Chef in action

That's my fav chef in his elements  ;).

The apron is courtesy my sis n the wok was on his wish-list for so long that yours truly finally gifted it to him on his bday. The glee on his face was akin to a child gifted with his favorite toy :-).  Now tell me how many men do you know who has kitchen appliances on his wish list!

PS: Errrrr for the uninitiated the chef pictured here is ma hubs ;-) N the next item on wish list is barbeque, blender, kitchen processor... yea the list jus goes on n on **Roll-My-eyes**
Now will somebody explain him the dynamics of a clutter free kitchen!

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(C is for Chef)

Of Dreams N Destiny.......

I have tried reading Paulo Coelhos "Alchemist" a good decade back n was left wondering what the hullabaloo was abt! Cause it was way too ahead for the late-teen brains of mine to assimilate! This meant that every time I saw this book being raved on, I would jus shake my head n rue abt my "stuck-at-teens" reading genre!

via Google

Fast fwd to 2 weeks ago ... I picked this book again on a whim. Am I glad I read it - the positivity n hope this book filled me with was amazing :). Maybe there's a time when each book finds u n for a reason!

The interesting theme that this book dwells on is - your destiny vs  what-u-end-up-doing gave me much to mull on! The crux of it is as simple as - My destiny may be to become a teacher(Maybe!) but I end up being a IT professional cause the latter is more practical, more lucrative! Errr the practical me can see still the logic behind becoming a techie(read easy-to-find jobs n a good pay package as against a teaching job). But the 'dreamer'   in me(which is usually fast asleep!)makes me wonder what unheeded pleasures did I miss out in the bargain.... Happiness associated with 'fulfillment' seems to top the list!

I can easily pin-point the destiny of the 'Dreamers' in my life - Hubbs(should be 'Cooking') n sabs(should be 'Teaching with some NGO work thrown in') but for life of me cant pin-point what my destiny should be! Did I forget how to listen to my heart :-/. Will time teach the 'practical-me' to take a break??

But my biggest take-away from this book is this often heard but long forgotten proverb - "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

@Hampi

We winded up last year with a quick getaway to Hampi. The place has a "earthy" charm to it..... leaves u in awe at how time bought down one of the richest kingdoms in India to its current ruins!

Hv a look at this pic... one of the many entrances to the queens summer palace! Imagine the city's grandeur when it was in its full glory! For once the rain gods were kind to us.... provided jus the cloudy shade we needed to cover the seemingly never-ending monuments!

The place we stayed at Hampi was on the other side of river tungabadhra -  which seems more like a foreigners colony - away from the hustle n bustle of main Hampi Town. The only flip-side being tht last ferry that will take u across is at 6 in eve!

But what I took away the most from the hols are the hordes of foreigners who are on 6-12 months of holiday with the only item in their agenda being - see the world(India in this case!). Pure Bliss rt! Couldnt help feeling J for those 20 somethings.....

Most importantly this was a trip that healed....... All the walking, the beauty of earthiness, getting away from routine, good food n jus meeting people!

A sat afternoon at home.......

I remember mentioning in a post, that it was only v recently that I knew my mother was a v avid reader. Yea the hours she consumed daily reading newspapers and Malayalam magazines should have given me a hint!  I guess moving to hyd a few decades ago where Malayalam novels arent easy to find made her quit the habit and never look back at it.

It so transpired, that the other day I was at a book store close to office accompanied by Sabs. This bookstore("DC Books" if u want to know) stocks a enviable collection of Malayalam books too. So on a whim, I decided to pick a new novels for mum. With sabs in tow, I was rest assured to make the correct choices! The books we ended up picking(v skeptically I should add - cause I hv no clue what genre my mom Will love) were these:

From L-R Book 1 is a take on Mahabharata from Karna's view(v similar to "palace of Illusions" am guessing), Book 2 - the acclaimed "My Story" by Kamala Das (simply cause her ancestral home was literally a stones throw away from my mothers place n so there was a general associated curiosity), Book3- translation of "Unaccustomed Earth"!

As expected, she pooh-poohed it declaring that she should be reading "Spiritual books" now n not some jumbo-mumbo fiction! But dint I know her betta...... The v next day as soon as all of us stepped out of the house she curled up with her copy of "My Story" and dint budge until she read the last page (:-P)!

Err the only side-effect of it was that we had to take along some take-away for her lunch as was too engrossed in the book to bother to cook(!!!)

Miss. Sensitivity.....

.. is what my sis is! Read on n tell me if u agree...


Her office has this AWESOME library which we rectenly discovered. So a list is handed over to her v religiously n am duly awarded with booty.

Now, it so transpired tht of the 4 books hv read this year(!!), my fav happens to be Ancient promises - A book I picked up as against from her lib ~~ N madam is upset abt it! Upset cause the book she picked from lib on my reco dint make it to my list of fav reads.....

Err somebody tell me how two sisters can turn out to be so different... **Hand on Forhead**

A piece of heart....

“If you gave someone(lover, friend, parent, child) your heart and they died, did they take it with them? Do you spend the rest of forever with a hole inside you that couldn't be filled?”
― Jodi Picoult

Nee its a hole tht will neva get filled... It jus becomes more gaping by the day!

Book Review: Ancient Promises by Jaishree Misra

Sometime back, I had done a post  on Jaishree Misras books n its only now tht I hv landed with a copy of the book "Ancient Promises". So without any further ado, here is my review of the book:


The book is a semi - autobiographical take on authors own life. A gal originally hailing from Kerala but calls Delhi her home having been bought up there thru her life. Studied in one of the best convent schools - she is a mix of modern day principles with a  middle class Kerala family values. A story of a many a children from the current gen(is definitely mine).

At a impressionable age of 16 she falls for a delhi boy and well as expected, the hell breaks lose at home. So before she knows it, shes married off to a snobbish rolling-in-money family in kerala. Knowing that her parents have her best interests in mind, she bows to it with hardly a token of protest.

From here the story takes a turn for the worst - a typical male-chauvnist husband who thinks wives are at best sex-toys, a MIL who cant think beyond money n to add to the melee is "Special child" born 2 years into the marriage. The story is how the protagonist then finds it in herself to fightback n take her life by its reins!

Maybe cause its v inspired by authors own life, the book has a definite heart warming touch to it! At even what should be the authors worst phase in life, the stoylines doesnt sound morbid. Describes daily Kerala life ~~ both its best n worst sides ~~ so honestly that I saw myself shaking my head in agreement!

A definite reco from my side ~~ maybe the best book from her stable yet!

The other two books of hers that I hv since read ~~ "Secrets and Sins", "Accidents called love and marriage" seem almost chik-lit in comparison ~~ esp the former.

Men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

U know ur previous post of growing up is all naught, when the v next moment u c ur hubbs gushing like a kid over........ **Yea thats the best part**..........  A shampoo! U can roll ur eyes now....

K to his credit, this was the first time he set his eyes on a beer shampoo in the shop next door(Well almost!) But yea a man in his 30s gushing over shampoo... now tht deserves a post doesnt it! Imagine thou ruffling up hair tht stinks of beer....*** sob sob sob ***


BTW I have to add tht I jus had to pick this up as soon as I saw it cause it screamed 'Hubbs'... he he he he! Its this LOL moments that let ur hubbs be rt when he goofs up rt :-)

Engaging Affairs....

... are no more engaging! So much so that it was almost when I entered office that I remembered its the D-Day! You can hop onto the link here to know what all the hulla-bulloo is abt or well I can jus tell u tht it was this day a good 6 years back tht we got engaged :-D

Sigh! Now I hv definitely grown up n hv more pressing things crowding my mind. How I miss those carefree days of yore(Ho! How stupid n immature we were then!)

In other news, I finished devouring the much awaited book on my reading list - "Ancient Promises" by Jaisree Misra. A semi-autobiographical take on authors own life, the book lived up to its promise. Her best till date I should add. Definitely a good read. May I should do at least this 2 line kinda book reviews in this space for sake of keeping the record!

Books, Books N More Books!

Less than 72 hrs in 2013 n look at my book haul for the year .... each of them a personal fav, been on my reading list for ages n the best part - getting my hands on this booty was a unexpected surprise :-D

The first n last in the stack is what I hv been itching to get my hands on the most! 

The last 4 in the stack is courtesy my darling sis from her office library. The next one is a gift from Sabs ~~ who is on a mission to get me acquainted with India writer(Am I loving it or what ~~ I guess the reading list can speak for itself). 

The first one "Ancient Promises" ~~ this books has been eluding me for soo long now. On 1st Jan after meeting a friend - happened to hop onto a second hand book store on a whim n guess what I returned back with :-D. Now this I say is the perfect start to 2013.

Thank You!

 My sure shot 7 point cheer up mantra - lessons from this episode of my life!

1. To have girlfriends who will spend almost all the time with yours truly - in person or virtually - jus so that you don sit brooding!
2. To have some mindless S**
3. To have a family who will rally around u
4. To go on a hol with the hubbs who's been the rock thru out!
5. To have a sis who will shower u with books new dresses a smart phone or well any damn thing on earth jus to cheer u up!
6. Lotta books n Internet! 
7. Believe

 Things am thankful for ~~  truly thankful  for! Its good to start a year with a reminder of these things rt :)