Madonna Unretouched!

I saw these pictures of Madonna and thought, OMG.. she looks BAD! A lot of the sites online are going on about how beautiful and well maintained she looks for a 50 plus year old. I don't know what they're smoking, because my mother is 63 and looks as "youthful" as her- without having any botox or surgery. Moreover my mother, like MANY other women her age, carries herself with elegance and grace, and doesn't feel the need to date 23 year olds or have bunny ears on her head to appear youthful. The closest she's come to it is probably posing with a Mickey cap on her head while escorting her grandkids (my nephews) to Disney. 

Recently I've been having the discussion of botox with a lot with my friends, and am quite shocked and taken aback by the number of people using it, without a second thought. These are mostly people in their 30's! I can't quite understand the allure of putting poison into your face without really knowing the after effects of what it'll do to you 20 years from now, but hey.. that's just me! I for one can take solace in the fact that my parents grew better looking with age, and hope those genes rubbed off on me! In time I guess, we'll tell. In the meantime, here are some more Madonna shots-

The one above is the final version, and as most of you can possibly already tell, these were taken for the Louis Vuitton ad campaign from last year.
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Fashion laptops

There was once a time that computers used to be these whitish-beige ugly clunky things that took way too much space on a persons desk. Then came portable laptops, that still remained fairly clunky and still way too ugly. It is really thanks to Apple that fashionable computing first came to be. Most people probably think I'm referring to the iBooks, but what I'm really talking about is the PowerMac that came even way before that. I've written about my first Mac here, and i'm posting a picture of it below to show you how innovative and personalize-able Apple computers were even way back then.

Anyhow, I'm completely digressing from the point of this post! Recently I've been noticing a trend where IT and tech companies are also becoming very fashion conscious and are following fashion trends to keep up with consumer tastes and preferences.

In Sex & The City 2, Carrie ditches her trusted Mac and gets fashion (not to mention weight and budget) conscious and carries an HP netbook instead. Now this is Carrie we're talking about- no regular netbook will do for her. She instead opts for the gorgeous Vivienne Tam designed HP "butterfly" netbook, which thanks to the endorsement, started selling on internet fashion mecca, Net-a-Porter. Of course, if in the UAE you only need to venture to your nearest Jumbo store to find one!

In keeping with the fluorescent trend from the 80's that's been popping up on catwalks all over, Sony has recently launched their Vaio P in a range of bright, neon colours. The Vaio P is Sony's tiniest laptop, which can easily be tucked into ones jeans pocket (just don't sit down!) and has been available for some time now. Not only is it getting an upgrade from the inside, the outside reminds me of frozen popsicles! They look gorgeous, and I'm especially loving the hot pink version-

Sony India also took to hiring Kareena Kapoor (famous Bollywood actress) to launch their own line of the Vaio "Vivid" line.  These are slightly larger than the P line above, and are more powerful, but just as portable. I think she looks gorgeous, as do the laptops!

My favourite ultra portable laptop though remains the Sony Vaio X. It isn't colourful or designed by an ultra famous designer, but keeping in line with the fashion industry (and Kareena) it's the "size 0" of laptops. I LOVE mine, and have the higher spec one where I can put my 3G chip in it and use it on the go, just as I can my iPad. Here is what it looks like-

What is your pick for Tech this season??

Fan of Apple? Fan of the TV show Glee?

Fan of hilarious spoofs in general? Watch Jane Lynch (who plays the part of the brilliant coach Sue Sylvester in Glee) act in a spoof of the "I'm a mac- I'm a PC" ad of Apple, making fun of the "lost" iPhone that was "found" and subsequently sold to Gizmodo.com for 5000 bucks.. in USD that is.

Lady Gaga debuts "Alejandro"

Gaga's "little monsters" (the name she gives her worshiping fans) went nuts yesterday with the debut of her new video, "Alejando." Her website went down because it couldn't handle all of the traffic, and eventually, her fans managed to crash Twitter due to over capacity. I finally managed to watch the video today, and while it is beautifully shot, I thought the concept on the whole was a bit disappointing. "Little monsters" aside, I think others seem to be having the same reaction. Before I go any further, have a look at her video to make up your own mind-


The whole video just screams Madonna to me! You've got the rosary beads, the cross, the fire burning in the background, the whole black and white look of "Vogue" and even Gaga's dance steps outfit and dance sequence is very, very Vogue-ish. I think Gaga is a great performer and obviously changes her image constantly to receive the most amount of press and constantly play up her shock value. But having said that, we've already seen her down to her underwear and gyrate with both sexes way too many times for it to be shocking anymore. And when it comes to this video, haven't we seen Madonna do all of this and more many, many times before? Lady Gaga and her most annoying fan and champion, Perez Hilton have recently spearheaded bad press aimed towards Christina Aguillera, claiming she is copying Gaga in her latest single. Perez, who is famous for nicknaming celebs on his blog, has even begun to call her "Clonetina" to drive home the point. But isn't this video quite a rip off as well?

Controversy aside, I think the video has been beautifully shot by photographer extraordinaire Steven Klein. You've definitely seen a lot of Steven's work on the covers of Vogue and W, and I think he's done an amazing job on this video too. Below are a few of his most recognizable shots-

I love his work... so recognizable, yet so different. Am hoping he does a lot more videos for different performers in the future.
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CFDA 2010

Here are some of my favourite looks from the CFDA awards presented last night. I love the clothes and they are a lot more in-tune with fashion today than the stuff that was worn at the MTV awards.

My favourite look though has got to be SJP wearing none other than Alexander McQueen-

J'Adore!!
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Oscar De La Renta 2011 Resort Collection

While my blog covers the best of both worlds- hi tech and high fashion, last night I really had to make a decision as to which side I loved better. I had the Oscar de la Renta Resort show streaming live on one hand, and the Apple iPhone 4 launch happening on another. While I had Mahryska (lovely UAE fashion blogger) ooh-ing and aah-ing about the clothes on Twitter, I was salivating onto my computer and doing the same about the phone. If you were home and picked the iPhone option too, or if you're just interested in checking out the clothes, here is the video of what you missed last night-


UPDATE: A few people wrote in to let me know they couldn't view the collection from here. Please go here to watch the entire show. Thanks to those who let me know!

Aaaand.. the iPhone 4 is launched!

Introducing the new iPhone 4!!!
- 24% thinner than the current iPhone 3GS with glass on the front and back and steel on the side. Steve likened it to an old Leica camera. Also has 2 cameras- front and back.
- 40% more talk time! 7 hours talk time, 6 hours 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, 300 hours of standby!!!
- The new camera system improves the megapixels from 3 to 5, but takes much better pictures with a "back-side illuminated sensor"
- It records HD video!!! 720p at 30fps and comes with iMovie for the iPhone! This is HUGE! Not only can you record amazing video on it, you can edit it and make mini movies right on your phone! $4.99 only!
- iOS4 is the new name for the Operating system. Has hundreds of features including multitasking! Yaye! Google remains default search engine, with Yahoo and Bing as options
- iPhone also has iBooks now- download the same books on all your devices at no extra charge and iBooks also syncs all the bookmarks automatically

Has a lot of other technical data about the screen and pixel quality etc, which I won't bore you guys with, as it pretty much all flew over my head.
I was listening to a live audio recording of the show and I thought I was going to go deaf with the amount people were cheering. Ok, so pretty much everyone knew what the phone was going to LOOK like, but the awesome camera and video abilities were definitely very, very cool surprises. Not to mention, video chat!!

There is Steve Jobs chatting with Jonathan Ive. The video chat (AKA "FaceTime") works on the front and rear cameras, in portrait and landscape mode. Unfortunately, is WiFi only in 2010.

The iPhone 4 is available in black and white. The price is $199 for 16GB and @295 for the 32 GB model, just like the iPhone 3GS. These are obviously locked phones to AT&T, so that rate doesn't apply to the rest of the world.
It is available in the US on June 24th, and pre-orders start on June 15th. It will be available in 5 countries then, and 18 more starting in July. Let's hope the UAE is one of them! iWant!!!!!!!!
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Photographs courtesy the Engadget website

Ouch Lady Gaga!!

I saw this pic on the Perez Hilton website, and my feet hurt just LOOKING at those shoes! How painful do they look? And that too she's wearing them at Heathrow! After getting off a long flight, even my comfy walking shoes make my swollen feet hurt. How on earth is she managing? And there's that nasty Birkin again!
This picture reminds me of a joke I'd heard about Lady Gaga and why she wears so much make up and is always in disguise- It's coz she doesn't want anyone to know she's really Marilyn Manson! hahaha.. You have to admit, there IS a weird resemblance!
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MTV music awards- red carpet fashion

These are few of the looks from the MTV Movie Awards that took place in LA last night. Is it just me, or do they all seem "been there, done that?" Nothing looks really new or interesting, and this is MTV for crying out loud! Kristen Stewart looks like she's wearing something out of Emma Watsons' closet, Jessica Biel looks like she's pinched something from Paris Hilton's, and Linsday Lohan has definitely made a pit stop to Cher's home on her way to the red carpet. Even Katy Perry, despite her blue hair, looks kinda predictable!

You know the end is drawing near when Paris Hilton is one of the best dressed of the night, which seems to be the case!

Powerful speeches and the men who gave them

Last night while out for dinner with friends, the topic turned to timeless speeches. While Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" remains probably the most powerful and timeless speeches of them all, these are more recent, more relevant, and much more basic.

My favourite is Steve Job's commencement address given to the Stanford students in 2005. I was surprised that a friend of mine hadn't heard it. If you've gone through my blog at all, you'll know I'm a die hard Jobs fan, and I find the man absolutely fascinating and brilliant. If you haven't already, you HAVE to hear this.. and if you have, take 15 minutes out of your day and give it another listen-



The following was written by Mary Schmich in an essay titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" and was published  in the Chicago Tribune in 1997. It was later used in a commencement speech by authour Kurt Vonnegut, to whom it is often believed to be derived from. The most popular for of the essay is the one set to music where the lyrics are used and remixed by Baz Luhrmann in the popular single, "Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)."



The third one is one of my favourites- "The Last Lecture," by Randy Pausch. Randy Pausch was a Professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, when in 2006, he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. On September 18, 2007, he gave a lecture called "The Last Lecture" as a legacy he wanted to leave behind for his children. The lecture was recorded, became a YouTube sensation, got published into a book that became one of the New York Times best sellers, and got Pausch to go on and give the lecture again on Oprah. This video is a little over an hour long, but is a MUST SEE. You're going to want to make your kids and parents watch it!


Pausch died of complications from Pancreatic Cancer on July 25, 2008.


If you have any other favourite speeches that you love and that inspire you, email me and I'd love to post them up as well. 
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Louis Vuitton ads- inspiring or misleading?

I saw this new Louis Vuitton ad at the movies earlier tonight (while watching 'The Killers' AKA Dumbest movie ever made) and my first thought was, "Wow Emirates ads have gotten boring!"Where is the Marc Jacobs quirky touch? Where is the nostalgic Andre-Steffi combo that worked so well for their print ads? Or the more recent Leibowitz/Baryshnikov pairing? Apparently this ad is around 2 years old, but I've never seen it before.

In more LV ad news, the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has banned the following ad by the French company-

No, it's not banned because the ad lacks sex appeal (or Madonna!) it is because the ASA considered the image to be "misleading." Their view is that since LV has machines that make their bags, and not women toting needles and thread, the ad doesn't accurately depict the proper origin and making of the products. Really?? How do any wrinkle creams advertised by Botoxed and surgically lifted actresses ever get passed?? Or labels on designer clothes that say "Made in Paris," where only the packaging (or the label itself) was indeed made in Paris and not in India or China? Strange!

A glance at the work of Federico Buccellati

Buccellati are one of the best gold and silversmiths in Italy, and if you happen to be visiting Rome this summer, their store on via Condotti is worth going to. Not only do they have some beautiful handmade jewelry, they have some individual pieces for the home that are works of art in themselves. Their leaf designs are their signature pieces, and if you have a look at how intricate their work is, and how fluid the shape, you'll understand why they are so well known and worth the investment.

Here are some shots that I took of one of my sister's pieces. Look closely at the last one- it's their logo with the picture of an old lady (or is it a man?) engraved into the silver. You can click on the picture to zoom in.

Vogue follows Julia Restoin Roitfeld

For fashion watchers the world over, the name Carine Roitfeld is synonymous with glam and high fashion. While "The Devil wears Prada" might have made Anna Wintour a household name, Roitfeld, the Editor of French Vogue, wields a power in the business that is much greater than that of Wintour. Appearing on "best dressed" lists herself, her smoky eyes and bushy eyebrows made her a muse for a lot of the Parisian design houses, and her taste ensured that the French Vogue remained more fashionable and "relevant" than their US and UK counterparts.
It of course would only be natural that her daughter, Julia Restoin Roitfeld (pictured above), would be one of the most watched young women in fashion today. Her style is a lot younger than her mothers, but this aspiring designer has a fashion sense that is all her own. To top it off, she is absolutely gorgeous and is also the face of Tom Ford's "Black Orchid" perfume.
Vogue UK has  a special feature for the month of June, which has Julia sending in daily, her fashion choices for the day. I'm absolutely hooked! Check it out at here and I'm sure you'll want to check back in every day to see what the gorgeous girl has on.

If you do get as hooked on it as I have, and are craving your Roitfeld-fix post June, check out the website, "I want to be a Roitfeld" which follows the famous family and their stylish fashion choices, on their jaunts around the world. Kind of stalkerish, but it too will have you hooked in no time!
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Would you like a sports car to go with that yacht, Sir?

This gives a WHOLE new meaning to "buy one, get one free." Apparently, when you buy this luxury cruiser, you also get this gorgeous speed demon of a car absolutely free! And look.. you won't even have to worry about where to park your lovely little sports car while docked in St Tropez. It throws in a garage too!

You like? Or a bit too matchy-matchy?

The rising cost of tech

Over the last week I heard two bits of news that had me wondering about the rising cost of technology, rather than the lowering of it. Being in the electronics business, I am always alarmed at the speed at which tech gets outdated and prices (and unfortunately, margins) decrease. I understand that businesses need to keep themselves profitable, but I don't understand them changing the rules of the game on consumers after something has been implemented.
In my review of the iPad, I was quite impressed with Etisalat's 3G plan being so closely priced to that of AT&T's in the US. AT&T had announced unlimited 3G on the iPad for 30 USD a month, and Etisalat subsequently announced a Dhs 99 unlimited version of theirs. As I had later pointed out, the Etisalat plan only lasted for 3 months, during which it would probably go back up to 395 Dhs for 10GB of data. In a surprising (and odd) move, AT&T in the US announced a new plan where they would charge 25 USD a month for a mere 2GB of data, or 15USD for  a measly 200MB. If I lived in the US, and had put in an order for a 3G iPad which was yet to be delivered to me, I'd be seriously pissed! Most people would have spent the extra cash to upgrade to a 3G device, to be able to check email, stream videos, download books and magazines on the go and have complete freedom on their device. Let's just put it this way- 2GB aint getting them too far at all. And making an announcement that the pricing would change in a few days, and making it sound like a fabulous way for customers to save money? Not good.

Another announcement that was made last week was the availability of Skype 3G calls on the iPhone. This means that where Skype calls were previously only available for the iPhones that were connected to a WiFi connection, could now also be made with a regular 3G connection. In a surprise announcement, the company also said these calls were only available free till August, after which they would cost a fee. This of course would be over and above the price the consumer would be paying to AT&T for data plan in the first place. When the net went crazy with angry Skype customers, the company decided to extend the free service till the end of the year. Come on Skype, what's next? Paid Skype-to-skype calls over WiFi as well?!

Sneak Peak at the Blackberry 9800

I few months back I'd shown you guys a video of the latest Blackberry Operating System, the OS6.
Now here's a sneak peak at the yet-to-be-released Blackberry Bold 9800, sporting the new OS.
The new slider phone looks like it has a great form factor, as it has a big screen and a full QWERTY keypad to go along with it, and moreover, seems to have touch screen that's not the horrible SurePress BB has been using in their "Storm" devices. I can't wait to get my hands on one to play with!

Pictures are courtesy of BlackBerry Times

The smallest 24 room apartment in the world!

My friend and Kiran's Corner reader, Chicco Hiranandani sent me this interesting video yesterday that I thought was fascinating! Do watch it.. it shows innovation at its best.
If you have any interesting articles or videos for me to post, please send me an email at kiran@kiranscorner.com, and I'll do the same.

SJP the ultimate recessionista!

Sarah Jessica Parker was at the SATC2 premiere wearing a gorgeous pair of Nicholas Kirkwood shoes that can be bought here for approximately Dhs 3500. Usually it is a complete celeb no-no to repeat an outfit, much less repeat such noticeable shoes in such a short period of time, that too while promoting such a fashion-conscious film! With rumours doing the rounds of 10 Million USD being spent on the clothes for the movie, it's a good thing that the promoters of the movie are at least being conscious of the recession and the budgets for the girls while styling them today.
Am still loving her shoes!

The ad for the coolest denim in town!

Love it! I've got chic in my pants!

HTC Evo gets some love in the US

HTC have come out with some amazing phones in the past.. my current favourite being the HD2 that is already available in Dubai. The screen is gorgeous, the camera works great and the entire phone is fast and responsive.. but the Windows OS is not for me and so I've never extensively used one. This weekend in the US however, there is a phone being launched that I'd absolutely LOVE to use. The form factor is very similar to the HD2, and it has the same gorgeous screen, but there quite a few differences between the two- the most obvious being the OS.

The Evo works on the Android operating System (by Google) that means (this explanation applies for the non-techies out there) you have access to a similar "app store" that the Apple iPhone does, where you can download thousands of different applications to use on your phone. The new Evo also has a better camera as it comes with an 8 megapixel one, as opposed to the 5 megapixel on the HD2, which in itself is also a fantastic camera on its own. The Evo also has a front-facing camera (like the rumoured new iPhone) where you can have face-to-face video chats on it. The Evo comes with a built in kickstand to watch movies or YouTube videos (in high def that too!) on the gorgeous screen. And the most impressive feature? The Evo runs on Sprint's (US phone carrier) 4G network, which means it's blazing fast- much faster that 3G speeds.

Oh and the biggest difference? It's CDMA only, which means it can't be used with a GSM network at all, which means we in Dubai won't be getting it anytime soon. However, it's being launched in the US on the 4th, and is expected to sell out immediately.. am very curious to see what people have to say.
Me? I'm waiting for a little company in Cupertino that's named after a fruit to come out with their next big thing on the 7th. Since I think the entire world knows WHAT the iPhone is going to look like, I can't wait to find out WHEN i can get my hands on one!

The entire range of existing HTC products in the UAE can be found at any of the 30 Jumbo stores across the country
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Lady Gaga defaces her Birkin.. AGAIN!

If it wasn't bad enough of Lady Gaga to take her pristine white Birkin and have fans scribble all over it Gaga's going bad ass on her black one and has spikes stuck all over it. Why someone would do anything to the gorgeous and very classy bags is really beyond me. At least the ugly jeweled ones seen below (and also found here) were "birkin-inspired" (read: FAKE!) and could at least be forgivable and put down to bad taste or sheer fashion-victimitus! But taking a bag that costs THOUSANDS of dollars and defacing it, just to get press and probably never wear again? That's nuts!

Sad, shocking... UPDATE

A couple of weeks back I'd posted a story about a local blog, where a contributor had posted his "views" about the Air India Mangalore plane crash victims. All of the readers were as horrified and upset about the post as I was, and quite a few sent me feedback either on the website, on Facebook or to my email.

One reader in particular was kind enough to keep sending me updates in the comments section of the website, and was the first to inform me that the contributor had issued an apology, right before Etisalat (and probably Google) had taken down his post. I was interested in reading what the contributor had to say by way of explanation of his disgusting comments, and yesterday, the Anonymous poster (or maybe a different one?) found it and put it on the comments section. As most would probably be interested in reading the same, I'm posting it over here for you guys too- (Read about the original post here)

"RIP Plane Victims

Wow. Let me 1st say that we were having a slow few weeks and thought a bit of "fun" would bring in some readership.

It did. Sadly 95% of them didnt "get" it. the remaining 5% didnt agree with it but were laughing at it.

People, the innerwebs is a form of entertainment, like the movies, or a TV show. Every now and then, imbedded in that entertainment is a bit of truth. But that little bit of truth does not mean that the entertainment factor, the main factor of the issue should be taken for granted and all of a sudden the movie has turned into a fact filled documentary.

If anything allowing our contributers free reign to post whatever and however they wish is not something the UAE is ready for. We hear often that oh, this part of the world needs more opinions, debate, views, and openness.

No, what the sheer power of the readers/comments proved to us is that people, including those residing and those from the UAE, want those things as long as they are the same as everyone else'

At 300 comment I, as an admin, didnt have time to go through them all, so I decided to do what I never thought I would. I censored one of my contributors.

I am writing this to apologize for this blog as a whole for any hurt the post this one replaces may have caused. I have given it the same URL so that links on the innerwebs will link directly here.

I am also appalled at the comments we had received. For people who supposedly care, and are not hatful or racist, most comments were in fact just that. So to those happy that I took the post down, know that it was done because you stooped down to the same level that you supposedly were condemning.

We didnt know we were this important. With 35 followings, we expected 35 comments or less. Not so many that we couldnt even read them all. What we read was enough.

The UAE isnt ready for opinions. Not real ones. We will continue to give watered down ones then.

Happy blogging and happy reading. Sadly, even our blogs now are as good as our newspapers. And that;s because of us all.

Please check out this post by yet another member of ours on the same subject, posted on the same day. Sadly, this one only got a total of 8 comments. Says alot about all those supposedly caring people."

Some "apology"!!!! I wonder how he would react to deaths in his family being the center of someone's  "entertainment"! 

"The Hurt Locker," hurting

The producers of the movie, The Hurt Locker, have recently announced that they will suing 5,000 individuals who downloaded pirated versions of their movie on the internet. This is one of the largest lawsuits against individuals in history! Voltage Pictures are looking for 1,500 USD from each of the individuals, or are threatening to take the case to court where the amount to be paid (not to mention the legal bills) will be much higher. This is quite scary but I guess a necessary step for Hollywood, so people (in the US at least) will think twice before illegally downloading movies and music from the net.

Having said that, I recently read an article by Lady Gaga where she said that where the music industry is concerned, the artists make their money by touring, and big artists can make up to a 100 Million USD in touring sales alone. Hardly a hand to mouth situation!

Aren't you just so happy you're not one of the 5,000 people getting sued? If you live in Dubai, you couldn't anyway- not because Voltage won't have access to your ISP and come after you here, but because Etisalat has done the job for them and blocked all torrent sites. So if you want to catch Sex & the city part 2, you're just going to have to fly out of the country to see fake Abu Dhabi (Morocco) elsewhere.

Kiran's Corner back in the Khaleej Times!!

"Kiran's Corner" was the name Khaleej Times had given to my monthly column that appeared in the Weekend Magazine. A year after I stopped writing for them, I started my blog, but from today I've restarted my column with them- only this time in the main paper! It appears in the "Opinion" section and will be appearing fortnightly or of course be found here under the "KT Corner" tag. Here is today's article for your perusal, that was very aptly written on the joys of blogging- 

Two nights back I met up with a friend at a party, and after chatting for a bit, the topic turned to blogging. Recently, I have taken to blogging daily, and after almost two months of being fervishly dedicated to mine the obvious question came up. “Why do you do it?” she asked, “What exactly is your motivation?”

For those who don’t know what a “blog” is, the Wikipedia definition is this  “A blog (a contraction of the term “web log”) is a type of  website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.”

Just as Wikipedia has changed the shape of dictionaries and encyclopedias, blogs are changing the shape of how individuals communicate with the world. While “Facebook” and “Twitter” help people to stay in touch with each other and exchange pictures and/or messages in short bursts, blogs allow them to go one step further. Each blogger in their own little blogging universe essentially becomes an Editor of an online magazine of sorts. In fact, on a blog a person is able to communicate views on a subject or a variety of subjects, without even having to create their own content. While Vogue, the fashion bible of the world, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintaining their relevancy in the fashion industry while financially viable at the same time, a fashion blog would have it a lot simpler. It is not uncommon (neither is it illegal) for the blogs to quote parts of the magazine, or even scan its pages to showcase to its readers. While fashion photographers like Irving Penn and Annie Leibowitz have spent decades perfecting their art and etching their name onto runways of the fashion world, they are quickly being replaced by the likes of Scott Schuman and Garance Dore, who on their blogs, showcase the best in Street-style photography. A style of photography that over the past few years is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s world. Exactly how relevant? The most recent Fashion weeks world over often saw the bloggers take front row seats alongside the likes of Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour—The Queen bees of Vogue Paris and Vogue US, respectively.

There are blogs relating to fashion, there are those related to technology, there are those immersed in spirituality, some are religious, others dedicated to worshiping the devil. There are auto-blogs, news blogs, photography blogs, opinion blogs, review blogs or even blogs on other blogs. As many subjects in the world there are to talk about, you can bet there will be those many number of blogs, with that number growing exponentially daily.

Three years back in 2007, a dream of mine came true and I was asked by Khaleej Times to have my own column as a part of their Weekend magazine. I was thrilled! I loved being able to make my “voice” heard and share my writing with the world. Unfortunately, due to a change in format, they decided to not have any columnists in the magazine, and I never realized how much I loved to write, till there was no place to write for at all.

One day, I was doing my daily round up of going through my bookmarked blogs, when I suddenly had an idea. Why not start my own blog? I went online and checked out the different sites that allowed me to be up and running with one in less than five minutes. “What do I call it?” I asked myself. I wanted to keep a name that allowed me to express myself, and yet maintain a certain standard and quality in my posts, just as my column had done. The name became obvious, and Kiran’s Corner, the online version at www.kiranscorner.com, was born.

I absolutely love it and it allows me to be much more creative with the type of content I want to put out, and to answer my friend’s question, That is why I do it. To see comments from readers or see my number of hits increase exponentially daily, gives me the satisfaction that I need and the encouragement to keep writing! Kiran’s Corner in some ways became even more popular in its online format, than it was in it’s printed form. But, of course, when the Editor wrote to me and asked if I’d like to restart my column, there wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation. I thought of the adrenaline that surges through my veins on seeing my name in print right below the caption, and I just couldn’t wait to hand in this—my first submission. It’s so great to be back!

 You can also read it online on the Khaleej Times site here