Can't BELIEVE I'm missing...

The Soiree-Umar Sayeed fashion show at the Opera Art Gallery this evening! Late last evening, I was having a cup of coffee with Mariya Kassam, owner of Soiree and a dear friend of mine, and was telling her about my love for the Opera gallery. For years now, way before their fabulous art graced the shores of Dubai, I'd lust after their collection at their gallery in New Bond Street, London. The Opera Gallery is where I'd first ever seen an Andy Warhol piece up close (I still remember, it was from his "Queen" collection) and where I first laid eyes on my most favourite artist today- Johanne Corno. While most people in Dubai might think it's just "another gallery" I was telling her how incredible it was that a Desi designer was going to be showcasing his work along with all the great global artists, and even more amazing, was that she was the catalyst in making that happen.

As I am sitting at the Lounge waiting for the announcement of my flight, I'll obviously be unable to attend the show today. However, I did catch a sneak peak of the collection yesterday, and if it wasn't for the size zero sample sizes the models had on, I'd have desperately tried to sneak them home. Divine!! Definitely not a show to miss. Good luck Mariya!

My first Mac!

In the days before the candy coloured iMacs and iBooks, or for that matter, anything in the Apple lineup that started with the letter "i", there was the Power PC. The Mac was a completely niche product, and Apple was viewed as being a dying brand worldwide. Back home in Dubai, Jumbo was making a huge splash with it's tie up with IBM, and I still remember the advertisement that had been released to announce the partnership- a big, blue elephant, signifying the meeting of the "big blue" (IBM) with Jumbo's unofficial mascot. You can then imagine my father's surprise (and displeasure) when I came home one day and asked him for an Apple computer. I had been interning at an ad agency during my holidays in Dubai, learning things like Freehand and Photoshop, and was convinced my creative juices could only be tickled into flowing on a Mac and thus had to have one. For weeks much begging ensued, till the Art Director at the agency gave me an idea. Thinking like a typical adman, he told me to give a pitch to my father and SHOW him why I needed the Mac rather than just saying, "iWant!"I then went to work on an old Apple ad showing father and son, and replaced it with the faces of my father and I. Despite the shoddy photoshop job (shown below) my point was made and my battle, won. And that's how, in 1997, I got my first ever Mac whom I christened "Gianni" after my favourite designer of that time. The real Gianni is long gone, but I've been unable to part with his namesake, the ad or the memory of my sweet success ever since.

Ferrari 458 Italia gets spotted in Dubai!

My friend Jimmy spotted the first Ferrari 458 Italia in Dubai today, and snapped up a picture on his iPhone. While the car is cool, evidently the car's owner.. not so much. When Jimmy approached him to tell him what a beautiful car he had, his response was, "I'm sure it's a hundred times better than what you drive..." before he sped off. Hmmm. If you ever do spot the car... have a pair of keys in your hand... an urge to doodle... Not that I'm encouraging vandalism or anything! Just saying.

Am loving...

My new Francis Klein glasses. The 50's retro, wayfarer look, along with the dual coloured frame, really makes for a very interesting look. Their handcrafted frames are made in Paris and each design is very unique for "ladies that like to wear their frames as make-up." Get on their website to understand why here

Books, books, books!

My mother is re-doing the study at home, and wanted me to go through my books and figure out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to get rid off. I love my books (the ones pictured here are probably less than half my entire collection) and I treasure each and every one. I have a strange quirk where I’d rather buy a book for someone than lend them my own, or even buy my own rather than borrow someone else’s.

Here are my favourites and the ones I love more than the others-

1)   A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth- Vikram Seth to me is GOD of the writing world, and “A Suitable Boy,” the best book ever written. I’ve read the book twice, once when I was in boarding school and the second time when I was in college. Both times I finished it in around 4 to 5 days, and given the size of the book, that meant very little sleep during that period. You don’t read his book- you live his world! If it means anything, he is the only person in the world I’ve ever written fan mail to, and his response was framed and hung proudly on my wall through college. I also carried his photograph in my wallet, but that’s a story for another day! If you know ANYONE who knows ANYONE who knows him and can make me meet him, you will help make a longstanding dream of mine come true!!

2)   Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert- I chanced upon the book without hearing any of the hype surrounding it, and was drawn to it given its title- three of my favourite subjects! It is about a woman’s search for peace (and herself) through Italy, India and Indonesia, written with wit, compassion, love and pain. I was so taken aback as I felt the author’s “voice” was so much like my own, and always say that this was the book I was meant to have written. Her sequel to E,P,L is “Committed,” easily one of the most pointless books I’ve ever read, so steer clear of that one.

3)   Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch- Rings truer than any religious scripture I’ve ever read. Simply a must read for everyone!

Some of my other favourites-

-       Art of War by Sun Tzu- Translated and edited by James Clavell. Make sure you get the one with this cover.

-       Golden Gate by Vikram Seth- An entire novel written in verse, including the title. Flows so well, the rhyme part of it, seems effortless.

-       Paulo Coelho: A Warrior’s Life by Fernando Morais- While Coelho’s books are great reads and very thought provoking, none of them come close to the story of his life.

-       Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup- A thoroughly enjoyable read. I liked it much better than the Booker Prize winner, White Tiger.

"There is no substitute to success" indeed!

I was testing out a camera with an old compact flash card when I realized I had lots of data on it including random TV shows and a very pleasant surprise- My Father's last and final interview that he had done for CNBC. I absolutely loved this part so edited it out. Vintage MRC!!!

Bows and sparkle!

My best friend always jokes that I have an obsession with anything that has bows on it. You can thus imagine my excitement on seeing these gorgeous shoes by Lebanese designer, Ines, at the Odyssey Trunk show today. With their sparkle, Lanvin-like feel and huge bows, I couldn't help but get two pairs. Will snap pictures when I get delivery of my navy blue ones with a proper camera.. The above was taken with my iPhone.

Sony DSC TX7 or HX5V??

I carried around both for a few days and was incessantly clicking pictures of things in different light situations with both cameras. While both cameras really had amazing picture quality, I just thought the convenience of the TX7 couldn't be beat. I loved the fact that I could pop it into my evening clutch bag and still have the convenience of a great Carl Zeiss lens, 1080 HD recording and panoramic mode, all in one incredibly small device. If you haven't seen what the panoramic mode is, you HAVE to visit a Jumbo store or check out a friend's Sony camera that has one, and be prepared to be blown away. I was demonstrating it to my mother and sisters, and they were amazed at what technology was coming to, as with one sweep of the camera, you can actually take a still picture of an area, at a 60 degree angle!! Check out the picture of my office to see what I mean.

While the sleek and slim TX7 is the camera that will be staying back with me, if you're looking for a still camera with all the features listed above with an incredible zoom to top, the HX5, with a slightly thicker body, can't be beat. While the built in GPS is nice to have, it really was the zoom that blew me away. Check out the pictures below of the distance between me and the Meridien, and what the camera could do when maxing out its 10x Optical zoom!

                                                                                      

Profile on... Vandana Bhatia

One of my first memories of Vandana is from London, a couple of years back. I was at her house visiting her brother, who is one of my closest friends, and being December, we were taking refuge from the weather and defrosting indoors. I had gone to London armed with my latest winter fashions from Dubai (big mistake!) including my first ever fur jacket (rabbit- I don't think I even knew what chinchilla was then) and my new boots. I remember my white jacket shedding all over their car and their couch, and Vandana looking horrified as I took off my boots to reveal white sports socks underneath. "Sweetie, don't wear white socks unless you're in the gym," she'd said kindly, as I sat slouched on her couch. Vandana on the other, even in the comfort of her living room, was perfectly poised, impeccably stylish and impossibly put together. She'd been great company that trip and I'd discovered was funny, intelligent and sweet... yet something about the way she carried herself had left me very intimidated.

Years later, when Vandana got married and moved to Dubai, we'd once met over lunch where she'd complained about being bored here, and not having much to do. "You REALLY need to do something related to fashion," I'd counseled   her. Vandana was then, without realizing it, the talk of the town, and her fashion choices were discussed, dissected and lusted after in social circles, long after she was gone. "No way," she'd said, till I'd narrated to her, down to the last detail, an outfit she'd worn to a lunch the week before.. which I hadn't attended. Vandana hardly has time to be bored these days, as she's been planning her second trunk show for her lifestyle brand Odyssey, which she's set up with her friend and business partner, Lyla. She was also recently selected by Burberry to be styled for their latest 3D fashion show, and was nominated by Harper's Bazaar as one of their best dressed women in the Middle East. The way I see it, she's only just begun, and was my natural choice to be the first profile I did on my blog.

A few days back I chatted with her about my first memory of her and her comment on my socks. "Noooo.. i did not say that," she sounded mortified and apologetic over the phone. "Don't worry," I laughed, "I thought it was funny and besides, I still do it," I'd said. "Oh in that case, it's ok I guess," she politely said, her voice thick with disapproval.

My Fave Brand... Just one?! Errr.. Right now Sass and Bide for Rock Chic separates though this will probably change next week!
High Street store I wouldn't be caught dead in... New Look
The one thing I'm lusting after now is.. a Bea Valdes Boudicca Necklace
The pride and joy of my wardrobe/handbag selection/jewelry box is... A Balenciaga dress (Valentine's gift)/my convenient Bon Bon bag from my trunk show/ Van Cleef and Arpels necklace- a gift from my hubby!
The most obnoxious item I own is... my Ostrich Kelly in Taupe
The non-celeb whose wardrobe I'd love to own is... my best friend, Olga's (picture below with Vandana and her husband, Vikram, during their wedding celebrations)
The celeb I'd love to give a makeover is... Love her, but Paris Hilton!

Do check out the latest Odyssey Trunk Show at the Capital Club, DIFC on Wednesday, 24th March 2010.

Sony DSC-TX7 and DSC-HX5V

I got a very happy surprise in the office today. I had seen the latest Sony still camera on my visit to the Jumbo store at the Mirdiff City Center on Friday. The TX7 impressed me with its touch screen interface, slim body and moreover, the ability to record video in 1080 HD. I decided to switch from using my WX1 to the TX7 as my tiny, portable, pop-in-my-clutch-bag camera. When I asked for a piece today, I found I also had on my table, the first piece of the new HX5V to hit our warehouse. Surprisingly, I hadn't heard about the introduction of this camera, but one glance at the list of features, and I was loath to give it back. Along with the usual list of features of the new Sony cameras- the Exmar lens that allows shooting in low light without a flash, the panaromic mode, HDR shooting ability, etc, this camera has the special Sony G lens, a 10x optical zoom and GPS to allow geotagging! Even though its bulkier than the TX7, I'm very impressed by the great reviews it's gotten, and am very tempted to keep the HX.
I'll take some test shots with both as I decide which is the camera for me.

Check out Garance Dore- Queen of Fashion blogging!

For the fashion faithful, Garance Dore is a household name. Reigning Queen of the fashion blogs, she is known for her glorious illustrations, as well as her eye catching photographs, that she uploads daily on her blog at www.garancedore.fr/en/. In 2009, she had a collaboration with Gap, to curate an exhibition of her own work in a London pop-up store. Shown above is one of her illustrations for the occasion.

While i love her illustrations and LOVE her photographs, I've gone a bit nutty for her video series, "From the Front Row," which as the name suggests, were videos taken from (mostly) the front rows of the recent Paris Fashion week. My most favourite is the video for Lanvin. I love the movement, the music, Alber Elbaz.. and not to mention the clothes. Oh the gorgeous clothes! Find the video here- http://blip.tv/file/3342786/

Being exquisitely French (log on to her website to find out what I mean), Garance was known in the blogosphere as being the female version of the King of Fashion blogging, Scott Schuman, the Sartorialist. In a match made in blog heaven, he was later to become her boyfriend.

Garance uses the Canon 5d Mark II to get her lovely shots. Get yours at the Jumbo store, Mall of the Emirates. 
Sorry I couldn't resist ;)

New Jumbo store at Mirdiff City Center!

If you happen to visit the New Mirdiff City Center that opened up to the public this week, do check out the new Jumbo store there.

I visited the mall today and was quite impressed with the number and range of stores they had there. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel had both made its way to Dubai too! Since I'm shopping for home furniture, I thought the mall had quite a good selection of furniture stores to choose from. Honestly, before today I didn't even know where Mirdiff was!

Sony Ericsson Xperia 10 test shots

Flowers taken in sunlight:                    










My dog, Chintu, taken at dusk:

Chintu, taken in low light conditions:

As you can see for yourself, the camera quality in the Xperia 10 is really great! The eight megapixel camera takes shots almost as good as a compact point and shoot would, and picture quality in low light too, is excellent. To have a fully functional smartphone this sleek, thin and light is pretty cool.. to have one with a camera this good.. that's just amazing!

Theta Healing and Me

I could say I found Theta Healing or I could say Theta Healing found me, and both would be true. For those who don't know what Theta is, it's a quick, easy and very beautiful way to connect with God, the Creator, Universal life-force energy, or whatever other name you'd like to call it by.

Having studied Reiki and being a Clinical Hypnotherapist, I was very interested in the workings of the mind and of Spirituality in general. I'd heard about Theta, done a bit of reading on it, and decided to go take the basic course that was taking place in Dubai. That was when I found Theta. I wish I could say I was amazed by its teachings and its ease and simplicity, but the truth is quite the opposite. I couldn't understand how it worked, how one could actually heal instantaneously, "scan" peoples bodies or the most ridiculous of them all, change beliefs instantaneously!  While I'd seen Faith Healers on TV and even believed that maybe Vianna, the pioneer of Theta Healing, had healed herself instantaneously of cancer, I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea of changing a persons BELIEFS. I believed that my beliefs were MINE.. i'd given them birth, raised them, nurtured them, fed them, and lived with some of them, for better or for worse, through most of my life! And someone was now claiming I could change my negative ones instantly? How does that even work? I'd decided Theta Healing was definitely not for me.

Almost a year later, I was going through a bit of a rough emotional patch, and was looking for something or someone to help ease that discomfort a little bit. A friend of mine told me about this amazing therapist she was going to, who did Pranic Healing as well as Theta, and I decided to give her a shot. I went in having zero expectations and was hoping to feel a bit better, if only momentarily- like a therapeutic massage for the soul. After my sessions, I realized I was feeling a lot less chaotic in my mind, and I found my negative thought patterns.. those beliefs I had clung on so dearly to... suddenly not hold true anymore. It's a strange feeling when you say out loud something you've believed for too many years for you to count, and then smile because you realize the energy around your words and feelings had dissipated. This is when Theta found me.

Those sessions empowered me to the extent that it made me want to take the course again and understand all that I'd missed the first time around, so I could work on myself. Armed with an open mind and the benefit of experience, I went in and sat with wide eyed wonder through the same course that I'd once scoffed at. So impressed I was with what I learnt, last month I actually flew to Vegas to do the Teachers Training with Vianna for the basic and advanced courses. While I am still unsure as to whether I will ever teach Theta, learning from her, the Source, was an experience that was indescribable! Theta has helped me not only reconnect with my deceased father, but also our ultimate Father, the Creator.

I was telling a friend of mine recently, about how a week after my course was done, I'd sat alone in my quiet hotel room in New York, and felt a bit of a strange feeling come over me. "I wondered what it was," I said to her, "till suddenly I realized what it was I was feeling!" It was contentment. My whole journey would have been worth it, if only for that one fleeting moment.

To find out more about Theta Healing, go to www.thetahealing.com.
To find out more about Theta courses in Dubai or the UAE, go to www.illuminationsworld.com

UPDATE: To read of my most recent experiences with Theta (a year after writing this post) please read my post "Theta Healing and Me- Part 2" here- http://www.kiranscorner.com/2011/03/theta-healing-and-me-part-2.html
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Xperia 10 review

When people find out how much I love gadgets, they usually say, "you're so lucky to be in the business then!" Not really. I have to pay for all the stuff I buy, and since I love having things before others have them, sometimes I not only pay full price, but a premium to have that luxury. Every once in a while however, the brands that I deal with will kindly send me something that's newly launched, or if I'm really lucky, way before it hits the market. That's exactly what happened with my latest toy, the Sony Ericsson Xperia 10.

I carry two phones around with me- an orange coloured Blackberry Javelin (custom made by Colorware) and an iPhone 3Gs. I figured I would never be happy whichever way my internal Blackberry vs iPhone war panned out, so I decided to give in and carry both. Despite there being at least a dozen phones in recent history being touted as the "iphone killer," there really was no device I'd tried that made me want to put away my iPhone... until now.

I've been playing with the Xperia 10 for almost a week now, and I REALLY think Sony Ericsson has a winner here, given to a large extent, it's adoption of the Android platform. The previous Xperia's have run on the aging Windows Mobile system, and the Android is indeed a welcome change. SE have worked their magic on the phone, customizing the UI to be more smooth and fluid than a regular Android device, which in itself has all the bells and whistles of a great smart phone, including the Android Market for apps. I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of my frequently used apps from the iPhone store on the Android Market, and I immediately was able to download a Facebook app, one from Dictionary.com, an MSN messenger app, Opera mobile, and not to mention a whole host of usefulapps by Google themselves. The lock screen can get a little tiring to operate, but apart from that, my pre-production unit had virtually no bugs. My favourite part of the phone has most definitely got to be the 8 megapixel camera that comes built into the device! I will take test shots with my phone and put them up soon. Since the device is MUCH smaller than the iPhone, it also fascilitates better phone and camera handling. Sony's influence on the camera side of the software is very evident with its ability to handle different modes including the popular "smile capture."

For those looking for a smartphone that's smaller than an iPhone and slicker than a blackberry, this is your device! Check it out in April at a Jumbo store closest to you.

Welcome to Kiran's Corner!!

In 2008, I was offered a fantastic opportunity by the "Weekend" magazine of the Khaleej Times in Dubai, to do a column for them. My monthly column, which they brilliantly entitled "Kiran's Corner," ran for about a year, till a change in the Editor and layout of the magazine meant a boot for all of the columnists involved. Since the illustruous Shashi Tharoor got the axe as well, I like to remind people, it was obviously nothing personal. It was not me.. it was them!

I could say that my fan's begged me to continue writing but I won't, as that would be a lie and moreover, I don't have any fans. I did have some readers trying to add me on facebook if that counts, but a person who doesn't understand the meaning of the word "friend" is, in itself, a non-starter. Just kidding! This blog exists because I missed writing and communicating with people, and really missed my "corner" so to speak.

Check out my "looking back" tab to know more about my writing life, and if you're actually reading this, do leave me a comment and let me know. Once again, welcome to my corner!