Postcards From J

There was a time when I took the trouble to 'make' stuff like simple greeting cards and bookmarks or recycle things. Like the one time I made a funky pen stand out of half a coconut shell. Or little boxes out of old greeting cards (really easy to make). Over time, being busy or lazy stopped the creative juices from flowing.  So, I've been thinking of reviving the arty-crafty side of me. Over the past few days, I made little birthday greetings on plain paper inked with a black marker for colleagues. These could be pinned to the softboard, so they weren't made like typical cards. I can't draw to save my life, so stick figures work for me. Also, I'm quite fond of doing the block lettering. [Psst, it forgives uneven writing.] :-) Today, I made the following greeting for a colleague from a small sheet of paper, a black marker and colour pencils. The basic sketch done in pencil first, then outlined with a fine tip marker. Final look created using ...

Here's a little postcard from Cafe Mondegar's, or Mondy's as we lovingly call it.  I was there on Friday evening with a great bunch of folks, and guess what? I drank a full mug of beer for the first time ever. Not bad considering I'm not a beer guzzler at all. The artwork on the walls capture the world of celebrated cartoonist Mario Miranda. Absolutely love those drawings. This past week has been excellent. Just three working days, but some great insights are being worked upon. The Diwali holidays helped in relaxing the mind, and meeting a bunch of lovely people at a house party, over coffee/kebabs, over double peppermint chocolate, over beer (!), and at the warm Le Pain Quotidien (photos coming soon)... Ah! So much conversation and laughter with excellent company.  Have a great week, everyone. ~j~

Just posting a quick note... I visited this year's Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) last Saturday (first day) for a few hours. It was crowded as usual. But quiet. Very quiet. All thanks to a resident's campaign against loudspeakers to protect the area which is a silence zone. Will post links later to the news. No need to hate the guy who fought the cause. I believe he did the right thing. And what really stood out is that the crowd that came by was a much better one, more civil, and sensible. The riff-raff stayed away as there was nothing "inviting" their attention. Sure, you need more street spaces livened up. But rules are rules. And they need to be adhered to. The only thing I don't like is that there are many who flout noise rules and civility in the name of religion (examples: Ganpati Visarjan revelry; Diwali firecrackers at 4am and forever; Bandra Fair during the feast of Mount Mary). Anyway, I got a few snapshots from KGAF last week. Head over to the ...