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Showing posts from February, 2012

Young and Old!!!

I cant believe this myself, but I must be honest to tell you all this wonderful realization that finally dawned on me this evening about talking, expressing, and speaking at large. Someone I have known since my childhood has been asking me to come over to her house. My mother and I went to meet her this evening. Old age had set in and she looked older than the last time I met her. After some initial enquiries about my side of the world, she went on to talk about many of her family issues most of which seemed very unlike of her nature... and very non-cohesive...and very shocking... Issues are there everywhere, but all those issues that people try keeping to themselves until old age comes out when people feel lonely at old age. Old people need someone to talk to and something to keep themselves occupied. This is the truth that I learnt. Else, talking causes a lot of problems for them, around them. It is easy to get branded as 'Oldies' and stranded in isolated world where

Vengaya Vathal Kuzhambu

This has been a long pending recipe post on my blog. Many of my friends who have tasted this super good South Indian dish, have been asking me for my version of it. This post is part of Simple and Quick Cooking. So here it goes. It takes about twenty minutes including the cutting of onion which is the main ingredient of the dish. Here's what you need: Onions - 2 medium sized, finely chopped. Should take you five minutes, Curry leaves - If you happen to have them in your fridge or backyard or the shopping bag. Not a mandatory item. Tamarind paste - Soak tamarind - about the volume of a medium sized lemon - in say 250 ml of water for a while. Squeeze the tamarind in water as much as you can and you'll finally get a watery or slightly thick tamarind paste. Takes two minutes to three minutes. Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoonful.Said to be good for health.. If you don't like mustard much, you can minimize the quantity. Fenugreek seeds - half a tea spoonful at least. Gram

Minnalai Naan

மத்தாப்பு சிரிப்பு; சிணுங்கும் சைக்கிள் மணி ஓசை; திரும்பி பார்த்தேன் ஒரு முறை; மின்னல் வேகத்தில் என்னை தாண்டியது... பளிச்சென்ற பல் வரிசை; துரு துரு கண்கள்; ரெட்டை பின்னலின் ரிப்பன்; மடித்து இட்ட துப்பட்டா; மீண்டும் திரும்பி பார்த்தேன்; இம்முறை எனது ரெட்டை பின்னல் காலங்களை.... அழகிய மின்னலாய்  என் மனதில்; அன்றைய நான் தோன்றி மறைந்தேன்!

Ageing: Quiet moments teach many things....

This is something I never would have said or believed early last year... I do agree that silence teaches things, but also like to say that silence is never completely possible in this seemingly complicated and problematic world... This evening when I was on my regular walk on the pavement of my house, the house where I have spent all my childhood and girlhood days, I simply looked up for no reason when I thought about the ageing factor in me and my parents and the familiar neighbours whose young faces ( phases) I once knew.. True, the old phase, sadly, I never knew or realized until today's introspective evening. The house had been repainted last year and the blue exterior didnt fade in all the rain and storm that my town went through over the last whole year. But then, there were many memories that helped me spot alll that was missing in the once beautiful backyard. Could be due to the Tsunami, the Thane, or the many cyclones and monsoons over the years, when we lost most of

This is the best time!!!!

I have heard this many times in my life so far, at various stages... yesterday when I was talking to a friend, she told me at the end of the conversation, " This is the best time of your life.. Enjoy every moment!!!". This statement made me recollect a few of the many times I have heard the same thing at various stages of my life... When I was in school, someone studying in college had once made this remark.. When I was super bored with the four month gap between my school final exams and college first day, someone in college told me that this gap would be the best time of my life!! When I was in first year of college, a senior made the remark.. When I finished college and stayed home for a few months waiting for the results and a probable job, then some working professional gave the same comment.. When I just joined work and didnt have much to do except observe what is happening on my senior's computer, he told me " This is the best time you can get at work

Morals at Stake!!

After a very long long long time I flipped channels to stay glued to an English Movie. I want to name it, but deciding against it, as it wont make a difference to the subject I have in mind. I have always stayed away from English movies, mostly because they are loud to me sometimes, the language seems really foreign to me and also because I never grew up watching movies and never had many chances to watch English.. There has been no other real reason. The few select movies that I watched, have always made me wonder, how in the wide world can people think of such simple story outline and make a lovely movie... I am not a movie fanatic but I like to watch good movies.. Now, what is a good movie in my terms ?? Anything that really grips my attention to the screen for longer than thirty minutes. So, it was this afternoon, when I turned on the TV. All the channels, almost all the channels had a movie going on. I kept changing channels and finally glued on to an English movie, because

Splash on cards

Life revolves around cards - Credit, Debit, Astro, or Tarot. Credit cards give you the satisfaction of paying the fees for something a little late.. but the truth is you have to pay anyway. Debit cards give you the benefit of not having to carry cash, but makes you spend more than you would have wished to, most times. Debit cards make you forget the worth of cash. Credit cards remind you of the same when you write your check for payment. When all else fails people tend to believe in Astro or Tarot cards. It is best to believe them for what they are worth, than arguing why they can't be true. Credit Cards refute the statement: Never postpone what you can do today. When we use credit cards, indirectly we believe in getting something for free at any given moment. When we use debit cards, unconsciously we forget that money exists in this world. Cards seem to make life easy... but remember, they dont seem to make financial management easy. Inspired by the two HDFC cards lying

My thoughts on emails....

I have never believed that I can get lucky to enjoy a benefit without working for it. And still don't believe. May be would never believe. I opened my mail box one day to check this compelling message which said, Congratulations, You have won!!! Knowing today's Internet trends of virus and hacking hobbies floating around the network, the once techie me, decided not to open the email. The same email reached the mail box of my husband and he is fortunately a believer like me that 'Nothing comes for free'... I warned him not to open the mail, only because, where we live it is difficult to vaccinate the computer or format it over again.... We do have an anti virus software in place, still I didn't want to take a chance. When I reached India, I saw the same email again in my mail box.I checked the Anti virus updates and decided to go ahead with the email. The mail promised to send the lottery prize of xyz million dollars to my account if I sent across Rs.12000 t

Vengaya Thogaiyal

Simple and Quick Vengaya Thogaiyal is a South Indian side dish that goes well with Rotis, Plain steamed rice, or Curd rice. What you need: Mixer / Mixie Ten minutes kitchen time Ingredients: Onions - 2, cut into pieces. You don't have to bother cutting them into small pieces. Ural Dal - 1 spoonful Mustard seeds - half tea spoon Red Chilly - 2 Salt - to taste Tamarind - to taste Oil - 2 tea spoonful How to make Vengaya Thogaiyal: Heat oil in a pan in medium flame. Add Mustard seeds.  After a few seconds add the Urad Dal as well. As the mustard seeds splitter, add the red chillies. Gently fry the Urad Dal until it turns golden brown. Add the onion pieces into the pan and fry gently until the color changes to pink or brownish pink. Beware of the charring of the Urad Dal or onion. If need be, switch off the flame and continue frying, so you save the Urad Dal from turning black. Transfer the contents of the pan onto a plate and wait for ten minutes. The conten