The Tempest

I was going through some old photographs and I crossed path with this one. This photograph was taken in Pondicherry, India, a few years back and this has been my all time favourite ever since. I just love the backdrop, it reminds me of "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare.

" If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,
But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,
Dashes the fire out. "

Follow @khapong

Paradise gained

I admit I have really tiny feet and these days finding the perfect shoes for my tiny feet are next to impossible (especially in Bangalore...the people here have really large feet...at least in comparison to mine). So it was a real pleasant surprise when I came across this tiny shop tucked away in a corner of the busy Mahakal market of Darjeeling. This shop was pure heaven, a shoe paradise for all those shoeholics (like me). I found some amazing and affordable heels and flats. Whats a girl gotta do when she has such amazing stuff staring back at her??? I lightened my purse of a few grants and got home some sexy babies...and I sure don't regret it. Here are my top three favourite buys. (Please dont mind the pics it was taken by my really old mobile cam)

1. These sexy studded blue heels top my list. Its light and really comfy. I can wear them all day long


2. These heels remind me so much of Kim K. The animal print bow just adds to its sexiness.

3. These brown loafers are so comfy. A right mix of fashion and comfort. Just love them.
Follow @khapong

Tihar....

This year I was home to celebrate "Tihar" the Nepali version of Diwali. Tihar has always been my all time favorite festival and celebrating it with my family after almost four years made me realize why I love it so much. From the salivating smell of selrotis, the beautiful melody of bhaylenis to the beautiful diyas enhancing the charm of the bright orange saiparti malas adorning every household door, each element adds to the charm of this joyous festival.

I just love the way our quiet Darjeeling is transformed into this busy town throbbing with excitement and vigour during Tihar. The market scene before tihar is a total chaos, every shop is brimming with activity. Every place you go you will find people busy purchasing something or the other. Sweets, flowers, jewellery, clothes, utensils the shopping lists are endless.

Tihar in Darjeeling is a three day long event (sometimes four). Starting with Laxmi Puja, the main day we pray to Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth and welcome her into our houses, the many bright diyas guiding her way. Words can't express how beautiful my Darjeeling looked on the eve of Tihar. The familiar song "Bhayleni ayo agan ma, barali kurali rakha na" lingered in the air and brought back wonderful memories of childhood when I used to go around my cousins house singing the beautiful melody. The next day we hear the bhais and dajus singing "Deusure", some as ethnic as it can get with madals guiding the singers and some with modern twists including Sakti Kapoor and Sunil Shetty (so hilarious). The final day is the bhai-tika where all the sisters fast for their brother's well being and adorn their foreheads with long and colourful tikas. The beautiful bond of the brother and sister cannot be expressed more beautifully then the tikas, the longer the tika the longer the life they say.

Being at home this tihar made me realize what I had been missing for the past four years and being submerged in this vibrant ethnic festival made me proud of my ethnicity, proud of the fact that I am a Nepali...."yo maan ta mero nepali ho"...

Follow @khapong

Happy Feet...actually ticklish feet..

I was in Thailand for a holiday and in a mall in Pattaya came across a fish spa. A friend of mine had tried it out and she had recommended I try it out once. Didn't know much about it so while waiting for my turn the assistant handed me a pamphlet which listed out some elaborate medicinal benefits. But the only relevant point I can recall is that they consume dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow. I expected it to be pretty much like a foot scrub (only instead of a loofah the fish would be doing the job). Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

As soon as I put my foot into that tub of hungry fishes I burst out laughing unable to express myself otherwise. The sensation is weird ... Its like all those tiny fishes with their tiny mouths giving me a thousand tiny love bites. Yup I know it sounds crazy but I can find no better way to express that sensation. At least I behaved better than the guy next to me, he was so ticklish he kicked the poor fishes right out of their tubs.

So for all those people who are a bit sensitive better be prepared for a laugh riot when you step into a fish spa. But it is a must try, definitely recommend it. Follow @khapong

Soul makeover

I feel my creativity being sucked out of my being with every passing hour. Life has pretty much become a job-home-job routine and the monotony of this routine is killing my once free spirit. I don't blame anyone for it. It was always up to me and will always be up to me to steer my life in the direction I want it to take and I take full responsibility for the fact that my life has become a huge circus with my "precious" job as the only act. I was moping over this fact for the longest time and causing an ever more poisonous environment for myself and even for my near and dear ones.


I decided that enough was enough, I had to act fast before I turned into an old hag at the age of 25.I was speaking to my close friend about how my life had turned out to be and she told me that the secret to her balanced life was doing at least one thing a day for yourself, one thing you truly enjoy doing.

I consider it a realistic goal and have set my mind that this small baby step will be the beginning of a balanced life I have always seeked for. In the hurry to get to our goal we sometimes tend to forget that when we reach the end of the road the journey is the only thing that will matter, the only thing worth remembering. Today I pledge to make my life's journey a memorable one. Follow @khapong

Heartbreak

This blog is dedicated to anyone that has ever had her/his heart broken.


Recently my best friend went thought a major breakup. She went through a pretty rough phase. But instead of her experience making me skeptical about love it made me appreciate that value of "true love" even more. Falling in love is the simplest thing.But finding true love is the hardest thing. I feel so blessed to have that person in my life.

Her love story started off very much like a fairy tale, a whirlwind mills-n-boons type romance where one could not live without the other. Promises were made with anticipation of a beautiful future. But these promises met their untimely death when faced with the reality of life "nothing remains constant, except for change itself". In her case it was no body's fault, love just ran its course but could not survive the test of times.

Its been months since the breakup and my friend has moved on and the pain that once seemed unbearable is now a gentle reminder of a person who had loved her once, indeed there is nothing that time cannot heal. It will take her some time to open her heart to another person's love and be vulnerable again but I know for a fact that she will never give up on love itself. She will start loving again and find the person who truly loves and above all deserves her.

We see hearts break and may have even had our hearts broken but we as humans can never give up our hope for a "Happily ever after" Cinderella story. I really do believe that God has created that one person for each one of us, that one guy/girl for whom the mere thought of hurting you is enough to break his/her own heart Follow @khapong

Swimming Pool

Its been really long since I have blogged....life overall remains very much the same except that I'v grown both emotionally and without doubt physically (yes I have pretty much gained back all the weight I lost last year). But above all I've learnt how to swim. Yipee (a tick mark for my bucket list)

As a kid I considered myself a mermaid. I loved water (maybe my love for water is highly related to the probability that I'm an Aquarian). But alas I could not swim...I used to get into water tanks (more like a big bucket) and splash around and think im swimmimg. Ahh those days of innocence.

From my days of nearly drowning and dying in a three feet deep pool (which my friends laugh is "impossible" as im 5+ feet...but believe me i really did die that day) to water standing on a six feet deep pool, I can say I'v come a long way. My swimming coach + BF, Vincent laughts when he recalls my initial days when i suffered from the notorious "spider-girl syndrome" (Spider-girl syndrome: A girl who refuses to let go of the swimming pool walls/railing or whatever she can grab hold of for fear of death by drowning). LOL...

Now that I have finally leaned the fine art of swimming I just cant wait getting into the NGV Club Pool near my apartment to show off my skills to the newbies....hahah...but really there is nothing like a swim on a hot summer evening. Wow I really do love water.....

Follow @khapong