Aïe. I don’t even know how to start this. It’s time to say goodbye. Au revoir — and not à bientôt. While in no way is this goodbye definitive…it’s a firm closing of a chapter. There are no plans to move back in the near future. Goodbye. Since I am unable to put together a coherent thought […]

Undoubtedly, one of the most-loved activities in the countryside is mowing the grass. After a few weeks, we find that it’s a bit too tall and lumpy for optimal croquet. Despite his…dislike for the game, he never fails to use it as an excuse to convince his father. Mow the lawn, and it will be […]

[It’s way past Easter but I’m just getting around to sharing my thoughts. It still seems pertinent. This originally appeared as an Instagram post!] My feet are dangling from the hammock, grass-stained knees and mud-marked jeans witnesses to one too many crawls under the barbed-wire fence. The hammock is gently rocking and the chatter of […]

[Written in quarantine but published now. I wonder if my questions have been answered?] It was a bight, strong, mid-morning spring sunshine that had me squinting. He was running into the field, zeal punctuating each footfall, after a butterfly. I didn’t bother crawling under the barbed wire to follow; he was already a hundred meters […]

It was supposed to be a Vanity (Af)fair. A perfect picnic under a lone cherry blossom tree at the height of the season; a colour-coordinated garden party to celebrate the beginning of spring. There are so many “it was supposed to be”s, for me and many others. Mostly, this year I was looking forward to […]

It felt like something was wrong. The streets were the quiet you usually find in August, on a spring Tuesday. Bags were piled on the floor, clothes and monitors and schoolbooks spilling every which way. The trunk of the car was brimming with food amongst the suitcases, no time for tetris. We piled in, one […]

In the previous blog post, Madeline shared her film photographs of a quarantined Paris. A city usually bustling with life and visitors was suddenly desolate. As we continue to navigate a world in a pandemic, I’ve been snapping photographs of the city in “déconfinement.” From the simple joys of a florist’s flowers spilling onto the […]

While I was not in Paris for the shelter-in-place, my dear friend Madeline was. Here is Paris in her words and film photographs from that time — a stark, somber, and intimate portrait of the city. Madeline is a gifted street photographer. You can find these moments on her Instagram. I got to photograph Paris during […]

The past two years I have been choosing words to live by. I find that they are a nice, gentle guide to go about living and it’s interesting to see how they manifest themselves. This year, my words are “bold” and “beauty.” To seek bold beauty and to see beauty in boldness. (My art practice […]

They were five in top hats, suits and ties impeccable, the women against a sultry grey backdrop, cigarettes dangling from lips, between fingers. Exuding elegance, secrecy, and intimacy between friends. They were four, two each against a deep red curtain. Cecil Beaton couples. He could have shot them for Vogue. Genteel sophistication, a soft beauty […]