Sunday Market : the maker's market in Melbourne

I acquired a new bike recently and have been taking it everywhere.
Its a beautiful style, very feminine and stylishly made, simple and plain enough to blend in but special enough to stand out. I got it from Reid Cycles in Melbourne, just opposite Queen Vic Markets and I was pleased with them for giving me discounts and accessories too.

I have created a new hashtag called #melbourneonabike on instagram where I post photos of my travels with this cycle to ride. Melbourne is an extremely bike-friendly  and bike-safe city and there are dedicated bike lanes in several major routes. Now I am a part of this burgeoning biking community. Everything looks serene and wonderful on a bike. You can get a wider range of view of the city- the gardens, the trees, the buildings and the people and their activities. Scroll down to see the new bike photo.

I was supposed to attend Monet's garden, the exhibition today and I did go there to find a long queue of people. I thought it would not do justice to the exhibits to see them quickly so I got out and went to the Sunday markets instead.

Funnily enough I have not been good with them because even after living here for a year and a half I have not been to them!

Here are some photos of the day again with my phone and unedited.

Fawkner Park

Fawkner Park while coming back in the evening

 

Handmade soaps in a giftpack, which you really want to touch and feel

Artwork frames made of live flowers I love the presentation on the wooden lattice.

Artwork frames made of live flowers

Pillows with lovely patterns and designs on them

A very sunny but relaxed day

The handmade aprons

Even tights and socks with patterns on them

Fine jewellery and silversmithing wearables

Australian eucalyptus is painted on, with colours and patterns

Photo canvasses of around the world

Musicians performing for the public 

The exhibition I shall visit during the week at the NGV.

Snacking on a cuppycake before I headed home

The bike parked on the kerb.  Honestly, do you fancy the bike or the car?

Roadworks can be ignored when there are beautiful trees lined along the path, ready to blossom again. 

I pause, and enjoy the moment. My poetic mind finds itself lucky to live in the #mostliveable city in the world for three times now.

Spring says hello and won't say goodbye, soon.

Love,

M.

Bread Omelette

ब्रेड ऑमलेट

Bread and an Omelette with onions, chilli and coriander was a favourite dish of my dad's and also, one of those dishes that he loved to make and perhaps one of the few that he would make the best, in fact better than anyone else. I will never forget his tip of putting cardamom in chicken curry to get rid of the chickeny odour.

He would say that as long as one knew how to cook a decent omelette one would be able to survive a hostel life in Mumbai forever, a city in which he has spent over 17 years of his life, to be a successful doctor and paediatric surgeon.

Here is my version of an omelette, wherein, I have created a half cooked omelette and pressed in a center-cut slice of toasted light rye bread. Then I turned the omelete over and let it cook, covered on low heat.

The secret to making a decent, moist, and yummy omelette with minimal oil is to use a lid and a low flame. Frankly, it will take but a couple of minutes longer than a normal egg dish, but you are guaranteed an edible dish.

I served myself this omelette with a sauce I bought from Northern California, USA. A souvenir to be consumed, locally made; which is to be enjoyed till the last drop (not a t-shirt made in a sweatshop). Its an orange, chilli and garlic marinade+sauce. At first, I thought it is a man Norman Bishop but turns out it is two women.
It turns out beautiful to taste and a gorgeous fresh red hue. I would love to use this sauce as a marinade soon and my housemate thinks we should order more!

Love,
M.

Day out on High Street

I was supposed to go to a Design Market at Malvern town hall, which I found out was cancelled, only after reaching the venue and finding it empty and then checking the website to read the one-liner cancellation notice

I walked all the way from Glenferrie road to Chapel Street looking at the (highly expensive) shops, signs, and nature. Surprisingly I found a number of rugs, design and home decor shops in addition to the Antique shops.

It was fun to walk on such interesting streets, here, High Street through Malvern, Armadale, Prahran and I am reassured that I love Melbourne for such reasons as here in these photos. Photos are taken with my phone cam and have been left unedited

Lavender bush

Contrasting winter trees against the sky, Jetblack branches

Somehow fall, somehow winter, somehow spring in these leaves

Haze of the sun on the camera and walking along these black fences.

The long leaves glow with the sunrays against the Melbourne-Black

Again a bit of fall colours, and some winter flowers it seems

A church and its architecture, looking skywards

Helvetica Bold on the signs

The sun competes with the clouds to be the background for these trees

A wintry street and a sunny day

These creatures

Helvetica Ultralight against Melbournian Black

--

Love, Mikide

An evening of relaxation

This evening was spent relaxing with some Black Rose tea from T2, a Moser Roth chocolate as a gift and one of dad's favourite movies which he had enjoyed in recent times, incidentally he had seen this one with Liz whom I had mentioned in my previous blogpost.

Oh another funny thing and importantly was that he had sat through this film wearing his sunglasses in the movie hall since he had forgotten his prescription regular glasses at home and his sunnies did have some power. There is no doubt of the movie if it was good, of course it is. It is one of those movies that you must see in your life, and I enjoyed the treatment of the subject : voice as power, voice as satisfaction and voice as something that must be heard because one exists. 

In our own worlds, in our families, we are kings and queens, perhaps, just crowned princes and princesses. And our voices and what we say has a large impact on the people around us, both in the private and public circles. We must be loud, clear and confident. We must forever remember to the 'best of us', before we cease to be... Before we cease to be, on this planet. And this is what Melbourne is teaching me and all those who come here, who have been here.

The whole week, until it ends, will be spent in some solitude and relaxation of the mind, rather than just the body, since I have not had a break since the beginning of the year... I will continue doing work little by little.

The housemate comes and requests a rehearsal of some scenes with me. I just have to say some lines and react to her, enact with her. It is fun to be someone else for 15 minutes of the day. University starts on Monday and I have one whole unit of Systems Design for Sustainability at Swinburne. I really look forward to it.

Love,

M.

The little book of comfort

My friend Liz, who is much older to us gave me a little book of comfort as a byebye gift since she is leaving Australia to retire in NZ soon.

From that book, I quote these lines, I feel these are the words of my father, unsaid but I know he is saying these to me:

"If ever there's a tomorrow,
when we're not together,
there is something you must
always remember.

You are braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem,
and smarter than you think,

But the most important thing is,
even if we're apart...
I'll always be with you."

- Christopher Robin to Pooh from A. A. Milne's Winne the Pooh

And these words from Liz, to take comfort in the fact that my father lived a wonderful life, full of life in a lifespan of 55 years. He was loved, adored, the favourite of Aunts, Uncles and cousins and of course his friends, the world over. He was an example to all of us and will be irreplaceable.
Nothing can replace him because he is perhaps not gone from his spot.

Love from Melbourne.

Mispocha

An open letter to my Mispocha

It has been a few weeks of time since that incident of my father's death happened and it is so irreversible, death is such a thing. We do not think of this irreversibility when we zap a spider who was busy building a web, compared to breaking down a house made of bricks, which people can certainly build again, with the same bricks or even newer ones, but we can't bring the spider back to life again, because his work is done on this earth and he has to go. The analogy may sound odd, why am I comparing this incident to a mere spider, well its because, compared to the thousands of people who die by war or earth's anger in places like Afghanistan, Uttarakhand, Japan, asylum seekers on sea and so forth, my father would have been a self-made entity and busy building his web of friends, colleagues, a home for himself and his family, a job to work at and a wanderer for life, over the scope of this beautiful earth.

It is unfortunate but true that in times of death, humanity gets a chance to come together and comfort each other. A mispocha, in jewish terms, a clan, a society of close relatives, friends who will stand strong and protect one another, in times of pain and grief.Being a small part of this world, one in seven billion and counting, it is not my right to comment on whether God has done injustice to us, by bringing this upon us, or whether he has brought us into this situation to test us, but I am sure that by His grace and power that he gives us, we are being able to survive.

It is the great deeds of our forefathers and our previous generations that have lessened our grief. The values of helping, communication, comfort and understanding that our forefathers have instilled in all of us have made us aware of the situation and to act accordingly. Its very difficult to accept this,and I am going through a tough time, but perhaps my design-educational values of "saving the world" have made me optimistic that I will be able to save our own little world.

Just like Saint Dnyaneshwar, for me, my God has always been my parents; and my grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, relatives and close friends, teachers. I consider myself spiritually aware to be able to see the Godliness in all you wonderful human beings and I on behalf of my mother and brother, and I am sure my father would like to say the same, would just say that we appreciate you being there and taking care of us. And not just us, but yourselves too.

Love, Mikide

The first post

I am aiming to create this blog to be as a record of the days that I spend in one of the most beaut cities of the world. the most liveable city. the fashion and cultural capital of Australia

Melbourne.

After completing one year here, I have become accustomed to the pace and the ways of life here. Living close to the city is an added benefit, because I am constantly in touch with some of the happenings. 

Although I do not go for each and every gathering or event here, I shall endeavor to and keep making beaut memories of melbourne, this is the point of this blog.