Tearful Goodbye

He was my first icon; the very guy who got me listening to pop music. It was for his cassette (in those days) that I would get bashed up by my big sis when trying to flick it from her bag… Thriller, BAD, Off the wall, Dangerous… sigh!

I don’t care what the bloody papers talk of him or all the nonsense that’s running in the media 'bout him – the fact is I love him and I am deeply depressed that he is no more… shell shocked!!!

Rest in Peace MJ – you are truly The King of POP no matter what anybody says!!!

Gemini

The month which is very close to Sundru's heart (and his wallet also!!!). I pity him because the b’days of all his loved ones fall in this month (Zodiac sign “Gemini”). It all begins on the 27th of May and ends on 12th of June. I can’t tell you how pooped he gets at the end of this month…

The birthday calendar is as follows:

1. Mom – 27th May

2. Dad – 1st June

3.Yours truly (me ;) ) – 8th June

4. Sister – 11th June

5. Mom – in –law ( My mom)– 12th June

Phew... No wonder he has a 0 balance account… Am sure no wallet can take this birthday shower :) For more cribbings (from the horse's mouth itself) and for some sadistic pleasure (:) ), visit his blog here!!!

To the Indian in me

Call me an emotional fool but I cry each time our national anthem is played anywhere in the world, my chest just swells up with pride; I just leave everything that am doing and stand still while the Indian in me salutes the anthem and then the tears roll down… I did that yesterday during the start of India vs England match… I can so relate to the aggression shown by Bhajji when the anthem finished. Felt like I wanted to do something for my country!!!

Is that the true patriot in me or just a feeling I don’t know but I do know that I am proud and very proud that I belong to India – there can never be another place like this (if you minus all the bloody corrupt things going on in the country though). Unlike others I do not have this urge to settle down outside of the country – I know a lot of people would give anything to come to India. Sundru seconds me on this – he is a true Indian boy and will never find solace anywhere else. Though I have come across a few opportunities to go abroad, deep down I know I can never be as comfortable anywhere else as here. I still remember; on my honeymoon I missed Bangalore so much that on day two I was ready to come back and chuck all that traveling thing… I am not denying the temptation to take the opportunity to work outside but somehow I am not really bent on it.

When I hear about all the racism stuff all over the world, it makes me wonder whether it is really worth leaving the country for whatever crap the outside world is trying to offer? Don’t we have it here in India? Why should we always have this NRI tag and proudly display it around when you know the kind of treatment you get abroad. What you can do there we should try to do it here… I hear my friends who are settled abroad and keep complaining when they visit India saying that it is something else outside and corrupt here... I am disgusted!!! I feel you have no right whatsoever to say things when you don’t make an attempt to try and change your surroundings – but no, all they want in life is a NRI tag…

Its time to think about it – show these NRIs that India is no less than "their" beautiful outside world…

It is my home and nothing else can be sweeter than home, sweet home!!!

@29

On the 8th of June, I celebrated my “golden year of the twenties”… I don’t intend to sound sarcastic but unfortunately age does that to you… sigh!!! I just can’t accept this – for a very long time I believed that I’ll never come this far and that my time will just stop; oh crap!!!! What was I even thinking *grump*…

The reality apart, Sunil made it a point that I celebrate my 29th birthday in style :)… That was the only happy thing about the b’day… Keeping the surprise element in place, the celebrations began with my sis Mamta and bro-in-law Mithun dropping in at 12am with a yummy chocolate mousse cake!!! A very sweet gesture!

Subsequently, I was asked to get ready by 9am sharp for the next round of surprises in store… Sunil dropped me at the Ayush Spa for a tantalizing ayurvedic massage along with herbal facial and an awesome shirodhara to follow… was that rejuvenating or what!!! After a quick bath (or baths – it took such a long time as I was dripping wet with oil!!!), I got ready for the other surprises that were in store for me :)

I was quickly zipped across to Café Masala where we had a romantic lunch date together… This was my first visit to the restaurant and I don’t regret it at all – the experience was good (the ambience and the food); just one embarrassing moment though – he made me cut a cake there (again!!) and that too in front of so many people – the sweet thing was that the other diners there clapped while I blushed and cut my cake - there I was, feeling so old as Sunil happily had me indulged in this juvenile behavior!!!

Post lunch, I begged him to give me two hours to myself… I felt so drowsy and sleepy (after the massage and the fab lunch) that I almost dropped dead and refused to get up before 6.30 in the evening… I was then asked to get ready by 7.15pm for more surprises (by now I was extremely tired!!!) and while I was getting ready, my folks started dropping in followed by friends… I was busy thinking of an excuse to run out of the house (for the plan which Sunil had in mind) failing to realize what the surprise actually was!!! How dumb can anyone get??

And there was another round of cake-cutting (ridiculously once again - come on its time I stop this!!!) and over samosas, kachoris, gulab-jamuns & rasagollas (all nicely organized by Sunil), the last of the surprises came to an end and I can definitely say that my 29th birthday was the most memorable of all… Not because I cut so many cakes (guffaw!!!) but because of all the wonderful things that Sunil did (I never felt tired on my b’day earlier) and these memories will take a long time to fade :):):)

Thank you so much sweetheart… you don’t know what this meant to me!!! Also special thanks to all the people who took time out to visit me - Mummy, Mamta, Mithun, Appa, Amma, Gayathri, PJ & Rach; Shaatz & Dia and also to all the people who wanted to make it but couldn’t… GPz & Nanz; Barry & Ranji; my soul sisters at Amba – Divs & Vikas (who celebrated his b’day that day as well :)); Rashu & Sid; I know it was a long shot for you’ll but the thought is what counts…people who called in to wish me (Nethra, Dinesh, Pinky, Bhaskar, Divya, Naga); others who smsed and also left scraps on facebook & Orkut; hopefully I haven’t missed anyone and finally a very very sweet thank you to the cutest addition on earth – Dhruv aka Changu for coming home and not getting cranky at all :):):)!!!

You guys are the best!!!

Of chasing demons and killing angels

Well... not a philosophical post but a quick one on the movie Angels & Demons. A prequel to the very famous Da-Vinci-code, I found this movie to be much more entertaining than its sequel (or its movie prequel!!! well... whatever).

This movie is set in Rome unlike its prequel which was in Paris… The best thing about the book is the extent to which the author Dan Brown goes to describe the small/intricate details at such length but unfortunately movie just spoils it all. Am not saying the movie is bad or something... at least it is definitely a much better attempt than Da-Vinci-code, which, if seen without reading the book leaves you baffled & clueless and many scenes which really needed attention were just done so short and abrupt that it kind of made no sense…

But I guess that's the problem when a movie is made out of such books (which mix history & fiction). It’s really hard to put everything into a 2 hour movie. However, the director must be commended for his effort to bring to life this book!!!

Coming back to the movie – the story begins with Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) being called by the Vatican City to probe into a threat note from the church's perennial enemy – The Illuminati, declaring to blow up the entire city by midnight… The movie is thrilling and nail-biting and leaves you at the edge of your seats with the way all the murders are carried out and with such brutality…

Hold on... I think I should stop right here (I hope to have built the suspense already)– you should watch the movie for the rest!!!

Eating out

I know can be risky to health if done on a regular basis but I guess it’s ok to indulge in that sometimes esp. in my case where I have to do all the cooking no matter what time of the day it is!!!

Not that I cannot hire a cook but the main problem is because of the irregular timing that both of us get home making it almost impossible for any human being to adjust to it!!!

Therefore the question of an easier option (eating out, what else??) springs up automatically leading us to the various small food joints all over Bangalore… One such joint that I happened to visit last week is Ganesh Darshan, enroute from Sundru’s workplace to home... This is in Jayanagar 3rd block (very close to Jayanagar shopping complex)...

That's me with the so called Famous coffee!!!

Why it's getting featured on my blog is because of its yummy akki rotis and the amazing masala dosas (which is supposedly one of the best in town) attracting crowds no matter what time of the day it is. Also famous is its coffee though am afraid it didn't really score very high on my list of best coffees in Blore... The ultimate coffee choice for me is Brahmins (Basavangudi) and no other place is very close to it right now!!!

As far as eating out is concerned, I guess that’s inevitable sometimes; unless I find a cook who can cater to our diverse taste buds (both Marwadi and Iyer Cuisine).

Coincidence?

What would you call if you find the library stamp of your school (which is more than 300 kms from where you live) on one of the second hand books you buy in a book store???

Recently I bought some old books from a second hand store on Church Street in Bangalore – actually I purchased a lot of them and when I opened one of them, I was shocked to see it carrying the stamp of my school “Holy Innocents High School” (Wellington, Conoor). Obviously this was least expected and left me pleasantly zapped… I carry a lot of fond memories of my school days since it was a boarding school and we as boarders, were left to act independently at the age of 10!!! :)

I quickly called my elder sis (just a year senior to me) who was one of the head girls in school at her time and gave her this news… and guess what??? My sis happened to know the girl who's name was mentioned in the book (and this girl stays 300 kms away on the other side of B’lore.... that's from my hometown of Tiruppur!!!)

Bizarre or what???

The Winner takes it all

The loser standing small/tall... is all I feel for the glorious game with Hyderabad winning it... They deserved it as I said before.

As far as B'lore goes - well we sure did come a long way but the best team won, at least we came till the finals - that itself is a proud moment for us.

IPL Fever – Semifinals

Continuing with the IPL fever, we decided to meet up at the 8th floor (Shaatz &Dia’s place) to watch the second semi-final between RCB & CSK yesterday.. With some light drinks and some light Chinese stuff for dinner, we had a ball of a time watching the match… And obviously the victory of B’lore was the icing on the cake… Though some of us (incl me) didn’t want them to win but what the heck, the best team won at the end!!!

It turned out to be an eventful evening with Chiins and Shaatz cheering Dr. Mallya’s Bengalooru guys while Sundru just bummed on losing again (his bet was on CSK)… Well, actually it’s like this - whichever team he chooses the always ends up on the losing side… So much for luck huh!!! So the next time you bet, you know whom to call up ;)

All I can is it was one helluva night and whatta match – can you believe it!!! The 7th and the 8th teams of last year’s IPL season in this year finals… Phew!!!! Is that a coincidence or what! Though Dia and my dad have a different story to tell (giving a match fixing angle to it) but I honestly think that’s definitely not the reason for their success… They have done all the hard work and I can definitely say that Kumble will be extremely happy that the numerological twist from Sanjay Jumani did work for sure and looking at the way these guys are playing, I wouldn’t be surprised they take the cup!!! B’lore is definitely on a roll!!!!!

Am leaving you guys with some snapshots of last night’s get-together while I catch up with the spicy match that’s currently on, Kumble is on a roll… Don’t wanna miss this ;)

People at UB city – watch out for Mallya’s free pitcher of beer for everyone in the building after B’lore’s victory on Sunday ;))) High hopes for sure!!!
That's Chiins, Sundru, Moa and Dia with breezers and Vodka

Shaatz, Chiins and Sundru celebrating B'lore win!

Dia and I posing while the husband peep!

That's Chiins, Sundru (drunk) me and Shaatz...

IPL Fever!!!

It sure has got me gripping and the whole nation as well I suppose… well it definitely has turned out to be one of the most exciting tournaments, though I am a bit sad that the team I am supporting, RR, didn’t make it to the semis but what the heck, they won last year and its only fair that some other team deserves to win this time around... Also because I personally think that RR wasn’t up to the challenge this year and their lack of practice showed up clearly…

Leaving that aside, I am really happy that RCB made it through… being the underdogs for sure, from last year’s second-last place to this year’s no.3 as of now, they sure have come quite far... I won’t be surprised if they finally hold aloft the cup on sunday seeing how things are turning over its head so far...

Though always brought up on a staple diet of cricket, I have not really been a crazy follower like my dad or Sundru but being an emotional fool, I would always follow the game esp. if it concerned India… after all it is nothing short of a religion here… I still remember there were times when Papa had actually recorded old matches in our VCR and played it over and over again until I suffered from “cricket indigestion” (if you could call that!!!) and now I am with another lunatic who eats, sleeps and drinks cricket :-)

Coming back to the league - today begins the semi-finals and I am happy to be at home to watch it… It is going to be a tough competition as there are some amazing guys playing in all the teams; my personal favourite now is definitely CSK and I sure would want them to take the trophy this year if not RCB atleast… DD, I feel is somewhat arrogant and though they are playing wonderful cricket, I am not really loyal to them… and last but not the least, DC…. what can I say… they were at the bottom of the table last year and this year they are in the semis because they have done all the hard work and definitely deserve it…

Clearly IPL is turning out to be a wonderful platform for our young talents to show their abilities and say – look out, here we come… way to go guys!!!

So there you go… confused as I may sound but one thing is clear… IPL has caught the imagination of one & all and has everyone asking for more… It is definitely one of most glamorous events in the sports calendar and I guess that’s because it has everything –style, arrogance, controversy, entertainment, thrill etc… and of course, some good cricket!!!

Super Sunday

Long drive in a perfect weather… What else could you ask for an enthusiastic end to an eventful weekend… first, a day out with my nephew and then this long drive…

The wives of the Boyz club decided to take some time out from our respected household chores and came up with the following options for the weekend… It was left to the husbands to choose the best one…

1) Lunch/dinner
2) Any movie – maybe 8*10 Tasveer
3) Long drive to Taj Kuteeram
4) Home Crash - watching Sivaji, The Boss

The Boyz decided on the Taj Kuteeram option during their tennis / breakfast meet on Sunday morning and we ladies couldn’t have asked for better.

It was around 12ish by the time we started – Sundru & I joined Shaatz & Dia while Ranji & Barry came in their new Linea… When we started off while it was hot and stuffy though the weather got better every passing moment… We passed through some amazing country side full of mango groves and what not!!!

Finally reached the place at around 1.20 types in the afternoon but still couldn’t make it to Nrityagram, the famous gurukul style dance institute built by late Protima Gauri Bedi (ex wife of Kiran Bedi & mother of Pooja Bedi)… Apparently Nrityagram is closed for the summer (March to May) and was supposed to reopen on the 19th… Gosh…. We were 2 days earlier :-(

And so, we then spent time at Kuteeram (which is right opposite Nrityagram)… Had a very expensive lunch (not worth the price though) and finally started back at around 4ish… By then dark clouds were starting to develop and we were definitely preparing ourselves for the pleasant pre-monsoon showers!!! Our return trip was rather quiet, sleepy and sort of introspective I should say, as each one was lost in his/her own thoughts… After a quick stop at the Hesaraghatta lake, we drove nonstop in the rains till we reached the outskirts of Bangalore…

Our last and final stop was at CCD for a cup of coffee and after saying our good-byes, it was time to end our short and sweet trip, uneventful but yet fulfilling the purpose!!!

A trip down memory lane

Is what I’d call my day out with my nephew today… First time, just Sunil, me and the kiddo… The day was packed with fun, heat, crowd and badly maintained public places and children spaces. Having said that, I won’t argue on the fact that my nephew enjoyed, I think the smile on his face said it all. :)

Let’s get into the details now – Our first stop today was the Nehru Planetarium here in Bangalore. So poor and badly maintained I should say; we did manage to book our tickets for the Solar System show at 12.45. Well my nephew is around 4, so I don’t think he enjoyed this bit, though it was more like a refresher course for Sunil and me… No complains there, I was always fascinated with stars and things from my childhood days :). And as far as my nephew is concerned I think I shall come back in another 4 years from now – he’ll understand constellations and Orions by then hopefully!!!

I unfortunately can’t help but compare this with the Birla Planetarium in Hyderabad, the best one that I have visited so far… The Govt there is so willing to cooperate and have managed to maintain it so well. That’s what I can remember it. This sucks!!!

Next was a trip to the Govt Aquarium on Kasturba road – stinking & smelling and packed with local crowd though… I can definitely say that the nephew had a wonderful time and so was Sunil I think, explaining all the fishes to him. ;)… I am unfortunately the impatient types and hence have no patience with children at all… The husband is crazy about kids! Suits me :)

After a quick lunch at Subway, we ventured towards Cubbon Park for the toy train ride… First and foremost, the crowd management was very poor and I think they definitely need to do something about it... So, finally after much waiting & pushing through the crowd, we finally got onto the train… Boy was that fun or what!

We then let the kiddo play for sometime in the playground / park, which, though designed for kids, was primarily occupied by elders!!! That was that… phew… it was really one tiring day I tell you!!!

And btw, time for some gyan and insight now; how I long for some change in such public places. These are places that really need maintenance and am surprised that the Govt has ignored its duty completely and isn’t doing anything. These are the things for which we pay taxes and I would like to see that being used wisely for the well-being of the people… It’s disgusting to say that our future generation will be devoid of childhood fun if things continue the same way. We need a start somewhere...

Blogger Friendship award 2009

Surprise Surprise (yay!!!!!)… My blog has managed to bag an award – The Friendship Award!!! And thanks to Rads who has honored me with it. Does it feel great??? Feels awesome!!!

I am being very honest when I say, when I first started this blog it was a mere extension of my thoughts and feelings and nothing more – so it revolved around writing and posting… I had no time to stop at other blogs or read the others except for the husband’s of course… I had no blog friend for a very long time (in contrast to my hobby blog but that’s a different community altogether). And then all of a sudden I realized that my blog was getting noticed, people started looking at it, admiring me (if I can say that), laughing at my silly jokes, leaving a nice little message… And then I started making friends on this one too…

Ok; now coming to the point… First of all, I want to thank everyone who have time to linger on my blog to read all the mindless mundane stuff and leave a comment, however torturous the content may be! (hear hear). It really goes at length to prove, atleast to me, that there are people on whose faces I put a smile on or rather who laugh at all the dull jokes I try to crack (the husband has just gotten used to my joking techniques!)… It’s time to push it on to others. Sorry guys you’ll just have to bear that!

And now to pass this forward, I have strictly been advised to do so: - well the thing is since I have very few in my kitty, the list become exhaustive! Here goes,

Neilboy -The husband’s blog - there gotta be no choice on this…

Vijay – the stockmarket fanatic who cooks as well...

Finally there is Rads – the so humble and down to earth friend who always has a comment or two about my posts, come what may.

There are a lot of other blogs which I read every day but don’t leave a comment or make myself visible to the reader – not like a mysterious/anonymous reader or someone but just that blog has been blocked where I work and by the time I get back home, well the sob story starts… so, amongst them are:

An Indian summer – a lovely interior blog I have ever come across

The ketchup Girl – the writer

Lemondrops and Norwesters – Doppelganger - I can so relate to her blog, the same things we muse upon.

And that’s about it… but since my blogging community is growing I am pushing myself to make more and more friends… it’s a start…

I also want to thank all my non blogging friends who leave me a comment here and there…

And last but not the least, a huge applause to all my readers – you guyz are the best!!!

ZooZoos

ZooZoos - Unconventional characters in the world of animated ads… Well I don’t know if we can call them as animation but they seem so much like it... They are just awesome and I never realized that they are actually humans, in fact I still find it difficult to digest the fact that these cute creatures are actually thin women models from local Mumbai theatres, clad in body suits, dressed in white costumes that are stuffed with foam to portray the characters.

For those who haven’t heard of them, here’s an introduction – These Zoozoo characters have been created by O&M for Vodafone to convey different value added services offered by the mobile phone company including travel tips, music downloads, fashion tips, cricket alerts, etc. Apparently there are around 30 ads produced and only 15 presented so far – so there is hell lot more to see. If you have been following the IPL matches, then you would know what am talking about.

What I like most about these characters are their funny laughter (makes you wanna laugh out loud) and their stupid way of communication. So far the best of the lot (according to me) is the travel alert – with the boy dancing behind the girl while she explores the world!!!

Oh and there's more - you can follow them on facebook as well. How cool is that!!! I am in for sure.

Latest fetish of mine

Yummy yummy paani puris /gol-guppa / puchkas… by whatever you call it, my mouth just starts watering at the very thought!!! This is my new craze, every time I see a tehlewala, I’ve to stop for a plate. Had two plates on saturday during my romantic evening walk with the husband and had two more today evening after our grocery shopping!! ;)

5 years back the story was a bit different – it was sev puri all the time and now God only knows how the fetish changed. I used to hate the very sight of paani puri earlier and look at me now; I just can’t stop myself from having a plate!!!

Well… I can’t explain the reasons behind this latest fetish of mine and not sure how long this would last!!! This is one of my favorable changes in my life which I definitely don’t mind at all.

Here you go, have one yourself :-

Of sweet somethings and busy nothings

So this long holiday has been a refreshing one for sure, but I don’t think I can take much of it… as I am most of the time all alone at home and the only thing I seem to get addicted to is the TV which btw is not a good habit. Therefore I don’t think I’ll make a good housewife at all.

I actually took this long absence from work just to see if I’ll make it through – I was just testing on how I’d take it just being a housewife in future and I think I am not yet ready for it. I’d want myself to be occupied with something and feel am not cut out to be only at home. It’s definitely very nice to be at home on a “holiday” and during weekends but nothing more than that, at least not yet :-)

The long weekend is here which means that I won’t be alone and when the husband is at home, it is a double joy (sometimes, not always) considering the past 10 lonely days I spent at home… When he’s around at least I have company to eat and chat with… So after the refreshing holiday, I was just dying to do something apart from lying on the couch and watch TV… And what’s the best and easier way to do it? To cook of course… so there you go, put my best cooking cap and voila, daal ka sheera, corn kebabs, corn soup (very corny affair I must say!!!) kabuli (Jaipuri biriyani), chocolate milkshake… the poor husband… I was kinda feeding him all this at one go!!!! Not sure how he took it but from the looks of it I think it just went down ok ;-)

Looking forward for Monday – I have to make a most important decision; I can’t be sure how that’s going to go down! It’s not the right time to share about that now… will blog about that later – for now let that be a secret!!!

So long people – have a great weekend (whatever is left of it!!!)

Akshaya Thrithya

Or Akkha Teej (famously called back home in Rajasthan) brings back a whole lot of memories to me. This festival is one which was always celebrated in my village (Deshnok – Bikaner dist) in Rajasthan with a lot of relatives and when I say lot, I mean a whole lot of them (nearly 150 people in one house)!!!

As per the Jain tradition, today is the day when the first Thrithankar (Rishabh Bhagwan) broke his fast after completing one whole year of giving up food of any kind and living only on water. Jains consider this day as very auspicious and people who undertake similar fasting rituals break their fast with sugarcane juice today. This day also marks the foundation of the city of Bikaner and hence it is kind of a double joy to residents like me…

This is the day when there is kite flying activity happening from day break till night fall!!! Normally all the male folk indulge themselves in flying kites and if you do happen to visit Bikaner during this time, you can actually get the feel of the festivities upclose… There are even bets placed on who cuts the most kites, whose kite flies the farthest and so on and so forth!!!

The women folk indulge in cooking the very famous and scrumptious Khichda (made 4 times in 2 days) and this is made from wheat, bajra and jowar with lots of ghee. Apart from Khichda, there is badi ki sabzi, laapsi and ambalwaani (tamarind water). The food is served only in silver utensils under the guidance of the eldest person in the house…

What I clearly recollect about this day is my grandmother who would make sure that each member of the house is well-fed and usually would be the person who would pour homemade ghee on our food… And she would do this with her shaky hands and considering that she was over 80, you could imagine the amount of ghee that would fall in the plate!!! :-) hmmmmm heaven…

Sadly over the past few years, this kind of celebration is no longer happening, esp. after the demise of my grandmother. Everyone has kind of moved on with their lives and bringing everyone together to celebrate the festival would be a Herculean task… But I have just this one wish that I get to relive those wonderful days of fun and laughter. Hope it does not remain as only a dream :-(

Some facts on Akshaya Trithya

It usually falls on the 3rd day of bright Vaikash and is considered very auspicious particularly in Hindu tradition. Many couples get married today as it is considered to be the best day of the year – in fact my parents got married on Akshaya Thrithya and so did Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan. Though am not sure if buying gold or silver is auspicious but down south this seems to be the tradition.

Oh glorious day!

I am at bliss… I cannot express just how happy I feel today… It is difficult to choose the source of this feeling… either because of the brief-break from work (till Apr 29) or the weather or may be a combination of both…

I am loving every bit of it – just sitting at home doing nothing… Watching some chick flicks (as the hubby terms it!!!), spending some “quality time” (don’t get to do this often) in my neglected house and missing the husband (read that!!!).

Off late life has been a bit stressful for me and so decided to take this break… to refresh the mind and the soul and what better way to do it but to spend some lovely time at home… let me tell you, for a working person there is no place heaven other than home.

And what a way to start my holidays – its raining cats and dogs here and the sight is just awesome… the pitter-patter of the raindrops bringing me relief from the heat and soothing my nerves… The birds near my place chirping away to glory while I call the husband and tell him what exactly he is missing ;) (Devilish grin)

And so to ensure that I don’t miss the moment - I am gonna pick up a book, sit in my balcony with a hot cup of nice filter coffee while I leave you with a nice view of my balcony… The nice trees and greenery surrounding my house… my way of sharing my thoughts through the picture – am sure none of us want to miss even a bit of it.

Culinary skills at its best…

Thanks to Vijay who has helped in supplying me traditional Tamil recipe’s to satisfy my husband taste buds while I have submerged myself in Vidhu Mittal’s book Pure & simple for the north Indian dishes.

You can check Vijay’s blog here, but sadly he does not share any of the recipes on his blog – you will have to write to him for that! Lol… kidding – actually he was kind enough to ask me if I needed help to improve my cooking and I shamelessly said yes!!! :-0 sorry Vijay for the additional trouble I give you on and off!!!

A book review - I happen to come across this awesome book at a rendezvous with Sunil’s team-members one evening and was floored with it. So impressed was I, that I ordered this book from sapnaonline.com. Voila I received this in a day’s time and from then on I haven’t stopped myself from experimenting and trying out new stuffs. Am really amazed with her cooking techniques.

What I like about this book is that it not only gives you clear cut instructions but the recipes are simple and very easy to understand and isn’t lengthy at all. Apart from the recipes there are also additional information given w.r.t spices and all kinds of accompaniments. A very helpful book not only for beginners but also the housewife kinds...I give 5/5 on this and definitely a must have for any girl.

As far as Vijay goes – what can I say; he is the closest blog friend I have! Thanks so much.

Will the real honest politician please stand up?

I am in a dilemma – with the elections around the corner I am clueless on the appropriate candidate to cast my vote! I feel no one here deserves to be on the heading lurch!

Have you seen the petty fights and the cat fights that the members of each party are indulging in? It is disgusting! What kind of maturity are they displaying? I don’t think democracy means pelting stones at each other just for the sake of the throne… I really feel sad for us Indians – we have no place to go… We are back to square one!!!

The guilt (of wanting to vote but don’t know whom to) is following me each time I think of the elections – I have a lump in my throat at just the thought. Each party is filled with corruption and manipulation. Tomorrow will never change for us…

Why can’t we have someone who is well educated to carry the load for us, or why can’t we have a panel filled with educated and responsible people working for us. Yes they are working for us but the way it is portrayed, it’s always the other way around

My one question is that, these people claim that they are servants of people then how come they declare assets worth crores? Doesn’t that account to corruption? I don’t think they are born with all that money but yet can get away with it… and the common man still struggles with unemployment, inflation, increasing interest rates, etc. Is this the way India is going to prosper? They don’t really seem to be worried about all these problems , it is left for us to suffer in pain while they keep cashing on…

I am seeing an aggressive phase of elections in Indian history – the role of media to advertise candidates like it is some kind of a product that they are offering… I see them everywhere – on blogs, on TV and even on the local radio…. It is the new segment of Indian political drama!!!

End of it all – there will be no change – we will continue to have problems. We will still be targeted by terrorists while they will always get VIP protection, we will still have no valuable additions to our assets while they will show an increasing trend in the value of assets, we will still strive to add to our savings while they will cash it all in their bank account and all this in the name of growing India!!!

Obama says that Indians are the main competitors to the US and also that they are highly intimidated by us… But the reality something else… When all our talent is being eaten up by the politics of this country... We are cash rich country but unfortunately the cash is sitting with all the politicians and yet we beg IMF / World Bank for money each year.

Be Brave India. We still have to do our duty as all responsible citizens are required to do – Cast your Vote but think twice before you do that.