I love the month of December in Mauritius where we enjoy the beauty of the flamboyant tree, juicy tropical mangoes and litchis; where the earth and sky seem to celebrate this festive season. December also marks the celebration of Christ’s birth. 11 days before Christmas and the preparations have started;I love buying and gifting presents…

The “nauvari”… 9 yards of beautiful cloth draped in a majestic way creating the “ kashti” or “kashta”, the Maharashtrian  dhoti style saree. Nav means nine in Marathi, referring to the length of the saree. The “Nauvari” saree is a traditional Maharashtrian outfit which dates back to warrior times in India, where Maratha women went…

This weekend, I am paying tribute to my ancestors. Yesterday was All Saints day and I accompanied my dad to the cemetery with flowers for my grandparents and other  relatives. I had a little tour in the cemetery, listening to my dad talking about our relatives resting here – names and stories that form our…

I didn’t post on the blog lately because I was caught up in a whirlwind of celebrations!  A wedding celebration and Divali festival kept me on my toes during October. My cousin got married two weeks ago and my brother’s wedding was in June this year. Two close weddings in a year demand a lot…

Back in 2004 when I was doing my undergraduate degree, I had a few art modules which encouraged us to observe our surroundings. One reality that struck through was the amount of waste that we were generating… the plastic bottles, packaging, aluminum cans, clothes etc. We throw them away without realising the impact of our…

These huge giants gracing the sky…  Mountains, which have emerged due to volcanic activity millions of years ago.  They stand huge and majestic. I find mountains beautiful. Tall and strong, mountains send a message to stay grounded, unmovable and unfazed by what is happening around us. Resilience at its best.  We can have a stand…

Have you ever… hugged a tree? Sounds weird but tree hugging is actually becoming a buzz as it is said to have various benefits such as decreasing stress levels and releasing oxytocin. Oxytocin is called the love hormone but I like to call it the kindness hormone. Healers advocate that hugging a tree is a…

I am an “Opacarophile”…I had to use Google to know the meaning when I heard this word for the first time. It simply means I am a sunset lover… I adore sunsets, that magical moment when the sun is going to sleep, giving us a spectacular palette of colours; orange, pink, purple. Sunsets often give…

We may look at a tree thinking it is only a piece of wood but did you know that they are actually our superheroes saving our lives everyday? We, humans tend to forget our interconnectedness with trees. Humans and trees form one entity because of our cyclical and harmonious relationship: we breathe in oxygen generated…

Today we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, in honour of the elephant headed god Ganesha. He is worshipped as the remover of obstacles and god of wisdom. Ganesha has many names and the most popular ones are Vigneshwar, Ganapathi, Gajanana and Vinayaka. My ancestors came from Maharashtra, a state in the West of India. They came to…