Three Weeks of Pampering!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Pamper” as we all know is a wonderful feeling or gesture shown by someone whom you love immensely. The month of march was just brilliant as my dad and little brother (for me he never gets older :P) had come to spend some time with me. Everything was perfect. I was so so so happy by just the thought that they are here. Though my brother was here only for like 3-4 days, we still managed to have fun, fight, yell and irritate the hell out of each other :P. (I know it doesn’t sound like fun, but it is. Ohh , I so miss those silly fights we used to have and then patch up the very next minute. Mom used to get so irritated with our fights, hahahahaha it used to be so good.)

Here are some of the activities that we did and I really wanna share with you all, I know you will relate to them well :)

Shopping with bhai – I don’t know why guys and colors don’t go along well. We were literally fighting over t-shirt colors :P. I wanted him to pick any other color than red or black, but he won’t just give up. He kept saying… ohh thats a female color….. or that’s too flashy….. or that’s too loud :( . But I didn’t give up; I made him buy other colors. Yippyyyy (come on dude you looked so cool in the wine colored one.)

Cooking – my dad is a great cook, so I had grand treats for 3 weeks. It was raining Roganjoshes, Yahkhinis, Munghi-haakh, razma, and what not: O (just writing about it makes me hungry.) We had so much fun cooking on weekends, I love cooking for dad and pampering him. I cooked something different for him like lemon rice, sambhar, pav bhaji, thalipeeth, so that he enjoys a unique taste. In spite of the fact that our cooking ways are extremely different, he still loved it. I believe in cooking healthy and he cooks with lots and lots of oil and ghee (but obviously his food tastes brilliant: P). I have just realized one thing “the more sinful (calorie-rich) the food is, the more awesome it is”. That’s the irony of the whole thing :(

IPL Fever – Cricket has been our love of interest for a long time. I still remember as kids – me and bhai playing cricket every weekend with dad. And how, I never used to agree that I’m out. I loved batting and immensely hated fielding (: P). It used to be so fun….. as I kept on saying…ok last chance one last chance… :D :D :D :D And I still remember those brilliant willow bats; oiling them and those dangerous cricket balls (we had the best collection at home). Ahh how can I forget the injuries I had while playing. Wow… I so miss being a kid and my cricket team.

Discussions – We both love debating, so we usually have very exhaustive discussions about anything and everything. Topics vary from cooking, current affairs, IPL, right way of living, health, medicines, yoga, books, writers, news, gadgets, globalization, science , technology, culture, anything …………….…. believe me any topic can be beaten to dead with the discussion :D. We mostly never agree with each other and the best part is that we both never give up.

But what life man… it was just awesome. Stress-free days, full of surprises, good food, discussions, what else can you ask for. Breakfast with dad, lovely evenings followed by a dinner to die for, just makes me realize what all I have been missing. I am very close to my dad and it’s a great feeling as you still have so much to talk and share. His pranks at school, adventures, love for food, and lots of other gossips we love talking about. I fall so short of words to actually describe that feeling I don’t know how to put it down in words, I just feel so lucky :). I guess you actually connect at a different level as you grow up.

These three weeks of spending some good quality time with dad is the best thing I did in the past 10 years. It’s strange how we spend most of our childhood yearning to be independent but once we are, we still miss the doting care and pampering of our parents………………………………

The Science of Cooking!!!!

Being an engineer, I won’t call cooking an art. It is definitely a science as it involves all skills of a scientist. It begins with discovery (discovery of tastes of different ingredients or identification of different flavors), experimentation (experimenting with all kinds of ingredients with different permutations and combinations), invention (it’s declared when you love it and everyone appreciates your cooking – that’s the measure of success) and last but unquestionably not the least is the touch of innovation – it is the basic element of any kind of research :). Innovation can be at the first stage or at the final one.

I belong to a family of foodies, where everyone is a cook in himself. My mom, dad (definitely a better cook than mom in some ways), me and my bro..... he is very innovative. To tell you sincerely, he is my main motivation for innovative cooking. You won’t believe if I tell you that he can cook million type of eggs at the same time and they all taste completely different from each other (just thinking about it makes me hungry :O). My grandmother was a great cook, she knew what "taste" is in a real sense. Her food would always make you gluttonous. It used to be yummy always, with lots of ghee and love. If you happen to have tasted the traditional "Kashmiri Fish Curry" she made, you were definitely the luckiest one. That is the best fish I have ever had till date, my mom still cannot cook it as well as Gia (my grandmother).

I have been cooking for almost like a year now, and believe me it’s a great stress buster and a very good way to kill time. I am in love with my cooking, I guess too self-obsessed. I love to experiment with all the vegetables, different combinations and ingredients. It’s really good because you just keep getting better and better. The performance graph is linear initially and then the improvement grows exponentially :P (yup it might sound funny to all my non geeky friends but I love R&D at all levels).

Furthermore, the effect of culture on cooking is also mind-blowing. Culture, geographical location and the local climate have a huge impact on the cooking of a particular region. It’s amazing to see how cuisines change at every mile (also within a single state). Our country being a great example of diverse cultures, foods as well as eating habits vary from one city to another.

But every cuisine uses a perfect science for cooking….

If you consider Kashmiri cuisine, everything is deep fried (vegetables as well as non-veg.), uses a lot of oil and red chilies...... but we balance it out with ‘sauf’ powder and lots of curd. (Curd is a specialty among Kashmiris, we love curd and we have it all the times). Now if you see the climate in Kashmir we need foods that can keep us warm so all the spices, oil and non-veg. does the trick for us.

Next, if you see the typical north Indian cuisine (esp. places like Punjab,UP etc.). They don’t have very spicy food but they use a lot of lemon, lots of water, lassi (buttermilk) and coriander in food. Coriander is very good for stomach and lemon and lassi are helpful for the extreme heat.

Now if we go down south......... the food is highly spicy but they always follow food with curd rice.... :) A perfect antidote to the gunpowder they take (gunpowder as they call it, is the chili powder). They love to have plain white rice with gun powder and a spoon of ghee,it tastes great. Moreover, drinking rasam or that colored water in Kerala definitely helps you digesting the food properly.

So, won’t you agree with me that it is definitely a science?

I dedicate the year of 2009’s R&D to cooking, which is turning into a passion :)

Twilight Fever….

I was down with the twilight fever for over three weeks… I’m talking about the twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer. I heard so much about it that I just had to know, what was the fuss all about? A close friend mailed the whole series (e-books) to me and suggested to try them. I had hardly read the first chapter and I loved it so much that I went straight to crosswords to buy one. Then, it made me so addicted that I had to read the whole series.

As I child, I used to love reading ghost stories, watch scary movies and definitely loved scaring my brother. After reading about ghosts then I loved reading about the vampires, but it faded out as I grew up. These stories always fascinated me just by the thought that “how do they even come up with such themes?” It’s amazing to see how these authors create such exquisite fantasies, with an entirely new concept; exploring new heights with their ideas and making the whole world get lost in this new world of fantasies. This series has everything, some people might call it a teenager’s book, but it’s really nice. It makes you feel like a kid again. With million fans all over the globe, this series is surely a reader’s delight with a different understanding of the vampire world. It’s not only about vampires; it also has were-wolves and their co-existence in the human world.

I loved this series for its content, different species from were-wolves or vampires or normal human beings… everyone having qualities of their own. The best thing was it sets up a new trend in reading, after a long time. Vampires were out for some time now, but with this book they are back again with a new ‘avatar’ i.e. a good vampire as they are called “vegetarian vampires”. It was a different perspective with their desire to control themselves even if they knew they were weak than their human blood sucking counterparts. The author has tried to cover all the popular myths about the vampire world and justified them well with the content in the books. You will want to believe it, no matter how stupid it looks. It’s nice to get carried away for once and let the fantasy take you with it to those meadows where a new world of mysteries is waiting for you. This series offers you an insight in the supernatural world with their strengths and yet their weaknesses; and their survival in the human world.

The selection of the characters and their portrayal was just too good to believe. The characters made up by the author are so true to their character. The character sketch is just brilliant. The way story moves from one book to the next one, it just too captivating. I couldn’t keep my mind off, till I finished the whole series. But now that I am done with this series, I miss it big time.

Here are some highlights from the Twilight series:

Book 1:”Twilight” – this is where you will get too addicted to know more…. A silly little girl named Bella beginning a new life with her dad in a new place away from her mother. It includes all the aspirations, dreams and fears of a little girl going to high school. Her school, friends, and some mysterious people (Cullens)she gets attracted to. Her falling in love with a “vampire”, the mystery about him just keep her getting more and more closer to him. Her worst fears come true, when he leaves her. The narration is just wonderful.

Book 2:”New Moon” – It’s all about Bella dealing with the heartbreak and the beginning of her new friendship with Jacob. The story unfolds the secret of Jacob’s new identity – a “were-wolf”. During the whole book I was desperate for Edward to come back….. I rushed through the book as soon as I could because I wanted Edward to come back. I missed him so much in this one. And finally towards the end he comes back. Hence, make you more addicted to know what next?

Book 3:”Eclipse” – With Edward back, I had nothing to worry about. But things were different now. Bella gets torn between the love of her life (Edward) and her best friend (Jacob).The description of Victoria’s revenge for her soul mate’s death was brilliant. She attacks with an army of vampire newborns just to kill Bella. The best part was the companionship of the two deadliest enemies ‘were-wolves’ and ‘vampires’ to save Bella. It was just astounding to see how two enemies had joined hands to save someone fo their common interest. (I wish humans could do that).

Book 4:”Breaking Dawn” – This book has all the perfect shades of everything – it starts with all the happy things Bella could ask for - her marriage with Edward and the lovely honeymoon. Things go ugly when she realizes she is expecting as carrying a vampire child wouldn’t be easy or even possible for her human body. But her agonies to keep the child, and Edward wanting to destroy the child only because it would destroy Bella. The love of a mother for her unborn child even if she knows it’s a threat to her life is well described. Her bearing a half-human, half vampire child that could kill her was dangerously beautiful. And once the child is born, Bella is reborn as a vampire and a mother. Her life as a vampire is a journey in itself. She is thrilled with her new role of a mother and dotes on her daughter. The highest authority in the vampire world “Volturi” decides death sentence for the Cullens, for creating an immortal child. So Bella’s combat to save her daughter and her family from the Volturi’s is really commendable. The unknown power of a woman to save her child and her family, and the extend up to which she can go to save them is just brilliant.

Oops!!! It’s a long blog already. I hope you all will enjoy it.

Konkan…….. An Eloquent Experience…

I have been waiting to write about this for a very long time but things kept me so busy that I just couldn’t. Today finally I managed to finish it….read along and enjoy :)

It was early november last year, when we decided to go to explore the maharashtrian coastline known as Konkan. Driving force for this place was the love for traveling, great sea food and some quality time. So we decided to go to a place called “Sawantwadi” , a small village on the way to Goa. Planning the trip and end moment decisions just made it more exciting as we didn’t know what was waiting for us there. Was it worth it or not? So many questions and we had no answers just hope. We took an overnight bus from pune and reached Sawantwadi early morning. We had arranged for a home stay (popular concept by an organization known as Culture Aangan). When we reached we were received with a warm welcome by our hosts. I was spellbound, what a beautiful place! The cottage was naturally beautiful surrounded by a huge plantation. It felt exactly like I had taken some kind of “saniyas” hence, living in the middle of a jungle. It was exactly like a place I wanted to go for a very long time…..

I mean natural beauty, simplicity of the place and welcoming hosts….. I don’t think you need more than this for a memorable holiday. We had no idea it would be so good (I guess the less you expect and plan the more awesome it gets :P). You would just fall in love with the place if you want to spend some time in disguise and actually live for a while.

Everything in this place was just the basic requirement that you need, and life was so easy and simple. Once you enter the cottage, the ambience makes you feel at home. Everything organized, clean and well placed. Everything was in moderation, just sufficient, no over loading of the place, hence you will definitely find it gripping, you will definitely not want go back to the city crap (believe me I never wanted to). If you really want to feel good, just shutdown your laptop, switch off your phone and just enjoy the beauty of the place. It will cure you of all the poisons that the city is giving you.

Our trip was small but we made full use of it. We went to Amboli, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli and other near-by places. The beaches are clean with clear water (unlike other places I have been to), and no one bothers to bug you. Hence, making you feel comfortable at all levels. I will any day prefer such a location for a holiday that is secluded, quiet and peaceful, a place where you actually feel peaceful in your head. Where you don’t have to worry about the emails to reply or send or phone calls, or read newspapers, watch tv…. You will get some quality time, and believe me if you have a good company to go out with then there is nothing like this place to go out and explore. Plantation all over the place was a look to die for, with the sunrise in the morning and wood burning in the backyard to heat water, this early morning site will just leave you mesmerized.

Now the most important thing- “FOOD” – it was awesome. It was a pleasure to have a great cook as our host. She was awesome with whatever she made. Im a foodie, and an avid sea-food lover. I loved the types of fish and prawns I had there. All varieties (veg. as well as non veg.) and the malwani preparations of food and bakaris, wow…………… we used to have one meal and used to look forward for another one. You will be stuffed but you won’t want to stop and definitely would want more. It was after a long time I was hogging on food, it was so overwhelming. I have always loved travelling and exploring places, but I guess this has been an experience in itself.

After the trip I just realized that we should do this more often, as there cant be anything more de-toxifying, distressing and relaxing than this and the cozy home stay just made our stay superb hence making it one of the best memories I have ever had. I don’t want to stop writing about it but I guess it’s already a long blog.

Sometimes I wonder…..How life would have been, if things weren’t too complicated…. simple like the older times. When people were happy to be together, no one had to travel over the seas to get education or money. No one had a rat race to join and keep running throughout their life……..

"Tribute to my lovely Grandmother - Gia"

“When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure”
How true, we never realize it as it’s hard to believe. Living in a mortal world we all know we will die one day, but just can’t believe until we lose someone close.
This blog is dedicated to my dearest and dear most grandmother (‘Gia’ as we called her) left for her heavenly abode on the 27 Dec. 09. I pray her soul rests in peace.
Just came back from her mourning a week back, I miss her immensely, just can’t believe she is not there. I still feel when I go back home I will see her, things will be normal again. If you have lost someone so dear to your heart, it’s difficult to believe that you have actually lost them…….. It’s so difficult to let things go…. I am trying but I guess I just can’t.

We (me and my little brother) have been very close to our grandmother, may be more than our parents, and may be because we spent most of our time with her. Our childhood memories are full of her. My home feels so incomplete without her. It just doesn’t feel right, there is no one to say bye to and hug and comfort that I will be back soon. I miss her blessings as if she has been living to see you grow up and do well in everything. I don’t know where to start, what to write, there are just too many things about her. I feel her all around me, all I have to do is to close my eyes – she is just there…… smiling at me, laughing, walking….

We called her ‘Gia’, don’t know why we called her that as it was so uncommon but as we grew older it started making sense to us. ‘Gia’ means ‘heart’ (in hindi), may be meaning someone very close to heart. So true to her name, she was very well close to us all. She has been our best buddy as long as I can remember. We troubled her with our pranks but she always doted on us way more than her own children. We have been so lucky to have her as our grandmother; she was the best, more than best I guess a perfect grandmother. During schooldays, I remember she used to wait till we came back from school and then have lunch until we were done. My brother being a disaster, he never used to finish lunch until Gia fed him herself…. Man she used to literally run after him for lunch. Believe me you can’t imagine how beautiful it was – selfless emotion so unique and pure in itself.

It was a beautiful relation we had with her, she pampered us and we pampered her. We introduced her to the world of Maggie, coke, chocolates….. and she loved chocolates. She was always cheerful, full of life, full time chatter box, always curious, but was very particular of our studies…. She never disturbed us when we studied. She used to be always on our side and protected us from the angry young man (dad of course). Sleeping in her cozy bed was always a delight and her bed time stories were just awesome. She used to tell us her childhood stories, abt her parents, their home, her siblings, her married life, kids and then us. We might have heard them like a million time but we never got enough of them. All over the night she used to keep covering us so that we don’t feel cold, I always wondered did she ever sleep at night.

This June she fell sick and suddenly she got old. Age starts showing on her… it was just hard to believe she had grown old. She stopped talking much, moving much, eating much and her memory was limited, she could remember only something for only some time. Now that she is not with us, we miss her. I just wish I had some more time to love her and take care of her. I can’t seem to get enough of her, all I wanted is a little more time, wish I could see her once more for the last time…….

May your soul rest in peace - Love you and miss you so much ‘Gia’

Swining the Swine flu!!! --- Pune Masked

A panic struck Pune last month as you all are aware of “Swine Flu”, killing people of all age groups. There was hue and cry all over the country. To worse the condition, thanks to our media for making our lives not only comfortable but also deadly miserable. It’s good to have information about such things but not too much information that people go crazy and everyone suspects they might have had it. Media hyped the issue to such a huge extend that I was getting calls from all over the places about swine flu, but the actual facts were different than being reported by the media. I was flying to Delhi so I was hell careful at the airport but to my surprise there was no fuss at the airport. Everything was cool, no checking nothing at all. Even Delhi airport was so checking free and I was the only masked one.

Nothing comes in moderation these days….. be it terrorism, diseases, drought, flood…. Some are natural calamities and some are caused by natural beings but both affecting the system adversely. It was like someone had struck the panic button and it’s the end of the world. Everyone was getting swine flu examination done, hence catching the infection there and spreading it to their clan. Doctors, hospitals were helpless with the rising number of cases and the limited help they could provide. One thing led to another and now we know there are more than 40 deaths over a period of two months.

To cope up with the alarming condition, everything was shut down and people got home-arrested. No schools, some offices, malls, cinemas and all crowded places were closed. Chilling time for some and equally agonizing for some. Kids were happy with no school but hated the idea of staying indoors. Finally the rat race went into hibernation for some days. There was lesser traffic be it weekdays or weekends, it felt strange. But I guess at least people had some good quality family time. Some time to get it touch with our own roots. And realize still how helpless we are even if we are so well technologically and medically well equipped. The whole pune was masked……………

But one outstanding feature was the celebration of “Ganpati”, even in this time of distress. A salute to the spirit of festivity of beloved puneites, what a marvelous enthusiasm with which they celebrate this festival every year no matter what may come – floods, drought, or Swine flu……… nothing can stop them. They still managed to put up a great show hoping that the “Vighna Harta” would definitely help them in these troubled times.

“Ganpati Bapa Mauriya”

Convocation at IIT.........

Its one day in your life you will never forget, you feel all the efforts you made were worth this day. Especially if you are graduating from an esteemed institute like IIT, you are definitely the “king of the world”. Dressed in the colored gown that imparts your accomplishment, you don’t even need a wand like Harry Potter….. your gown has all the powers and they transfer to you as you wear it. Convocation is a big deal for all the IIT’s; it’s like you on your birthday. IIT is fully clad with beautiful surroundings, flowers and plants all around to make you feel how badly you miss staying on campus :).

The scene inside the convocation hall is splendid. People with colored gowns (different colors for different degrees) ---- PhD’d with their Maroon gowns with black hats, masters with orange colored gowns with pink hats and graduates with the orange colored gown with blue hats. It’s a spectacular sight. You can see and feel the pride in the air of IIT. Swollen with pride are the parents and faculty surrounded by the people in colored gowns. An overwhelming feeling surrounds you and you feel like forgiving everyone you cursed when you were working with them. All the dreadful memories just get wiped away in a second and you feel incredibly happy……. you experience as if you have conquered all 7 skies.

The chief guest was G.Madhavan Nair, Chairman ISRO. He spoke about lot of things, about his experiences with ISRO, responsibilities as a scientist etc. It was quite a motivating speech; he might be used to giving such speeches. Have you noticed how things come back to you, if you want to forget something? It felt weird as I resigned from ISRO, and my degree was awarded from the ISRO chairman himself. What an irony? I kept feeling guilty all throughout his speech, but I had my reasons. How do you expect an IITian not to work, as there is not much work they will give you when you join? We are trained to work all day and night; we are not familiar with the terms like “No Work”, “time constraints” or anything like that. All we know is “Work”, “deadlines” and “last day” etc. So if we are asked to leave the office by 5PM and there is nothing to do after you go home, it’s like going against our IIT ethics.

This is a day when you feel proud of yourself, your efforts and when you see your family cheering for you, believe me there is nothing more precious than that. Their smile tells you all their blessings and prayers for you have paid off. And your friends are as or more excited as you are, they have seen your efforts. It only motivates them to work faster and earn a degree soon. It’s a trick to motivate you also to go for higher studies.

Your dreams come true when you march up to the director and the senate members, with loud applause to receive your degree and feel awesome………………best feeling I ever had :)