The Rambagh Palace, Jaipur...

Is a place I would never give up if I were the Maharani, not even to the Taj group of hotels, not even for an obscene amount of money! Because it's so beautiful, it's unbelievable someone who owned it would not want to live in it.

We weren't staying at the hotel, but we will be if we go to Jaipur again even if it means spending a small fortune because it's so worth it! This time we managed to get there for dinner. And that's when I fell in love with this place.

What fascinated me most was how the palace was lit up to accentuate the arches and domes, the inlay work and the jharokhas, the intricate jaalis and the curvaceous pillars. Which is why the pictures I bring to you are of the extreriors.

The facade

The view of the palace from the back lawns

The first floor arches

The courtyard

The raised entrance supported by sculptures of elephants lit up with focus lights

The pillars and the arches on the front corridor

ABC Wednesday: B is for Books

And my love for them.

As a child, I got addicted to reading because I came from a home of book lovers. My mother would lie in bed and read in the afternoons and late at night. My siblings borrowed extensively from the school library and I often sneaked the books I was forbidden to read, to read in the bathroom when everyone was asleep!

Though the library at school was very well-stocked, the city did not have too many libraries we could sign up at. A prominent bookshop in the city however had a library stocked with enough Nancy Drews to last me my summer vacations!

Back then, I rarely bought books and whatever few I had were mostly gifted. Somewhere along the line though an idea evolved in my head that I needed to build a handsome library in my house and that I needed to start work on it immediately. So I began buying books – sometimes few and far between, sometimes too many and too soon - and am inching forward towards my dream library.

ABC Wednesdays start with 'A'

I stumbled upon this on Monika's blog and instantly loved the idea to feature my photos on this blog.

However, I did not like the idea of starting somewhere mid-alphabet and wanted to start it the way we were taught in school, with the letter 'A'. And therefore, I'm going to adapt the ABC Wednesdays to suit me!

A is for the flowers of Amlatas - my favourite summer blossoms, the perfect antidote for the gruelling summer heat.


I clicked this picture the past May in my home of over 5 years. I had been soaking in the yellow of the amaltas flowers on trees that line the roads in my city, unaware that I had the same tree growing in my own backyard! I was embarrassed, ashamed and ecstatic - all in equal measures, when The Guy pointed it out to me. In my defence, I'd like to say that since the tree is situated near the toilets for the domestic help, I was careful to avoid that part of the house and hence never noticed how the tree as laden with flowers in the summers.

Another story that goes with amaltas and me goes back to my schooldays. I studied in a convent through my school years and the month of May was dedicated to Mother Mary. A beautiful statue of Mary with little Jesus in her arms would be set up on a pedestal on the first of May and multitudes of these yellow blossoms would find pride of place in vases large and small around her along with tall candles to add an ethereal glow. I think I must've have fallen in love with these flowers back then, but realised only now that I have begun to enjoy nature like never before.

Kaya Kalp: India's largest spa

Kaya Kapa: The Royal Spa is not just India's largest spa, it's also a visual treat for anyone visiting the Mughal Sheraton, Agra.

Modelled on Mughal opulence, the spa is spread over an area of 99,000 sq.ft and includes a pool, a green house, enclosed lush gardens and exotic spa treatments. This was also the locale at which the Wills Lifestyle Catalogue for their Spring Summer 2009 collection was shot.

The entrance to the spa creates the effect for what is to follow.

The lobby area

Entrance to one of the spa rooms

The pool within the spa

The green house

Steps leading to the gardens

Creative corner

I picked up a wooden toy rickshaw on my trip to Benaras and finally managed to put it to good use today. Here's how:


I put a ceramic pot with yellow and orange blossoms on the rickshaw.


Quite liked how the multi-coloured light reflected on the flowers and the wooden flooring as well as on the big blue vase behind.


To complete the look I added another pot of flowers plucked fresh from my garden:

How do you like it?

Summer Pink

Here's why summer is still my favourite season:

How do you like my experiments with my newfound love - my Nikon D60 camera?

Candles

Apart from the fact that candles make for a great home decor idea, I love that they photograph so well.

Last winter, I hosted quite a few bonfire parties at my place. And there was not of them that wasn't illumined by the warm glow of candles.

Instead of going for the more expensive variety of candles, I go for those made by a certain NGO which works with street children in my city.

In fact, these candles are made by the children themselves to raise funds for the NGO.

The candles are simple, but come in various shapes and colours.

My candle shopping usually happens around Diwali. But since I always over-stock, they last me round the year. I also pick up plenty of floating candles from the same NGO.

But of all the pictures I've taken of candles, my favourite one has nothing at all to do with candles for home decor.

I clicked this picture at a candle light vigil to protest against the abuse of child rights by the state police and was taken out by the very children who make these candles.