Time for lunch....Bhindi Potatoes, Sindhi estyle..

Cooking is my passion and my favorite pass time….My book on ‘Joys of Sindhi Cooking’ is almost complete, Next year, I will be going to China to get it published. In this book I have compiled all my mom’s recipes and I hope to get good reviews when it is published. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Here is the page from my book….. Seyal Bhindi Patata Ingredients: ½ kg ladies finger (slit it lengthwise) 2 potatoes (cut into rings) 2 tomatoes (chopped finely) 2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp turmeric powder Coriander leaves Fenugreek leaves 10 cloves of garlic Chillies Salt Oil Method: 1. Pound into a paste the mixture of chilli, coriander leaves, fenugreek leaves, garlic, coriander powder and salt. 2. Keep it aside. 3. Heat oil and fry the pounded paste. 4. Add the chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder. 5. Stir and fry it well 6. Mash the tomatoes and add 1 cup of water 7. When it starts to boil, add potatoes and ladies finger 8. Cover and cook on slow fire till the potatoes are tender. 9. Do not dry the gravy completely.

Read meet over a cup of ‘Kappi’

Mumbai is an interesting city. People in Mumbai are always busy. Besides sweating at their work places, you can see them running on the roads, changing trains/buses, shopping in those shiny malls or eating leisurely on the streets or in the fancy restaurants. Non-residents of Mumbai would think that Mumbaites might be relaxing during week-ends. But no! Mumbaites cannot relax! Over week-ends too, they are busy with extra-curriculum activities such as kitty parties, picnics to out-station resorts, or movies. Then there are read-meets too, where the upcoming writers meet (once a month) to brush their writing skills. A theme is chosen each month, and all writers are expected to work on their script around that topic. They meet during these read meets, taking their masterpieces with them and allow it chop under the critical eyes of other writers. It helps them to polish their scripts and by sharing their writing tips with other writers, they get the gist of the real writing world. I, too, love attending these read-meets; month after month, we meet at different venues, sometimes in private homes, some times in open terraces and sometimes even under the trees in public places! And this month’s read meet was a special event, organized in an elite club which had strict dress code that would not tolerate any shabby appearance. During the read meets, it is important to look presentable for that eight-minute-fame while we are reading (to distract the writers from our bad writings to our physical charms) but this time, it was obligatory and if we dressed shabbily we would not get passed through those royal gates “Not just neat....shirts (even T-shirts) must be with collar; no shorts, no sandals; shoes and socks obligatory. Torn jeans are not appreciated..” informed one of the read-meet member “.My son came for a family dinner and was turned away because of his scruffy appearance and peek-a-boo toes, we had to rush him home, tie the long hair in a pony tail and give him my friend’s polo shirt and pant, also shoes....of course all too large, but in the view of the management, better he looked like Charlie Chaplin than a hobo”. Such was the venue chosen in Mumbai for June read meet. So this time the writers had not only to concentrate on writing on the theme ‘Water’ (this month’s theme), they would also had to focus on shopping for clothes for that special event. My friend Vinod, who normally comes to the read-meet in khadi clothes with a khadi bag slung diagonally across his chest (and black band sandals with toes touching the ground), came to my house, early morning on the day of read meet. “Why have you come here to my house so early in the morning?” I said “Do you have a black tie?” He said “Why do you want a black tie? You never wear one, all you wear is this khadi, long kurtas and khadi pyjama with this long, hanging string” I said “I know, I know, but you don’t understand, I want to attend read meet today and I have been looking since last fifteen day for a black tie to go formal for this day.” he said “You mean to say that you have not found any tie in any shop?” I said “No, no, it’s not that, actually I have wanted to buy a khadi tie but none of the stores are selling them.” he said “You can't possibly wear a khadi tie over these clothes! They won't allow you an entry. Why don’t you dress up like an English man and wear a full suit with shoes and socks and look neat and tidy?” I said “You know, na, I don’t have any suits and to buy such an expensive suit for just a day is a bit too much for me.” he said “Okay, let me go through my brother’s wardrobe. Maybe I could lend you some of his finest clothes.” I said “You girls are so lucky; you know they are allowing women to come dressed as they please. There is no restriction on dress code for girls.” he said “Yes, yes, I know, now take these clothes and try them on; maybe you can fit into these.” I said He went into changing room and came back after few minutes, dressed in my brother’s clothes, in two sizes smaller than his. “You know I cannot breathe” he gasped At 5pm, Vinod and I sat in an Udipi restaurant, sipping Kappi and reading to each other the notes on ‘water’ (the theme of the day) He was happy with just one feedback.

Cell Company ads on Indian TV channels.

Indian TV ads always interesing and some of them are really good. I have been enjoying nowadays an advertisement of one cell company. There are series of ads featuring Bollywood stars Madhavan and Vidya Balan as a married couple, who are connecting emotionally on the phone. There are three different ads so far, promoting their best network connection using this particular cell company services under the message: That it is cheapest, that you can pay your bills using their services and you can transfer money to your loved ones without leaving the comfort of your home. All the three ads have no music, there is soft and interesting conversation between a married couple, and I love all three of them. The first one is about the wife who is away for a holiday (probably to her mom’s place) and he keeps calling her (eight times in one hour) and the conversation are sweet nothings . (Message of the cell company in this ad is that with cheap telephone connections you don’t worry about the bills and can talk more often) The second ad on these lines is that couple are traveling in a train and are playing cards, and wife inquires whether he has completed all the last minute jobs before closing the house, light, water, doors, etc. She asks whether he remembered to pay the bills before leaving and he quickly pays his bill from his mobile and smiles when the message comes, ‘bill paid’. The third one features husband returning home, is tired and wife is messaging his shoulder. She asks him about his hard day at work and then she asks whether he had send money to his father, and he quietly transfers money from his mobile and then says ‘’long ago’ This particular cell company always portrays a gamut of human emotions and they really touch the cord. It is amazing how so many emotions are portrayed in just few seconds. All three ads are really cute and no matter how many times I have seen them, I don’t change the TV channel when this particular ad is playing…….

The crab seller in Lagos

Once, on my visit to Lagos market place, I was fascinated by this girl selling crabs. Nigerians don’t like their pictures to be taken without their permission and they may get offended if they see you shooting their pictures. Some of them would run behind our cars and make noise, abusing us if they saw us focusing our cameras on them. However, I took permission from this girl before I took her picture, she agreed but she pulled her cap down covering half of her face, and asked us to remove the picture of her crabs. Now how do we do that? Can we? Not when she had such a beautiful skin….couldn’t resist…

Apeksha

Neha is very excited that I will meet her sponsored, nine-year-old mentally challenged child who lives 10000 miles away. My bags are packed for my trip back home. I am ready to leave the next day. “Will you take this gift for Apeksha?” she says as she shows me a box containing a pretty doll, dressed in blue knitted suit and cap, holding on to a soft, tiny teddy bear. “Oh that is lovely. Of course, I will take it for you. I am sure Apeksha will be thrilled.” I say Neha brings out a roll of colorful gift-wrapping paper, few strips of pink ribbons, a pair of scissors and a cello tape. She squats on the floor beside my deranged suitcase and starts to pack a gift for her sponsored child whom she has never met before. For next fifteen minutes, she carefully wraps the gift-box and makes a cute pink bow curling the free ends of the ribbon with a sharp edge of the scissors. She brings out a card, writes a message for Apeksha, seals envelop and writes in a bold letter on the top of the envelop ‘For Apeksha, with lots of love from Neha’. “On my next trip to India, I would like to meet her,” she says as she attaches the card and the pink bow on the gift-wrapped box and hand it over to me. “Sure, I will take you to school to meet her.” I say. The box is too beautiful to dump it in my suitcase. I decide to hand carry it. A week later, I go to the school carrying Apeksha’s gift. It is lunch break and I see Apeksha standing quietly and watching the other children play roller skating. “Apeksha, How are you? Look what I have for you” I say as I show her the gift wrapped box. She looks at me suspiciously and then looks away to watch the children play. ‘Come and see what Neha has sent for you.” Says her class teacher as she approaches her and holds her hand to bring her into the room, but Apeksha refuses to come inside and frees her hand, stares listlessly at me and returns her gaze back to those children with roller skates. Her teacher throws her arm around Apeksha and guides her gently into the room. I hand over the gift to Apeksha informing her that Neha is a friend who loves her too much and she has sent a gift for her. She takes the gift from my hand and sits on the chair facing me. “Open the gift. Don’t you want to see what your friend has sent for you?” I say She makes no effort to open it and just sits there, staring at the gift. Her teacher bends over her and helps her open the gift, removing the card, pink bow and detaching the cello tapes to expose the doll in blue suit with a soft, tiny teddy bear. “Do you like it? It is pretty. Isn’t it?” says her teacher ‘Hhmn!” she says and then gets up and walks out to watch the children play roller skating, leaving behind the box of doll, torn gift-wrapping paper, pink bow with curly frills and the unopened card, all carelessly scattered on the table next to me.