that look into the very many layers of the human skin. Beauty is more than skin deep, we know, and so I thought, as I stuck my head into the META VU machine in the Unni Guide dermatology Centre, but in Korea, the skin is given its sheer adherence in the beauty standards. As the machine studied the various aspects of my face and my skin I prayed that I was okay, such is the peer pressure in the atmosphere! After an in depth analysis, some rotations with the eyes open and some with the eyes closed, splashing UV, IR and what not rays across my face my skin age was deftly deduced, and with that the potential underlying issues crafted out in a 10 page report, I was ready for meeting the Dermatologist!

    When asked about my basic skin care routine, the dermat analysed my skin analysis report and enquired about the products I use. She was shocked that sunscreen isn’t slathered on my skin 24×7. Of course I do use the appropriate sunscreen only when it’s a very very sunny day. Brian Nobbay, the celebrated Bangalore dermat would have been extremely proud of me, but this one she was completely aghast! So as she convinced me about the merits of using sunscreen, repairing the barrier of my skin with moisturiser and steering clear of any other product because I wouldn’t need them she struck off retinol vitamin C and a lot of others from my list since they are extremely drying, while saving me a lot of time and energy in my morning routine or at the Olive Young clearly! So I posed my own question to her saying that if I use sunscreen, then how would my skin with the help of cholesterol in my bloodstream make vitamin D, a very essential vitamin for every process in the human body. She flatter her eyelids for a second thought deeply and said that’s a good question and that’s probably why we Koreans take it orally! The cosmetics industry also puts forward an entire nutraceutical industry, all for beauty that is skin deep! Nevertheless, armed with all our skin analysis reports, six of us, women completely at the mercy of the AI generated skin reports marched into Olive young and well, what can I say, the GDP of Korea has definitely seen a stark rise!

    The other districts of the South Korean capital may not have been as glitzy as beauty is concerned, but they were beautiful in their own right. The Onion Cafe in the Seongsu district was an ode to good design, I wouldn’t just say good design but charmingly sustainable design. Seongsu is filled with beautiful cafes, Boutique stores and a vibe that is futuristic, but quaint. Though the food in the Onion Cafe is to die for the interior design of the cafe is starkly refreshing. The salt bun one can taste here or in the many cafes across Seoul is delightful! But the cafe’s interiors deserves more praise, it is a dilapidated building converted to use in such honest breaking apart yet the field of the cafe is five star, totally luxurious. Be it the stretch ceiling lights, the snazzy, air conditioning, or the comfortable furniture embedded in the cafe interiors. And as one crosses into Dongdaemon, the future comes calling.

    Straight out of Zaha Hadid’s Studio is the Dongdaemon Design Plaza, which is futuristic unabashedly. The doyenne of architecture this project of the Master architect from London suggests her merit as someone who is beyond the masters and that’s what one feels while one experiences this design plaza. Built to house a performance space, an art gallery and shops, the public utilisation of this Design Plaza is incomparable. With the BTS army taking over, totally active at this spot one got to witness their new single light up the space with sound and lyrics. The massing is what she gets totally right, the two bean shaped domes uncover several layers of floor spaces that flow into each other. The facade of the building itself comes alive with all its materiality. A feat that is also observed at the LOTTE tower or the Seoul Sky as the tallest building in South Korea is fondly called. The LOTTE tower is built by the group and is the 5th tallest building in the world at about 555m, shaped like a split cone with a connection at the top, the sky walk is a must do for the adrenaline junkies of the world. At its base, it has the Lotte World Mall and the very delightful Seokchon Lake that celebrates the annual cherry blossom festival when all its cherry blossom trees on it’s fringes bloom. In the evening, the lake is lit up in delightful pink colour focused on the cherry blossoms, therefore making a performance out of the area. With pink cloud balls of candy floss in our hands and the pink cherry blossoms over our head, it makes for an unforgettable memory.

    The Namsan tower and its delightful, love, Lock Bridge, which is featured in so many K dramas along with the Gyeongbokgung Palace our places on the list that one cannot ignore. Insadong and Ikseongdong with its tiny streets and delightful stores and restaurants, make for an experience like no other. The Bukchon Village with its Sulwhasoo flagship store is extremely dainty and pretty. These areas remind one of the way people would live in close proximity building their built structures to protect them from the biting wind or the cool climate that the region endures. In the past, only nobility were allowed to wear colour in Korea. The masses were expected to dress white hanboks, the tourist today, also rent, and where in splendid colours walking into the palace free of cost if one has rented and worn the hanboks! On an average day the visitors are encouraged to wear the hanboks and stroll around the palace precincts that make the palace and its grounds come alive greatly. Personally I felt it was a splendid idea for the visitors to be wearing the traditional outfit and setting the stage for a perfect setting to view. The ombré outfits are the best of all the colours one witnesses across the far field all matched with beautiful hairdos with creativity befitting a king! While we excitedly reminiscenced of the shows we saw, Bon Apettit your Majesty to Crash Landing on You, the country’s most popular export lies in the lingering sense of comfort, brilliance, awesome natural setting one gets to experience.

  • South Korea

    South Korea

    We all have a little bit of Korea in our lives, knowingly, or unknowingly, whether it’s the automobiles that we used to commute for the refrigerator we employ to store our food in, to skincare that are formulated or even the dishwasher products that we use. This country, the size of the Indian state of Telangana has produced a massive scale of devices, entertainment or formulations that have become a part of every day life all across the world, their kimchi notwithstanding the highest spot in fermented food in the world! 

    But in real time, parked next to a hugely communist country firing away test missiles every quarter in not so much a mean feat, remaining largely peaceful and calm if not safe is a truly commendable feat. In spite of and mostly because of their k-dramas, a major k-pop culture, impeccable beauty standards and hugely gripping storylines South Korea is very relatable to Indians if not the world at large. While their technology has been borrowed by India for the automobile, gadget and a plethora of other industries, the way they employ it in their stead makes the country and people of Korea mostly connected to the world.

    In the next few posts we go along together across the three cities of South Korea that are diverse and so different from each other. Seoul is for the soul like their city tagline goes, Busan is good like their city tagline goes and Only Jeju as its tagline goes! The city vibe with the hills of Seoul is a lot different from the beachy climes of Busan is a lot different from the magical volcanic quality of Jeju. The spirit of South Korea is encapsulated across all the three cities in full measure. The people are hospitable, the language barrier deftly crossed over with smart technology like PapaGo and else, while Google Maps quivers a bit Naveen takes over just alright and may I add the ever-growing Vegan tribe too find a hearty meal devoid of sea oils of any kind!

    The take aways are quite huge quite literally with the beauty enthusiasts going way over budgets at their very popular Olive Young stores which have sprouted all over South Korea, the design fanatics going wild at Art Box or the enthusiasts of tipsy world figuring out the best amongst the aisles of soju, even children are not looked over with the ever present arcade spaces. For the materialists there is materiality spread across malls, outlet malls, shopping complexes, street side shopping, for the experiencialists there are experiences like no other, for the nature lovers there is the cherry blossoms, the canola fields, for the hikers, there are trails of all levels and sizes and lengths. All of it effortlessly sprawled across the country.

    While the world is looking east today, Japan and South Korea have emerged as the most popular choices in the recent times and at this time mostly because of the cherry blossoms. Throughout history South Korea has shared more than just cherry blossoms with Japan, colonised by Japan and mostly looted, they also inherited an indomitable spirit of hardwork and respect that is a mark of the Japanese. But with a zing of delight, intelligence that is fun and loaded on cuteness, Korea has built upon its history with dollops of effervescent joy!

  • Hey Ram!

    Today is Sri Rama Navami and it is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, who was born on the ninth day (Navami) of the Chaitra month to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya. It celebrates the victory of righteousness (dharma) over evil and honors the God for all the ideals that he stood for. Growing up Lord Rama was my favourite God (yes we Hindus are very much allowed to have our Ishtadevatas), the story of the epic Ramayana had a lot to do with the like, I just couldn’t wrap my head over Mahabharata, and Lord Ganesha came a close second, but as I grew up my allegiance greatly moved to Goddess Lakshmi, for firstly she is a woman and it generally made me feel more close and hence love this deeply venerated Hindu Goddess. Diwali, the festival of light, when Goddess Lakshmi visits us has always been my favourite festival, it is also the day when Lord Rama returns to his capital Ayodhya. The festivities galore it always lit up the spark in my eye.

    While the premise of Lord Rama remains the same, the epitome of good over evil, through his life story in the epic Ramayana he has displayed what all of us would perhaps want to embody but then the part after triumphing on the evil Ravana was not really taught to us all as children, the spurning of his wife Sita and the birth of the twins culminating with Sita being taken into the earth were harsher episodes in the story of Ramayana, at the end of the day it is all justified though and Lord Rama is a God, worshipped with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. The greater good notwithstanding. The search for being good and being happy is not an end goal, but a hedonistic being that serves us just as much as serving the society, we feel good when we look good, do good and be good, there isn’t an iota of doubt about it. But though being the good girl was on my mind, now I also want to be the good-to-myself-girl and so could you!

  • If I were a health coach

    The last seven years I have been following the tenets of over 7 health coaches, starting with Simrun Chopra in 2019, for like almost all the programs she had to offer, then after an ACL tear following a skiing incident that did not facilitate the high knees and jumping jacks that Chopra liberally administers, I moved to the slow propaganda of Raksha Lulla, then the soulful relay of Palak Arora, then the eat-all-you-want of Asha Ashta, the cool physiotherapist Vinod Jain, finally terminating the 7 year fitness journey with the machine man of India coach Puneet, who claims to be India’s best coach, but we all know what self-claims mean! Now after this long and arduous fitness journey, a difficult one for one who moved at her own whim and fancy, something that worked out very well for her over the years with an almost zero injury span, the injuries only started with the advent of the fitness, well only the ones who do something worthwhile are chided or something on the lines of that!

    Either way after all the trials and errors, I have come to the conclusion that I was much better off before starting this journey, when my movement was guided by my body and cardio meant shopping! Walking to nearly everywhere and then eating in lieu of what my stomach felt. After devouring almost a gazillion health reels here’s what I really think! The best diet is what I was on while I was post-partum, thanks to my mother who fed me lauki and tinda and ensured it was all rice and ghee, oops I mean nice and dandy, no doubt about it.

    1. Movement all day trumps exercise.
    2. Sweets are a ghastly addiction.
    3. Chocolate is food for the Gods, and we clearly are mere mortals, so dont touch it even with a barge-pole.
    4. The urge to eat the gourd vegetables is real, they are nutritious and delicious!
    5. Lying down with your favourite playlist on is a brilliant way to relax.
    6. Massages are needed the most when you have no time for it, and not needed when you have all the time for it. Its just the massage law!
    7. Eating minimally but maximum times in a day is bliss. Ayurveda isnt always right for me. 2 hour meal time is great.
    8. Paying for health coaches is a waste, better to get in touch with yourself, after all they are not you and most are in for the money, only.
    9. Fat is literally an armour, ask yourself what security services are you engaging with and why are you outsourcing your safety.
    10. Wearing your favourite style of clothes in your favourite colours is an armour no less!
    11. Warm nourishing foods, preferably asian, or in your case what sets your heart in a happy vibe is the way to eat.
    12. Definitely not tracking macros, micros, steps, sleeps, breaths, smiles, accountancy is a full-time career for a reason. Tracking pulls out joy in being a human.
    13. Oiling hair, body and using besan and citrus essential oils are one on the coolest way to be.
    14. Unplugging and going analogue for however long it’s possible is a great way to be.
    15. Being a child and in a state of play, with even the most adulting necessities.
    16. Simply doing nothing. Isnt it the hardest thing to do – nothing. Just like 0 is the most fascinating number, nothing!
    17. Putting it down on paper, or typing it out on a system, the pensieve, that Dumbledore has, is amazing. Thank you Rowling.
    18. Drinking a lot of water, this stuns me that Bruce Lee died with too much water, so now I sip, why die of water of all things.
    19. Swim. Just one word, the feeling of it, preferably in the morning hours when the birds are chirping and the sky is that beautiful sky-blue.
    20. Travel, just the novelty of it is good for health, preferably do not ski, while travelling on a mountain, but definitely hike, seeing new places and trying new things are heavenly for the soul.
    21. Walk with a friend every once in a while and chew their ears off, again hopefully in the early hours in a nature setting, maybe squeeze in a couple of suryanamaskars or yoga asanas too, again under the sun or the dawn sky. I do not get people who do yoga indoors, what a waste of the asanas!

    Well my head is buzzing with a few more options, like eat at 50% capacity, talk to a psychologist and give up on sugar, but nay they did not make the cut. I would never do that to myself or you, but yes this is what my Physiotherapist and an Ayurvedic guru told me, never ever perform to 100% in life, effortless is what life should be. Slacking is not a dire thing to do. In fact stop exercising when the sweat starts to develop on your brow or the back, that is an indication that your body is heating up. I can almost see my husband roll his eyes in contempt on that last line, for he believes sweating is a crucial parameter to slot any activity in the exercise segment, but then I beg to differ. While he uses the term exercise to describe an engagement in physical activity that improves health, I’d like to use it to describe a use or to apply, a faculty, a right or a process. I do exercise my right to use my mind and not outsource the thinking to a coach. Why should the coach tell me when to start or stop, or how many reps to do, btw I can count over 12 too, so why stop at 12, like do 48 reps with four breaks is a better way to jog my grey cells instead of 4 sets X 12 each, or unless my muscle tells me to. The whole fat-shaming, fit-shaming can take a pause, am fit-elevating and allowing the armour to melt while safely sipping on my water. That said being skinny is tremendously useful for the joints, especially the knee that takes 4 times the impact for every kilogram of body weight, so unless you have a chance to live on Mars or the moon, antigravity applying to your joints, (but I must say living in space does its damage to other parts of the body), its really better to be skinny. That and the fact you can wear Zara clothes and manage some gorgeous shopping in Korea or South-east Asia!

    And with that I would humbly like to request AI algorithms to stop sending me wellness reels and move over to art, wonder and culture with a heavy dose of architecture and design, maybe with a dash of appropriate humour. My eight year old has after all declared that I need no more educational content in my life, since am already very smart and can thrill myself with funny things henceforth in life (perhaps the biggest obscured life lesson on wellness – that on laughter). Instagram, Meta, X, Google, Gemini, ChatGPT and all else that I may log into, please note. No wellness travel too please, am well on my journey hereon primarily focussed on beauty and beautiful things, places, spaces and well you get the drift.

    P.S. Here’s a bit of information I remembered but could fit the appropriate place to place it in this post, so as an after-thought am adding it in here. A while ago when I was much younger I found a book by my Dad’s bedside, it was called, “Every Path is Paved with Gold”, it is the biography of Kim-Woo-Choong, the founder of Daewoo, a very profitable company that has now bit the dust. However he was a pretty successful man at his prime and he says, there is no concept of exercise when you live your life in full, he walked 10000 steps on the factory floor, he did his bit of movement without slotting it, wearing a wearable or sleep devices. He says in every day there is opportunity of health provided we aren’t outsourcing to gadgets or human inventions always, just like the inhabitants of the blue zones declare. Where we know movement is crucial but we do not need to slot it in and it is completely effortless.

  • Petroscentophilia and petrochemicals

    Ive always loved the smell of petrol, pulling into a petrol bunk, its another matter the price of the petrol and the heart burn that it involves burning this fuel for the environment and for my lungs, that is not inclined to the good sense in me. But recently at IndiaWood 2026, specifically at the mattress expo I was made painfully aware of the presence of petro-derived products in my sofa foam, mattress and worse in my pillows too, obviously even after tossing all the polyester in my wardrobe still kept me in the petro loop!

    When I asked Gemini what is the love of the smell of petrol called it said: You likely enjoy the smell of gasoline because its high aromatic hydrocarbon content—specifically benzene—triggers a, sweet scent that activates your brain’s reward pathway, causing a minor, temporary sense of euphoria. It is also linked to nostalgia, evoking childhood memories, or a physiological response to inhaled hydrocarbons.

    As the west bombards the east for political reasons, the mines of petroleum that span across the region are going to create ripples across the globe, not to mention the devastation that war brings. World leaders scramble some to condemn and some to laude the attack as a way of the good winning over the evil. But the decimation of one does not mean there will not be the rise of the other. But as the repressive policies of nations are challenged and the fight is for peace, the nature of the oxymoron remains unchallenged. The love of the scent of petrol or the flash of the polyester clothes or the softness of the petro foam is no excuse for the use of fuel that only burns to damage not just itself but in the very environment it is a part of.

  • Spaces of wonder

    What do you achieve by travelling my father asked me last week, a question he supposedly poses to everyone who loves to travel, has to travel or rather wants to travel. I wanted to think for a second but instead I instinctively replied for the wonder that travel entails, quickly adding that it was also the reason I dont enjoy travelling to the same place twice. The joy of the new, of the novel, the novelty of how a place is, the myriad of ways people tend to live, work, play or simply be, the wonder that is in experiencing places that are untouched, the wonder of nature and the wonder of beauty, of course we can experience a sense of wonder in our day to day also too, being wondrous about the beauty in everyday life, the simple sunrise everyday is a thing of wonder, or as the Nuns in my school, my Principal would boom that waking up every single day is a miracle, a thing of wonder. After each day is a day of new wonder.

    When I travel the novelty of the situation, the same person in a different place or the feeling of new, the taking in of different ways of being, beauty anew is something of wonder. And then I realised that when I come back home, I strive to bring that same sense of wonder into everything I do. Especially the spaces I create. Looking at the drawing board today at a very incredulous project I am wondering at what would instill in this space a sense of wonder, pun intended! The dictionary meaning of wonder is a feeling of amazement and admiration, caused by something beautiful, remarkable, or unfamiliar; a person or thing regarded as very good, remarkable, or effective; desire to know something; feel curious or even doubt! But it is the feeling of amazement and admiration we look out for. That said there are places we end up travelling to that makes one wonder with doubt, and then comes the gratitude for how much better we have it. In life it is all relative, Einstein with his theory of relativity established just that. So the thing is, the sense of wonder is why we chase new experiences, which could even be something new in the house, new clothes, new things, but what does it take to make the space that we live or work in steep with wonder, to keep us vibrant and alive.

    The spaces we inhabit shape us more than we realise, the design of our homes, our workplaces, recreational spaces dictate how much we walk, the amount of sunlight we bask in or the energy that we tend to absorb from our surroundings making design of our built spaces extremely crucial. We may or may not follow the tenets of Vaastu calling it dogma, but logic is infallible and what we definitely could do well to entertain. Needless to say then, form follows function, finance, feeling, frequency and wonder!

  • Peer Pressure on my knee!

    Its strange that this week there were so many lessons but the major one was to not land on my knee, and for that its better had I been a mermaid and lived in water, for then the landing wouldn’t have mattered one bit. And the next lesson was seriously how to say no. They say we lose muscle mass as we age and now am petrified that its the no muscle that is losing strength. When they say build muscle looks like the neck rotator muscle needs building in my case that conveys a firm, yet hopefully polite (considering my RBF) no! But then the sheer need to prove myself or rather the ever optimistic belief that five years hence the anterior cruciate ligament would have healed, were two really dangerous premises that I ended up operating on, so much that it raised the question of me being operated on! A slippery slope for sure. So one is better off being a realist than an optimist in this world. The body has most cells that regenerate and heal and yet it has some that apparently don’t, but there is no harm in hoping and praying for a miracle. So while I light my diyas and find my Gods, am deciding that instead of pounding muscle in the gym, it is time to build completely my other muscles namely the tongue, the stomach, the neck and alongside building the quadraceps and the hamstrings wont be a gain, pun intended.

    The joy of listening to my National level athlete flex his sports achievements and throw in a sneer about others not playing a sport, pulled out the competitive streak in me, possibly also a memory loss conveniently forgetting the doctors advise to not play high impact sport, well who would’ve thought Badminton is a high impact sport and also well the brain is firmly an organ and not a muscle, so nothing to build there, made me jump onto the court take a serve and in the lure of scoring a point jump to the nets. Alas, the pain, the twist, the swelling thereafter and the completely painful process all the same made be guilt trip myself for four days before summoning the Pollyanna in me, like seeing the sun after a storm. One surgeon pronounced surgery much to my chagrin, and while swearing off cardio for the rest of my life secretly praying, pleading to God that I wont fall to peer pressure in the future, even if the peer is the partner in question. So much so I pulled on my sweatshirt from the School of Planning and Architecture days, the years of first being an adult, the years where peer pressure did not so much as touch me, and hoping that the fabric memory lays its bit on me, days when I firmly said no, with not a care in the world, and didnt fall to peer pressure no matter the pascals or rascals. So if you meet me next and I say no, please, pretty please respect it, and you’d be doing me a huge favour in helping build a muscle that will take me over the next 62 years of my life, ofc assuming I’ll hit the century.

    But then when I write this I realise, I was always immune to peer pressure but not sneer pressure. And thats how I put peer oops sneer pressure on my knee. God help me!!

    P.S. Inspite of the public sneer I was polite enough to notify in private that synapse is actually a word, and thereby flexed my kindness muscle proving not all muscle needs building, some just magically appear in good faith!

  • 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!