My Home And I

The relationship between my house and me is thriving. It responds to my needs, it flourishes under my care, and it fills my life with warmth. I think I am going to make my house my Valentine this year. I will buy it some flowers and I will buy it a gift. We will have a quiet date, with a nice dinner for one, and some candles and good music. It sounds better than bouquets and gifts and fake notes which now hold no meaning. True feelings are held within. They are expressed without a sound. Love is a wordless emotion. I think I am falling in love. I feel as if I am in love when I can smell the fresh, hand-washed laundry. I feel on top of the world when I cut and chop vegetables, and watch my simple meals cook. I feel great walking from room to room, watching all the happy colors unfold in my life.

I went through a phase when every memory became regret. When I could not look back without breaking down. When I did not put up the mirrors on the walls, because I could not bear to look at myself. But my house has made all that go away.
I feel a little more like myself every day. I am growing back into my skin. And it feels good. I am sticking to my promise of no clutter. So far, I haven’t bought any furniture for the house, and it doesn’t seem to be complaining. I found two run-down chairs in the loft, and painted them white. I sent away the old bed that was lying in the bedroom, and got two mattresses, that now make my bed. The living room has two bookshelves and some floor seating. My kitchen has all the things I will use for cooking, and nothing else. And as I rid myself of the clutter around me, I feel my life lightening up. I feel as if for the first time in years, I have space to breathe. I am there for my friends I lot more than before. I can see things I did not before. I have become more tolerant, especially with myself.





So far so good. It’s not like there aren’t any bad days. But as long as I can balance them with good ones, I guess this plan is working. On a less solemn note, I felt that the wardrobe in my bedroom needed a make-over. What do you think of Phase I?

Kala Ghoda - A Day At MORA

Second day at Kala Ghoda was for MORA responsibilities, as Elbert and I did crowd control at the stall. MORA is a collection by Ritika Mittal, a dear friend and a talented designer. Her exquisite collection is created from rare fabrics hand-picked from across India, and adorned with traditional embroideries and techniques. The result is a collection where every piece is unique, and special enough to be an heirloom. As the crowds poured in, and appreciation became difficult to handle, I found myself in the role of a bouncer, letting only a specific number of guests enter the stall at a time. My favourite MORA piece of the day was the skirt-set on the mannequin. Made from 32 meters of finest Mul cotton, this piece is held together with 107 pleats around the waist. Along with the dupatta and a beautiful fabric for the tunic, it would be a breathtaking addition to any wardrobe.


Ritika was in her element, personally attending to every visitor. A daunting task, but MORA is about choosing the right piece for yourself. After all, MORA does mean "Mine". I did get to visit some other interesting stalls and will put up the posts soon. And yes, I did pick up some lovely things for the house. You will get to see them too.

Life In two Suitcases

Image Courtesy


There comes a time in everyone’s life, when they are given an opportunity to turn everything upside down, and inside out. When life breaks off from its course, and you get a chance to start all over again. Everybody gets that chance. But very few notice it.
My name is Pratishtha Durga. I am a wannabe fashion blogger. I say “Wannabe” because my thoughts are too random, my opinions too scattered, and my style, indecisive. I make a couple of posts every couple of months, and then get too busy, doing nothing in general.
Last year, on 6th October, my life turned upside down, and inside out. My ailing mother fell in the bathroom, and lay there, conscious and helpless, for hours… waiting for my father to come back home and rescue her. She suffered a cranial fracture and a hemorrhage that resulted in a month long painful bedridden stage, finally leading to her demise on 15th November. Her right side was paralyzed after the fall, and a week later, she lost her voice. She must have had so much to say, so many more stories to tell. But she died… unable to speak, unable to share, unable to move. She took her stories, her pain, but left behind a gift that all the treasure in the world could not have bought. She left behind a chance for me to change my life.
For months, perhaps years, I have known that I carry around nothing but excess baggage. I spent all my money on meaningless things, most of which I forgot about as soon as I bought them. As the excess baggage in my life grew, my desire to travel started fading away. It’s common wisdom that if you have to travel far, you must travel light. I had a beautiful wardrobe, I had great books, and I had unusual things to decorate my house. And I had mediocrity. No drive, no passion, no desire to find my own stories and travel destinations. I believed I was happy, and I probably was. But then, more things happened that washed away that illusion. And for a while, life felt fruitless, useless.
I realized that nothing hurts more than untold stories and broken promises you made to yourself. Watching my mother’s lifeless body made me wake up to my life all over again. My mother was a story teller. She could weave stars and constellations out of words and take you places you’d never have dreamed existed. And you could see those stars in her eyes. Her lips would curl up in a faint smile and her eyes would well up with the memories of places she had only visited in her thoughts. I want to go to all those places and more. And I want to discover new stories in new places.
I truly believe that you can start your life over gain, whenever you want. That you can make it what you want it to be. It has taken me a while to start defining what I want from my life. What I truly want is to rid my life of the extra baggage I have accumulated over the years, and only hang on to things that I value the most. I want to write my life’s story all over again. And this time, I want my life to fit into just TWO SUITCASES.
And I want to share my story with all of you. And if it can help you dream, if it can help you change the course of your life, I would be twice as happy. From today, as often as I can, I will be writing posts on what I am doing to make my life different. I will try and give shapes to my dreams, and then I will just go ahead and make them come true. And you all will be my partners on this special journey. I would love to hear from you and get help from you in defining my life’s new course. You and I, we will embark on this journey together. Let’s begin!