our first step

Purva founder & editor editor@theindiantrumpet.com

Michelle D’costa is one of our youngest writers/poetess. Born and raised in Bahrain she loves spending her days penning poetry, dancing and watching Mrs. Doubtfire. Her works have been published in more than 30 literary online/print journals. She confesses she laughs out really loud & takes pride in it. She can be found at pikoomish.wordpress. com.

Abhinav Bhatt is an engineer by profession and designer by passion. He launched Minimal Movie Posters in January 2012 to have some fun with his love for Bollywood and graphics. Since then his venture has grown and many others have joined him. They hold over 400 minimal posters, which belong to many regional Indian languages as well. He can be found at minimalmovieposter.in.

Ayandrali Dutta is a fanatic when it comes to travelling. On days when she doesn’t answer our phone calls we know that she is on board a bus, train or plane! She loves being a journalist for it allows her to meet new people. Her other big love is food.

Kamaini Mittal has been fascinated with arts and designs forever. Bachelors in Fine Arts in Applied Arts she works with India’s leading English news channel besides undertaking assignments for various design firms. She observes her surroundings to expand her design vocabulary. She doesn’t sleep much, and that explains why she answers our e-mails at all odd and insane hours.

Gurleen Kaur is an eccentric designer. She often drives us crazy with her obsession for colours and designs. She works to create a good artwork and discards it the moment she gets another idea just to reach another level of perfection. When not working, she is either renovating her home or taking a walk in the garden with her DSLR. She can be found at facebook.com/designrecipes.

Prachi Grover is a food maniac (read: food blogger & consultant). On days that she is not able to cook a lavish & large enough meal to feed friends and families she suffers from a migraine. Her other obsession is design. Her home turns a new leaf every few days making you want to re-visit her for inspiration. She can be found at orangekitchens.blogspot.com and purplehomes.blogspot.com.

Ritika Kochhar Bahl loves fashion. Her favourite place in the world is the trial room or the spot in front of the mirror in her room. She loves a good meal, especially her fish and chips. She works hard during the week believing it will bring the weekend closer! When not shopping, gorging or working, she indulges in a dip in the pool.

Nabi Ahmadi fits in great both in front & behind the camera. He loves to capture the people and places of Dubai in his lens. A freelance photographer by profession, pictures is not the only thing that he dreams about. His heart beats real loud for all things Bollywood. He can be contacted at nabiahmadi1986@gmail.com.

Jinali Sutariya is a young Gujarati girl who founded her company House of Chic at the age of 21. Her love for baubles and bags is reflected in her work. She loves to travel and of course admiring and creating & buying all things beautiful. She can be found at facebook.com/houseofchic.in.

Chandni Lahoti is an eternal golgappa lover, a furious saas-bahu serials hater, a spring-junkie by heart, a blogger by passion, a photography enthusiast and an accountant by mistake. She is caught up between her love for India, London (she was there for the last five years) and her new home, Dubai (she is just fourmonths old here). She can be found at chandnilahoti.wordpress.com.

Sanket B Jack is an engineer by degree, MBA by profession and a cartoonist by passion. He portrays the society’s nuisance, behaviour and ignorance through his cartoons. He believes as much in the power of a smile as that of a satire. He believes in the saying, It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile but only 1 to criticise. He can be found at facebook.com/ Jackartoons.

Reema Bajaj believes in listening more and talking less. She confesses she transforms into a maniac when it comes to writing and grammatical flaws drive her nuts. Her best friend is her imaginative mind, next comes music.

Navneet Banwait calls designing an act of meditation. An independent designer she believes every sunrise unfolds a new surprise. She set up her own design studio, Vichitra Design Studio in 2011, which allows her to play with colours, concepts and more.

Beth Watkins has been blogging about Hindi cinema since 2005. ‘Can my love for Indian films be explained by a mysterious locket half and the unshakeable sense that maybe Jeevan stole me away as an infant from my real mother Indarni Mukherji?’ is how she introduces herself to her blogger fans! Her blog has been featured in numerous publications like The Times of India, Business Standard, and The Globe and Mail (Canada). She has contributed to pieces in international media such as BBC radio and CBC television, as well as in print at Tehelka and, most recently, as a weekly column in The Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time. During business hours, she works in education, exhibit development, and publications at the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at the University of Illinois. She can be found at bethlovesbollywood.blogspot. com.

Megha Sabharwal is a young thinker and philosopher of a kind. This writer believes in carving her own destiny, and that’s what motivates her to wake up each day and work hard. Her passion and hunger to make dreams come true keeps her going. She nurtures a dream of visiting every hilly spot not just in the country but the world!

Jayanthi Somasundaram loves eating, cooking and travelling. She ensures that she travels to a different country every year (all her savings go into that!) and loves visiting the local markets and interacting with the locals there. She nurtures a dream of running her own little coffee shop with a really nice library. She grew up in tropical Malaysia and now lives in Chennai. Besides working on her book, she enjoys long walks and spending time with her pets, a dog called Simba and a cockatel called Paru.

Our Guest Writers

Nikhil Sharda is a writer, filmmaker and an IT professional based in New Delhi. His journey to the written word started with his first blog in Windows Spaces with a pen name effortlesslife. The site was banned by the government due to its antiestablishment content. Since then he is trying to get back at them. He’s written a much talked about novel, Sans Destination besides writing columns for mainstream media. He’s helped market jeans, photographed icons of beauty, etc. As of now, he is currently working as a managing editor of eFiction India, an international literary journal. He can be found at effortlesslife0. blogspot.ae.

Suzanne Sangi is our little author from Bengaluru. At 17, she had released her debut novel Facebook Phantom. When not writing novels she likes to pen down poems, songs and short stories. This young girl loves to sing and play the guitar. She can be found at suzannesangi. blogspot.ae.

PRAN, THE ACTOR

He’s never cardboard and never sleepwalks through a performance. Why we love Pran, the recipient of this year’s Dada Saheb Phalke Award.

18 indian belly

SUGAR,

SPICE, AND EVERYTHING NICE

Indian spices on the dessert menu is the sweet news this season. Can the humble & exotic Indian spices really tempt a sweet tooth?

24 trumpet lead

COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME…

A blogger who lives in Dubai says that Dubai with all its glitter & glitches has claimed her heart. She misses the Indian gullies she grew up in but then she loves strolling in the malls here. The heat & the humidity irks her but then the comforts & home-like feel here cools her down.

…TO THE PLACE I BELONG

Suzzane Sangi, our guest writer who lives in India says that India with all its charms & faults has claimed her heart. She dislikes the political scene but then she loves the yummy Indian meals. The strikes & rapes get her fuming. She finds solace in lovely Indian films.

30 fashion fry

THE BEACH BABE

A fashion designer & enthusiast plays our stylist this beach season.

34 tax free entertainment

PHIR BHI DIL HAI HINDUSTANI!

When it irks us we give ourselves a moment to laugh it off. Then, we stand up & fight.

38 daily drama

BOLLYWOOD SONGS, SOAP TITLES

Bollywood numbers are ringing on the Indian telly as titles of routine soaps. It seems like we can’t even come up with original names for our serials!

42 fashion fry ON THE JASMINE

Trail

The Madurai malli gajra (jasmine flower garland) is sold at the roadside down South. Women often wear it in different styles either around a bun or tuck it into a plait; we visit Nilakottai, a small village in Tamil Nadu, to know more about the flower.

46 satte pe satta

You know you are a NRI living in Dubai if...

48 desi lit

Keeping The Short Alive

As a managing editor of an international literary journal he works to keep the short fiction & poetry alive, as a writer he confesses that he is not expecting to make a living off poetry & short fiction and as a reader he shares it saddens him to see that a large part of the literary voices of the Middle East have rarely been made available to the universal English speaking world. Our guest writer Nikhil Sharda of eFiction India writes.

bazaar

52 A touch of glamour to make every gorgeous meal & drink count.

60 Just a few of our favourite things for the adorable angels & brats.

84 Transform from a simpleton to showstopper with these fashionable buys.

54 the globe & the gully A GOURMET TRAIL

A hotel with twelve eating destinations! What could be better than taking your taste buds on a holiday to Yas Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi?

62 horn OK please

BATTI WALI GAADI?

Today, the Ambassador is on a life support system with even politicians opting for other machines. Funny enough, although, the car is based on a British model, there’s no other car in the country, which is considered as Indian as the Ambassador. Our tribute.

68 over a cup of chai

LADY WITH A BAG

She walks into a supermarket carrying her jute or cloth bag with pride. Our neighbour Shilpa Parmar is on a green mission. We walk along to learn more.

72 over a cup of chai ON A SONG

She has given us hit numbers like Main Pareshaan, Daaru Desi, Lat Lag Gayi and the latest being Balam Pichkari! So when Shalmali Kholgade, singer & songwriter, visited Dubai recently we got talking to her on what gets her pareshaan, the love divide between glam Dubai & humble India & more. Excerpts.

78 dubai darshan

LIFE IN A METRO

Foremost, we fall in love with the Dubai Metro. Later, we hail cabs, rent cars & drive our own machines. Let the affair unfold.

86 our shabdkosh BUTEH, THE PAISLEY

Also known as Ambi in Punjabi, Carrey in Urdu, Kalga in Kashmiri, Kolke in Bengali, Koyari in Marathi and Mankolam in Tamil.

88 fashion fry

THE BUDGET FASHIONISTA

When an Indian choreographer landed up with a job as a client relations executive in Dubai she decided (and was compelled) to redo her wardrobe. She shares how she added rhythm to her corporate closet on a budget.

92 idhar udhar MUGHAL-E-AZAM

We met up with the brains & souls behind Minimal Movie Posters India and got talking on how would the poster of Mughal-e-Azam be like if created using minimal graphics & photos. They delighted us by creating one just for us.

94 desi lit I BELONG, I UNBELONG

A young poetess shares her experience of struggling between multiple personalities.

98 the globe & the gully WALK THE RAINBOW

I lie down on a bed of flowers and pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. I am at the Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand and living a colourful and gorgeous dream.

102 last word INDIAN STREETS

The mind & heart misses the local Indian streets as it explores alien lands.