Jewel in the crown for the British, India for me, meant only Bombay; the city where I opened my eyes. Both Maa and Baba were Bombay-ites who migrated to Pakistan when I was three. Year after year Maa along with my siblings and I, spent our summer holidays in Bombay with her family. I got to meet and know loads of friends and colleagues of Baba but never his family. Continue reading Connections – Family Jewels
Author: Ali Zaidi
Connections – Nila Madhab Panda
With a three tier name Nila Madhab Panda, Madhab is one of the most unassuming film directors I know.
Back in 2007, whilst researching for an Indian creative associate for my project 60×60 Secs, his name was mentioned several times by different people. 60×60 Secs; one-minute film commissions from Britain India Pakistan to reflect on migration, displacement and cultural identity in the 21st century. Having met several artists in Bombay and Delhi, finding none to be suitable for the project, I met Madhab at Cafe Coffee Day a day before my return. Continue reading Connections – Nila Madhab Panda
Mementoes of my memory tree
May your life always be filled with beautiful, exotic, deep, enriching, blossoming and blissful scents… and may you always know your own and wear it with pride. Gérard
This hand written note on the inside leaf of Patrick Süskind‘s Perfume is a memento which replays the time I had a fling with a young man, a sensitive soul, while I was in my long-term relationship. Whenever the page presents itself, the distant past flashes back. Not that I am a nostalgic by any means… I love memories. Am not attached to them yet they bring a serene joy in my life. Strange though it may sound, in the spring clean, year after year, my stash of troubled moments have been recycled into enchantment. Continue reading Mementoes of my memory tree
Casa Ali July dates & Food4Thought
This month of june has been very exciting indeed. Concocting july menu for my supperclub Casa Ali, developing content for Food4Thought and my birthday according to the Arabic lunar calendar.
Fifty years ago in Bombay, on the eve of 12 January, 15 Shaban Shab-e-Barat (the birthday of 12th Imam Mehdi whom I am named after) as well as the brightest moon of the year celebrated by the hindus – I was born! Lunar calendar days begin at dusk… so my second birthday of this year was technically the evening the super moon graced our skies!
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Casa Ali ~ Supperclub dates – May
Casa Ali dinners and lunches in april turned out amazing. Dinners were totally booked out and sunday lunches saw rather intimate gatherings which resulted in cooking sessions with guests and on an other occasion, planning the performative culinary collaboration with Gabriela Parra.
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As promised, a Romainian treat graced one of the dinners made by my flatmate and his girl-friend visiting from Milan. Reconnected with some old friends after many years and via Casa Ali I was introduced to some new faces. Continue reading Casa Ali ~ Supperclub dates – May