Snapshots of Bombay : Marine Drive

December 25, 2013 by Lavanya

As we were driving around Bombay, my father quoted economist Joan Robinson who said, ” whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true”. Having grown up in India, I am still struck and alarmed by how true this is: where contrasts lie in close proximity with each other, heartbreaking poverty shares roads with opulence. And I am not yet immune to this juxtaposition of contrasts as they bounce off one another every single day. And the thing […]

Categories: Memories, Picture Memories, Travel • Tags: bombay, marine drive, mumbai, picture postcard

A tale of two Irises : Invisible Ink and Lemon Candy

October 9, 2013 by Lavanya

I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago, but didn’t publish it because I wanted to try the perfumes in question again. And of course, as it often happens (doesn’t it?) , I promptly forgot about it. However, in the past few days I noted quite a few posts with titles beginning with “A tale of two..”. And then of course I remembered this post languishing in the drafts and decided it was time to dust it off, […]

Categories: Books, Perfume Review, Scent, Travel • Tags: Aedes, By Kilian, Iris, iris nazarena, Perfume Review, Prelude to Love, Scent

Seven Questions on Beauty : Suzanne from Perfume Journal

September 29, 2013 by Lavanya

I am kicking off the conversation on beauty with the responses of dear friend and perfume blogger, Suzanne Keller who blogs at Suzanne’s Perfume Journal. I ‘met’ Suzanne in the comments section of Birgit’s Olfactoria’s Travels. We seemed to have so much in common that we had to move our incessant chatter to email. Here’s how Suzanne defines and perceives somethings beautiful: 1) What do you mean when you call something beautiful? Do you have different definitions when you talk of different […]

Categories: Art, Film, Memories, Music, Scent, Travel, writing • Tags: art, beauty, music, perfume, questions on beauty, writing

San Francisco Diary: Favorite Moments

December 11, 2011 by Lavanya

We went for a short trip to San Francisco over Thanksgiving weekend and had a wonderful time: walking through the city, eating our way through the different neighborhoods, smelling, and drinking in all the loveliness that this city has to offer. I have so much to say about what we did and ate and saw, but I will start with my favorite moments, encapsulating them in this post while the memories are still fresh. My favorite moments, some long, some […]

Categories: Picture Memories, Scent, Travel • Tags: Green Apple Bookstore, mandy aftel, San Francisco, Travel

We lingered and we walked

January 4, 2010 by Lavanya

Visiting Florence was a little strange. I think it always is strange visiting the place that you’ve been most excited to visit. You expect to be overwhelmed by certain things and when you are not, you are left with an annoying nagging sensation accusing you of not trying hard enough. Until you finally do reach a place or experience, that makes being overwhelmed as easy as slipping on a slide in a park. Zwiippp and you are back to feeling […]

Categories: Travel, writing • Tags: Florence, Italy, Rome, walking

My Florence Pages: Across the Arno River

December 20, 2009 by Lavanya

I loved the Florence that lives across the Arno River. Quainter and quieter than the historic center, it is the Florence I’d imagined. My favorite spot was a spot opposite this statue. He’s telling you where to look. Look A View of the Ponte Vecchio And behind him This A Bridge on the River Arno

Categories: Picture Memories, Travel • Tags: Arno, Florence, My Florence pages

My Florence Pages: Food and food like things

December 15, 2009 by Lavanya

Day 1: We reach Florence around 9:30 on the morning of November 27th. We are famished. After dropping off our luggage at Hotel Maxim, near the Duomo, we head out in search of food. The sandwich shop that I had planned on eating at, a hole-in the wall called I Fratellini, is closed for repairs. We need to find alternatives. We decide to drop into Procacci – a gourmet sandwich shop, to taste their famous finger sandwiches. We try the […]

Categories: Food/Drink, Picture Memories, Travel • Tags: Florence, Food, restaurant reviews

My Florence Pages: A Thought in Marble and Film

December 12, 2009 by Lavanya

I am not sure if I have learned this from my husband or because of him, but I have learned this: Art transcends medium. I’ve always thought that books and music were the mediums whose appreciation comes most naturally to me. That I will always be more moved by great literature or great music, than anything great that other mediums have to offer. I have realized that I am  wrong. Art moves through many mediums and I now realize that […]

Categories: Art, Film, Picture Memories, Travel, writing • Tags: Bunuel, Donatello, Film, Florence, Michelangelo

My Florence Pages: Michelangelo’s Pieta

December 11, 2009 by Lavanya

Michelangelo’s Pieta at the Duomo Museum in Florence was probably my favorite sculpture and I am not really sure why. It was not his most perfect work.( He reportedly tried to destroy it- so imperfect did he think it was). Yet, it was the only sculpture that made me cry. There is something about Nicodemus wearing Michelangelo’s face that gives me goose pimples. It could be his expression as he carries Christ’s limp body or the gentle arc his body […]

Categories: Art, Travel, writing • Tags: Duomo Museum, Florence, Michelangelo, Pieta