I miss Blogosphere!

I think today I'm going to write a very brief post on my blog! I just think so!

I'm keeping extremely busy these days and I know that the forthcoming days are going to be equally busy.  I'm not able to view any blog.  I had been devoting whatever time left with me on my blog, posting something or replying to the wonderful comments of blogger pals.  What all did I not do for the love of blogging!  I bought a laptop and a USB internet connection solely for blogging and of course some more browsing, but it seems even that is not helping me much.

I never knew I'll be jotting down how busy I've become of late, in my blog! But really, work, home and kids and yes social commitments are keeping me away from blogging.

Every morning while reading newspaper I think about what to write today!!  So many things i wanted to share... but it seems I'll be writing about them when the phase is over.... phew....

Anyways... just wanted to share that work and lots of work is keeping me away from blogging and I'm looking forward to the time when I can spend lots of time blogging and reading blogs.

Till then,

Take care and enjoy!!

RESTLESS

My Blog's First Anniversary!

Wow! I can't believe that I have completed one year of blogging. 



A painting by Raja Ravi Varma



A person so unpredictable that I am, I never knew I will stick to blogging.  Being sensitive can be such a pain at times that you don't even know from which side of the bed will you wake the next morning.  Dealing with my sensitivity and using it in a productive manner was a challenge for me.  Also, giving an outlet to my thoughts and expressions was a need which had to be addressed.  Another, most important thing was that I needed an anchor.  I found mine in my blog, or rather blogging.  Because my blog alone ( like a stand alone PC) won't have helped me.  Only, and only hearing from other people, through comments, sometimes through email, on various forums like Indiblogger and Blogadda made the experience so rich, and so satisfying.  It's a networked PC now!

I wrote my first post on 21 June 2010 titled My World - My Perception.  Today, when I read it, I smile.  I guess, my words speak for themselves.  Today, I feel mellowed down, soften down.

Often, when I wrote a lively, bubbling post, somewhere I was disturbed from inside.  They say words have power.  And I do believe in it.... strongly.  Words change the way you feel.  I tried never to bring in my bad state of mind on the blog, rather concentrated on writing something positive, something nice, something interesting.  After writing a post, the comments that followed from blogger pals would brighten up my day.... howsoever low I felt.  Each morning, when I turned on my PC and logged in to Blogger.... the dashboard would open up and say "10 or 8 or 5 comments" waiting moderation.  Somewhere you feel, you are being heard.  Somewhere you feel your views are being reciprocated - in agreement or disagreement.  Especially for us, the psuedoanonymous bloggers who know no one in the blogosphere and nor they would share their blog with their friends, it's an amazing feeling to be liked for what you write.  To be liked for your expression from unknown people.

Today, I'm a one year old blogger, a more happy person and in love with my blog completely. Can I ask for something more?!

How did you feel when you completed the first year of blogging? Do share your thoughts on how did blogging affected your life.

Take care

RESTLESS

Rowing My Boat At Nainital!

I spent my last weekend at Nainital, the 'Lake District' of India.  Nainital is headquarter of Nainital District. It is also divisional Headquarter of Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand State of India.  The most prominent of all the lakes of the 'Naini' Lake which is in the shape of a human eye.  The lake is surrounded by hills and makes a beautiful, picture perfect view.

An important mythological reference to Nainital is as one of 64 ‘Shakti Peeths’.These centres were created wherever parts of charred body of Sati fell ,when Lord Shiva was carrying around her corpse in grief .It is said that the left eye (Nain) of Sati fell here and this gave rise to patron deity of town Nainital . It is said that the lake is formed in the emerald eye shape . Naina Devi temple is located at the northern end of the lake . Thus name of Nainital derivated from Naina and the tal (Lake).

The Naini Tal

The view from my hotel window

The small boats in the lake sailing around in leisure

The sail boat.

The view at night

clicked while in the boat

See the clouds above

The quacking duck.  The filth that surrounded was appalling.

Clicked this pic at a place called 'Mangoli' while returning from Nainital.  This huge tree seems to have fallen on the nearby hut due to strong winds.  I was amazed to see how this humble hut to withstand the heavy weight of the tree.

    RESTLESS

Would You Watch A Movie For An 'Item Number'?

'Item Number' used frequently to spice up a movie can even lighten the overall impact of a well directed movie.

I watched the movie 'Dum Maro Dum' and felt that very contradictory things are being conveyed.  In case you've not watched the movie, let me tell you briefly that it was about the drug mafia based in Goa.  The whole movie was set in Goa, but it seems that to accommodate the item number of Deepika Padukone 'Dum Maro Dum' the rave party had to be organized in Bangalore!  No doubt that Deepika did justice to the song, she looked on a high with an even higher (shredded) skirt (we don't mind that now, see we have evolved!)  Although the lyrics of the song defied all logic (how else do you want us to defaecate ?!) but still it was tolerable ( it didn't touch our morality nerve, you see!)

Rana and Bipasha shared an amazing chemistry.

The point I want to make here is that it was absolutely unnecessary to insert that song there.  Moreover, the publicity of the song kind of nullified all the efforts the cop, Abhishek Bachchan (he was really good!).  I mean, throughout the movie he tries hard to chase these drug peddlers and here this long legged lass takes away all the limelight, all the attention and spreads the message to 'maro dum'.  Not done.  You see the contradiction.  At the end of the movie, I was wondering what the director wanted to say - To Maro or Not to Maro Dum?!  When you glamorize something, you can't be telling the youth to shun that practice.  Though, the whole movie revolves around the lives of people who suffered, very badly, in the hands of the big businessmen in the smuggling of drugs.  It wrenches your heart when you see the plight of those young and innocent people ( played by Bipasha Basu and Prateek Babbar) who ruin in their life due to a little greed to getting quick bucks, but are very innocent.

  

Rana Dagubatti

In fact the song, i just loved in that movie was 'Gaye Tum Gaye Ho Kyun' (singer - Papon)  It touched my soul.  In fact, this song was that satin sheet on which the whole movie glided.  The satin sheet still warm with the embrace of your lover, gone away from you forever.  The warm and slippery feel keeps you connected to your lover even when you know they are never gonna come back....... It had the pain of a lover who lost her girl to the boss of the deadly drug racket, with her playing a mistress to the villain.  

Somewhere we missed out on the essence of a beautiful movie, so well shot, so well made, just because a fast track, ill worded yet glamorized 'item number' was thrown as a bait to us.....

Did you see the movie? How did you like it? Do share....

RESTLESS

Honey, Mind A Quick Bite?!!

I wrote about how merely by doing a little planning about food, we can avoid ordering food from outside or eating out too frequently. (Honey, What's Cooking Tonight?!)

The first step towards an organized cooking area, is to know what's already there in the kitchen cabinets and fridge.  Make a list of things which you think are missing.  Basics like lentils, flour, rice, gram flour (besan) ; spices like cumin seeds (zeera), coriander powder (sookha dhaniya), turmeric powder (haldi), Garam Masala (north Indian ground masala mix), dried red chillies/powder,whole black pepper/powder, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom etc help cook anything.

The second and important step is to go shopping for various food articles.  The thing to keep in mind is to buy lots of fresh veges and a few packs of frozen veges too.  Go for frozen mixed veges, french fries, non-veg frozen food for the times you have nothing left in your fridge.  Another option is also available now for the one's who just don't have any time.  Processed and packaged North Indian dishes (like Rajma, Chane etc) and South Indian dishes(like Sambhar) are available in most big stores.  Even packaged ready to eat chicken dishes are available, which just have to be heated before eating.

I've listed a few ingredients, which people having vegetarian food can keep at home at all times:

# Curd - (curdle milk at home, it's easier in summers)

# Cottage Cheese - setting it properly at home is a bit difficult, but you can still try.

# Boiled Potatoes - You can boil around 8-10 medium sized potatoes in a pressure cooker and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days minimum.

# Soya Chunks and granules - Highest content of protein is found in these. Store them in a sealed container. 

# Soya Sticks - The frozen variety can be bought from local cheese shops.  Can be cooked to make a delicious meal with gravy.

# Cream or 'malai' - adds instant richness to any dish

# Tomato Puree -  This is a must have.  Buy small packs and store in a cabinet. Or else make it at home (Boil whole tomatoes with little water in a pressure cooker ; cool it ;  grind it ; cook in a kadai or wok to evaporate extra water ; cool it again and store in a closed container in fridge.  It lasts for a week to 10 days)

# Ginger garlic paste - Helps to pep up any dish ( I don't like the packaged ones though)

# Mozerella Cheese or Pizza Cheese

# Onions and green chillies - They are versatile and be used in many ways

The third and the most important step is to get into the kitchen to cook!  Let me share with you that I was one person, who HATED TO COOK ALL MY LIFE.  It's after years of marriage ( and constant coaxing over food !!) I learnt cooking by reading a lot on Internet and cook books!!

Try these two simple and quick vegetarian dishes which save time and are nutritious and delicious too:

Quick Paneer (Cottage Cheese in cream) - taught by a man!

Heat a little cooking oil in a Wok.  Add chopped ginger to it, fry for a while and then add 3-4 spoons of tomato puree to it.  Add salt, pepper, garam masala, dhaniya powder and red chilly powder to it. Mix and now add 2 spoons of whipped malai/cream to it. Mix well, add a little water. After about 1 minute of frying, add small cut pieces of cottage cheese to it. Lastly, you may like to add dried methi leaves (Kasoori Methi) or coriander leaves to the dish. Serve hot.

Dahi ki sabzi (Curd delight) - My mother's recipe

Heat a little oil in a pan, add thinly sliced onion (1 medium sized), shredded ginger(depending on your taste), green chillies (2-3) slit into two and fry a little.  Add salt, garam masala and red chilly (a little).  Fry a little and pour around 2 cups of curd into the wok and immediately turn off the fire.  Serve it then and there. Don't prepare and keep this dish, as it will turn watery.  It's a quick and very spicy n tangy dish which can be had with chapattis.

Enjoy!

RESTLESS

PS: I am not a cooking expert! You too are free to write about your quick recipes and your experience with cooking :)

Honey, What's Cooking Tonight?!

I often used to cringe, whenever my husband asked me this question every evening!

Back from work, fiddling with kids' homework, and ironing their school uniform for the next day and side by side preparing their glass of favorite milk shake, when this question used to be pitched in front of me (although lovingly!) I would only mutter angrily – "nothing… just order something on phone".  My kids would be too glad as they would be saved from the home made ‘daal’ and would be treated with butter chicken or chicken Tikka or delicious daal makhni.  Husband also would be secretly very happy with this idea…. but would show his resentment only to be silenced by my request to help me out with the house hold chores before he created any further fuss.  See, as time passes in a relationship, we tend to boss over our partners, especially when they are too lazy to help in domestic chores!

For last few months, it became a way of life to order food for dinner from outside (although breakfast and lunch HAD to be homemade).  Right now, I won't delve into the issue as to why Indian men are so shy/uninterested/ ignorant/ clever/lazy or whatever to avoid house hold chores, especially in front of their wives!

Let's talk about food, baby!

But, the issue in hand is that while the food inflation is bothering us and with eating out ie., dine and wine getting more and more expensive, what to do? At some stage of your family life, you realize that you have to put a little comma if not a full stop to spending money ordering meal from a nearby restaurant.

After a lot of reading, experimentation, and experience I realize that planning your food is the first step towards cooking wholesome meal for the family.   A few steps towards planning and organizing your kitchen cabinets and fridge helps in a big way, especially when you have kids at home.

A combination of fresh and frozen foods, a combination of ready to cook processed foods and ingredients which help cook up a quick meal and a combination of ready to use packaged 'masalas' and whole masalas at home can save you big trouble.  Common ingredients like cottage cheese, boiled potatoes, curd can save you a good few hundreds which you would end up spending ordering a dish from a nearby joint.  If you belong to the generation who lives on instant noodles, then do have a look at the next post.

I intended to write about a few of my quick recipes and some useful ingredients and tips for managing a kitchen of a working mom, mom of small kids, or of a bachelor-pad alike.  But since, the post has already become so long, I break it here and will write about them in the succeeding post.

So, what's cooking tonight? A quick one or you wanna go the whole hog ( silly!! what did u think?!)

RESTLESS

Bose DK......Pardon?!

You mean to say all you guys already knew what does the song "Bose DK Bhag" song of the movie Delhi Belly mean??!! Phew! oh I mean Phew :(

I'm sure there would be many like me who didn't get the hidden Hindi word (rather an expletive) which comes to life when you repeatedly recite the name "DK Bose".  Just a few days back, we were discussing with our family friends, which movie to watch and then came the mention of this song.  We, ladies, were clueless about this 'Andhi Ayi' song, when a gentleman in our group uncovered the secret of this song. (BTW, the person was all gaga about Amir's capability to be mischievous in such a subtle way!)

I have to confess that I went googling about the word and searching it's meaning.  I have to say that Hindi language has plenty of expletives and are widely used too.  You have to observe people when they are frustrated getting stuck in traffic or parking area.  

It is said that when we are really angry, we speak in our mother tongue.  It kind of explains that why the sophisticated gentlemen too don't mind a few servings in 'apni boli' when they are really angry.

Have you not observed that we don't get so annoyed when  someone calls a name in English (F**k being such a common word).  Imagine someone saying the same in Hindi.  It annoys when our own language is used. Ever wondered why??

Coming to the wave of excitement the 'Bose DK" song has started in our youth (read that it has become the Youth Anthem of today), I'm quite tongue tied on this issue.  I don't want my children to understand the meaning in the underbelly of the 'Delhi Belly' song.  People from Indian film industry too are not too happy about the song and another bold scene of the movie.  Mostly, parents feel uncomfortable about such things because they have to share the screen with their small kids. 

'Bose DK' song is a new landmark in being more open towards sexuality or being open in pelting out some insult to it.  I wonder, how is this generation going to handle sexuality. Because words we use work on our minds, unconsciously.  Using a word, depicting female genitals, with such casualness doesn't illicit any respect for the gender.

Are we not moving so fast in a direction when the charm of being loved, pampered and seduced by your lover would be smashed by the wrong idea of sex being a commodity, which can be bought or arranged for cheap.

RESTLESS

PS: Even after searching a lot, I'm not clear about how it can be a 'gaali'.  Most of us born by normal delivery.

"Ready" - Why Do We Love No Brainers?

Normally, I wait for movie reviews, before I decide to spend my hard earned money on watching a movie in a cinema hall (does anyone use this term now?)  But this time, we wanted to be amongst the review generators (!!) for a movie, so bought the tickets of the movie "Ready"  beforehand.

We did carry the pop corns and nachos inside the hall (the security guard took away my chewing gums!) but we left our brain behind.... at our home.  Yeah, u really have to leave your brains behind when you are heading to watch a Masala Bollywood Movie.  For ages, I kept away from movies for this very reason... but now at 36...... you want to be in sync with the world around and more importantly you want to enjoy life.  That's the very reason, I'm always game for fun and outings.

Salman Khan starrer "Ready" (well, it actually was, with Salman being in most of the shots of the movie!!)  was an average movie for me.  Reason? Read on...

First, if u want the audience to not to think, or use logic in the events of the movie, the idiocy of the story line, the monotony of the Indian family drama thing...... then please for God's sake don't make them THINK and REMEMBER facts of your movie. Just let the audience chill.

Second, why can't we ever think beyond love, love triangles, family, family feuds, and evergreen "Hum sath sath hain" family drama?? I can't believe it, but "Ready" was all about it.

Third, alright, Salman is the hero of the movie, but boy leave the audience for a while, let them want to see you, let them wait for you for a few seconds.  You don't have to hover over the big screen all the time (and that too with your shirt on!!!)

As for Asin, I find her very very ordinary in looks, a girl next door.  Or may be a girl like that was needed for the movie, because it was a Salman's movie.  I hated the typical scene of a morning when this girl (settled in phoran!) wakes up early, and does a Pooja- Arti , much to the joint family's delight.  Phew! where does it happen apart from our Hindi Movies?!

Overall, an OK movie, one time watch, not really a paisa vasool for me.  Kids will enjoy it a lot, my sons are not complaining!

Lastly, I'm still not able to figure out why they named it "READY" ???? Ready for a no- brainer???!!!

RESTLESS