Gelatos, sorbets, granitas, cocktails and more…

Note di Sicilia in Singapore has some exquisite and delicious cocktails & shooters which they prepare from gelato, sorbet & granita, made in a specially imported traditional Italian machine. There are 16 flavours to choose from and some like Marron Glace, Hazelnut, Raspberry, Yogurt and Fruit of cactus are very interesting.

Making ice cream the traditional way

The cocktails are specially crafted and it’s a treat just to look at them getting prepared! Their craftsmanship is as unique as the fresh flavours of granita.

It’s not just a delight for cocktail and shooter lovers, but for bread lovers, their is Sicilian breakfast which is a brioche (bun) filled with gelato or granita, cannolo, and frappes. And my favourite combination of coffee & ice cream - Affogato, which is a scoop of vanilla gelato, topped with a shot of hot espresso!

A few shooters before you begin to explore Singapore’s nightlife, a relaxed mid-day cocktail or just walk around enjoying the sights of Singapore with a scoop of ice cream from Note di Sicilia…that’s definitely a sweet life or Dolce Vita in Italian! Cheers!

From A tear and a smile by Khalil Gibran.

Life is beautiful because of the deep and intense emotions we feel, the joys as much as sadness. My experiences of living and travelling in India have brought tears as well as smiles, but despite everything it’s been an incredible and memorable experience! I feel overwhelmed and will definitely return for more! A glimpse of a few beautiful and happy people through my lens

All portraits are from Pushkar in Rajasthan, Maha Kumbh at Allahabad, Varanasi and Himachal in India.

Bright, vibrant, happy, colorful and hopeful faces of the people of India

Some of my favourite Indian street food from my travels…

Indian street food : Chaat

Alu Tikki and Papdi Chaat, Chandini Chowk, Delhi

Sweet potato Chaat on the roadside, Delhi

Sprouted dal Chaat

Snacks and savouries at a Chaat shop in Delhi

Vegetable, onion & stuffed chilli Pakoras in Pushkar, Rajasthan

Fresh Samosas early morning with tea at Pushkar

Chole Bhature from Chache di Hatti at North Campus, Delhi University (one of the best in Delhi)

Fried Chicken and kebabs at Chandini Chowk, Old Delhi

Seekh Kebabs at Chittaranjan Park Market, Delhi

Dal Baati ( a Rajasthani Meal) & Vegetarian Thali (Meals)

Making Chappati/ Roti (Flat Indian Bread )

Fresh Seafood (Garlic Calamari, Crumb fried Mussels and Fried fish) in Goa

Nan Khatai ( Indian short bread cookies) on the road at Chandini Chowk

Aam papad (dried Mango pulp cakes) on the street

Indian sweets : (from left) Milk Peda, Motichoor Laddu, Jalebi in sugar syrup and Gud Jalebi ( in Jaggery) in Varanasi

Frying Mal Pua and Shakkar Para at Varanasi

Indian dessert: Kulfi Falooda Rabri in Chandini Chowk, Delhi

Sugar cane juice and Kala khatta

And finally my elixir : Chai in a Kullad ( Tea in an earthen cup)

To enjoy this food even more watch this amazing video on Indian food – ‘A day in India‘ by The Perennial Plate. I am a foodie but more than cooking I like eating and taking pictures of food. One of my favorites in Food photography is Laxmi’s blog – Pure Vege, which has some simple yet stunning pictures and recipes. Her photography is timeless and ethereal almost heavenly!

Cheers!

I love color and enjoy playing with it in my daily work, life & therapy. My interest in color brought about the name of my blog, Color odyssey – my adventures & experiences with color. I hope you enjoy this vibrant journey through MY lens

Colors of life : India

Color is attractive, sensational, powerful and exciting! It offers a unique perspective to experience and comprehend the incredible diversity of our visual world. It’s interesting how our eyes and brain conceive color in the mind. The documentary Cracking the color code explores the power and language of color and is a must-see if you’re a color lover!

Holi is a Hindu festival that welcomes Spring and is celebrated by splashing colors on each other! It’s a fun and vibrant festival where family and friends get together and ‘play’ Holi.

I was in India for a few months earlier and got an opportunity to travel and experience living in India, after a long time. Full of breath-taking sights & places, color, food, culture and chaos, it was very exciting, enriching and heart warming. I have shared images of my travels to the great Himalayas in Himachal, coffee plantations at Coorg, beaches of Goa and some of the oldest religious and spiritual centers in India, on Instagram. And would be blogging about my experiences in the coming posts.

It has been an incredibly enjoyable experience traveling, making new friends and spending time with loved ones. I miss you and thank you for creating such beautiful memories! See you soon!

Colors of India…

Pushkar : Ghats, camel fair, colorful, village

The rivers : Ganges & Yamuna

Ghats of Varanasi

Goa : Ocean, beaches, seafood, friends, sunsets…

Coorg : Calm, peaceful, coffee, nature and chirping birds

Sending the post for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE : FUTURE TENSE. You can follow me on Instagram here and Facebook.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays!

Kinnaur is one of the least populous districts in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, bordering Tibet. Most of it is inaccessible mountainous area, ranging in altitude from 2,320 to 6,816 meters. The people, called Kinners, have lived in isolation since thousands of years and have a strong culture, heritage & religious beliefs. They mostly follow Hinduism or Buddhism and speak a dialect of the Tibeto-Burman family known as Kinnauri and wear distinct green caps. Kailash is a sacred mountain, enveloped by snow and difficult to reach, and according to Hindu mythology, is the abode of Lord Shiva. Parikrama means circumambulation; a religious prayer ritual practiced in Hinduism & Buddhism, of going around a path surrounding something sacred. The Kinnaur Kailash parikrama trek is mostly done by pilgrims, around the holy Mount Kailash in Kinnaur, from May to September. Entry is restricted in this region as it’s close to the Tibet border and foreigners need an inner line permit to visit. Details about the full trek are here.

Kinnaur Kailash Parikrama Trek

The trek requires prior experience as half of it is not real walking but crossing huge boulders, and there are no signs or people anywhere to show the way! It’s a sea of rocks with the path marked by a few stones stacked on top of each other by previous trekkers. The air is thin and it’s difficult to breathe. The most challenging part is from the base camp of the mountain pass, Charang La, to the top at the altitude of 5230 meters and the descend down to Chitkul Village. It’s a steep climb up to the pass through gravel and the getting down is slippery and treacherous. The trek is arduous and tests endurance but the views and the experience is transcendental! The views throughout the trek are spectacular, but the challenging trek is over whelming and draws one away from the beauty of it at that time. But I see pictures of it now and feel proud to have seen and endured it all!

A 360 degree panoramic view of the place, divided into 3 pictures.

Pic 1 : Front view while trekking – First view of Charang La pass, on the left of the picture

Pic 2 : A sea of rocks and Charang La pass on the right ( light brown patch left of the grey mountain in the right)

If you’ll see the above picture carefully, there’s a tiny fellow hiker in the middle with his backpack in yellow.

Pic 3: Back view while trekking – The mountains at Lalanti in the far distance (A hiker resting )

It’s surreal being in a remote place like this with no life and no connection with the rest of the world. I felt small, inconsequential and desolate in this enormous landscape, and all I had were my thoughts and hope. Sometimes it was like hanging between life & death and all my worldly problems seemed insignificant. The trek was a kind of meditation and gave a sense of sublime, where I got to contemplate and reflect on my life. I got a fresh perspective towards life and I feel fortunate to have experienced the adventure of living in the Greater Himalayas, even though it was for a few days. It’s a divine place where the earth meets the sky and only nature rules – it’s magnificent desolation!

Sending this post for the Weekly Photo Challenge : Big – It’s difficult to comprehend the scale of the gigantic mountains in the landscape unless there’s something to compare it with.

Solitary

A lone hiker resting, on the Kinnaur Kailash Parikrama trek in Himachal Pradesh, India, near the Indo-Tibet border; one of the most remote places in India. – For this week’s photo challenge : Solitary

Kinnaur Kailash Parikrama Trek, Himalayas

Living in a city and surrounded by people there is always a sense of companionship, which is comforting, but I still yearn for some solitude in a day to relax, rejuvenate and meditate. A solitary walk or a few moments of seclusion is different from living in seclusion. I felt the true meaning of being ‘Solitary’ while travelling to the greater Himalayas recently. The place is completely isolated and sheltered from city life, and the people still live with and at the mercy of nature. The area is cut-off from the rest of the world, there are no phone connections and the life of the people there hasn’t changed much in hundreds of years. While trekking through the massive barren mountains I realised how minuscule & solitary I was, in this desolate place where only nature rules.

More information on Kinnaur.