Farewell To The Little Master

Sachin Tendulkar padded up for what may be his final batting innings tonight (Aussie time). His 200th test match, which began today against the West Indies, held in Mumbai, has been announced as his last.

What an amazing career, story, and legend of the game.

Being at each of the grounds of the Aussie tour to see him play on home soil earlier this year was incredible. The noise, and electric atmosphere of the screaming, adoring fans. The palpable waves of emotions waiting for his turn out in the middle.

The fans, kids and grown men alike, would squeal every time he was near the ball, stand all session up against the high fence in the beating sun when he was on the boundary, and roar with delight when the up-and-coming batsmen in the batting order before him would lose their wicket.

I had considered "working from home" today, to watch it all unfold, although missed the chance with appointments being made. But checking the status at the start of the day's play made that move justified as India won the toss and elected to field, delaying the big moment.

Getting home from a crazy and full day, and being blessed with my current housesitting gig and it's full Foxtel package, I was sitting in front of the big screen with live images as India commenced their batting innings, and then the over that saw 2 wickets fall to bring The Little Master to the crease.

Finishing the day's play on 38*, with pretty impressive run making, and sets up a massive day of absenteeism in India tomorrow! The fairytale would be a great final innings. Can't wait to watch it unfold!

Top 5: Play Count

Listening to music on my iPod mostly on shuffle, and having it with me most of the time, and yet my top tracks in iTunes have a pretty familiar listing over the years since I have been doing this annual post. Again, the 10 tracks give me the most listened to artists. All Aussies this year.

Seeker Lover Keeper's Even Though I'm A Woman is still my most played song in my collection.

My love of Gotye's Making Mirrors album has caught up with my top 10 listened tracks, with Save Me and Easy Way Out in the top 3 listened songs, before the ever amazing Learnalilgivinanlovin. The lesser appreciated gem on the MM album Giving Me A Chance is next, and then the most appreciated is next, Somebody That I Used To Know. In Your Light is in the 10 songs, 5 artists of the top counts too, at number 8.

Clare Bowditch's You Looked So Good is next.

Mercy Valley from the Oh Mercy boys and girl is at 9.

The song that melts my heart with every listen makes up the top 10, and is Old Fitzroy from Dan Sultan. An incredible track.

Horn Please!

Since returning from my travels in India, the idea of finding the array of tastes from over there had been a bit of a quest. The food there was incredible, and is never really replicated by your standard Indian takeaway, somehow.

A few months back, my taste for India was rejuvenated, with a visit to Horn Please. In fact, I have been twice so far, and even just thinking about the flavours on the menu make me want to go back again!

Nestled along St Georges Road in Fitzroy North, the restaurant is beautifully fitted. Indian script on the walls, projected images, family photos in regal dress adorn the walls.

For starters I have been unable to resist the Samoas - pomegranate and green mango in with potato, encased in crispy pastry. So good! A prefect beginning...and a transportation straight back to the street samoas in Hyderabad.

The drinks options are extensive, and I mean beer! The set up is that you just go to the fridge and select what you want. Kingfisher, of course, is one of the many options. A selection of beers from India, and a host from other places. Even four cider options.

The service is great and attentive, and there is a real family and authentic feel about the place. It has been pretty busy each time I have been, and quite rightly so. The food is wonderful!

The Palak Paneer was my go to in India, and here it is on the menu at Horn Please. That, and the Butter Chicken, have also been irresistible for my selections. I really need to branch out further in the menu - but these two are so good!

They also run a food truck, which floats around the city, so these tastes are out and about everywhere. The perfect teleporter back to my travels, right here in Melbourne.

Jaipur: The Pink City

The early finish of the cricket test in Delhi meant that we got to squeeze in a trip to Jaipur after all, at the end of my 5 weeks in India. A bonus, because it was one of the places I really wanted to go - the Pink City is something to see!

We hired a van and a driver, and he took a group of us over to the remaining point of the Golden Triangle. We arrived around Amber Fort in time for the lighting show, before trailing into town to secure lodgings for the night. Up the next morning, we returned to the Fort to explore it, and take in the familiar layout.

We took a couple of jeeps up to the Fort, rather than riding the elephants up the ridiculously steep incline.

Walking through the outer gates, and up the stairs into the main courtyard, called the Jaleb Chowk, you are hit by the beauty of the yellow and pink sandstone Ganesh Gate. So much detail, intricate, and lovingly preserved. It was worth waiting for the crowds to move to get a good, clear and full view it.

Ganesh is the god who is meant to move all obstacles in life - what a stunning tribute to such a powerful Hindu legend!

One side of this courtyard featured lattice screens and archways, and gave a full view over the mountains and lakes for as far as the eye could see.

Moving through the gate to the next courtyard, the Hall of Audiences, and then again into the next one, which houses the Hall of Victory. Victory here is celebrated with mirrored mosaics, caricatures, and marble relief panels. Stunning, and so detailed, and extravagant.

The next section of the Fort was a massive complex of rooms and corridors, many floors up, like a labyrinth. Made like this so that the maharaja could visits his many wives without the others knowing.

Back into town, we then explored the City Palace, which was more courtyards and pink marble. We stumbled across a dancing, singing celebration within the first palace in the first courtyard, before we explored the many rooms from here.

The Palace is really two main courtyards, with the main one centred with the Welcome Palace, which now shows off the many royal costumes, mammoth dress shawls, and sports outfits.

But the most impressive spot of Jaipur for me was exploring the grand red sandstone facade of the Hawa Mahal. The most distinctive landmark of the city, this honeycombed hive of windows overshadows one of the busiest streets - of course it was covered in scaffolding on out day there!

This structure was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, and was designed so that the women of the royal household could watch the world outside through all the little windows.

A pretty limited view of the street, but conversely a full view of the City Palace and surrounding land. Hidden away women, watching the processions below.

You enter the complex from a back gate, and through a courtyard, and work your way through tunnel after tunnel to get to the top. It's like wandering through something from a fairytale book.

We ended our hot day of intense exploring with a little interlude into a scene straight out of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, by making our way to the Rambagh Palace Hotel for a drink at the Polo Bar.

A couple of our group managed to get there early, and had a classy high tea. The rest of us arrived disheveled, hot, sweaty and loud...bloody Aussies! We delighted in the fresh smell of the place, the cleanness, and the air con!

Jaipur and all it's pink. Such a special travel day, to a really beautiful place.

Project 52: Sunday Morning

Getting up reasonably early on a Sunday morning is not usually something I do, but for this particular one I did, to join Cam and the girls to complete the Run For Refugees, as part of the Melbourne Marathon. Despite the rain, and flooded track, we made it, which was such a special feat for Cam. An amazing effort!

The event raised $205,031 for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, which is amazing. A centre run by more volunteers than paid staff, and a place that provides services to those in need without any government funds. Don't worry if you didn't get to donate then, cos you can help them continue their work, and secure a long term premises through their Home Of Hope Christmas Appeal.

This post is part of Project 52 with Jess from FuShMuSh.

Heidi Sculpture Garden

I have wanted to pop out and stroll around the Sculpture Garden at Heidi Museum of Modern Art for some time now, and finally made the trip out to the hidden gem of Melbourne at the end of last month.

Set on 15 acres, and stemming from the historic homestead and gallery buildings, the grounds are dotted with sculpture art. This you can walk through regardless of whether you visit the gallery, and alone is worth the visit.

The corrugated iron cows graze on the hill, the rolling Three Forms are just need the old house named Heidi I, and then this one below is Basket and Wave (from dreams and nightmares).

Next to the cows is this Guardians Of The Last Piece, and the structure below that you could spend ages looking through for it's difference perspectives, is Theoretical Matter.

After treating myself to afternoon tea at Cafe Vue, I then went into the gallery itself to check out some of the current exhibits. The Reverse Gardens were really impressive, as was the striking Explorers and Intruders by Albert Tucker.

Rooms filled with little painted figures were the feature of the current feature - Beauty, Anarcy, Desire, by Stephen Benwell. Then the old apartment out the back, which is Heide II, was the site of the collection called Poetry, Dream & The Cosmos - pieces from Charles Blackman, Sidney Nolan and a host of others. It was really stunning.

The Rings Of Saturn is the first thing you see from the road into the carpark, and the last sculpture you see as you leave, and is the impressive, even on a gloomy Melbourne day in Spring.

One Night Of 16 Days Under A Southern Sun

Boy & Bear's sophomore album is a gem, one of the masterpieces of this year. Seeing an new album played lives brings so much more into it, and Nicole and I got to hear this one live last weekend.

Opening was Battleships, an indie rock four-piece from Sydney, who held our attention.

The between set music merged into the first song as the band appeared on stage at the Forum, with Boy & Bear's opener Three Headed Women. Although hearing the Rabbit Song next, from their first EP, was a treat, as always! Took me back to that tent at Splendour.

Lordy May and Milk And Sticks were in the next groupings, alongside tracks from the new album such as Old Town Blues, Stranger, Harlequin Dreams, and then the amazing and emotional Back Down The Black.

The boys were chatty and complimenting Melbourne throughout the set. Big Man from their debut was in there, and another EP track in Mexican Mavis. They sounded great, the songs were big, and even the mouthy young gig goers behind us stopped talking to listen.

The night ended with Golden Jubilee and Feeding Line - incredible. Boy & Bear live is a band not to miss!