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If I had to choose one favorite section on my blog, it would be the People section. Writing about unending talent in this majestic nation and then discovering the god-damn artists is the best part of this blogging business!

So the new post talks about an artist whose intensity of weirdness depends on the people she is with. A mass media graduate, 23 years of age, Saakshi Vyas realized that she wanted to be in the filed of graphic designing after incessant experiments with design soft wares. Drawing inspiration from her mother, what really sets her apart as an illustrator/cartoonist is that she loves cartooning random things and incidents in life!











Being a cartoonist is kind of double-whammy because one needs to have a funny idea and then be able to draw it says Sakshi. 'What was i thinking that is not even 1% funny is what she ends up felling sometimes. To solve this problem she illustrates random incidents that happened to her, or some social issues, or somethings that annoy crap out of her and ta-da she ends up enjoying the illustrating procedure!

Wedding- a woman's dream, a man's desire and the ultimate tale of two souls is undoubtedly the most special day of everyone's life. What actually is making this big day all the more special is the fact, that you get to see the entire wedding through the eyes of a woman.
A story coming from a woman's lens is as beautiful as the wedding itself. Guiltybytes has picked some undiscovered yet exquisite female photographers who have given wedding a new meaning with their lens.

Bhumi and Simran Photography

These b'ful shooters studied photography in England and while pursuing their Masters they decided to team up and bring the high quality wedding photography to India. Drawing influence from the weddings in west, they have introduced mood/ambient photography too. Calling themselves professional, young, smart, affable and creative duo, they believe they can make the vision of their clients come to life, and in this process sometimes they even step forward to create that vision!






Finding an inherent warmth and vibrance to Indian weddings, these girls feel despite the many variations one see in the traditions across the country, the Indian weddings are photographically more interesting!








From taking pictures they have moved on to practically becoming the bridesmaids as most of the times they end up giving advice on lipstick colour, footwear, hairstyles or even discussing wedding jitters!


They both feel that Wedding photography has dramatically changed in the last few years, with a gradual awakening in the idea of conceptual and candid photography. They say, "People have realised how special their wedding memories can be, if you choose the right photographer. With massive growth in social networking media, the way one presents themselves has become very important and thats why pictures play such an important role!"

And yes to all the budding women photographers they say- "never stop clicking!"

Contact them on bhumiandsimran@gmail.com or follow their facebook page Bhumi and Simran Photography

Amanpreet Kaur Photography

Having tried different professions from anchoring to Radio jockeying, to writing this b'ful artist found her self clicking pictures everywhere. And ever since that, Amanpreet photography has been happening. Calling herself not just a passionate professional but an avid viewer, she is one person who loves to capture what ever she comes across. Sharing a special bonding with her weapon, she feels she owes a lot to him, yes her camera is a male who has been loving her unconditionally since long. Currently working on her personal ongoing project " feminism", she is trying to capture women from all the regions of India in her ensemble.



What really sets her apart is her inclination towards the weddings at rural India. To this she adds, "that’s where I found real India." The entire vibe of the atmosphere there which is filled with the aroma of home made food, the feel of old songs(lok geet),the traditions, the attires and jewelleries never fails to mesmerize her.






Capturing the chirpiness of a bride or the bridal charm tops her list. She loves making pictures in grey scale, and feels that even when the color is taken from it from , the soul remains intact!








"Typical Indian wedding capture people pretending but now photographer’s skills, techniques and spontaneity capture true self of people and also the couple", quips the young lady. However one thing that she wants to say to young budding photographers is- "Be yourself, listen to your inner being and click"

Contact her on amanpreetkaur87@gmail.com or follow her Facebook page Amanpreet Kaur Photography.










Sanchita Nanda Photography

Being all of 20, this young lady started clicking when she got her first multimedia phone in her school life. She liked taking pictures of objects lying everywhere in her bedroom, the sky and clouds, fb profile pictures for her friends as well as for herself. However her favorite wedding pictures are usually the 'behind the Scene' Shots.








Wedding photography is not an easy task she feels as the bride and the groom are always surrounded with people. "It's not possible to to space out everything in order to get just the two of them in the frame, but at the same time, it helps in achieving lot of candid clicks", quips Sanchita. Ans it's the rituals and the traditional costumes that remain her favorite for the Indian weddings!








According to her, being a women photographer is as good as being lucky as they have the access to the bride even at times when she is not available to others. Bridal pictures at Saloon, while she is getting ready are the memorable clicks for all which can be cherished for life!






Camera to her is a medium to capture 1000 words, emotions and thoughts in a single click. Also its the Black and white pictures for her that helps in lowering down the distractions and helps in concentrating on the inner meanings that need to be captured in a picture. Calling herself one of the budding photographer she says- "If you are good, then keep working on your skills and dont think twice. Women photographers quite a times show a completely different side of photography. which is great!"

Contact her on- Sanchita.nanda@ymail.com or follow her Facebook page Sanchita Nanda Photography










Well, I cant wait to have a wedding and have all of them to be doing pictures for me and I am sure reading this, you all feel the same.
I simply love them because they exist~~

A chef, completely made at home, Anubhav took to cooking at an early age. Coming from a journalism background, she quit everything just to pursue her ultimate passion called as Cooking. Her culinary creations please the palates of the most discerning of diners in and around the city. Being a food stylist and a private chef, she has been making waves in the food market with her venture- 'Made @ Home'.

Guiltybytes bring you a candid chat with this beautiful Personal Chef...


How would you explain made@home to newbie’s?

Chef: In today's time - our lives have become so busy that we hardly get time to make good food at home. This is specially the case with working couples and most of the time we eat either outside at a restaurant or order take away. One fine day - back in 2009, I along with my husband decided to start something where we can get gourmet food right from our kitchen in our own comfort zone and that is when made@home was born and thus the name. As the name suggests, made@home specializes in Personal Chef Service, live cooking sessions and menu consultations. Started with simply baking cakes for friends and family to a full grown home run business now - we have come a long way. The newest addition is working for corporates for various team bonding events and live cooking sessions for kids in schools to make them learn the subjects they are weak in a fun way. One thing which sets us aside is the personal intervention at every stage for all our clients.

How did you get such a delicious job?

Chef: Passion with experience as I call it - since my childhood, I was always interested in peeking at the kitchen or at my mother's luscious dishes. Initially, I did my masters in Journalism and always wanted to be a Journalist - also worked for Network 18 for few months but soon after my marriage, I realized that my real love is cooking and not something else. With lot of support and motivation from my husband/mother in law and family - I finally chose to make my passion as my profession and trust me it is the best feeling when your passion becomes your profession. From baking to cooking world cuisines - I have learnt something from all around.

Personal chef service- how do you see it picking up in the city?

Chef: As a concept it is great - it helps one get gourmet food right from his/her own kitchen but its most suited to NRI's or expats who don't have a typical mindset against most of us as Indians do. Just like everyone has a personal trainer, fashion stylist, personal makeup artist - personal chef service is where you can hire an educated and experienced chef to prepare that special meal for yourself or guests. It is a very exclusive service and comes at a premium.


Although the country is dramatically heterogeneous, do you think that most families tend to stick to their own regional specialties?

Chef: Yes, definitely. Regional specialties is something which would never fade away but a new trend is also fast catching up in the country which is FUSION. People want that same old Dal Tadka or Chicken Curry to name a few with a twist - while there are many who would stick to traditional flavors but the new generation is specially keen on mixing the flavors and if the taste comes right then no one minds eating a bit more :)


What inspires you into food styling?

Chef: There is so much to do with food and I have only learnt this once I started it full time cooking. Food styling is like an ART where the more creative you are - the better it is. I remember getting hired as a food stylist for a wedding last year - where my main job was to taste the food, make it to perfection and present it in an off beat way. Thus - a special area was created to showcase world street food - something which you don't see at regular weddings. For e.g. a complete train mock up was created to serve poori alloo which you generally see being served at railway stations, rickshaws etc were parked to create that ambiance of Chandni chowk and serve Vodka Golgappas alongside the bar . So food styling has a lot more to itself than we can imagine.

Cooking to you is………………………… meditation. It gives me a feeling of being complete with myself.

What is your favorite pairing for chocolate?

Chef: London Dairy's vanilla ice cream along with crushed oreo biscuits

Who do you most admire in the culinary world?

Chef: Nigella Lawson for her love for food- she makes you drool over food only through her books, and Vineet Bhatia for his fusion food

Do you have any guilty food secrets?

Chef: Anything sweet works for me ;)

Have you had any culinary disasters?

Chef: Yes, in the beginning but thankfully I was trying them for my own. Until and unless we dont have disasters in any work we do - we would not know the taste of success :)

What tips would you give to any aspiring chefs?

Chef: I am an aspiring chef myself however I always make it a point to be perfect in whatever I cook or prepare for my clients. Repeated attempts when you are free is very essential to get that perfection

What is your Signature dish?

Chef: From Indian/Mughlai - it is definitely Butter Chicken
From World Cuisine - it is Chelo Murg (a persian favourite)


And now Gulitybytes bring to you an exclusive recipe from the Chef's kitchen- A cheese cake which we all love to eat


Ingredients:

For the Biscuit Base
100gm Glucose Biscuits-put in a plastic bag and crushed with a rolling pin, 2tbsp butter melted,1tbsp milk

For the Cheesecake
200gm cream, 2tbsp cheese spread (Plain),400 gm yoghurt(1 tetra-pack)-hung for 30 minutes, 1/2 cup powdered sugar,4tbsp gelatin or 1 pack china grass crushed to a powder–soak for 30 minutes as given below, 1-2 drops of lemon juice.

Cooking Directions:
· Mix biscuits with butter. Add just a little milk to bind. Spread evenly in a 8” loose bottom cake tin and freeze for thirty minutes till set
· Take ½ cup water and add 4tbsp gelatin by sprinkling. If using china grass, soak it in 1 cup water. Keep aside
· Whip cream first till it becomes a little thick
· Melt soaked china grass or gelatin on low heat. Remove from fire. Wait for 1-2 minutes.
· Add 2-3 tbsp cream to the china grass or gelatin mixture, now slowly add this mixture to the remaining cream, stir as you keep adding to mix, beat well and keep aside.
· Beat cheese spread with sugar till smooth. Add yoghurt to this and mix gently. Do not mix too much as the yoghurt becomes thin on doing so
· Fold the cream gently with a spatula
· Add lemon juice and mix gently
· Put on biscuit base. Refrigerate overnight or keep in the freezer for only 30 minutes. Do not let it freeze.
· Prepare topping as given below and spread on the set cheese cake. Refrigerate till serving time
made@home’s BERRY TOPPING
Mix ½ cup raisins in 1 cup (200ml) grape juice and keep on fire. Boil and simmer on low heat for 5-7 minutes till ¾ juice remains. Add 4tbsp strawberry or mixed fruit jam. Dissolve 5tsp corn flour in ½ cup water and add to the boiling raisins. Stir on low heat till thick. Add some raspberry red color. Cool and use.


She is not throwing sparks; she is in fact standing in the fire--and loving to cook it all! So join her in her culinary movement as she brings the best of food entirely 'made@home'.

College, Classes, friends, partying with friends didn't give him much happiness as much as being on stage, Dancing in-front of people did! He was an ordinary dancer but what helped him to stand out was the sense of 'peace' people observed on his face when he swayed with the music. There was something really remarkable about him, i don't know if it was the passion, technique or his commitment towards this form of art. The only time i remember seeing him dance was at Shaimak's summer show, he was good, something i'd remember of him on stage, all my life.

For some it's an obsession that just keeps growing on with time, after all that's what we get to see in all the TV shows, people coming from small cities with a single passion called 'Dance' etc etc.. But here i am talking about someone who never went for a TV audition, i m sure if he did, he would make it big, however, there were times he would rebel with everyone around just to prove his choreography right, but i guess that's how people with passion are, they don't follow, they begin to lead, in every field with time... I still think that for someone who loves to write, or read, or perhaps play a guitaar, or just listen to music and enjoy every bit of it is an artist in his own rights, yes with 's'!
Of-course for those who do nothing, they too exhibit these (undiscovered/hidden/not-put-efforts-into) artistic characteristics. But hey if you are one of those who spend alot of hours on play-stations, video games or social networking, trust me you are not wasted, you are the 'fun-indulging' artist, creating an entertainment art, but that does make you an artist!

So about this boy, he wasn't really tagged as a dancer by the world around him, but he sure forgot about all his projects, assessments, friends, issues, family, issues...and more when he moved with the rhythm of the music. I wanted to tell him to pick up formal training, but all that didn't happen. Today the words Light-Sound and Dance make him alive, every time. It's a familiar feeling, i feel alive too, maybe when i get to talk to the ones i love the most, or the one :D! I guess, to each it's own!
He isn't anyone big in the industry, but he is making his days big by performing whenever he gets a chance to do so, this makes me want to say that, we all should pursue that ONE thing we all really like to do. I know it's not easy making a career out of these unconventional hobbies but we can always try and be associated with them for as long as we want. I know of people who possess brilliant photography skills, but haven't taken it to another level, i know of others who click and put pictures on Facebook and seeing people hit 'Like' makes them the happiest. There are people who love to ride big beasts, go on trips, and they tell me they have ideas to do something about their adventurous journeys, well all i can say is go ahead, scribble your journey into notes, take pictures, shoot films do everything it takes to save all that you discover and make it worth remembering all your life, and while doing this who knows it may grow into something you always wanted to do!

The dancer too likes to send his pictures, he emails all of them to me. But what i want to share is the text of the email he sends everytime, it's been same for all the mails, it reads, "Don't know if i am born to do this, But i know this is what I really want to do Right now." And these words have been inspiring me always, so here i am working, writing, baking, meeting my friends, doing everything that i like to do,a-midst all this, I still think he was born to dance,!!!


Thank you Angad Singh, Your pictures truly deliver your passion, hope you continue dancing!
Photo Credits: Siddhartha Mukherjee