Located in South Mumbai is the Majestic Rajabai Clock Tower. South Mumbai is the precinct of Mumbai University in Fort Campus. It is located near the High Court. The Tower is an amazing structure decorated with oriental figures. it was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, and English architect, back in the late 1800s. I was inspired by the Big Ben Clock of London but built with a different flair. It reaches heights of 280 feet and it took about 9 years to construct. The project becan in 1869 and was finished in 1878.

It was a successful broker, Premchand Roychand, who financed the entire cost of building. Premchand Roychand is also the man who founded the Bombay Stock Exchange. The tower was named after the mother of the financier, Rajabai. She was blind and was a deep follower of Jainism. The clock rang out across the city and Rajabai never had to ask someone for the time. She was able to eat her dinner before evening, at the time required for her to follow her religious practices.

The clock is a beautiful blend of Venetian and Gothic styles of design and it was constructed out of Kurla stone which was a local buff colored stone. Back in the day, the tower used to play the songs Rule Britannia which means God Save the King and A Handel Symphony. All together there were 16 songs that would play in rotation of four tunes a day. Now a days, the clock only plays one tune, Big Ben, (and it chimes out every fifteen minutes. So to get a glimpse of this tower, get out of the hotels. India, Mumbai itself has many, and head over to the now, university library located inside the clock tower building and see the stain glass windows cast the brilliant colors throughout the room.

When traveling to Sydney, five star hotels are plentiful and affordable.  Many of them are situated in areas of the city that are ripe with activity and filled with many sights to see.  The artistic world in this cosmopolitan city is flourishing, and one such contributor is an artist that really does a bit of everything, she expresses herself through a variety of mediums and will be performing in the cities throughout the country through the end of January 2010.  Her name is Fiona Foley and she is one of the cities most significant and influential artists working today.

Foley is known for diverse and innovative artistic endeavours that have spanned the last twenty years and include works in photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media and installation pieces.  She focuses on the ongoing history of colonial Australia with themes that range from culture to identity and language, politics and ownership.   The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney has teamed up with the Art Museum of the University of Queensland to present the show which will be published once the show closes.

Through January the exhibit will run at the museum in Sydney, and will then run at the museum in Brisbane from April 2 through May of 2010.  Foley grew up in Queensland and received her education in art in Sydney.  She then studied for a time in London at the Saint Martins School of Arts.  Her works reflect the world as she sees it through the roots and the vision of where she is from.  She has stated that in her studies this was not something that was encouraged, as indigenous art was not at the time considered fine art.

She did absorb what she was taught regarding the techniques of the European traditions, however she simply used what she wanted to add to her own style and techniques.  She is active in social causes and was a founding member of an artists’ cooperative in Sydney.  Whether you are in Sydney in the month ahead, or in Brisbane in the months of April and May, every attempt should made to see her show.  She exemplifies the entirety of the culture of the country and the beliefs of the people of Australia.

I have a friend going to acupuncture school in San Francisco, CA. She has been there a little over a year now and I am thinking I had better get there and visit her before she finishes or I’d end up having to stay at a hotel San Francisco and not getting the advantage of staying with her. She has a Friday off from school latter this month so I will fly up on a Thursday afternoon and spend a long weekend there with her.

It has been a very long time since I have been in San Francisco so I am looking forward to going. I have to admit I do not remember a lot of details about that trip, but I did have a lot of fun. I was fairly young, only 21 and went there for my first time on Pride weekend. It was a non stop party. I do remember arriving there on Friday with my friend we drove up from Los Angeles, that is where I was going to school at that time. I know we hit some bar on Castro St. Friday night and the rest is a blurred memory of dancing and drinking. I remember I slept through about half of the Saturday parade and when I got up I headed out to the streets to see the rest of the parade and get back to the party scene.

Well that was many years ago and those days of parting are far behind me. This time I am looking forward to some site seeing, enjoying the views the bay some museums and possibly a play or the opera. A big change from the days of drinking and parting the nights away. I am sure I will be remembering more of this trip and it will not be one big blur.

A long and relaxing weekend in San Francisco is what I am looking forward to.