Travel diaries: Post cards from Gujarat-Part I

Travel diaries: Post cards from Kutch

The vast open desert barren save for thorny bushes, the beautiful textiles and embroidery, the salt marshes located by the Arabian sea stretching along the Tropic of Cancer and the beautiful oasis with migratory birds from far away, Kutch is beautiful! Here are a few pictures that barely do the place justice.

Travel diaries; Navlakha Temple, Ghumli, Gujarat

The temple in the above pictures is the 'Navlakha Temple' in Ghumli, Gujarat. Built in the 10-12th century AD by the Jethwa rulers of Saurashtra/ Gujarat it is dedicated to the 'Sun God' and is the oldest Sun temple in Gujarat. In my opinion it was spectacular, just rose out of the foot-hills in it's amazing ancient glory.

It is an important archeological site and we quite enjoyed exploring it one afternoon! Some-times I think India is so vast and there is so much beauty, in my lifetime I'll not be able to explore it in it's entirety. I am going to try my hardest though, this trip was full of visits to amazing places and it has made me even more determined to see more of this world! I long to be a permanent nomad, exploring and spending extensive time in places I like. But then I remember I need to earn a living.

Clothes-wise I stuck to the tried and tested bright long-kurta with jeans combination for ease and fun. These pictures don't do justice to the beautiful temple and it's surroundings barring the fact that the rubbish dumped around sites like these by people who come to visit, makes my blood boil!

Summers are for Mini-Anarkali/ Kediyu

Post Dusshera prancing about on the balcony garden after I got a hose and sprayed water on every leaf, the things that make me happy are really simple! I have a bunch of these mini-anaarkali/ kediyu that I wear all summer round with shorts, in winter I wear them with jeans like you've seen here.

It's one week to our adventure, the house cleaning has begun, I don't even know what to pack but I've bought my travel diary ofcourse and already started drawing in it. In the meantime I obviously don't have time to take outfit photos but then it's not like I wear anything other than everyday wear in outfit posts. So here I am in another one of my Ajrakh staples just after watering my plants with greasy hair :)

Block print by the sea

Flowy hand block printed cotton dresses, beaded bangles, silver, shells, embroidered camel leather, a mirror work belt and bandhani chunnis make perfect autumn wear in my books. Going to the beach to watch another spectacular sunset is made even more special. I feel tremendously lucky to call such a beautiful city my home.

Appreciation not Appropriation

Early morning train rides, walking through crowed market-places, breathtaking temples at every corner, street food fragrance wafting through the air, incense and glowing lamps at dusk, there is so much to see do and experience in the only place that will ever be home. I will travel, I will experience new things but when I drift to sleep, I crave the comfort of home, of being able to worship at a temple or mosque or church or Gurudwara, my home where Eid is celebrated with as much excitement as Diwali; Durga Puja and Christmas share traditions, where Navroze Mubarak isn't just something alien on one's tongue, where we don't need a Harmony Day to celebrate diverse cultures.


Where wearing a Rabari shawl, bag or cuff isn't just a fad, where we know the meaning behind traditions and don't just jump on the cultural appropriation bandwagon because it is cool to suddenly pick and choose the shiny parts of my culture. Bindi; mehandi, lehenga; choli, rangoli; Holi and Om these are not just words, they mean the world to us. And that thing that you wear and call it a slave bracelet, its actually called a haath-phool which literally means hand-flower.

Denim on crochet

Crochet shorts: Vintage, Denim shirt & Bag: Vintage+DIY, Boots: Docs


Its finally cold enough to wear my Docs and thick denim shirt that I painstaking embroidered. When there is fun stuff to wear just popping by the closest super-market becomes fun. Hope everyone's having a peaceful week so far. Happy Wednesday!

Edit: New Zealand just legalized same-sex marriage. YAAAAAAAAAAAY

Beautiful pictures

I am not going to say much, just let you enjoy a few pictures from all over but mostly from Gujarat, India. The place has the most exquisite range of textiles and jewellery and I can't wait to visit soon. I've spent half my life trying to dress like these women and failed miserably but I will never give up. Hope you love these images and find them as inspiring as I do.





















Photo sources: All over