Hang Our heads in shame!

Did u read this article on mass exodus of people back to their homes in Assam - for they fear that they will bear the brunt of the back-lash of communal riots.


Imagine they must be people like u n me who have made some other state their home in search of livelihood(More often than not - they will be the only breadwinners of their family with no other financial backup). And today, they will hv to abandon everything and flee to save the own skin from their own brethren.

Sadly, this happened on the day of our 65th Independence day... Someway to being in th eindependence day huh!!! Time we hang our heads in shame....

Dinner is a Delight.....

...... When you know each morsel of food u eat is not jus healthy but equally Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-D

That soup u see there is a hearty mutton soup - Some bread to dunk into it. You could of course eat that up with the Bulls-Eye-On-Capsicum or the scrambled eggs (made with the left-over yolk  - the egg white went into the soup).

Definitely Delightful rt :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday (D is for Delightful Dinner)

Daddy O' Daddy!

Thank you god for all you have done

For giving me a friend, the best under the sun

He guides me in whatever I do
Always with me filling my life with hue

He makes me laugh and makes me cry
With him around life is never dry

Sometimes he is someone who I really hate
Other times he is my very best mate

Life is crazy with him around
To him I am eternally bound

He can be the worst critic on his part
When he appreciates something, it comes from his heart

He is someone I will never understand-a complete enigma
His character and patience unchallengeable- hundred percent six sigma

He makes me happy and he makes me sad
But then I'll always be his lad

By best friend in the world
U guessed it, will always be my dad!!

This lines were penned by my husband a long time ago. But each word still resonates with truth today - a decade n more later. It must indeed speak of something abt a person who sticks to his ideals thru thick n thin of life! Selflessly helping others has been the motto he is lived thru his life - giving back to the society much more than what hes got, never being awed by problems, seeking new challenges daily - Qualities of a true leader or should I say of a true rotarian.    You see  ma FIL is now the president of one of the chapters of Rotary club in Chennai :-)

Sweet Somethings!

Lemme show a glimpse of the dessert I licked clean(literally :-D) over the weekend!

Doesn't it look yummmmmmmmm! This 'Tomato Halwa'(yea u read it rt) was dished out by hubbs grandmother - on our recent visit to Chennai. Just for records, she is hitting 85 soon.

What amazes me is the verve with which she
 follows cookery shows even at this age  and then v religiously dishes them up! Dint I tell yea tht cooking runs in their genes. But imagine doing that at 85.... Hats off to her!

Of course the 'Aaaw' factor for me is the fact that the only one at hubbs home with a sweet tooth is me n invariably a sweet-dish gets plated by the grand old lady only when yours truly is visiting :-D. The fact that we come back loaded from there with all kinda masala powders is jus the topping on the cake (I tell yea they hv a magic ingredient in them which ensures that any dish u add them into will turn lip-smaking good). Whats there to not to love in it :)



Linking this to ABC Wednesday(C is for cooking; C is for chennai) and Color Deckors Weekly Story!

PS: Jus realized tht my space now seems to be having posts of only food n books! Yea agreed that they are truly the two loves of my life... but huh aint there nothing else happening in my life! Not a good sign people....

Notes from a club.....

There was this "club"(Not to be confused with pubs, lounge bars etc. Am referring to "Club" in its truest meaning - A group of people meeting up wih a specific purpose that can vary from "entertainment" to "social (or anti-social) causes) that I recently had a chance to interact with at close-quarters. Here are few of my "Thinking Aloud" thots post that:

This "Club" is a place where you will see movers-n-shakers of the city rubbing shoulders - the typical member-profile would say Self-Employed Entrepreneur (more often than not!) rolling in money And yes, they do a lot of donations-contributions and try n give back something to the society.

Now if you ask me their main objective seems "Networking" and "Expanding their own business circles"! Of course there is nothing wrong with it esp with them never calling themselves a NGO! But my point is will these same gentle-men have been so "selfless" with their time-n-money if they dint have anything to take back?? Or possibly its a good business-model - You do ur bit towards society n at the same time reap more-than-ample opportunities (profits) outta it? A win-win situation? Thou they need a bit of moderation when they speak of "their selfless services".

But what completely beats my v limited understanding is when people whose family, is while not struggling to make ends meet are a far cry from being "Rich". Whats that which makes them "donate" money(Mind you its money only - not time - thats "donated" with its fair share of hue-n-cry) for "Social" causes - Is it jus the inherent goodness - I am not denying that there are people who belong to this almost-extinct sect. Or is it the "Pat on the Back", the popularity and power that you invariably get when you ready to spend money like water?

Book Review: Boy's Life by Robert Mccammon!

Any book that I hv read is either a pick from on of ma fav authors or hv been a reco by somebody from my circle or is a pick of hubbs. At the min, I read the preface of the book n then pick it up. No surprises here- I guess most of us do the same rt!


But recently I made a exception ~ a exception am glad I made. It so transpired that my kindle was full of the action jumbo-mumbo that hubbs swears by(read: David Baldacci, Jeffrey archer etc) that yours truly dint hv the heart to read. So on a whim, I pick a book from the archive randomly and start reading it....

Only to fall in love with it... A book that you relish a page at a time (unlike my usual style of race to finish!), A book where you let each page wash you over n refresh a few wisps of your childhood memories. A book about life, a book abt growing up ... so much ala one of my other favs 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'.

Only when I googled it later, did I learn that this was a bestseller of its time - Boy's Life by Robert Mccammon!

'Bombay Toast' And Other Tales....

The tasty,filling,delicious yet easy-as-a-jiffy sunday morning breakfast... Jus puurfect for a cosy, cuddly Sunday morning :-D


More Food Porn For u! Pic courtesy Hubbs....

 
If u want to know, this is french toast with a twist! French toast minus the sweetening agents n of course topped with cheese strips - supposedly called "Bombay Toast" in these parts!
 
Now onto some other interesting news, my mom is decided to become a egg-iterian n a Fish-iterian after a long gap of 13 years! For once am happy that she decided to heed the docs advise...  Our incessant breathing down the neck jus kicked out the last iota of doubt she had :-D. Indeed its time for a "Pat On The Back"!

Linking this to Color Deckors weekend wrapup and ABC Wednesday(B is for Bombat Toast :-P)

How do you Break Abstain-ism...

How abt some 'Chicken Soup For Soul'??

.. Follow it up with some 'Beef Cordon Bleu Steak'

... And then wrap it all up with some sinful Chocolate!

All pics clicked @ a old Bangalore Fav - Juke Box. Chose this place cause wanted to show ma mom what a "English pub" looks like without scaring the hell outta her n then trying to gett her to taste something other than her usual suspects. But damn! she chose to stick with her 'holier than thou' veggies!!!! Brrrrrrrrrrrr .. So much for all my plans!

PS: While the Abstain-ism did end, hubbs n family couldn't unfortunately make the sabrimala trip due to some unavoidable-unfortunate circumstances :-/ May be next time?


Linking this to ABC Wednesday(A is for Abstain)! and Color Deckors weekend wrapup :)

Mirror on the Wall!

The beauty parlour tht I frequent is this small dingy place down the road from ma place! Not for me those fancy places where if u choose to go with anything less than their "premium", they do such a half hearted rendering!(despite burning a hole in the pocket). The only exception thou is the hair saloon where we(me n hubbs) hv been loyal customers for more than 5 years(!!!) ~~ come to think of it thats the only retail brand to which we have shown any loyalty!

So onto ma hole-in-the-wall parlour -  I am generally so engrossed in my Kindle that I hardly bother about its ambiance(or rather lack of it!). But yest on a quick glance up the roof, I realized that this beautician (something tells me that she is a divorcee for whom this is the sole source of survival) had made a valiant attempt to cover up all the dirty wiring dangling from the roof-top(Which was a eye-sore on ma previous trips there) by a false roofing.

Nothing out of ordinary abt it u say - the 'out-of-ordinary' bit here is that the 'false roofing' she has used is these mirrors stacked along-side! How wonderful n apt for a beauty-parlour rt - for a moment u forget that u sitting in this dingy parlour. The fact that these morrors must be the low-quality cheap ones picked for a deal at some wholesale market doesnt take out the wow! factor from it(if not for nothing but for the thot thats gone into it!).

Its these small elements of beauty in such unexpected places that brightens up my day.

PS: There is ofcourse a element of exxageration involved in this post :-D.  N hey! with this I finish 400 posts in this space. So time for Cheers it is!

Pic courtesy Hubbs!

Note the usage of 'Milk' for bringing in the celebrations(yikes!) ~~ well with the 'Absistence' period still going strong, we obviously cannot hv Champagne flowing can we.. duh!

Zest!

Thats Ma Little Niece Up there!

Reaching upto the skies, riding way up the tress, letting the wind caress your face........Now if this aint zest for life than whats :)

Linking this to ABC Wednesday(Z is for Zest)

With This I end a successful season of ABC Wednesday! U can look them all up here........

You bet, I had soopa fun doing them! At a time when life was crazy this was my only anchor to blogging. The fun of trying to weave a story around a pic n the joy when u happy with the end result.... Priceless!!

Thank You ABC Wednesday!