Being Marica

I will quote, in a bit, the opening lyrics of  the famous rock band Nirvana. A group I was exposed to at about 16 years of age ... along with many slapstick and soul filled jams - all compliments of family, friends and my own listening ear. Oh, those were the Christmas's! Everyone together and laughing, toasting, feasting, doing breakfast shifts, playing, playing board games and kids games, playing bad piano, ballroom dancing.. and then just getting down on the dance floor! A week long Christmas party at my grandparents! No,  Nirvana's Come As You Are  certainly didn't belong to family Christmas's,  but it did momentarily to my own teens with some fleeting exposure to the rock group. And for the longest while I've since forgotten them, however offensive that may be to Nirvana fans! However, tonight's recollection comes as an adult and in a totally different context. One of life and business to be exact. In my ongoing and unshakable belief in the ex...

I love a good movie! And for many years my Friday nights owned me. Comfortably clad and curled up to a projected movie is where you would ceremoniously find me. A minimalist by calling, did I need more than an impressive, blank white wall to project onto? Nope. More honestly though,  maybe to include some of my favorite art, a small though impressive loose tea selection,  Lalique and Maison collections, my 4 crystal animal trinkets and my quietly met view of the city by night - from our penthouse. Ofcourse all this means  nothing without popcorn. And at any stage would be traded for some if necessitated! See my private space remains where you will happily find me after a busy week. Maybe less in front of a movie, but certainly when I do take the time to watch one (even as a repeat), I love the offered escape! So being invited to watch two movies, back to back at a regular Cinema, meant a well deserved break from my general entrepreneurially filled weeke...

My recent business dealings are some of the greatest I am Experiencing to date. Content worthy for my autobiography! It's exposure to new people and things, the nature of the projects and the current "state" of  industries in how they're looking to gear towards the future which has us, as a Future's Facing Firm, constantly met with eureka moments. The most notable of my recent "stimulus" comes down to meeting a "farming extraordinaire" with a distinctly great mind, a vision perhaps like none other (for now atleast) and a commitment to humanity through innovation - that is ovation worthy. He certainly will be met with many ovations, more accolade and successes. A visit to their once deemed "impossible" farming land, which is now an abundant and fertile urban commercial farm, I've had to take a few hours to simply hone in on the sheer brilliance of everything.  My own thought process were paused at "awe" and I was h...

All it takes is a U-turn to inner self – By Mahadi Moloi As I've mentioned prior, many book's require's of me a different pace to get into them. Some longer than others, since more understanding and reflection is required to get into the story-line and into the head-space of the author. This read took me longer since it was a personal journey for me, the reader, while a very personal journey of the Author. Mahadi Moloi’s , All it takes is a U-Turn to inner self , is firstly a religion based book.  Mostly, it's a factual read of how this women went within the canvases of her own life experiences and tapped into her soul, relying on her faith based religion to take her through fires of heartache and eventually to a place of absolute restoration. An impressive read from this emerging author. Clearly this smart women, whose life experiences which could easily have robbed her of so much, literally took a U-turn from the world as we know it, and stepped into...

Orchids brings an exotic rarity to a space that can be associated with luxury and refinement.  With more understanding, the context of the flower can invoke deeper meaning than meets the eye. Perhaps it’s the unusual way in which the orchid plants flowers, which lead to ancient sexuality, virility, fertility and even romantic connotations having been attached to them. With over 20, 000+ accepted species in their genre, that varies in sizes with the smallest orchid being just 2mm wide, orchids are notably scent-filled and sensual in presentation. More than this, they are well documented for medicinal, spiritual and even botanic condiment production . Vanilla is the product of Orchids and historically, men would eat the larger bulbs entrusting for a male child while women the smaller bulbs for a female child.   The Aztecs combined chocolate with vanilla for perceived power and strength capabilities. The Asian’s considered the live orchid plants for lung and cough cu...

So much can be said of a "simply beautiful" window. Be it in the detailed craft, the view, or both - a beautiful window invokes and conjures personal sentiment and in most instances calls for a moment of inner reflection- of a beautiful kind. There’s certainly something profoundly beautiful, about a beautiful window! Fortunately the world has many to showcase. While one can only think the inspiration behind beautiful windows found in places of worship has something to do with man’s yearning for heavenly and divine connection, stained glass windows have owned religions venues of all faiths. This could be seen in Spain’s La Sagrada Familia, Brazil’s Santuario Dom Bosc and Iran’s Nasir Al Mulk Mosque. Westminster Abbey reigns in color of intricate stained glass detail. The most spectacular detail has been seen in stain glass skylight type windows and delicately placed windows that usher in light. This being said, beautiful windows are not limited to stained glass ...

An easy and intriguing read, I felt like I was having a conversation with Alpesh as I have on a few occasions in the last 20 years or so of knowing him. Alpesh has shown me a side of his life I would never have known until I read his book. A side I strongly connected with as a tenacious, committed, aspirant businesswomen and believer in the “impossible” myself. Real, authentic, sincere, passionate, tenacious, brave, committed, empowered, disempowered, unfair, foolish, fucking smart (you swore alot) are all the words that come to mind as I reflect on this book - whose soft copy I “devoured” in the last 48hours. I could have completed the read in a day and a bit, however being the festive season,  I needed doses of  Vitamin D and had to leave bed to join family and get some sunlight only to rush back into the thick of TESTED. I can safely say that Alpesh is the first of many firsts and will continue to be just that no matter what his next journey is. Alpes...