Friday, November 5, 2010

Itchy Feet And Painted Shoes

Every six months or so, the travel bug bites us.

We get this sudden, strong desire to travel.We feel a strange restlessness, an irresistible impulse to get out of our house and see some new places. Even when we go away for a short weekend trip, we come back to Mumbai recharged and refreshed.

The summer holidays, which are longer, are reserved for international travel. We have been to a lot of countries in Europe, renting apartments and staying like locals. Which means doing the grocery, getting the laundry done, travelling by local trains and buses, cooking our own dinner.We walk a lot, travel by trams and trains. The kids love the experience, and so do we. The shorter Diwali breaks are meant for India. We just choose a city or a state and experience the marvel that is India. The food, the customs, the markets...we can never have enough of it.

My kids, who have been travelling since they were knee high, are seasoned travellers. They never complain about the pace, the food, the journey. Like us, they too have itchy feet.

Every year, they also do something different. Like when we went to Austria, they made a scrap book. They collected every scraps of paper, their entry tickets to various museums, the information booklets, the maps. They collected things like fallen leaves and pine cones. They beautifully stuck these things in a small notebook and wrote their memories of the places they visited. Along the margins, they drew pictures of the things they saw and stuck the relevant photos. One day, when they are all grown up, these scrap books will bring them happy memories.

This time,my daughter Ayushi, who is the artist in the family, has painted the shoes she plans to wear. Ordinary Bata canvas shoes, now look exciting. She coated them with acrylic paint, drew flowers, painstakingly filled them with her favourite colours and gave her cheap shoes that special touch. She is happy knowing wherever she goes, people are going to stare at her shoes and admire them. The shoes look so stunning that now she plans to gift her younger cousins shoes painted by her. Inspired,the older sister, also plans to make her own pair. And so does the mother, some day.



After all, itchy feet deserve beautiful shoes, don't they?





I wish all of you a sparkling and happy Diwali. And if you intend to travel this holiday season, do post about your experiences. I love to read itchy time tales...

45 comments:

wanderlust said...

It's beautiful!!

Happy Diwali and a wonderful holiday!!!

Arooj said...

Wow...
give a a encouraging tap to your little artist from my side...:-)

BOOKISH COCOON said...

WOW!!!! wonderful! She is an artist!!!

Very true that u can't take monotonous life, whatever it may be...
Why don't u write some of ur great itchy feet experiences...(treat blog as scrapbook :)) n let us listen...

HAPPY DIWALI :)

The Panorama said...

Lovely shoes! I want a pair too:-) Happy Diwali to you and your family!

Anonymous said...

They are gorgeous! She sure is talented!

Happy Diwali and hope you have a great holiday!

Anonymous said...

Shall I send over my shoe size?? I love comfortable Bata shoes and Ayushi has done a beautiful job!!


Where are you guys off to for Diwali? We too love when we rent out apartments and live like locals cherishing the vacation at a leisurely pace. Am looking forward to our 3 week long Christmas vacation :)

Happy Diwali to you and your family and a very very happy birthday to you :)

Nona said...

Happy Diwali and have a blast during your short vacation. Hopefully, we might be seeing a post on your destination. :)

The Bata shoe has undergone a major transformation. It has left behind the pedestrian looks.

While shopping a couple of months, I asked my daughter to choose a sandal. Guess what she went for! An yellow sandal! :) The color of the shoes reminded me of her sandal! The kids always go for eye-catching colors!

Sandhya said...

Happy Deepawali to you and your family, Aparna!

Enjoy the holidays!

Tomz said...

WOW!

happy diwali

Anonymous said...

Happy Diwali to you and your family, Aparna!

The painted shoes are lovely!

RGB said...

The travel bug's everywhere, huh?! I LOVE those shoes...the transformation is just too good. Lovely idea, nice choice of colors & pattern. Can I order two pairs, for my kids?! Good job Ayushi!

Nupur said...

same pinch on itchy feet Aparna :)

The shoes really look awesome and I'm inspired too.. pat on Ayushi's back !!!

Have a very happy and sparkling Diwali to you and family :)

ZB said...

Wow, lovely paint job on a lovely pair of shoes. BATA is it? I thought they make only my grandpa type shoes.Will checkout next time when back home.

And we too get all itchy-itchy and then we decide to Shop. We decide, we either have a choice for a travel or buy something which we DEZIRE badly, and then most of the time we chose shopping.THUS, i bought a new Watch, otherwise i could have gone to Newzealand(place i wanna go badly), but as they say you either eat cake or have it.

Waiting to read about your escapades. TC, wish you a lovely diwali. TC:)

Destiny's child... said...

It's just lovely. Kudos to Ayushi! She has made those boring white canvas shoes so exciting. Love it :)

And a very happy Diwali to you and your family :)

Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan said...

thats pretty smart stuff... definitely better than the boring originals.

Happy Diwali !!

Anonymous said...

I am thinking I should have read this post before going shopping yesterday! We spent 3 hours and 500 bucks on footwear yesterday! Acrylic paint u say? She must be an experienced painter! I am seeing colored finger prints all over the batas I intend to transform! Kudos to her! Just lovely!

Anonymous said...

And Happy Diwali. We get long hols for Eid only here. So it's generally then we plan our trips. The only problem is any trip out of here needs expensive plane tickets! :)

The Holy Lama said...

Those shoes swept me off my feet. A splendid job. A designer in the making.

Rachna said...

You have a creative daughter there. And,wish you a happy diwali too!

Onkar said...

The shoes look stunning. Happy Diwali.

dr.antony said...

So beautiful.
The best gift you can give to kids are good memories to cherish.
You are a wonderful mother and have a gifted child.

Nupur said...

hey forgot to ask...which colours did she use ? Poster or water ? or whatever...let me know :) I'm seriously planning to paint shoes now :)

Unknown said...

Happy Deepavali! Yes, these shoes are for walking and showing off too:) Lovely flowers.

kirti said...

happy Diwali! where are you guys heading to this vacation?
lovely artistic expression by Ayushi. She sure is talented. We are going to Greece this vacation. Shall write about it after I am back.

A New Beginning said...

I wish I had got the idea of making my old canvas that lovely back in school...great job..loved it!!!

Kavi said...

Beautiful !!

how lovely !! hope you had a good Diwali and a great festive season !

Anonymous said...

The shoes are beautiful indeed!

Hope you had a sparkling Diwali. Happy Holiday!

ani_aset said...

nice post itchy feet ;) right now cant see the shoes(its blocked at office) ;) but i am sure ur kiddo has done a real nice job :D

I went to bangalore to meet my parents this vacation :D

Aparna said...

Wanderlust, thank you. Hope you had a great Diwali.

Heavenly Muse, will do, thank you.

$eem@, I have shared my travel experiences in my blog, I avoid writing about the typical stuff on the places that I go to, there are too many of those sorts on the net. But will write some thing definitely. Thank you.

Panorama, thank you. Hope you had a lovely Diwali.

Wordsanddreamz, it was a fantastic break, thank you.

Cracked chronicles, we went to Udaipur. It was beautiful as usual. Ayushi might as well start this business, it will help her to pay the college fees. She is making another pair for her cousin who is 5. Thanks for the birthday wishes :)

Nona, kids will be kids and go for such bright colours. Our short break was very good. How is Pondicherry?

Sandhya, hope you had a very happy diwali.

Tomz, thanks :)

Manjujoglekar, thank you. Hope your Diwali was good.

RGB, thank you. The shoes look fantastic indeed. Ayushi is thrilled that her shoes are getting such rave reviews. I think she sees a future here :)

Scribbler, she used acrylic paint. You can use any fabric paint too. Once the painting is done, spray it with scotchgard fabric protector. They are available in hardware stores.

Aparna said...

ZB, the watch is good but man, you chose it over New Zealand??? Actually travelling with small kids can be pretty challenging, though it is fun. Next time choose a holiday destination over shopping. Lifetime of priceless memories.

Destiny's child, boring canvas is boring no more! Thank you.

Pythoroshan, thank you.

Jyothi,hope your diwali was splendid. Travelling with kids can be fun, and you are right, the tickets and hotels are really expensive. But you only live once, right?

Holy Lama, thank you.

Rachna, hope you had a beautiful Diwali too.

Onkar, thank you. Hope your Diwali was good.

Dr Antony, thank you. I am just an ordinary mother, trying to do a good job of raising my children. Sometimes I succeed, some times I fail.

Keats the sunshine girl, thank you.

Kirti, Greece is my dream destination. Do write about it.

A New Beginning, thank you.

Kavi, we had a lovely time. Hope you had one too.

Deepsspeakingup, thank you. We had a wonderful time. Hope you also had a beautiful Diwali.

Ani-aset, nothing like spending time with family, specially during the festivals.

KParthasarathi said...

Season's greetings.
That was a nice write up.
The girl seems very creative.Thanks for allowing her to indulge in her creative passion.Some moms would restrain saying the shoes would get spoilt.

Nupur said...

tnx for the info :)

sujata sengupta said...

I am late I know..but what amazing hand painted shoes!! Ayushi has got real talent!

ZB said...

A good watch ( what better than a Rolex) gives unspeakable joy to someone who is nuts about it. Its a gift for a life time.

And as such, baby is too tiny and naughty for a mega vacation.TC:)

Kavita Saharia said...

Aparna make her paint a top or a saree when she is few years older ....she is a brilliant artist.I loved her shoes :)

Doli said...

Wow so cool... Loved the shoes! I would love one too :D

pdkamath said...

Hi visiting via Indiblogger network. Happy to be on Indian blog. Nice and simple blogging. All the best.

Amortya Ray said...

God those shoes are awesome! I spot a niche business idea right there!

Aparna said...

KParthasarathy, the shoes on the contrary look better! Thank you. Hope you had a beautiful Diwali.

Scribbler, my pleasure.

Sujata, I am trying to persuade her into painting for all her cousins, but she is moody :(

ZB, getting out with a baby is tiresome, requires a lot of planning. Enjoy your watch.

Kavita, she has painted a t-shirt, I guess she is still a bit small for a saree. But I am waiting for her to grow up fast. My mom used to paint on sarees.

Doli, thank you. Not very diificult to paint, may be you can try.

PD Kamath, thank you.

Amortya Ray, I know, there definitely is one!

Varsha said...

wow, brilliant

smart kiddo....

I love the scrap book idea.....superb!

raji said...

Hi I am new to this blog,got here through rachna.nice post.Even Iam a wanderlust and like visiting places.your kids like to treasure theri moments in things,it's a nice way.I like the painted shoes of your daughter.

~G said...

They look lovely! total designer shoes material. Well, A, can you tell me if the acrylic paint will endure water as well? Cos usually when I use fabric paints on clothes, I iron them on the reverse to make them pakka.
What about the shoes, in that case?

Aparna said...

G, my daughter used all surface acrylic paint. As the shoes are made of canvas, you can colour them with fabic paint. Once the painting is done you can spray some scotch guard to make it more permanent. She did not use it though. I have washed the shoes, the paint has remained as it is.

Shammi said...

These are lovely!

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