Le Bambole & the secret tales

What I wait most for in Milan is the antique market at naviglio that gets me so excited I can hardly stop smiling, like wise flea markets are small treasure islands. Every object has a story to tell! In Bombay its chor bazaar (thieve's market) in london I love  camden town... old boots, tins, toys, keys.. selling anything that one can probably not think of.

There's always a common string that runs through most of these markets I've visited, and what catches my fancy is 'dolls'! 
Everyone has played with dolls.. some of them leave them behind and some like me never tire of them.. and each doll carries a story. More than only a chronological history, they have emotions and tales to them.

 Camden town (London)

These by far are the most queer and unfamiliar objects I noticed scattered all over chor bazaar.
They're doctor dolls, I wonder if you know what I'm talking of!

The spares.. doll's eyes at naviglio (Milano)all colors of eyes for sale, neri, verdi, blu..!! hah

Flea/antique markets are chic and the objects, buyers and sellers are equally curious!! Its a treat! and I really have that smile glued on right through :)

Back in time...

The long neglect has been tugging at my heart too. 
I've been away from metropolitan Mumbai -  in smaller, historic, Ahmedabad and how laid back life seems there.
Having lived in Ahmedabad before makes it quite familiar but it still intrigues me and I always discover something new.
This time I stayed in the old quartier of the city, which I've been wanting to do for a while.
In a 'pol' (pronounced pole) (wikipedia) , nestled in the older part of the city, are old heritage structures that seem neglected, their beauty lost on the locals. I was delighted to stay in an Artists' Residency in the pols called the 'Arts Reverie', a restored 'Haveli' of the 1920's.

Living in the pol was like a throwback to my junior school environmental science texts, to the semi rural lifestyles... 

women scrubbing clothes & pots and pans, the chime of temple bells, cows parked in the common spaces out side houses (its a common sight in older parts of Indian cities), the local flour mill and tiny grocery shops, a road-side barber, a milk man, and the friendly greetings in the neighborhood; its a  self contained microcosm of a city within a city.
I love these slow, kind & humane pockets of the city .. soon to be picture postcards alas as they get swallowed up by 'developers' & metamorphose into anonymous towers of glass & concrete perhaps.

A short walk out into the main street, and voila .. welcome to the impatient honk honk! of noisy fume-burping two-, three- or four-wheelers whose proud owners have junked their bicycles & must show off their new acquisitions.

The markets: now there's a method in their madness. There's everything under the sun & nope google maps won't work, only the locals can tell. Its the fabulous 'GeniusLoci'  of the place that leaves its imprint on you. Its a maze of unfolding treasures .. textiles to plastics, hardware, stationery, buttons and pins. I return drenched and tired but its a more fulfilling experience than a trip to the mall. Sure.

 More art..

 Bold Hussain strokes and color at the "Ahmedabad ni gufa"

The Art Book Centre is a haven for creative readers; rare books on art, history, design and architecture. What makes it interesting is its kitschy front with a million interesting details: calico prints, miniatures, photographs, traditional crafts .. a blast of color.

Its a great place to visit even if you're not buying. I like to observe and feel a place than fill my bags, usually.

Rural Fashion ..

Threads, drapes, people and the street... rural fashion fascinates me...
The clothing is weather-apt and the colors are a joy..
It's highly communicative style and is really really 'sustainable' ..  considering how little they own and how long they use it.


Aav jo!!

Holi Folly!!

Its Holi today! For those of you not in the thick of things, it's the festival of color in India. That's why it ought to be my favourite festival too(I adore COLor). As a child in a missionary boarding school in the hills we didn't get to see the real thing but heard a rosy story of what the festival 'was' not what it's turned out to be, alas.
Coming from the sheltered hills to the real world, urban India was a bit of a shock; Holi was berserk, rowdy & wild. I stayed tucked in my shell for years on the festive day, with revellers ferreting out hiders with mounds of toxic color & pails of water.

This year, surprisingly, I'm eager to be be bang in the middle of the revelry (it's been a while) I want to get colored & I'm making my own natural dyes at home, with whatever I can find in the kitchen. Beetroot(Barbabietola) and turmeric (curcuma) will give me brilliant fuschia and yellow.

Turmeric powder

Boiled beetroot

Since my first lot of beetroot(which had aged a little) yielded a pale yellowish liquid, I did a second one. The color was cooling but Holi was already in full swing and in came the merrymakers, toxic, non-toxic, natural or not they gave a hang, if you're game you've got to get colored any which way... and so I joined in the fun!

Al fine di t-shirt bianca!

So that's how it was! :)

Holi it is.. I don't make the rules!

I hope those of you around the world who played had a great time too! 

 

The Merry Winter!

Winter has such an array of hats and other accessories .. we wrap up in all we own to keep away the shivers .. in style.

Warm head-gears range from chunky wools, felts to furs.

What's wonderful is that winter doesn't tuck away the colors for springtime; it can be a merry season livened by colors!

Felt Fiore

Merry beret!

 

 Neat Nero!

Chunky funk!

Little jester!

 

Classic Ushanka

Any winter warm stories to hear from you guys...

I'd love to know!

Head On..

Woolly head hunt!

Back with more headgear; the winter always takes me spotting woollen tuques when I go 'head' hunting. There's always a cheerful hat a slouchy tuque a chic beret or the ear-cuffed tuques in great color variations, stripes, patterns and trims too. I love woollies and knits especially since I'm from a hot city I yearn for the winter.

Tres chic!

Slouchy striped tuque!

I loved this style apart from her being wrapped up so well in her warm extended headgear the tiny badges on her coat made such an interesting detail-contrast from the bulk of her headwear.

Color coded scully & the glacial look

Strung Hats!

I fell upon this most delightful cluster of lamps at a vintage store in Florence, they're hats of all kinds strung from the ceiling. Thought it'd be appropriate with this post as I've been hat spotting!

 

Its interesting how people react to the camera or to a stranger coming up to them to ask if they could be taken a picture of.  I find it a great experience of human contact and exchange even for those few seconds. All of you people featured on my blog I've loved something about your way, for me to have you here. Siete belle e avete un stile personale e interesante.

...... More Hissing Hats!

Felt hats are so versatile in form shape color, thinking of that, last season H&M had these fantastic turquoise colored Billycock hats a great take off on the original black ones.

I like the Top hat with the deep purple flower! Theatrical chic!

Down the Alley....

We have more head-gear coming.. more effortless Milanese style...