LUXURY....

This word has been torturing me for the past one month and I finally thought what the hell just write about the damn thing and get it over with. Abusing this word can have almost disastrous consequences since most of my clients breathe and live in this bubble every day of their lives and most importantly my pay check comes from here Dude!

So we have luxury brands, we have luxury food , luxury apparel, luxury malls and for India the next buzz word is.. you guessed it "LUXURY". I mean it almost seems like that if you are seen buying or indulging with something which does not spell luxury "God save you" you are just not with it worse still your future looks gloomy verrry gloomy ..ok I do tend to exaggerate a bit not that gloomy but you got my drift right!

Any which ways if you have it ..flaunt it and it better spell and look luxury if the latest Indian's fascination or obsession is anything to go by. For me it just well sort of irritates me ..I was reading an article in Fortune magazine which said India's tryst with the luxury bubble is not new, is not a fad and is very much here to stay(help me god) because to begin with it has always been here..Maharajahs and their fine Maharanis would always have the Louis Vuitton collection as part of their trousseau. Yes can you believe that...our Maharajahs would get specially ordered jewelery from Cartier's.

It seems we have come a full circle ...as most things in life do ..I am not happy about it ..for the life of me why should I be "I can't afford the bubble " or maybe the bubble doesn't appeal to me because I feel it comes at a price. You reach that level and baby you aint coming back!! It is only up and up but beyond a point where will you go. That is why I like to stick to basic things not to say that if someone gifts me a Louis Vuitton bag I wont take it(ya ya Megha u keep dreaming) but I find happiness at the most unlikely places. I mean it is luxury when I see the whole family laughing and eating together considering all of us are working. I think it is luxury when I can catch those 10 extra minutes before I need to jump out of the bed. It is luxury when i get to eat that whole bar of chocolate without feeling guilty.

Seems like my definition of luxury is quite screwed but hey this is what makes me happy.I am sure the people who indulge in what I would like to refer to is the "bubble" are actually after the very same sentiment "happiness". To each it's own I always say though I won't mind running an experiment here at this point of time..
Let someone gift me a Cartier or maybe a Dior and let me see what happens..the ecstasy ..the joy ..I also want to experience it. So are there any noble and kind souls who will help me in my experiment by gifting me the "bubble"..any takers...any body..somebody????

Thank You Life..!!

Few people have the pleasure of saying this but my work place is like 15-20 odd minutes away from my house...see I said it ;). Normally I love to walk down to office and back coz lets face it that's the only exercise that I am getting these days and god only knows whether this is helping or not. On the odd day I don't feel like walking or I am sinfully late I like to take the cycle rickshaw(and no I am absolutely not embarrassed like some people are about admitting this one ..I love the cycle rickshaw rides..it's fun people!).

Three weeks back I ran out of my house..late again..praying that I could find a rickshaw asap..that's when I saw him ..standing between 3-4 rickshawalas ..chatting away to glory..this young boy about 5 feet nothing. He looked like a child among all those burly men..filthy,grubby ..looked like he had not had a bath in weeks maybe months..skinny like hell..don't know why as I ran up to this group thanking my lucky stars ..my eyes seemed to notice only him.Thankfully his eyes seemed to be the only ones noticing my plight as one by one they all refused to take me.

Maybe it was the desperate look in my eyes or maybe he took pity on me as he said..mein leke chalta hoon na madam ..kahan jana hai. As I gave him directions to my destination I felt a little guilty..he was a child after all and if I was not so extravagantly late I would have never taken him..the words child labor kept coming in my mind. I don't know why but there were more things that I kept noticing about him as the wind whipped past us in a frenzy ..his face darkened with filth and muck, a mischievous smile played on his face like a little adorable monkey and his teeth were white shining like stars on a dark night..can you Imagine!

As we passed a corner, a delicious aroma of fresh samosas being fried struck my nose and so did his..he gave a hungry look at the samosa and quickly glanced away..Come to think of it,I don't know why it had skipped my notice that he looked kinda hungry and weak.I don't know what came into my head at that moment but I made him stop the ricksha ..got down and bought some of the samosas..it smelled divine. Since I was anyway's a minute away from my workplace I decided to walk but before that I went up to him and held out the packet towards him..Guess what he did..it shocked me as he shook his head smiling all the while as he said "nahi nahi rehene dejiye"! There he was this little chap refusing the very samosa's he had been drooling over a minute ago. I felt a strange tug at my heart and my throat suddenly seemed so constrained..I managed to croak .."Le lo garam hai...thanda ho jayega". I thrust the packet literally in his hands as I walked away..for some strange reason my eyes felt moist ...I felt a pair of twinkling eyes staring at my back ..I couldn't muster the courage to look back at him.

That day seemed to pass away in a daze quickly.. it was no different than any other day except that I felt somewhat happy ,contended and thankful towards my life. I learnt a very hard lesson that day ..a lesson that I am hoping will be like a talisman for my coming days ahead..days when I feel frustrated and I feel like giving up..days when I feel like a looser and I crib and I rave and I rant ..I hope that I can look back on that day and remind my self how fortunate and blessed my life truly is! :)

You know u always keep reading about this phrase "Always count your blessings" that day I think I did and I had so many things to be thankful about, that it could fill books. You don't have to have a supremely amazing life to be happy.. you just need to take a look around at people ..the sweeper on the road, the beggar at the red light, the child selling books on the pavement.

So many things to be thankful about...your life might not be great but remember it's not that bad either....

Delhi Winters

As I write this curled up in my supremely warm blanket with the blower in my room switched on full blast I feel well cozy, toasty, wonderful and glad that I am in and not outside as I watch the mist swirling about through my window. Anybody who has been through the Delhi winters knows it can be merciless think ice cold water in the morning, think cold air that hits you in the face with so much force that it just takes your breath away, cold hands and cold feet...real pain in the butt I tell you!

Delhi winter is all that mentioned above but the opposite is also true, it also signifies beautiful misty mornings(in case u don't have to get up very early u will actually find it quite scenic)and evenings, those endless cups of tea and coffee u actually have an excuse to have more and then some more. Cold weather also means think carts selling hot hot popcorn,tasty peanuts,crispy bread pakodas yummmmmm (ok feeling hungry now yikes!)

It absolutely also means think sexy looking boots, amazing trench coats, gorgeous sweaters and jackets, pretty knitted skirts,bright colored tights and you know what that means think hole in your pocket, think bankruptcy...phewww!

Delhi winters one of my favorite seasons and the best part is I can't stand cold at all and by at all I do mean at all!! Think Megha plus winters ..think Megha covered head to toe..think Megha wearing two sweaters, one jacket, woolen cap and socks and I would be probably still be shivering...brrrr but the fact of the matter is "I STILL ADORE DELHI WINTERS"! what to do such is the life deary..you lose some but you win so much more.... <3 <3

Back with a bang...!!

You always think that you are gonna inculcate one good habit in life and stick with it then "wam bam" guess what happens ...life..it catches up with you ..spins you around and then spits you out with a nice and loud burp.urmphhh!! So here I am back again..back to take control of my life ..back to that one good habit I thought I was not going to let go of.. beat life at it's own game minus the burps..

A lot has happened in the meanwhile ..I have gotten older ..wiser perhaps(I hope)..I have been trying to broaden my fashion sense(dunno if I have any to start with )..bought my first sari..worn it and clicked loads of embarrassing pics in it...reinstated my belief that good and thoughtful people are much needed in life and you can never have enough of them.

Anyways my tryst with sari was not half as bad as I expected and I have survived with not a scar but certain level of confidence and awe of this beautiful garment. Hoping some body's getting married soon and I get a chance again to go shopping for a pretty "Sari" at least this time I wont be hyperventilating in front of the salesman like I did earlier..He must have thought im crazy or something. Far from truth my dear friends just very confused surrounded by nine yards ... unfamiliar territory you see!


Ahh before I forget the fashion bit ..been reading a lot of them(fashion magazines)lately and feel they should tone down the "jing bang" a bit ..when I read them feels like they are not really for an Indian audience but an audience they would aspire to be ..European ..french...I don't know what about aspire to being Indian..??
Food for thought...!

Obsessions

I never really thought I was the kind of girl who would obsess over things easily but here I was siting on a Sunday afternoon and thinking about random stuff like what clothes I should wear tomorrow at work or I should have bought that white pair of heels when I had the chance...occupational hazards of working in a Public Relations firm dominated by gals. It's kinda of funny because these are normally not the things that occupy my mind, which does prove what I have been thinking all along that it does not matter where you are from, how are you because eventually you do start getting moulded into whatever environment you spend your maximum time.

I also learned that those killer pair of heels can give you so much confidence that you can take on the world if you have to!! How the word "sale" has the capability of driving even the most sensible women in this world into a frenzy and compel them to resort to tactics just to lay their hands on that one pair of heels that in another situation they wouldn't even dreaming of buying otherwise.

OOOps seems I am obsessed and that too about shopping .."I guess I am changing don't know whether for the good or worse" though I do wish my back balance would not change so much ..at the start of the month it's high and by the end of the month it's so low you begin to cry. Anyways gonna head towards the Almirah and do some clothes searching..hope it is not as difficult as soul searching. Hmmmm have to find time for that as well..both are very important you see!! specially the latter.. ;)

ZARA

Zara the Spanish high street fashion brand finally got launched with much fanfare this Friday at select city walk. Nothing extraordinary about this since we have been witnessing an influx of luxury brands and fashion labels opening shop one after the other here in India.

In fact it has been barely two days since the store has opened and people seems to be going ballistic...when I went on Sunday evening to the store there was barely enough space to keep your foot inside let alone check the collection. It seems as though new India has suddenly woken up and that too with a huge appetite. It's no big high tech secret that Indians love to shop but this kind of passion for big brands is extremely exhilarating and kind of scary.

Don't get me wrong I love the fact that with the economy opening up and what with the new middle class working it's way up there is more money than ever to spend. You go on a weekend to any mall and the sight that greets you is utter chaos with men and women literally battling it out at the stores(not for the faint hearted mind you). I have recently been introduced to this new world of shopaholics and it is new learning everyday...Spanish brands ..Italian brands..Upcoming fashion designers..latest trends...phewwww.

While all this is going on the only thing that sort of disturbs me is where does that leave Indian brands..the way we lap up all these foreign brands..do they also go crazy when an Indian brand opens outside. The answer to this sadly as I believe to the best of my knowledge is that there is still not an Indian brand which can command such a hysteria as other foreign labels here are able to. I know for a fact that even though a lot of people out side recognize a Rohit Ball or a Manish Arora collection there is still not a single Indian brand that is as popular as compared to some of the brands that are here. Solutions I can provide since it is always easier to talk and give advise rather than do it yourself but hey at least I am trying ... So maybe Bollywood should kinda curb its habit of going bonkers with western outfits..maybe our fashion designers need to promote more of the India fashion line or maybe even for that matter we as a nation should stop this absurd obsession with fashion brands..I don't know but these our just random thoughts. I have always believed in going for the middle path and having a balance approach to any kind of situation, so maybe we can continue our love affair with the foreign labels entering India but we should start a new love affair with our own kind as well as the saying goes "Old is definitely Gold".

PS Megha herself likes to wear both western and traditional outfits...western makes her feel she looks hot and while wearing traditional she feels she looks pretty and no Megha is not obsessed about herself she is talking about the looks these outfits generate and not herself as such ...and oh oh most importantly since she could not shop at ZARA she shopped at M & S today and blew almost four grand , she has just promised herself that the next thing that she buys has to be Indian ..be it Indian jewelery..Indian clothes or Indian food..she also believes that at this rate she will become completely bankrupt soon.

Happy Feet for Mother's Day

I have always liked the concept of mother's ..father's..dog's day even though I do believe that the whole thing is nothing but another marketing propaganda to sell a brand.Coz let's face it we all say that one day is not enough we should celebrate all days but who does that.. not me for sure.

Anyways so with mother's day falling on Sunday I decided to celebrate the day with my mom by pampering her. I thought to myself why not surprise her..do something innovative..well the thought led me to take my mom out for a session of Fish pedicure at Happy Feet(Select city walk).

Fish pedicure or better known as doctor fish is quite interesting.. they put our feet in a large vessel containing about 200 fishes mind you special fishes. The fishes set to work immediately, they start nibbling at your feet removing the dead skin. No need to worry they do not have any teeth and the experience though a little daunting in the beginning can be a whole lot ticklish as well according to this Punjabi lady right before it was our turn to get in.

Well here I was trying to coax my mom to put her feet in the vessel with her squirming and I trying to retain my calm and composure as a whole lot of people watched expectantly.Eventually the helpers there came to my rescue by simply pushing her feet in the water not forcefully but a little firmly. A little scream went up in the air and for a minute there I though that the fish had actually bit her though the next minute the sight had not only me in splits but the whole audience there as well. There was my mom giggling like a little schoolgirl since she was feeling very ticklish as well as weird..in her defense as she puts it I'm vegetarian for god's sake off course I'll feel peculiar.

In about 5 minutes though you could see from her face that she was actually enjoying, as I watched bewitched at the sight of my mom's feet being nibbled by so many tiny fishes.The whole experience as she puts it was quite intimidating but relaxing as well.Her feet actually looked quite clean and pretty and felt soft just as how the helper had described.

"They help to open up the pores mam you must try it" said the helper there as I smiled at him with a painful expression.
Well mom enjoyed it..the people gathered there enjoyed the show..I'm thinking the fishes must have also enjoyed it.So maybe just maybe I should try it out as well ..hmmm maybe I will but just hope that the next time that I go, I have less of an audience as compared to my mom!!