Tag Archives: India

Revisiting Angkor

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Today was the last day of the exhibition Angkor, Birth of a Myth- Louis Delaporte and Cambodia at Museum Guimet in Paris. Coincidentally, it was almost one year ago that I visited these ancient temples myself. Angkor exhibition, museum GuimetEven if we spent a rather long time (five full days!) in Siem Reap (Eat Drink Sleep Siem Reap (survival guide to Siem Reap) visiting nearby temples, I still felt it was not sufficient to really absorb and understand what had happened in the past. “Who what why when” became more complicated than ever! There were the Hindu Kings, then Buddhism; there were many different empires. To notice architectural details each religion brought to different temples during different times was not always easy, and having a lousy guide did not help. Indeed, it felt very overwhelming to be honest. And maybe this is why I still have not written anything about the Angkor temples (after one year!!).Angkor, museum GuimetHowever, visiting the exhibition this afternoon enlightened me. It was such a great pleasure to see old drawings, photos, maps, paintings, moldings, replicates, etc. that I now feel one step closer to actually being able to write something about this extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Meanwhile, have you ever felt the same about a historic or archaeological place somewhere in the world?

More information about the exhibition: http://culturoid.com/2013/10/angkor-birth-of-a-myth-louis-delaporte-and-cambodia-musee-guimet-paris/ 

Museum Guimet: www.guimet.frMuseum GuimetPS Museum Guimet is an architectural pearl. It hosts one of the best Asian art collections of the world, if not the very best. So pay a visit if interested in Asian art.

Twisted cauliflower risotto

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Last fall, upon my brother’s recommendation, I visited a blog specializing in the Paleo diet and found a cauliflower risotto that contains no rice. Today I finally decided to try the recipe, but me being the rebel I am, I had hard time following the instructions. My cauliflower risotto (or a cauliflower side dish, if you prefer) became something between Oriental and Indian, and it is delicious!! Here you go: modified cauliflower risotto

1. Sauté finely chopped onions, garlic, fresh ginger, leek and celery in a pan with coconut oil until the onions turn golden brown.

2. While sautéing, add turmeric, Indian chilly powder, black pepper and Himalayan salt. I added extra ginger powder because I did not have enough fresh ginger root.

3. Add fresh lemon juice and stir. I used an entire lemon.

4. Add raw cauliflower chunks and mix well.

5. Add coconut milk and let it simmer until the cauliflower is soft. Unfortunately I cannot give you the exact duration: it depends on the quantity and how you like your vegetables (I don’t like mine too soft).

Enjoy with whatever your imagination sees it with! We had salmon.

PS If you don’t want your dish turn yellow, then skip turmeric. I added it because it is super good for health.

Cauliflower risotto recipe by Paleokeittiö that I found last fall: http://paleokeittio.fi/2013/10/02/kaali-riisista-risotoksi/ (in Finnish)

Health benefits of turmeric: http://theflexifoodie.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/why-turmeric-is-the-new-kale/

 

Venice: ten shades of pink

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It was dark when I returned home from the airport and it was grey this morning when I went to buy milk for my coffee. They say Paris is the most beautiful city in the world and I do agree to some extent, but this morning I truly noticed how grey Paris is. Especially compared to Venice: a city full of deep and rich colors that can compete with the colors one usually only finds in India!

This said, I think there is one color that is more prevalent than others in Venice, and it is pink and its different shades. Hence some pink photos from my recent weekend in Venice:

Venice

Venice

Venice

Such a beautiful reflection on the water:Venice

Venice

Venice

Venice

Venice

Venice San Marco

…even at night there is always that pinkish shade somewhere! Venice Grand Canal

If you have been to Venice, do you agree with me or do you think I might have as well written about yellow or green?

PS Have you already checked Pearlspotting’s facebook page?

White Finnish Christmas

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I do like celebrating Christmas in Finland, especially during those years when there is a lot of snow, but I do not need to go back there every year. I am not one of those people who follows all Christmas traditions. I do not even like most of the traditional Finnish Christmas dishes. I have spent many Christmases abroad and to be honest, one of my most memorable Christmases was in Mamallapuram, India (eating lamb chops!). Quite a traitor, some of you are thinking now…

This year we are going to celebrate Christmas with my parents in Paris. The preparations are yet to be completed, but on the 24th we are invited to a birthday party/Russian Christmas Eve buffet at a friend’s place. After smoked salmon and champagne, our night will probably continue to the midnight mass at Notre Dame. Sounds like an other excellent way to start the celebrations to me!

However, to pay respect to the Finnish Christmas and to show you how it looks like, I thought to share some old photos from where my parents live. In this first photo, you can see my father preparing a path for ice skating (yes, he is walking on a frozen river!).Finland at Christmas time

This next photo shows you the house from the river. There is a very little of light around the Christmas period, but often a nice blue light appears just before the sun sets.. frozen lake in Finland

In this last photo you can see a huge pile of snow that we accumulated by keeping the ice path free of snow. We thought of constructing an igloo of it but the time run out! snow in Finland

If I get a permission from the people involved, I will post more photos of Christmas in Finland and especially of what jumping half-naked to the frozen river or lake means…! Meanwhile, what does your Christmas usually look like? Which has been your most memorable Christmas?

Happy Diwali!

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Diwali, the festival of lights, symbolizes the awareness of the inner light and the victory of good over evil. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu new year.

With this photo of Taj Mahal waking up to the morning sun rays, I wish all of my Hindu followers a Happy Diwali! Let your inner light shine like Taj Mahal and keep searching for your ātman, the soul. Taj Mahal

PS This photo was taken in March 2008 during my first visit to India. It was when I fell in love with India, and where I have returned twice since 2008. Looking at my old photos always makes me very happy, so I will try to post more about India. Meanwhile, have you been to India and what is your feeling toward this astonishing continent?

FIAC 2013

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Since my first visit to FIAC in October 1999, I have tried to go back whenever I am in Paris. To me, FIAC is an important window to the contemporary art scene that is not limited to France and the francophone world. It gives me a concrete way to witness how our globalized world is changing, and even if old European cities are still strongly represented, galleries and artists from India, South Korea and Israel are definitely gaining a solid position in the international art world.  FIAC 2013

For example, Yeesookyung is a South Korean artist living in Seoul. We saw her work at Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris in 2008 and recognized her work immediately at FIAC (she reconstructs trashed ceramic vases).Yeesookyung

Jitish Kallat is a Mumbai-based artist whose work reflects the diversified yet complex character of his home city. I am curious to know the story behind this sculpture of four men, so if you know something, please let me know! Otherwise I will pay a visit to Daniel Templon gallery.. (or ask my Mumbai friends!).Jitish Kallat

It would be difficult to make an exhaustive summary of everything I saw at FIAC, but some other interesting art pieces are pictured below:

Suenos by Jason Martin (2012): Jason Martin

Lisa by John DeAndrea (2005): Lisa by John DeAndrea

Indeed, this year we saw many real-life size sculptures of human beings, which made me leave FIAC wondering how the global crisis are influencing the artists’ works….?

PS In addition to the high-quality art, I love FIAC because of its stunning venue: le Grand Palais built in the Belle Epoque era. To see an exhibition at le Grand Palais should be on everyone’s “once in a life time” list so try to make a stop there during your next visit to Paris!

Links to the artists:

http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/yeesookyung.htm?section_name=body_language

http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/jitish_kallat.htm

http://www.artnet.com/artists/jason-martin-2/ (Note to my Finnish friends: Jason Martin exhibited at Galerie Forsblom in Helsinki 2012)

http://www.artnet.com/artists/john-deandrea/

 

My love affair with Saravanaa Bhavan

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Since our trip to Tamil Nadu we have been regulars at Saravanaa Bhavan, which is a South Indian restaurant. It started in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and has gained a lot of success all over the world in recent years. You can find Saravanaa Bhavan in Dubai, New York, etc.

Everything at Saravanaa Bhavana is vegetarian so don’t expect the usual palak paneer, cheese nan and butter chicken. If you have never been to South India, you will probably find dishes that taste like nothing else you have ever eaten before. And this is what I love about Saravanaa Bhavan: the taste is sublime, sophisticated and curious!!!!!! And good for your health.

Last night we had our usual: South Indian meal (thali), onion rava masala dosa and business meal. This is a bit too much for two, but since we love all of these three dishes, we can never decide!

South Indian meal looks like this:South Indian mealand consists of: chappathi with side dish, rice, sambar, rasam, special kuzhambu, vegetable curries, raitha, curd, appalam, pickle and something sweet. What is nice about this thali is that you can order more of any side dish and rice for free.

Onion rava masala dosa looks like:onion rava masala dosaand it is a crispy wheat and rice flour crepe stuffed with mildly-spiced mashed potatoes and onions.

Business meal looks like this: Business mealand it includes sambar rice, curd rice, special rice of the day, poriyal, appalam, pickle and something sweet.

I feel eternal love toward all of these dishes and cannot have enough them!

PS Saravanaa Bhavan increased their prices this summer, but it is still very affordable. South Indian meal costs 13€, business meal 10€ and a dosa 7€50. Our only disappointment is that they don’t serve Indian wine any more –only Bordeaux. As we told the waiter yesterday, Grover is an excellent Indian red wine!

Saravanaa Bhavan:

170, Rue Du Faubourg Saint Denis,
75010, Paris.
Tel : 01 40 05 01 01

http://www.saravanabhavan.com/

Have you tasted Serbian Chardonnay?

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Very rarely I drink anything but French wine in France. Not because I don’t like wines from other countries, but simply because there are so many wine regions to discover in France. This said, every now and then my curiosity wins, and I go and buy Georgian red or Indian rosé. And sometimes it happens that we receive guests from exotic countries, who bring us a bottle from their favorite vineyard…

Last night we had friends over for an apéritif, and they offered us a bottle of Serbian white wine. We opened this nicely chilled bottle of Kovačević Chardonnay and served everyone. Wow. The first impression really is important! A well-balanced taste. Rounded. Fruity but elegant. Nice color. Wine that meets international standard in all possible ways. The winery’s website suggests to accompany this wine with “sea and river fish with a generous toppings, various light meat and hard and semi-hard cheese”, but we enjoyed it with olives, charcuterie and roasted almonds. Worked out perfectly.Kovacevic Chardonnay from SerbiaWe truly enjoyed the bottle, and made a note to remember to watch out for Serbian wine until we actually manage to make a visit to the country. Thank you S & D for this fantastic moment!

FYI: Serbia’s viticulture is “as old as the world”, and it was particularly strong during the Roman period. So strong, that Serbia (technically former Yugoslavia) was one of the world’s top ten wine producers. Unfortunately, the breakup of Yugoslavia affected the wine making, and it has taken a while for the sector to bounce back. Today, however, Serbian wine can be found in international wine fairs, and a handful of French wine makers have moved there to cultivate the grapes… Tells you something about the potential!

Wine we drunk: http://www.vinarijakovacevic.co.rs/chardonnay.html

Vineyard: http://www.vinarijakovacevic.co.rs/about_us.html

The Ganesh Festival in Paris

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The area around La Chapelle metro, bordering the 10th and the 18th arrondissements, is a home to Paris’s Little India. Many of the restaurant and shop owners are technically Sri Lankan tamils, but if you miss South India in general (food, spices, smells, colors, etc.), this area will cure homesickness until your next trip. Little India of ParisLast Sunday the feeling of South India/Sri Lanka intensified, as the neighborhood hosted the annual Hindu festival: the Ganesh Festival. It was our second time participating in the procession and even though we felt that the festival was maybe a little bit less spectacular this year, it still made our day. Ganesh festival Paris The temple’s website has excellent information about the Ganesh festival, available here: http://www.templeganesh.fr/fetegan.htm.

This year, the website mentioned that religious ceremonies begin at the temple at 9am. Around 11am the parade leaves the temple and circles around until 15h, before returning to the temple.Ganesh festival Paris We arrived in the neighborhood around 14h and still managed to get a good glimpse of the festival. Upon arrival at the temple, we asked the policemen where the parade is, and followed their directions.Ganesh festival in ParisIn the beginning part of the parade there was a van carrying a small Ganesh statue, followed by a much bigger Ganesh. Then came the flowers, colorful dresses, fires, dancers and players. Ganesh festival Paris If you print the itinerary in advance from the temple’s website, you can easily locate the parade and just stay fifteen minutes if you like.Ganesh festival ParisThis festival will definitely introduce you to a very different Paris, while providing you with fantastic photo-shooting opportunities. I love the Ganesh festival and will return next year for sure.

PS In addition to printing out the map, do not forget three things:

1) Do your lentils and spices groceries at one of the multiple shops near La Chapelle metro station.

2) Visit the temple (http://www.templeganesh.fr/). Remove your shoes before entering and visit the temple clockwise.

3) Eat DELICIOUS South Indian thali at Saravanaa Bhavan (My love affair with Saravanaa Bhavan)

Namaste!

Lapland the new Côte d’Azur? Monsoon in Paris?

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ParisAll this week I have been receiving text messages from my Dad proudly talking about the heat wave in Finland. The temperature hovers around 25-27C in the area where my parents live. I also remember him telling me that less than one month ago the lake where ouSeiner summer house is located was still frozen! Today Lapland –usually the coolest region of Finland– has become the hottest region in the entire Europe. Temperature superior to 30C certainly is rare over there. Reindeer experts are expressing their worries in Finnish newspapers: the poor reindeer are not adjusting very well to the weather!

Meanwhile in Paris the weather shows resemblance to the end-of-May weather in India; the beginning of monsoon. It has rained so much that the Seine is flooding. The stairs that lead to nice walks by the Seine now lead to nowhere. The photo below shows you what the Eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis looked like yesterday. The colors are very grey but the vegetation is getting thicker and thicker. Will we soon have monkeys jumping around in the jungle?Seine