In a kediyu by the bay

This top that I mostly wear as a dress is a classic Indian silhouette, made from hand loomed organic cotton and hand block printed with wooden blocks with natural colours.

This style that is known by various names depending on where one is, lends itself to customisation and can be as traditional or as contemporary as one wants. It is called a kediyu in Gujarat and I have worn it here with a pair of denim cut-offs, I also wear it with skinny and relaxed full-length jeans/ pants, wide legged pyjamas and skirts in varied lengths as well.

The point I am trying to make is, it doesn't ever have to be a choice between traditional and contemporary, everything can be adapted to suit one's style. I find nothing more boring than looking head-to-toe like a mannequin from a shop window, even if it the most fantastic designer's shop window.

Putting things together to suit one's own style is wonderful and WoC should never have to choose between their culture and the fact that they need to fit-in. Fitting-in is over-rated anyway!

The versatile block print chunni wrap

Cotton hand block-printed chunnis (or duppatta, what ever you may choose to call it) with traditional folk motifs earthy colours are one of the most versatile pieces of clothing. The soft cotton weave is large enough to be the perfect oversized scarf, vest, skirt, beach towel, shawl, sarong or throw and it only gets better looking with repeated use.

I've had this one for ages and it is a part of a kurta, salwaar set that has long since been misplaced. The chunni or dupatta is a necessary wardrobe item for a desi woman back home. Normally worn as a long scarf, draped over one or both shoulders with a kurta or kurti, it is usually a flourish of color for any outfit.

I have worn it here as a swimwear cover-up to wade about in the shallow waters of a rivulet that weaves it way through a rainforest, culminating into a spectacular escarpment water-fall. Traditional fabrics and water-falls seems to be a theme on this blog that I am in no hurry to change. I genuinely feel the most content around water-falls with loved ones. What's your happy place?

Waterfall by the beach

We spent a wonderful afternoon at this amazing beach with wonderfully clear water and a little waterfall on the side. I wore the usual hand blocked tent dress that suits the current summer weather here perfectly.

I have the exact same dress in another colour that has made an appearance on this blog post in 2013! I find these cotton anarkalis beautifully flowy in their billowing glory (some may call it shapeless). The fabric gets softer and wonderfully worn-in with every wear and wash and I cannot get enough of these.

Playing in shallow waters

Weekend sojourns in hard to get to spots by the harbour in one of Sydney's many nooks and corners are the best. Hours spent idly playing in rock pools and shallow waters of shady spots with fishes swimming around my ankles and birds chirping close by are what life should be made of.

Obviously one dresses for lazy days in loungey clothing from the Motherland in bright colours. Nothing says comfort to me on hot days more than cotton, hand block-print flowy cotton to be exact. I have this same block print fabric in the same colours in an anarkali that I love and wear extensively that was documented here over four years ago.

Weekend getaway from Sydney

We got slightly tired of the urbanscape and escaped to the Southern Highlands in NSW for a weekend. It was a glorious weekend of exploring tiny little country towns, eating fresh produce, walking/ driving along dirt tracks and rivers, splashing about in waterfalls, spotting wildlife, drinking the local beer, exploring markets, buying plants and generally having the most tranquil break from the hectic end of year rush.

I wore easy breathable cottons over bathers with either a pair of flip-flops or my trusty Palladiums, carrying just two pairs of shoes is an achievement for me. I used to be someone that packed a bunch of unnecessary stuff when travelling and I think I am getting better at packing stuff I actually use and not much else.

Here I am wearing my favourite hand-block print fabric shorts and men's shirt with a simple leather cross-body and my boots that I can walk/ hike for hours in. The landscape around the area was stunning and trust me the pictures don't do it justice. There were miles and miles of rolling meadows, quaint farm-houses with farm animals and wild kangaroos, stunning cliff faces with massive waterfalls dotted with myraid colours of wild birds plus the colours of the land and the greenery were straight out of a painting. Seriously beautiful stuff that is being sorely missed now that I am staring out at a construction site!

A road trip around lush tropical rain-forests, watching the sun-set behind undulating landscape and chatting with friendly locals (while cuddling their furry babies) have to be some of my top favourite things to do. And the best part was, a lot of the holiday decor was beautiful, earthy, hand crafted and lacking the tackiness of plastic baubles flooding Sydney right now. I came back refreshed, rejuvenated and with some great ideas for holiday decorations.

What are your summer weekend away favourites?

Under the bridge in an everyday saree

This is mostly how I wear a saree when the weather starts to cool down, really really casually with pants, a crumply sweater blouse and a beanie as you've already seen here. I don't like to save wearing sarees just for special occasions, I like to wear them to check out weekend markets, get beers or just to wander about inside the house. How and where do you wear your sarees?

Size doesn't matter

Anaarkali: Anokhi, Silver: India, Shoes: Topshop and Bag: Funkis

I love strong shapes and easy silhouettes that play with size and proportions in silks, linen, cotton, khadi or any natural breathable fabric. This anaarkali is from Anokhi, they didn't have my usual size so I went two sizes up as I really liked the stripes. I love the easy, flowy fit of the garment in a size much larger than is deemed fit for me. And as I wear the same items of clothing summer, winter, autumn, spring or monsoon I wear this dress all year round with tights/ jeans and thermals in winter and just by itself on warmer days.

Garment size is a concept that I have always consciously tried to do away with and my closet consists of every size from extra extra small to large. I truly believe I wouldn't like this dress as much as I like it if it fit me any tighter and I love anything with pockets. As usual I wore it with worn-in leather and silver from the heartland of India.

Australia; always was, always will be Aboriginal Land

Pictures from the Invasion Day Sydney March; I believe as allies it is very important us to educate ourselves on issues of First Nation Australians, learn to be respectful and stand in solidarity with them. We in Australia are all living on occupied land unless we are Indigenous Australians, we must recognise this privilege and understand that we have so much more in common with Indigenous people than the colonisers.

Understanding the history and the heritage of the First Peoples is something that is very important to me and I know there is strength in solidarity. Purna Swaraj (complete self-governance) was proclaimed by Indians on this very day the 26th January in 1930 which rejected the dominion status conferred by Britain. That is all I celebrate today and I wish the same for Indigenous Australians.