The innocent dead

These past two weeks were spent doing nothing. I've felt like a crêpe, flat with no emotion, no motivation to write, study or do something creative. All thanks to this person. Meet Mohammed Merah, a 23 year old French kid who turned into a jihadist and went on a killing spree in the south of France. What shocked the world was the nature of the crimes. Basically he targetted the army, the jewish community and each crime was video taped and meant to be published online! How sick is that!

I can't help thinking about the little innocent children who were taken from us much too quickly. What did they know about the war of religion? What did they do to deserve the wrath of this twisted maniac? The entire world is shocked by the incident and France has decided to take a firm stand against islamic radicals in the country.  Peace was finally restored when this coward was shot dead, by the RAID (the special operations unit of the French Police), after nearly two days of negotiations and nearly 300 rounds of bullets. I would have liked to see him tried and hung but I feel the RAID did the best they could and admire them for such quick and effective actions! 

My heart goes out to all the families of the victims. That could have been my son or my daughter or my husband who was killed, simply because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time! What's happening to the world? How did life become so worthless? In memory of the children who left before they could see the glory of spring, I offer a few pictures I took that just happened to cheer me up. I hope they offer solace to those who are suffering from the shock of this tragedy. Nature can heal. Slowly.

R.I.P little angels.

Spring is springing

Hello Spring,
How nice you finally decided to come along! Good to see the sun has tagged along too. No more minus tens and minus fives on the temperature scales. I have never been more excited to see sunshine! Humans are strange. I had so much sunshine at home. But we travel to different places, just to appreciate the things we ignore at home. Oh it's time for Cherry blossoms! thousands are slowly peeping out to greet us. The ducks and seagulls are coming back to the lakes and shores. Glorious, me thinks.


Where I come from, Spring is unheard of. Hence you can understand the pure joy at seeing the world around me come to life. I just can't stop taking pictures, there's so many lovely things happening in nature and isn't photography the best way to document change? :)

Spring also makes me feel good about myself. Or maybe its this mantra I read everyday before I leave the house. My BFF gave this to me a while back and honestly, you have no idea how many 'fat day crises' have been avoided because I read this everyday :) So a shout out to our best friends and to feeling good about our body shapes! :)

Spring related objets are so cute. I love candles and I never pay big bucks for any relaxation therapies. Those are just rip-offs! I just light a few candles and take a nice long bath. Easy peasy! 

I do spend a lot of money on unique rings. I hate jewellery but a pretty ring cannot be ignored. However shabby your outfit can be, a big unique ring can save your day! This fiery red beauty goes so well with the mood of the moment, I couldn't resist. Money well spent? Who cares! 

Camera friendly cat

I met this cat while I was waiting for my bus. He was just so adorable and coy. I love cats, they are so special. My grandma has a saying "Beware of people who dislike cats, they used to be rats in a previous life." :D It's easy to like dogs, but it takes a special someone to like cats! I know this is rude to say but people who hate cats tend to bore me. A lot. 

This cutie was adorable! He had such a beautiful orange white coat and never saying no for a cuddle. I was most disappointed to see the bus and I guess he was too. I leave you with this beautiful quote:

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not." - Ernest Hemingway

Paris Diary: Berenice Abbott, Sunset and Macarons

I had the honour of admiring Berenice Abbott's photos in person this week at Jeu de Paume. Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) is a world famous photographer and an inspiration to all women in the field. She is best known for her powerful black and white photos of New York and providing an incredible visual record of the changing city. She was 21 when she decided to move to Paris (same age as me when I made the same decision! :)  She studied sculpture but also worked as a darkroom assistant for Man Ray. Photography immediately became a strong passion and and soon opened her own studio. She photographed imminent writers like James Joyce and Jean Cocteau. On her return to New York, she decided to open her American studio and also took up teaching. She was also a pioneer in the field of science photography. She felt that science can in fact be an artist's muse. During this period, she photographed many scientific elements, laboratories and equipment. During her travels through the United States, she made sure to document the unique "American Scene". The photographs taken during this phase are my favorites.

Photos of soap bubbles and a portrait of James Joyce!

I love seeing how the world looked in the past and Berenice Abbott's records are flawless! I love how the photos are so clear and crisp!

The American Scene. Love it! :)

After the museum, I was in for a treat. It's been ages since I saw a sunset. And what a beautiful sight to see the sun go down behind the Eiffel tower. 

Maybe I'm too enchanted by the city because I can't stop admiring the minute details that pop up everywhere I go! :) 

Gorgeous! don't you think? 

The Luxembourg gardens are just next to the museum, so you have to take a trip there and let time while away for a bit. Of course there are the ducks to keep you company.

Then it's off to your favourite store to buy one of your favourite things! Macarons! Your love affair with macarons is surely never going to stop. If you're ever in Paris, don't forget to go to Ladurée and try their desserts.

My favourite flavours are rose and blackcurrant. With all the money I spend buying these, it's about time I spent some time learning how to make them! 

What a great day and what a nice feeling to have free time to immerse oneself into lovely things. Work is getting more and more stressful but I've made a promise to myself to discover at least 5 new things a month (hence one each week) inorder to keep my brain active and peppy. I will open my mind to a new artist, a new recipe, a new hobby or even a new flavour of macaron! :)

Incredible India: The Spice Trail

I recently worked on spices with my students. I hate classes that deal only with grammar, vocabulary, composition etc. I feel cultural exchange is very important in modern classrooms. French students have a zest for discovering new cultures. The thing I love most about living in France is that you will have an audience for anything you want to share. India is of course a victim of many stereotypes but at the same time she invokes curiosity, dreams and mystery. I'm constantly trying new methods to introduce new vocabulary through interesting cultural sessions. In this lesson, I brought about 15 of my spice jars to class and I wanted the students to learn names of spices and their various uses. The goal: 

1. To understand the history of spices within India, identify the spice routes, etc
2. The benefits of these spices 
3. How to introduce spices in your diet 

In the beginning of the lesson, each one had to take a jar of spices. They had to identify the spice that was presented on the slide through the sense of smell. They enjoyed the lesson especially since they each received a piece of halwa for correct answers :) They were amazed not only by the number of spices India has but also by the amounts we use in our food! I hope this post can help others understand the rich history of India and try to understand the importance of spices for our health!

I love Sunday: 5 things

This gorgeous wall art of famous cities!

Bows make me feel young :)

We sent to see the Sempé exhibition at Hôtel de ville and it was brills! I especially loved this New York cat print!

Cat's eye glasses! Want! <3

House-tower in Sicily. There's something liberating but yet anxious about this picture. Love it!

A typical tabby day