Shocks and Shoes

Lust List - March

10:07:00 pm

Happy Women’s Day!! I have no idea what you guys did today, but I hope it was fun, it being Holi as well!! At the end of the day, here are some little treats for you to drool over :-D

1. Geeky print dress

Image Source: ModCloth

This is the Frames and Fortune Dress by Eva Franco for ModCloth. Isn’t the print fun? I personally think it makes the cut of the dress real cute. Somehow I feel like it would suit Rachel Berry of Glee :-).

2. Floral Scarf

Image Source: Accessorize

Some spring-y stuff here. The Bon Bon Oriental Floral Silk Scarf from Accessorize. Love the colors and the print, adds to the ethereal look of the scarf. It also looks light enough for Indian climes.

3. Metallic Leather Tote

Image Source: YSL

Isn’t this YSL tote a beauty?? Ooh, I feel so grand and glamorous just looking at it :-). Aaand, it is reversible. Yup, beige and gold. And you were thinking it couldn’t get any better.

4. Pastel Gown

Image Source: trendhunter

Candy colors are all the rage now and this Elie Saab gown took my breath away. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s part of his Spring 2012 Couture collection, in case you were wondering.

5. Dr. Seuss Book Cover Charm Bracelet

Image Source: Etsy

A whacky yet adorable bracelet. I would say this is a must have for all Dr. Seuss fans (and who isn’t?). Available at Etsy.

6. Two Toned Strap Sandals

Image Source: Nine West

This must be my favorite in this list. Very bright and summery, perfect for all sorts of outfits. These are the PS Luca elastic criss cross sandals from Nine West.

7. Barbie’s Glam Vacation House

Image Source: Mattel

March 9 is officially Barbie’s birthday. I was and still am a huge fan, though more of her itsy bitsy accessories than of the doll herself. I had several Barbie sets as a little girl, but never the entire house. That’s why I fell in love with this one. Check out all the little details!!

So that's the lust list for this month!! Which one did you like the best?

Personal

Weekly Goals Update – 4 March 2012

10:26:00 am

books

Women’s Day Special: Book Review – A Calendar Too Crowded

4:50:00 pm

Image Source: Flipkart

This is the author’s debut novel and the title is based on the number of days on the calendar dedicated to women and their causes. The book tries to show that how, despite numerous occasions which allegedly ‘celebrate’ or ‘protect’ women, we are still a country that can’t see them as humans, forget equals.

Title: A Calendar Too Crowded

Author: Sagarika Chakraborty

Plot: There really isn’t a plot per se, but being a woman is the common theme that flits across all the stories and poems. However, since women are said to be creatures having several dimensions to them, the stories are also different, each stressing on one or more of these.

The topics dealt with in the book consist of those that already occupy lots of newspace in India, like dowry deaths, female foeticide, domestic violence as well as lesser known matters of migrant laborers, adopted children, childless women. These issues affect women irrespective of their education, religion/caste, socio-economic standing or family backgrounds and this is what makes the book all the more easy to identify with.

Review:

My first thoughts after reading this book were “I wonder how a man would feel after reading this book? Would he be enraged at his sex being made the ‘villain’? Would he be shocked at the injustices being meted out to women, even modern urban women, even today? What exactly would he be thinking?”

The reason I felt like that is because it’s hard to call this book fiction, since fiction implies stuff that isn’t real, doesn’t happen in real life. Nothing here could be farther from the truth. Every single character in this book has lived and every incident has already taken place in our country, several times over. The names and faces don’t matter. This is as real as it gets.

The scenarios mentioned in the book are commonplace in our society and have also been written about plenty. Then what is it that this book does that others haven’t? Using stories, which could be about your neighbor or yourself, the issues take on a much bigger level of realism, and you can’t help but feel for the characters in the book.

Sagarika Chakraborty’s style of writing is very gripping; the reader can’t stop till he reaches the end of the story to know the conclusion. She is quite talented and has all the means to make an un-putdownable page turner.

The book follows a simple pattern of going by the calendar, and listing out all the women-centric days in each month. The stories that follow are related to these days, though not in a very explicit way.

The book opens with a story about a woman who has a flashback into her worldly life, just as she’s leaving it, and she realizes how she has been blamed for every little thing that has happened in and outside her, starting from simply being the wrong sex.

Some of the stories are about problems faced by women since time immemorial and it might surprise some to know that they exist even today. ‘The Witch with the Broomstick’ and ‘Barren yet Ploughed’ are two such examples.

In ‘Finding an Ideal Mother for my Unborn Child’, one of my personal faves, the mother is portrayed almost as a slave to her son, sacrificing all her needs and desires for her spoilt child. However, today’s urban Indian mothers are learning the concept of ‘self love’ and are adopting ‘western’ disciplinary practices of self feeding, instilling feelings of responsibility in the child etc. and to them this story might appear a little outdated. It would have been interesting to know if the mother would undergo this level of sacrifice had her child been a girl.

On the other hand, stories like ‘A Life in my Mind’ and ‘Darkness under the Spotlight’ speak of the other end of the spectrum – modern and independent, financially and otherwise, who tries extremely hard not to fall into the moulds that have been created for her by her grandmothers, and ends up wondering if that is not a kind of oppression too.

Yet, all is not gloom and despair. ‘Selling a body to gain a mind’ is an excellent example of how it is possible for people to come out into the light and lead respectable lives, no matter how doomed their current circumstances may be.

‘Can you Hear me Ma?’ and ‘Choices without Options’ deal with the much-discussed evils plaguing current India – female foeticide and domestic abuse. They depict the plight of several educated Indian women, who end up covering bruises with silk sarees and sacrificing their unborn daughters for sons.

There isn’t much to criticize about this book, though I would have liked the cover to be a little more attractive. Another grouse is that the author uses certain phrases throughout the story - italicized and repeated. It was probably done to drive home the point, but it feels too labored and actually acts like a speed breaker in an otherwise smoothly flowing narrative.

Also, some stories don’t really offer a solution which makes you feel a bit let down at the end. One possible reason for this is because there are no easy answers and maybe because the author wants you to consider solutions of your own and hence make you understand the gravity of the situation.

One of the reasons I enjoyed reading this book, is because the author seems to have written from the heart. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I’d say that since all the stories are so real, they all touch certain chords in us.

This book is by no means a light read, but if you don’t really have anything planned for this Women’s Day, get a hold of it. Don’t let it be just another day on the calendar.

Personal

Weekly Goals Update – 26 February 2012

11:56:00 am

Fashion, Personal, Travel

Weekend Getaway – Kochi Part II

10:05:00 am

Presenting Part II of my Kochi travelogue. I know, I can hardly call this a travelogue, considering most of the focus is on food and shopping. The thing is, whenever we go somewhere on holiday, my first question is about the shopping venues and Mr. Tiger is solely concerned about where and what we’ll eat. Seriously, he plans where we’ll have our breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks well before we even book our tickets. Yes, I’m married to a man who is married to his food. Sigh!!

Jew Town, Princess Street, Bazaar Road are some of the good places to shop in Fort Kochi. You get a lot of touristy stuff here, and some useful things too. Mainly known for their curios, antiques and travel-related books, you can also find lots of cotton tunics/kurtas and plain maxi dresses hanging outside the little stores. Also available are stone jewelry, scarves, Tshirts, perfume and massage oils, and several other knick knacks.

Here is Cub enjoying a Kinder egg in front of one of the colorful street shops at Jew Town.

I found a charming little pocket watch neck piece for which I've been looking all over!

I was so happy that I put it on instantly! You press the little button on the top to make it open:

And also, this cute fridge magnet with a houseboat on it:

There are many stores on M.G. Road, many of them dealing with sarees and of course, gold. This is Kerala, after all! We didn’t get much time here so I didn’t buy anything.

The malls have most mall-y stores. However, the usuals are missing – Pantaloons, Westside, Lifestyle. There was a real cute Ayesha store in Nucleus Mall; though I've heard a lot about it, this was the first time I actually visited a store. I personally found the prices a little above the usual, but the pieces are really unique. I’m kicking myself now for not getting anything :-(.

Another good place to visit is Mantra at Oberon mall. They have really nice cotton kurtas with quite a wide variety. The basic kurtas start at 1050.00, which is a bit steep compared to fabindia and the rest, but they are really well made. The quality seems very good, they are very comfortable and the fit is amazing.

Speaking of fabindia, you are bound to bump into a store wherever you go in Kochi. I spotted one at Fort Kochi, a second standalone store somewhere else nearer to town, and one in each of the three malls we visited. It is no wonder that my Kochi shopping is almost exclusively from fab :-).

They’ve got a new collection called ‘Rang Barse’ for spring/summer. I got two kurtas to add to my summer wardrobe. (I’m kidding, I don’t buy new clothes every season)

This one is actually kind of olive green, and not as light as it appears in the picture:

This one’s got a nice floral summery print on it.

Typical fabindia stuff, I know, but both of them are really comfy and soft.

Then I got this necklace with multi colored janglers (which don't really jangle):

And a pair of bright multi colored earrings:

This bangle-neckpiece set was part of their old collection and was on sale. I got it for just 60 rupees!!!

And a little travel soap bar (No, I'm not leaving anything out :-))

We also did some book shopping:

Cub’s book and CD Haul:

Yea, that’s about it. I didn’t have any shopping list to begin with, so I was careful not to go overboard. But I’m quite happy with my little haul, though my fav has to be the watch neckpiece :-). What about you guys? Do you guys shop a lot while holidaying?

Food, Travel

Weekend Getaway - Kochi Part I

10:57:00 am

Hello ladies!!! Guess why I wasn’t around this week? Go on, ask me!! Yes, I had an extended weekend with a trip to Kochi!! Weekend started on Sunday and ended on Wednesday :-D. Aaaaahhhhh, bliss!!!!

For those who aren’t aware, Kochi is a city sort of in the middle of Kerala which, for the unaware again, is a southern state of India. Now, if you don’t know where India is, then, err....I'm not sure if this blog is what you should be reading right now :-).

We had a fun time in all, the climate was a bit humid, but okay. We checked out some malls, went on a sunset cruise, went to Fort Kochi, roamed the old streets, Synagogue and of course had loads of seafood!!

The problem with the food was that, we went to the wrong place. You see, almost all places advertise ‘Authentic Kerala cuisine’ but most of them have watered down the spice quotient to make it more acceptable to palates with a low spice tolerance. To make up for the low spice, they add relatively ‘foreign’ agents like tomato puree and onion pastes and stuff which completely alters the taste. For example, one of the must haves are ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’ (Pearl Spot Fish cooked in Banana Leaves) which looks like this:

I know it looks yum, but the taste was hugely disappointing. But to make up for it, we had some yum desserts from this place called Cocoa Tree. Here is the Mississippi Mud Pie I ordered:

And here is hubby’s Cheesecake:

They were really good!! There’s also this really quaint little café right outside the Synagogue with little shops selling books, clothes and antiques inside it. The ambience is lovely and makes you want to just sit there sipping some hot chocolate and going through a nice book. It is a bit ‘touristy’, so be prepared for a slightly overpriced cappuccino. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow photography.

And now for some random snaps in and around Kochi:

This is probably paradise for ginger lovers:

Ginger Tea? Heard of. Ginger Chicken? Yes. Ginger Ice cream and ginger lassi? I don’t think so :-).

A nice Jewish gentleman on a street in Jew Town. Can you get a feel of the old streets from that photo?

Some interesting offers on display :-)

That’s Cub rolling in the ball pit, having the time of his life. We had to literally drag him away from there.

The view during our sunset cruise which set sail from Marine Drive.

The malls are all well maintained and have mostly branded stuff, but are located a bit away from the main town area. And, the auto drivers will totally rip you off, and there isn’t much use bargaining with them; they’ve got their own overpriced rates for every location, so swapping your auto is not going to do much good.

I did do a spot of shopping, but I’ll leave that for another post. Bye till then!!