100th Post of the Year!!!

Yay, 100th post of the year and it happens to coincide with the last day of the year. The reason why I chose this blurry pic for this post is cause this year has also passed by in a blur, it feels like yesterday that it was the 1st of January and now it is already time to welcome the new year. I was wondering what I could write about to make this post memorable, Year End Message ??? or like the general junta, New Year Resolutions ??? The self-importance gland which is hyperactive in my body went into overdrive and I started pondering on writing an end of year message myself, but then it struck me that has already been done in my previous post, so I  decided to go the plebeian way and  throw in a few New Year resolutions that I'm proposing and hope to remain true to for at least a few months if not all of next year.

1) All those centuries ago Chanakya said that, A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first. I intend to take a lesson from that and try and be more diplomatic.
2) This year I plan to drive a car, even if it kills me. Honestly I know how to drive a car, it just that I have panic attacks the minute I sit in the driver's seats. I feel like all the vehicles on the roads are just waiting to crash into me. But come 2012 I intend to overcome this phobia, so good people of Mumbai, watch out, rookie driver to hit the streets.
3) In 2012 I plan to visit a few places in India and one foreign land that I've never been to. I like travelling, but the pattern that I've noticed when it comes to vacation spots is that I have these comfort zones and tend to repeat them,, this year I plan to visit a few places in and around Mumbai that I've never been to, hopefully I'll make my way to Calcutta as well. Weekend getaways will be the order of the day, if I have company good, else I'll travel alone.....super.

These three things I most definitely want to do in the new year. 

Here is wishing everyone a very happy, healthy  and prosperous 2012.

Movie Review : Don2

Picture courtesy: Movies Sulekha

The King is back and is doing what he does best.... playing the baddie. With this movie I can now scratch out item number 45 on my things-to-do-before-I-die-list -Watch a movie all by myself. I loved the movie and enjoyed every minute, going forward, I'll go see films all by myself, that way I don't have to cajole people to go with me and what makes the whole enterprise better is the fact that there is no need to co-ordinate with anyone, just me and my credit card will do fine, thank you very much.

Don2 is an absolutely slick and stylish movie, kudos to Farhan Akhtar. The film has the audience on the edge of their seats from the word go and maintains the tempo throughout. The movie has a script (not a very original one), but the action sequences and tongue in cheek dialogues make up for it. 

SRK as Don exudes an aura of malice, a something evil and he does this with his eyes and smile, a stabbing look from him is enough to chill the soul. Boman Irani who usually maintains screen presence no matter who his co-stars are, seems ill at ease in this venture, accordingly Vardhan is reduced to a side kick. But then this is all about Don and the rest of the cast is just so the Don doesn't get bored and the sets look 'peopled'. Kunal Kapoor as Sameer Ali in a bit role is very convincing. 

The romance between Roma and Don doesn't set the screen on fire because there is NO CHEMISTRY... please it is too tame... though I don't blame SRK he looked convincing enough, and there are moments where you think maybe, just maybe he does love her, but Priyanka sadly fails...The music is forgettable which is really surprising as the last Don movie had great songs. All in all if you are a SRK fan, go and watch it for him, for he is in his element!!!

The year that was...

2011 is finally coming to an end and it has been a landmark year of sorts for me...It has been a year of facing my fears head on, following my heart even at the risk of looking like an idiot, reconciliations, breaking old ties and forging new ones. It began with me returning to India on the 1st of January post my Employment Pass application being rejected, not a very good start so to speak and my life has practically been turned on its head this year...
 
This year has been all about change and revelations... for one I've become a lot mellower... the old me would have sulked fearfully and given an earful to Lax. for making me miss 20 minutes of the start the movie (refer previous posts), but I just shrugged the miss as "not important", the important thing being that we met after close to three years.

Finally realised kids and I don't belong in the same space. I've always thought I would like to have kids of my own, but fifteen minutes with kids is enough to put an end to my aspirations. Though holding baby A. in my arms remains the single most cherished moment of the year. A feeling very close to bliss enveloped me as she held on to me and drifted off to sleep. Babies up to a year old are OK, everything seems to go wrong after that... I'm at a total loss communication wise, kids these days are very smart, they scare the living daylights out of me, in comparison I think my generation used to be totally dumb bricks as kids. So I now agree with the powers up above that it is for the best, that things haven't worked out so far, unleashing my selfish self on some unsuspecting kid is the worst thing I could do. That said I've been thinking if the best way to overcome this fear of kids is spending more time with them, like taking up a teaching assignment or something where I get to interact with them on a daily basis and understanding them better, lets see what 2012 brings.

Here is a list of things that were positive during the year and that I care to share... the rest will go with me to my grave...

1) Moved out to a new address - I've lived at my old address practically all my life...finally this year moved out...

2) My partner in crime, my inspiration, my confidante, my well-wisher number one... my sister, got married and life is much quieter now without her effervescent presence.

3) Lost oodles of weight, finally managed to lose over eight kgs and god knows how many inches... after all the trouble to do it, my mum says I look like a stick insect.

4) Packed my bags and went on a solo vacation to the US, hopefully the first of many more such vacations... cheers to that...
5) Finally decided to go back school, post completing the CA course, I went into a kind of coma study wise, this year I finally challenged the status quo and registered myself for a course that I've been meaning to do for a while. It is still early days, but as they say, baby steps, every little helps... it is not an easy course, but God knows I'm ready for it now...

Here's hoping the new year brings happiness and joy to all...

My initiation into the world of hi-fashion : How to buy sunglasses

As a decent time has now elapsed since this incident it is quite safe to place the facts before my public. This took place in Boston, whilst I was holidaying in the US. When it was nearing the time to pack my bags to return to India, my host (we shall call her Akka throughout the remainder of the post) used to leave the house every morning with the following instructions ”Go out and see the place if you must, but please don’t BUY anything, your mum will ban me from entering your house in India”. I really had shopped so much that I had to sit on the suitcases to zip them close. I’ll have you know that I purchased a few bags and shoes, my only hinderance from buying a few more and better brands was my meagre supply of USD, at my salary there is only so much that I can afford, sniff, sniff.

All that I'm about to type is sach and 100% sach ke siwa kuch nahi milord!!!

Akka and I were out shopping for sunglasses. As a rule I abhor sunglasses, in the past sunglasses + my eyes = horrible-case-of-stye-which-lasted-a-painful-month, conversely I avoid sunglasses like the plague. I will have you know that I have a long list of allergies, for e.g: I'm allergic to papayas, they too give me styes, then there are few funny allergies like the allergies to groups of insects, my nose itches like itching were going out of fashion and the other funny allergy being this sunglasses allergy. Don't for a moment think that I must have owned chalu quality sunglasses (I was born a brand horse) and have only ever owned the best brands of sunglasses, but every time I went out in the hot sun with the glasses on, the very next day my eyes puffed up and lo and behold I had a bad case of eye infection. If you have been a regular follower of this blog you'll know that this year has been all about busting taboos that I've lived by, so I decided that maybe, just maybe this sunglasses allergy was something of a coincidence and nothing else.

I had made it known to all and sundry that I planned on buying a pair of sunglasses and the experts at buying sunglasses condescended on me to help me pick out the right pair. I told them my sob story of how in addition to giving me eye infection the said sunglasses would not stay propped up on my head, like the ones worn by the stylish ladies in them fashion magazines, you know, the ones with huge logos down the side that hold back the lady’s beautiful tresses. In most cases the sunglasses was used more like an expensive HAIRBAND, but who was I to complain. In my case the minute I tried to prop them on my head they slipped, I got a big head, before you start commenting on the amount of brain matter I possess, I would like to state that there may be something in what my detractors call me “Swollen Head”, but I digress.

I told them of my modus operandi while buying sunglasses:

1) Enter shop

2) Try on a few branded sunglasses

3) Zoom in on a pair that has a sensible frame, offering maximum eye coverage, UV protection, etc

4) Pay and leave

And I had the experts, shaking their heads and saying to one another “Aah, that’s where you are going wrong, love, you got the wrong technique”. I was appalled, “Wrong Technique”, hoping for enlightenment I looked at them earnestly and the Gods relented.

The correct technique to buying sunglasses according to them was as follows:

1) Enter shop

2) Try the sunglasses on the top of your head

3) Zoom in on a pair which fitted your cranium perfectly while maximising exposure to the brand logo running down the length of the frame.

4) Pay and Leave

5) P.S. Eye Coverage and UV protection were things the makers of the sunglasses worried about and not something I needed to worry my pretty head with...

With this crash course on how-to-shop-for-sunglasses in my kitty, I entered Sunglass Hut and began trying on the sunglasses with gusto, all this while Akka was busy trying to pretend she wasn’t with me. This charade went on for a while and the shop attendant who was a mute spectator all along decided she just had to step in to help this poor desi who didn’t know how to buy sunglasses. She drawled “Sweetheart, you try the sunglasses on your eyes and not on your head” and Akka almost passed out laughing.

FYI, I bought a pair of sunglasses and happy to announce, been using them for the past six months and have remained stye free.

Chase Every Dream...

I believe

Its now or never
Believe in me forever
What have we got to lose

I believe
In this journey
Become my destiny
This is what I choose
Chase every dream

I believe
Chase every dream ...

This is the new Levi's curve ID TV Ad jingle, I love it, its kind of like my personal anthem at the moment... and I'm back, I've realized blogging to me is what the rains are to the parched earth, I need my daily/weekly fix of mindless ranting and I intend to do so, i.e. till I have another of my mental attacks and delete the blog again :-)

Movie Review : The Dirty Picture

Pic Courtesy : bollyspice.com

This was one movie that scored high on my Yuck List (the promos killed it for me) and had me muttering "wild horses wouldn't drag me to a theatre to buy tickets and watch the despo crass skin fest". My friend who had already seen it begged to differ and told me that it was not a crass skin fest, but a tastefully made sensible film. Just to prove her wrong I arrived at the theatre, bought two tickets (for me and for her, No way was I going to endure it alone) sat down to assail my senses for the next two hours (Lax arrived 20 mins late so we missed the start) with unwarranted nudity and innuendos.

As I have already mentioned we missed the first 20 mins, by the time we were seated the newly christened Silk (her given name per the film was Reshma, though Wikipedia has it down as Vijayalakshmi) was shooting for her first song sequence with Superstar Surya and Lax. tried to make amends by telling me the story so far. I'm not going to tell you the story, no siree, but better still I'll tell you that yes, it is a well made film and will tell you of my impressions of Silk Smitha as portrayed by Vidya Balan.

Vidya's Silk came across as an intelligent woman who was unapologetic of her choices and knew which side her bread was buttered and used it to her advantage. She famously says "Films are all about three things,  Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment and I'm Entertainment"... no wonder she knew how to make headlines and stay on the front page. Following her heart was second nature to her, whether it was her decision to run away from home, or to "fine tune" her setting with Surya or to ruin two parties at the same time with her antics. her mantra, enjoy the good press, ignore the bad!!!. It was only when she let her head rule over her heart that she started her downward spiral from which she never recovered.

This is an out and out Vidya Balan film with other actors just thrown in for comic relief. It seemed like a  fascinating journey which Vidya Balan has portrayed with such ease that from this day on I am a huge fan. I now understand why a Vidya Balan who is at the top of her game would want to do this film. She does justice to the role and get under the skin of the character. Be it the way she enacted:

1) Silk the newcomer trying to find her feet in the industry-the look of pure joy in her eyes when she sees the audience loving her moves on screen,

2) Silk the superstar with the swagger and cocky attitude-mocking the picketers,

3) Silk the cheated lover-when Surya treats her like something the cat dragged in,

4) Silk heart broken following her broken relationships move you

5) Silk lonely - the utter loneliness Silk faces when she loses everything she holds dear and there is no one around her to share her sadness.

Vidya has captured the essence of Silk and this is one act that will be hard to replace. I'm no judge whether Silk was a heroine or a vamp, Silk lived her short life to the fullest until her past caught up with her... for it wasn't Silk who gave up... it was Reshma...

P.S: The film was released on 2nd December which would have been Silk's 51st Birthday!!! (DOB courtesy Wikipedia).

Coloured...Part 2

Its been four months since I last coloured my hair, earlier (pre-colouring) it looked like a horse's tail.... and it now looks like a horse's tail that has faded... also the new growth near the roots were showing the greys like no ones business and giving my mum nightmares...she literally begged me to visit a salon and get my hair recoloured, with subtle hints that I choose a more conservative colour this time.

The last time round, I came home looking like a peacock with red, brown and golden streaks. All my friends politely said it looked good, but now I know better... When Shil saw my hair today she literally engulfed me in a bear hug with the declaration "I love your hair now, I hated the red, it looked like you applied mehendi and wasn't an expensive salon look, don't EVER EVER colour your hair red.", Shil point noted love, I ain't going to colour my hair anything but dark brown going forward. My mum was also more forthcoming with her true feeling on my last hair colour, now that it was out of sight and out of mind, she said whenever she saw me she felt like my head was on fire... To be honest I liked it, so did A, initially it did look like my head was on fire, but as the colour faded it looked very very pretty.

The worst observation came from my brother... I asked him what he thought of the hair colour, hair cut and shine treatment, all of which lasted about two hours in total and cost me seven thousand rupees and he goes "So you paid seven thousand rupees to remove the colour from your hair ??"

That's what you get when you ask for the male point of view, from now on I'm going to stick to my gal pals, thank you very much.

Khandvi

Again I owe thanks to Bhavini, my guru when it comes to Gujarati speaking and cooking :)

Ingredients:

1 cup besan (gram flour)
3 cups thin buttermilk (preferably sour)
1 green chill (crushed)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For the tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp chilli powder
Ghee

For Garnishing:
Chopped corriander leaves
Grated Coconut.

Method:
1) Lightly heat the buttermilk.
2) Mix the besan and buttermilk whilst ensuring that no lumps are formed.
3) Add the turmeric powderm crushed green chilly and salt and mix well.
4) Place this mix on the stove and bring it to a boil while stirring continuously.
5) The mixture will begin to thicken, keep stirring to ensure that no lumps are formed.
6) When the mixture reaches a thick shrikhand like consistency remove from the heat.
7) Now in a large plate spread a large spoonful of the mixture like a dosa and let it dry.
8) Once it dries, roll the dosa and cut in to one inch cubes.
9) Heat the ghee and add mustard, once the mustard splutters add the cumin seeds, sesame seeds and the chilly powder.
10) Spoon the tadka over individual pieces of the khandvi.
11) Garnish with chopped corriander leaves and grated coconut.

Gujarati Kadhi!

Thank you Bhavini for this super recipe!!!

Ingredients:

1/4 ltr curd

2 tbsp besan (gram flour)

2 green chillies (slit)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped corriander leaves.
For Tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 fenugreek seeds
3 cloves
1 inch piece cinnamon
1/2 tsp asafoetida
curry leaves
1tbsp ghee


Method:
1) Mix water in the curd and make a thin buttermilk.
2) Heat the butter milk on the gas for 2 mins, remove and keep aside.
3) Mix the besan with water and make a thin runny paste.
4) Mix the heated butter milk and besan paste, add the salt and slit green chillies to this mixture.
5) Prepare the tadka, heat ghee and add the mustard seeds, once they splutter add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaves and asafoetida.
6) Add the tadka to the buttermilk mixture.
7) Now heat the buttermilk mixture for about 20 mins, alternating between high heat and low heat to ensure that the mix does not boil over.
8) Add the sugar and chopped corriander leaves and simmer for one mins.
9) Serve hot with rice.

B.B.W.

Gully Cricket with its own quirky rules is very popular all over the Indian subcontinent and my area is no different. I remember playing it with rules like, One Tappi OUT, Full Toss OUT, Sheesha Toda OUT etc. and it has just been brought to my notice that a new rule has been added... B.B.W...

My mum isn't a big fan of the game as it is an enemy of her daily soaps which she has to forego on match days. So when she came to me inquiring whether a new rule called B.B.W. has been introduced, I was intrigued.

The facts of the matter are as such....

We live on the first floor and there is a playground in front of our building, more often than not, the voices of players of various games floats in to our flat. Listening to these sometimes sublime sometimes asinine conversations makes for a very interesting way to kill time which I for one have a surfeit of. This evening my mum was at a loose end as the Cable TV had conked off and hence was standing in the balcony watching kids at play, when she heard a commotion and the following conversation...

Bowler: Howzzat, B.B.W!!!

Batsman: What is B.B.W.? I'm not out!!!

Bowler: Your bum blocked the stumps.... so you are out B.B.W....Bum Before Wicket!!!

If this is not innovative I don't know what is...

Dal Khicidi

Ultimate Comfort Food!!!

Normally made with Moong Dal, but I used Tur Dal and it tasted just fine!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Tur Dal
1/2 cup Rice
1 large tomato (chopped)
1 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 Red Chillies (dry)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Asafoetida
Hot Water
Salt to Taste

Method:

1) Wash the Rice and Dal, rinse a couple of times till the water used to rinse runs clear. Keep aside.
2) Heat Ghee in a pan (I used a pressure pan).
3) Add the Mustard seeds, let it splutter and then add the Cumin seeds.
4) Add the dry red chillies and fry for a while.
5) Add the washed rice, dal, turmeric and asafoetida and toss for a couple of minutes.
6) Add the chopped tomato.
7) Add hot water to cover the rice and dal twice over.
8) Cover with the lid and cook till the rice and dal are soft.
9) Open and use a hand whisk to mash the softened rice and dal.
10) Add more water if the mash feel too dry.
11) Simmer for a few minutes.
12) Serve hot with curd or raita.

Jeera Rice...

Easy Peasy Recipe for great tasting rice that stays seperate when cooked!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati Rice (preferably long grained not the tukda variety)
2 cups hot water
Whole Spices
- 5 Cardamon pods (slightly opened)
- 5 cloves
- 1 tbsp Jeera
- 2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

1) Wash the rice a couple of times to get rid of the starch ( you know you have succeeded when the water in which you rinsed the rice is clear), keep aside.
2) Heat a large pan and add ghee.
3) Once the ghee is hot add the jeera and then after 30 seconds add the other whole spices.
4) Fry till the aroma of the spices wafts through the air.
5) Add the washed rice and keep frying till all the moisture evaporates (the rice will start clinging to one another).
6) At this point add the hot water and salt to taste, the proportion is 1:2, which means for 1 cup rice add 2 cups of water.
7) Cover and cook.
8) Uncover occasionally and see how the rice is doing.
9) Tip: you may want to shift the position of the pan on the stove, to ensure every area is getting cooked evenly.
10) Remove from heat and serve with raita or curd.

Save Puri anyone...

This indeed shows that the world is fast running out of things to 'save', my friend spied this gem on her recent trip to Leh :). Knowing that I have a soft spot for all things quirky, the camera was immediately put into action.

Next she has promised me a picture of 'Assprakash' (for my international audience I'll have you know the literal translation of this word into English will mean 'Butt Light')...watch out this space for more updates, I promise you it is a scream... is it a bird, a plane... no its... Oh well, you just have to wait and watch, like the rest of us :-p

Thank you P for this fantastic pic :)

P.S.: A little background for my international audience, Sev Puri is a popular street food, where in tasty morsels of mashed potato, onion, tomato, spicy sauces are loaded on a crisp fried flat cake which is about one inch in diameter, this is then further topped with Sev, which is a thin fried vermicelli kind of preparation made of gram flour that is spiked with spices. Though when you say 'Save' Puri it gets a whole new meaning :)

Duck Walk...

To see children go about doing things in all seriousness is very endearing. On my recent trip to the Museum of science, Boston, I had the chance to see it at its best!

As it happened I was sat on the bench, old age is catching up with me real fast and even a couple of hours of walking is enough to make me want to sit down at each bench and chair I spy. Accordingly I had parked myself on the bench near the exit and was engrossed in watching the world go by, soon enough a family with two small boys came along, I had seen then pass on their way in and noticed the younger boy fidgeting as he walked, shuffling this way and that, I smiled and watched with the thought "boys".

A few minutes later they passed me again, both boys doing the same walk, it intrigued me, they took a couple of steps, stopped and stood on one foot with the other placed on top of it. Closer examination revealed they were actually standing on sticker of a duck foot that was pasted on the floor, the older of the two managed to follow the foot prints nicely, the younger one was an absolute joy to watch, with determination written all over his face, he balanced himself on one foot, carefully placed the other foot on top of the other, held the position for a while ensuring he didn't topple over and then moved on to the next footprint!

To be honest it was quite inspiring, if only we emulated children more the world would be a far better place to be!!!

If only we could...

Be more honest,
Be less scared,

Be more curious,

Be less aware,

Be more hopeful,

Try a little more,

If only we could let ourselves go...

Don't give up at every setback... children don't... have you ever seen them at play ??...

Check out kids on the beach, they will invariably pick a spot close to the waves to build sand castles and when the waves wash away the castle the look on their faces isn't one of dismay, it is a look of eagerness to build something better, they just keep trying and trying!!!

Look forward to the new day, it is a fantastic world out there... and its waiting for you...and for me.

Wisdom Pearls...

Ever since my baby sister got engaged to get married, all the world and his wife has taken it upon themselves to find me a husband. To say it is frustrating is putting it very tamely. As the wedding date nears the stakes seems to be getting higher and people are getting more desperate to add a 'Mrs.' to my name. Forget my criteria bar, the governing principle driving the mis-match-makers seems to be 'Burn the Bar, love, anything goes now'. I shall go into the gory details at a later date when it is quite safe to place the facts before my public.

In the midst of all the madness sometimes you get 100% pure gold advice from the unlikeliest source, take for instance the advice I received from an acquaintance, she told me 'Sen, don't ever go into a relationship unless you are 100% sure about it in your mind, cause once in the relationship you realise that the person who you thought was your 100% soul mate is actually only 60% of what you imagined him to be, so if you settle for someone who in your mind is only 50% - 60%  of your expectations, when you get down to brass tacks, you will find that the person is only 20% - 30% of what you expected, then you will be in a soup as you got to live with that for the rest of your life'.

You rock X, I remain eternally indebted to you for this...

Walkathon...

Last Thursday the bus drivers here in Mumbai went on strike and thanks to them I was finally able to scratch out item number 148 on my things-to-do-before-I-die-list - Walk all the way home...from office. I live in Andheri, which is a suburb in western Mumbai and commute to work to Powai, a suburb in central Mumbai. It is a distance of close to 15 kms ... a little less than ten miles (the shortest route is 12 Kms, but if I walked that route, I would need to sterilize my feet in DETTOL for a week...the less said the better) and it took me a little under three hours to complete the feat and a beaming me arrived home, with only a bad shoe bite and a slightly hurting right foot, but none the worse for wear.

I have been with my current company for over five years now, my longest stay with any organisation and have survived the one year completion gift -a plant, I don't know the name, it lasted only three days in my company, the three year completion gift - a desk top organiser which had a pen stand, small clock and mobile holder and am now awaiting my five year completion gift which at the current time I'm told is a back-pack... but I digress, during these five years, have had the opportunity to work out its many offices, starting out at Powai, moving to Scotland, back to Powai, a bit of a stint at the Vikhroli office, back to Powai, then a few short stints at the England and Singapore offices, but always coming back to the Powai office and all throughout I nursed an ambition that one day I would walk all the way home from the Powai office. I don't know when this nut-case idea first infected me, but somehow it was always there in the back of my mind that I wanted to do this and now I can sleep easy as I FINALLY DID IT!!!

The day didn't begin on an auspicious note and my brother who off late kindly drops me to office was down with a flu and I was left to fend for myself. The journey to the office was accomplished quite easily as there was no traffic, thanks to the buses being off the road. The journey back was a nightmare. It began all tame and easy, as I tried to coax and cajole the rickshaw drivers to ferry me to Andheri, which is a feat in itself on normal days, what with them pulling faces at me when they hear that I want to go to Andheri,  it makes me feel as if I have expressed a burning desire to go to hell and was asking them to go with me.

Today with the buses on strike the rickshaw drivers were the uncrowned kings of the roads, spoilt for choice as they were they just shot off like scalded cats when I said I wanted to go to Andheri. I waited at the usual spot for rickshaws but when after 15 minutes I was still rickshawless, I decided to take drastic action, and accordingly began walking outside the complex towards the highway, where I usually manage to get a rickshaw. Once on the highway I noticed that the situation was grimmer than I thought, It had begun to rain like there was no tomorrow and there was water logging everywhere, people where literally pouncing on empty rickshaws. The traffic was also exceptionally bad.

I walked a little further, by now I was soaked to the skin and saw an empty rickshaw parked by the highway and eagerly went up to the driver. The man lounging on the drivers seat lost in thought and wearing one of those Gandhi topis with "I am Anna Hazare" written on it. He must have been in deep thought about the state of the nation or some such important issue, I don't know, I politely inquired whether he would take me to Andheri and he surfaced from the depth of his ruminations long enough to pull a face at me and went back into his coma.

I then continued walking and reached the flyover, here I decided to skip the flyover as with the traffic was bad and the chances of being run down by someone in a fit of road rage was a possibility. Accordingly I took the service road and went towards Saki Naka, here I misjudged the distance that needed to be travelled, the distance is less than 10 minutes by car and today with the rain pouring in a steady stream it seemed like the road was endless with no sign of Saki Naka anywhere on the horizon. Finally after walking for what seemed like an eternity I arrived at Saki Naka.

After Saki Naka I encountered some of the worst stretches of the road, what with having to wade across huge puddles, gingerly walk on the debris from the Metro Project, keep my eyes peeled to ensure that I don't step on anything unsavoury (I saw a man step on a dead rat, the look of horror on his face and the high jump that followed the discovery were some of the lighter moments of the journey). J.B.Nagar, Marol, The International Airport and Charat Singh Nagar passed in a blur. All the while I kept looking for an empty rickshaw.

Finally I arrived at the Western Express Highway - Bisleri Junction Andheri -East (which in my mind is where the boundary of my area or my Andheri begins) here my feet began feeling a little tired and I seemed to have pulled a muscle or nerve in my right foot so progress was essentially at a very slow pace. I had been walking for over two hours now and was just putting one foot in front of the other and picturizing myself sitting at home with a hot bowl of soup in my hands and my feet in hot DETTOL water, cause god alone know what I had waded through.. I'm a little crazy like that. Finally I reached home to a very worried mum a little before nine thirty in the night after having walked for two hours and fifty minutes!!!

Mangalorean Prawn Sukka

This is an easy way to make Magalorean Prawn Sukka, thank you Leela Akka for sharing this fabulous recipe with me :)

Ingredients:

20 medium sized prawns

2 large tomatoes(chopped)

1 large onion (chopped finely)

1 inch piece of ginger (ground)

3 cloves of garlic (ground)

1 cup grated coconut (blitz in a mixer, don’t add water)

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp chilly powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste
Oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds

Method:

1) Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, let them crackle.

2) Add the chopped onions and fry well.

3) Add the ground ginger and garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears

4) Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and turmeric powder.

5) Add the prawns and salt and toss for a few mins.

6) Now add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook till the tomatoes are soft.
7) Last add the coconut paste and cook till the coconut is well done, simmer for a couple of mins.

8) Serve with rice, chapatti or bread.

Old Spice...

Somehow I just cannot say Old Spice and leave it at it... the words will automatically be followed by the humming of the music from the Old Spice Ad with mental images of a raging sea, a fearless surfer, an alluring woman and the ultimate tag line "Old Spice, the Mark of a Man" ringing in my head. Before I go any further, let me clarify that I may be a witch at times but I don't need to shave and my orientations are all in the right direction... but I love this ad :-)

Recently this phenomenon happened again. I spied the Old Spice bottle left unguarded by my brother and in a moment of insanity I found myself reaching for the bottle and splashing out a few drops on my hands like the model in the advertisement. Though I instantly repented it as the liquid hit a paper cut I had on my finger, all the while humming the Old Spice Tune.

My sister was in the room and she inquired where the perfume smell was coming from, sheepishly I told her that I had handled the Old Spice bottle and she goes "Oh that's why the accompanying music!"

For all my readers who were not born when the said Ad used to be aired, please see the link...Old Spice video.

India@64...

Today as we celebrate 64 years as a free nation, I can't help but wonder are we better off at all ?... OK, we are free from the raj granted but what have we gained in the 64 years since Independence ...has the toil of the freedom fighters gone to waste...

I really shudder at what my kids will read in History... Scams...one bigger than the other... fodder scam, 2G scam, 3G scam, the shameful CWG scam that effectively ground India's integrity to dust in the international arena... everyday a new scam is unearthed by the media... imagine having to remember the magnitude of each of the scams and having to vomit it out in the exam papers...

I recently read in the papers that India is fourth on the list of "Most dangerous places for women" , something that I've always maintained, now I stand vindicated... should we really be in such lists when we are dreaming of world domination... shouldn't we be an evolved race...

Back then the British Raj stopped the erstwhile Indian National Congress Leaders from going on a Satyagraha, ironically today it is the same Congress that is stopping Anna Hazare from going on a Satyagraha in support of the Lokpal Bill... lets wait and watch the political circus and see to what levels it will stoop...

 Everyone seems to have his own agenda, his own axe to grind and all at the expense of the exchequer... I USED to be very proud to be an Indian, NOW....

Mum's new Pet!!!

As far as I can remember I've been my mum's pet so when a intruder tried to invade my territory I wasn't too happy initially, however I have relinquished my throne to this new contender as the bond between my mum and the crow is really too cute to take offense.

Yes, you heard it right, my mum's new pet is a crow who is absolutely crazy about my mum's cooking. This brings to mind the fact that crows have always been fond of my mum's cooking, back in the time when us kids were little and my mum had just got her first oven, she went on a baking spree and we had cakes, cookies, nankhatais, you name it for high tea. It so happened that one day she baked a cake and my brother seemed to be finishing his share a little more than enthusiastically and coming back for second and third helpings, something which he never did. My mum helped him to another piece, to which he demanded a bigger piece saying "The crows are absolutely loving the cake", he had been feeding her precious cake to the crows!!!

Now the hero of this piece, the new pet crow arrives every day around mid morning for its due, and is quite vocal about advertising its arrival, making a perfect racket until my mum walks into the kitchen and offers some kind of food to it. It has been a regular arrival for the past few months and these days has become quite spoilt for choice. If you offer it plain crusty chapati or a plain biscuit, it will look quite disdainfully at it and then at you as if meaning to say "You got to be joking right, you expect me, the royal Highness of Crowland to eat this crap ???"

Today I decided to write about it and wanted to attach a picture of the crow so became a wild life photographer and stalked the crow, but the wily crow just wouldn't put up an appearance when I was around pointing my trusty blackberry at it. Finally after a few hours of playing cat and mouse, his royal highness relented and allowed me to capture a few images. I really admire the patience that wild life photographers must possess when they are waiting for the perfect picture.

Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwich

This is an absolutely divine sandwich which is very easy to make...  my friend made this sandwich for me while I was in the US and I have become a sandwich lover ever since, she also added thyme as she is lucky to have a garden patch at her place in DC and grows vegetables and herbs... we who live in matchboxes in Mumbai learn to improvise and the recipe below is how I made it once I got back to India...

Ingredients:
4 Burger Bun (toasted)
2 Tomato (thickly sliced)
Thick Slices of Mozarella Cheese

For the Pesto:

Corriander leaves (about 4-5 tbsp)

6-7 Nuts (Almonds or Walnuts)
2 large cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil

Method:

1) Place all the ingredients for the pesto except for the olive oil in a mixer or pestle and grind coarsely.

2) Remove the pesto  into a bowl and add the olive oil.
3) Take the toasted bun ans apply the pesto to one side
4) Place a couple of slices of tomato and one slice of cheese on top of the pesto covered piece.

5) Cover with the other piece of the bun and serve with chips.

6) You may want to grill it before serving... but I like it just as it is...

Stone Jewellery....

I am not your regular jewellery loving girl and jewellery made of stone and beads is something that I have always appreciated on others, so much so that I've never owned any. But on a recent trip to Colaba Causeway the pieces on display just blew my mind, as you can see I went mental. The best part being that I paid less than Rs.500/- in total for the three pieces that I bought, the fourth one is a gift from a dear friend.

Review: Amboli Bar and Kitchen

Amboli Bar and Kitchen has been around for about a year now and and I've been getting rave reviews from all and sundry. Though I wanted to visit and taste the fare myself, given my near jet-setting life style (oooh, I like the sound of "jet-setting") finally managed to go there today. The picture you see I pinched from here, as the one I captured has my friend and sister in it and I have a no-pictures-of-self-and-family policy on my blog.

You see we were returning after visiting the tailor, I'm getting my saree stitched, yes you heard my correctly, I'm getting myself a ready made saree, so that all I got to do is zip-up and I look all demure and coy at my baby sister's wedding. Usually I'm a nervous wreck after getting the saree to behave and this ready made saree invention is a god send. But I digress, I will save the monologue on ready made sarees for another day and will give you a full report of my fine-dining experience at Amboli.

We were feeling particularly ravenous and decided to opt for the Brunch that offers unlimited food for Rs.399 plus taxes. The Brunch consists of Choice of Mocktail/ Cocktail/ Beer, Soup, Starters (6-7 varieties of starters), Main Course and Desserts and is quite a steal at the price.

We skipped the soup and went straight for the starters which was served at our table. Today they had Paneer Chilly, Pepper Chicken,  Bombil Bhaji (this was excellent the bombil was coated in a spicy batter and fried crip and it just melted in your mouth), another Chicken starter (It was divine, I must have gone into food lovers coma, for I just cannot remember the name of that dish), Tandoori Corn (excellent) and Aloo Tikkies.

The main course is kept at the buffet area and you go there to take your pick. I skipped the Veg. dishes and made a bee line for the Crab Masala, Tawa Prawns, Delhiwala Butter Chicken and another Chicken Dish. All are quite good, but I liked the Crab Masala best.

The breads are served at your table, you have a choice between Rotis/ Naan/ Amboli (this is a thick dosa like pancake). We asked for Amboli and Naan both of which were excellent.

The sweet course today was  Kulfi/ Rasgulla/ Gulab Jamuns.

Amboli, is designed as a fine dining space and the decor matches. The staff is friendly and courteous. The food is excellent and the portions good. I really feel the food for the price is a real steal and I for one will be going back, again and again and again...

Address: Unit 2 & 3, Mayfair Meridien, Filmalaya Compound, Amboli, Andheri, (W), Mumbai.

http://www.ambolibarandkitchen.com/index.html

Fun Facts:

1) The buzz is that John Abraham has bought a flat at the Mayfair Meridien, this is what I've heard, I do not vouch for the authenticity of this claim, nor have I ever seen him in the vicinity. So for fans of Johnny Baba, here is chance to be close to your heart throb, even if it is a restaurant in a building where he may/ may not be living :-p.

2) Filmalya Studio is just behind this restaurant so every time the kitchen door opens there is a chance that you will hear some junior artist hamming away for all he/she is worth, I'm kidding, of course, though Filmalaya Studio is situated behind this restaurant.

Delhi Belly : Movie Review

Picture: Source

Cast: Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Poorna Jagannathan, Shenaz Treasury

Finally the Indian censor board has come of age and has allowed a film to be presented the way it was meant to be without any cuts or beeps whatsoever. If you are looking for a family film, you are barking up the wrong tree. To be honest I am not a big fan of new age films, the kind that try too hard to present the characters as the New Age Indian Youth in the stereotypical brash, arrogant, foul-mouthed and devil may care avatars. I am willing to go on record to say that I loved this film, it is zany, wacky and at times over-the-top, but even then the characters in the film are real, you may recognise them from your college or office and that is where this film scores.

The film hooks you from the word go... Sonia (Shenaz Tresury who seems to have lost the "wala" in her surname somewhere along the way, numerology makes people do strange things) picks up a packet as a favour to her friend and asks her boyfriend Tashi (Imran Khan) to deliver it. Tashi lives with his two room mates Nitin (Kunal Roy Kapoor) and Arup (Vir Das, a stellar performance, the Jaa Chudial number is outstanding) in a decrepit building that seems to be a likely candidate for who-wants-to-be-razed-next, if there ever was a program like that. Tashi  in turn delegates the task to his colleague and friend  Nitin who has a weakness for street foods and is afflicted by the infamous Delhi Belly when he eats some chicken off a roadside stall on his way to making the delivery and this in turn sets in motion the whole chain of events.

The mayhem includes, a cheating landlord, attempts at blackmail, a trigger happy jealous ex-husband, run-ins with the Delhi Mafia (Vijay Raaz and company), burqas and a really bad case of Delhi Belly.

Watch this film for the situational comedy and the way in which the entire cast rises to the occasion with stellar performances and impeccable comic timing. The film captures Delhi as just another metro with its haphazard buildings, the narrow lanes which seems to be bursting at the seams, the "two hours in the morning" water supply which is the bane of every middle class metroite where as Sonia says "adjust the buckets in the morning" is a way of life, but oddly the characters seem to be more Mumbaites than Delhites. Apart from this, it is a mad and wacky way to spend a little over an hour and half.

New Art Wall...

We have been meaning to covert this wall into a kind of Art Nook for a while and yesterday finally we succeeded...

Ola from the States!!

As you can see my vocabulary now includes a few Spanish words, courtesy my four year old host in DC. As I type this on my friend's computer (I forgot to carry a three-pin adapter) my laptop being dead weight that I am lugging around from city to city in the course of my travels across the United States of America. I am yet to come across a hardware store which stocks adapters, but then maybe I am looking in all the wrong places, I really cannot expect  a hardware store next to stores selling designer stuff so you now know what I have been up to this past week, retail therapy at its best.

The weather is fine outside, with a light breeze that is gently rustling the leaves, while the sun plays peek-a-boo through the clouds. I've now spent a week in the US and loved every moment. The people I have met so far have been warm, welcoming and very friendly. Infact it has been a very interesting experience and a real eye opener.

I know I promised a daily update on how I am getting on here, but believe me I have been really busy, with not a moment to spare. I really do not have the time to write a really long update on my week so far, so will just jot down what I did the first few days...

Day 1 - My flight from Mumbai was at 2.15 a.m. and I was at work till about seven, reached home only after eight thanks to the bad traffic. Then after the last minute packing and freshening up and dinner, I could only nap for less than 20 mins. By the time the flight was announced I was ready to drop off there itself in the waiting area. Once in the plane, honestly I don't remember the take-off, having nodded off the minute I sat in my seat. The stop-over in Paris was about 4.5 hours, long enough to be bore you if you are traveling alone and too short to venture out in the City of Lovers (its Karma, I'm destined to do it with my partner, ahem, if you are reading this, hint hint). After another eight hour flight, where I saw three movies back-to-back (Rapunzel,The King's Speech,Sense and Sensibility) I finally arrived in Boston, at 2.55 pm local time, breezed through customs in 20 mins flat and was out of the airport within 30 mins of arriving, which is something of a record. The best part is I suffered no jet lag and was raring to go. Boston was reeling under a heat wave and I was loving every minute as I was like thousands of miles away from Mumbai but it was like I was back home. My friend one of the most excellent cooks to have ever walked the planet had made us a dinner of rice and butter chicken, what more can a girl want after 20 plus hours of traveling.

Day 2 - Walked 3.5 miles to the Museum of Science, this was because I was dumb enough to miss the bus-stop which is less than a minute away from my friends house and I lets face it I really enjoy walking. Add to it the need to explore the place and I walked all the way to the Museum, the fact that the weather was fine only added to the pleasure of walking. At the museum I visited the planetarium, they had a really good show on XO planets, after that I visited the three levels where there were exhibits ranging from the Dinosaurs to Mathematics. By evening every part of me was screeching as finally I started feeling the effects of the 22 hour flight and the walking. My friend came to pick me up at the museum and we went to a mall for shopping. Here I noticed how I could feel no pain while I was browsing at all the things in the shelves, that were just enticing me to spend my hard earned money that was now looking quite little post conversion into USD. After a spot of retail therapy I was as good as new. We got home about ten in the night and I can honestly say I slept like a baby, the minute my head hit the pillows I was out.

Day 3 - The effects of the walking and travel set in at full throttle and I could barely move, the weather also turned really cold and it rained like mad all day effectively killing all plans to go out. So I decided to tag along with my friend to the gym to exercise a bit and loosen all the tight muscles... big mistake... after doing 60 mins of stationery biking and 30 mins of weight... I had sore muscles and a far sorer derriere thanks to the hard bike seat...was reduced to sitting on pillows for two days after... but did that stop me from hitting the warehouse store the next day... no siree...

Ok...I really got to go now... have a flight back to Boston in a couple of hours...got to get ready...rest in next...

Picture Story!!!

MV Senorita ready for her first voyage...

MV paccashanna...

The competitors a raring to go...

Sailing...

and MV Senorita wins... MV paccashanna sank without a trace...

Chicken Biryani

I got this recipe from here and after making a few changes this is what I ended up. All you connoisseurs out there may argue that this is actually a pulav, but trust me this dish actually smells like and tastes just like biryani, even though it is prepared like a pulav!!!

Ingredients:
150 gms boneless chicken (cut in to large pieces)
3 medium sized onions (grind to a paste)
2 potatoes (cut in to one inch pieces)
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tbsp mint leaves. finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp pepper powder
2 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp garam masala (We were out on Biryani Masala, hence this substitution, pls use Biryani Masala)
1 piece of cinnamon (1 inch)
5 cardamons
Oil for cooking
Salt to taste

For rice:
2 cups of long grained basmati rice
4 cups boiling water
5 cardamons
10 pepper corns

Method:

1) Marinate the chicken pieces in turmeric powder and salt.
2) Wash the Rice and keep aside for 30 mins.
3) Heat 4 tsp of oil and fry the potato cubes until brown, remove and keep aside.
4) Heat 2-3 tsp of oil and add the onion paste, minced ginger and garlic and cook till the raw smell disappears.
5) Add the chilly powder, cumin seeds,turmeric powder, pepper powder and tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes.
6) Now add the chopped mint leaves, yoghurt, cardamom and cinnamon stick and salt. Add a little water if the mixture gets too dry.
7) When the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp add the marinated chicken pieces. Cover and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender.(At this point the gravy should be fairly thick).
8) In a large pan heat about 3 tsp of ghee and fry the cardamons and pepper corns.
9) Add the rice and, fry till the rice is coated with the ghee (couple of mins).
10) Add the 4 cups of boiling water to the rice.
11) Add the fried potato pieces and the chicken mixture, stir gently to mix into the rice.
12)Bring to a boil and then cover vessel, reduce the heat to very low and let it steam for about 20 mins.
13) Every now and then keep shifting the pan, so that the rice at the bottom is evenly cooked and does not burn, ten minutes into the steaming open and mix the rice, I know this is not advisable, but this ensured that all the rice is evenly cooked)
14) Serve hot with cucumber and tomato raita.

Human Interest Story...

This is one story I would really like to know. Come rain or shine, the man in  this pic is a regular fixture at a busy road in Andheri East. No, he is not a traffic cop, but he helps regulate traffic, he even dresses in khakhi coloured outfit and the traffic cops and regular commuters humor him. The thing that attracted my attention to him was his total dedication to the job at hand and also the look of happiness that was on his face while he is at work, it is like watching a child play at being a traffic police!!!

He takes his work rather seriously, I normally reach the spot where he stations himself around ten minutes to nine in the morning and he is busy at work. Makes me wonder, if I had that kind of dedication in life, I'm sure my life would have been different...

Down memory lane...

At the lunch table we were discussing things that we did as kids, I have listed below some of the most common ones, I know this is a sure shot way of declaring my age to all and sundry...but what the h*** I believe I am and will remain 18 till I die...

1) Renting Bicycles - We would rent bicycles by the hour, each person having a personal favourite for which we were ready to wait the extra 10-15 mins incase it was already rented to someone else, then the haggling with the shopkeeper incase he charged extra because we arrived 5-10 mins late after the appointed hour. Also as we were forbidden from riding the bicycles on the roads,we would end up with bruised ankles and legs thanks to accidentally grazing them on the pedal and chain of the cycles as we wheeled the bicycles till our housing complex

2) "Pepsicola" - No I'm not referring to the Cola marketed by Pepsico, rather this is frozen treat made of water , sugar and fruit drink concentrate, that is filled in plastic tubes. Each costing 25p for the regular sized ones or 50p for the extra large ones or the more expensive "Milk Pepsicola" which was made of milk, sugar and delightful flavours like Chocolate, Pista, Mango and Rose. I'll have you know that the Chocolate flavoured one was my favourite. My mum used to come pick me up from school and incase she ever happened to stop at the grocery store on the way back we would get one of the aforementioned Pepsicolas.

3) Big Babol - I remember collecting the wrapper of this bubble gum, I forget the deal, but I guess it was something like for every five wrapper you would be one bubble gum free...

4) Gully Cricket - Yeah we had an all girls team and used to have a blast playing Cricket with a tennis ball and the most mind-boggling rules.

- One Tappi out - If the ball is caught after just one bounce off the bat, you were declared out!!!

- Full Toss out - If you hit the ball and it crossed the boundary, you were declared out!!!

- If you hit a window-pane, you were SUPEROUT, though there was no one left on the field to declare you out after that, with the players scattering in all direction to avoid being caught by the house owner!!!

5) Climbing trees, walls, water tanks etc - We just loved climbing trees, there were two guava trees behind my building and they were favourites with us kids, as they were quite easy to climb and had the most sweet guavas. Then there was the hilarious habit of climbing on the housing complex compound wall and walking on it till the point to where it was further enhanced for safety with barbed wire. No I didn't spend my childhood in a maximum security prison, barbed wire mounted on iron stands was used to increase the height of boundary walls and I believe it is still used in some area, though my housing complex now has replaced it with an iron fence.

6) Raiding fruits off trees - There were quite a variety of fruit trees in and in the vicinity of housing complex. We had Guava, Tamarind and Jaamun trees (a tall tree bearing a purple fruit). The school which shares the west boundry wall with my housing complex had mango trees, the bungalow which was situated just outside the south boundary had Avla trees. Come Summer vacation kids of all ages would raid these trees, getting the fruit off the society trees was quite easy but the getting the ones off the school compound and the bungalow required careful planning. For we had to deal with the society watchman and the owner of the bungalow (this fellow was quite vicious, he once chased us with a knife).

I could go on for ever...