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Casa Ali ~ September cometh!

Casa Ali food gatherings are growing in scope. With the passing of each day, harvesting sunflower seeds is becoming more of a fantasy for me and a concrete reality for the wild ringneck parrots! Crocosmia in my garden has already gone rust. Marjoram and thyme are bee magnets at the moment, courgettes are still plentiful, tomatoes are ripening each day and beans and chard would be on the menu along with wholesome potatoes.

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Continue reading Casa Ali ~ September cometh!

Casa Ali >> Happy birthday India Pakistan!

Coming up… August. Two of my homes, India Pakistan celebrate their 66th birthday. My recipes for the month can not help reference some of the food that I grew up with. And its Eid as well! What’s nearly gone is…

… July and what a packed month it has been. Four Casa Ali gatherings, created and handed over content for food4thought, some of my harvest has begun, couch surfer guests from Turkey and Australia and a new kid added to the line of royals in a summer which has been the hottest in many years (wonder how it would impact on the future of united kingdom). Continue reading Casa Ali >> Happy birthday India Pakistan!

Connections – Family Jewels

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

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