Ponto de Vista

Treasure from a jewel. This vase was a gift from a very special person the year I moved back to India. I was trying to adjust to being in migraine-inducing Delhi after 12 years of living away, coping with a toxic, soul-sucking job that had sounded amazing in the interview, one I gave up my entire trajectory, security, and lifestyle for only to find they’d handed my designation to someone else. What kept me going through the feeling of, “Did I give up my life for this?” was the family I lived with, a family I sort of borrowed from another family-friend. I moved in with my oldest friend’s mausi, who, with her husband, daughter, husband’s two nieces and nephew, 3 dogs and their house help became my scaffolding, my anchor, my shelter.
I would try to make my presence less of a burden by trying to bring cakes and things for the motley crew from the market and would also get myself flowers to brighten up my space.
I don’t see them a much as I should (ugh, Delhi!) but I still count them in my blessings and am grateful for them every day!
This vase harks back to that time … and yes, I still buy myself flowers.
#throwback #love #family #chosenfamily #friendslikefamily #blessed #flower #blog #wp via Instagram https://ift.tt/2JsL8H9

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Udaipur and with a view like this when I visit, how can I stay away?
Okay, that’s a little bit of hyperbole, I admit, but c’mon, the lake is gorgeous — any time of the day, all (more…)

For 27 years, I’ve made pilgrimages to Berlin to visit family. My mother’s sister moved there in 1964 and her children and now grandchildren were all born there. Since I can remember, Berlin has never been a tourist destination, more a homestay, sometimes a stopover. When I lived in Poland I went numerous times and when I moved to the US, I tried to break my homeward journey there. And still, when I visit Europe, (more…)

Throwback to four years ago. Google helpfully told me that Istanbul is where Sunanda and I were on this day in 2012. This is the inside of the Yeni Cami at Eminönü … (more…)

To offset crazy cat lady behaviour, here's the sky last night on my way to @andiecrossan's for a lovely evening. It's so odd to be back in my very first stomping grounds, working across my first apartment here, cursing the same buses, walking past some of the same establishments … Twin Donuts has been here since *at least* 1999. I didn't enjoy Brighton much when I lived here. I'd just moved for grad school from Poland, and looking back I think it was a period of upheaval and adjustment… but then Brighton weren't no beach either 😉 it's pretty hip now, but it was quite shady back then and really badly connected to the rest of the city. Also, I didn't bike then … which would have made commuting so much easier. Hindsight … 20/20 #BostonDiaries #travel #blog #musings

A post shared by chhavi sachdev (@chhavi_sachdev) on Oct 17, 2015 at 6:07am PDT

It was so weird to me that I was taking the same routes on the MBTA that I had back in 1998 and 1999 – and shockingly the #64 and #86 are still perpetually late or arrive in threes because something is up with their scheduling. I was at the same bus stops (now with a modern rain shelter at the Brighton end). The old super market is still there but the furniture store is now a hip liquor store with craft beers galore (I got some pear and apple cider) and beautiful whiskeys plus the mandatory hipster staff. New Balance has expanded massively and I can’t believe I actually am nostalgic for this area.
Also: I realized that the village I lived in in Poland right before we moved here has a web site now.

#BostonDiaries #travel #blog #musings Shared via Instagram http://ift.tt/1OL2N9R and IFFT

How cool IS this? The mbta has taken out the open bike racks at Davis Square and put in this cage. Pedal and Park. Entry and exit is carded. The bikes are *safe* ( God knows I single-handedly kept the bicycle bell industry going, it was stolen so many times. Plus rear tyre, seat, even handlebars once!) – man! I would totally sign up for this. I walked down the bike path today and it was so peaceful. I love that biking is not only sanctioned as an option, it's given thought and preference by the planning authorities. There are bike lanes and yield signs. There are bike rental hubs, you can sent them short term and return them. I really, really miss having the space and freedom to zip around the city, nimbly maneuvering traffic, confident that people will follow the traffic rules and not dart across when it's not their signal. Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. When will India ever catch up? Not in my lifetime, I'm afraid. #boston #BostonDiaries, #travel #bicycles #publictransport #musing #thirdworldproblems #blog

A post shared by chhavi sachdev (@chhavi_sachdev) on Oct 16, 2015 at 5:33am PDT

I can’t get over this album sleeve! It’s from an LP of my mother’s, issued in 1964, featuring classical compositions for that most weary sounding of instruments: the shehnai. I don’t really have an ear for it, but what marvelously eye-catching, modern cover art!

This is my mother’s stray button collection. When I was little, it occupied my OCD younger self for hours to spread them out, arrange them by color, then by size, then by material. She has wood, bone, crystal, plastic, matte, shiny, glittery, round, oval, innies, outies … endlessly fascinating even now.

I loved all the lamps in the Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), Istanbul. And I loved the tiles and the inscriptions, as well as the hushed atmosphere. One day I’ll go back. (Photo from 2012. I’m a lazy arse.)

a cute Spanish alien in Seville, 2012