Malai Ghevar

The months of July and August are monsoon months in India — Sawaan ke mahine as we say in Hindi. Besides the romantic weather that these months bring along there are a wide range of sweet and salty delicacies that one can tuck into. Various parts of India have typical rain weather food. One such […]

Abra ride & Spice Souk

A flock of seagulls and dark clouds accompanied us along the abra ride one evening at Dubai creek. A friend was visiting and we were on a customary souk tour. For me an abra ride is always a refreshing experience, one I never get tired of. Most tourists too seem to enjoy boarding the wooden […]

Meeting author Sophie Hannah

This post was long overdue as I met author Sophie Hannah at the Emirates Lit Fest in March 2015. Being a huge Agatha Christie fan it was an unmissable event as she is the only writer to have brought back the indomitable Hercule Poirot back in action since Agatha Christie’s death. In her latest book The Monogram Murders Sophie gives […]

Beauty of clay

On our way back from a weekend trip to Oman on the Dubai Hatta road we spotted several shops selling carpets and pottery. When we stayed in Delhi we often visited local blue pottery shops but in Dubai it’s virtually impossible to find such roadside markets. Besides giving me that desi feeling of buying something from a […]

Street Con 2015 at Ghurair Centre

The lanes around Al Ghurair centre, Deira, have come alive with striking wall graffiti, colourful installations and interesting stalls as part of the STREETCON (Street Art Connection). The festival showcases street artists, photographers and musicians. We enjoyed an evening listening to live music, exploring the stalls and posing for pictures along the bright walls. As […]

Cafe Ceramique

The whole idea of sipping tea while creating your own work of art is so charming that it’s easy to fall for it. At Cafe Ceramique in Town Centre, Jumeirah, you get to choose from a wall full of ceramic pieces and a menu listed with sandwiches, burgers and desserts. You also get a variety […]

Dubai Canvas Festival

Some days ago we went to see Middle East’s first three dimensional pavement art festival. Driving through thick traffic along JLT we landed at the Dubai Canvas Festival venue on a breezy evening. Along the JLT beach there were several 3D installations made by street artists with chalk and paint. The most famous among them […]

A talk on Baniyas Square

Think of Deira and most Dubai residents will utter one word — congested. Along with its serious dearth of parking space it is also a locality that lacks the chic and urbane look of the rest of Dubai. But therein lies its real charm. Although renovations and restorations have reshaped Deira there still exists a […]

Cafe Aroma

Enroute the churches on Oud Metha Road is the leafy Cafe Aroma. We have been here a couple of times and have always come back feeling refreshed. More than the food it’s the cafe’s ambience that impresses. Formerly called Aroma Garden Cafe like its name suggests it gives visitors the joy of sipping tea amidst a lot […]

Parachuting Championship

Grey skies, cool breeze and a holiday — meant a perfect day for a picnic. Instead we headed to watch some adventure in the air. At Skydive Dubai the international parachuting championship brings parachute professionals and amateurs from world over for a spot of fun in the skies. We watched a spellbinding canopy formation awe […]