The Devil's Own

Brownies, Books and a Golden Halo

2010-01-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

Marian Keyes really said it when she wrote that the day after New Year's Eve looks like the day after the end of the world. Everyone's glazed or hungover - some wondering what they did the night before and how they got where they are, while others blink disbelievingly at the new day of a whole new year.

So you now know which book I'm reading along with Three Cups of Tea. Further Under the Duvet got purchased before Under the Duvet but there's no real link missing coz they're both Marian Keyes' non-fiction which is really an exciting read if you've read her other books. The author's life, her family background, husband, friends, trips aboard, hobbies (which include shopping) are all written with her really unique perspective. She can make even teary things sound funny. Which is a great book to read along with a heavy book aka Three Cups of Tea which is all about changing the world one school at a time. It's about Greg Mortenson's journey into really poverty stricken areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is fascinating but a long read and one that makes one feel pretty useless when in a country like India which has similar needs.

So Marian Keyes does give me a more positive outlook. Both books are worth reading and will definitely provoke some deep introspection.

My other loves, brownies of a double chocolate kind with crunchy walnuts, have been snarfed down. I'm currently watching my weight too so each brownie is rationed and split with hubby dearest. So we both end up watching our waistlines. The first one was had standing up with a big mug of tea as soon as my parents left after a Saturday lunch we'd had together. I miss the brownies and cakes and what nots that my bakery at the old house used to churn out. Hence, whenever my folks come over or I go over there for a time-out from my "hectic" lifestyle, I always put brownies or chocolate cake on my list. Since both occurrences (folks coming over, my going over there) are not as frequent, my waistline doesnt really notice the indulgence. Good thing coz that means I can break my diet once every few weeks. Or months.

It really relaxes me to have my folks over. I also love the fact that I can cook them anything I want (which I know they'll like) and just be myself and catch up on the gossip back home. My return gifts to them, for the brownies and cake and really spicy banana chips, were books - one for each of them. For my mom an Isabel Dalhousie book, another Marian Keyes for my sister (who's a big fan of her writing), and a Blandings Castle vintage book (my favourite too) for my dad. Plus, I get to borrow them to read so that's a dizzy five books (counting the ones I'm reading already) to look forward to.

Who says it's bummer after the holidays? Not me, certainly!

Hope You're Partying Tomorrow...

2009-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

There's something about Christmas and the New Year that really makes one sit holding one's cup of tea trying to move through the morning paper and just not being able to. Memories of the past year, of life in general, of parties and of fun flit through your mind and you realize how fully you've lived your life (as full as you want to...not comparing it to anyone's standards). This time of the year, especially. Diwali and other holidays are not times for introspection - the fireworks startle you for one - but come Christmas and you're sitting in your easy chair hovering between the dimensions of sleep and memories.

One whole page in the paper had a list of which major hotels are holding parties for NYE. As I contemplated on the list and the fact that millions of people will be on this tiny island partying till the wee hours, I couldnt help smiling at the really memorable parties I'd been to (in any order):

1. A birthday party which I thought was a Christmas party until I saw that the pudding was pink and not brown. I was really young at the time and my sister had a fever so that was the party I went to on my own. I dont remember much about it except that I stared and stared at the pink pudding hoping they would give me some soon. My love of puddings was born right there.

2. The party where I had my first vodka! And said some things I was reminded of the next day by one of the VPs. I hadnt much memory of what I did at that time. And how old was I when I had my first vodka + Sprite? 23!

3. I went to a disco for the first time when I was in my mid-20s. And I felt old! Every person between 13 and 19 was there and I felt like an auntie. Despite my cool claw pendant and beret. And really tall platforms! The only cool thing about this was we danced for 2 hours nonstop and then went to the beach where we had a meal under the stars.

4. A Las Vegas theme party where I wore a Chinese silk top I'd bought from Hong Kong. I remember that the bartenders juggled flaming bottles and one of them moved through the dancers tipping a bottle of tequila into people's mouths!

5. I love home parties. My first one (without adult supervision) and a few close friends involved 'The Sixth Sense', a Swiss chocolate cake (my favourite), Chinese food and Pictionary. We stayed up till 5 am just playing Pictionary. We slept only because we had to (good little girls).

6. My first party after marriage (without the in-laws at home) had loads of pizza, a crappy movie, lots of beer (for him) and vodka screwdrives (for her).

My father had had this idea of a party for four - it would be just the four of us. One would get the appetizers, one would make the drinks, one would order food and another would play the music or something and we'd sit back and enjoy a party without worrying about anyone other than ourselves. This is something I like to continue with my husband and we often don't wait to be invited to parties. We have our own little programme planned out - which food to get or make, which movies to watch etc. Which reminds me, we havent had one for a really long time.

So, how do you like to party? How are you partying this NYE?

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-26T05:12:00.000-08:00

My hubby took a whole week off starting this Monday. Am very excited coz we've planned a lot of fun outings. Like...eating roast duck rolled with a cucumber slice in rice pancakes at Mainland China, having an Italian meal at Don Giovanni, etc. etc. Sampling some wines we've never tried before. Making some grilled chicken in our microwave. Plans aplenty but hope we see them through. Hubby's recovering from a nasty cough and I hope with all my heart that I don't catch it.

I love Christmas mainly because we get to visit an old Goan bakery and get plum cakes that follow a traditional recipe. Also, rum cakes with a little pink sticker on it. Pink probably symbolising the rosy flush you get from too much rum. :) Only the cherries and peel are soaked in it, only a few really douse the cake with it. But, I was thankful that I got to eat it! And from an old bakery, not those that care more about following trends rather than sticking to what people love to come back to every year.

I am still in the learning stage when it comes to baking cakes (or baking anything actually) and love to bring home a cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury). Even more than that, I love going into an old-fashioned bakery that follows both standard and trendy menus and has everything for everyone. Of course, there are queues around Christmas and New Year but then that's when you send along your husband to stand in them for as long as it takes to get one rich plum cake. And an even richer rum plum cake.

That's what I love to come back to every year.

The Morning News and a Cup of Tea

2009-11-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

At this stage, it's the best combination on earth. Other than a bad movie and a good bottle of wine after.

Love Hindustan Times - especially the weekend reads of both HT and HT Cafe. Tuesdays are good too... I've just finished reading Chickwit, Blog Improvement and Expat Opinion. Blog Improvement today gave me mixed messages - she writes about how ensuring a good read (grab attention, know your audience kind of tips) improves or brings about its linkeability (more people visiting your blog and referring your stuff to others) while "doing your own thing" (which is...). It's kind of giving your perspective a professional edge. And a blog, to me, is something a lot more personal. If the writing does not appeal, that's fine too coz you're not really selling anything. For me, it's like making my diary or journal entry user friendly. I don't want to do that because it would cramp my style.

Plus, I feel close to those who visit and leave comments for me. Maria, Leah and Nancy - you guys really make me want to blog more, even if it's just me keeping in touch with you.

Chickwit was a relaxing read although it did look at serious issues - women and their self esteem when it comes to their appearance. Her style of writing is casual but strong - it engages your attention well right until the last full stop (period). She talks about being in your thirties and competing with twenty-somethings. Just to keep up with the times. And twenty-somethings obsessing about their food and looks. My seventeen-year old and twenty-one year old cousins do make me feel older than my twenty-nine years. Of course, I havent really taken care of myself the way I used to when I was twenty-seven. And I've got a whole lifetime ahead of me (unless the world's ending in 2012, which makes me wonder if losing weight and not binging is really worth it).

Expat Opinion is a very interesting column. You get to see your world from a stranger's eyes. A person who's a stranger to your country, not just your city. You get to experience the flaws and virtues of this city through their eyes. Of course, you do understand the reason they're here and you see the spark of it in their words, in their stories. The utter confusion, the lack of proper systems and yet, you find the city functioning the way it is... and a heart-warming moment when your neighbours reach out to you and help you adjust to your surroundings.

I really do not miss the Times of India. They could take a leaf out of HT's book or rather, newspaper.

2012 and a really good wine

2009-11-30T05:12:00.000-08:00

Ok. So, 2012 wasnt as scary as I thought it would be. The film was obviously flawed and unreal but it had its impact. The only thing we could think as we sat glued to our seats was yeah, this could happen. Should we plan to go for that Europe tour right now? Should we sell all our possessions and move to Goa and open that restaurant we always dreamed of? Should we leave our jobs and live off the money until we crumble and die in another...2 years?

We needed some wine and lots of it. At least, my husband needed a pick me up and we went to Mocha just for that and a bite to eat.

Sula Dia turned out just right. Hubby thought it was a bit on the sweet side but I felt it had the right tang, sweetness and sparkle. It came in a slim, gold-green bottle. A ladies' wine, I think - dressed like one anyway. Tasting of fruits. I love the experience of trying a new wine and really loving it. It did a great job of comforting us after the movie. Not that my husband slept well after dinner. He dreamt of giving me the sea-spaceship ticket to me and boarding a bus to someplace. He doesnt know if he reached anywhere safe but was glad to wake up and know that he dreamt it all.

I hope the darn thing stays a dream. If 2012 happens like in the movie, we're all sitting ducks.

So much happening everywhere but here...

2009-11-17T06:47:00.000-08:00

I felt like we were living in the wrong city when I heard that Doolally's opened in a Pune. It's a micro-brewery. My husband would love this more than I would because it involves only beer, beer and more beer. My friend's husband raved about the place on his facebook - they even took along their dog and let him sample two beers. This totally brought back to my mind the Scotland Street books with Cyril the dog accompanying his owner, Angus, to the bar where he is allowed a saucer of beer.

Where I live, women drinking in public is not so common so we usually go to a few places around the city or out of it to really kick back a few. So far, we've been going to about three-four places where, thanks to the things we order, we've become quite well known among the staff (God knows what they say behind our backs but who cares as long as no one's spitting in my food). Waiters smile more and bring us our orders quicker and allow us to sit wherever we want.

Now, of course, we eat at home more often and we've stopped ordering food in on Sundays. That coupled with exercise is showing a lot of results and hence, I decided to stop going out for cocktails more than once or twice (in an emergency) a month. Most of my friends dont drink and hence, I only binge on cocktails when I'm with my husband. But I havent completely given it up, only got more selective. And, I need a change of scenery, more challenges than different alcoholic mixes in sweetened juices.

Like, a wine library. That's really rare and limited to most of the seven star hotels around here (because five stars are not enough). The prices are astronomical. HT Cafe (comes with our local newspaper) carries a wine index comparing the prices of wine all around the city. They also give a list of places that come under different price ranges. They're all not really a hop, skip and jump away which is why we stick to our few restaurants for a decent drink. But I love to explore; get bored by having the same things.

Bandra - considered the top-most suburb in Bombay city, on its merit of course - had a wine tasting fair in an open garden recently. Read about it and felt like I lived miles away in a sleepy little village. Not that I'd feel any different among the snootiest lot sniffing and swirling the contents of the wine glass. But it was a decently managed affair and for a price of 500 Rupees you could sample some really fine and diverse wines - both domestic and international. I really missed living just a half-hour away. It would take a 2 hour bus ride and a 1 hour rickshaw ride to get there from here.

Well, there's always next year. And one can't always have adventure in one's own backyard.

Cold Evening, Hot Soup!

2009-11-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

It clouded over this morning and there was a constant drizzle. We got the feel of a typical Indian monsoon in November. Everyone was pleasantly surprised and there were messages of relief all over my homepage when I checked into facebook.

I had to switch off the fan overhead: it was so cool. I could have bundled up and napped the gloomy afternoon away but I had work - now that the brief holiday from the world was over (no internet connection). There were leftover spring onions, capsicums (red and yellow), and mushrooms waiting in the fridge. I switched on the computer and thought about making soup.

In the evening, as my husband took a short conference call with his colleagues from around the world, I made my soup. Chopped garlic along with the vegetables. Took out the olive oil and oregano. Tossed the veggies and garlic in olive oil and then added the seasonings. Added a cube of chicken stock powder to water and added the veggies. Added noodles and stirred. The kitchen smelled of soup.

A dot of butter completed the magic and a hint of tomato ketchup provided the bite it needed. Hubby and I slurped it all up, right down to the tiniest bit of oregano. The rain hung around for more.

What a relief!

2009-11-09T05:55:00.001-08:00

8 days without Internet. Work on hold. Facebook on hold. A large portion of life on hold.

It was insane trying to get back online - a sea of government officials, excuses, frustrations, fights, pleading. Once we got re-connected, it seemed like we'd climbed Mt. Everest and back, such was our relief. And all I could do was email like crazy, check all my online networking games (cooked, baked, tended plants, harvested crops, re-activated properties within a few minutes), and then...put my feet up and read all the blogs I missed during my exile.

I love being back!

I finished reading French Women Don't Get Fat and learned a lot! Promised myself that I would not quit walking, will try the stairs once in a day, will develop my sense of taste and will never let myself go like I did in the past two years. It's a big awakening moment to know all of the things in the book and find it soo hard to follow through.

What will you be this Halloween?

2009-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

I find it exciting that people are planning Halloween parties, here and abroad. I'm not attending parties or doing anything other than looking up costume ideas for my sis - who is going to one - but its quite nice to watch from the sidelines. And it does tempt you to have a Halloween party of your own. It's quite something to watch all your family and friends dressed up as someone or something different. My sister's going to a theme party dressed as a Goddess - which one she hasnt decided yet.

I like goddesses with a little personality and plenty of colour in their lives. The ones who live a little dangerously. I took an online quiz (pretty predictable, most of them) and turned out to be Hecate. Now that's a goddess with possibilities. Three heads, a crone, a beautiful maiden...there was so much information on her. The interesting kind of information. She was a Titan - the only one that Zeus spared because of her unlimited potential. The one he blessed with the power to grant any wish and even take it away. She roamed through all the worlds - even the underworld. She helped children and young women. At the same time, she was more famous for her dark side that even the gods seemed to fear. She was more hated than loved. Avoided rather than popular. She was probably one of those who'd walk into a party and stop all conversation. In short, a very interesting life.

There's Nemesis - divine retribution of the winged variety to those who are too arrogant and wicked (pick your weapon from a choice of flaming torch, sword or hourglass - thy time hath arrived!!)

There's Oeno - turns anything into wine (good excuse for always carrying around a glass of merlot or sparkling wine)

There's Dementia - not much information about her but imagine going around a party wanting to turn people mad...now that's interesting!

Diana the hunter and goddess of the moon - there must be loads of interesting mythology there

There was Spermo - goddess of grain (you wouldnt be able to say your name without a smile or a wink)

Or the Queen Bee Hera who I think was really famous for throwing the most awful (understatement!!) tantrums that shook heaven and earth.

Now, gods and goddesses is a theme done to death, I'm sure. Nothing creative or new here unless you're making modernized versions of these gods or some punchy line to deliver while mingling with guests.

So, what are you going as this Halloween? It could even involve a costume while you're waiting for kids to "Trick or Treat!" at your home...all you need is the Halloween spirit, not just a party invitation although that does get more action than just sporting a pair of devil horns and holding a cigarette.

Do share what you'd love to be this Halloween - even if you're not dressing the part.

This time of the year...

2009-10-20T07:50:00.001-07:00

...is celebrated as the festival of lights. Diwali started off with a bang (literally) in the wee hours of Saturday (probably 4 am) and is still going on. We got out at 7 am and had a bath, applying liberal amounts of fragrant coconut oil and sandalwood paste to our bodies and rubbing them in to maximise their effect. With glowing, sweet-smelling skins, we donned new clothes, jewellery and sat patiently as my mother-in-law explained and performed the necessary rituals and then brought out the sweets and snacks that Diwali is best remembered for.

Evenings are spent out of doors with some bursting crackers, others hanging out lanterns and creating rangoli designs outside their homes. We took my little neice and her mother out to a mall that they'd never seen before. It glowed like a white elephant with pristine floors and walls all light up with tiny yellow Christmas lights suspended from light-as-air net curtains. We did some quick shopping, took her for some games and fun and concluded our evening with a sumptuous feast.

The three days of Diwali were spent meeting relatives, going to my parents' house, having them come over. Lots of fish, chicken biryani, chocolate cakes (my birthday) and sweets! I'm slowly getting sick of stuffing myself with the calorific sweetness... yet, they're irresistible. As is a sparkler or two and the brilliant lanterns hung outside every home.

It's always sad to bid this festival goodbye and come to grips with reality...aka work!!!

So Cool!

2009-09-15T00:52:00.000-07:00

It had been raining furiously last week. One sunny Sunday morning, we went off in the car to have lunch with P's relatives when a storm burst in from nowhere and there were mini-floods in the streets. We actually went round the house a couple of times trying to find a drier place to park the car. Once we had lunch and sat idly beside the balcony, it was gone...off to rain on someone else's dinner plans, I'm sure.

Now, every morning is sunny but noon becomes dark and menacing. Evening is sultry and night is cool. We wish we had a terrace to lie down in and enjoy the starry sky and the cool breezes but a big almost-french window's good too. We keep enough distance between the drapes to be able to watch the indigo sky with the chalky clouds and a slight drizzle until our eyes close and we're mentally transported to a dream or nightmare sequence.

We have a long weekend coming up and are wondering whether we should go to the hill-stations or the beachside - all a few hours from where we live. As yet we're just pleasantly floating around thinking about just doing this on the spur of the moment. Just checking train and bus schedule's driving us nuts. We want to drive there...but where do we drive?

This weekend I'm staying with my parents... looking forward to really letting my hair down. Can't wait until I'm on the bus, reading a paper or Mary Higgins Clark - where I've realized that most heroines are brunettes, heroes are blond and villains are, well, mysterious until the mask is pulled off and the one you're sure could never be him is him. Humm! Even better than that? Endless cups of tea once I reach.

The only thing that looks good on an IPod...

2009-08-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

When I was buying my IPod, my friend asked me what message I wanted to engrave on it. After much soul searching and google-searching, I found the only one I'd want to be carved on stone (or IPod) ...

"We are such stuff
As dreams are made on..."

The rest of it's something else too:

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

Is there anything sexier than having your man cook for you?

2009-08-24T23:38:00.001-07:00

To watch those big macho men take a skillet and a pan and just immerse themselves in a creation designed to impress you? A dash of this and that...no set recipe planned ahead. Raid the kitchen for what's available and just intuitively select those your darling will fall for...fall in love with you all over again.

Once, I came back from a really long day at a workshop after 2 hours of travelling to find a delicious pasta boiling on the stove for me. My man bent over the stove trying to find the right balance of spice and tanginess, adjusting one with the other, tearing off coriander leaves and tenderly dropping them over the dish. Making me a hearty dinner...

You dont need to walk down the aisle again to reaffirm your vows and bonds. All you need is one to slip into an apron and the other to make sensuous 'yummy' sounds. And the rest shall fall into place...

Cocktail Kings!

2009-08-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night was a rare one; cocktails flowed like water and I even got one free after we sampled about...hmmm...4 each?

Cosmopolitan - Very, very yummily made
Tequila Sunrise - O.K. (I've had better)
Chocolatini - yummmmm....in a Bailey's cream kind of silky satiny yummy
North Side Special - a rum cocktail...nothing all that rum about it, it was exceptional!

I got to choose another drink (free!) and got myself a Cosmo again because I fell in love with it. We had all of these against the backdrop of grilled and skewered Arabic delicacies - Chicken mussakkan roll, barbequed chicken and a mezze platter (isnt that Lebanese?). We were pleasantly swimming and gliding across mental seas and skies after which we skipped the waiter's offer of a sizzling chocolate brownie (a feat in itself) and instead glided over to a Baskin Robbins for a choco mousse icecream.

To sum it up: a wonderful Friday night! We (Hubby and I) have both expressed a secret wish to go all around Mumbai and sample cocktails for a living. And perhaps, rate them on our blog!

Walk down foodie lane...

2009-07-14T20:49:00.001-07:00

Maria's Top Ten Comfort Food list inspired me to bring out my own favourite foods and list them (no order of preference here).

The Devil's List of Favourite Comfort Foods

1. Barbequed Prawn Pizza - I have never not felt like eating this one...just the thought of having this mouth-watering, cheesy, tangy pizza can comfort me. I went to Pop Tate's last month and ordered it only to find that they've discontinued it and we had to make do with Bbqd Chicken Pizza which was sadly lacking in everything including some good old tiny but succulent prawns.

2. Egg Mc Muffin with Smoked Salami - I was floored by the taste of smoky salami (perfectly done) laid on a bed of fried egg. Cheese on top, which I could have done without. I had one of these and one and a half Sausage Mc Muffin (which was great but not as lovely as this one) and well...we went without lunch that day.

3. Pasta (Mushroom Alfredo, Lasagna, Chicken mince...you name it, I want it!) - Even having a few strands of pasta in soup (almost any soup) makes it a more enjoyable experience for me. Even a simple white sauce (nothing but cream and flour and onions and garlic) makes pasta more divine than anything...except the top two comfort foods.

4. Chicken biryani - You dont need anything else other than a thick curd raita to accompany this one pot meal. Tender marinated chicken cooked with long grain rice and topped with caramelized onions...a feast of spices and flavors; a soft aroma beckons even those who claim to be on a diet. This is frankly all you'll ever need...ever!... with a nice glass of wine.

5. Kheema with Egg - Mutton/Chicken mince cooked in onions, peas and spices with a beaten egg poured over and cooked with the mixture at the end... a treat any time, anywhere! Eaten with soft, baked pao (Indian bread), a wedge of lemon and onion rings (not fried).

6. Egg or Flat Noodles/Fried Rice - Just cannot decide between the two; usually if the person accompanying me for lunch doesnt like noodles, we end up ordering rice. Love both equally...especially when tossed with a few meats and bite-sized pieces of fried egg/omelette.

7. Dim Sums - How can I ever forget these glorious little packages of heaven? I can eat them no matter what...which season I'm in, what mood I'm in. Dim sums always excite me even though they're reduced to choosing from chicken/fish fillings rather than pork, mutton, beef, crab...I think I only miss pork more. Although I wish I could visit China White again...that was the only restaurant where we could really enjoy our dim sums...lotus leaf wrapped ones in sticky rice especially!

8. Chocolate cake in custard - This is my most loved but forgotten dessert over time... growing up, I'd make custard only to have it this way. Now, I suspect no one other than yours truly will enjoy this. Sadly, I am tempted to but avoid getting desserts home so making it will definitely invoke a round of binging (especially as no one else at home wants the firm and soggy combination).

9. Sausages - any kind, grilled or fried or boiled...I love them all. The best ones I've had are the cheese and onion chicken sausages.

10. Hot Chocolate Cake/Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice cream - I love this combination especially if there's dark chocolate cream on the cake or brownie. I hate the sizzling brownie thing they serve in almost all restaurants in Bombay...where the brownie sizzles on an iron platter heated for the purpose and topped with ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over the combination for smoke effect. Why bother with that when you can just have a microwaved or oven-warmed brownie/chocolate cake with a scoop or two of deliciously cold vanilla ice cream melting over it as you try and salvage every spoonful?

This is it as far as I can think. I'm sure to wake up in the middle of the night with a few more items but till then... this is it!

I sure would love to know everyone's top ten or at least top five favourite comfort foods.

The Holiday...

2009-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

What can be better than looking forward to the rains all cozied up at home with four unread books?

1. Sushi for Beginners
2. Rachel's Holiday
3. The British Museum Is Falling Down
4. Victoria Line, Central Line

Work hasnt arrived yet. I have pending personal tasks piling up helplessly...and yet, I'm feeling on the absolute top of the world. High!

We've been waiting for you

2009-06-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

The rain pattered down on Friday night - it was late when I finally put the book away and switched off the light to open the curtains and look down to a gleaming, wet street and a muted patter of raindrops on every metal awning in the neighbourhood. Saturday and Sunday were blissfully rainy...we had a long drive to look forward to and a visit home to my mother's. As we sped away to our destination, the rain clouds followed us and darkened the evening earlier than the usual summery time of 7:30 pm. Sunday was wonderfully wet and it gladdened us to be out in the rain - a hot fish lunch followed by a trip to the movie theater for the much-awaited Angels and Demons.

The movie was wonderful...I liked it better than the Da Vinci Code in terms of action and a tight script. Not one second had me rolling my eyes and hoping for something else. Even Tom Hanks was more convincing as Robert Langdon this time although he wouldnt have been my first choice for the role. Every film this actor makes is nothing short of amazing. Watching the movie made me realise the importance of watching cinema on the big screen and I was glad to not have missed it. The entire team of actors was brilliantly cast - the Pope's chamberlain, scientists, police, security team... not one actor looked like he only just came in to play a role. The scenes within the Vatican city, the beautiful churches and architecture of ancient buildings, the suspense and the ruthlessness with which each threat was carried out were all prime reasons to go and watch the movie (earlier panned by critics as one of the weakest cinematic offerings of Hollywood).

All in all a good weekend with great food. The skies are alternately sunny or gloomy. We hope for more rain soon, even a light drizzle just to assure us that it wasnt a one time miracle; that our fields will get the nourishment they need and the people will get a much needed respite from the harsh sun.

Are we there yet?

2009-06-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

MRF Tyres has postponed its Rain Day indefinitely. So much for the meteorologists who predicted that the skies will tip over liquid manna over parched fields some two weeks ago.

I was depressed a few weeks ago over the pointlessness of my life. A year and a half ago, I was over-stressed and knew I wanted to do something else. Forget about keeping my promise to myself, I have fallen back into a rut that I keep trying to crawl out of. An astrologer once told my mother that all my ideas are confined within my head and that's one of my major obstacles. He hadnt even seen me. And he was right. I tried to prove him wrong but I keep sliding back.

Watching a few videos of the Golden Girls between work schedules cheered me up but gloom stands just around the corner and predictably, every few weeks, I plunge into it headlong.

I want the rain to bring a change of scene outside my window but dont react to the nagging need for change within me. I want clear signposts to show me which way I'm headed... losing the point of the whole journey. I used to take steps towards what I wanted and now, am slacking off and letting go a whole lot more.

I dont know how long it's been since I wrote...there are dusty cobwebs around my mind's eye that are being tossed about as I write. I read more blogs now than I have for all the weeks before today. Feels good to find one's fingers tapping away as the mind dictates. I know that I'm picking myself up from the dumps. I just need this post to remind me to do that every time I slack off.

I'll pray for it to rain... without sitting at my window and glaring at the sun.

Will it rain today?

2009-06-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

The day has awakened with half a promise...exactly half of the blue-white cloud sky is filled with darker, more menacing black clouds. Yesterday there was half a drizzle. Today, at least there's more cloud cover. Although sunlight maintains her presence persistently.

If it rains today, may it mingle with the sunlight streaming over the clouds and make a pretty, long rainbow. I need to chase one.

Poem in Your Pocket

2009-04-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

It may not have anything to do with the election fever today but it does alter my frame of mind from despair to hope. Leah, it was a good idea to suggest carrying a poem in my pocket; I carried this in my heart.

So...It's Election Week!

2009-04-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm deciding whether to vote for the guy who started this amazing bus that takes us to all the places we normally visit but end up changing two or more buses on the way. Now we dont feel like we're in a village on the outskirts of Bombay; we're more with it now. Better connectivity and all that. Not to mention that I can just zip on to an air-conditioned KingLong any time I feel like visiting South Bombay, which the ugly circuit (celebs who're only in the news for attending and throwing parties) calls SoBo now. Why not call it Manhattan while you're at it?

Anyway, we still have power outages (load shedding) for up to 3 hours a day split up into schedules of one and a half hours at a time. I'm lucky that water's still available through the day and night. We do have little riots breaking out among the underprivileged sections of our little town but that's everywhere! SoBo has little swimming pool parties, brunches, horse racing as it's summer activities while they move around these venues in air-conditioned comfort. They probably never open any window to get in anything other than air-conditioned breezes. And we read about these things every single day while the sweat drips down our necks. I dont think there's a SoBo word for sweat.

Yesterday, I went down for a walk in the evening (around 7 pm) and still managed to sweat buckets before I even got warmed up. Going to the library and standing under a few fans helped me gear up for the final lap home.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see political personalities campaigning out in the sweltering heat and sunshine. The only time in five years that anyone bothers to leave their cushy homes and offices and mingle with the people (only they do it in trucks with a few chosen commoners). They speak of problem-solving and getting water problems sorted out but it is pushed to the backburners when they come to power. Today, I read that one of them is against educating rural people to use computers. They will be out of work if they do that is his reason. At the same time, they want to work for those in villages, provide them electricity and water. No one does that because every five years, the same things are being promised to these people. Where in heck is anyone going to learn how to use a computer in such circumstances?

At the same time, the class divide keeps increasing. There's SoBo on one hand while on the other are thousands of slums that stay where they are while realty rates increase so much that the salaried class can feel the pinch of investing in a flat big enough to house all their family members.

One day, I hope to see electricity and water striked out as promises. We cannot take India to any global level if her villages and half of her cities are still in the dark.

Bombay Diva: A Place for Reflection...

2009-04-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

This is where Bombayites come to reflect, to pray, to take a break from the fast-paced rat race of a life. You take a train, climb a hill, whizz past swish residential buildings to a simple town of temples. Whether you have a lot to be grateful for or a lot to look forward to, or simply to ask the Lord for help, just stepping into Banganga's atmosphere will reduce your mind's torment, climbing down the steps into its many temples will cause you to reflect or simply tune out of misery and into hope.

Read all about it on my other blog.

Banganga is the water that energizes and comforts a tired soul. A tank full of the pious river Ganga's blessings. For prosperity, for success, for hope, for prayer. For the rich or poor. Old or young. Here's where the adventure seekers and go-getters of this magnificent city go to find their strength.

The Bombay Store

2009-04-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Come into the shade of a store born before India gained her freedom. Feel the silks and organza, let the gleam of precious stones dazzle you, tempt yourself with aromatic salts and oils. A glimpse of India in her regal splendour, waiting to enchant you with her gifts. One eye on the future yet firmly grounded by her roots.

Come, visit the Bombay Store.

A French Twist!

2009-04-09T23:28:00.000-07:00

There's a bakery called The French Loaf, which apart from french loaves has Focaccia bread (with olives), quiches, pies, different varieties of multigrain breads and also an exquisite selection of cakes. Everything's expensive, because it comes from France?!

Not so much a taste of France say a few online reviews I found online. I couldnt visit the shop, only a few blocks away from my home in Andheri. So I hoped it would stay there and searched for some descriptions online to see what's the best thing to eat or order there. Disappointing said one review in an online version of a local newspaper (tabloid). They heat croissants in a microwave before serving them to you and their rolls are no different from any other coffee place. Just buy a loaf to make French toast, they say. Another review raved about the pastries offered and the "buy one, get one free" offer on their loaves.

What's really interesting is to find a bit of France (even if its only the loaf) in surroundings where one would often find an Italian, Chinese or Indian restaurant around the corner. Lebanese joints, Arabian bistros, hookah cafes all have mushroomed over this area so a French twist was quite unexpected.

I'm looking forward to sample a few of its goodies, buy some loaves and write my own food review!

An Engagement on the Street!

2009-04-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

The sleepy little village outside my home does tend to have a few celebrations that are beyond the imagination of many of us. Yesterday, we saw that they had finished erecting a stage and had put up a tent-like partition which is typically used as a dining hall for weddings. So all of us flat residents were wondering about it as we saw them hard at work, narrowing down the street to the length of a one-way road (not that there's much traffic).

My in-laws made a few enquiries and found that they're gearing up for quite a few celebrations leading to the Hanuman Jayanti. Hanuman, our monkey-faced divine protector and Sri Rama's ally, resides in two temples near here and his birthday is celebrated around this time. Last year was my first time witnessing the celebrations. This year too, they put up the stage for not just this one but many other celebrations that started with an engagement ceremony.

At about 5 pm, chairs were stacked in neat rows before the stage illuminated by rows of twinkly lights. A few priests were going about preparing the stage for the ceremonies to follow. Guests gathered. Extra chairs were put up on the other side, narrowing down the road further. And then, studio lights were set up as the photographers arrived. Everything that would be done in a wedding hall was being done here, only thing was it was on the street.

The couple arrived, their wellwishers arrived too and the street seemed to be bursting at the seams to contain all this merry band together along with all its furniture. A few autorickshaws tried to pass through and had a very rough time of it. A microphone was plugged in, musicians arrived and from that point on, people forgot it was a street and just socialized, danced and ate in a completely carefree, celebratory mood. The couple had photos taken on stage, wished by their family and friends and called it a day only after 11 pm. Even then, a few kids played on the stage and the older ones sat around in the plastic chairs playing cards. I slept long before the party truly ended.

This morning the stage and the decorations seem to have an abandoned air around them. Tomorrow is Rama Navami when they plan to do something that's not been disclosed yet. And yes, its going to be on the street again.

Read all about: Churchgate station!

2009-03-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

This station started off my lifelong crush on South Bombay.

Want to see a little bit of it? Click the link!

The Trains and the Witches

2009-03-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is something I didnt want to post on the Bombay Diva blog although I should as it's more relevant there but didnt because it's not Bombay's fault that some people behave like this. The morning rush in the trains - the most efficient transport system in Bombay - makes women, especially, turn into broom-flying witches who glare at and attack anyone who gets in their way.

Yesterday, my husband came home from work with a story. It was after 10 am. There was heavy human traffic on the station platforms where trains stop for a brief 2 minutes before proceeding to their destination and other stations scheduled for a stop. A woman's handbag fell in the gap under the train and the platform and got stuck. My husband's colleague stopped to help her yank the bag out before the train left, blocking the people behind her. Two girls mauled her from behind and left bleeding scratch marks on her wrists and arms. Even after she got in the train and yelled at them, they were "shocked" at her language and asked her what social background she came from. She incredulously retorted with the same question, what social background do you guys belong to that do this to other people and she showed them the visibly bleeding marks.

Once she got into the office she was crying at the agony she had to undergo with the wounds and the mental pain of hearing the two women openly complain about her to each other. She found more scratch marks all along her back. She needed tetanus injections because the doctor told her that pus was forming around those scratches.

I dont know what's become to make people so murderous during the morning rush hour. Even regularly travelling people have to bear the brunt of such attacks: verbal or physical. It used to be a different place a few years ago and now it's come to this. This wasnt even in the Second Class with a whole section of people who might come down to cat fights. The First Class that usually stands aside and gives way to people alighting from trains (not ever seen in the Second class rush where people just stand dumbly in your way not caring that you need to get down at a particular station) had come to such blows.

I can only hope that this was one stray incident and those two women no matter how they were inconvenienced will not choose to retaliate in this way. They could very easily be in the same position and I hope that no one would choose to physically assault them.

Bombay Diva - a new adventure!

2009-03-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

I have a million Bombay stories in my head but no space in my personal blog to write them all down. After all, the Idle Devil started writing her blog for want of a web space to call her own to just type what's on her mind; kind of an online journal or diary. Bombay Diva started when I boarded the ferry that looks at the island city from a distance. It took me away from her and something happened: I was speeding away into the ocean and at the same time, felt myself being tugged back by the city I was speeding away from.

I could see Bombay from a distance and could imagine what millions of migrating people might have felt on spying the Gateway of India for the first time.

I inwardly celebrated my good fortune of never having to leave the city for good. Every time I leave the house and travel to the city, I find my mind bursting to hold in a million sights, people, faces, things, stories, facts of Bombay. I need space to write them all down. So, I welcome Bombay Diva - the light that is my city standing tall and mighty on a global platform.

I aced the interview!

2009-03-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

Did I tell you about the interview I had submitted for review? The writing workshop had an interview piece that we each had to do - we could select the person to interview. I wanted to interview Abodh Aras, CEO of Welfare of Stray Dogs. Interviewing someone approachable, interesting and passionate about his cause was quite an experience: rewarding in more ways than one. I had a glimpse of the crusade he's on - controlling stray dog population and sterilizing, vaccinating them, giving them first aid - and the effort he puts in every single day for a cause that's one of a kind. It took me more than a day to sit down and condense everything to 10 questions, which was the submission limit. Quite naturally, the questions flowed well and gave an idea of a continuous conversation rather than a disjointed question answer session.

I got a "Well Done" by the reviewer. She also observed that I did my homework well before going for the interview. It put me in a great mood all of Sunday.

It reminded me of that day when I left home at 7:15 am to get the bus that would take me to Churchgate. The office was at Kalaghoda, the art destination of Mumbai. I had to wait an hour before I could go and interview him and not one restaurant was open, there was no place to sit down and read my newspaper. Only juice and sandwich stalls were open, as were newstands. Tea and idli sellers roamed the streets with their stainless steel containers, often parking at a spot where early office goers swarmed like flies to catch a hot cuppa chai or a steaming idli and green coconut chutney before they clocked in. Tiny offices, tucked away in crumblingly old buildings. I climbed treacherously old wooden stairs to reach the office where I waited in the hot, unventilated passage before Abodh came in to unlock the office door.

He swiftly ushered me into the visitors room and sat in a chair and gave me an anticipative look which signalled me to start the interview right there. I didnt know how an hour passed and then a few minutes more before I shut my notebook and thanked him for giving me his time. He noted down my email address and also my blog address which I quite nervously gave; it's quite a personal space. He blogs too:

http://strayingaround.blogspot.com/ (where he writes about Mumbai and strays in general)

I've been hunting around for his stray dog adoption blog but havent found it yet.

I'm now going to hunt for someone who can publish this interview.

Living to the Hilt!

2009-03-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

1. Finished reading 'Chocolat'. Loved the book. Cant wait to read The Lollipop Shoes.

2. Went to a book-signing event organised by Crossword. Orhan Pamuk was invited and was right on time, down to the very minute. Wished him luck and just enjoyed being around him and getting a personalized autograph. A Japanese woman ahead of us brought him some food and drink which he graciously accepted.

3. Had no Internet, frequent power cuts and a dead phone line for two days. Read more. Went out more.

4. Visited my old home for an overnight stay. Next day had a biryani lunch at my favourite restaurant. Only sad thing was they ruined Shahi Tukda.

5. Went for P's cousin's kid's fifth birthday party. They threw a bash in a party hall. Had a comedian who was more of an adult party item than a kiddy party item. The birthday girl wailed for a magic show.

6. P and I won a prize for dancing back to back. They had this embarrassing contest between couples and well, relatives were pushed on to the floor first! At least we won a Cadbury's Dairy Milk bar.

7. Lunch was fantastic. We all took huge helpings of a raw jackfruit curry. Yummy!

8. Sunday night dinner was butter chicken and chicken fried rice from Fishland! Of course, we also shared one slice of fried surmai fish.

9. Snoozed well. Woke up early today.

10. No work today! Free to play games and read some more. Am reading Perry Mason right now. What are you reading?

Life's Just Great...

2009-02-28T20:26:00.001-08:00

I utilized my time effectively over the last few weeks. The workshop was great, the group I was in was great; I loved the entire experience including my interview session with Abodh Aras, the CEO of a foundation called Welfare of Stray Dogs. He works with stray dogs in Mumbai, sterilizes them, does vaccinations, has educational campaigns for people to understand how and why not to get scared of stray dogs, fundraising activities etc.

A most interesting experience; one I would recommend to all budding writers or those who just want to re-learn.

Ok, I remember my promise to Reflections...here goes!

25 Facts About Me

1. I am a die-hard foodie, but I didnt need to write that...you know it already even if you've read just one post on my blog.

2. I love to build up stories, plots in my head and imagine them through to a very emotional finale...just cant write them down, yet.

3. It takes a lot of persuasion to get me to do something important or something that I know will take a lot of my time and effort.

4. I dont think I would want my child to make the same mistakes I did although I still think those mistakes were learning experiences.

5. I have a fondness for books about food, or has food in some way interlinked with the plot, more than books of any other category.

6. I think my world would be empty without good libraries, bookstores.

7. I dont really miss drinking until I see a bottle of Bacardi Reserva.

8. According to me, nothing compares to Bacardi Reserva, not spiced rum, not Old Monk (which I've heard, NRIs love to stock their cupboards with), not anything else in the world. I love singing "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" with ol' rum-loving Jack Sparrow.

9. I didnt watch the Academy Awards thinking Kate Winslet might not win if I did watch; because I thought that my not watching the Golden Globes gave her two (I'm sure this must be the height of conceit, but it worked!!).

10. I still dont know if I'm a coffee person or a tea person.

11. At the workshop, I was the only one who didnt have a strong enough opinion piece. I think that comes from sitting on the fence a lot.

12. I keep procrastinating (like this workshop thing I had wanted to do for quite a few months before I finally did it) and then when I do it I wonder what was all the procrastinating about. After which, regret sets in and haunts me.

13. I cannot stand ghost movies anymore, more for the sound effects than anything else. Also, if I see scary things appearing from windows or mirrors, I avoid looking at both in my room at night when trying hard to sleep.

14. I watched Bhoot (ghost in Hindi) movie and slept with the lights on for weeks.

15. I dont mind Chinese supersitions as much as I hate Indian ones...although most of the time, I think one can relate to the other; they have common ground at times.

16. I can worship Aamir Khan as the god of acting. He's made some of the most memorable Indian movies; one to do about an 8 year old struggling with learning disability (which he also made into a mission to educate go-getter parents with the ground realities of learning disabilities), one where he is investigating his girlfriend's murder while dealing with a memory that gets wiped away completely every 15 minutes, beating the Britishers at a game of cricket to win a tax exemption at the time of colonial rule over India, one about how a group of youngsters start to understand the freedom their country has gained by stepping into the shoes of freedom fighters for a televised play.

17. I have understood love the hard way. I am blessed with it only after knowing its worth; I am glad for I know that now I will be able to guard it with my life.

18. Music can make me write of my emotions more fluidly than a complete pin-drop silence.

19. I identify with Miranda in Sex and the City although my childhood friends might identify me with Charlotte a lot more.

20. Music and books can take me to places I never imagined I'd visit.

21. I love fiercely and passionately even though on the surface, I seem more like still water: no ripples, no waves.

22. I love reading about others' lives and daily stories more than I love writing about my own.

23. To people I admire or learn from, I seem more submissive than I am.

24. I especially miss my home when I hear tea being passed around.

25. Nostalgia hits me more now than it used to before. Makes me realize I'm getting older.

Well, what do you know...this was easier than it looked. Music helped, too. :-)

My Workshop!

2009-02-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

I finally started attending the workshop and had been too busy with assignments to post anything about it. I loved everything about it, others who'd come for the workshop were friendly and buzzing with ideas, which made discussions lively and interesting. There was such diversity: a lady working at the Mumbai airport, a stay-at-home expecting mother, a French teacher in the making, a student freshly out of school starting his first year in college. Yet, each was communicative and had loads of interesting stuff to contribute and we didnt realise how fast time sped by and it was already 2:30 pm: time to go!

We got a free-flow exercise called I, Me, Myself with a twist where we had to write about our own selves. There was no word limit, we just had to be honest and express ourselves on paper. This was the first exercise, before we attempted any other form of writing.

Other assignments include an opinion piece, a story and an interview. All to be done before the 25th. I spent yesterday going through a lot of websites to research my opinion piece. Once I'm done I'll let you know how and what it was. Until then, I'm with my nose to the grindstone, trying to meet my deadlines.

Reflections: I know you'll be looking for me to post 25 facts about myself. I will do it really, really soon...like perhaps over the weekend. Watch this space for more :-)

Valentinis: Valentine's Day posts

2009-02-12T19:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my previous post for Valentine's Day was a bit serious and thought-inducing. For today's post, I want to post anything you've got that's even remotely connected to Valentine's Day; a funny post about it, rantings, stories, anecdotes...anything. As long as it concerns the festival of hearts, I'd love to link your story to mine.

Two blogs I found containing V-Day posts:

V-Day from the wait staff's perspective

A collection of NY hearts from Parisbreakfasts

My V-Day story
My most memorable V-Day was spent with my best friend. We were both single at the time and thought of going out together on V-Day instead of staying home just because we didnt have a date to go out with. We booked a table on the terrace of this seafood restaurant and decided to meet there at 7 to kickstart V-Day for singles' night.

We met at 7, dressed for a night on the town. Shown to our "table for two" the extra plates cleared away, we noticed candlelight on the other occupied tables, but our candle remained unlit. We joked about how they probably dont light candles for same-sex couples and went on to order a huge platter of fish. When it came to the table, the waiter immediately took away our unlit candle which made us burst with previously restrained laughter.

After a sumptuous dinner, we decided to have our favourite dessert - Mud Cake - at this really plush hotel next door. Unfortunately, we reached around 9:30, when the place had already filled for their V-Day buffet dinner. When they suggested we go to their bakery, we decided instead to go out somewhere else. Before we left the hotel, we went to the ladies room to find tiny vials of Maria Sharapova's signature perfume stocked beside the soaps next to the basin. My friend hastily picked a few, while I took only one, not wanting to be greedy.

I saved the perfume in its tiny vial for a few years, dabbing it on only for birthdays or going out somewhere special. It lasted a very long time, the scent remaining unchanged, until I lost the tiny bottle.

I dont think I've ever had a V-Day as full of surprises and fun as this little one.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

On one hand, there are political parties that have threatened to go into cafes and restaurants on V-Day and force couples to get married on the spot or at the police station. On the other, these cafes and restaurants are all set to celebrate V-Day, add more pink and red hearts, tinsel and whip out their spanking new (and over-expensive) Valentine's day drinks.

To protest against this so-called moral policing is: The Pink Chaddi campaign.

"The Pink Chaddi Campaign kicked off on 5 February 2009 to oppose the Sri Ram Sena. The campaign is growing exponentially (4,500 at this point in the life of our Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women) and that is not surprising. Most women in this country have enough curbs on their lives without a whole new franchise cashing in with their bully-boy tactics. Of course, a lot of men have joined the group as well."

What happened: The Sri Ram Sena was shown (on prime time news TV) to have physically assaulted girls in pubs and discos causing them to flee while I dont know how many channels videotaped the whole thing as it happened. Such stunts often happen only with the help of these camerapersons who in their own way assist in such assaults. The moral of their story: girls "should not" drink in pubs and go to discos, which is against "Indian culture". These people probably dont mind if men throng these pubs and discos (didnt see men getting beaten up in the video).

What's with the Valentine? Why do political parties go on the moral rampage only on V-Day? They dont mind Archies stocking heaps of V-Day cards that crowd out all other cards: especially birthday cards. They dont raise an eyebrow at special Valentine's day drinks and food menu at popular student hangouts and restaurants. They dont seem to appear when couples visit the cafes, pubs etc. on usual days. Why V-Day? Just because V-Day is not in our "culture"? But beating innocent girls and women, threatening them against such activities promotes Indian culture? Or do certain people get to decide what's right and wrong, and use force to get their message across?

Too many questions...not enough answers.

Waiting to Begin...

2009-02-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

My classes are next week. I need to call the organiser and confirm tomorrow but she did say the group would meet Monday, so hope that's just a formality. I am excited to begin it already and the meeting we had last Saturday was music to my ears; she said she wanted everyone to stop treating it as a university class and more like a forum for sharing ideas and for helping us to grow professionally with the subject we're here to learn. She even had me fill out a form so I could put my learning objectives down in blue and white. She conducts these classes from her home. It's an old building a few minutes from a rocky beach along a tiny street dotted with residential buildings rubbing shoulders with cafes and elite restaurants almost hidden under gigantic palm tree fronds. It's a sleepy part of town, one of my favourite places. A few miles ahead is the Bandstand where I "hung out" with old colleagues now drifted apart. Where I had my first heart-to-heart talk with my best friend.

After the meeting, I went to a nearby accessory shop for a quick browse and although they were quite a bit expensive, the purses and necklaces displayed were very tempting. Especially as a gift for my best friend who is absolutely the most difficult person to shop for. Soon after, I took a rickshaw to a busy tiny street lined with restaurants all around. There's even a gym and a bank close by. She was late by a few minutes although that gave me enough time to freshen up after a tiring journey.

The restaurant of choice was Da Vinci - Italian food. A quiet, shaded place with a lot of black and dark brown wood and muted yellow lighting. Excellent jalapeno poppers (not very Italian, is it?) and cheese garlic bread (little rounds of toast and cheese that sandwich a yummy herb mix in between). We then had a fish and chips (chips were more wedges, spiced generously with chilli flakes and oregano) along with a Pasta Alfredo with generous pieces of chicken mixed in the cheesy-white sauce gravy that also had some crushed basil in the sauce. Excellent, soft flavours. It went along fabulously with all the news and gossip we had to catch up on in those beautiful 2 hours.

I then visited mom and sis. My dad came home late in the evening and we had a small talk - general stuff - until my husband reached the cafe where we were to have dinner. I'd just bought two beautiful purses - one a clutch and one a satchely bag that will definitely hold everything it needs to. I'm sure I still need one more bag, a posh looking one...will find it one day when I least expect it.

Now, I've got two birthdays to look forward to along with starting my classes next week. I dont need a forecast to tell me the days ahead look pretty good. :)

So much for making resolutions...

2009-01-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

Into the first month and I still havent seriously damaged my bank balance even after diving into the Strand booksale. So far so good, I thought, and all too soon comes an email from Crossword announcing an 80% sale on books and slight discounts on movie and game CDs. For every 500 bucks spent, they're giving away free cappucino (hot or iced...u get a choice) with love from Brio, their in-store coffee shop.

I think God's trying to test my will power.

Also...I'm signing up for a writing workshop. They teach you how to write articles (newspaper etc.), attention-grabbing copy and they've also got a double script-writing session. Ten sessions in all. I am really looking forward to it although I'll be travelling a lot. The best thing is that I'm learning a lot and using my free time to get ahead. No more sitting back and letting such opportunities pass me by.

Wish me luck :)

Part 2 and a duck update!

2009-01-20T06:07:00.000-08:00

I finally ate duck here in Bombay. At Mainland China, which is the only place in suburban Bombay where one should even attempt a diversion from set habits and norms. Wedge-slices of duckmeat rolled up in a tiny white pancake with slivers of onion, dipped in plum sauce and savoured with eyes shut and tastebuds open. To be preceded by a prawn sui mai and to be followed by the simplest of fare, seasonal vegetables in a Chinese parsley sauce (amazing!) with a Sichuan fried rice...would even go with a bowl of steamed rice.

And the Chinese green tea kept flowing.

We sampled perfection in the two hours we spent lunching: my friend and I.

Now, back to the meme.

9. Your Favourite TV Show: If I had to pick one, it would be Cooking with Heart and Soul (Kylie Kwong).

I dont really watch it to learn anything...although they're quite simple. I watch it for the way she cooks and the things she does with recipes. I wish I could eat at her restaurant!

10. The town (rather, city) in which you live: Bombay (that's the Gateway of India in the pic there)

A city I would sorely miss if I ever left it, for many reasons. Whether you're at Colaba, Marine Drive, Dadar, Bandra, Borivli, Virar - each part has its own individual characteristics that together make Bombay what it is: a vibrant city with a racing pulse. Time moves at a crazy pace here, the crowds increase every year, pollution levels are going up, you might find slums at the foothills of a swish building complex, crowded but convenient trains, buses of every shape, size and design...and a million other things. Never a dull moment in this city.

11. Your screen name/nickname: The Idle Devil (love the pic that came up; first on the search page)

Why Idle Devil? Because the devil happened to be idle that day and started to blog about it. Ok, I had left my job to pursue my love of writing and get a job doing this...which was not too difficult. I finally got into freelancing and love it so far. So, the devil's not always idle, except when she's playing Pastry Passion with a passion for all things sweet.

12. Your First Job: Assistant MIS Operations

I still think that it was an unfair title. I was more Back Office flunky who got stuck with phone calls, reports and data collection and updating rather than anything to do with MIS. I'm not even sure how they came up with MIS for something as mundane as my first job. I fled after six months of it!

13. Your Dream Job: I have two: either a bookstore owner or a librarian (yes, Reflections! I had the same dream job!)

Unfortunately, you need to be qualified in Library science else I'd have already been one. As for a bookstore, I keep wanting people to leave me one in their will! I kept haunting one of my favourite bookstores back home hoping that they'd offer me a job without the nerve to ask for it myself.

14. Bad habit you have: Not trying hard enough to get what I want.

Taking the easy, non-struggle way out. Giving it up for the meantime and saying I'll work for it later, when it comes my way again. I intend to break this habit starting now. Never give up without a fight! Time I practised it myself.

15. Your worst fear: Loss of any kind.

Losing a loved one, losing face, losing mind, losing hope...they're all right up there on my list.

16. The one thing you'd like to do before you die: Be grateful

I'd love to thank God from the bottom of my heart for giving me a good life. Also, would be grateful to the people who made me what I am, to myself for learning and going on without giving it up altogether, to my husband for loving me unconditionally... I want to have the time to be properly grateful.

17. The first thing you'll buy if you get $ 1,000,000: A bigger home and a car.

We would like to have a big apartment (if not house) with a room each for my in-laws, my husband and me, and my kids (whenever they come along into our life). Other than that, a car so all of us can travel around town more comfortably.

Whew! That's done!

Anyone who wants to do this one can go right ahead.

Image Question Tag Part 1

2009-01-18T20:15:00.001-08:00

I didnt have a name for this meme tag so I made one up to add to the title. The Part 1 is necessary coz it can get a bit long. 18 questions! But I promised to give it a shot so here goes.

The meme came from: Reflections

The rules states that for every answer one has to do a Google Image Search and paste a picture from the first Google Image Search page with minimal explanation.

1. The age you will be in your next birthday: 29 Guess what? This image is the logo of a cafe called Junction 29. Perfect way of celebrating a birthday right? I mean, gorging on lovely fried food (why do they call this junk? It's heavenly!)

2. A place you'd like to travel to: Paris
Would love to travel to Paris to have a first-hand look at the cafes, the streets, the people, and most importantly, the bakeries and chocolateries. I visit parisbreakfast every morning to pamper my Paris fix for the day.

3. Your Favorite place: The bed room
Love bed rooms! My bedroom is where I have my desk and the beginnings of an in-house (literally) library. It is my sanctuary from the world. Plus, we dont have a study and if we did, it would have a lounging chair preferably the reclining types. I love to recline comfortably while reading which also allows me to take a nap or two.

4. Your favorite food/drink: Do I have a favourite? They keep changing like seasons. Every season, I have a different favourite food/drink.

This season, it's piping hot dim sums and fruit c(m)ocktails.
It's mostly fruit mocktails now, but I love the blend of citrus fruits along with apples, bananas, watermelon etc. I had one at the Hard Rock Cafe which was really good and didnt make me miss alcohol at all. Dim sums at Mainland China (where I might be going tomorrow) are fabulous and I can drop almost anything (wink!) to get there for a dim sum lunch.

5. Your favorite pet: Dogs

Any breed, any kind. As long as its four-footed and loving. And also a bit mischievous. Like this one (not mine):

6. Your favorite color combination: Pink and white (actually, anything with pink). It's actually scary how Google Image Search seems to read your mind and give you exactly what you've always dreamed of.

Growing up, I always wanted a bedroom just like this! Pink and white and all the colors that go with it. But mainly pink and white. Sigh! This is what dreams are made of!

7. Your favorite piece of clothing: Kurtis (short tunics) and trousers

Most comfortable. Also good with jeans. More brownie points to Google for giving me a pink kurti image.

8. Your all-time favorite song: I pick "Hero" from Nickelback. It gets my pulse racing, my heart speeding, all my senses stimulated...especially to hear it on an IPod, just you and the music. A high like no other (almost!). Plus, I love Spiderman.

To be Continued...

I will answer the remaining questions in the next episode of Image-Question Tag! Coupling image search with questions can get a bit exhausting.

What I did this weekend...

2009-01-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Fun, fun things!

I took the KingLong bus right from one end of Bombay to another. Hubby had a dental appointment which took almost two hours in all so I waited impatiently for it to get over so we could go to the Strand booksale!

The Strand Bookstall has a yearly book sale with books being discounted up to 80% on the marked up price. Needless to say, the not very airy hall which hosted the sale was buzzing with bookworms some of whom had brought their very noisy kids there. My husband went over to the Cook Book section while I took my time over the Fiction and Classics sections.

The list I carried with me was useless as I didnt get any of the books on it. That didnt stop me from buying a few books though. Read about it here.

We were out at 2:30 pm, hot and a little light-headed (mostly me) from tilting my head, craning my neck etc. to read the titles on display. And yes, hunger. In a rare flash of inspiration, we cabbed it all the way to another suburb with huge mills converted into super-spacious and glitzy malls. Lower Parel. That's where we were introduced to Hard Rock Cafe, tucked away in the corner of an adjacent mill.

Super plush interiors greeted us with a warm and alternate-world kind of welcome. We sat in a booth type of seat with comfortable high-backed sofas and ordered a plate of quesadillas with good portions of sour cream and guacamole dips with our drinks, a beer for him and a non-alcoholic cocktail (Sweet Sunrise - orange and a few other marvelously combined juices with loads of ice) for me. We added a side order of mashed potatoes, the centre of which was scooped out to contain gravy made with great-tasting beef broth. With barbequed chicken and fries for him and a plate of pasta with a divine sauce made from a combination of cheeses topped with garlic bread (wonderful, wonderful bread) and a good portion of grilled chicken.

Unfortunately, the portions were a bit much. We couldnt have any dessert. Which was bad because we were looking forward to a Home-style Cheesecake.

Price-wise, it was very, very expensive. We're not coming back unless there's a great band playing live. But the ambience we could enjoy only that day - nearing on 3:30 with only two other tables occupied. I gazed at the costumes and guitars on display, belonging to distinguished personalities such as Madonna, DMB, Aerosmith etc.

Sunday was quiet. My mom-in-law made a great fish curry (dry). Surmai (a fleshy, sea water fish) was the catch of the day and very tasty with the bright red masala (ground dry red chillies, coconut, spices) hugging it. I made an entirely microwaved curry of mixed veggies and mushrooms in a lightly spiced coconut milk gravy. Crushing garlic and cooking them awhile with chopped chillies and onions really turns on the anticipation levels with their lovely aroma. This dish went really well with the spicy fish and rice.

Sunday evening, we went to a flower show (which was basically a collection of wilting flowers decorated in floral arrangements). One arrangement sprung out of an actual wooden boat propped up at one corner. Disappointed at the lacklustre flower show, although we did see some rare flower types, we turned to look at the stalls selling handicrafts. I got beautiful terracotta earrings shaped like sunflowers. We went to the chaat counter where we bought bhel puri and sev puri - two must haves in Bombay. We finished that and headed for the free tea samples with our tongues still recovering from the spices in the chaat. Two elaichi (cardamom) chais later, we bought one of their ready cardamom tea packets.

After a fun hour of exploration and tea-tasting, we headed home to an episode of South Park on the computer as my in-laws watched their favourite Marathi channel on TV in their room.

I dont really hate Mondays when I have a lot of great books to dive into when I take breaks from working.

How did you spend your weekend?

How I met P...

2009-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

We met with our parents at a specified meeting place near his house. Which meant we had to travel for an hour to get there. Once there, we were early and waited for a few minutes until they arrived. Until then, my parents who forever think of me as a rebel repeated the ground rules: keep an open mind, they are nice people, etc. with an underlying message of "be nice". I'd been hostile with my parents the entire day before this meeting, did not feel comfortable being there.

The minute I met him and his folks, I couldnt be anything other than nice. They were chatty and did not have airs or an attitude. They werent here to judge me, they let us talk and get to know each other without involving them into the conversation. The parents talked with each other just as P and I did, slowly getting to know major differences and similarities between them.

P is the most direct person I've ever met. I loved the way he steered the conversation, almost as if he'd had a plan in his mind (being a manager at work, he does it almost intuitively). He first ordered for everyone which I did not like (analyzed it as being too controlling...dont know where I picked that one...my parents were ok with it never having been to the restaurant before) and purposefully changed my order. After that was done, he told me about himself rather than asking me a few set questions and making it feel like interrogation. I joined in with a brief history about my educational and work life, the usual things, and talked about friends, family, food. And we talked about food for hours. We both confessed to loving pork. He talked about possibly moving to the US for work while I talked about wanting to leave my present job and try something in a different field (something I loved and was finding myself moving away from).

I thought the meeting went ok. Next day, his parents called to say that he loved meeting me and had stated something on the lines of "She's the girl I want to marry" right after they left that day. They were excited. I was scared. I wanted to meet him one more time before saying anything.

I never believe in the first meeting. Be it a friend, date or an arranged match...I know I wouldnt be sure right away. I loved to take it slow. Unfortunately, in this setting, it's the second or third meeting that makes it all final. It's very rare that both people in an arranged meeting might fall head over heels in love with each other. I didnt know if I'd feel the same way about him even after our second meeting.

I'd cried my eyes out before the second meeting about not wanting to get married. I didnt know if I could fit in with his parents...he wanted to live with them to take care of them. I admired that in a man but would I want to be in the same home? I didnt know if there would be unreasonable demands that I'd find very difficult to meet. Every stereotype mom-in-law daughter-in-law situation kept playing in my mind. I didnt even know if he was the guy for me. I'd been in love before only to wound my self-confidence and faith in myself. I didnt know if I'd be with a guy who wanted me as I was or if I'd be another project to develop and make a success of.

The second meeting lasted nearly six hours. I met him and found him very distracted and tense. We went to the restaurant directly and he asked me to order. I made sure he was ok with my suggestions and we had a starter each before having a simple main course of prawn curry (Goan style) and steamed rice. At the very start, he asked me to be completely free and tell him anything that was on my mind. He probably thought of a sinister reason to my wanting to meet him alone. Perhaps a boyfriend lurking somewhere, maybe a baggage of a different kind altogether. I just asked him a simple question "Tell me how you live."

He talked about his parents first probably sensing my apprehension. Of the rituals, his parents are religious and also superstitious since his older brother passed away a decade ago, leaving a baby girl and a young, immature wife. The wife created a lot of difficulties for his parents and walked away with their grand-daughter after some really ugly fights. They still helped her get a job so she could support the girl on her own. They keep visiting the girl every chance they get. He talked about his extended family, how close he is to them and how supportive and helpful they are. He talked about his home life, how they have stayed close since the death and he hopes that they always will. Sure, he said, they find it difficult when I play heavy-metal or rock. But I still do what I want and they give me my space. They are not clingy. Sure, they're scared they might lose me but it's been like that since my brother died. Else, we'd all be more carefree.

He then tells me that they are sure that the girl he marries will be every bit of an individual and as radical as him. They will be ok with almost anything and will set aside traditional beliefs to let her do what she wants. They will be there as a safety net and might get worried a few times but all parents do. I remembered how my dad would stay up until I got home unless I called home and told them I'd be late. At the same time, they would rather the new person not knock their religious beliefs. Each must be free to do as they like and neither should impose anything on the other.

He told me he'd read my poems and they showed him a different world and opened his eyes to new experiences he may never have been through.

His eyes said I'm sure about you. I decided to invite him to coffee...didnt want the meeting to end.

After our second coffee and a lot of stories about his "rocker" friends who've all sobered down so much he couldnt recognise them from the long-haired, beer-guzzling, head-banging biker dudes, he smilingly said "I've got a good feeling about this."

Suddenly, I had the feeling that I'd been waiting for him a long, long time. I said I had a good feeling too.

When I returned home that evening, I told my mom "Well? Arent you going to congratulate me?"

Her first reaction was to call up P and ask him if he hadnt changed his mind. He said No way, he was going over home to break the news to his family.

Two months later, we got married.

A year later, we wish we'd met earlier :)

Jolly Good

2008-12-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

I missed celebrating Christmas with a glass of port and Christmas rum cake with my folks at the old home but this time was good too.

We were out all day, a large part was spent at a wedding which had the kind of food I like - some bits traditional, a few paneer (cottage cheese) curries and a lovely cool Sitaphal Basundi (thick condensed milk sweet and slightly spiced with custard apple fleshy bits floating in it). That Basundi had been served at my wedding too which my husband loyally sided with. I liked having big bits of custard apple flesh to chew on as I sipped the Basundi. The other highlight were Capsicum bhajias (batter-fried slices of capsicum...you cannot stop at one or two!)

After we left the wedding hall, we took a long drive around The Gateway of India, had a back view of the Taj, Nariman House, Oberoi and a silent, contemplative (for the most part) roam around Marine Drive looking at the ocean water and the Bombay skyline. We reached home around evening after which we had a short nap before my husband cooked some egg fried rice. It became slightly mushy which I loved and asked him to make it again, which pleased him - he thought it had failed.

The remaining days sped off and we had moody Sunday blues which we banished by going to a mall nearby and gazing at their fantastic decorations with my niece and nephew by marriage. Their reactions had us made us look at Santa Clauses, Christmas trees differently. The mall was tightly packed with people and I didnt get to sit for a minute of those 3 hours we spent there so my knees ultimately suffered.

Now, I have a whole week of nothing-to-do other than sit hammering away at a keyboard and work. My husband has started this routine of coming home early after which we immediately go for a walk around the neighbourhood. We catch up on the day and come back much energized. I need to lose a lot of weight and not going out for dinners, walking every day is helping a lot.

We're trying to think of ideas for a New Year's Eve dinner. Any suggestions?

Tis the Night Before Christmas...

2008-12-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

I wish I was at my old home to celebrate it with Rum plum cake and fake champagne and some Chinese food or pizza. That's how we would do it...no one would cook or if we did then we'd make time for cake and a small party just the four of us, my parents, sister and me.

This time, we're going to a wedding on the 25th and might drive around Nariman Point after the wedding lunch before we return home to a restful evening perhaps with a movie CD or two. I need to shop the day after for some readymade salwars so I can wear the kurtis I bought before the South East Asia trip to functions such as the one we're going to on Saturday. 27th is when my husband's old friend's visiting Bombay (lives in US) so we're all invited to a lunch party by his family. Hubby also wants to fit in a dental appointment in his schedule that day so we'll be rushing from one thing to another.

My mom's going today to her cottage in a village about 4 hours from Bombay. She will have a quiet Christmas with her dogs, just the way she wants it.

My sister's going to be busy with designing my dad's organisation's magazine cover. She's already busy so perhaps she'll just pause for a plum cake this Christmas.

My dad's going to have a one-day break probably and fit in work as well as rest in that day. Since mom's not around perhaps they might not have their own small party of three.

Hubby wanted to invite his cousins and open a brand new Johnny Walker and a Bailey's Irish caramel-flavoured cream. The plans thanks to a wedding and a lunch party that we've been invited to will not take off.

I want to scout around for a good Christmas cake. I might end up going to the only cake shop around here for an imperfect cake yet a plum one. We bought a Dundee cake from there a few days ago which was a total hash job. I'd grown up eating Dundee cake from wonderfully painted cake tins that were saved to hold sketch pens and stationery. Now, they're available in plastic-paper cake covers that are anything but saving-worthy.

Anyhow...a very Merry Christmas to all you bloggers! May you have a wonderful break from the usual and the mundane. Happy holidays!

Kheema Toasties

2008-12-18T04:25:00.000-08:00

(Minced meat preparation scooped on to tiny, cocktail sized slices of bread and topped with cheese to grill for a few minutes until toasted)

My mom would top it off on pizzas too, so if you get smallish sized pizzas you can try this way out.

There are two steps to this.

Step 1: Kheema (Minced meat preparation)

Ingredients
1 large onion (peeled & grated/2 tablespoons of onion paste)

½ tbsp chopped green chillies (Could use red chilli powder - 1.5 to 2 teaspoons based on how spicy you like it)

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp chopped garlic

2 large tomatoes (immersed in hot water for 5 minutes, drained, peeled & chopped)

500 grams minced meat

1 cup shelled green peas (I use frozen peas)

Cinnamon - 1 small stick

Cloves - 2-3

Bay leaves 1-2 leaves

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp chilli powder (use only if you're using green chillies, else not)

1 cup water

½ tsp garam masala

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Grind the following items to a paste in a mixer: green chillies (if you're using), chopped ginger and garlic.

2. Heat the oil. Add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. Then add the onion and fry till golden brown.

3. Add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook covered for 2 minutes. Mash lightly in the pan itself.

4. Add the minced meat and fry on a medium flame for about 5 minutes, stirring most of the time.

5. Add the green peas, turmeric powder, coriander powder and chilli powder (if you're using only chilli powder, add only at this stage not before). Stir.

6. Add the water enough to cook it and salt. Stir and simmer until meat is cooked and oil separates. Cook it until it is dry and moist enough so it can sit on top of a toastie.

7. Add the garam masala. Stir. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Step 2: Kheema Toasties!

1. Cut round slices of a long bread loaf or if you're using sliced bread, then cut each slice into half.

2. Butter it lightly, spoon the minced preparation (kheema) mixture on top and sprinkle grated cheese. Avoid adding the cloves, cinnamon or bay leaves when topping off the mince on toast.

3. Pop it into the microwave to grill for about 2-3 minutes (until the cheese slightly melts and the bread toasts lightly - dont toast it too long else it gets too hard to eat).

Enjoy!! This dish can also be part of the main course so if you have leftover kheema, you can eat it with rice/bread during your lunch. When we're eating kheema at home, we usually mix it with rice or eat it with a few paavs (Indian baked bread) fresh from the bakery.

We tried to make this dish with soy granules and it worked just as fine (only you dont get the flavour of meat). This option is great if you're vegetarian.

Picture Stories

2008-12-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly getting hooked on to the idea of having photos alongside my posts. It's quite refreshing and exciting to read a story supported by photographs or sketches or some visual element. Every morning, as I read every blog on my blog list, I also visit some blogs I dont go to regularly.

Some of my favourite stories on blogs:

Homage to Jam (Paris Breakfasts)

Chocolate (House in the Woods)

Bring On the Parties (Cream Puffs in Venice)

Din Tai Fung (Trailing Spouse in Singapore)

Ok, I'm sure you see the connection now. I'm immensely partial to food posts :)

I do love posts that do not have pictures or food content; posts about life, people, friendships, relationships, parties, fun...everything that makes you live to the fullest through others if you're not particularly having fun in your own life. It also gives you a fresh perspective to your own life and makes your blog into a two-way window - through which you get a perspective of the world and others get a glimpse into yours.

Cheers to blogging!

Appetizer 1

2008-12-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

Sukha Dahi Murg (Dry chicken cooked with curd, great as an appetiser or main course)

This recipe is from a Nita Mehta cook book - another favourite expert in the art of Indian cooking. At home, we usually tend to make her recipes for Sunday lunch.

Ingredients
1 chicken, approx. 800 grams- cut into pieces of your choice(You can also use boneless chicken)
2 capsicums- sliced thinly
2 cups skim milk curd (or any plain, unsweetened yogurt), preferably a day old
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
1 ½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 small onion- grated or ground OR 2 tbsp onion paste
1 tbsp oil

Method
1. Beat curd well. Add salt, pepper, chicken and mix well. Marinate for 3-4 hours in the fridge.
2. Heat a non-stick pan. Add oil and heat. Add ground onion, cook till light brown.
3. Add chicken along with the marinade. Keep stirring till it boils.
4. Cover and lower heat. Cook till chicken turns tender, for about 7-8 minutes.
5. The curd being skim milk curd leaves a lot of water. When chicken becomes tender, increase the heat and when nearly dry, add capsicum. Do not overcook capsicum. Cook for 1-2 minutes and serve hot.

Serves 8 people, calories per serving- 149 (Sadly didnt have a photo of it)

Tomorrow, will post a recipe for Kheema (Minced mutton or chicken) toasties. In India, we usually eat Kheema (minced mutton dry curry) with paav (Indian baked bread) but this recipe's adapted for topping on toasted bread - to serve as an appetizer.

Warm and Refreshing

2008-12-10T22:59:00.001-08:00

Maria gave me the idea to start posting recipes on the blog (maybe coz I talk a lot about food). Here's a drink that is very Indian and very easy to make. This drink is usually served during rituals when people are invited to be a part of the proceedings and is a very basic yet enjoyable drink. It's also served at stalls and some restaurants and dairies. I found a recipe for this drink on Sanjeev Kapoor's website (famous Indian celebrity chef whose cooking shows I used to enjoy during my school/college years).

Maria, I thought this could be a drink you could serve to your guests when they arrive home and relax a bit before starting to cook lunch. Or, if they arrive early, could be instantly made and served warm for them to drink as they cook or chat. Since it's winter, a warm drink would definitely be a good idea.

Badam Doodh (Saffron flavoured milk enriched with almonds and served warm)

Preparation Time : 20 mins

Ingredients
Almonds, blanched and roughly chopped 1/4 cup

(usually how they are served and are supposed to be gulped
down with milk but if it's easier to consume,
you can have them chopped or powdered finely)
Milk 4 cups
Green cardamom powder a pinch
Nutmeg powder a pinch
Honey 3-4 tablespoons
(You can use sugar as well but it's healthier to go with honey
and you can add as much as you like to make it sweet...
without the guilt)

Saffron a few strands (to sprinkle on top before serving)

Method
1. Heat milk in a thick-bottomed vessel and bring to a boil (you can use low-fat milk but the skin of cream that forms on boiling must be stirred well so it blends completely with the milk).

2. Reduce heat, add chopped almonds and simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes.

3. Add green cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and continue to boil for another 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, add honey and stir.

5. Serve warm in individual glasses topping them off with a strand or two of saffron (Sanjeev Kapoor recommends earthenware glasses but any sort of cup or glass is fine).

Weekend's the best kind of fun

2008-12-08T04:34:00.000-08:00

Especially when you have places to go and people to meet. New people for my hubby. We'd been asked to lunch by this aunt of mine who'd been asking us all last year and we'd been busy or they'd been swamped and we only made it this Sunday.

Friday I went to the mall, despite a high alert situation over all of the city's malls, to pick up my pre-ordered Tales of Beedle the Bard. I had to wait a half hour until the store opened; in my enthusiasm I'd walked in too early. After a brief snack at the CCD cafe, I went for a stroll in the supermarket and bought a cake mix, hakka noodles pack and a few soups for snack time. Finally picking up the book, I browsed for a moment and then headed home. All through this visit, although there were very few people around, guys in twos would spark my antennae and two characters seemed to be studying the mall's shops for some reason from one point, peering at every shop in turn. Before paranoia kicked in, I hurried off home.

On Saturday, we watched A Wednesday. What was unrealistic was the police-squad response to a bomb alert. If it had really been as efficient, we wouldnt be living with this threat of a sword hanging over our heads or rather a timed RDX explosive. Terrorists are fighting us with weapons we are well aware of and yet, we couldnt even shoot down those who were pumping bullets at innocents through AK 47 rifles - which is the weapon preferred by Z security forces who guard our ministers. Yet, the film had a final, positive note and made the point "We are resilient by force not by choice" much before the latest bomb attack exhausted the Mumbaikar's patience.

Sunday was the big lunch with family. Introductions led to the predictable small talk and looking through albums brought in by another aunt whose kids are in the States and then led to a big meal consisting of huge chicken sukka pieces and a huge biryani with raita on the side. The curd and biryani combination is famous and yesterday was even more special as my husband interacted with my aunts and uncles and was basically adored by everyone. We told stories of our South-east Asian trip and talked about living far from my old home. Different place, different people. Yet, wonderful. What made this a truly memorable visit was cajoling my cousin to strum a few tunes on his guitar and my husband to sing along with him. We finally did, to Hello and a few Metallica songs. My cousin had taken lessons and could play it really well if he wasnt too conscious of a gang of people looking on and giving it all their attention.

We had to end it early to get back before traffic delayed us on the road back home. My aunt, thoroughly impressed by my hubby, invited us to a musical evening at home that she's planning in the near future. More fun on the cards. Hubby's feeling a bit too much in the spotlight. I'm sure he can get used to stardom; he's always been a popular guy in any circle: friends or his own family or the workplace.

I'm looking forward to work that's just come in and two weddings towards the weekend. Socialising's gone up thanks to the wedding and festive season. Christmas this time promises to be busy unlike last year when we were just unwinding both during and after our honeymoon.

Solutions

2008-12-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

Everyone's angry after the hijack situation in Bombay. There's a lot of finger pointing going on amongst the authorities all of whom failed the city that day when terrorists seemed to swarm south Bombay and hold everyone to ransom - even the ones watching the news from Wednesday till Saturday when it still seemed endless warfare. After the operations came the toll. And then came the stories of people both alive and dead. Now, come the reactions. And you dont expect it to be reasonable or rational, especially when everyone's fuming and heads of those "up there" are rolling.

Yesterday, almost the whole of Bombay gathered at the Gateway of India to hold a candlelight vigil. It was also a silent protest against governmental apathy and ineffectiveness. It was a protest against all those who let this happen and more so, against all forms of terrorism. At the same time, a debate was going on between Indian and Pakistani spokespersons, both of whom were engaged in pointing the finger at each other. The wars came up in the discussion and so did references to "facts" from a newspaper source. Pakistan is asking Indians for proof before extraditing anyone, including a gangster who is stated to know this city like the back of his hand. India came back saying that they had been sending evidence to Pakistan for quite a long time and no action was taken despite their warnings.

At such times when the world has been a witness to your inadequacies, you cannot just blame another country for your problems. The time has come to introspect and make your police and army and NSG force so strong that people will find it extremely difficult to attack you. Innocents who are both citizens and non-citizens of Bombay should not be massacred again.

The sad thing is, no one's talking about this. No politician is drawing concrete solutions or even looking at the disaster and assessing what needs to be strengthened and how they're going to do it. They have proved time and again to be ineffective and yet, they're the people who can do it. Every citizen must protest against their attitude and basic apathy towards the majority who are under constant threat. We've devised a system for navy patrol and control after the attacks but now, instead of concentrating on your forces on land, you want to hog the primetime limelight by blaming someone else for your mistakes.

That is how it looks to a lot of Indians. We definitely need investigation into all training camps that terrorists use in all the countries they have it in. But you neednt stop once your finger starts pointing at the opposite side of the table. Suggest solutions, dont put India at risk of another war once all diplomacy runs out and the situation turns hostile.

Food and more food

2008-11-30T21:39:00.000-08:00

All celebrations - from the time I was growing up till now, when I'm married - have begun and ended with food. The main question isnt about who we're going to invite, it's what's on the menu.

My marriage turned a year old yesterday and we celebrated it with some of my family and some of his. Our small apartment was filled with relatives - about thirty of them. We had a pooja at home to celebrate and to bless our marriage and our families and all the tasks we have now set ahead of us. My husband has a lot on his plate. We're looking for a bigger apartment and he's also trying to study for a certificate course examination he plans on finishing in a few months' time. I want to focus on both family and career. Right now, I'm worried about losing my mind due to work shortage and the as yet looming effects of the downward spiral the business community is taking. At the same time, I'm fearful about the uncertainties; the latest bombing attacks, weakest security, zero co-ordination and the fact that someone I know or love might be stuck in the middle of it somewhere.

Today, I zipped over to other blogs after reading the ones on my list and went on to food and more food. I guess there's something about the Christmas season and winter that makes you want to stock up on food. I drooled over the cakes, frostings, macaron mountains, simple puddings and porridges. These things make winter cosier, warmer and more bearable especially when personal tragedies and worries make you more or less lonesome in mind if not otherwise.

I'm looking forward to some plum cake. Hope to speed to the holidays soon.

Will it be safe from now on?

2008-11-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

Terrorists in Mumbai arrived by boat, went through a thickly guarded railway station with AK 47s and a loaded bag full of ammo, hijacked a police van and started firing from it at innocent passersby, camera people and policemen, bombed the Oberoi (Trident) hotel full of guests and citizens who'd visited there and hijacked the Taj building while a few escaped to Nariman House and held a Jewish family hostage.

We've had train blasts, communal violence but Wednesday night's trauma that went on to Thursday and spills over into today was completely something out of movies. India was again caught napping and one of its important city centres was held to ransom. A lot of people died in fires and explosions and our short-staffed police force was equipped with NSG commandos and other military groups - the army, navy etc. We were hooked to the TV all Thursday waiting and watching. We saw hotel guests being released, commandos storming the building stealthily, groups of policemen cordoning areas and blacking them out at night. Everyone couldnt believe a hijack of such proportions could happen and all we could do was damage control. When you look at the toll and at the many people who are battling with the terrorists who have died in the line of duty, you wonder if we're ever going to do enough to protect ourselves.

We're at the mercy of not just terrorists but a government that only concentrates on election mandates, a severely short-staffed and non-equipped police force, poorly paid army people and an intelligence network that's always ineffective. US ensured 9/11 did not happen again. Here, the media's going wild declaring another 9/11 - the biggest one yet - as people were dying, innocent casualties of terrorism. UK had several strategies and effective co-ordination with not only different forces but also the media that did not blow the issue out of proportion. Responsibility was serious business. Here, we have the media spreading rumours, different news on different channels while innocent people wonder what they should believe. Pathetic is not enough a word to describe their attitude. Several policemen have died including the top officials. Families have died in the blasts and fires set by terrorists.

Every single blast time, we panic but we move on and forget. As civilians, we are alert and helpful at times when we need to be. Is this same attitude reflected in people whose job it is to protect themselves and all of us? We look out for unclaimed bags and suspicious people. Do they? Unfair questions at a time like this, perhaps, when people are battling terrorists. Must we always battle them in our own homeland with hundreds dying and more held hostage? Its not just people but their livelihoods also that are held to ransom. Families are broken and its always the civilians, never a politician who experiences loss at a time like this. We lose experienced policemen, commandos and army people who never stint when it comes to battling it out with people whose number you're not sure of, you're not sure of how well-equipped they are. We find our defence forces handicapped by inferior protective armour, almost zero co-ordination and ancient methods of dealing with new and developing crises.

It may all be over today, I hope it is with all my heart. I dont know if tomorrow will ever be the same again.

A Good Friday

2008-11-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

Friday was good, last week.
1. I met my sister. Got a haircut. Lazed around, chatting, with a glass of diluted rose syrup until it was time for lunch. We went to this mall that only had a supermarket when I'd last visited it. This time, I travelled up four escalators to the food court at a height that initially made me a bit giddy. The theme of white and glass made the mall look much bigger and roomier. Hence, the escalators looked a bit too high for my liking but I made it up there while sauntering around looking at bags (designer, street style) and ordered Chinese from one of the open restaurants. The spring rolls were crisp, the schezuan sauce was great and the chicken chilly with fried rice was quite delicious.

We came down to the market to look through shops and visit my tailor who'd stitched my blouse right on time (which never happened when I lived there). We looked in Baggit and a store called Veronica which had the hippest bags. This time, they had nothing that I'd want to spend money on. I came back empty handed although with a good haircut.

2. Met my husband and visited KFC. A long pending visit. Ever since we'd wanted to eat there, we never made the time to actually go and throughout our trip out of India, we'd be passing KFC at almost every corner. Last Friday is when I got to sample the Country fried chicken and a small Chicken snacker.

3. Went to Bond for a drink-fest. Our last one. I've decided to go off alcohol from December onwards till God knows when. Not that I miss it already. I had a good time just listening to the music and tasting the mix of different juices with the alcohol in my cocktail. And, the food! This time the cook had changed, they had live music with a band (better avoided although they didnt kill every song - the female lead singer had a good, strong voice), and a different bartender. There were changes - Deep Navel did not taste quite the same although I had new ones and the Cocktail of the Day was quite superb. Thanks to our little snack at KFC, we didnt order too much food. Bond reduced its prices, so we didnt burn too big a hole in our pockets. Not that I needed to pay.

A good Friday led to a good weekend, relaxed and restful. We cooked chicken Hyderabadi in the microwave on Sunday. We also tried to top bread with tomato ketchup, scrambled eggs and cheese and grill them in the micro to make bread pizzas. Both were successful.

What I love about this place I live in...

2008-11-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

...Life is at a relaxed pace no matter what day of the week you're in. Mondays is when the entire market outside my house (shops, stalls, dry cleaners, you name it) are all closed for the day. Some grocery stores are open half the day and then close after lunch. It's only applicable for the area I live in. No matter what you need, if it's on a Monday then you better take a rickshaw or bus out to some shop outside this area.

....You know when it's a popularly celebrated festival. The loudspeakers blare out Marathi bhajans and film songs.

...There's a very poor selection of take out restaurants in the immediate areas surrounding our own. Only good thing about this is you dont mindlessly order food and get even fatter than you get if all you do is sit at home.

...There's even a small silver lining to power cuts in this area; they're in the afternoon so you get to catch up on your reading and even take a short nap afterwards.

...The nearest movie multiplex is a half-hour's ride away. I dont watch as many movies as I used to. Good thing? With my income from freelancing, it's a good saving.

...If you dont feel like cooking, there's a healthier alternative to take-out fast and Chinese food. We have poli-bhaji kendras (place where you get a simple, home-cooked meal thanks to enterprising Marathi businesswomen). I've often picked up entire lunches or curries to add to my home-cooked meal of the day. They even make Chicken biryani on occasion.

...They have two well-stocked libraries. I've subscribed to the older one of the two. I long to take a peek at the newer one which also looks better kept and doesnt have ancient copies of books coming almost apart at the spine.

...There's a nice, open-air mall nearby (near is of course, a little more than 30 mins away). It has movie theatres, bars, restaurants, a Mc Donalds and lots of stores. Only thing it doesnt have are good bag/purse stores.

A Bag

2008-11-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

I need to update my bag-robe...as in wardrobe...

I'm carrying this white, rectangular purse gifted to me by my sister-in-law...a very cool gift to give to someone who can never have enough bags. Plus, I'd never buy white in bags so it was refreshing to get it as a gift. I'm always a careful shopper who only once splurged on a soft pink leather bag once...and that was it as i watched my bag get begrimed and was too scared to dunk it in water, which was what it needed. I also have many bags but tend to carry around one until it falls apart. My white bag now looks like it needs to be outed soon...in the way of shoving it into the dark recesses of the black hole in my closet...where things go but never return.

I want desperately to go bag shopping. Bangkok was where all the hep bags were but my thick-headed soulmate didnt understand my subtle hints. Soon after, I consoled myself thinking that I should cultivate a fashion sense and possess a smart bag...versatile and strong and reliable. And very, very beautiful. Doesnt matter if I'm the only one who thinks its beautiful. So, I looked at designer bags till my eyes popped out. Checked them online, sought out the expensive ones even if only to windowshop. My shopping sense was miraculously altered and now it was all about possession...getting a perfect bag, not just any cheap one. The confusion that normally envelops my brain in a bag shop soon drove away and I looked for bags the way a shrewd grocery shopper checks vegetables. I held bags to see if they fell off my shoulder, I looked at the design then imagined what outfits would best complement it. I realized that with my ethnic, western and formal outfits, I needed either a versatile bag (like my white bag which has its limitations esp when I dress up in a saree for weddings) or at least two separate bags; one a normal tote and the other a clutch or something equally slinky.

All in all, I'm developing a sense instead of just going for the bean shaped bag and getting a good deal. I still want a good deal but I want a bag that looks more than just a bag. More than just something you stuff all your little and big things in: from lipsticks to books to a stowaway snack or a dress or something that you splurged on and dont want the world to know. Not that my present income methods would allow such extravagance.

The only down side to all this newly developed 'sense' is that I have yet to find my bag. :) This Saturday I might be meeting a best friend of mine...hopefully in the wide expanse of Phoenix Mills I will be able to find the bag that dreams are made of....

Recipe Books, a Microwave and Cakes

2008-11-03T23:48:00.000-08:00

The new microwave has created quite an interest in cooking. We’re saving on usage of cooking gas and at the same time creating good, wholesome, microwave convection-cooked food. A chicken curry was the second guinea pig dish tried after the no-frills veg pulao. The result: we don’t miss the oily tari floating on the curry, the chicken cooked just as well without frying it first and then cooking it in gravy.

These two successes made me look over the recipes in the new cookbooks that my sister chose as a gift for me on two of my favourite themes – Thai food and Pasta. The Pasta cookbook has a baked section…wonderfully photographed and just moving you to the point of imagining it melt in your mouth. There’s enough cheese to put 10 kilos on without even eating it at one go…has enough to mount the calories in your system as your eyes take in the crusted cheese on pies and the melted cheese squeezed out of the lasagnas and cannelloni tubes also filled with yummy mince meat or dark green spinach leaves. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to pore over this section on an empty stomach…and I only had a glass of milk which lay forgotten until I forced my eyes to look up at the clock over my desk.

I need to not indulge at this point – I’m not saying I must diet, although that’s probably a good idea but very hard to keep up – and stay off the rich food. Which is extremely hard when you’ve also got to celebrate this month. My parents have their thirtieth anniversary today – amazing amount of years. I hit my first wedding anniversary this month’s 30th. There’s a wedding at a posh club I’ve been invited to and I already have a saree picked out for the occasion. More than anything, wherever I get invited to, I’m always interested in the food they’re going to serve. Which is very unfortunate for my figure: traditionally-built.

While reading Ramotswe (No. 1 Ladies Detective Series), I noticed that full-figured (or sometimes, even fat) was the meaning indicated by the term traditionally-built, which describes the leading lady’s figure. Traditionally-built meant how women used to be before the scales tilted towards the idea of thin as beautiful (also perfect). I realized how women probably all around the world could describe their ancestors the same way – whether it be the Victorian age with its seductresses, or ancient India with voluptuousness admired in women to the point of describing the walk of one such a woman similar to the leisurely stride of an elephant. They probably looked similar too, else why would the poet think of an elephant in the first place?

I know such thoughts do not help and especially the part where she (Ramotswe) overcomes the pressures of dieting by biting into a slice of her friend’s home-made fruit cake. I almost felt the fruity insides of the cake in my mouth. Now, I long for a good, rich plum cake…rum added would not be a bad notion.

I now need a very easy, non-fussy cake recipe to bake in the microwave. But it must taste just as good, something to give up a diet for.

Home Sweet Home at the Bond Bar

2008-10-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Or rather...Bond, The Bar. We went back after more than a month's interval wondering if everything might have changed. The Sports Bar was still the same...an enormous TV with its usual array of tall chairs and square tables with an enormous bar on one side and cushy sofas dotting the periphery. We sat near the TV although I had my back to it, gazing instead at the colourful lamps and streamers and lights arranged under the mall's dome in a Diwali theme. The servers recognised us and one of our regular guys showed us to our table and asked whether we'd like the day's specials or our usual stuff. We kicked back and relaxed as cocktail followed cocktails and beer flowed generously and we even received an 'on-the-house' special - fried wontons stuffed with spring roll mixture. Served with schezuan sauce. Yummmm.

They expanded their menu to include loads of other starters and dinner options apart from a pasta and noodle section. We tried fish fingers with tartar sauce (crispy on the outside, soft and melting fish within) and barbequed sausages with fries and a barbequed chicken sizzler that my husband had most of. We also shared a fluffed cheese omelette (which the regular guy remembered even as my husband tried to describe it while battling long-island-tea-induced haze) with buttered toasted bread and salad.

The DJ (new guy) played all the right tracks. The other new thing was the partitioning off of the party section. Also, almost no crowds made the service prompt and the attention very centred towards us, which we basked in. A new drink I had was named Black Russian and my husband later ordered the White Russian which was a sweeter contrast to mine. Our session finale was a Bailey's Coffee flavoured Irish Cream in crushed ice. A lovely thing to sip slowly and indulge in.

We were pleasantly surprised to be remembered by the wait staff and the bartender right down to what we like and how we like it. The new menu additions and the songs played by the new DJ served to spark a new interest in the place.

I see, I am

2008-10-29T21:44:00.000-07:00

I've been back from the south-east just a few days back but it seems like I finished the tour just yesterday, Sentosa beach still clearly replaying the Songs of the Sea in my mind over and over again. It was lovely to come back to relaxation and the daily comfort of not always following a hectic physically demanding schedule. At the same time, I miss the food - sausages, noodles (so many different kinds...so many exotic flavors), rice and curry combinations, the soothing combination of fried egg and buttery croissants, the temptations of hot and golden bread pudding with vanilla sauce on the side...a million memories all blending together and yet each individual piece glinting out of the tapestry of melded gastronomic delights.

I also miss the streets, the inns and the streetside restaurants even if I passed most of them on my way to different tourist attractions. The quiet sidewalks, even with traffic constantly flowing past. Our beautiful hotel rooms at Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur both providing a great view of the cityscape both in the morning and night. A chaise longue in a corner and a canopied four poster bed at the other end. 'Together-time' between tours. A great spread awaiting us at every table we stopped at for meals. The lush green landscape of Thailand, the dark velvety rainforest scenes of the Malaysian highways, verdant fronds leaping into view from dark stone buildings of Singapore. I can just close my eyes and see them again.

At the same time, I'm glad to be back in Bombay. The land where you dont need to convert one currency to another, where everything is afforable as long as you're reasonable. Where one can find a mix of different cuisines, some made to suit your palate, some that you need to adjust to. Where you dont always need a map to locate where exactly you are rather than where you're off to.

One of the many treats in store was meeting my mom, dad and sis for a family lunch. Our first Diwali after marraige was quite a special affair. Both mom-in-law and mommy went all out to make it memorable in their own ways. The lunch was super in every way, kabuli pulao, chicken curry in brown gravy, loads of boondi raita and vegetable salad, pooris and shrikhand and potato bhaji. A mango ice cream at the end made us all a bit dozy...my uncle decided to break up the gathering to get a bit of sleep.

Lots of gifts exchanged and presented to us. We also got hampers - my mom made a hamper of my favourite (and now my husband's too) goodies from the bakery near my house. It was heaven to bite into a chocolate walnut brownie the next day with breakfast. My aunt made a hamper of home-made goodies that were yummy too...I dont remember when I last ate a homemade chiroti.

A lovely couple of days, as memorable as the trip we've just completed, if not more. We received a microwave from my parents as a Diwali gift which we're excited to try out. Consulting its massive cookbook, we made a veg pulao as the very first microwave-cooked dish. It turned out really well and I cant wait to make more things like chicken, rolls, desserts, cakes... the sky's the limit.

It all really just comes back to food. No matter how far you go, the one thing that instantly makes you feel at home is food.

Rich, Rich!

2008-10-15T06:10:00.001-07:00

Finally got broadband. Hooray!!! Hubby got promoted. He is now the king of his project. Doesnt mean he doesnt report to someone above but well...he runs the whole show now. He wanted it for so long and he's got it now...all of us are so happy for him. After so much pain and anticipation, he's now got it! The ones above will be watching but I'm sure things will be great from now on. He got what he wanted and that's what matters for now. I'm sure our holiday will be even better, there wont be a spectre of the uncertain looming over him.

I got what I needed...broadband and just gaped at the speed which I had forgotten while getting used to the dial-up. Especially the photographs that now show without me wasting precious phone time, waiting impatiently for the picture to show...often having to miss the ones that just wouldnt open.

Sigh! Today is a day of miracles :)

Busy week

2008-10-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

Work consumed me like flames do a body...ok, not as bad as that but it did keep me busy through the week. Which was why I had to go home for my round of shopping for clothes (for my South-east trip) on a Saturday. Hubby came and we had lunch with my parents and sister. Quite a few things seemed to have been discussed as I faded in and out of conversations, checking whether the trousers were properly altered, showing off my possessions to an admiring audience and having fun flitting around the place. I also went out in the 2 pm sun (not a good time during the October heat) and got my eyebrows done and a further alteration made to my trousers.

We had a great biryani lunch which started off with puris and shrikhand and a french beans upkari (with loads of potatoes). After stuffing on those, we stuffed even more on a wonderfully 'dummed' Hyderabadi Biryani (the way my mommy makes it) with chicken that had a smoky, spicy aroma with raisins and roasted cashews lending more flavor to the already aromatic preparation. With beaten and slightly spiced curd on the side, it was beauuuutiful! I didnt realize how much I'd missed it.

Our home visit ended on a rich note, with a dark chocolate cake from Birdy's with two teddy candles waiting to be cut by hubby and me whose birthdays are in October. The richness of the cake stayed on in memory and that evening, at home far away from home, I started to get hungry for more biryani and cake.

Sunday was another frenzied bout of shopping. Bought three Maybelline lipsticks of which I need to return one as it's damaged. I was very surprised to see the lipstick fall out when I opened it, it was cut off on the bottom. Never had this experience with Maybelline products and I need to interrupt work today to go and rectify this problem.

We also packed last night and hubby worried that his clothes were taking over my space in the suitcase. Thankfully, I was occupied with an aching knee and did not tease him too much for it.

I cant wait to take a wonderful break for 10 days, visiting different places and trying out their local specialties.

Because you need a list to pack a suitcase..

2008-10-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

...I finally went and made one. Sent it by e-mail to hubby dearest asking him if that's what he was looking for. As with all other tasks that I dont like, I dont know why I cribbed and post-poned it for so long coz it was a little bit more fun than I thought it would be. I made a day-wise packing list with columns for day wear, evening wear, night wear etc. It helped me decide to buy two trousers instead of one and extra t-shirts and shirts. The only things I own are not enough and thank goodness, I identified how many extra clothes I need because it's too expensive to even want to launder your clothes there. Goa was different. Goa was in Indian currency. Still is the last time I checked although the accents are Caribbean.

Better than a fake (I-can-see-right-through-but-cannot-laugh) US accent. Which I used to hear a lot at work.

Hopefully, my husband will love the list and praise it highly. He's been a bit sullen ever since my father-in-law thought the tour was more like a jail they imprison people in. Plus, there was a slight irritation when we decided to order food instead of cooking it. We'd been to the tourist orientation programme organised by our travel agents where they had a walk-through of our package and an open question round with lunch thrown in. It was very pleasant and I've started to look forward to the trip even more. After we had a chat at home, we realized how my FIL felt and hubby did not like it very much. Especially since it is all paid for and nothing can be done. Not that we want to change our plans now.

Hubby and I are looking forward to the food and entertainment along with the sight-seeing that they're managing. I realized what immense work it is and you can just relax letting these tour managers take the pains of arranging your stay and travel. While telling you some interesting facts about what you're looking at or where you're staying.

There's not much time and I need to start shopping to get the things I need. Soon, every one will realize that and there'll be a few, anxious moments till we're packed and on our way.

Am keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Ramblings and Cribs

2008-10-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

Last evening I worked till 9 pm and slept late after finishing my second read of the Namesake. The hubby wasnt around - he's partying with his friends at a hillstation near Bombay - so I had the whole room to myself with a giant LCD TV and books I could read till as late as I wanted. Sleep finally got to me and as I finished my book, I shut the lights off and went to sleep praying I didnt get nightmares else I'd never get any sleep.

Today he seems to be taking it slow getting back. First taste of freedom post marriage and all that. He said that he didnt know when they would be leaving. Of course, the people with the cars (or Scorpios, rather) are sleeping. They plan to have lunch and then leave. I'm sure that I'll be getting bored here but there's nothing to do as I need to wait for work and I cant go shopping all the time (on my salary, too). None of my friends or my family can just drop everything and visit me for half a day or just lunch. You need to sit in a bus for 2 hours one way to be able to do that.

Hence, I decided to write a post. It does a miraculous job of clearing my head and I get to crib to someone about it (or rather, the whole world). Plus, I have all this free time to actually do the assignments for our impending tour to South-East Asia. I have the "fun" job of making lists for packing clothes, medicines and anything else we might need for the 10 days we are there. I dont like lists as much as I hate packing. I'd rather get it over with soon and deal with what I've packed. My hubby's much more structured and I'm just a go-with-the-flow person. He makes lists for every single thing. He's even planning our financial present and future. I am trying to sort out the mess that seems to have grown to bursting proportions in my cupboard.

Arent we just made for each other?

Crazy Times

2008-09-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

Watched Zohan on Friday with my sis and cuz from B'glore. I didnt expect to enjoy it as much as I did, laughing at the bawdy jokes and getting heartily sick of the overuse of hummus. Adam Sandler, great for once, really went all the way out to create something new. And, he was quite convincing. And, he was supported by a great cast, which helped make me laugh. My sis and cuz were shocked and scandalized and did not like the movie as much as I did. Because of which, I never really admitted how much I enjoyed it.

The movie was followed by lunch at Thai Chi with their very excellent seafood dishes. I'd been there before and everything we'd ordered had been great so I took these two. I'm not sure how much cuz liked it but sis was quite excited to sample the spread of wontons, butter-garlic fried prawns, seafood rice, some spicy prawns with capsicums and a very subtly flavoured chicken and mushrooms in chilly oyster sauce. For dinner, I went to Pop Tate's with my husband with very little appetite which was later spurred on thanks to some excellent Sula Sparkling wine and a cheese-prawn pizza. I think I'm getting a bit old for eating out twice in one day. I nibbled at every thing and had a quarter portion of the Roast chicken sizzler although I did finish my portion of wine.

Sunday was our turn to cook and my husband basically took over the vegetables and prawns (yes, we went and bought some on sunday as we'd not had our fill of it on friday) while I slaved over the spaghetti which was magically transformed into hakka noodles. I didnt have to chop any of those vegetables though. We'd been to Foodland in the morning, a supermarket that seems to be stocking well recently, and bought Mushroom Soya Sauce, veggies, fresh prawns on ice and a few other things. I even had a look (for the first time in my life) at Bombay Duck sprawled out on ice. They had a face like a tiny angler fish and a fleshy body that was six times bigger than its head. Or more. The fatty lumps sat there looking very appetizing and we just looked at them as we had no idea how to cook them.

He cooked the prawns well with lots of butter, ginger-garlic, onion, chilli flakes, red chilli powder, a tiny wee bit garam masala, generous dashes of oregano, and the mushroom soya sauce. It turned out really well, the fishy taste of prawns melding well with the spice and sauces. Not to mention the buttery taste that squeezed out the minute you bit into a prawn.

We took a walk in the evening and sat on the edge of a park, he digging into a small cup of vanilla icecream (to battle acidity) while I had a thin can of Pepsi. I'm sure most people passing by (who stared at me) thought the Pepsi can was a can of beer or something. I've never received such intense stares before and the place was pretty much in the shadows with a dim light from the half-working street lamps lining the curve of the road. Back home, I finished my detective-lawyer fiction 'Perry Mason and the Gold-digger's Purse' which I liked. Very complex plot followed by a nice work of detection and logic for uncovering the plot. When you read such books, you realize that it's not too hard to write detective fiction. But it's infinitely hard to stick to logic in your story and tiny details such as the time gaps when the victim was visited by so and so. If you focus too much on the details, your head starts to spin but if you cruise very coolly through the story then it's a breeze, basically. It's not too hard to follow. Plus, these books are really easy reads and come as a blessing between really heavy books.

I do wish Strand was having a sale right now. The rains have stopped and I need to go to that part of town. And buy some books!
:)

Busy Weekend

2008-09-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

We spent over four hours travelling to and from the Queen of Suburbs - Bandra. That's really something, considering we were invited to lunch at Taj Lands End, Vista Restaurant. It's a 24-hour restaurant, serving you a buffet breakfast/lunch/dinner. The last time I'd been there with my best friend, I'd had a wonderful cheesecake and tiramisu, the two desserts I remembered well over the one year that followed my visit. Everything else paled into the background. This time, however, with the change of chef also came a change of the dessert buffet, leaving most things unchanged on the main buffet - especially the biryanis, curries and fried or baked fish. The change in the dessert buffet heavily leaned towards chocolate, which I love, with a really big gap - no tiramisu, no cheesecake.

Despite that minor disappointment, there was a really wonderful dish called The French Pudding. Bright yellow sauce covering generous slices of bread with the crust on. The first spoonful hooked me in and I wish I'd had more space in my stomach for this one beautifully simple yet incredibly tasty dessert. It's more of comfort food than dessert though, something you must have after dinner when watching Sex and the City in your pajamas. However, I'd had too much to eat at lunch and was struggling with the hot chocolate pudding and other not-as-heavenly tidbits on my plate. The mousse-chocolate pudding combo was good, a sweet-bitter combination.

A saffroned chicken biryani, scrumptious and perfectly spiced mutton curry, subtly fried fish atop a neat slice of beetroot and citrus fruit, yummy and perfectly tender yet crunchable asparagus and prawn salad, good bread and a nice shorba were the other highlights of the buffet. All accompanied with a glass or two of Sula Champagne.

That was my wonderfully relaxed in the interim with crazy to-and-fro commuting from one end of Bombay to its outermost regions. I dont think this travel should be done by road, a train would've been much faster.

I also had fun on the Sunday that followed, coz the Saturday pretty much ended by sprawling on the bed watching TV endlessly until we slept - too bone tired to move except for a glass of milk as dinner. You just could not work up an appetite after what you ate at lunch, which should be more aptly called a Banquet.

I cooked with my husband on Sunday. We got chicken, some vegetables and this wonderful Thai curry (Red) sauce packet that we added a lot of coconut milk to and created a curry in less than half an hour. The chicken and veggies simmered beautifully together and we created other masterpieces of our own; I created masoor usal (made with whole lentils and lots of pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and onions) while my husband created his signature dish of sliced sausages sauteed with thinly julliened capsicum and long slices of onions well-browned on a non-stick pan. My mother-in-law made rice and my father-in-law came in to check we were getting on with finishing the lunch thanks to the aromatic smells that escaped into the living room.

After a long siesta, we got up to go shopping for my mother-in-law's belated birthday present. A few scary steps up this really good two-storied shop was a humungous selection of under 600 rs and over 1000 rs sarees. The sarees were really unique and beautiful. My MIL chose two and we went downstairs to pay for them, happily getting a discount.

We shared a chicken burger, fries, coke and had a Softy ice-cream each before we took the bus back home. We spent the rest of our Sunday night battling Monday-morning blues and stuck on to the telly.
:)

Break, Ho!

2008-09-17T03:16:00.000-07:00

I get a break in the middle of the day. The girl sending me assignments to work on from home is sending me the next lot this evening. There's a whole, comfortable 1.5 hour blanket under which I can snooooooze....

Not that I dont nap (Best Part about working from home), but today's email gave me a license to do it with a "thanks" at the end of it. Plus, a famous jewellery store has a live demo of jewellers working to create diamond jewellery right near where I live. I'm planning to take everyone in my home there.

This Saturday, I'm taking my husband to meet my best friend for lunch (safe after marriage :P). She's giving us lunch. Where is a secret until the next post which will see me elaborating on every small detail of my stupendous lunch.

For now, I snooze under a great big collection of Jeffrey Archer's short stories.

Ahhhhh!

Road to Freedom...

2008-09-14T21:01:00.001-07:00

A two-hour bus and rickshaw ride from the outskirts of Bombay to its innermost suburbs. Welcomed by the sight of marinating chicken and browning gravy with carrot salad on the side. The aroma of jeera rice wafted through the house. I dont think I need to specifically tell anyone reading this that I went home last Friday.

I need only the smallest reason to visit home. On Friday, I'd made plans to meet a friend who's getting married in what I thought was a Neeta Lulla outfit. Turns out she didnt like the range that escalated from 60,000 Rs. No VFM, sadly. She stuck to a bright red ensemble from Seasons. After making me wait for more than half an hour in a cold waiting room, she shimmered in and we floated out after a few minutes of how's it goings and how do you feel about the weddings. I had a look at the jewellery she was taking with her to Bhuleshwar market and happily noticed how my wedding present to her (more jewellery) seemed to fit right in with her collection and taste.

I had two fun-filled days at home, zipping from one suburb to another, stocking up on mom's preparations (made specially for me) and going for a function where everyone was glad to see me. After two "You've put on weight!!" observations, I was pleased to receive a compliment from an unexpected source. It was a very pretty one too. "She looks even more beautiful after marriage."

I started my exercise regime again this morning.

A time to celebrate…

2008-09-04T02:34:00.000-07:00

The countdown to our anniversary begins. It was nine months down in August. We congratulated each other over a chicken burger and Coke at Mc Donald’s. September began with birthdays, my mother-in-law and dad had their birthdays on the 1st and 2nd Sept respectively. Flower bouquets reached both residences quite early in the day and telephone calls followed. Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi, the start of a ten-day (this year it’s twelve days) celebration till the Visarjan when Ganesh idols are immersed at various beaches all over Bombay. A few lakes in Thane are also chosen for immersion although one isn’t sure how safe it is if residents will be using the lake water. Bombay seas are already eco unfriendly.

I went over the area I live in, visiting people who have Ganesh idols at home. A public school here has the Ganesh idol in its premises and made a fantastic decoration scene of the different forts and legendary warriors of Maharashtra, foremost among the warriors being, of course, Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We visited the temple and one other pandal nearby. While the temple had a fixed installation, the pandals would soon immerse their idols depending on the day they chose. The housing society I live in usually brings in Ganesh every year but this year, an important committee member passed away and there was a joint decision to not bring in the idol this time. It’s usually the rule that once you decide to get the idol and immerse it, following various rituals and important days, you must follow the tradition through without break. They broke it this year. I don’t know what the repercussions are, but it’s a matter of faith, which one believes must remain unbroken.

We had a good holiday although I worked and so did my husband, but we relaxed and had some fun in that process. We would take small breaks and engage in harmless banter or just talk about nothing in particular. Last night, though, we had a serious discussion on the future. My usually upbeat husband was a bit depressed, wallowing in some negative thoughts and uncertainties, but we talked it over and he felt much more positive. Even for me, talking always helps.
Nine months over. Three to go.

Hola, Spring!

2008-08-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's spring again, in the middle of monsoon. The one thing August in Bombay is famous for is sunlight showers. It pours and yet, all you can see is a blue sky with white cotton clouds with hardly any dark clouds (so one wonders where the rain comes from).

Today, there's a unique crispness in the air. It's cool and yet, one feels the warm sunshine on one's back as one goes on errands or just slides the window more to let the sunbeam embrace one's bedsheets. It's a day for walks (one cannot picnic on the streets of Bombay and parks dont allow food) and for just going on really long trips. I want to go to Pune. I want to do all the things I wanted to do the last and more...I want to visit the German Bakery and Manney's Bookstore. And sit in the Gazebo restaurant or some other name...dont know what. Sipping a Cosmopolitan and ordering pasta Alfredo with lots of tender chicken and mushrooms.

I just want a holiday today!

My fave weekend

2008-08-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

I shopped over the weekend. Staying at my old place, my home, my best vacation spot since the past few months, being with my family, going for lunches at the old familiar places and doing the old familiar things like drinking tea in pegs and taking a walk through the crazy "Market" road.

This time, we ate at Sachin, a non-expensive great seafood joint. Although they've hiked the rates up a bit, it was still just over Rs. 300 for three prawn curry and rice plates, a dish heaped with fried Bombay Ducks and a fried piece of surmai, three sol kadis and two Mangolas. Very VFM. The next afternoon (Saturday) we went to Just Biryani and had the most amazing chicken kebabs and Lucknowi biryani with subtle hints of saffron and melt-in-the-mouth chicken concealed within the heap of amber rice and caramelized onions. I so want my husband to go and eat the biryani. I'm sure he'll love it.

I bought jeans, two kurtas, a Christian Dior watch (the coolest thing I own right now) and a Jeffrey Archer omnibus. Went looking for bags too but didnt find anything that I liked. Hope to strike lucky next time, mom plans to ask the place where she bought her bag for an exact replica of her bag which i liked the best.

I didnt mind leaving and coming home back to my husband but I do miss being there. Every time I go home, I unwind completely and get back to my old routine. This makes me realize how much the daily routine's changed for me. Marriage is, of course, a life altering decision. I do love going back to the old life once in a while and come back to my new one completely refreshed and rejuvenated.

Love Evening

2008-08-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

There's something very magical about evenings, a colleague had once said. He would love taking walks as the sun set casting an orange-pink glow around the cityscape. At the time he'd made this statement, I'd thought yeah, right...can anyone love evenings? The depressing time of the day, I'd thought. This soon changed, of course, like many things in my life.

There was a time when evenings meant parties or dinners with friends, going off home from work and many more pleasant things than staying in a drab, cold office and attending useless calls or tapping away at your ol' workstation. Now, evenings mean the end of a busy working day and many accomplishments, taking up a book or chatting with my husband, dinner at the table with the family and a quiet time before bed either reading my book-of-the-week or watching Scrubs on the LCD screen. Sleep, of course, is the best part...especially when one's dog tired.

This evening's the same, the daylight staying on beyond 7 pm. It's a time to reflect and ponder. To relax those tensed muscles, to stop thinking, to just sit back and watch the world go by...

...and surf the Net. :)

Crossword Sale again...

2008-08-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

Crossword's having a sale. I like going to the air-conditioned, arm-chaired, carpeted chain of bookstores (bigger the better) and just lose myself for a couple of hours and think of nothing but the books I've been dying to read and hoard. I'm not sure if I'll find what I'm looking for but they also have an ordering service which I've never tried yet.

I miss going to Strand sales. They had a few months back but I didnt go; simply because I didnt trust myself to go and splurge on books that I dont read for months. I've still to continue reading Voltaire and Tales of Genji bought from last year's sale. They have the best collection that beats any book sale I've ever been to. I miss Russian folktale books though. The illustrations they have and the simple yet beautifully poetic tales they relate, it's as if an old Russian granny's telling them.

Right now, I'm re-reading the Namesake and going through my favourite paragraphs slowly, devouring each word that I've fallen in love with. Having seen the movie, I imagine the characters as well. I realized that I like both equally and differently; the book and the movie. They are so separate from each other that each is respected for its own unique identity and story.

Hope to catch the sale soon. There are a lot of titles I simply must have.

It's very cold today...

2008-08-11T20:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was quite a wet day, heavy rains almost throughout the day and gusts blowing and swishing through the trees, making a strange and ungodly sound. I often dont need the fan over my workstation, pushing the window slides wide apart sends the cool breezes wafting through the room and keeping it nice and cold.

The first year of married life must be the hardest on anyone, no matter how sweet your disposition might be and how caring and understanding you are. My husband is all that, and yet, my mood bursts descend like cloud bursts and take away the sunshine from our lives. And yet, he doesnt have to put up with anything or "adjust" to anything. He's at his own home, living the same life he lived before we met and got engaged and then married. I concentrate on my work and have very few things to gripe about, starting with the traditions and rituals and going on to opinions and prejudices. The prejudices part is the hardest to digest.

Living in the times we do, when we work and socially interact with anyone and everyone, we cannot afford to cling on to completely outdated prejudices. A prejudice is probably the most natural thing to have but the worst when you might influence someone like your child to already follow a set of beliefs and then go out into the global world and deal with those people whom you are prejudiced against. I can see a lot of negative influence. And in my position, I dont think I can do anything about it. I should have talked to my husband but he didnt ask me and I didnt tell him. Eventually, I stopped talking; only responding in the most minimum words. It felt like my opinion didnt matter. It wasnt like he didnt know what was going on, there have been thousands of times I've raised related matters on him and the scathing comment my MIL made really took the cake. I couldnt tell her to not say such things. Being too shocked by everything, I just shut up.

I can see myself taping my mouth even when my child will be around to hear this. How he/she takes it and goes into the wide open global world will be another matter altogether.

Missing a few things...

2008-08-07T02:31:00.000-07:00

I really miss being one of a group. Nothing beats having one, solid best friend there for you through thick and thin. That is essential. Now that I have her, I need more.

I used to be a part of three-four groups and there used to be fun things that we would do, like go out exploring cafes or restaurants, group movies or a dance somewhere and hanging out...which was the best of the lot. I miss doing all those things with a group. All those people I used to be with have either drifted away on their own journeys or I've consciously stopped being with them to avoid some particularly poisonous friendships. Now that I'm home and can venture out whenever I want, I have no groups to go out with.

I never did miss this as much as I do when my husband does something with his friends. He belongs to 3-4 groups (i'm sure there's more) and ends up doing something with them - visiting karaoke bars or drinks after work or dinner or something - and I sit at home reading a book or watching TV. Which isnt bad but it makes me reminisce. And then I start missing the things I used to do.

Marriage is, of course, something that should tame the party-hard devil within, especially now that we're thinking of going further and starting a family together. But it's really hard when one of us is out there having fun.

I'm going to call up my best friend and make sure we do something at least once in a while. Then he can sit at home and wait for me.

Astalavista

2008-08-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

No better way to say goodbye than knowing it in your heart that it's over. And finally, you're free. You're free of the guilt and pain that went into your taking your first step away from its source. Being emotionally high-strung, I knew I could not have lasted as a person, as an individual in its strong-hold of possession. I am free now and for the first time, I feel affirmation.

I need to thank myself for letting go of something I thought I could not live without. I can now and I have. And I will continue to. Maybe I could have changed a few things, but the step I took at the time I took it was really, really needed.

And I'm glad I did it.

All it took was to read a few lines in an e-mail. It brought a taste of pain, like when the blade of a whip hits its spot. And then, it brought relief. Because I will never put myself in a position where I feel it again and again.

Is it just me?

2008-07-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

I feel I might be losing a few inches off my waist and arms but somehow hubby still thinks of it as ineffective. His guilt, of course, at not doing anything to lose weight although both of us need to must be making him think so. But today, after my usual shower, I inspected my arms and feel they've toned from what they used to be. Of course, there's still a few miles to cover in this journey of weight loss (and one must keep on at it) but I wonder if there's not much happening and if I should change what I'm doing to something more "effective".

It's 7:30 and I dont feel like carrying on my pending assignment. It utterly confuses and bores me and there's a loooong way to go before I'm done with it. Plus, hubby's partying tonight which makes me feel like I'm not having any fun. Which is unfair but then, one gets a wee bit jealous. Especially if there's drinks involved.

I saw a lot of food sites today and that's making me really hungry for something sweet. Which is probably diet harakiri.

Until, I'm in a better frame of mind..I'll sign off now.

Pinky yellow twilight and waking dreams...

2008-07-23T06:40:00.001-07:00

The minute hand’s completing its circle and will soon call out 7 pm. And yet, a light drizzle plays in the foreground of a muted yellow and pink twilight. The day’s not over yet, it wants to tell me. I’m still hanging around. It’s not the end of me yet.

Night is gentler, stealthier. She tip-toes over, twirling her gracefully long fingers, turning a blue sky to a crimson sunset to a royal purple twilight, to end in the final composition of an indigo sky with a smattering of stars. These days, in the monsoon, one doesn’t see a blue sky at all. It’s grey all the time, which softly gets deeper in shades to go to a duskier black but no one notices that. Today, though, the day wants to be king. Night’s waiting patiently, probably making it rain a bit more forcefully to give her guest hints that he’s overstayed his welcome.

I love the rains. Everything in this concrete island city’s greener, more vibrant and bursting with life rather than parched in the summer and dusty in the winter.

I’ve just finished the newest installment of 44 Scotland St. Yes, I know I’d been cribbing about not having it when I realized that there are bookstores other than Crossword who have a more updated stock of books. I grabbed the last copy of The World According to Bertie and as I finished the book felt as I felt during all the previous times when I’d put the book down finally, immense and utter contentment and a new perspective to my life that, just last night, seemed drab and uninteresting. Scotland St not only involves me in its inhabitants and all those associated with them, but it enriches my own. I get introspective and realize how wonderful it is to be alive. And what million little things happen around us everyday and how we must store as many of its memories we can hoard, to make another rich volume of the story of our lives.
Sighs!

Uhhh..one...uhhh...two

2008-07-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

I start off trying to burn calories early in the morning. Just like I straightened out my cupboards yesterday, I need to straighten out my excess baggage round specific strategic locations of my body. I'm tired of comments like 'You look like you're enjoying marriage' 'You've put on so many...' etc. So I started off and actually managed an improvement on my push-ups (not saying how many, nope).

I miss Scotland Street. I really miss Domenica, Pat, Bruce and Matthew with his new-found money bank. And Big Lou. And Bertie. I'm reading The Right Attitude to Rain and while it's nice on its own, I prefer Scotland Street. That's more 'happening'. Tons more exciting than this one. Perhaps I should've picked Friends, Lovers and Chocolate in this series, but I desperately needed Scotland and picked the only one that was available.

Of course, Detective Ramotswe's a complete adventure waiting to unfold. That will definitely be next on my reading agenda, right after the Miniaturist.

So much to say...

2008-07-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

I went to my ex-office this week and the experience made me miss work a bit more than I used to. But I got back safely in my little shell and realized that I'd made the right decision and must stand by it. It was great to talk my heart out (we almost had a two-hour lunch session) and still had loads to talk about. We would...we were meeting after a very long gap of six months. The last time we met, I had just gotten married. Over a varied lunch of chicken hakka noodles, barbequed chicken and dal khichdi, I spilled out the beans, my heart and soul included.

But it was after that when I realized and did a lot of introspection as to where I was headed. I had procrastinated for the last six months and had basically let each moment guide me rather than take charge and pull myself towards new things that I could do now when sitting home and freelancing for a few hours every day.

I had a dream that night about a few false friendships and the next day, I wrote it down. I think I'm finally heading somewhere...there seems a long, long road beyond which there's a dim light beckoning me to follow its path but I dont know exactly where and how I need to go. But, it's a start.

Plus, while returning home from work, I had a good, long listen to some of my favourite songs in a rickshaw with a really good sound system and the right radio station. None of those old, philumee cassettes with the 80s and similar music playing non-stop. I could unwind just listening to those songs. Had to stop by Crossword and pick up a few books. At times like these, I miss Landmark and Book Lovers for the simple fact that I knew my way around those stores and they had the books I wanted. Here, I had a long hunt before I found the Miniaturist and Alexander Mc Call Smith and needed to ask for directions to the Times Food Guide 2008 edition.

It's a great, big store though although I also wish it had an extension of a coffee shop. Costa Coffee, just bang opposite, is closed for goodness knows what reason. Would've been nice to go across and sit for a coffee, leafing slowly through the Miniaturist.

I miss going out more.

Slicky Muck

2008-07-06T20:42:00.001-07:00

Now that rains are more or less here to stay, it starts to rain everytime we dress to go out and doesnt stop until we're half-soaked in a rickshaw, zooming out of this place. I wanted it to rain this way...and yet, I get a bit frustrated when it rains and the cotton fabric that my clothes are made of starts to get soaked first and then shrivel.

We visited Bond again on Saturday night, for a bot of wine and something to munch it with. The starter took so long to get to the table that we were half a bot down and a bit tipsy. Which isnt totally a new thing for me, but this time the wine really hit me. I clung to him as we came out to go to this cute little Thai eatery for dinner, feeling like I'd drop like a load of stones the moment I let go. Which was very entertaining for him but a bit scary for me coz my head was spinning until we sat at our Thai table (after fifteen minutes of waiting and watching a moron walk ahead of us to a table). A Coke later, I was feeling fine and digging into the sui mai.

Sunday was a lazy day, didnt do anything that I'd promised myself I would do, like working on my article and downloading this important document that I'm doing right now. We had a mixed vegetable curry with paneer that he did from start to finish and I made the usual accompaniments; dal fry and palak (spinach) raita.

Evening we went shopping for a super cool green paisley printed umbrella and a new pair of all-weather shoes. They're a light rose pink shade with cream innersole. Hopefully, they clean just as easy.

I just realized that there's not much of the slicky muck that's topping off the post today, but you have to forgive my wandering mind. It was raining almost all of last night and the view outside my window is breathtakingly beautiful.

Dear Rain God...

2008-07-01T02:52:00.000-07:00

...I don't know if your staff responded to my request or you did, but whoever is responsible for making my wish come true, it came a whole two days late! Not complaining about the wish fulfilment part as much as the timing. I wanted to wake up on a dark, cloudy Saturday or Sunday morning, dripping wet as someone who's just had a nice warm shower. I ended up getting a wet morning today, and basically had to pry my eyes open and get out of my warm, comfortable bed as early as 8 am.

And...my life's companion had already walked out the door when Bombay got swamped in by brown pools of slush. We had no fun.

Next time you listen to my requests, please please get the day right. That's more important than getting a beautifully rainy day where all you need to do is stay right indoors and watch the pools filling up right outside.

And BMC: You guys better watch out! The average Bombayite is hopping mad right now.

The Generation Chasm...

2008-06-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

It's really deep. In many ways, I'm proud to say this, my mom in law is very, very broad-minded. The really important things like an idiotic (novice) daughter-in-law who is illiterate when it comes to customs and traditions and Marathi, of course...although, I'm getting better at the language. But when it comes to food, except when I cook it, she has very strong dislikes and prefers to starve than to do something totally out of the expected and ordinary, like eat a curry cooked only in wine. She might even cook it for us but eat it...no way!

She spent a few weeks in Europe, mostly London, at the home of this friend of my dad in law. His Italian wife cooked a meal for them that had almost everything on the menu cooked, glazed, or marinated in wine. My mom in law said that she didnt eat a bite of anything. Even in hunger, so I dont know what she did after that meal. I, on the other hand, am probably the daughter in law from hell the way I can chase all the things that she runs away from. Of course, she doesnt know it :) and it's going to stay that way even if I have to swear off a few things.

We can talk about almost anything. Almost. This is where I would rather shut up and let her do the talking. It's not even the generation, I guess, it's the gap of a traditional mother and her very untraditional (although I'm not very liberal either) daughter in law.

Rainy day today!

2008-06-25T02:42:00.000-07:00

After weeks of clear skies and dry earth, it finally started raining cats, dogs and little white elephants today. It's grey for miles and miles and the mountains surrounding our buildings are all misted over. On really cloudy days, the mountains and the skies merge to create one shade of grey as far as the eye can see. And lucky me gets to work from home.

I still dont miss working at an office. As long as this arrangement works fine, I'm happy to work alone. I think better and work faster. As my job chiefly involves writing and creating ideas, I get to do plenty of that without distractions, without meetings, without colleagues dragging you for coffee or chats. Ok, I miss the coffee and chats and eating spicy Chicken pulao with brown, caramelized onions at this great dhabaesque restaurant, especially in the rains. But work's happening just great. And, I neednt worry about adding a few kilos.

The weekend looks great. The hubby is thinking of going the TGIF way for Saturday - fried chicken-cheese sausages, beers, burgers, and maybe Thai Flat noodles with shrimps (my idea).
Talk about no distractions! Hope this week flies past.

Sweetness...

2008-06-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

...the sweetness of a day muted by sun pouring through thick, black clouds.
...the sweetness of mixed fruit jam
...the sweetness of a day spent in spirit-fulfilling work interwoven with brief spells of PG Wodehouse
...the sweetness of welcoming my husband home early
...the sweetness that weekend is around the corner
...sweetness playing on all senses, sight, sound, taste and a million others I'm discovering

Today should officially be the world's sweetest day!

Rain is falling!

2008-06-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

It rained last evening. From 7 pm onwards there was a thick breeze, tightening a few knots here and there, bursting through the leaves of every tree and raising gathered dust in cyclonic thrusts. It tempted me greatly to get out and walk all the way to the library, across the main road; get out from the sidelines and get into the fray. Which I did, getting soaked on my way there, getting splashed from bikes, cars and children and either tripping my way into puddles or feeling the cement blocks shift from under my feet when in one.

And to top off everything, i got lost in my own backyard. There's this maze of buildings called Vrindavan and I entered it (it's always on my way home) confidently only to stop and stare a few times at unrecognizable signboards and lanes. I wanted to find a particular shop where they sell good, homemade, hot food to supplement the supper at home. And ended up finding it only after I'd gone so far ahead, I'd reached the very periphery and never even realized how I got there.

Getting lost in a concrete jungle may not make you see a tiger or two but was certainly scary as it poured and I kept walking towards lonely, puddle-filled corners that I'd never seen before.

Finally, of course, after reaching the periphery, I could manage to recognize the alternate lane to go to that shop. Carrying hot chapatis and warm zunka, I trudged home, a slight flush of victory and near-abandon on my face.

The morning I woke up to today wasnt sunny at all, it was slightly drizzling and it's increased its tempo now that I sit to write at my computer. It's a beautiful morning and I'm just bursting to enjoy it.

Golden Twilight

2008-06-03T06:45:00.001-07:00

Yellow light is streaming in through the sliding panes of my window, gilding the skin of my fingers as they tap away on the keyboard. The tint of the evening is yellow and pink, the two tones of the sky as the afternoon melts away into a golden twilight. The sky is heavy with clouds...soon they will overrun with the spring of life, streaming from the heavens, slipping like Amul butter through the cracks of toast and drizzle all over the 'sunny-side-up' landscape.

Let's hope it rains tonight. Let's hope to wake up to the earthen smell of mud and water.

Qasiru - student by day, samurai by night

2008-06-02T21:23:00.001-07:00

"Qasiru"
When the sensei takes your name, you respond. Qasiru knew this as an instinct, it wasn't just discipline. But today, the sensei's voice seemed to echo from the Blue Mountains of Kanchengunga, the way it seemed so distant and obscure.
"Present"
Satisfied with the response, the sensei seemed to retreat back into the cloudy mists of the Blue Mountains. Qasiru drew back into the meditative realm of her mind.

If she focused hard, she saw her mother's face. Lost in the swirling typhoons of time, her mother remained just a memory, a blurry memory that had no before or after. It had no shape nor form, just a veil of mist through which she could see her mother's face looking at her. Walin said she could come back to her, through meditation and then a series of exercises using just the initial memory of her face. It would be better if Qasiru wasnt well rested, for the unconscious would merge into the conscious and create a visual clip that non-believers called 'hallucinations'.

Walin believed that hallucinations were true. Whether Qasiru could believe in it as well remained to be seen.

Samurais fought for the greater cause. Could her search for her mother be a greater cause than bringing Japan's history back? Or was it getting a bit blurry too, the distinction between professional and personal?

In my own world...

2008-05-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

...Havent done much other than sit at my comp working on this course that needs me to listen to DVDs and type out the content, work out presentation techniques and basically make it into an online course. Not being used to transcripting content, I had tensions bordering on panic attacks for a few days until today, which is when I feel more in command of my work than the other way round. So far, it's given me a leave of absence from house work which is sometimes welcome.

I dont like sunlight pouring through my window trying to fry me to a crispy crunchiness, I want rain! A cloudy sky, storming a bit, and pouring rain over the earth would be a perfect scene to watch while one is working. I never got this luxury with a full time job when I'd be in some corner where one doesnt know whether it's day or night outside. Now that I have a room to myself and a corner of it serving as an office with a beautiful view of an old village settlement in the middle of gigantic buildings crowding around it, I want the right kind of scenery to go along with it.

Hope it rains!

First Showers

2008-05-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

It rained last night. Arriving stealthily, like a robber in the middle of night, it left several clues to its presence in the morning. The air was cool and there were moist patches on the road, quickly drying up as the sun climbed the eastern sky. My husband, lucky devil, had heard the rain falling at night. I missed it and only knew it had rained when he told me.

It’s much better walking out at 6:15 am than at 7 am. It is twice as hot, the later you go out and 8 am would have been nothing but torture.

Torture was doing the assignment I’d promised to hand in by end of Sunday. After a lunch of Hyderabadi Chicken, while my husband had a three-hour siesta, I was hammering away at my computer. I hate having to work weekends, weekdays is more or less expected but weekends was a bit much. And I have a sneaking suspicion that there’s more waiting for me in the wings.

I missed going to the library. I haven’t been there for a long time. Had bought two books which had to be finished before I could go and get new books so there wasn’t any time to visit the library. I haven’t even finished one of the two books I’d borrowed; don’t think I want to either. Am currently in the middle of ‘Snow’ by Orhan Pamuk. I missed reading it over the weekend and falling asleep with it in my arms, dreaming of a snow-filled small town of Kars and a man in a black coat.

Sunday was a missed opportunity and Monday seems to have arrived too soon.

The Sun, Moon, and Clouds

2008-05-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

After a few months of soaring temperatures and impossible heat, it's lovely to see some signs of a let up, in the form of fluffy clouds with an undertone of a dark, rainy promise. The hot afternoon suddenly turns cloudy and one is filled with a burst of energy to go out and enjoy. Only, one remembers the humidity levels and steps back into the cooler vicinity of the drawing room with a tiny balcony of plants providing a verdant tone.

The summer months belong to walks at Colaba, the array of icy-cool fizzy drinks at Churchgate station, the carts carrying hunks of ice and many colours of sherbet, fountains of sugarcane juice and earthen pots of cool, refreshing kulfi with a few spoons of rabri soaking it. Taking in the sea at Marine Drive, getting a bit lost amongst the stony foundations of the University area and the Fort is what I really wish to do on a cloudy day like this.

One day, I'll probably end up doing and writing about it than just wishing I was out there doing it.

:)

It's a hot sizzling day...

2008-05-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

...and I'm dreaming of an ice-cold peach flavoured iced tea at a cafe facing the Marine Drive Chowpatty scene. I was talking to my best friend and she mentioned a restaurant that I'd already been to when I was about to be engaged or probably after...it's a bit blurry to me now. Going there again while not being very exciting a prospect as is going to an undiscovered brilliant restaurant, will not be too bad either as it does make yummy pepperoni pizza and the iced tea is HUGE and refreshing. Plus, it has a great view of the promenade. I'll probably visit it during the afternoon which is not as nice as visiting it during the evening, but doesnt matter anyhow. I'll be catching up on gossip with my best friend and does scenery matter at such times? Oh no.

Work-wise I'm not too busy which suits me fine. I just received this lot of pages that cannot be saved to file, it has to run on my comp displaying text bit by mini-bit and is a bit hard on the ol' patience pile.

An ex-colleague I thought was ignoring me is getting married. Didnt receive a congratulations for my wedding, thanks very much. Anyway... I sent in my congratulations and will probably send in my postal address very, very soon.

Arlington Park is making a very slow and steady impact on me. After many days have passed, I now feel icy cold dread stealing over portions of my heart and making me into an Arlingtonian.

eek!

Hmmm....

2008-05-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today's a hmmm day with a hmmm post. A day to ponder and reflect and revise. At first glance it looks like I'm free to spend the day reading Snow by Orhan Pamuk and yet... a black cloud of uncertainty threatens to rain all over my sunny parade. Gloom personified by bad news and cloudy skies is all around me.

I loved Saturday. Hubby and I went on our very first (Chinese) bus ride to Victoria Terminus. These are special A/C buses with seats elevated every few rows and the back of the bus made us bounce a bit giving a spectacular view of the moron autos inching towards our speeding bus. Going over bridges was an experience in itself...breathtaking views included in the package. I saw the old Byculla station, the old chawl systems of Parel still standing tall and proud, the shanties of Ghatkopar and grand dame of Bombay - Victoria Terminus. Going around Mumbadevi, Mahalaxmi, Prabhadevi and Bandra were huge big treats although the weather was muggy and very very humid. A drive around Carter road, a cold coffee at a cafe overlooking the torrid Bandra seas, coming down to the shopping district of Linking Road for lunch at Waterfield road... I miss them all very much today on a Monday morning, sitting at the ol' workstation and waiting for work.
Talk about gloom!

Who Am I?

2008-04-29T23:41:00.000-07:00

Funny how not having a job and a designation makes me wonder about myself and my identity. Even funnier is the realization that no one forced me into this, it was completely my own call and my own wish to end that part of my career. I wanted to write, not to think how I can mould the client’s requirement into a spanking, wonderful new learning module. Or courses as we used to call them.

Now, I struggle to write and ponder mostly about how I can work from the comfort of my new home, with its new internet system, with a thousand things I am not familiar with. I think this feeling of discontent bordering on despair is something that’s caught on after reading Arlington Park. I cannot dissect what I’ve read and re-shape it into sentences that describe what I feel about a book but utter hopelessness and the gray feeling personified by each woman’s state of mind and embodied by the weather is what stands out the most to me. Perhaps I ought to read it again a few times, separated by a gap of a few years before I start to identify with the book. The feelings are entirely complex, so much that they’re sometimes beyond my grasp. I can just about skim the surface of each protagonist and her own private little world full of its own secrets and mystery, but I cannot understand. Which is how the mind works, I suppose. I try to find something that explains and something that’s a straightforward message to everyone but this book reminds me that it’s life we’re talking about and each interconnected being is made up of a billion little molecules and the resulting fusion does not necessarily mean there is harmony between the molecules. If you go deeper, you find billions of atoms and a realm of possibilities that it can go on splitting into a sequence of minuteness and you still won’t have discovered it all.
That probably says a little bit about my feelings in regard to Arlington Park. It is a fine book and the technical nature of writing does tend to impress more on my mind as I tend to get a bit lost in the overwhelming thoughts that are going inside each woman’s head. I think the summary behind the book kind of oversimplified it and I thought it was another thing altogether. Going through it makes me realize how many more galaxies are out there and how little I have experienced.

Idle? What's That?

2008-04-28T21:49:00.001-07:00

Another phase starts...new things like making segments of a day and budgeting time across those segments for fun, travel, and eating out. Weird for me, so used to having 'free' time that would be spent any way one preferred. The lack of incoming wealth or rather the depleting reserves then made me look for something to do...part time or freelance.

I get to sit at home and work at the moment. Everything I need except for a printer (which I havent yet had a requirement for) is here. Even an occasional game of Spider Solitaire to stir up those bored electrical impulses flitting across my brain is right at my fingertips.

The best part is if I can continue to make a living (permanently, if possible) in this way, I would probably be a very lucky and content person. Of course, if one could leap across the space-time barrier and have a peek into the future, one could guess if this is blind optimism or intuition.

The Big Bad Thesaurasaurus

2008-04-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

:) Just blaming machines for a human's shortcomings. It really scares me to modify a sentence especially if the word I'm looking to modify has multiple connotations or meanings and well...it really scares me coz there's no way of checking it out (I cannot ask the author). So, the work of actually sitting down to condense something interesting becomes a TASK.

Which I've been trying to complete this week and it still seems an uphill journey. Especially with healthy diversions like housework, making dough for chapattis, watching tele soaps, reading mail about Crossword Summer Fest, which has to do with everything other than books. Plus, all those activities are for kids! I agree with having a few days for kids to go crazy at a mega bookstore (someone has to buy those dust-collecting Harry Potter books!!) but at least something for a home-bound, freelancing book freak to enjoy in and at least have an excuse to visit a bookstore for something other than buying books! I've spent a lot and my bookcase wont be able to hold any more of my hardbound or paperback treasures...and well! Once an addict, always an addict.

I need to go back and battle the Thesaurasaurus and finish the pending task for once and for all. Enough diverting!

The Mood is Black....

2008-04-17T03:02:00.000-07:00

I wish to sit in a dark room where the only light falls in a Venetian blind pattern on the wall behind the dark velvet sofa I sit on. I want to cast a spell on everyone in a swift click of two fingers. I want to wrap my body in the darkest hue of black coffee. And let the material glide over me before I fasten it with a diamond brooch. Slapping on a sparkling cinnamon shade of lipstick...or should I opt for the deeper shade of cardamom, dark as the mood I'm in. I want to turn the world into an echoing nothingness...a black hole.

I dare to wear black...for I'm dressed to kill tonight.

The Holiday Ends...

2008-04-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

...my in-laws are back tomorrow morning, early. Last minute cleaning up is on the list of tasks today and a getting back to the routine...not being on my own any more. My husband really missed them and of course, I did too but in a different way to his. I do love my independence and wasnt sure how I would manage the joint family thing but that wasnt so bad. But a bit of doing things as I like them, being alone with my hubby, taking care of him solely...that I loved. Now, it'll again feel like apprenticeship under my mom-in-law but the way she can manage and run things is something I've come to trust and respect. In this especially and many other things, I know I'm too inexperienced and lazy, and must work towards setting up this home if it ever comes to running the home on my terms. She has a fantastic system that I can emulate...if not copy.

But well... all holidays come to an end :). Somehow I still have mixed feelings, grateful that I'm not going to be running around everywhere on my own or get too dead tired at night to be an alluring mistress to my husband.

Sloppy Morn

2008-04-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

Woke up half an hour later than the usual, which caused such hurry in the morning that I'm quite exhausted and dont feel like moving out or making lunch. Although in the evening, I want to go to the mall and buy new kurtas and perhaps, an entire outfit just to get out of the slop that's my ensemble. Had a refreshing browse at the library last evening and a pitawich. Today's burger night and I dont need to cook anything but pasta for lunch and yet...seems like such an exertion!

The Ketchup Song is awfully outdated but its nice to get retro once in a while although I'm not sure it qualifies as retro.

Since thoughts are flitting like butterflies in my mind, I was just pondering on having another cup of Boost. Nothing like Boost to help you unwind completely. The prediction for today is hot and muggy and yet, feel like I'm going to be cooped up all day! Just in a very contradictory mood today. Perhaps coz my holiday's ending and soon the house will be bustling and will no longer be allowed to get as lazy as I am today.

Sighs!

Good Morning World!

2008-04-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

After a relaxing morning cup of Boost and a mixed fruit salad, I want to shout "Good Morning World!" off the rooftop. The Devil's getting comfortable in her seat by the window, tapping away on her PC and listening to Maroon crooning "She will be loved..."

I finally picked up the overdue read Shopaholic and Baby, the series of which I'd suspended when reading Shopaholic Ties the Knot collapsing into a heap when the magnificent proposal happens. Mainly because she was getting married and I wasnt. Now of course, that's in the past and my life changed by leaps and bounds since that time. I'm happily married (newly) now and am looking for a new job. I've relocated to this new suburb and well...it's not the same, but it's not bad either. Anyway, I picked up Shopaholic and Baby and it's amazing how consistent the books are. It was almost as if the gap had never happened and I just picked up where I'd given up and gone on as if nothing changed. And nothing has changed, the Shopaholic is still as mad and addicted as ever. It's worse now that she's expecting...

Anyway, my best friend who lent me this book and I often go through the series in the same way: how it relates to us and our own individual struggles. Although I've considerably toned down the shopping urge now that I'm jobless, she's still happily addicted although very different from what she used to be. She budgets now and sticks to it! Apart from that, her personal life is looking up and I'd love to see how it goes for her in a few months from now. In fact, I'm totally eager to find out. Anyway...

The Devil's muttering something about looking at the clock and getting to the kitchen to cook a meal... Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!