The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Inspiration from India, Interiors, Paintings, Food & Colour

Saturday night I went out with a girlfriend to see the movie, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". What a wonderful  "feel good film". The movie is set in Jaipur, India. I thoroughly recommend this comedy drama to lift the spirits and allow you to reflect on your lives.  If I had to make any sort of critique, it would probably be that it was a little long but I still loved every moment and there were some fun laughs.  The cast is predominantly British, Judy Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith are some well known names, alongside Slum Dog Millionaire star Dev Patel.

Of course when I think of India, I conjure up vivid colours, sari's, embroidery and Elephants so, today I'm abandoning my "neutral" brain and sharing some colourful Indian inspiration.

First take a look at a short clip of the movie to create that Indian mood ☺

I love the quote from the movie and applying it to my life right now...

There is an old Indian saying...It will be alright in the end, if it's not alright, 

then it is not yet the end! 

Paintings by  Namita Kapoor a contemporary artist living in San Fransisco.

visit Namita's website to see more of her colourful work "here", there is a distinct touch of "Bollywood" to her work.

Some fabulous Indian recipe's such as "Cheese balls in Tomato Sauce", from a great food blog called Pure Vegetarian. A delightful blog with the most gorgeous photography.

Click "here" for this recipe and see lots more wonderful vegetarian recipe's. There is also a link on their page where you can download and print out the recipes.

Bitter melons an Indian ingredient - photography from Pure Vegetarian

click "here" (or image above) to view my Indian Inspired Pinterest Board "A Taste of India", with lots more images. I tried out the new "60's" application in Picasa to edit this collage I created giving it a vintage feel. Original images are via Pinterest.

I once had a lot of fun with an Indian inspired dinner party for some friends in Abu Dhabi. I decorated the table with a gorgeous red and gold, sheer organza tablecloth. I bought gold rimmed glasses and spent two days creating some really lovely Indian recipes. I even printed some menu cards out. I think it was a really nice evening enjoyed by all. I'll have to dig out the recipe's to post... It's nice to have themed dinner parties sometimes, it helps create an ambiance.


If you love "colour" you may also enjoy a previous post on "Colourful Interiors" or you may want to check out my Pinterest Colour Inspiration Board. The images below are just a "taster" of the colour inspired images pinned on my board.

Image via Pinterest

Image via Pinterest

Lee oxo

&

Poppy