• About
  • Brand Content
  • Brand Features
  • Fashion, Arts & Lifestyle Articles
  • Film & Drama
  • Interviews
  • Travel Memoirs

sitanshi talati-parikh

sitanshi talati-parikh

Tag Archives: Goa

Sacha’s Way

11 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Fashion & Style, Interviews (All), Interviews: Lifestyle, Publication: Verve Magazine

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Fashion, Goa, Verve Magazine

Vervemagazine.in December 2014
Photograph by Shovan Gandhi

Sacha-Mendes-Shovan-Gandhi

From being a writer and fashion stylist for fashion publications to curating a resortwear shop in Goa, Sacha Mendes’ journey has been interesting, to say the least. As she puts it, it started with a small shop of cushion covers by her mother, two racks of clothes by her friends (SavioJon and Anuj Sharma), and a few jars of orange-peel cookies made by a friendly neighbour, all in the comfort of her father’s ancestral home. “It was never meant to be a store, just a cabinet of curiosities to amuse us.” Today, Sacha’s Shop in Panjim, Goa is an eclectic collection of style goodies that a local can rely upon and a traveller makes it a point to always check out. You would be likely to find deconstructed trousers made into a dress, leather puppets, paper birds, and cross-stitch towels.

Sacha’s Shop appears as a pop-up in Mumbai at The Vintage Garden (Patkar Bungalow, Turner Road, Bandra), December 12-14 (11am-7pm) with resortwear for men and women, furniture, jewellery, table linen, art and design books, home décor, floral arrangements and a range of collectibles.

A quick chat with Sacha Mendes:

Designers in store (Goa) SavioJon, Tilla, Small Shop, 11:11, Maku, Design By Example, Paromita Banerjee, Aish Naushad Ali, Runaway Bicycle, Aavaran, Hot Pink Cool Blue, Ninoshka, Not Like You, Ritika Sachdeva, Pretty Stoned, Lisa Jackal, Labrador

Greatest inspiration “Mostly it’s people I meet, dear friends, people whose work I look up to, people I learn from, people I fall in love with, and family.”

The idea “As I always say, it wasn’t a conscious decision. It was an experiment of filling a space with pieces that I love.”

The greatest challenge that comes with a start-up “There is no great challenge. There is just a journey, an adventure.”

The best part about being an entrepreneur “You can express yourself through your work.”

Your dream “Is to live on a farm and self educate my children!”

A change post Sacha’s Shop “My relationship with time.”

Harshest criticism “I don’t think I’ve ever received any harsh criticism. My friends and family are great for getting me on track, and keeping it real, but they always do it with love.”

Favourite fashion trend “Oversized clothes.”

A personal style quotient you swear by “To each their own. I don’t believe in dictating style tips to anyone, and I expect the same.”

Looking forward to in 2015… “New adventures.”

Goa: Red Earth and Pouring Rain

12 Sunday Jun 2011

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Musings

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Goa, Green, India, Monsoons, Rain

Goa, super famous for its beaches and laid-back life, is also home to one of the rainest monsoons this side of the country. Caught in its early showers, here is what Goa looks like when it rains: lush, green and not too beachy. Be prepared for chlorophyl overkill!

Img_1368
Img_1396
Img_1402
Img_1404
Img_1451
Img_1453
Img_1456
Img_1458
Img_1460
Img_1463
Img_1466
Img_1467
Img_1471
Img_1476
Img_1480
Img_1481
Img_1482
Img_1483
Img_1486
Img_1491
Img_1493
Img_1504
Img_1523
Img_1525
Img_1534
See the full gallery on Posterous

Mumbai On The Rocks

19 Monday Feb 2007

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Features & Trends, Humour, Publication: Verve Magazine, Social Chronicles

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

comment, Goa, India, Lifestyle, mumbai, Nightlife, Partying

Published: Verve Magazine, Musings, January 2007
Illustration by Farzana Cooper

Sitanshi Talati-Parikh meditates on Mumbai, a city where sex, drugs and alcohol race through the party circuit, Indian traditional values are discussed over sheesha and bhang and the hippest people are those that find a perfect balance between the raciness of the culture and the values that are harped on at home

Musings01

Hip, trendy and captivating. When the season to entertain is here, the tourists and diaspora start floating in with the cool Queen’s Necklace breezes, looking starry-eyed and thirsty. Coconut water or lassi isn’t their cup of tea; the quenchers are fresh sugarcane martinis and melon caipirinhas. They move to a beat that is ultimately Mumbai – trippy techno, remixed goldies and American hip-hop. Their cuisine of choice isn’t kebabs and bukharas, but French fusion and Thai curry. The melting pot of cultures that they want to experience isn’t Punjabi, Gujarati, Muslim and Christian, but a svelte girl in a miniskirt, getting ‘hammered’ on a vodka-with-wings, grooving to hip-hop and making eyes at a wannabe American frat-boy. Where sex, drugs and alcohol race through the party circuit, Indian traditional values are discussed over sheesha and bhang and the hippest people are those that find a perfect balance between the raciness of the culture and values that are harped on at home.

They flock in hordes, flooding every fashionable place in sight from Colaba to Juhu, experiencing the way of life that is Mumbai. The Gateway of India is just a landmark for the Taj Tower or Privé, the lounge bar and Elephanta, Ajanta and Ellora are mystical card patterns sold at traffic signals. From breakfast at popular bistro, Basilico, late lunches at Indigo Deli, percussion and cocktails at Henry Tham, wine at Intercontinental’s dome, sushi at Shiru, sheesha at Souk and dinner at India Jones, these tourists are here for the nouveau luxury and sophistication that is creeping into the bumpy roads that still continue to get dug up every few months, whilst fabulous new buildings and sparkling malls pop up at every intersection. The chauffer-driven Mercs and Beamers, bearing Armani and Zara, chandelier earrings, platinum credit cards and stiletto heels, accompany them to all the hot spots, where the conversation is no longer about what is going wrong, but what is going right.

As my friends start holding their designer exhibitions in happening nightspots like Red Light, instead of staid shops, homes and galleries and art is displayed and discussed over wine and hors d’oeuvres at Saltwater Grill and at evening shows at Dusk, before a nightcap at Olive, one begins to wonder whether the city’s nightlife is pervading our everyday existence. Ryan Tham, restaurant owner, believes that it is the constant need to do and try something different. I wonder: are we really so different, or are we aping a culture that we have brought home with us, after our sojourns abroad? Is this who we want to be and is this an organic social change, or one that is racing headfirst towards collision with an intrinsic culture that is no longer in line with what is considered ‘in’?

Sunday brunches are the new buzz in a city that apparently has no limits – it is no longer chic to throw a party into the wee hours of the night – rather, it is delicately suggested to drop by for a Sunday brunch at one of the happening lounges – Vie, Squeeze, Taxi, Ra. As the sophisticates stroll in by 2 p.m., the welcome drink is a shooter – tequila, kamikaze, and slammer. Inside, the liquor and rhythm are readily flowing, replicating a night-time soirée. The only noticeable difference between the partying a few hours prior and the afternoon lies in the designer pair of sunglasses that must accompany every man and woman, to be considered fittingly attired for the occasion. To be seen without one of those, is a faux pas of the biggest sort! It is mid-afternoon, after all, and what better way to hide the previous night’s hangover than with a pair of gargantuan Versace or Gucci shades that cover most of the painstakingly made-up faces? Fabulous summer dresses, skinny heels and matching totes are perfect for the occasion, where conversation gets tiresome and the music gets louder until the invitees inevitably get completely inebriated by early evening. The ‘lunch’ is of course served by 4 p.m. and eaten in most part by 6 p.m. As I wondered why these invasive, but inordinately jolly, gatherings sliced straight through my routine massage on my only free day of the week, I was perkily asked by one very tipsy girl, what better day to party than that of the Sabbath? Besides, the best way to get rid of Saturday night’s hangover is to simply roll out of bed and drink some more! The future of cosmopolitan India suddenly looked painfully bright through the skylight.

This is the much-touted ‘McDonaldisation’ of Indian culture. Our Art of Living has found a new form of materialistic meditation, where money flows like a brook, as easily in as out. I am not surprised to find friends under 30 with complaints of high blood pressure, premature balding, cholesterol and heart trouble. Stress amongst the youth is as common as a Louis Vuitton at a party and as high as the sensex. In the race to become a Manhattan, we are quickly becoming mad hatters. Life is on speed dial and a party’s calling.

For those aching for a different scene, Goa is the ultimate weekend spot right around the corner. From ramshackle beach shacks to exquisite luxury resorts, they zoom in by the hordes. Bathing, tanning and getting ‘stoned’, Goa is their escape from the reality of their lives. They’re quietly raving but not ranting; the youth has given up complaints in lieu of escapist complacence. From Manchester to Mumbai, people ironically swoop in to hide in this ecstasy-driven pleasure haven. King’s beer, Goan curry, Domino’s pizza served on the beach, entrancing music, bohemian culture and a pace of life that refuses to speak of stress or worry, ease the harried nerves and form a balm to the acid of each day.

From the palaces of the North, to the spas of the South, India has now begun selling a lifestyle that is contemporary and current, instead of the history and glory of the past. Whether this lifestyle is appropriate is no longer the question but the worldly Mumbaikar has arrived, with luxury, sophistication and ideas galore. The icing on the cake is his endless desire to party, every night, every day and on any occasion. As the visitors flicker in by the dozens, they feel more at home, away from home, where the metropolis buzzes with excitement every minute, laced with an intoxicating flavour that is truly, Indian cosmopolitan.

My American-born-desi friend looked scornful and shocked when my husband and I announced our decision to leave the Bushy ‘country of dreams’, to take the rickety and bumpy ride home. The same person, while visiting us recently, was culture-shocked by the life that was now Mumbai. After 12 event-packed days, he left, hung over, a few kilos heavier and determinedly clutching the business card of a real-estate agent in Mumbai.

From the Scandinavian girls in small-town Italy, who speak not of the Taj Mahal (monument), but of plush Indian resorts with fabulous swimming pools and massages, to the Argentinean couple touring China, who talk of the cultural differences and expensive lifestyles in cosmopolitan India, foreigners are no longer bewildered and querulous of this poor, once-rich country. They are now in awe of this rich, poor country that is climbing the lifestyle ladder faster than they can build rungs to the top. What is it that amazes them? The ability of this Asian peace-haven to break the Lakshman rekha of tradition and dance on the bar-top of fire? Or is curiosity to see how this yogic nation can successfully climb out of the quagmire that has been sold to them by a country that failed miserably in doing the same? And can we, the brainiacs of the globe, manage to come a full circle and find material peace with the fire that burns in our souls?

|  Filling the gaps between words.  |

Writing By Category

  • Art, Literature & Culture
  • Brand Watch
  • Fashion & Style
  • Features & Trends
  • Fiction
  • Food
  • Humour
  • Interviews (All)
  • Interviews: Business
  • Interviews: Cinema
  • Interviews: Cover Stories
  • Interviews: Lifestyle
  • Interviews: Luxury Brands
  • Interviews: The Arts
  • Interviews: Travel
  • Musings
  • Parenting
  • Publication: Conde Nast
  • Publication: Elle
  • Publication: Mint Lounge
  • Publication: Mother's World
  • Publication: Taj Magazine
  • Publication: The Swaddle
  • Publication: The Voice of Fashion
  • Publication: Verve Magazine
  • Social Chronicles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel Stories

Reach out:
sitanshi.t.parikh@gmail.com

© Sitanshi Talati-Parikh 2018.
All Rights Reserved.

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • sitanshi talati-parikh
    • Join 51 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • sitanshi talati-parikh
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...