'Caferati' August Read-meet

I am learning to be a good writer and I am member of various networks on Ryze, which help me to grow as a writer. I write, people react, I improve my skills and I am encouraged to write more. There are many networks online and many of them interact personally too by meeting off line, enjoying the evening of fun and feast. Every month, ‘Caferati-online writer’s network’, have read-meets where we meet off line and see the actual expressions of the group members while we read our piece. It is fun, watching the expression of the dazed crowd, especially if you are reading a bold stuff, which the group members are not sure, whether it is the fiction or a real life experience. On the net, when we write, we sometimes forget, or don’t care that there are many people reading and making their own impression, but at the actual read-meet, it is a different story. We, as a reader, are conscious, of all those people listening and staring at us, watching our gestures, our clothes, and our hair, although all those members, who are present may not even be listening to us hundred percent. Some may be admiring the style of our dress, others enjoying the whiff of sweet perfume, some of them might be wondering whether we shaved our legs before coming, and some might be wondering about our private life and making their own assumption on our pattern of living. Then there will be some who might be thinking when they will eat their Samosas and Sandwiches, wondering whether they could get up, out of turn, and help themselves with the cup of coffee or visit a rest room. The point is that nobody might be actually hearing us hundred percent. So, when we finish our long story and expect an applause, (sometimes we assume, our piece is the masterpiece) we might get to see a group of rolling eyes. We, then grin, rub our palms, raise our eye brows, and look around trying to settle our gaze on one particular person, whom we feel must have listened to our masterpiece ninety-nine percent. The feed-back takes a front seat and we get what we deserve. Live performance and feedback is always intoxicating. Thus, read-meets of Caferati are fun and this month was no different. This month we had at one of the member’s private, cozy home, with books and artifacts lining the walls, high up on the 16th floor of Sainara apartment at Cuff Parade, overlooking the fishermen colony and a beautiful sunset above the calm sea. A friend who had promised to accompany me for the read-meet could not make it and she had to drop out the last minute. I decided to go alone, but I hate making solo entrance. I looked around, as I reached the lobby, hoping I would find one member to accompany me for the entrance into the group and I was lucky to meet one person at the lift. We got to introduction, she was a first-timer, I was consoling her that she need not be afraid or nervous, that she will have a great time, I gave her some back ground knowledge about the group and then asked her to make the entrance with me so that we look like great pals. Surprises! Surprise! Surprise! She was a reporter from a reputed paper! I had already given her my interview in the lift! The read-meet started with a group photograph of famous writers by professional photographer and a formal detailed introduction (glad that we could get free publicity at last!). The reporter encouraged us to boast about our work, which I shamelessly did. (I love freebees)I hope she writes about my books! I need sales! The rest of the read-meet was just reading, commenting, snacking, listening to the sparkling conversations of vibrant group, romancing the ambience and sometimes smiling forcefully at those who won’t match my smile with theirs. Later, after the meeting, smaller group were contemplating the idea of dining to gather in some restuarant. I decided to join in too without any fuss. “Let’s go here” “No!” “Yes!” “Let’s go there” “Let’s take a taxi” “Let’s walk” "It is getting late na" “Never mind, forget the dinner, and let’s go home.” Phew! I was hungry! I was lucky to get a lift back home in a luxurious car, offered to me by one of the members (Lord bless her kind heart!) Thank God we can order food from the comfort of our homes! Viva Mumbai! Hail Mumbai! The memories of the read-meet lingered on as I chewed on roasted chicken and French fries.

Went to see ‘Heyy Babyy’ thinking I was going for some pure fun

but was disappointed. It was full of stupid jokes and bad comedy. Story of three idiots who think women are a game. Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Desmukh, the three playboys, who think they can have every girl. (What an attitude!) Akshay who thinks, he is so smart that he can lay every girl, succeeds in wooing a simple, homely girl (supposedly) who gets intimate after brief meeting. Fardeen Khan has his Western sensibilities embedded all the way in his body language, mannerisms and accent. Ritiesh Deshmukh threatens to steal the show (something which has now become a routine) whenever he appears on a frame. His dead pan humor is prevalent once again as director Sajid Khan incorporates a humorous ‘gay’ angle to his character at not less than 4-5 instances. A baby is left in the basket at their door, one morning, with an abusive letter and these three idiots go to their numerous girlfriends to find the mother of this kid. It is very disgusting to watch them clumsily feed the kid every two hours, change her diapers every hour, act as clowns to keep her smiling, take her for evening outings and buy clothes in dozens. During the first half of the film, they hate the baby and use abusive language for a child (How can anybody ever use abusive language for a kid? It sounds very weird!) But one incident in their life changes it all and it’s time for them to sing along ‘Meri Duniya’ with the toddler for the rest of their lives. So much so that they completely go out of practice of ‘how to woo a woman’ and choose to sing lullabies and nursery rhymes in spite of being on the verge of a romp with some of the hottest stunners. Vidya Balan is a disappointment too. Badly dressed, there is something that misses out from her performance. The only good thing in the film is the smile and the emotions of the kid. Baby Johana is simply adorable and special effort must have gone into getting the best expressions from her, which is apparent, especially when it comes to all the close up shots. While her naughty winks would be remembered by the audience, her wails are of the kind that would be identified by anyone and everyone who has ever held a kid in his/her arms. Don’t bother wasting your evening in watching something as stupid as heyy baby

Juice bar 'HAS' (Review)

Every morning I have a glass of vegetables or fruit juices. As soon as my maid reports to work, she is expected to make one fresh glass of juice for me. But, this morning she is not coming and I am too lazy to make one for me. I had to go out to do some errands and I thought I might as well buy me a glass of fresh juice from road side stalls. After all, staying in India, we enjoy such luxuries. There is juice stall at every street. We get sugarcane juice (Rs5 per glass), Coconut water (Rs15), orange juice (Rs20) water melon (Rs25). The point is that it is so damn cheap and everybody can afford it if they are too lazy to make it themselves. I went to Pali Hill, Bandra and I saw this new juice bar…..hmmm! ..Juice bar!... Welcome to the health world! There was an inviting poster outside the store that pulled me in. It said ‘Get high…Naturally!’ with a pretty and slim model, enjoying a slice of fresh Pineapple. I could not stop myself from entering and I walked in. The ambience was really good, with bar stools on one side and lounge with big screen TV on the other side. The staffs, all clothe in aprons and gloves, amidst all different kinds of juicers, were very attentive. On the menu, there were the list of ‘Power juices’ which were the blend of fruit juices, with exotic names like ‘Berry Blast’ which is actually the crazy blends of pineapple, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, and apple, priced at Rs95 for regular and Rs155 for large. Then there were ‘Super smoothies’ that promised to be 97% fat free and had a chocolate treat. These were the blend of chocolates or dry fruits. ‘Masala Smoothie’ at the cost of Rs75 for regular and Rs125 for large was a creamy blend of cashew, dates, almonds, pistachio, and soy. There were ‘Low fat smoothies’ that promised to be 98% fat free. These were the mixture of fruits and nuts. ‘Fruit smoothies’ that promised up to 99%fat free and were the blend of different fruits. And there were also freshly squeezed ‘HAS it light’ that were the blend of vegetables and fruits. What I was amused was “Shots’. Priced at Rs35, there was a ‘fresh wheat grass’ it is supposed to be a fabulous shot of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants and ‘Lemon blast’ priced at Rs15, for extra hit of energy. So much variety! I am confused! What to have? What to have?.... Hmm…no! yes!, no!...umph….okay decided… I ordered ‘Cool Cucumber’. A regular of Rs65. It is a blend of chilled out mix of cucumber, apple and mint. Slurp! Sluuurrrrrp! I am feeling refreshed!

If our kids are on net, we, as parents, have right to know the details….

Adnan Patrawala, a richie, rich kid, was first kidnapped and was promised his return on the ransom of 2 crores but then he was murdered by his friends when things went mushy. The murderers, first befriended him on Orkut , a social network, and then used Fake ID (AnGEL) to lure him. Adnan was a junior college student at the Children’s Welfare Centre at Yari Road. The dead boy’s profile on a social networking site lists “driving all the way’’ and cricket as his passions. A photograph uploaded on the site by him shows his car’s speedometer touching 180 kmph. This is a wake up call for the parents and teens to avoid flashing the riches and stay within limits. Given his rich background and owning a personal Skoda and spending a lot of time in the pool parlor/game zone made him an easy pray. But what about a 16 year old, who is meeting strangers from the internet in the middle of the night? Weren’t his parents aware? This turns out to be an idea gone very wrong. It pains me to see how kids behave so irresponsibly without giving a thought as to what repercussions it could have on their families. What about parents? I meet many parents who are in 50-60 age-group and are not compu-savvy. They just refuse to learn. They openly declare it is beyond them and they will never understand. If parent block themselves off saying that computer is not their field and they can never understand or learn then how they will ever know what experiences and dangers their child is exposed to? How can they then advise? It is very important for the parents to regularly check the sites that their teenagers visit and that is possible if parents have communication with their kids. They have to win their trust. You are not expected to check the computer to see what sites he has visited, but you can talk to the child and talk about what is amusing him on the net and look for danger signs. Advice him on the pitfalls of the cyber net and that is possible only if parent are aware of the problems that arise on the net. Things go wrong when children don’t have parents for consultation. They, then, go to wrong sources for their problems and sometimes they will go even to strangers.

Trolls on their prowl…..

Today morning, when I saw a troll at one of the networks, I was disgusted with the troll and was sorry for the moderator who was the target of his abuse. I wanted to shout at him to stop his nonsense, but I was afraid of shifting his attention on me. Yes, I am coward. I cannot handle abusive comments. I like to walk away from trouble if I can. There are many networks on the cyber space and many of them are very informative and we learn a lot by getting into discussion on different topics. There are times we agree, and sometimes we disagree. It is like a meeting place where we can exchange ideas and opinions in the comfort of our house with AC on, radio in the back ground and snacks, chips and drinks at our side table. Life is good as long as it does not get mushy, and sometimes, if people go overboard, then the moderators have to intervene. But the moderators of the network have to go through lot of stress, especially if they have to deal with a troll. Troll assumes an anomalous identity and starts to make argument and accusations. I cannot understand what pleasures do the trolls get by disseminating bad advice, disrupting the discussion with their bombarding accusations? Does he want to destroy the network, so that he can start his own? Or is he power hungry so much that night and day, instead of having a creative muse, he starts bombarding irreverent facts and discrediting post? I wish they would curb their frustrations and concentrate on more positive vibes. Nursing a grudge only weakens us. We lose the power to function intelligently. It creates an uncomfortable feeling for everybody, one who shoots abusive words, the target and the audience. Why can’t we live in a healthy environment? But, I think there is no reasoning that will work. Should we ignore it or should we strike back and anger him more? I wonder what one can possibly do.

Thank God I didn’t have Nokia BL-5C battery!!

“Did you check your cell batteries,” said Sakshi, my niece, as soon as she saw me. “Why? What is wrong?” I said “Oh! There is big news on the air. If your battery is faulty, it will burst when you answer call. You might even become deaf. You better check the number on the net immediately. If you don’t check you are in danger. I went to the site of Nokia, which stated that Nokia handset bought between December 2005 and November 2006 needed battery switch. We had to identify 26 character battery identification number from the list given on their site. Nokia had announced that it would replace batteries manufactured by its Japanese supplier Matsushita between November 2005 and December 2006. It had identified that the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia has several suppliers of BL-5C batteries that have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applied only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. While the occurrence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offered to replace for free any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory. Everybody started checking their mobile. Two members in my family, and two of my friends have reported this number, but are now postponing their trip to the Nokia office. Although they say that the replacement of the battery is free and they will do immediately, but they are afraid of the long queue and the mad rush at their office. I opened the back jacket of my mobile to check the number. Thankfully it was BL-4B. No need to worry, I am far from becoming deaf. At least for now……

Healthy Fruit Juices

I wish somebody had told me this before. I am beginning to understand that 'proper eating habits' are so necessary for enjoying a healthy life. My heart bleeds when I have to dig into my money bag to pay those medical bills and doctors. Damn it! The medicines are so expensive! The money that I could use for traveling and for seeing the world, I have to share with my doctor. Nah! I don’t like sharing my loot with those greedy doctors, not when many medical conditions can be treated more effectively with dietary changes. I think it is very important to place much emphasis on the requirements of a basic health diet for maintaining bodily functions and optimal resistance to disease. They also use diet controls and applied nutrition to stimulate and potentate the body’s recuperative powers in case of acute and chronic illness. I have finally realized that natural foods have their powers to keep us healthy and healthy juices have additional cures. If I wish to improve my skin texture and moisture and reduce the body heat, a mixed juice of Orange, Ginger and Cucumber works wonders. Also to improve my skin complexion and bad breath, a mixed juice of Tomato, Carrot and Apple helps. To improve my skin complexion and metabolism, sometimes I drink the mixed juice of Papaya, Pineapple, and Milk or the mixed juice of Apple, Cucumber and Kiwi. A mixed juice of Carrot, Apple, Pear and Mango clears the body heat, counteracts toxicity and decreases blood pressure and fight oxidization, whereas a mixed juice of Honeydew, Grapes, watermelon and milk increases the cell activity and strengthens body’s immunity system. I have learnt that using the proper combinations of Apple, ginger and Celery is known to prevent health problems such as cancer. It can reduce cholesterol and improve stomach upset and a headache. A mixed fruit juice of Pear and Banana can regulate sugar content in our body. A mixed juice of Pineapple, Apple and Watermelon is helping my body to dispel the excess salt and nourishes the bladder and kidney. A mixed juice of Banana, Pineapple and Milk can prevent constipation. To boost and cleanse our system a mixed juice of Carrot, Ginger and Apple is all that we really need. And Thank God it is not too late! I am starting to enjoy pain free life!

Chak de India (film review)

When my friend suggested we go for this film, I kind of wriggled my nose.. it might be boring, I thought, who would want to see the movie on Hockey…..but I am gladI went, it was one of the most interesting movies that I have seen since a long time. It is a story of an Indian hockey player who is dishonored by the society for losing a match against Pakisthan and is called a traitor, a friend of the opposition team. Seven years later, he is back as a coach, and promises to get the World Cup for Indian team by training the ladies' hockey players. The film is about anger, ego and pride, it is about the strength of unity and above all, a message to the society that women should be taken seriously as they are capable of their undefined courage. Their camaraderie and bickering is well projected and every girl stands out in her role (pun intended), whether it’s centre-back, right outer, or centre-forward! The movie is enthralling and spectators in the theatre, at some moments forget that they were watching a movie, as they cheered merrily, clapping in unision, with the tears in their eyes. Sharukh Khan once more proved himself to be the king of stars with his superb acting. There’s no gloss, nor glamour; no skimpily clad women, nor any item numbers. In short, there’s no fluff; this film is heavy on content, and scores big time. This is one film that celebrates women power!!! Don’t miss it…..

Kite runner

Today, I just finished reading a book titled ‘Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It is a very touching story about a twelve year old boy named Amir. He is desperate to gain the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament to prove that he has the making of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. Hassan and Amir are good friends and Hassan is very faithful to him. He listens to his stories, cleans his room and accompanies him in all his pranks. He is a low-caste servant who is jeered at in streets of Afghanisthan. Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart. On the day of the tournament, Hassan runs for the kite that Amir has won, and is abused by the group of boys. Being a coward, Amir does not protect his friend and the guilt haunts him for many years. After Russian invades Afghanisthan and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to find the one thing that his new world cannot give him. An opportunity to be good again. On an invitation by his friend Rahim Khan, he returns to Afghanisthan only to witness the war torn country. He is asked to rescue Hassan’s son ‘Sohrab’ from Afghanisthan and take him to a secure place . The relationships are beautifully etched out and your heart reaches for orphan, Sohrab, who, through his silences expresses the deep pain of growing up in the war torn country and the impact it has on his innocent mind.

Lieder (Series of songs tied by a single theme) and Arias (Opera)

Saturday is the day reserved for pure fun. No serious work, no thinking, just window shopping, dinning or a movie, and if I have friends dropping over, nothing can be better than to lay back and relax. This Saturday, I had a special treat, a grand privilege to attend a soprano. I had read about Nicola Beller Carbone's vocal presence, musical sensitivity, diversity of style and dramatic talent combine to make her one of the most outstanding artists of her generation, and this was the opportunity I could not afford to miss. My friends and I took a taxi and reached NCPA at Nariman point to witness the most beautiful opera performance. It was the evening well spent and I was enthralled by the fluidity in her voice as she sang with feeling and exemplary taste, without straining in the final notes of the upper octave. We were given a booklet which had the English translations of her Spanish lyrics and that made it more interesting. Spanish has always been my favorite language and it was a great experience to hear the lyrics in Spanish. I specially love her performance of the song called ‘El Majo Discreto’ (The discreet lover) that was sung in Spanish and it sounded sweet and its translations went something like this People say that my man is ugly It’s possible it may be so, for love is desire That blinds and makes dizzy There are times when I know That if you love you can’t see. But though my dearest is not a man Whose beauty shines and surprises, Yet he’s discreet and keeps a secret I confide in him, knowing he’s reliable. What is secret That my man keeps? It would be indiscreet Were I to tell It takes no little effort to know The secrets of a man with a woman We were zapped by the magic in the voice and the clock ticked by silently and quickly, and long before we realized it, one and hour half seemed like a short span. After the show, we were starved and grabbed the good portion of cheese, toast, fruits and wine. I am still in that spell. The magic lingers on……

Lie if you must, but only when, you want to save the truth from pain

Why do people lie? Are they afraid of telling the truth? I meet many people who will just lie when it is not even necessary. I hate telling lies and will not lie even to save face. I tell my friends you can swear on my honesty. I go for shopping with my friends and they shop like crazy. But they go home and hide the stuff. They will not show their spouse what they have shopped. Some of them will not tell the actual price of their loot. Imagine buying a branded bag of fifteen thousand rupees and quoting a price of two hundred rupees to their inquiring husband, even though they bought it from their own saving. They will wash their new clothes to make them look old. They will scratch the price tag and pretend that they bought it on sale. They justify their action by saying that they don’t like unnecessary taunting of their spouse. Some of them pretend to be too much concerned. Every time you call them they will say that they have been so much worried about you and have been trying to call you and inquire about our well being, when in reality they have not even bothered at all. With mobile phone, telling lies is become even more popular. They will be dining in a fancy restaurant with their friends but will say that they are eating dhal-chawal and are very lonely. The fact is that truths is always out and imagine the embarrassment. The person learns to distrust you. The satisfaction of fooling others is always short lived because the guilt feeling is very sticky. I shall never be able to risk that!

Hey, I am getting old.. tksh..tksh…

I knew I was getting old, physically, when my body started complaining. It started with waist pain, so much so that I could hardly walk. After series of clinic visits, kidney stone was detected. The treatment involved proper diet, exercise and laser treatment. The pain stopped and I was cheerful but not for long. Now its knee, sitting too much time in front of computer, leaves me with frozen knee. My knees hurt and as I climb down the stairs and doctors have warned me of Arthritis. Arthritis, which affects more than nine million people, is an inflammation of the joints and its causes are not clear. I have been surfing the net for its causes and cures and have found out that arthritis is caused by the body building up acid, which crystallizes and lodges between the joints. The acid crystals become surrounded by fluids, causing swelling, soreness and stiffness. So it has been concluded that the condition would be alleviated by cutting down on acid entering the body. By controlling the amount of acid going in through diet we can aim to increase the alkaline resources in the body that can cause the crystals to break down. Apple cider vinegar and honey has been recommended for its alkaline overall effect and it helps to create the right environment in the stomach to start off the digestive process. If we follow the regime strictly by avoiding alcohol, cutting out foods with refined sugar and any citric fruit, as well as taking cider vinegar, mixed with honey, hot water and molasses, after every meal, combined with vitamin supplements - including A, B, magnesium and calcium - and a hot bath in Epsom salts, we can succeed in being pain-free and totally mobile. And as the causes of arthritis are not clear, some doctors are very skeptical that a combination of diet, cider vinegar and Epsom salt baths would help. But it is better to discuss our problem with our GP for any side effects before taking any purported remedy. However, thousands of arthritis sufferers have been helped through a combination of the acid-free diet. We cannot expect results overnight - some people take months to respond, others take years - but I can believe that this combination is the key to getting rid of arthritic disease.

Auto drivers of Mumbai

Yesterday, I was stranded on the road. There was a row of six auto rickshaws parked in front of me and all refused to take me. It was raining heavily and I was very tired but I could not find one auto that was willing to go. They were all waiting for long distance passengers.

I lost my head, screamed at the driver, removed my note pad and pen and started to note down their auto rickshaw numbers.

Suddenly, they started to protest,(Surprise) one of them came forward and told me not to jot down his number and went to the other end and fetched me another passing auto and I smile victoriously as I settled comfortably to reach home.

Now I am wondering, what could I possibly have done with those auto numbers? Whom would I send? Would any action be taken against those drivers? And why were they afraid that I might report? I was only threatening them and I am unsure as to what I could possibly do?

The auto-guy, who ferried me to my destination was actually forced by these morons to take me and he was arguing with me throughout the journey. He challenged me that I could do nothing and he boasted about the tricks that he had used to confuse his other passengers: for example-

1. He would tell the cop that his meter was down and that he was waiting for somebody else, and he would accuse me of forcing him to abandon his previous passenger.

2. That it was time for him to give his auto back to the owner and he was getting late and couldn't take any more passengers.

3. He even boasted that if the traffic cop had forced him to allowa passenger into his auto then he would drive for few meters and then pretend that his auto is spoilt and will not drive and just present to look into the engine to see the problem with his vehicle. The passenger had a choice of waiting till he explores the problem (in that case the meter will still be running) or they, the passengers decided to change over to the another auto.

“Madam,” he said, “if you are smart, we are smarter. We live in a country where everybody is corrupted and you can do nothing about it.”

But yes you can do something. I discussed this with few of my friends and they told me that I could post my complaints at www.trafficpolicemumbai.org.
In general, locals and visitors can expect an unusual outlook on life, navigation and find out that what might seem like a simple process of getting from point A to B is, in fact, not.

Traveling back to his parents home in India after living abroad a young man hired an auto rickshaw to complete his journey. Giving the driver the address and attempting to settle on a price the journey began. Passing through a new district the auto stops to refuel. Soon they are off again but before the young man can determine where they are the driver has parked and joined some friends in a food stand. Infuriated the young man looks over to see another identical rickshaw pulled up along side his own with an older man waiting inside. "I have been sitting here waiting almost two hours and still have not arrived at my destination!" He declares in rage. "Two hours, is that all?" asks the older man in a relaxed voice. "I have been waiting here since they opened the food stand."

That's auto ride for you!!! Enjoy!!

Visiting Post office in Mumbai..Uff!

Few months ago, while I was in Bangkok, I wanted to make a food parcel from the post office. The post office was air-conditioned and very clean and an officer occupied one corner of the room and he helped me pack my food parcel in a box, write address for me and fix the stamps and voila. It was done in ten minutes!! But, I wonder, why it is so difficult to do such simple thing here, in Mumbai? I wanted to send a small packet overseas. I bought envelop for packing, placed the contents into it and went to the post office. The one, closer to my house is a smaller one and they refuse to help me, claiming that I need to wrap it with cloth and go to the other bigger post office. The bigger post office has bigger problems. It is not only dirty and unkempt, but also crowded. There is a separate line for sending parcel and a separate line for buying stamps. The packet had to be wrapped with the cloth, and that service was offered by a man, who is seated on the road, outside the post-office. All these services are exposed to you, one at a time. Tempers fly high, due to frustration of people standing in line and some of them cutting lines. I wait ten minutes for the parcel to be assessed, then take it to the man, outside the post office, and wait on the road. There are many people working on the road side outside the post office, some people are selling envelops, some scanning through mail and some just sitting idle watching the world pass by. I wait patiently on the road as he carefully stitches the packet for me. I come back and wait in line again, only to be told to come back with the stamps of said amount. Wait in another queue to buy stamps and wait again, back at the first window. There is no glue available to stick the stamps on the packets and the tempers fly again, demanding glue! Glue!Glue! People working behind the window are unperturbed by the noise and commotion and they continue to work at snail speed, weighing, chopping a rubber stamp, slowly looking up at aggressive customer, very cool, dilling, dallying..like in those 1955 movies. My parcel takes more than an hour to slip off from my patronage to the other side of the window. Phew!

Photo essay on Jallianwala Bagh

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre turned millions of moderate Indians from patient and loyal supporters of the British raj into nationalists who would never again place trust in British “fair play.” On April 13,1919, thousands of people gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh near Amritsar. The occasion was Baisakhi, a Sikh religious festival. It was traditional for Hindus and Sikhs to gather in Amritsar to participate in the Baisakhi celebrations. Dyer positioned his men at the sole, narrow passageway of the Bagh, which was otherwise entirely enclosed by the backs of abutted brick buildings. Giving no word of warning, he ordered 50 soldiers to fire into the gathering, and for 10 to 15 minutes 1,650 rounds of ammunition were unloaded into the screaming, terrified crowd, some of whom were trampled by those desperately trying to escape. According to official estimates, nearly 400 civilians were killed, and another 1,200 were left wounded with no medical attention. Dyer, who argued his action was necessary to produce a “moral and widespread effect,” admitted that the firing would have continued had more ammunition been available. It thus marks the turning point for a majority of the Congress' supporters from moderate cooperation with the raj and its promised reforms to revolutionary noncooperation.

Visit to Wagah, India-Pakistan border

We had actually planned to visit only 'Golden temple', when we had planned a trip to Amritsar. But our driver informed us to visit India-Pakistan border and watch the closing ceremony, 'a must-see event', he said. We reached 5:30 in the evening at Wagah border after a nine-hour ride from Delhi. The car was not allowed to drive through a certain point and we had to walk towards the border. This was the well developed tourist area which had a stadium built for the spectacular closing border ceremony. The patriotic songs of Bollywood film (songs like 'Jahan daal daal pe sone ki chidhiya karti....and 'mere desh ki dharti......)blared through the loud speakers as we found our way to the VIP stands. We secured a front seat for a better view and waited for the show to begin. A big iron gate separated the India-Pakistan border. And I could see the stadium on the Pakistani side too, that had huge Pakistani audience on the other side of the gate. At 6:30, the ceremony started with the man shouting into the loud speaker 'Hindusthan’ and the crowd cheered ‘Zindabad!' Similar sounds applauding ‘Pakistan Zindabad!’ could be heard from the other side too. Two people held the Indian flag and ran towards the gate and back again. This was repeated by different pairs of women, men and children.(One woman lost her balance and fell down with her flag still up in the air) Next, five Indian solders came marching and stood in a neat row in the centre of the path leading towards the gate. One soldier turned, as he shouted loudly, picking his leg, heavily, his knee, almost touching his head, as he turned swiftly, ninety degrees and walked towards the gate. The gate opened slowly as the soldiers marched, one by one, towards the gate, to face a Pakistani soldier. Then, the two guard units attempted to outdo each other in martial displays: shouting, and stomping around the border in mock military maneuvers. All while the crowds were shouting patriotic slogans In a carefully choreographed ceremony, the men met at the border, salute each other, stared at each other and then untied the flags and finally lowered them and folded them. They then salute and marched smartly back to the barracks. Everyone was cheering wildly in a great patriotic display. The crowd dispersed from all directions and we had to stand guarded to avoid being pushed around. Some of them rushed towards the soldier for a photgraph. My family and friends wanted to photograph with the smartly dressed soldier too. I wondered as to when they made this daily ritual of closing cermony of India-Pakistan border into a spectacle with such a huge, expressive crowd.

My Visit to Taj Mahal

Last week, while people in India were still voting for Taj Mahal as ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and people around the world focused their attention towards Lisbon for its place of honor, me and my cousin Gitu, her daughter Neha and her friends Nadar and Saif, were making our own estimation of the monument. We set for Agra from Delhi, during the early hours in the morning in a private, comfortable vehicle (Inova) to admire the monument that Emperor Shah Jahan had so lovingly built for his third wife Mumtaz. Arjumand Bano (later named Mumtaz Mahal by her devoted husband) was a legendry beauty and many a poet has celebrated her charm and delicate beauty. Although Shah Jahan had three wives, Mumtaz Mahal became his favorite and the only wife to bear his children (14 children). The Prince would not part with her even on his numerous military campaigns. In his suffering, she sustained him; in his glory, she inspired him to acts of charity and benevolence. Both comrade and counselor, she was beloved by him for her unswerving loyalty and by his people for her wise and compassionate guidance. When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted a promise from the emperor that he build the Taj in her memory and that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. Construction of the Tajmahal began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty two thousand people were deployed to work on it. Mumtaz Mahal died in 1629 during child birth while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush a rebellion. The monument deserves its place in ‘Seven wonders of the world’ for its splendor and fine architecture. It is not merely a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the pride, loyalty and passion of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones. It is a celebration of eternal love, exquisitely portrayed in marble.

Oh my goodness! What has world come to…lingerie show in flights?

There was time, when going abroad was a novelty and we smiled ‘jabardasti’ at our aunts who visited us, hoping that they would part with their duty-free shopping gifts, if they were lured by our smiles. I wonder if any airlines complained about their empty flights in those days. The flights were few but they were enough. People who traveled were happy with meals of cold cuts and a movie show and while they entertained themselves, their minds were preoccupied with schemes on how to con a customs officer and pass through a green channel. But now, people are no more bothered about watching a movie show in flights because they now, prefer never-ending soap operas. Meals are not served in the planes and people prefer going off to sleep rather than to part with their hard earned cash to buy a packet of wafers. If I say I had lunch in Mumbai, snacks in Delhi and dinner in Chennai, nobody will even smirk. Everybody is traveling and hopping places is a norm. There are too many flights and there is so much competition. Everyday, there is a launch of a new airline, and all are obsessed with attracting of maximum passengers into their flights. But, what is this I am hearing…..?????? To attract the passengers, Ecuadorian airline Ícaro has launched mid-air lingerie parades, with voluptuous models strutting up and down the aisles in underwear and heels? Uff! Passengers from the capital Quito to the port of Guayaquil are being treated to ten-minute shows, which, oddly enough, are proving rather popular with male passengers? We, in India, the champions at aping……and this idea, so easy to copy, soon all this might get introduced in our Indian flight too…. Tobba! Tobba! Now I will have to sit next to an uncle in a flight, who will be drooling over a bare flesh? What will the next stunt for attracting a passenger be? With dance-bars closed, will we have our males hopping into ‘males-only-flights’ with bar dancers as air-hostess? Whew! Hare Ram, Rama, Rama, Hare, Hare….

Should I vote for Taj Mahal or wot?

Everybody is talking about ‘Seven wonders of the world’ and Indians are very much obsessed that Taj Mahal may not be listed in the new list of seven wonders. And there is so much craze on voting for Taj Mahal, on TV, on radio, on Forums, everywhere they are asking for votes. I think the cell phone companies must have already made million from the vote messages. I have never seen Taj Mahal in my life. When I tell my NRI friends that, they cannot believe me ‘Wot? You no see Taj? Why?’ they exclaim. I promise them, that I will see it during this life. My promise is about to be materialized. Yeeeh! I am going tomorrow to see it ….finally…....Yupeee! and then I shall decide should I vote or wot?

Games we played...

Those were the days…there were so many games, when there was no TV. All day long we played. I wonder how our parents tolerated that! Every evening all my friends would come down in the building compound to play games. We loved to play 'kho-kho', hop-scotch, spinning the top, gulli-dhanda, langdi, hide-n-seek, seven tiles, Fire in the mountains, statue, tug-a-war, kabbadi, volley ball. Then we played cricket, basketball, badminton. The best was dhabba ice-spice where all would hide, and we would come out from hiding and kick the dhabba as hard as we could. It used to be fun, my friends and I would hide into our home, eating sandwiches and watching the person searching us, from our balcony while eating. When it was raining, we played indoor games like snakes and ladder, ludo, carom, chess, scrabble, monopoly or other board games, or simply playing with dolls (house-house) or Dumb shera, antakshri., whispering a tale. During college days it was scrabble. There was so much craze on scrabble that we would play non-stop for eight to ten hours. During summer holidays, early hours, we would go for long walks or cycling (double seat) all the way from Bandra to Juhu beach. And we had so much energy! good ole days!

My art world

My favorite pass time is creativity. I love making odd things out of nothing. Take for example this balcony. Everybody loves this balcony that I made from Chinese cane calendar, cut out with blade to make door and windows, stuck plywood slabs to make a balcony and drinking straws for roof. Made intricate designs with thick cord of thread and painted the whole thing in bronze. Voila! A piece of art! This is the painting in oils, where there are three friends playing in the courtyard. It took me six months to complete it. This one is of a model who parades while a Rajasthani native stares at her. It is painting in oils. This is a Rajasthani native waiting in anticipation for her lover. I have used em-seal to make jewelry and frame and painting is on oils. One of the walls, I have just stuck leaves with stems painted with acrylic paints. The painting surrounds the set of five miniature pictures. On one wall, I have set of four picture, the frames are made of em-seal and painted in bronze and it frames my cross-stitch work. This is the flower arrangement of dried flowers. I stuck them on a mirror. The frame is painted in bronze. These are the things decorating my house, presently.

Gurus in India.....

I was watching TV program ‘CNN today’ and they showed some devotees in their trance. They looked happy and contented and they were the followers of Osho. “Sri Sri Ravishankar and Osho are today the glamour boys of Indian spirituality. They are charismatic and offer a new spiritual product: how to take the good life to the fulfilled life’’, said the reporter. “They are the modern-day sects of the successful. They teach you how to meditate and celebrate. The two will never clash. It's a personalized designer religion that allows you to love your material aspirations with no guilt. Sects like those of Osho and Sri Sri Ravishankar are today really popular with the young and successful. It's a young and personalized religion that allows them to enjoy their materialistic needs”. The people looked quite contented doing what they liked best, be it singing hymns or meditating. Their focus was on their own experience. If they took part in dancing sequences, they seemed to enjoy every moment. There is no teaching in Osho, you only have to strive for yourself because there is always danger in imitating others. “With gurus like Osho and Sri Sri Ravishankar, nirvana is hip. The community, therefore, is global and the holy life merges with the comfortable life.” said the reporter on CNN live. In Osho, Capitalism is in, charity is out. It’s not really an arduous pilgrimage. This is the philosophy of "Me". Well, everybody has their own choice to make; it all depends on our attitude towards life! image source: http://www.ibnlive.com/

Kheema Cutlets.

I buy kheema from market and decide to make a snack. I want to make something different. I am expecting guest and they want to try something new. Should I make Shami kababs? Now everybody makes Shami kababs, and that is so trite. I like to be creative in my cooking. My guests always expect me to. I always make every dish, just once. It is my inability to re-produce the same dish. (however, a painter cannot repeat the same strokes, can they? and I treat cooking an art ) That is why I cannot repeat the same taste. My brother says, enjoy this dish and don’t ask for a repeat, she will never reproduce it. (and he is right) I think that’s the reason I don’t work in a restaurant, nor have opened one, because everything has to be measured and cooked to produce same taste. (How do they do that?) I have tried many times but I still cannot reproduce same taste. I decide to find some innovative recipe from a book. I have so many recipee books on my bookshelf. But it is always the same. I feast my eyes at all the recipes and admire the glossy pictures, sometimes drooling over them, but I am always short of one or two ingredient and then my mood is fused. After going through endless recipe books, I am still undecided. The Indian recipes are same, with little variation here and there, and now-a-days I don’t like too much masalas. In Chinese book there are hardly any recipes for kheema. Damn it. I decide to make one of my own style. Dekha jaye ga! My methods are simple and easy. (I don’t like to spend too much time in the kitchen. I just grind together onion, garlic, ginger, chillies. Mix them into the kheema. Then add soya souce, chopped basil leaves, corn floor, some soaked bread, rosemary leaves, parsley. I mix it well and bind it into firm patties and steam it. After steaming, I flatten it; dip it in egg batter and shallow fry. I serve it with salad and French fries. I stand in a corner and watch my guest. They have sliced the patties and are about to eat it. I turn my head; covering my ears, look at them from the corner of my eyes, as they slowly munch on the morsel, juice filling their mouth and a grateful belch. They are asking me for a recipe!

Ad on Indian TV.

Indian film star Kajol is the brand ambassador of Tata Indicom and we have ad on TV which I find it quite interesting. In one ad, she is traveling by car and she sees a gentleman who is having a car problem and is stuck in the middle of road. It is apparently his wedding day and he is desperately trying to contact his to-be-bride but he is unsuccessful because of the network problem. His fiancée is upset when he disconnects the line suddenly. Kajol makes a quick guess that this Guy is having some network problem, it is his wedding day, and he has to reach in time. She hands her phone and a car ride to the wedding hall (a woman is giving lift to the stranger…how strange, I wonder how many women would do that?) she guides him to continue talking to his fiancée and also helps him on the topic as to what he must say (one lesson she teaches him is how to butter the lady by talking love quotes instead of giving any other explanations for unpunctuality.) The guy reaches the wedding hall, still talking, while we see Kajol following him happily. (Wasn’t she going somewhere before she saw him?) She asks the groom to introduce his bride-to-be and even poses for a photograph! Moral: A Tata Indicom network makes you generous, friendly and intelligent. You can even be a party crasher! Should I get one too? Image source: http://www.agencyfaqs.com/

5 Spice restuarant in Bandra...

Today is my brother-in-laws birthday. Morning I call him on his mobile to birthday wish him and promise him a birthday gift if he promises me to treat me in a restaurant. He says he does not believe in celebrating birthdays because he is too old. But I know he will treat me in a good restuarant. So, in the evening, as I wish him happily, I smile, expecting a treat in a fancy restuarant. My sister is not surprised. We go for dinner to 5 Spice, a cozy-two-storey Chinese restaurant. It is at Pali Hill in Bandra. He has already booked a table for five and when we arrive at the restaurant, the valet drives away our car to a secured parking. As we enter, my sister orders a cake, with the name engraved on the cake, to be delivered to our table at the end of the meals. The hostess smilingly leads us up the wooden stairs, to a table for six on the first floor. I sit facing the red, warm wall that is behind my known faces. The table is laid with white china ware and white napkins that are so soft to touch. The waiter comes immediately to our table to take our order. They don’t like to keep people waiting for too long. All the tables are occupied. the sooner the people leave, the better is their business. On week-ends, you see many people waiting patiently outside the restuarant, on the road. The popularity of this restaurant is good and it is known for its good food, with big servings at a reasonable price. While everybody orders fresh lime soda, my brother-in-law orders whiskey (he wants to celebrate his birthday) I order sweet and sour soup.(I have stopped having fizzy drink)My brother-in-law is in playful mood and he keep dailing different people and fooling around, teasing my sister. We order pan-fried shrimps, spicy chicken and spring rolls for starters. Ummy the shrimps taste so good and juicy. The quantity is quite a lot and we are already feeling full. The sauces add to the richness of the taste. Before the next course arrives, we pass our time joking and singing 'Ay ganpat, whiskey lao, soda ko glass me jaldi lao, we are the bhais, mum-bai bhais....the girl on the next table is laughing hysterically and we laugh with her too. The next course arrives and it includes fish (my nephew’s choice), burnt rice (the speciality) and fried vegetarian noodles. I am already feeling too full, but the food is too tasty and I cannot stop myself form over-stuffing myself. I have extra noodles in my fridge (we packed the left-overs) and I plan to eat it tomorrow. We rinse our throats with Chinese tea but are too full to eat the birthday cake. Anyways, my brother-in-law is an old man, cake is for kids. I am happy to visit this 5 Spice restaurant, if you happen to be in Bandra, do dine in, you will love it.

Simple remedies to cheer you up on those gloomy days...

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS. 1. When choking on an ice cube, simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself. 2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop. 3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink. 4. To treat high blood pressure: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer. 5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. 6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough. 7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape. 8. When confused remember, everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Sing and dance and Jhoom Barabar till you drop dead....of boredom!

“Don’t bother going for jhoom bararbar jhoom”, warned my friend who came back with a head-ache. But the ticket were already booked and I couldn’t give a ditch, and after reading the review warning me that it is a movie with one star, I was ready for the worse, and I was not disappointed.It was lousy, indeed! The movie was supposed be without any story, with Amitabh, dressed in vague clothes (Why was he there?) dancing with two dozen dancers, singing one ridiculous song again and again (Why?). The crude Abhishek and confused Preeti were supposed to bore the audience with their spinning yarns while they waited to receive their respective relatives at London station,(train service in London is unpredictable too?) and falling in love within two hours(Wow! do people fall in love in just two hours by just chatting, or climbing esclators backwards and having a tattoo painted?). Lara Datta was supposed to look stunning in her acting and her proficiency in using abusive language(Funny! Preeti and Lara excel n abusive language) and Bobby Doel was supposed to steal the show with his fabulous acting of biting his fingers. I was warned of that loud music and those classy drums with loud music is still ringing in my ears (my ear drums need a make-over). Are you going to see it? Well it is Yash Chopra films and how can you miss it? It is directed by Shaad Ali (you liked Shaad Ali's Sathiya and Bunti Bubbli too, didn't you,) and you will get to visit London and Paris and see Pakis-Hindus-lovey-dovey. so go ahead…..enjoy the popcorn and Samosas, relax and be a judge…..we are used to watching meaningless movies, aren’t we? So go watch and jhoom barabar Jhoom till you drop dead..of boredom!

I have a right to Choose.....

I have traveled thousands of miles in this life, and met scores of couple of supposed-to-be-happily-bliss-couples, but I still have to meet a perfect couple. The type of emotional support that a person needs changes from one stage of life to another. The type of emotional support that her family provides may not be what she really needs after certain age. True! But as she grows older, she learns to discover and know herself. If she is single, she has already learnt to control her emotions and she knows that she, herself is responsible for her own happiness and there is no body else on whom she should depend. She builds a wall around her, and learns to protect herself against all the bullies. She becomes stronger as she grows older. A married women lives all her life with expectations of being recognized and appreciated by her spouse, children, extended families, eventually losing her own identity, in trying to please others, when she is older, she realizes that all her life she has only lived for others, compromising, tolerating and the cycle goes on and on, the emotional support that she was expecting from others may not be there. Life is just give and take and emotional support always will come from anybody whom you care, they may or may not be your own family. Loneliness is a temporary phase that everybody goes through, married or not. It is phase of boredom. This can be easily replaced by different interests. The conjugal bonhomie between couples may remind her of what she is missing, but when she sees those heated arguments, that sloppiness in men, his vices, his drinking habits, womanizing, his long hours in front of TV (or computer), during the week-ends while the wife helplessly awaits for an outing, it is during those spells of unhappy couple, that she starts blessing her stars. Single woman may become conscious about her single status when she comes across a very happy family of husband, wife, and child/children. This may leave her totally demoralized but only temporarily. And when a married woman, sees her single friend, carefree and liberated, being able to support her-self and live with dignity, while she is chained to life-long-imprisonment of ungrateful and selfish family, it can leave married woman totally demoralized, which her own family may not even know. Absence of commitments (marriage is one great commitment) may make single woman reckless and intemperate during the age, when she is young and wants to explore everything independently but a mature, single woman is not reckless, she knows her responsibility and is in charge of her life. She has been free to do what she likes and she does that with responsibility knowing that she has only her self to please. Married woman has obstructions and rules to follow, (don’t do this, don’t go there, don’t talk to this one, must call him, what will people say, think of family prestige, etc) so she is always craving for independence and she is the one, who destroys her self-esteem in the long run. The sense of security that a marriage brings is priceless to those who have no faith in themselves to make their own life secure. A majority in the society always look down upon single women because they are jealous of her bravery. Societies have their own imaginations and they feel every single woman is unhappy, easy catch, unworthy and an object of pity. High time they realized that woman, sometimes chooses to be single and will be ready for commitment, only if she finda a worthy man. She will not clutter her space with society-must-haves. Her single status may make some men think that she is easily available. Warding off these roving eyes would be a tough task for that woman, who is weak and has not yet mastered the martial art. A man complements a woman and vice versa if there is understandings on both the sides and willingness to respect each other. There is lot more to the life, than a marriage. I think, woman can stay married, but only if she has some space to stretch her emotions and desires, if she has no danger of being stripped off her identity, if she has a companion, who is under-standing, caring and loving. He is the one, who will be tolerated in her old age.

Women don’t gloat, men don’t take offence

Circumstances play a very important role in our life. Being happy, single or married, is our choice. A married woman may be happy but distressed if she is not free to expand her interests due to her priorities towards her families. An unmarried woman can be happy but sometimes lonely if she does not have many interests. Society pressure is there for women to get married and settle down, because she is more capable of shaping a secure home. If she is talented and also earning, then the pressure is more, because men are the weaker sex and they need a talented wife to steer their life. Society has always pampered men, and here too, woman is pressured to get married so that men can have a secure life. Indian society is not used to seeing men cook or sweep at home. The world is changing, true, many men are helping their wife, change the nappies, but those men live in nuclear families. Men in joint families are still pampered. So woman is expected to marry so as to release her mother-in-law off her duties towards her son. What are the advantages to a woman who gets married? She gets a companion, who can accompany her for late night shows, act as a buffer in this bully world, and support her financially if she is not earning herself. She can enjoy these pleasures if she is blessed with husband who is caring, not having any vices and supportive. But alas! Like all normal human beings, we cannot be blessed in all things. Second choice is the endurance. If the woman has the tolerance of overlooking few drawbacks, then she can hang on. If she has enough faith in herself, then she can walk out of the painful marriage. What is life for single woman? It is accepted in today’s world if the woman is financially independent. People envy the strong and independent woman and only the jealous ones will pressurize single woman to fall into a trap. People who are conservative are the ones who cannot accept the changing society. An independent, strong woman is capable of showing the world that getting marriage is her choice and she will take it herself when the time is ripe and nobody else should worry about that.

Walks by the beach? Ugh!

My friend Rhea is fed up of going to jogger’s park everyday. She say, oh same track! Same trees (how do I plant new trees everyday for her?). So boring! So boring? Taking walk in Jogger’s park seems boring to her. She fails to see the beautiful, blooming flowers on the hedges or the soft sea-side breeze that caresses our cheeks. She is bored of same walks and need new scenery every day. “Okay! Where do you want to go?” I ask her. ‘Let’s go to Juhu beach for a change.” She says So we decide to go to Juhu beach for a change in scenery and environment and a different variety of walks! Am I glad I went for a walk to Juhu Beach? Certainly not! Not a good idea at all! Going to a beach, walking on soft sand and enjoying the sea-breeze as the waves flap and roars, is the luxury enjoyed in only western world. The waters in western world are dark blue and are in sharp contrast of light blue sky that can be seen at the horizon where the sky seem to touch the waters. At Juhu beach, the sky is light blue, the waves flap and roar too but the water is grey, yes grey and the sea-breeze stinks! As we trudged by the shores, we had to dodge the dirty-black-end-wave and walk carefully as the whole beach was covered by loosely scattered carpet of soaked-plastic bags, empty bottles, rags, decayed-flowers, etc. I think this dirt and mess does not upset anybody, because children, and adults, happily bathed in these dirty waters, splashing water on each other, playfully and jumping and diving between the waves. There are children playing cricket, happy family and friends soak in dry sand, couples (old and new) refresh their daily news and the hawkers move around, between the crowd selling their unhygenic snacks. The weather is sweltering, even the water is warm and there is too much crowd at the beach. I still prefer my Jogger’s park.

Light low-diet dinner, Indeed!

Today, my friend calls me to join her for evening walk to Jogger’s park. I have already had my dose of walking in the afternoon sun to finish some string of odd errands and I am in no mood to go out, once more, for an extra round of evening walks (I know, my paunch is showing and the walks might help) but I was in no mood to walk. But my friend has brighter ideas, if I am in no mood for walks, could I join her for a diet food of only soup and sandwiches at ‘Just Round the Corner’. Well I am in no mood to cook either, so having just soup and sandwiches is a good idea and I decided to meet her for dinner after her walks. ‘Just Round the Corner’ is the name of restaurant near my house in Bandra. (Yep, once, I had invited my cousins to this restaurant and they kept stopping at every street-corner, thinking that we had arrived at a restaurant, I had told them ‘Lets go to the restaurant just round the corner’). Well, this is the restaurant where you can chill for hours and the management has no issues about you whiling away your time, warming their chairs for endless hours. You can order cups after cups of coffee, or chat for hours over just one cup of coffee. I arrived at the restaurant, after my friend had finished her doze of evening walks and was comfortably stretching her knees at the corner table. (She had called me several times on my route, but there was too much traffic at Linking road, and walking through the crowded traffic is a nightmare) The ambience at the restaurant is very warm, with lots of diet-conscious-youngsters. There are self-service counters, where you take a tray, and self-serve whatever you wish. There are only two pots of soup, veg-asparagus and non-veg chicken hot and sour. Then there is the display of variety of salads, pastas, sauces and dips. You make the combination of your choice and fill your plate of one helping only at the cost of Rs100. (The girl on my right is starving, she fills her plate to a brim, with strands of noodles swinging from the edge of her plate.) Then there is a counter for sandwiches with a display of the variety of fillings that includes beside veggies, a variety of cold meats, and barbequed chicken or spicy fish. You choose the filling and the kind of bread (white or brown), and the chef toasts it for you at the cost of Rs80 per sandwich. the girl on my left makes it very clear that she want no butter, nothing oily, she is dieting, she announces loudly for everyone to hear.Then there is variety of fresh juices that include sweet lime, water-melon, etc. priced at Rs40. I wait for the chef to toast my sandwich, and see that there is also a courtyard outside the restaurants that serves Pizzas on left side and variety of hamburgers on the left side of the restaurant(in the courtyard). There is cobbled-web path and plastic tables and chairs in the courtyard where youngsters enjoys the long smoke-rings as they slowly bite on to their slice of pizza or chomp down on their hamburgers. I self-serve an asparagus soup, a sandwich with the filling of ham, bacon, salad leaves and tomatoes and then gulp down with fresh watermelon juice. At Rs140 for this (too) healthy a meal, I can hardly walk back home. My paunch increases by one centimeter with this healthy meal!.

Swami can move you……!

Although I was late for the show(maybe half an hour or so), I still enjoyed the movie. Ganesh Acharya's debut film, Swami, is a movie of emotion, of love, of caring for the family and respecting the wishes of the families. It is a story of a couple who live a happy life in a remote village, but who have to migrate to a city for the future of their child. (because they don’t have proper schools in the villages) It is the story of the child, who loves his family and grows up to take the responsibility of his father, it is about a husband, who has only one desire to live, that he has to fulfill his promise (of sending his son to America) to his dying wife. The dilemma and the high point of the film is when they are at the cross-road of going to America, the protagonist has to fulfill his mother wishes but has to leave his father all alone in the old-age home. Child actor Siddharth’s acting is worth watching. His expressions and his bond with his mom, played by Juhi Chawla, are parallel to real world and portrayed very well, I was amused by his sweet lisping language and his innocent conversations. Manoj Bajpal is very clear about his role in film industry. He gave his best performance. I was specially moved by the scene in which he breaks his earthen pots (of saving) to count the change, when he needs money for his wife’s treatment. Alas! The movie had no bad people, it was sugary throughout. I was expecting daughter-in-law to show some temper tantrums, or a bad boss, or a bad neighborhood. But Swami lived in a beautiful world which revolved around his wife. His wife's aspirations become his mission in life. BTW, Why do dying people in the films ask their family for a promise that haunts them throughout their life?

We live in a funny world..Ha! Ha!

There was this man smoking in a bus and the Conductor says,"No Smoking ka board nahin dikhta?" and the Man replies,"Uske side mein 'Always Wear Condom' ka board hai, ab vo bhi laga ke baithoon?" * * * * * * When we watch TV serial, they disturb our concentration to show ads, for a toothpaste ad they show teeth, For hair oil they show hair, For face cream they show face, But for Whisper & Condoms they r not showing anything, that's cheating. Jaago Grahak Jaago * * * * * * * * * * Condom says to whisper: "Bloody every month u stop my business for one week" Whisper: "If u make a mistake I lose my business for 9 months" * * * * * and then this lady from 2nd floor asking a bananawala: "Kaise diye?" and the Bananawala replies,"Memsaab Aath mein Bara." the Lady says "Saat mein Tera deta hai to oopar aaja." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This taxi driver says, "Mam, u r the 3rd pregnant lady whom I'm dropping to Airport today."and the Lady replies,"But I'm not pregnant" and the Driver says,"But we hvn't reached airport yet." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Another funny forward.....@Planning to move to Europe?

Read slowly and carefully... The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English". In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter. In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away. By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer , ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas. If zis mad you smil, den share to oza pepl.

Want to try this chicken recipe?

Whenever I travel abroad, I always pick up food packets from supermarkets. I like to try new stuff and sometimes I am happy at my new find and sometimes not. This time, from Bangkok, I picked up a packet that said ‘Season’n Fry'. It was 'McCormic' brand and it was a crispy spicy coating for chicken. What is written on the packets says that, for using this stuff, you simply have to empty this content into a plate and dip the chicken pieces in it and deep fry to get a crispy chicken. Nowadays I am avoiding fried stuff therefore I decided to try something innovative. I dipped the chicken pieces into the powder (this powder contains wheat flour, salt, flavor enhancer, spices, egg powder, leavening agent, flavor) coating it evenly from all sides. In a baking tray, I greased the plate with olive oil. Spread the dish in the layers of onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, tomatoes. Salt, parsley leaves and rosemary leaves. Spread the chicken (that is coated with ‘Season’n Fry’) on it, pour one teaspoon of olive oil on it and bake it for 45 minutes. Oh My God! It was so tasty. Have it with French fries and cucumber salad. Yummy!

Choki Dhani of Poona

“Come to my birthday party” said Dolly, my friend’s daughter “I am celebrating my birthday at Choki Dhani.” That sounded interesting. Celebrating a birthday in a theme park called Choki Dhani. I had visited ‘Choki Dhani’ in Jaipur during my last trip but was not aware that there was one in Poona too. We set out at 6 O’clock, a big group of about 10 people, in two cars and by the time we reached (after nearly one hour drive from Pune city) it was already dark. The rest of the group had arrived earlier at 5 O’clock in the evening (which I think is the best time to go if you need to enjoy and experience the flavor of the place). The entrance had huge iron-gate with colorful lanterns burning into the slots, embedded into the walls, on either side of the gate. A large size mannequin of Indian native was installed in front of the entrance. We entered the gates and were greeted by man who said ‘Ram Ramji’ and he put tikka on our forehead. Inside the gate, we entered a new world, a Rajasthani village, with ethnic colors and drawings adorning the walls. A man performing a horsey dance (kacchi Ghodi) accompanied us as we entered inside this ethnic make-believe village resort. We headed straight to the stalls serving a Jal-Jira drink, Aloo-chat and chana-chat. We climbed a thatched wooden hut, to enjoy the freshly baked roti with butter and garlic chutney. Then there was Gola sherbet, Kulfi and popcorns. The resort took us back to Rajasthan with a traditional appeal, there were many features that include besides "Kacchi Ghodi", also "Ghumar", "Kalbelia", "Bhopa Bhopi" flute recital, and "Nat"(acrobatics). There were also a magician and astrologer with his future-teller parrot adding to the complete Rajasthani look. About 130 artisans, cooks and performers were posted there to provide the warmth and hospitality identical with the Rajasthani tradition of "Padharo Mare Des"(welcome to my world), transporting one to the era of Thakurs, the village lords in olden times. It is the ambience of the "Chokhi Dhani" that captivates everyone visiting it. It gives an impression of typical Rajasthani village replete with its rich tradition, with mud and thatch dwellings, with cottages, Havelis, restaurants, Rajasthani folk dances and performers. There were string cots and oil lanterns spread all over the resort giving it a village ambience. We specially enjoyed the traditional dance, in which our whole group participated. We wore their red bandhini turban on our heads and dance with them at the rhythm of flute-and-drums music. After the dance, we came to lie down peacefully on the string cot, enjoying the cool breeze under the open skies. Children were entertained, enjoying the camel and horse rides and playing games of luck in the row of games stalls. There were also many stall selling traditional hand-crafted goods like ceramic pots and clothes. The birthday was celebrated in the dining hall, where all people are seated on the floor and serves in leaf-plate. The dinner was very delicious and a traditional rajasthani thali and consisted of 18 different delicacies that included dhals, bhajis, achar, papad, sweet dish. I think I over-ate, because I could hardly walk comfortably up to the car park.

Sugarless Cheeni Kum

During my visit to Pune this week-end, I went with my cousins for this movie ‘Cheeni Kum’ why this movie is called ‘cheeni kum’, I fail to understand, (some recipe for odd couples) but the film was sugar-coated and entertaining during the first half of the film because of the arrogance and humor of Amitabh and fine acting of Tabu. But it gets boring after the interval, a sip of coffee and munching of popcorn was the only reason why I decided to sit and watch it till the end of the show. During the first half of the movie, umbrella plays an important role in the film, in building up the romance between 34 year old Tabu (nicknamed as ‘Ghas phoos), and 64 year old Amitabh (nicknamed and ‘Tangri kabab’). The borrowing, returning and borrowing back are the escuses for meeting and building up of affection between the egoist chef and a London tourist. The context of mismatched-bigger-than-father-age is the hinge where the story hangs and when the couple fall in love, it is as entertaining to the couple as it is to the audience. Post interval, Paresh Rawal as Tabu’s father is wasted. His humor and his acting skills are wasted by his stubborn satyagraha style fast and his refusal to co-operate to his daughter’s wishes of marrying an elderly man. Amitabh bears a buddy bond with his impish mother Zohra who is constantly nagging him about joining a gym and he shares a unique relationship with a nine-year-old-cancer-patient neighbor who acts as love counselor offering him advice in exchange for adult CD’s. No fighting scenes, but few lyrical songs to entertain yourself and a tangy romance could be the good reason for you to escape from this scorching heat and enjoy this sugarless film in an air-conditioned auditorium.