Cooking for pleasure than for necessity

I had learnt cooking out of necessity as I didn’t know any cooking and after Mom passed away, I was left in a lurch. She had pampered and spoilt me so much and had never let me light the stove or cook. Dad being absolutely non-fussy about food he used to eat anything and everything I used to prepare. My Maami always tells me if you cook in a happy mood, the food tastes awesome. At the same time when you are stressed or upset while cooking , the food also will be gloomy and dull. I felt her logic weird when she told me , but when I used to actually see it happen in my house , I realized there was some truth in it. Dad is a big foodie and so is my husband. I tried experimenting with food by mixing and matching the ingredients they loved, I began researching on the internet on recipes, interesting ingredients and I started enjoying cooking. I feel kitchen is “my” space where I can give vent to my creativity by trying out new things. And when there are people at home who enjoy food and who appreciate your efforts from time to time, it simply adds to the encouragement. Not to forget, every time I return from my Maami’s place I get inspired as she keeps giving me new tips. She links food a lot to the psychology of a person and it all now makes sense.

Ten Things I love about the rain

1. It reminds me of the courtship days of me and my husband

2. The beautiful and memorable bike rides with my better half with the droplets of rain happily lashing against our faces.

3. Barista… being our favorite adda during monsoons

4. Nostalgic memories of the fun times spent with colony friends when we all used to get wet in the rain together

5. The smell of wet earth that comes trickling slowly and just grows on you

6. The cool and calm feeling when you get wet in the first showers

7. The breathtaking sea-view from our balcony

8. Having hot Bhajiyas and masala chai

9. The times spent at Marine drive getting soaked in the rain

10. Love the sight of damp grass.

The list is endless and will only grow with time , so I better stop here

The Little Lafantar gang :)

It was maybe a tryst of destiny that 9 of us from totally different backgrounds, places and different tastes met under the same roof of our workplace. We were in no way like-minded people but only nice people (including me).

We had our own respective work under different bosses but used to all huddle up together during lunch time to talk about any and every topic under the sun. Our juice sessions, sneaking out to grab a bite or a cup of coffee from a café nearby, overnite stays will be the most memorable moments etched in our minds forever. We have been there for each other, whether at times of sadness or joy and will be always.

Today most of us have gone our separate ways pursuing our different dreams, tomorrow we may not even meet each other that often but we will always cherish the days when all of us were together and had the time of our lives. These 2 to 2 and half years of fun that I have had with you all , I doubt I have had anywhere else. Love u guys. Miss our lafantargiri. :)

Marital bliss :)

It feels weird to write in after almost a year but I always thought that I will not write because I HAVE to write to fill in the pages but only when I feel that I NEED to. However, I must admit that the past year has been pretty eventful and has kept me busy. It was an eventful year because Shri and I got married in November and all the preceding months went in planning and managing the wedding. Right since childhood, I always dreamed of a memorable and beautiful wedding and I feel very proud to say that I got just that. But an even better part was that I got married to the person I love.

Right since the beginning , Shri and I were personally involved in the marriage preparations. Right since collecting names and addresses of invitees to writing them on the cards and posting them, right from researching and choosing the decorations for the wedding and reception to picking and shortlisting the instrumental songs that would play in the background. And at the end of the day were quite satisfied and content with the result.

Prior to the wedding , the standard question that we would be asked all the time was, “how are the preparations” and now post wedding, the standard question is “How is married life”. Though our standard reply to everyone is, ‘it is too soon to say’, the fact is, married life is great. It is even better when your husband is and has been your bestest friend.

I hope to write and share more as and when possible.

ENGAGED!!

Finally, after a long wait, Shrinivas and I got engaged on February 15, 2009 at Bangalore. After being best friends for almost 8 years and a long distance relationship for almost more than a year, it was a great feeling to finally announce our relationship to the world and formalize our commitment.

The engagement ceremony was grand and was well attended by our families and friends. It was a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness for me. But, all’s well that ends well. Waiting now to spend the rest of my life with him … :)

A few minutes from terror!

It seemed like any other day in the morning. Little did we realize that this was “A WEDNESDAY’ in the lives of Mumbaiites and the world that we will never forget for a long long time and the nightmare continued for 3 days more.
Marine drive being my favorite spot, we went that day to the queen’s necklace and were seated opposite the Oberoi-Trident for almost 1 hour 30 min listening to songs on our MP3 Player. It was 9.30 pm when we decided to leave. My friend wanted to listen to a couple of songs more, but I insisted that lets get back home. Now we know that one more song would have made all the difference.
Ironically, we passed through almost all the places where the terrorists struck – Oberoi, CST station, Vadi Bunder. It was only when we returned home and saw the news that the mixed feelings of terror and relief engulfed us. As much as we thanked our stars, we grieved for all those innocent lives that were lost in this inhuman massacre.
Everyone boasts about the spirit of Mumbai. But on my way to office, when I saw the grim, scared and sullen faces of all the office –goers, I told myself that things may never be the same again in Mumbai.

TEMPLE TALES

Ignorant and careless devotees could unknowingly carry electronic items with them, not realizing that they are about to witness the most well planned, meticulous and intelligent money making scheme in the precinct of the temple’s premises.
The Policeman at the baggage checking counter where the bags are put on conveyor belts looks at you with suspicion (or maybe a smug satisfaction) when an electronic device is detected probably thinking that “Ek aur bakra mil gaya”. You stare at him blankly when he says that cameras have to be left outside, you have no idea what to do. When you ask the policeman for a solution, he says there is a shop where these items can be kept in safe custody. However, no sooner you are contemplating options than an angel like man called Anil from Shop No. 52 comes by and offers to keep your belongings. When we trust him and also entrust him with our footwear, the lady in the shop pushes a basket in your hand and tells very confidently, go with him he will take you directly inside without standing in the queue. Before we can realize what is happening, this man is leading the way towards the temple. Being a Tuesday morning, we were prepared to stand in the queue atleast for a couple of hours. However, we followed him, partly out of curiosity, partly out of temptation for a close-up darshan. He takes us confidently past the policemen and guards, who on seeing him leading our way do not stop us even for a second. Bang! In 10 minutes, we are done with our darshan and are ready to leave. But more is yet to come. When we reached the shop to collect our belongings and our footwear and enquire about the price, they charge us a thumping amount. When we express our surprise at the amount, they add Rs. 100 more saying that they had added half kilo modaks (when we had not even asked for the same). Not wanting to create an unpleasant atmosphere in a holy place, we paid him the amount albeit expressing our displeasure and shock on how so much amount is being demanded from us. However, we didn’t want to make it a big issue since we had come for a good cause. But, when we left the temple we were disturbed , wondering how many times they must have gotten away with this clever plan because most people like us do not want to fight or argue in a temple.