My love for photography blossomed into a little something more earlier this year. I decided to jump the analogue bandwagon and bought myself a Lomography Fisheye One. When I received it in the post, the first struggle I had was inserting the film in correctly. My friend, who bought the same camera a few weeks earlier, had developed the film only to find it completely blank. Panic mode: on. Fast forward a few months later and I am in a tiny, quaint, slightly derelict film lab in Kolkata, waiting in anticipation to see how my two rolls of film have developed. Much to my chagrin, a mere 27 of the total 48 photos developed successfully - something was mentioned about low exposure and film speed, I'm not entirely sure. Apparently analogue is not the biggest fan of the London gloom. Anyway, I took what I got and I was overjoyed with the results. 

Here are a few London shots. 

And a bonus, unexpected (I just clicked, not knowing if there were any exposures left or not, ahem) shot from my grandparents' balcony in Kolkata.

When I decided to start Güzel Günlerimiz I swore to myself that I wouldn't dwindle for too long between posts and leave the masses un-entertained. The past ten days of inactivity, however, have flouted my own personal rule and left me frustrated with my lack of commitment. Why am I taking this so seriously? Because it's in my nature to start projects (be it a blog, a handmade hair accessories business, or self-teaching myself German) with a colossal amount of enthusiasm, only to abandon said project after a few weeks... Well, upon finding another quirky hobby that piques my curiosity, of course. I suppose I have a valid excuse this time though. I'm interning at Penn Schoen Berland for six weeks this summer and I'm having the time of my life. It's a great atmosphere to work in because the people are fun, cool, and good at what they do. Today, for example, in celebration of Eid, our boss ordered in biryani and mithai for the entire office. MMMMMMM. If you're interested in politics, media, and market research and communication, I strongly suggest you check out their website to see the kind of work they do. Some of their notable clients include Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, who they backed during the re-election campaigns! Cool stuff, I know. I work 9 - 6, five days a week, and though I'm not doing any physical work, sitting on my butt for nine hours makes me crave a couch, the tv remote, and a continuous supply of food to be placed in front of me the second I reach home. 

While going through my archive, I decided it was relevant to post a couple of pictures from a beautifully sunny day in May when Anna Banana, Noury, and I decided to visit Portobello Road. Why relevant? Yesterday, after a ridiculously long period of time, Nour and I were able to battle the terrible time difference between New Delhi and New York City, and Skype for an hour-ish. Now that she's back in the US to finish her final year of university, I won't see her for a while - well, till she visits me in London teehee (Nour, I hope you're reading this). I love how going through our old pictures never fails to make me giggle and reminisce over our the great memories we built in such a short period of time. Good times, good times. 

Over the past year(ish) that I've been at SOAS, I've grown to love London and everything about the city that I'd like to consider my new (and hopefully future) home. I love London. I love it, I love it, I love everything there is about it. No matter what kind of a person you are, you're bound to find a niche for to settle yourself in in London - and if you haven't, then you haven't looked hard enough! The multiculturalism, the beautiful energy, the old-world charm are all small pieces of the puzzle that give London its vibrant atmosphere - an atmosphere that I became instantaneously enamoured with.

Having said that, it must be said that I've been having the time of my life since being back in India this summer. I hadn't been in India since September 2011, and being back home, with my family, my old friends, my old way of life - it's been quite different from the past nine months in London, but it's been absolutely fabulous. I've already started feeling these pangs of heartache every time I think about having to leave my loved ones here at home and go back to living alone in London (yes, yes, I know I live in university halls where there're tons of people always around but it is different nonetheless..) I'm a sappy sucker when it comes to sentiments, so you can expect waterworks at any point when his particular topic is being discussed. 

To add another bit of juxtaposition and undeniable inner-conflict to this post (great, I know), ever since the Olympics started I've been nostalgic about my time in London. Olympics-hysteria has taken over the globe and the UK is at the centre of the world's attention. The Brits and their enthusiasm have really done a great job by accentuating the sportsapalooza and though even I'm not a great fan of sports, I've become hooked to the television watching whatever event is on, whether it be women's weightlifting (new favourite sport what whaat), rhythmic gymnastics, or synchronized swimming! Seeing aerial views of the city - from Trafalgar Square to South Bank - during the breaks between events, I myself want to be down in Hyde Park with a Union Jack in hand (strictly for the atmosphere, I promise - Team India all the way ahem), a picnic on the way, and cheering on the athletes with all the others lounging around the public viewings. A glass or five of Pimm's, some yummeh foods from the nearest M&S, a mandatory combination of red and blue somewhere on your body, and you're set! Ahhhh London. See you in September!

ps: It turns out that today was just one of those days that I was really in the mood to write. For that reason, this isn't a picture-heavy post, but I quite like the idea of a rant or two from time to time (and I hope you feel the same way ahem). If you've been being a wonderful person and visiting Güzel Günlerimiz, do post below in the comments and let me know your thoughts (you don't have to be a blog owner or anything of the sort to post comments btw). It only takes a few seconds, and I'd love to hear from you! 

Cheers! (See what I did there?...)

I learnt that the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg is the centre of Turkish immigrant life in the city. Over time, however, given the vibrant nature of the borough and - apparently - very affordable housing, the area's become inundated with young people, artists, musicians, and hipsters across the spectrum. Because of this, Kreuzberg is home to tons of great restaurants, cafes, bars, and clubs. Super, super cool. 

I took an Alternative Berlin Walking Tour, and areas in Kreuzberg featured very prominently during the three hour tour. Ben was our guide - an American art graduate from Maine who came to Berlin for a holiday, and decided it was too great of a city to leave...clearly a man after my own heart. "You know how poverty soon becomes 'hip' and synonymous with an alternative-edge?" he asked us. "Well, that's what happened to Kreuzberg.". When I look closer to home, I can see how what he said rings true. Heavily immigrant neighbourhoods across London, from the African-dominated Brixton, to Bangladeshi-Bricklane, and Turk-led Dalston, have all recently acquired a 'hipster' status by the trendy youth of the city. Ahh, the cultural vibrancy in these boroughs are just so wonderful, so enchanting - and Kreuzberg is no different!

In Kreuzberg there's a beautiful symbiosis of an 'old worldly', rough-edged, gritty charm (which comes with the territory in minority populated areas, I suppose) with a fast-paced, suave, alternative 'cool' factor. I have to say that what I loved most about Kreuzberg was the overwhelming Turkish influences. Big surprise there? No, not really. My Turkophilia doubled, tripled, quadrupled, and then exploded. It was so great.

A quick note to anyone interested in visiting Berlin: I stayed in a hostel called Baxpax Kreuzberg for four of the eight days I was in Berlin. Baxpax has a couple of hostels all over the city, but this one is definitely the most exciting one (read: party hostel).  What I really loved about the hostel was that it had a really relaxed, laid-back atmosphere which made it easy to meet fellow travellers! Even though I was travelling alone, I met tons of cool people from all over the world during my time in Berlin and it really made my trip that much better. Don't stay here if you want quiet, though. There's electro, house music booming from the speakers in the reception and common area all day, and it's a party every night. WIN. I loved it, but an American brother-sister travelling duo I met in the hostel couldn't deal with the noise and checked out after their first night and moved to another hostel. Awks. As long as you're not a party pooper, I'd highly recommend a stay here!