Tale of a nocturnal creature!

Life's completed a full circle. Here I am back in TO. Crashing at Viv's for a month and then planning to move in with Nash and Tib's new humongous palace.
Lots has happened in last two and a half years. I moved to Queen City, found employment, started working towards immigration paperwork. Boo's out of the world unbelievable (-ve) behavior forced me to break off one of the most precious friendships of my life. Met D, who's come to so close of becoming my soulmate (in a very platonic manner) but his idiotic behavior forces me to keep him at one arm's distant. It just isn't easy to confide in him. Anyways made some out of the world progress at work, and then because of callus and lousy work ethics of a red neck lost it all. Had to pack my bags and move back to Ngp. On my way back built one of the most beautiful friendship, with Enthu Paplet who shall be referred from here onwards as Elli. Whom I owe a lot for bringing me much closer to myself. Learned about crazy ordeals of Da' and faced utmost challenges with Louie. Any who made an appeal to be back to Maple land. Meanwhile lived Ago, rock star style. Started proceedings on the appeal. One thing led to another and finally all my worries evaporated and here I am typing this post from TO. My favorite genre in TV has changed from Sitcoms to Crime, Mystery dramas. Also,i have developed an extra special liking for Country and Jazz music. Swimming seems to be my new game. Meanwhile amidst all the drama, love seemed to have entered my life only to realize that both Doctor n PM were not the real things. Not denying I liked both of them a lot. Oh well! When it's not meant to be then it simply isn't!
Turned 28 in S'pur. Have decided going forward will be in some new country every year on the big day. I miss the warrior prince but that's another tragedy of my life, I guess love won't come easy in my life. Anyway for now what matters is a decent chance at the employment for which I am trying my level best. With hopes n prayed that everything is going to be just fine! 

R.I.P. Mrs. Doubtfire

I still can't come to terms with the fact that comedy icon Robin Williams has left us, nowhere to be found again!
Dedicated to the life of the legend, my few words:

For he once was a baby boy,
Vulnerable for his mumma's touch
Funny boy his teacher thought to himself
He had it in him just didn't know then
Vary of him the world slept fast asleep
So did the little funny boy
When it came to the choices
Funny boy, funny man now took the road less traveled or should we say road that led to highest failure
But he knew that he had it in him
So without any further doubts
The world embraced brilliant Mrs. Doubtfire
He was his woman's comrade in arms
The father to the zee stars where love knew no bounds
He rose to his fame and fortune
Only to lose himself in the applaud of the globe
What seemed hearty and hale
Was turning hollow, day by day
Years went by only to realize
No pill, no Syringe could cure the invisible symptoms any more
He was tired, tired of his silence
Tired of the invisible demons that haunted him
For him everyday was a battle that he had been fighting for years
Sunshine often played hide n seek in his humorous kingdom
For he once was a boy vulnerable for his mumma's touch
He thought to himself 'Enough is enough!'
Demons of depression shall never defeat the king of comedy
He rather chose a clean surrender
Waved his white flag
Left the loves of his life in tears of sorrow and pain
As the world mourns the tragedy of king of comedy
Let us remember the 5 minutes of magic that he brought to our lives!

Dedicated to the life of a legend, his love, his family and his millions of fans around the globe!

I love Sunday...'coz it's a BIG chicken day

As I mentioned in my last post that I had promised Imli to cook honey garlic chicken for the whole family on Sunday, I had one more important issue to focus upon Boo was supposed to come for dinner at our place. I woke up at about 11 am, messaged Boo, thankfully he replied immediately thus I learnt that he was unable to make it for the evening so I messaged Kin to carry on with his plans with Hash since he had kept those on hold to meet up with Boo. I fell asleep as soon as I received a courtesy text from Kin!

I woke up on the vibrations from me BB. It was Imli and I had overslept the lunchtime. I rushed as soon as possible and saved the grace by cooking decent honey garlic chicken. We had a nice happy family lunch at 4 pm. As soon as we were done I spent some girls time with D which was terminated abruptly with a long lost friends call(for them). The moment I entered our kitchen I went on a cooking rampage which started with cleaning shrimps for stir fry, steaming and de boning chicken for chicken mayo, shredding coleslaw stuff, cutting, cleaning and cooking cabbage with bell papers, paalak dal and finally methi pulao. As D frequently says it was an UNBELIEVABLE cookery weekend!

I spoke to Looloo Lemon for a while, we enjoyed the conversation a lot. It is always fun catching up with her in her best of moods.  We laughed and laughed for some silly things. Overall, the last weekend went well and now  back to school. 

Cook, cooker and a BIG cooker!

Last Saturday, I missed writing the day's happenings so this one's to compensate for that one.

The day was lazy as it was supposed to be the last Saturday of the holiday season but as soon as I woke up I had to rush for the bargain store as I had to return the comforter that I had bought last week. Things moved way too fast and after spending a substantial amount I returned home with a huge new comforter, two pair of jeans, couple of toys for the kids, a GUESS watch, a piggy bank two pairs of jeans and two tops. Yes, I do believe in retail therapy. It has never failed me so far!

No sooner than I was back we had to rush for the grocery shopping at Pots. Again needless to say I did spend a huge number but in my defence I did not buy a single unnecessary thing. I am blind believer of the fact that all the hardwork that we do kind of pays of in what we eat. Mind you that I had not consumed anything till late evening in fact the dinner that I ate was my first meal of the day. Anyhow, I was kind of perked up for cooking dinner. After breaking me back while de boning the chicken thighs for the boneless honey garlic chiken, I cooked 'aaloo gobhi' too. By the way the honey garlic chicken turned out so well that as soon as Malli finished his share he told me that he wishes to repeat it with fried rice at their's.

My weekend cooking saga began from Saturday and went on till Monday early morning... More to come in next post. To be continued..Ta...Da...

Contagious like crazy!

As much as the title seems infectious... It's more about my craze of the celluloid. The first official day of the year was all about movies for me. I downed four movies today Polar express, Don 2, Contagion(again) and Like Crazy. All the four movies were nice, different genre and well made. I was really swooped by Don 2 since I had no expectations from it since it was the just another SRK flick but it is really brilliantly made. 

Started the new year on a sweet note with 'chahaa ani paav' it was after ages and I missed being with my crazy bunch. The only thing that I cooked today was Sheera 'coz thats kind of family tradition that we do follow. Surprisingly it turned out really good, just like aaji's which is kind of an achievement especially since the key ingredients were Canadian ;)

Looking forward to tomorrow(today technically), it's a girls day out. I like hanging out with Viv's and Nash. Kin's totally gleed, he's one crazy weirdo. I miss boo and so do I miss baapoo. My Leos are my weakness. Spoke briefly with Louie, she's all dreaming of my visit, it's always heart warming to speak to her. 

I should crash down now, since I have a long day ahead of me and I don't want to keep the girls waiting.

Until the last minute!

I know I've been away for a while and I missed out on putting up many incidents worthy enough to be a part of my memory lane. Still, I'll try my level best to sum it up all in one post. I am in a whole new world, experiences of which are reserved for a different post.

First thing first, bapu started spending 'a lot'of time around. It wasn't pleasant though,'coz I would always feel being enslaved for editing his contacts and wallpapers. We also had a bit of a tiff because of that but it's all okay now. It was bapu's b'day, I had a fall out with maa at Saroj's and I had stormed out without her. It was absolutely her mistake so everything was okay at home when she came back on her own. Bapu did visit late in the evening and we had a decent b'day celebrations for him. Next day we hosted a Satyanarayan Pooja, which went extremely well until the late night tiff with bapu happened. That was kinda the mood spoiler but then Bammi was just a skype call away and a long talk with him helped immensely.

Maa's b'day was different, we had a real blast of our own. We went to Ashoka, the great sizzler fiasco happened but it didn't bother much and in the end all went well. Next, day I went to Yahba's and had some real nice time there with all those people that I am not particularly fond of. I was really touched by their hospitality and it did mean a lot me. My packing was delayed till last moment, 'coz my clothes were not ready.  One of the cons of being a realist, frugal gal.

On the last day, I was down with upset tummy. Bapu came while we were packing my stuff. As usual he did lose his cool on both maa and I. I had some last minute things to settle, like threading. I somehow managed to squeeze in my requirements. Bapu created mini scenes in front of the visitors which was very humiliating and upsetting. As usual bapu kept rushing for early departure. I forgot my medicated shampoo and jacket :( My luggage looked way more than the limit, thus bapu got yet another chance of our public humiliation. Thanks to loafer's driving us to railway station bapu got back to sane mode and was nice to maa  and me.

With the help of porters we managed to get my stuff in our designated seats in the train. Just before the train left we were informed that our tickets were upgraded. Under normal circumstances we would have jumped with joy but looking at the luggage we declined the order. Finally TC intervened and helped us with shifting of luggage and we were happy campers in our new and better seats. We all took this up-gradation as a positive sign from the 'upparwala'. Maa and I were very apprehensive with bapu's decision of getting down at Thane at AhkerusM's place. Afterall, this was the very first interaction of maa's family with bapu, post the breaking of 'HIS' news.

Things went real smooth at AhkerusM's. They all were extremely nice. DidiM n Kaka were real great help with the money. Bammi's bapu was too sweet and nice with the exchange. I wish I could have spent more time with DidiM and ChotiM. Bapu did take me out and went by my will and was also very nice to me. We had so much fun on 'Mundool'. His frugality left both my feet corned but thats all okay since we had some real great father daughter time. When we reached home, almost at the midnight, it was nice catching up with Vrushu an her baby. I did spend some good time with the family.

Next day, was the 'the day'. I was nervous, hyper and craving for some time alone with maa. Unfortunately, I did not get a single moment with her. At lunch, Figo showed up with his parent. As usual it was one of those, his five minutes VIP visits. I really wish, none of the three would have showed up but then it's okay. I  can never forget the the heightened emotions in the living room just before I bid my final good byes to my family. I never expected bapu to cry so loud. I did hug him hard and had cried for some good time. It was the most difficult leaving him, worse than maa. I miss my folks like crazy, thanks to Public mobile they are just a call away...

At first the way to the airport looked pleasant, but then in the end we did get stuck in the traffic jam. Though we were before time on the airport. Though we were expecting some more family members at the airport, but I was too anxious about the whole luggage thing that I rushed for the airport formalities. To our surprise everything that I carried with me was well under the limits and my immigration formalities were also over sooner than expected. Fortunately I managed to shake hands with almost everyone who did make it on the airport but thats about it. I still long for that one last hug that I did not get. I did carry my cell phone so I was able t speak with my folks till my final flight from Delhi.

I had a good flight with Air India. The food was good and I was lucky with all the company that i got. It was just too cold for me and I did miss my black jacket from home. I did miss the warmth of my folks more.
I am hooked on to this song by drake:

check list(ed)!

Have booked my flight ticket for 2nd Aug.
Have booked maa's and mine rail ticket, haven't spoken to bapu yet but if he insists then will book him for some other train.
Spending my 25th b'day at Tirupti, nothing can be more special than getting blessings from the almighty.

BalaM will be leaving morrow night and thus I'll be celebrating with wine :P.. not his departure but the formal approval on my plans of a new begining.
I have literally fried BalaM's brains with BhejaFry 1 n BhejaFry 2. I am glad that he liked it, poor thing had not seen a movie since 2003.
It's kinda weird that I am never hungry and sleepy these days, unlike during the wait.
Planning to install a web cam for my desktop and will give it to maa, my laptop to bapu and maa's desktop to poopoo.
Cleaning my computers, hard drives since they won't be mine soon.
Right now mind is at a very peaceful disposition. Things are moving but at a very soothing pace.
Happy :)

Siblings...

Maa n BalaM :D

They love each other but they hardly realise it. They never express their feelings that doesn't mean that there are none. I am new to this phenomenon about siblings since I don't have any but I am learning. BalaM is here with us and I have observed so many nice changes in Maa. Just to set the records straight, maa n her siblings are not the loud expressive types but more of love to keep it low types. All are very practical and materialistic when it comes to transactions. It's fun to be around BalaM when he's free and it's kinda emotional to be around DidiM, I enjoy both the feelings and otherwise. So, Maa's all geared to be an excellent hostess, which she always is but this time it's little more than normal. I like the way Maa has told me all li'l li'l things about their childhood. I think from my generation, I am the most learned about the last generation of my maternal history. I know almost all random stories of Maa and her siblings. Anyways, even though Maa pretends not being bothered, she still cares and thus today's food was awesome!

Morning was full of M's business expansions, profits, settings and the 'dream-home' that I have been hearing for forever now. Finally, I managed to corner myself aside and caught on some sleep. I woke up in the evening to find out that internet was down. I just anted to check on the status of my application thus I tweaked both hardware and software of our broadband connection. Internet resumed by fluke and I am getting a download speed of 500 kb/ps. Anyways, its a part of daily routine now to check on the application status. It was the fourth day since 20th and I wasn't expecting any miracles since I was anticipating the official SLA of 10 working days . No buzz here but the passport has been dispatched, I haven't received any call though! Anything can happen but I am hoping that I get through. I am glad that things have got over sooner than expected and my fingers are crossed for a positive news.

Setting sun!

"For he once was a son, a brother and an educated man. He married an aristocratic beauty, thus became the husband, the provider. He fathered four children, three boys and a girl. Fate took away the girl when she was 9, shock and grief left him a lunatic wife. He was a miser, a failure in business and a stone hearted noble man. He discouraged his sons about education, refrained them from meager luxuries of life. Only one of his boys was determined enough to be somebody in the world. Against all his wishes the son got him the ordinary, out of their league daughter in law. Unhappy yet accommodating he managed just fine with her. In his greed, he compelled his heir to give up and thus lost his second son. Birth of his grandchild, the baby girl was may be the happiest day of his and wife's life. He always saw his dead girl in the latest addition of his family. With evaporating time, his wife lost faith in life thus leaving him alone with his youngest boy, a grown up man by now. Lack of love and family made his son the black sheep. Lost the third son to what must not be named. The son that he kicked out of his life once was the only one left for him. The son and his families tried their best to accommodate him in their lives. Incorrigible as he always was tore himself apart from a life of comfort and royalty. Back to the life of misery and poverty he recalled the son. Son couldn't ignore his father's melancholy and took him back but with a half heart and a haunted mind. Son had given up all his feelings for the murderer of his childhood, his siblings and ultimately his mother. At 83, instead of leading a peaceful life in his territory our man gets involved in brawls with everybody around. Run awayed the nth time, no one waits for him now. Nothing to eat, no place to call home. He brings his misery on road. It's the duty, reputation and social influence of this son for whom he had never been more than a limitation in life that finally earns him a bed in the old age home!''


In the loving memory of Kokaliya's dadu...

Kitten ^_^

He's always been a cat lover!

Sometimes he's so annoying that you'll feel like shooting him first and then to yourself. Sometimes he's so adorable that sugar and honey can borrow sweetness from him. Sometimes he spends like he owns the world. Sometimes he deserves a noble prize for misery. In short, he is the extremist! There is nothing like a midway, nothing can be normal when he's around. Love him, hate him but you can't ignore him!

So, last night he was fooling around with his new kitten. As I mentioned earlier, he possesses the special ability to annoy anyone, even to the dead ones, eh? The poor kitten had to use it's paw and sharp claws..grrrr...  Post kitten's revenge, he had to run to the physiologist for the shot.

The whole day he kept humming the same tune repetitively over numerous calls. He was holding the kitten in his arms while he was boring me. It was the melancholy cry from the kitten that reassured me that I wasn't alone in this. So foolish of me to think that he would have learnt his lesson. This is exactly what happens to you when you are loved by an incorrigible cracked pot ;)

Inspiring story of a brave woman : Sindhutai Sapkal

"Could you please stop watching that crappy nonsense over n over again!", I yelled with my mouth full. These days, I hate to watch Television. Especially when I am on the dining table, and my incorrigible mom goes on and on with her nonstop regional daily soaps. "It's not a daily soap!" mom snapped back. "Oh! then it must be some stupid reality show or some fixed talent hunt?" my response. "No, silly it's AVG's new talk show called Khupte tithe Gupte!" cooler response this time.


AVG (Avadhoot Gupte) is the ultimate Marathi Rockstar! I have been his fan ever since I was 10. The sheer mention of AVG stopped me from shutting down the TV.  There were two people sitting on sofa chair across AVG, and just like any other chat show the host was chitchatting with them. One of the two guests was veteran actor Vikram Gokhale and there was a lady in the next seat. Immediately, my mind started scanning for that lady and to my surprise I couldn't recognize her. So, I assumed that the show involved a celebrity and may be a common man/woman. The woman was talking about something... some incident where she was sitting on the door of some cabinet lady minister and their conversation in broken, rural, Marathi accented Hindi. It was the tone of her voice that definitely belonged to somebody with great deeds. This was my very first glimpse of the Mother of Orphans!


As, the show progressed, I was getting more and more curious about knowing details of her and her area of work. She definitely was somebody big, big by her deeds towards the welfare of mankind. Those few minutes of the show left me with curiosity and a name - Sindhutai Sapkal!

I literally jumped on my comp seat and googled Sindhutai Sapkal. I was amazed with the number of results available on the internet about 74000. I went through alot of links, I even watched couple of clips on her. 
Sindhutai Sapkal aka Mother of Orphans is a Marathi social worker and Social activist, predominantly known for raising orphan children.


Nicknamed "Chindhi" she was an unwanted daughter from a very poor family. She as married at the age of 9, thus all education that she could manage was standard 4. At the age of 20, she was abandoned by her husband with an infant child practically like an orphan. She donated her biological daughter to a trust, in order to avoid partiality. Till date she has raised thousands of very well educated(Doctors, lawyers, teachers, social workers) children, who were once mere 'orphans' abandoned in the society.

Nothing but the enigmatic charisma of her which make her so inspirational for most of us. Especially women, who are scared of society, people and their perception. when there wasn't roof on her head, she spent her nights in cemetery since even the mightiest of men were scared of the one's who rest in peace over there. She truly epitomizes the fact that victory lies ahead of our fears!


I hope one day, I will be able to contribute something to her extremely altruistic work. 

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.

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!