So it was after a lot of patient waiting that I finally convinced the man that we needed to go to Goa. And I think I might have been successful in converting him to a beach lover. When I asked him if we could do this at least once a year, he said, “let’s do it twice!”

Mission accomplished.

Thanks to suggestions from some friends we found a super reasonable place to stay on Agonda Beach. Quiet, relatively empty and super peaceful. We basically just sat out on the beach all day reading, sleeping, staring at the constant ebb and flow of the ocean. Exactly what our flu-ridden, and tired-of-breathing-Bombay’s-polluted-air lungs and souls needed.

1. First attempt at homemade granola. Tasty, healthy and great for easy breakfasts! // 2. Celebrating Robert and Palak’s birthday with delicious dinner and (if I might say so myself) the most delicious carrot cake ever. // 3. Shooting some architecture in Ahmedabad // 4. Taking advantage of a shoot trip to Ahmedabad with sight seeing // 5. Also some fun-times with friends in Ahmedabad // 6. A sweet taster of step wells. Dada Hari ni Vav. They really knew the importance and how to store scarce resources in a creative way back in the day. What happened to us? // 7. Our sabziwala at the market. SO appreciate the hard work of these folks. // 8. An attempt at pumpkin soup and homemade  bread sticks. // 9. A gorgeous old book on Obstetrics arrived in the mail this month!

Riteja and Satya, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us be a part of this grand celebration! It was an absolute honour.

Here’s part one: Mehendi and Haldi

Thanks to Genevieve Vanspall for second-shooting with me.

As we waited this morning to board our flight back to Mumbai, we read an email from a friend of ours in the US who just welcomed his firstborn son into the world, and we thought how blessed we are for having such great friends! If only we could gather them altogether and live in the same place!

For now though, we are really grateful that once in a while we get to see these said awesome friends who are scattered all over the world. This weekend we had the honour of being hosted by our friend S in Ahmedabad.

On Saturday morning, we headed out to the old part of the city for a Heritage Walk. I really enjoyed all the information our guide gave us as we meandered through the narrow streets of this historically and culturally rich city.

Here are a few of my favourite images from the weekend.

Gujarat is famous for its kite-flying festival (Makar Sankranti). But it happens in January so we were quite surprised to see the manja (abrasive kite string) being made so early. Maybe it was mostly for tourist benefit but a cool thing to see anyway.

Cow-slaughter is illegal in Gujarat so you see a LOT of cows roaming the streets!

Jama Masjid was my favourite part of the Heritage Walk. Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 1400s, he had local artisans to build it and it is a infused with what is typically Hindu and Jain temple architecture. 

After the walk and breakfast we headed over to Dada Hari ni Vav which is a gorgeous five-story deep stepwell.

Second-shooter : Genevieve Vanspall

I’m spending the day at a hotel in Kottayam! The sky is gorgeous blue with big white fluffy clouds, I had appams and stew for breakfast, a most delicious fish curry thali meal for lunch, I have watched two movies and I have NO household responsibilities to take care of today. Life is good ;)

// So grateful that my photography allows me to travel. Even if I don’t always have time to look around much and I don’t particularly like doing that alone, it’s always nice to have a change of scene.

// Grateful for second-shooters. Their support is so valuable and I think I’m pretty lucky to have worked with some super talented and super sweet fellow photographers in my two years of TNP

// Happy email responses from clients on seeing their wedding galleries! Especially notes from parents. I know it’s sometimes hard convincing parents of the value of candid photography so when I hear from them, it’s extra special.

// Long weekends. We had one last week and spent it mostly relaxing and catching up with each other and friends. We also went on a long trek which was so.much.fun. I have to write more about that! Three more long weekends coming up over the next two months. YAY!

// One year of officially being Mrs. Stephens. It’s a lesser known fact about our story but we were legally hitched about 6 months before our wedding! It didn’t feel much different because we didn’t actually start doing LIFE together until after our wedding in December but still, it’s kind of momentous. I thought of myself being Mrs. Stephens like from the day after we started dating because he was just so darn awesome and where had he been all my life!?! I love that man so. He brings out the very best and very secret parts of me. The person that I am and that I am becoming that I never really knew I was or could become.

My second-shooter, Gen had her birthday the day that we arrived in Patiala and somehow the bride and her family got to know (I might have had something to do with that) and they went totally out of their way and bought the most delicious chocolate cake and other birthday paraphernalia so we could celebrate. It was the sweetest thing.

Thanks Purnima and Sam and all of your amazing family and friends for giving us a time to remember in Patiala!

Here is part 1 of Purnima + Sam’s Gujarati-Rajasthani Wedding in Patiala!

…and one last .gif image for Gen ;)

The Goods came all the way from Chicago with their five very awesome kids with them. I’m so glad we managed to squeeze in a mini family shoot with them on their last afternoon with us.

It was 3 hours of peaceful bliss.

We are staying with Rob’s parent’s who live in a little village called Sangaree in South Carolina. All the houses have a front yard and a back yard and the grass is gorgeous green and the trees are full of leaves. Even though the weather is exactly the same as Bombay, it doesn’t feel as icky. Then again, it’s only been one day and perhaps the novelty of everything else is drowning out my aversion to the heat.

It’s the simple things that I am loving the most. The clear blue skies. The feel of fresh grass under my bare feet. The hot summer storms. Playing with the cats. Both of us on vacation mode – not stressed out with work and drained by Bombay Living.  And of course most of all, time with Rob’s family.

So it’s wonderful. America is wonderful but it’s not flawless.

I struggle with living in Bombay. I’m NOT a big-bustling-loud-filthy-crowded-live-in-tiny-apartments city person. I would much rather live in a smaller town in a little house with a back yard and a front yard where our future children can safely run around and play with our dog and two cats. And sometimes I am inclined to think that simply moving to a place where that would be possible would make everything perfect.

Truth is that there are things that life has opened my eyes to that I cannot ever ignore again no matter which part of the world I am in. Problems that we, human beings of all colours and races, have created ALL OVER THE WORLD. Some places are just better at hiding those issues or painting over them.

The point I want to make (to myself more than to anyone else) is that the world is broken. Everywhere.

But there is also beauty to be found everywhere. In summer-time. In relationships. In creativity. In strawberries. In rain. In quietness. In new experiences.

And the more time I spend trying to devise plans of how to escape the brokenness in our current living situation, the more beauty I will miss…