Unfinished Business!

July 4, 2014 By Kanchan Char 31 Comments

I suppose one naturally assumes that writing a blog post about your Unfinished Business at 37 is a sure sign of a healthy mind! ;p Well, if you think this is another bucket list where I very originally envisage swimming with dolphins followed closely by bungee jumping in Machu Picchu, this is where you should hit the exit key! I can’t swim and I’m rather given to caution when I hear that the risks of a fatal accident from bungee jumping are roughly 1 in 500,000. That statistic actually scares me…yeah, I’m a real gambler at heart- I buy into the odds that the 1 in 500,000 could be ME!

I tread a bit sceptically when it comes to regarding most published bucket lists; for frankly, entries like “falling in love” (mentioned in an astounding 87% of lists) is hardly something that happens as a result of a carefully engineered plan! I once (as part of my job) attended a marketing seminar that spoke about concretely visualising your goals as being a way of making sure they happen. We all came away with a pack of large, brightly coloured Post-it’s, (no points for guessing who one of the big sponsors were ;)) and for a long time, I stuck post-it’s everywhere, about everything (including telling myself that I’m gorgeous-drop dead gorgeous!)…And you know what? They actually did the job (bet the drop dead gorgeous one is still somewhere within reach–work in progress, that! ) But, apparently, writing down a goal gives you a 30% increased chance of achieving the target because a thought is not recognised as a call to action by your subconscious mind as is print, therefore the motivation you have toward that task is maximised by putting it in writing! Very compelling reasons for making lists – I know!

I often think of the industries that have come into existence to cater to the sole need of awkward, yet highly individualistic behaviour that needs to do things that veer away from the ‘sameyness’ of everyone’s life! Frankly, I find that very debatable when a sizeable population also wants to be a part of the ‘same’ , virtually identical, acquisitive lifestyle! Of course, the fuel that keeps the embers glowing is an attempt to surpass yourself – the acceptable face of competition! To go up higher, to win bigger, to attempt to answer the call for meaning and structure and silence the ancient questioning within. And in our quest to complete this perfect picture of our victory-rich lives, we exist as a generation of urban ‘individualists’ bounding (at a skydiving pace, nonetheless) towards a collective end– alone!

venice, unfinished business, bucket lists, meaningful living, travel, machu picchu — Exotic tea parlour!

Well, having just rubbished what at least a couple of million people take quite seriously, let me tell you what my unfinished business is about – and it’s not wanting to change the world- I gave up on that in my 20’s! I now just attempt to change the 6 square- feet of earth that I call mine, and hope that the ripple effect from there exponentially gives me street cred in the ‘change the world’ business!

I want to stop being a city girl, and by that I mean ‘cerebral’, I grew up in a small nuclear family with “Mattel” being the one of the most important words in my vocabulary, in a city that does not sleep! I know the names of a few flowers, recognize three trees to be precise and constantly feel like an outsider in nature. I want to feel a ccommunion – (no, I’m not in need of skirts made of hay and tie ‘n die kaftans despite loving Janis Joplin and most things Woodstock!)

I want to romance food – I’ve always had an unhealthy relationship with food. I’ve either feared food or I’ve craved it…I’ve never approached it as a friend who’ll nurture me and whose embrace I can accept with no strings attached! I think our culture’s taken that from us and the slew of magazines that celebrate food, even just bread in it’s rudimentary form is evidence of the fact that we’ve lost a deep connection with sustenance – of the most basic kind!

I want to raise compassionate, self-assured, spirited daughters who will not make mistakes that cost them their whole life to put right! I want them to know the value of asking for things politely and stopping to say thank you. Entitled, thankless people are the scourge of our times! I want them to have the strength to get up every time life knocks them down and say “Right, where were we again?!” and I hope that they’ll make good partners and good mums, and be loved enough by their families to be forgiven the mistakes they’ll make…

I want to know – and not just bookishly, that pine cones react differently to different temperatures and times of day; and that there are ways of living happily without a blow dryer or straighteners and an internet connection that allows me to upload a 10mb file in under five minutes! With every apocolyptic, dystopic film I watch, I realise how ill-suited most of us are to “living off the land”. I want to be able to grow my own anything really- coriander will do! And I want to grow my children up with a deeper connection to the earth than I will ever, naturally have!

You know how all of us have events, people – choices that we made that served no purpose other than prove to us that we are totally capable of making ut-ter-ly rubbish decisions; (yeah, those)..I wish that someday I can truly lay the memory of them to rest! To be at peace with it without oscillating between the regret or the indifference…

I bet that some clever PR person somewhere thought that it might be nice to create some hype about people swimming with dolphins, and laughed his way to the bank just as filmmakers did with travel chick flicks…but naiively, I do yearn to be lost within a different culture- for a long enough time to not have to choose between identities. And yes, I know that culturally and politically, there is no real way that will ever happen to me- but seriously, neither will watching a lunar eclipse while mattress-surfing happen to the poor bucket-lister who wishes it upon himself! The more I read, hear and discuss people’s plans as they course through life with carefully ‘curated’ lists; I wonder if maybe it is important that we live our lives in a quest for ‘organic’ meaning and ‘granular’ experience – but equally important too, is to realise that some “dreams” are intended to remain just that…dreams!

What do you dream about doing? Tell me, I’m listening … x

“Life is Good!” – A Mini Boden Story!

June 23, 2014 By Kanchan Char 32 Comments

Mini Boden. childrens clothing, video review, British clothing

One of the first few ‘British things’ I fell in love with was Boden clothing, and Mini Boden in particular! I have closely spaced children who are only 15 months apart and have diametrically opposite tastes.. they’re as different as peas and yams! As I mentioned in Nature, Nurture and Apples falling from Trees – one is capable of zingy flamboyance, the other opts for a more muted palette!
Since my girls were little, I’ve turned to Mini Boden for their clothes so when I had the opportunity to review a few of their clothes, I thought I’d go the extra mile with it! We decided to make a small movie of our time spent in the South Norfolk woods…storytelling, poppy gathering, dandelion blowing and a lot of cake-eating.. (that really is what good times are made of!) (Please do watch it – it’s our first movie here on the blog and so that teeny bit extra special :))

The Intrepid Misaventurer featuring Mini Boden from Kanchan Char on Vimeo.

Mini Boden has always stood the test of time for me.. the quality is *great* (and in the one odd occasion where something goes wrong – Boden operate a no quibble returns policy – provided the fault has little to do with “having been mauled by pets, drawn on by nephews or worn while decorating”. It’s like a little insurance policy!;P

Do I hear ” At those prices, you need one?” Admittedly, Boden does cost more than a few highstreet brands (though I’ve been surprised at some labels recently that surpass Mini Boden in price but pale in comparison on design and quality).

For us, Mini Boden is a thrifty option – here is where I get lynched and mobbed, but hear me out! I buy clothes that are to be used by two children simultaneously, they see a lot of wash and still look as good as new for a looong time – I say this after years of buying Boden! I find that Mini Boden styles can be bought in a bigger size than your child needs and are still very wearable because of adjustable features, making sure you get maximum use of the item. Clever things like adjustable waists, slightly longer sleeves than what you get elsewhere (that means tees can be worn longer) and dresses that are A-Line in style tend to go on looking good even after your child’s grown out of the size bracket on the label. Nifty things like footless tights – again a Mini Boden staple, takes care of those transitional season days we have almost every other day in beautiful Britain! ;P And after all that jazz, stick it on eBay and get a very sweet sum back (I speak the truth, go test it…). This effectively makes your purchase (if at all), a couple of quid more than a super market buy.

I’ll let the gorgeous prints and design speak for themselves…or you can go over and have a browse at *Boden* and see for yourself. They’re offering a nice 30% discount at the moment and if you’re a new customer, you get a little gift (say you’re new in the space provided for delivery options at checkout).

Happy Shopping! 😉

*Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post. All opinions (very honest, btw), stories and ramblings are authentically mine! :)*

A big thanks to the wonderful Daniel Simm, my partner in crime for collaborating with me on this! 🙂

“Chrome, Smoke and BBQ!” – My Summer Mixtape!

June 11, 2014 By Kanchan Char 17 Comments

Chrome, smoke and BBq , streetfood, meat

Chrome, Smoke and BBQ – Now, I might’ve borrowed the title from ZZ Top, but that’s where it stops for the band and me! (Resists the urge to act like a Rock Chick, or at a least a former Rock Chick!) I never was, and not for the lack of trying!

I love music, and in that way I suppose I’m truly unique! ;D One of my first few posts– Abba or Wham? You know who to blame! discusses how some of our earliest childhood memories were probably made to music that our parents enjoyed, and have left a lasting impression on the direction our own music choices would take. Music is, and has always been my greatest escape route – it’s the calmer of nerves, the settler of upsets, the maker of magic!

I often think that music has gotten more important to me as I’ve ‘aged’. Not in a way that it is in our youth – you’re not feverishly in love with any one musician – (this premise is not applicable to an 80 year old singer whose last name is Cohen, for him my girlish devotion is endless)– but, generally speaking, you’ve formed your tastes and know what reaches you. And then you begin to layer those base notes with more! 🙂 I often wonder if our territorial obsessiveness with our hobbies, music, movies, fiction have to do with escaping from the incessant chiming of smart phones and emails that require redress at 5 am? After all, one man’s 5 am is indeed another’s 11 in the world we wake in! Does being a film guru, an expert climber, an obsessive coffee brewer who takes over the whole process from scratch give us reprieve in a world where most of the day is accessed with the sweep of the mouse..and we stop periodically and think of the different ways we can access our senses – we garden, we bake, we craft, we paint. We pet the dog! I often watch my husband dash to make it out of the door just before rush hour’s perverse Odyssey holds him hostage; I rush about organising housework and blogwork , ballet and swimming, playdates and homework all to the meticulous tick-tock’ing of a clock (well, I try) and I fear that there’ll come a time when we’ll inchworm home and be forced to reckon that deadlines, commintments, places to be are indeed the foremost reality of all our lives! Magic, romance, meaningful everydays’ are the stuff of urban myths…

Amidst the scurrying and the scuttling, and the sharing and bartering of cheese; once in a way something comes along – a song, a book, a place, a new love – and we stand mesmerized- like a moment of hope in a dystopic film, in a space and time diffusion that draws us momentarily into the reverie of a life we want, we dream of. A feeling that immediately lifts us, albeit temporarily from the bills that needily beg our attention, the mail that needs sorting, the crushed bug under the couch, a carpet that needs hoovering-and settles us into a home that holds a reverberating heart resonating with crackling fires and memorabilia connecting your past to this moment; of remembrances gone and good times to come -a gentle hand unveiling tomorrow as a bounding spool of thread. Yes, that’s what music does to me – fills me with ebullient optimism! Not for nothing that music has been an encompassing presence in almost every religious/philosophical persuasion! 🙂

Summer is probably when conviviality is at it’s peak ; and with the arrival ofthe Great British Summertime and a modicum of sunlight, we’ve got to be forced back indoors… nothing gives summer it’s due better than BBQ’s and Al Fresco dining! Hoildays and family time in the sun, buzzing with the excitement of something new and getting away from it all! (Do however prepare yourself to have to listen to Beyoncé in a century-old street cafe in Bologna – for such is the curse of standardization and conformity! )

We’re starting off our own little celebration here at The Intrepid Misadventurer HQ – after all we, move on to Bournemouth in August, so every weekend is booked to be spent with friends we’re leaving behind! Here’s my playlist that will foreground my memories this summer – it showcases a few Indie/Folk Artists with a large presence! I hope that you’ll enjoy what’s been playing on loop for me! Those of you, who like me are quite passionate about ’80’s music, do listen ..most have a distinct retro vibe! (Argh, imagine calling the ’80’s retro!! )

I’m working on a few Indian-styled BBQ food posts (think Tikka Kebabs on skewers and Coriander-lemon-ginger King Prawns) in short, things that wash down well with beer! 😉 Watch this (scrummy) space for more!

My 12″ of Summer! 🙂

I would be chuffed to bits if you’d leave me your personal favourite track (feel free to also write about the memory that goes with it that makes it special)…I could be introduced to something new, or reminded of a song that’s got burried in time. It’s the closest thing to a ‘music swap’ which I would like to do once just for the sheer joy of i! 😉 Anyhoo, for now.. let the music play on!

You might also enjoy some of my ‘real’ posts that are not influenced by sun, song or other such euphoriants!:)

Nature, Nurture and Apples falling from Trees!

Retro-Chic and the Cult of Neo-Sobriety!

My lovely bloggy friend Hannah over at Budding Smiles made a playlist too (some great songs!) If you’re as nuts about music as us – do check it out… 🙂 x