I lived

Varanasi Ghats by photographer Namit Arora. His beautiful photos make me feel homesick
for what was my temporary home for a year.

Here. For one year. And then went back for another 6 months a few years later. Varanasi or Benares, India. It was one of the best things I ever did. I had a bicycle and a normal day consisted of going to my Hindi class in the morning and then doing fieldwork: sitting with toymakers and toy-painters for the rest of the day. It's where my penchant for creating small objects was sealed.
When I'd get back at night there would always be blackouts since there were too many people tapping into the grid, but I'd cook or paint by candlelight and almost always have friends over.
The saying in Hindi that Banarsi's use to describe their feelings toward the city is, "Banares me, mera dil lagta he" or literally, "My heart is attached in Banares". It's a really amazing and special place.
I found this wonderful blog and it reminds me so much of my experiences there.
I started thinking a lot about my time in India again when I started to design my newest collection for pring 2008. It's influenced by the Indian Miniature paintings I collected when I was there and the fantasy of our 19th c. French Heroine (Bonbon Oiseau?) who travels all over Asia and the Americas, stringing talismans, tribal details and memories from her adventures. Lately I've been wanting to go back....