Adorable - Bobby Chinn

My addiction to discovery travel n living has introduced me to this half Egyptian, half Chinese chef named Bobby Chinn. Bobby is cute n adorable to the core. On World Cafe Asia you will not only see him discovering the flavours of Asia but also flirting adorably with most of the elderly Asian women.... Most of the time he is like this funny clown who makes the recipes so simple that they appear a cake's walk for any amature cook.

Anahita!

I was waiting  patiently in a corridor of a humongous old Government building. I was looking different slightly older version of mine with drastic changes. Maa and a couple of family friends stood silent behind me.
A lady followed by a group of lawyers was approaching towards me. I was looking hopefully at her. She came n stood next to me. "Congrats!" is the only word I remember. An infant, a small baby may be 6-7 months old was handed over to me.

Suddenly I realised the ambiance just to figure out that I was waiting outside the courtroom for the final results of my adoption application. i had adopted this baby girl.

The officials were completing the formalities while I was staring in the blue eyes of this angel who would be my baby, my daughter here afters. The clerk who was completing the written formalities asked me for baby's name, Shloka, Rhea and million names crossed my mind but the only word that came out of my mouth was Anahita!

First beautiful morning...

Amazing! simply beautiful, since I am a nocturnal creature I hardly have seen the early mornings. Whenever I have seen, it was due to sheer pressure but not at my will. So practically this morning was my first beautiful morning at my own will...

Since I am a dreamer forever I am constantly chasing dreams. These days I actually have freaked out about extra burden that my bones are carrying so I am looking for a decent physique. Since my overweight issue has escalated to the highest possible order I am firm about curbing it anyhow...

The dream of descent physique did not let me sleep the whole night and I was ready for my morning exercise regiment. Honestly after my unhealthy lifestyle for last 3 years I had lost faith in myself and my stamina but today i was surprised at my stamina. I was good. This stamina has motivated me for further plan for my next couple of months...

Pu.La... An inspiration...

The day wasn't that great and had to get up without food from the dinner table. So post dinner mercury had risen even more. The baggage of anger was very depressing and ultimately patched up with Maa.

As I was lying next to Maa, both of us got engrossed in our silly chit chat that none reasilised the ticking of the clock. Finally I confessed to Maa that I wasn't sleepy. So, ultimately both of us ended playing one of our old favrait P L Deshpande DVD in the player.

P L Deshpande AKA Pu.La is my all time fav. My first encounter with his literature was at the age of throgh my grade 4 text book. I have been reading, collecting stuff related to his literature. He was a great bundle of entertainment. This one man army is what I call the real 'Showman'...

Tata Docomo Customer Service Sucks

INR 94/- for a yearlong 12 GB of internet usage was something that kinda got me attracted towards the Tata Docomo mobile service provider. After good market feedback I finally subscribed to it...

It's been one week and hundreds of calls to customer care but I am still unable to browse internet. Seriously, the back office support sucks. The Customer care executives are bunch of idiots, forget about basic knowledge they lack language proficiency and basic manners. They are rude and absolute pain in possibly all the wrong places...

I have happily used Airtel GPRS services for last 3 years and I am still a happy Airtel subscriber. I am using Tata docomo with Nokia 2690 and struggling for GPRS settings. I am seriously fed up of this useless connection now finally tomorrow I will try visiting Tata Docomo office hopefully they will be able to solve my problems (keeping my fingers crosses).

Pouring Monsoon and Steaming Corn...

I am not a big fan of Corn but it's pouring cats and dogs outside and I crave for something hot steaming... mmmhhh.... SOMETHING...

This something could be ANYTHING like a steaming cup of coffee, a bowl of instant noodles, crispy french fries, hot potato chips or a steamed corn with little salt and paper with a dash of butter....

MMMhhhhh.... Monsoons are superb... Long live the FOODIES...

Hooked to Comedy Circus

Post first season of Laughter Challenge and Chote Miyaan, the comedy business of Indian Television appeared too stale to me. I used to change channel whenever I used to come across any comedy show but I am taken for a surprize ride by Comedy Circus, a ride full of laughter.

My honest confession, I can watch and enjoy the repeat telecasts too. The writing is fresh, punches are strong and the actors are superb. My favraits are Rajiv - Saloni, Sudesh - Krishna and VIP and Bharti. After Navjyot Singh Sidhoo, if someone i can bear laughing at every second line would be Archana Puran Singh.

So every Friday and Saturday night I always get stuck in a catch 22 situation for Comedy Circus and Dance India Dance - Li'l Masters...

The art of doing nothing!

It's almost 68 days since I am unemployed. Practically I am not doing anything. My normal routine is to get up at my will then eat or rather to hog on the cooked food and finally do nothing...

I have been doing nothing for a very long time. In the hectic work life I always wanted to spend such time. I wanted to read books, enjoy music and movies, explore places, take my family out and lots more. Honestly, nothing of this has worked out and I have seriously mastered the art of doing nothing!

Just like every other thing of this world this too has pros and cons but it's a big chipkoo attitude, needs efforts to get rid of it, so for now enjoying the art...

Sinful Week

Lately I have been too traumatic, a female version of Devdas. Finally I am kinda have started living a less troubled life.

This week, life again started picking pace. Picking pace meant getting back to cooking, my cooking skills were again in very innovative mode this week after long long time.

The first experiment was mashed potatoes with mushrooms and garlic...

The second experiment was a homemade version of sizzling brownie...

The third experiment and most successful i.e. 150 on 100 was baked veggies...

The fourth experiment and most recent was a kinda chocolate pie which is chilling in the refridgerator, just had a bite n it's YUM...

The food was great this week and the family was totally delighted. I am too excited but I also have to be extremely careful because I am trying to shed all my extra pounds. I know it's not that easy but I have to strike the balance between the taste buds and health!

Crazy Media n Crazy World

FIFA 2010 is on, in fact we are nearing it's end it's Spain v/s Holland due for tomorrow night as finals of the mega event. The early exit of football biggies like Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Kaka etc. has stolen a big chunk of our daily dosage of our crazy media.

So in current scenario since the world isn't too kin about the FIFA 2010 winner our media is foccusing too much on Paul the astrologer octopus from Germany and a parrot from Singapore. These innocents unaware of their fame in the human households are living a kind of bugged life due to the media attention. I am not sure of the benefits but I am sure that their life is at stake for sure.

Seriously, we have gone completely insane. We are following almost any and every nonsense that is being served to us in a package. It's we who make a mountain out of mole and it's we who not only give birth to the vicious chain of blindbeliefs...

Weirdo Me!

I couldn’t think of a better title than this. More always it’s about none other than me. Recently I have discovered newer shades of my personality which I never thought that they exist. This great discovery happened on my recent necessity of attending a series of unsuccessful job interviews (unsuccessful ‘coz I couldn’t get through because of my egoistic but logical reasons).

I exactly know what I am doing and what I am up to but this stage in life where I am on neverland or rather no man’s land is kinda frustrating. I haven’t had a great beginning but it ain’t that bad too. People normally lack the vision and direction however, this isn’t my case I exactly know what’s correct and what’s not (not every time though, but whenever in doubt I have “BUM- my dearest friend on Planet E” to go to). The problem is I am aware but I am not doing anything about it, every interview I go to makes me feel more worth, makes me crave for that job but my rational of choosing the correct opportunity always comes on my way. I have paid a huge cost of jumping on an opportunity in hurry and in the end it has made me so choosy, I have an feeling of being elite but what to do I don’t find many worthy people around and this feeling supremacy slowly sinks in me.

My choices have taught me a lot, my mistakes have made me what I am today. Weird but that’s me!

My Cooking Idol!

The evergreen master chef Sanjeev Kapoor has been my idol for last 17 years of my life. I am following his cooking style and you'll find his influence in the food cooked by me.

This man has received tremendous fame and has made huge fortune for himself but till date his most striking feature remains his humility.

He is innovative and I don't think that he will ever run out of recipes because for almost last 2 decades he has blocked our time for Sunday morning 9am @Zee TV. His biggest achievement i feel is his sustainability. Many came after him and they fizzed out too but he came, he stayed and definitely he conquered!

IHLS...Just another addition to the never ending love saga!

IHLS... another addition to Bollywood's never ending and ever green love saga. It's definately a one time watch. There are alot of not so cool things about this film but the coolest thing is that this movie has honesty in the screenplay and script. No villains have taken over the silver screen even in the most suseptible situations. After Wake up Sid this is another story where you see today's generation both youngesters and their parents ditto as it is in reality.

Slight over acting and not so humourous moments in this movie don't make it one of the best bollywood flicks of our time. I doubt if any future version will make spoof of IHLS. If we talk of the visuals then it's an eye candy though slightly on the brighter side but really good job done on that front. As all of us know that music aint great and contributes meagerly to the visuals. Being a huge K Jo fan and follower I wonder if K Jo is such an annoying boss as portrayed by Samir Soni, my bigger doubt will he keep such a distacted assistant? I guess no it was yet another sweet dream cutely concieved by a young director.

I hate rating movies with stars or numbers, after watching IHLS this morning I wasn't dissappointed but I wasn't amazed too! so it's definately a one time watch but if you don't catch it in nearest cinema hall then you won't miss much in life. If you love romance, you have followed all Yash Raj and Dharma Production movies, you are either Imran or Sonam fan OR you are simply a movie buff like me then this flick is waiting for you in nearest cinema hall :)

Why does it always rain on 30th june???

30th June , it was just 1st hour and 52 minutes had passed when my maa and paa brought me in this world that was 24 years ago. It was a rainy, dark and scary night.

Maa once told me that it was raining heavily that night when I was born ever since then whatever Birthdays I remember; it always rains heavily in Maharashtra on every 30th June. Even now as I am typing this blog with the view of heavy pouring from my balcony.

Now, I know why I share this special connection with the season because this was one of the very first things I was introduced to as I came in this world…

24th birthday blog 1

Crap !!! I just hate this but the problem is though I dislike it but I won’t do anything about it not that I can not but I will not because no matter what this person means a lot to me. Irrespective of how annoying and stupid he is but ultimately he is my own…

Today I was expecting him, usually he turns up early in the morning or late in the evening actually he is not at all predictable but still after spending 24 years of your age with him you can predict something. So ma was ready with her awesome food and I was about to eat my brunch and some emergency had struck so I had to rush urgently. I left my brunch and was getting dressed up.

Suddenly, he knocked on the door. As I saw him and I told him about the emergency, his first reaction was crazy he screamed on top of his voice for it. I got mad but what to do I was helpless but his reaction was annoying. He told me that my emergency can wait but I kept on pleading it was a matter of someone’s life n death.

He didn’t budge, he was hardly bothered, he got pissed with me that I didn’t have time for him. I kept pleading that I need 20 mins and then the entire day was his but no effects on him. He got up and left without wishing me on my 24th B’day :(

Back to school...

I woke up at 7 am, not so usual because normally I wake up after 12 noon in fact to be awake at early morning hours I kept myself up till 5.30 but ultimately I had to sleep for mere 180 minutes. It was the first day of school for this session for my eight years old cousin.

We, which includes my mommy, my cousin and me hurried on my bike because we didn’t want to get late for school the very first day. As we neared the school one could feel the school’s existence at least 500 mtrs before the giant school gate. All the worried and concerned parents had blocked the road with their two and four wheelers. I was amazed at the parliamentary noisy chaos in front of an all girls primary school.

Since bike parking was impossible mommy had to escort my cousin all by herself, leaving me to observe the million shades and emotions in the crowd. I was sitting on my bike looking at the parents carrying their girl’s baggage, some their girls along with the baggage and some just waving good byes with smile. Some parents had curious expressions, some had assuring and some had none to display.

Most of the girls were flaunting their recent school shopping which included new uniform, bag, water bottle, lunch boxes etc. some of the girls who were in their old uniforms and also were carrying most of the old stuff but whether old or new all girls that I saw had an excitement in their eyes. They had a remarkable zeal which gets difficult to spot in the grown up eyes.
All this took me back to my school days, I felt like I was midway in this journey neither I am a kid nor a parent but somehow I could relate to both the sides!

And I long for thee...

This my first blog dedicated to someone, truly from the depth of my thoughts and from the bottom of my heart...

I know i kinda sound romantic but I am not, in fact i am just recovering from the vaccum that my last (365 days old) break up has caused. YES, it took me that long to gulp down the bitter truth that we are not together anymore. Seven years of chasing infinite dreams leading to one man. This ordinary guy meant everything to me and i had built my whole life around him...

I miss being madly in love with him but I guess life moves on. The very fact that I am still alive proves that I am not the suicidal types. I dont know may be i am way too selfish to sacrifice my life or may be I love myself too much?

I have gone too lethargic in the process of overcoming broken heart. I really like this particular line which says,"If you like something, then whole universe conspires for you to get it" too filmy though but I kinda like it.

I know what I like but am i doing something to get it? Honestly NO, i am not. So now I have decided to chase my small small goals, something that I desperately want in my life. So my top priorities are as follows:

• Weightloss Min 35 Kgs
• To find a way which would take me abroad for good
• To read as much as I can...

Finally, I know this stubborn ass is never going to read my blog ever in this lifetime but I really really love him, truly and there are no second thoughts about it ;)

Scary Marksism

This one’s for you Chetan!

The special edition of Maharashtra Times, on the occasion of 48th anniversary is focused on youth. The guest editor for this edition is world renowned author Chetan Bhagat. Following is the brief on Chetan’s thoughts for Maharashtra Times readers…
The communication mediums are getting stronger day by day. Today I am here as a guest editor is because of twitter. Invitation of Maharashtra Times anniversary and an opportunity to interact with all of you has been given to me by this medium only. I get to know about point of view and feedback from the young generation about my books, my write ups and their lifestyle through internet. These young readers have introduced their generation to me.

Today’s special edition focuses on the thought process of young generation. If you ask me about it then the life today’s youth revolves around career and romance. These are the two major things, which are on their hit list. Folks who interact with me, they tell me about that only. Of course there are a lot of other things than love. I am on the panel of a channel’s anchor hunt. The contestants there are capable but they lack willingness to increase their capabilities. One should be curious about knowing things. Let it be Bhopal Gas Tragedy or IPL, one should know things in depth especially the youth. Today’s youth has to be curious. Our education system lacks creativity. We don’t teach our children to think. That’s one of the reasons why we lag behind as compared to foreign countries. We can promote the cost effective IT engineers to the world however the platforms like google, yahoo and facebook haven’t come from an Indian mind, even though we have millions of software engineers.
Youth is not keen on politics, however well qualified and good politicians can inspire them. This is like that only. Marathi youth is too simple. Maharashtra has got its own culture but its promotion is dependent on the efforts of Marathi Man. Food and Music are main components of Punjab’s culture. Punjabis have dominated the pop music in India. What is stopping Marathi man from opening a Maharashtrian cuisine restaurant and promote it all over? Since Mughals didn’t have so much of active presence in Maharashtra , the Maharashtrian culture remained untouched. It should be preserved and more and more people should be incorporated in it.

S.S.C. results are out. A lot of people have got 100% and that has put folks who got 90% under pressure. I sincerely want to tell the youth that marks aren’t everything in life. Though I secured 76% in tenth and 85% in twelfth, I am still leading a wonderful life. You can do a lot in life even though you didn’t score well. I strongly feel that this should reach the youth the communication media. Youth should also be keen on learning.

- Courtesy Maharashtra Times –June 18, 2010

- Translated by Rashmi Agrawal (please excuse mistakes if any this is my first attempt of translation)

Anguish

Lonely is what I feel,
Loner is what he called...
Love is what I meant,
Dominance is what he got...
Patience is what I have,
Silence is what I got...
Peace is what I desired,
Violence is what he offered...
Faith is what I wanted,
Betrayal is what he gifted...
Simple was my definition,
Complicated is what he defined...
I am the one punished,
Though he has been forgiven!

When God has to bribe...

Kids, gods true gift to mankind...
This blog is based on a minor but quite humorous incident that took place a while ago...
This refers to this tiny-winy 4 yrs old kiddo from the neighbourhood. This kiddo, though isn't my mothers by blood but by everything she belongs to us...
This little miss sunshine is always whirling around when I am home even when i am not...
Needless to say she spins our world in 360 degrees, love her or hate her but you cant ignore her...
This evening mom in her one of those million attempts to impress God was busy in her evening prayers. My mother has strong belief that fear of lord is one of those hefty pillars in a child's upbringing so at least twice if not more children should pray...
Now since mom was away from home for quite sometime, our little miss sunshine had forgotten all her prayers. So today when mom was about to pray, our miss sunshine went near her n asked her if she had offered something sweet to god which after prayers can be consumed by family members. When mom showed her the plate of sweets, our miss sunshine innocently said, "Oh! so now I have to recite the entire prayer for sweets?"