Not an end...

As I've mentioned in my facebook post today too,this tribute series has opened a whole new window for me.So much appreciation from so many great people!I'm overwhelmed!I'm also quite certain that every blogger,somewhere down their heart,is a nice and warm person.It takes a lot of guts to start blogging,to be brave enough to open up your life to the rest of the world.In these seven months of blogging,I've contacted quite a few bloggers,sometimes on a public forum,sometimes on a more personal basis.But I've never been misunderstood.I've always got more than I could ask for.Every smile has been met with a warmer smile.Every little compliment has been answered with the politest regards.And nobody,not even a single person has discouraged me or reminded me how lame my blog is.Even when I had started mailing bloggers asking for their permission to use their pictures on my blog,nobody thought that I might do it to gain a little publicity by cashing on their popularity.Nobody thought I might do it because I'm running out of topics to write about.They all were really supportive and thankful and kind.Really,blogging is a whole new world where all the cruelties of the real world don't exist.And given a choice,I'd rather live in this world than the bad,old real one.I can't thank all you bloggers enough for making me trust people again.
                                                                                                               Anyway,I'm going out of track.I'm not at my best when I'm emotional.So,the next blog in the line is 'Vintage Obsession'.Unlike the other tribute posts,this post will be more of a fan mail than a dedication peppered with a few personal anecdotes.Because,sadly,though Smirthi of Vintage Obsession is one of my all time favorite bloggers,I've not really got a chance to interact with her personally.And trust me,it's been one of the biggest regrets of my blogging life.It's a shame because we both come from Engineering background and we both love Bangalore obsessively(if you're a reader of her blog,I needn't explain her reason and I LOVE Bangalore because I've some of my best friends down there and I believe it's one of the truly cosmopolitan cities of India,never mind Mumbaikars and Delhites).
                                                                                                               One thing that has always fascinated me about Smirthi is that she's a fashion blogger with an Indian voice.I still can't forget one of her posts with a belt bag where she had said that she had read that these belt bags were really 'in' these days in some magazine while she had bought them on a trip to Rajasthan long back but of course,some foreign fashion pundit has to come and tell us that something in our country is 'cool' and 'hip' and 'in' and only then,we go ga ga about it.We need others' approval in order to feel better about ourselves.That's when I fell in love with her for the rest of my life.She's a blogger for whom fashion doesn't only mean reading 'Vogue' and checking out high end stores.She has an eye for everything beautiful-a fellow traveler,a quirky poster she came across while going somewhere else,small village children living in a whole new world and what not.She has an eye for every little detail.These days,'Vintage Obsession' has collaborated with Bruno from Mozambique for the photography part but I guess she herself could've been a really successful photographer if she wished.She's also a huge supporter of anything Indian.She has great love for our heritage,fashion wise or otherwise.She is a sucker for anything made by artisans and blends them beautifully with the high street elements of her wardrobe.For every 'Vero Moda' in her outfit posts,there's a skirt made by an unnamed tailor.She has a thing for black.Every time I think I'm sick of black and I'm finally ready to take a 'no black till I die' pledge,I go visit her blog once.Just one look at what she does with black and I'm a black person again.And most of her outfits are like those dark satires that play out a funny scene but you're scared to laugh because something tells you that it's not at all funny,it's actually scary and tragic.You're always looking for new interpretations,fearing that you still haven't really got her.There's more to it than what meets the eye.And ah,the vintage part.I almost missed it.No post of hers(except the ones she does while she's on the run)is complete without a vintage element-a glove,a skirt,an umbrella or something else.And that's something I LOVE about her!Every look of hers represents her as a whole-things she's proud of,things she's comfortable in,things she's passionate about...I can go on and on but it's just a blog.

                                                                                                                            Writing about her is a little hard for me because I don't know what to say-the things that I've always wanted to tell her or the things I adore her for.The things that I follow her for or the things I've always wanted to share with her.The things I want you to know about her or the things I've always wanted her to know about myself.It slowly becomes a post plus a personalized letter plus a fan mail(like I said).It even gets tinged with that 'I know you don't owe me anything but I still can't help being a little mad at you for never reaching out to me.You should know what a desperate reader I've always been and you still let me remain just another reader'.I'm sorry,Smirthi.It sounds stupid.But I promised myself before writing the post that I won't go back and delete a single word.So,I'll just let it be the way it is(even if it's super embarrassing).I've always been a demanding person.Just reading my favorite blogger isn't enough for me,I can't sleep until I tell her how inspired I'm and what I specially liked about it and how it influenced me and how I tried to interpret it and if that was what she had in her mind too...I'm just too selfish.I want to have my cake and eat it too.I guess a lot of pent up discussion with Smirthi(damn her mail ID which my good ol' gmail doesn't understand) is the sole reason that makes this post so hard!
                                                                                                       But honestly,I'm just thankful that an extraordinarily inspiring blogger like her allowed me(and many other readers like me)a glimpse of her life-the books she reads while sipping coffee,the walks she takes while the sun goes down,the movies that inspire her,the jokes that make her laugh...It's almost sharing a scratch book of her mind with us and that's really personal and I can't thank her enough for it!And the icing on the cake?She knows Spanish!How cool is that,huh?

Inspiration-part III

This tribute series has been super fun till now.All the posts have been received with so much positivity that I feel like a changed person already!I was going through a rough phase,thanks to a screwed-up CAT,a missed audition and a semester knocking on my doors but the world has started to look pretty darn good this week.
                                                                          I'm so happy to be able to maintain the sequence finally!Part-III is coming up after part-II,yay!Yeah,it never was a number game but with the sequence being maintained,it's definitely cleaner.Funny thing.'Clean' is the second word that comes to my mind when I think of Kavya,the most meaningful blogger I've read so far.The first word?Pretty,duh!
                                                                                                                       When I was a kid,I was taught that 'nothing,absolutely nothing in the world is perfect'.But Kavya proves all those frowning philosophers wrong with a capital 'W'.Remember the fairytale princess we all wanted to be at some point of our life or the other?Kavya is as close to that idea as it gets in this real world full of pollution,cruelty,body odor and sneezes.She's one hell of a beauty,undoubtedly.But the story doesn't end there.She's a poet,a make up artist,a hair stylist and what not.She has proved another cliche wrong-'there's nothing called beauty with brains,beauties are either dumb or cunning'.She's the epitome of perfection-perfect smile,perfect hair,perfect figure,perfect everything.But still,she stands apart from all those beauty queens.She's so sensitive,so deep!Every post of hers is a journey of self-discovery.They make you look into the mirror and ask yourself A LOT of questions.And often,you've to wait for her next post to get your answers.I love her and Jhumpa Lahiri for the same reason.They both leave the readers with a sense of incompleteness.That makes you read it again and again and wish if it lasted just a little longer.They're beautiful,musical,filled with subtle details but the feature that remains with you forever is that they're 'unfinished'.And that make them timeless classics.Kavya plays with her readers cleverly,sometimes even cruelly-saying enough to get you hooked and leaving it just where you were about to reach a peak.You feel cheated but you still continue following her religiously.Why?That's an answer I'll never get.

                                                                     I keep complaining a lot about people around me.I hate their shallowness,I hate their self-obsessed nature,I hate their selfishness,I hate the fact that they don't give a damn about the rest of the world as long as they get their denims and pizzas but Kavya's one girl I can never have enough of.She's proud to be a woman,she's pretty vocal about our rights and she's anything but docile.But it still fascinates me how she can say all that I've always wanted to and still doesn't sound half as angry as I always am.I've seen many chauvinistic men laugh at me and my extreme ideologies.Some termed me 'didi'(derived from the infamous chief minister of West Bengal),some couldn't stand me,some said I wasn't 'wife material' and will never be able to make someone happy and the rest just chose to ignore me.But I'm pretty sure they couldn't do the same to Kavya's Womens' day post.That's a quality,you know.You needn't scream at the top of your voice and mouth the choicest abuses to make people listen to you and believe in your cause,you just need to make them love you.That solves half the problems.
                                                                                   And of course,apart from all these,she's a fashion blogger too!Her style decoded?Simple,chic,classic and of course,perfect.She has a thing for feminine dresses and touch wood,she looks like a million bucks in them!She prefers to keep it simple with just one or two interesting accessories without too much clutter.She's partial to heels.I've never seen her 'dressed down'.Life IS beautiful when you see it from her eyes.Because that's just her.That's the way she's-seeing always the good in everybody.She's one of those very few persons in this world who're beautiful from outside as well as from inside.She's so busy with her studies and projects that she hardly gets time to blog(Yes,her blog is one of those things that come in small(and not-so-frequent) doses but the result is totally worth the wait)!But you mail her a query and she'll reply you in a jiffy that she'll 'get back to you after her research'.No,she doesn't call it 'research'.Modesty is her middle name.And then,after a few days,you'll get another mail containing an almost hundred word long answer with the polite note where she 'hopes' that she has been able to answer all your queries and if you still have some,you can get back to her.Amazing,right?Even when I had mailed her asking for her permission to use a few pictures from her blog for this post,she wondered if she was 'worthy of being featured on my blog as she hasn't accomplished anything great in life as yet'.You see what I'm talking about?Where did I found this gem?'Fashion Bombay'!She was doing an internship with Sonu and Jasleen and they had done a post on her where the link to her blog was given.Lucky me,right?
                                                                                             Lastly,I'm not good at being with someone 24x7.I love my dance instructors inside the studio but I don't want to go to a dinner with them because they're dumb when they're not dancing.I love to go shopping with a friend of mine but I won't take her to a book launch because she hates books and I hate that.I love getting drunk with a rich friend of mine but I don't want him around when I'm sober because he doesn't know the real me.He has seen a diluted,shallow,intoxicated version of myself and that's far from what I actually am.So,the jokes I had found insane funny back in the bar will seem offensive to me otherwise.But Kavya is one person I'd love to be with,anywhere,anytime.She thinks the same thoughts I do,maybe a little earlier and a little more beautifully.She loves the same things I do.And reading her posts is such a personal experience that I feel almost naked.I want to tear the post from my monitor and hide it under my pillow.Exposing my deepest thoughts,fears,likes and dislikes to the world seems such a violation of my privacy!I feel her posts belong to me and me only.

Inspiration-part IV

The classic lookbook with all the wardrobe must haves-black skirt,check.white blouse,check.nude heels,check.black clutch,check.neckpiece with an interesting detail,check.

Queen bee taking over-the ultimate DIVA!

As if the insanely pretty dress and the happy pumps weren't enough torture,she had to add the gorgeous tan bag to balance it all!

Tan love-the shoes or the bag,which one should I lust for?...Hmmm...still haven't come up with an answer,if you've any idea,DO let me know.

And my favorite outfit post till today-I don't know what to look at,the too cute for words red sling,the beautiful skirt,the lace dress(yes,that's not a top,people),the super sexy strappy heels or the little brooch...

Kurti as a dress-how many of us have the guts to carry that off with such great results?

Stylish desi-I can live for the rest of the life just by staring at her jooti

Can a salwaar kameez make someone look more Indian?

Why part-IV after part-I,you might ask.Well,because God hasn't been that kind.The second blog was supposed to be Purple Peeptoes by Karishma and the third Streak Hue fall by Kavya.But Karishma hasn't replied my mail(asking for her permission to use her pictures on my blog) yet and since Kavya shifted her blog from Wordpress to her own website,I've neither been able to post a comment on her posts nor contact her.But it never was a number game,right?The point was to raise a toast to a few of the great bloggers out there who inspired me to discover an extension of my personality.So,who cares whom I discovered first or second?So,the blog I'm going to talk about today  boasts of one of the most elaborate titles I've ever come across-THE FABULOUS LIFE OF NOT-SO-RICH AND INFAMOUS.And trust me,FABULOUS is just the word that describes it perfectly!It's run by one of the coolest married women under the sun,Tanvii!You know what,reading different blogs isn't only a pastime for me.I love to read,I sure do but different blogs have different influences on me.A blog,unlike a book or a newspaper article,is an extension of one's true personality.There're different sides of different people that I discover while reading a post and it stays with me long after that.I discovered Tanvii on Kavya's blog-Streak Hue fall(She did a post on lipcolors of Tanvii).And the first thing I had noticed about her blog,her dressing sense and her personality in general was an unapologetic eccentricity.She is blatantly honest about everything without caring for any one's approval and opinion.'I'm what I'm,love me or leave me' is more of her attitude.The same is reflected in her outfit posts.She breaks all rules and not always with very positive feed backs.She has had her share of 'honest comments without revealing the true identity(if you know what I mean which I'm sure you do)'.The anonymous readers are a little too active on her blog but she never lets it affect her bindaas persona.Her blog has a character of its own.And it starts with the title.Hers had a lot of contribution in the making of my own blog title.Most of the other blogs I had been following until then had a title that made their purpose clear.I wasn't sure of my blog contents back then.I didn't want it to be 'just another fashion blog'.Basically,I didn't want it to fall under any specific category.And Tanvii's blog was just the inspiration I needed.It wasn't about fashion,it wasn't about food,it wasn't about fitness,it wasn't about social awareness,it wasn't a travelogue...It was all that and more.That's when I learnt that it's not the content that matters,it's your passion for what you want to write about.I also learnt to be a lot more positive after reading her.She DOES seem to have a perfect fairytale life,with a dotting husband,a cosy home,a figure to die for,a great family to come back to and most importantly,a closetful of beauties to last me a lifetime without shopping.But sometimes,in between all the laughter and wit,some of her posts give a glimpse of the fact that she hasn't had it that easy.If she still managed to remain so fantastic,why can't I,I found myself asking.And then,if all these weren't enough,she had to be a gem of a person!She's no less than a celeb on her own but she's still down-to-earth enough to reply all her fan mails and queries within two days.Once I had mailed her asking for a few tips on buying a tie.She not only replied me,she even apologized for being a little late!How often do you find that,huh?She reminds me of what my mother used to say long back(before I grew up,that is),'You get back what you do.A good deed always initiates another good one and vice versa'.I can give you an example right away.She gave a tribute to her five favorite bloggers on her blog a while ago and today I'm doing the same to her.And now,coming back to Tanvii the fashionista,what I like most about her outfits is that she's a proud Indian and doesn't think twice before flaunting her Indian ness.In almost every outfit post of hers,she takes a conservatively western look and adds a little interesting Indian twist to it like a jooti,a pair of jhumkas or a dozen(often a lot less than a dozen though) of bangles and makes it her own look.Then it almost gets too difficult to imagine the look without that small detail.And talk about versatility!She wears a skirt as a dress,a dress as a skirt,a maxi as a skirt,a kurti as a dress,a tunic as a kurti and what not.She mixes and matches like anything and when she posts the two different looks she styled from a single piece of clothing,it's almost unbelievable!Anyway,I'll shut up now and let the pictures talk.