Diary of Hobbitt

"Mission Aappam"

2010-03-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Today morning I made aappam and vella thengaipaal (coconutmilk with jaggery in it) to go with it.Aappam is a delicacy which is made in most south Indian homes. It is a variation of dosa,-soft & fluffy in the centre and thin & crisp at the edges. It is also prepared in a slightly different way. Traditionally aappam is served with sweet coconut milk. Once upon a time, especially in Chennai and Madurai ,there used to be streetside aappam sellers doing brisk business in the morning. Today , however this street side favourite is served in most restaurants in Tamil Nadu.

While aappam by itself is quite harmless, the same cannot be said about coconut & the milk that is obtained from it- a 'must-avoid'for those whose cholesterol levels ( needless to say ,the bad one of course!) maintain an all time high ! Making aappam at home is a rare event what with my better half taking every care to keep his cholesterol level in check ! However aappam being a favourite , once in a while he likes to take a break from 'keep in check cholesterol level' measures and relish aappam !

Armed with my mom's recipe (handed down to me some 30 years back and which I look up everytime I make aappam- I must confess , I simply do not remember any recipe which I make once in a blue moon !), I embarked on "Mission Aappam " with great fervour ! Took equal proportions (1/2 cups) of raw rice ,idli rice (also called ukkada chawal ), urad dal and a tsp of fenugreek seeds (methi dana)and soaked all of them together for 4 hrs (even 2 hrs will do- I went out -hence , longer the number of hrs soaked !). removed, washed and ground batter to a fine & slightly watery consistency, and finally left it overnight to ferment. Next morning 20 min before making aappam, I added a pinch of cooking soda to the batter and stirred it thoroughly.(In the olden days, the streetside aappam sellers used to add toddy to the batter .) This is done to ensure fluffiness & softness .

Next morning I started the IInd phase of "Mission Aappam"- i.e. making thengai paal or coconut milk . Broke one coconut and grated it. Adding just enough water to it I ground it in the mixi . Removed the coconut and pressed it thru a sieve to extract the milk. Put back the coconut in the mixi and repeated the procedure. Voila ! the coconut milk was ready.I still remember my childhood summer vacations spent at my grandparents ancestral house in south. The cook would grind coconut in the aattukal (grinding stone )to extract milk . Counting uncles, aunts, granparents , & cousins , there must have been at least 25 in all at any given time during summer vacations !, According to traditional recipe sugar is added to the coconut milk. However, I have devised my own recipe of adding jaggery to the milk instead of sugar. For this I boil 1/4 a glass of water and when it starts to boil I add jaggery (about 1/2 cup or more , as preferred ) and let it dissolve . I then pour this into coconut milk. (Coconut milk should not be boiled or it might get spoilt.) I then crush 4-5 cardomoms and add to the mixture. Now the thengaipaal is ready. (a word of caution- do not drink too much of it by itself -it tends to have an intoxicating effect ! A friend of mine commited that mistake and spent the day in a state of stupor ! )

Ideally to make appam one needs aappam pan(a special kind of kadhai with handles on either side& a lid) Nowdays one can get teflon coated aappam pan in the market. If not, one can make do with any kadhai. Placing the my non- stick aappam pan on flame and greasing it slightly, I poured the batter in the centre and immediately holding the handles I swiveled the pan to allow the batter to spread evenly around. Covered the pan with the lid, kept it on low flame. Within a minute the aappam was ready- soft & fluffy in the centre and crisp around the edge. I gently removed it from the pan with a wooden spatula.

Taking a porcelain bowl, I placed the aappam and poured the coconut milk over it and served it to my better half & my offspring. "That tasted good. The aappam simply melted in the mouth and the coconut milk tasted yummy, amma" remarked my jigar ki tukdi ,an ardent fan of my cooking. As for my better half ( he belongs to the silent type and only voices comments if the food is !not up to the mark !) I knew he enjoyed it too ,for he had more than his usual quota ! That made my day!

As for me, I too relished aappam & thengaipaal ,trying not to think about my ever present companion- Diabetes !

Blogcamp Mumbai-Mukesh Patel School of Tech.Mgmt & Eng

2010-02-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Today I attended my first blog camp and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a refreshing experience to meet & talk to young people .I shared my blogging experiences and was pleasantly surprised when several people in the audience actually asked me questions.I do feel good !

It was interesting to hear others like Kalyan, Sunoj,Sanjukta, Pragni and others share their views and experiences. All in all an enriching experience !

Hats off to those who worked hard to make this event happen. Thanks guys !

One Marriage - Two ceremonies !

2010-02-18T02:12:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I last wrote a post-almost a year long sabbatical !

Recently a very close family friend's daughter ( Hindu ) got married to a Goan Christian and we attented the wedding at Hyderabad (our friends being from Andhra ). The rituals were held according to Andhra tradition and the groom (and his family ) went along with it with total involvement. The poor couple were subjected to long drawn rituals (like all Hindu weddings ! ). The charming groom kept a pleasant and smiling face all through the ceremony - in fact it was the beautiful bride who got irritated with certain rituals. One of the rituals required the couple to look at each other- the priest ,unable to suddenly switch from Telgu to English blurted out "pass glance " ! That certainly amused the guests and totally embarrassed the couple ! After the ceremony was over the couple accompanied by the priest (and of course a whole lot of relatives and friends ! ) went out into the open. The ritual required the couple to look at "Arundhati' star, pointed to them by the priest, and vow to be faithful to one another. By now , the couple were totally exhausted & fed up of the rituals-" Even if you don't see anything , tell him you can see it.I am going to say the same " whispered the bridel to groom.

A few monthe later the couple had a church wedding with the bride looking radiant in a flowing white silk and pearls wedding gown, complete with a tiara perched on her head. A simple ceremony in the church followed by a well attended reception followed by food & dancing ( as per the Goan Catholic custom) .

Sausages- Mystery unravelled

2008-05-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

Sausages have always been a mystery to me - I have never ceased to wonder how a pig can becomea perfectly shaped tube . I used to think that sausages were part of a pig like pork (guess it has to do much with my being a veggi and hence the ignorance !). This mystery was finally solved when (as usual )I sat down to watch BBC Food channel.

The programme on at that time ,once again (see reference to Crocodile steaks ) was Off the Menu . The chef mixed together minced pork, cream , beaten eggs , salt, pepper and chopped parsely -the result being a thick stuffing. What came next was the key to the mystery !. He took out what looked like a thin string from a bowl of water and voila ! The string turned out to be a micro shaped tube which he opened out by attaching it to the pipe and filling it with water. He then emptied the water so that the tube was fully blown out. He then attached it to the snout of a a machine . His assistant then fed the pork stuffing into the machine so that the it came out of the snout and went straight into the tube. After filling the tube (now it definitely resembled a sausage ) , he twisted it at different points and sliced the big tube into small sausages . The sausages were then shallow fried and served with mashed potatoes and caramelized sauce !

Amazing , what all goes into making sausages- and I thought it came straight from the origin of ham and pork ! Moral of the story - always be well informed or face ridicule !

March Of Time- Radio & Television

2008-04-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Time was when as kids we would listen to jingles on the radio and sing along whenever we heard them - I still remember the famous Glycodin syrup ad , which went something like this - " mummy had a coughing fit, dear dear me ,All day all night ,dear dear me, Glycodin will make it go ,just you wait & see, la, la , la la, la la" (oops forgotten this line) "glycodin for me ! ". The there was the famous Lifebuoy ad - Tanduristhi ke raksha karta hai Lifebuoy... " which one still remembers when one sees Lifebuoy soap ! All these ads belonged to an era much before the advent of the television.

A major development in the area of entertainment was brought about with advent of the idiot-box - today's kids would be hard put to believe that there was a time when television did'nt exist in Indian homes! TV medium being part of All India Radio , programmes were decided by it and even telecast would begin only in the evening and wind up in the night -24 x 7 just did not exist ! I still remember eagerly looking forward to Chitrahaar every Wednesday evening and a movie every Sunday evening. Television sets being expensive ( by those days' standards ) , owning a TV set was a big thing ! Parents also did'nt suffer from anxiety about children neglecting their studies to watch TV, simply because the number of programmes were not many (most of them were in fact quite boring e.g krishi darshan ) and neither was the duration of telecast very long . It was no different when Indian television went for a makeover ,changing from black and white to colour- By now Doordarshan ( as it came to be called ) increased the duration by having some programmes in the morning as well on Sundays and a few hours in the afternoon on weekdays. The nation got hooked on to watching "Hum Log" (India's first ever daily serial ) , followed by Ramayan and Mahabharata- simutaneously Doordarshan encompassed the entire nation and not only the big metros. By now companies vied with each other to sponsor programmes and thus came into existence, ads on tv too ! Some of them like "Washing powder Nirma, doodhi se safedi " , Lalithaji 's Bhai Saab "( Surf ), "such much kaafi bada hai " (Okay Bathing soap), "Utterly Butterly delicious"(Amul Butter), "Char Boondon wala " (Ujala whitener) cannot be forgotten .

With the advent of satellite TV, visual technology progressed by leaps and bounds and today 24x7, multichannel technology has brought about a whole change in the concept of TV viewing . On the negative side it has spawned a whole lot of undesirable traits- eye disorders, corruption of young minds , division among family members ( each one wanting a different channel) which in turn has led to multiple sets in one house with each member viewing his/her favourite channel within the confines of one's own room !!

With technology progressing over the years , ads on TV have also become more and more sophisticated. With fierce competition among companies advertising their products, companies are out to make more and more innovative ads and with a view to woo and impress their target audience are leaving no stones unturned in their efforts - there are funny ads (e.g gillette shave gel, Motorola's new model cellphone , ), cute ads ( hututu-brand Horlicks or some such other drink meant for hyperactive kids with harassed moms), musical ads ( with Airtel scoring high above the others in its signature tune ), stupid ads which fail to have any connection with the product being advertised ("Don't be a balti "-still have to figure out what the ad is trying tp convey ! ). Business ethics seem to have gone down the drain as some companies try to run down rival company's product by making a spoof of the latter's advertisement - recent case being the cola wars. Looks like companies either have nothing new to say about their product or lack the imagination to promote their own product !

There are somethings in life , which even with progression will never die- this applies to the humble radio also. TV tech . may have progressed rapidly ,but the common man will still never cease to listen to radio - with more and more FM channels increasing day by day , the common man is equally hard put to choose which music channel to listen to. For him it is equally difficult to choose a FM channel to listen to as it is to select a channel to watch on TV !

In the meanwhile the advent of commercials on TV & radio has spawned an entire generation of jingle singers - the tiny tots pick up jingles and along with it become experts at knowing which chocolate, or which drink , will fetch a complimentary gift if bought - the outcome of this is that most parents are harrassed into buying a particular product just so that a pencil , or a game or a comic follows as a complimentary gifts. During my childhood the only such complimentary gift that existed was a charm bracelet that came along with Binaca toothpaste- as for parents being compelled to buy , mum was the word ! We never even dared to voice our choices ! Parents made their own decisions , and we children simply went along with them , for we were the generation that were drilled into following the rule -"children should be seen, not heard " !

As with all other things the march of time has also brought in its wake an evolution in behavioural pattern of children - "children should be seen, not heard " generation has given way to a " children should be heard and seen " generation, so much so that parents often rush for medical help if their child does'nt exhibit these traits .

Its amazing how much influence ever changing technology has on the pattern of human behaviour

Tears For the Crocodile

2008-04-28T01:57:00.000-07:00

" Watch & Learn" programmes have become rather popular with viewers today , what with even food habits having gone global ! This has created a rush among all the channels to include a cookery show as part of their programmes. BBC has even come out a channel solely devoted to the art of cooking , known as BBC Food .

While most Indian channels show a variety of veg as well as non-veg dishes prepared by master chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal , Mallika Badrinath , to name a few , BBC Food channel has shows devoted to mostly non veg cuisine with a sprinkling of veg cuisine-( not that anything is wrong with that of course ). Being interested in anything that concerns food ( even though personally I am a die-hard vegetarian ! ) , when time permits (yes, surprising as it may seem to some folks, even we housewives are hard pressed for time ! ) I watch programmes based on cuisine delights- veg or non-veg - Indian cookery shows , to learn new veg recipes & BBC Food channel out of sheer curiosity (its unbelievable -what all creations are dished out in the name of food ! ) . My offspring thinks I am weird ! She is simply at a loss to understand how a pucca shakahari ( veggie- to those unfamiliar with this term ! ) like me can sit in front of the TV and watch with rapt attention and fascination all those unfamiliar non-veg dishes being prepared , without feeling queasy most of the time !

To make a long story short , one summer evening , I switched on BBC Food channel to see the host of the show introducing a master chef of a famous restaurant in Johannesburg. Curiosity kindled to the peak I waited to see what was in store for the next half hour . I was not disappointed in the least- the recipe of the day was Crocodile steaks ! Visions of the carcass of the poor creature being displayed to viewers drifted in my imagination as I waited with baited breath ! Of course no such thing happened - instead the chef took out a rectangular piece of flesh ( "fresh and succulent " were the terms he used to describe it - sounded quite ghastly to me . ). He laid it flat on a chopping board and proceeded to literally "hammer " it (with a metal kitchen hammer ) - " to make it flat and even " as he put it. Next he spread honey and butter on the meat and over this arranged chopped pineapple pieces , red chillies, salt , & pepper ! With all the ingredients in place he made a roll and straight it went into the grill . After a while , Voila, the steaks were ready -,brown & crisp and ready to be served ! He then arranged the steak on a plate keeping a boiled egg on top , batter-dipped -fried prawns on one side , parsely , spring onions,& baby-carrots on the other side, "to add a dash of colour " as he put it . Inviting the host to taste it he offered the steak - " mmmm....... this does taste delicious " commented the host taking a bite - no doubt he must be saying that for every dish that he tastes on this show !

As for me - my stomach lurched over and I shed tears for the crocodile - heartfelt tears and not CROCODILE TEARS !

2008-04-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

The Big Three - Kollywood (Tamil film Industry) Movies

Way back in the 60s Tamil films were dominated by the big three namely Sivaji Ganesan, MGRamachandran (or MGR as he was called ) and Gemini Ganesan (known in the north more as Film actress Rekha’s father ). Each had his own style and also his own fan following. Film related activities being predominant in Kodambakkam ( a Chennai Suburb ), Tamil Film industry came to be referred as Kollywood .

Even today Tamil Nadu is associated with film crazy crowds who make giant cutouts of their favourite filmstars and sometimes even build temples dedicated to these actors ! As a young girl, during the family’s annual trip to meet all the relatives down south (all the way from Delhi ), I used to be fascinated by these giant cutouts so prominently displayed on Beach Road - the Big three smiling down at the population crowding Marina beach.

Coming to the Big Three, all three were referred to not by their names but by their titles. Thus Sivaji Ganesan was known as Nadigar Tilagam (or an actor par excellence), MGR as Puratchi Thalaivar ( revolutionary leader- since he was also into politics and since his films always had some social message ) and Gemini Ganesan as Kadal Mannan (King of romance)

Sivaji Ganesan was no doubt an actor past excellence, but sometimes had the tendency to overact emotional scenes. It was every film actress’s dream to act opposite him. His fan following came mostly from the more affluent class . His acting was such that he would mould himself into the character with such conviction that the role would come alive . In an age when no hero would consent to acting in a negative role for fear of losing fan following, Sivaji acted in the role of a spy who betrays his own country in one movie, and a husband who murders his wife in the movie Pudiya Paravai. His acting skills were honed and polished with several of his outstanding performances in movies like Navaratri ( where he acted in nine roles) which was remade in Hindi as Naye Din Nayee Raat (an equally outstanding performance by the late Sanjeev Kumar in the same nine roles), Gauravam, Thanga Padakkam, Tillana Mohanambal , Pudiya Paravai , Bhagapirivinnai,etc. Even today the current generation of heroes in Kollywood try to imitate his style of acting . One of his very last movies was Devar Magan in which he acted in the role of the rigid patriarch of the devar community, who has differences with his son who wants to settle down abroad ( the role of the son played by the very versatile and talented Kamalahasan ). This movie was also remade in Hindi as Virasat.

The other one of the Big three was MGR. Now MGR had a very huge fan following. His movies appealed more to the masses rather than to the elite. His movies were always packed with action, romance ,beautiful outdoor locations and melodious songs (most of them turning out to be hits ) and would always end with the triumph of good over evil. Another important factor was the social message that would be conveyed - in this regard everything ideal would be there - in some movie he would be the modern day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, he would always be the ideal son always loving,& respecting his parents, the ideal brother, the ideal union leader fighting for his fellow workers - in fact the ideal human being with no vice ! The love for his mother , and the country would be one of the highlights of his movies. He would have several girls swooning over him, but being the ideal man he would love only the heroine and treat all other women as his sisters ! However, his brotherly feelings towards other the other girl would be revealed only after a dream sequence(apparently in the girl’s dream ! ) in which he would shown romancing her ! In the scene when the girl conveys this to him , he will turn around say ” Nee ennudaya thangai pol ” ( You are like my sister )! Immediately the “sister” will break into sobs and cry “ Anna ” ( elder brother )! As such MGR had no great acting skill - it was his portrayal as the ideal hero and his cultivated interaction with the masses (he had affiliation with the DMK the regional political party) that kept his position. It is said that on the day of his film release women from slums would pawn their mangalsutra to buy ticket for Vadiyaar’s (teacher) movie-first day first show. Some of his hit movies were Adimai Penn (costarring former chief minister Jayalalitha), Ulagam sutrum Valiban, Rickshawkaran (which was remade in Hindi as Rickshawwala).

Both Sivaji and MGR were cast together for the first time in the movie, Koondu Killi (caged parrot ) with the hope that the movie would be a big hit - hit it was alright, but a hit to the financial status of the guys who put money into making it ! The makers almost went bankrupt. It so happened that it was the story of two brothers, in which the younger one is irresponsible for which he is reprimanded and beaten by the elder brother- the elder brother’s role being enacted by Sivaji Ganesan, had him berating and beating the younger one (enacted by MGR ). This scene created a furore in the theater with fans of both film actors going in for a free-for- all with each other and breaking the furniture that the theater had to be closed down and the film withdrawn from screening all over the state !

The third of the Big Three was Gemini Ganesan also referred to as Kadal Mannan. His movies were the romantic type. They were less action oriented and more mushy type. Love songs were a prominent feature of his movies. As romantic as he was in the movies he was equally so in real life - there were plenty of affairs and plenty of wives too ! It is said Rekha for a long time held a grudge against him for not having married her mother. It as also rumored that Rekha’s stand that she would never marry a married man stemmed from her own insecure childhood. He normally acted in the role of sensitive and gentle lover, wooing his heroine with songs. Some of his major hit movies were Kalyana Parisu (in which he is forced to marry the sister of the woman he loves (Saroja Devi) )! Konjum Salangai, (in which he acted with the beautiful Savitri whom he went on to marry ), Thenn Nilavu ( co- starring Vyjayanthimala).

The Big Three ruled Kollywood for more than two decades before yielding place to a new generation of actors, to new wave cinema and to a new breed of directors who created movies very different from those of 50s and 60s thereby bringing to end an era of stereotyped hero oriented movies. They however continue to be remembered for their acting even though they are gone, leaving only memories.

Bollywood Movies- Ever so predictable

2008-03-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Like all fellow Indians (well , the majority of them anyway! ) I am also a fan of Bollywood movies. If one has been a regular watcher of Hindi movies (my reference here is to commercial or mainstram cinema ) over the years, one would be familiar by now, with certain situations and certain traits in characters, which are constantly repeated in most of these movies.

The Chase- Talking of movies of 60s and 70s , one very common scene would be the car chase and the arrival of police at the end of the movie when the hero would have (what the police should have done ! ) chased and caught the culprits ! The car chase would invariably have all the important characters bundled into several vehicles (cars, trucks,motorcycles, jeeps, & sometimes even a tonga ! )and following the hero’s car who in turn would be chasing the villians ! The background music would be one of 100s of violins screeching ! ( not playing !) to give the desired climax effect ! The cops would arrive on the scene just in time to wrap up the movie , with the inspector ordering “ inke haath me hathkadi pehna do “- needless to say ,the actor in the role of the officer would have only this dialogue ,which, he would deliver to the best of his ability (in the hope that some director would notice him and offer him the hero’s role in his next movie !).

The Heroine’s costume Yet another oft repeated scene would be the transformation of the very westernized heroine ( if a wealthy one ) into a complete desi nari for a sad scene ( due to circumstances playing the villian and ruining her chances of getting married to the hero !). Draped in a plain chiffon saree she would break into a heart wrenching solo, bringing tears to the eyes of all the female population watching the movie ( most women would mentally make a note at the same time to add a similar saree to their own collection ! ). Being in one such situation myself (during my teens ),there I was crying (and enjoying every moment of it !) watching the scene when I was rudely jolted back to reality by a violent poke in my ribs -the poker being my brother ! ” Stop crying like an idiot -remember this is only a movie and she is being paid to do that and anyway those tears are glycerine induced and not real ” he hissed ! At that instant I decided all big brothers were bullies !

Cho Chweet Kids - The role of children in these movies was clearly defined too. They would be angelic looking and” “cho chweet ” and Precocious !. Death of someone would be explained to them as ‘ woh bhagwan ke paas gaye hain ” so as not expose them to harsh reality of life because of their age. However when a scene demanded it the director would have them making wisecracks way beyond their age ! Exceptions to these stereotypes were movies like Masoom, Parichay, Amar Prem and several others which portrayed children as children and provided a refreshing change .

Ramu Kaka - Bollywood could never do without this character ! Most movies would have this faithful and devoted servant whose family would have served the wealthy hero’s family for generations ! Think all studios must have had a costume for this character in their collection permanently . Ramu Kaka would always be dressed in a dhoti and a Ganji (banian-like top ) with a red checked towel strewn over his shoulder ( always removed hastily in deference, in the presence of the master of the house) . One very ghisa pita dialogue of Ramu Kaka used to be “ beta (ie. hero) maine tumhe apne gandhon me sulaya aur paal pos kar bada kiya “

Bollywood movies have evolved even though some of the above mentioned factors do appear in some movies. Todays car chase has all the latest high speed cars chasing one another. Todays heroine rarely ever wears a saree and neither does she break into soulful singing - the songs in such situations are passionate rather than just musical and soulful. Ramu kaka no longer exists- in his place there is the faithful attendant who is dressed smartly in uniform (Asrani- Parichay , Amitabh Bachan-Namak Halal, )The kids shown in movies toda y are smart, trendy and as mischievous as any kid. (Kuch kuch Hota Hai, Taare Zameen Par, Kabhi khush Kabhi Gum, Cheeni kum ).

However we Indians (and I am no exception to that !) as a rule are quite an emotional and romantic lot & as much as we sit on our high horse and mock at Bollywood movies , we still enjoy watching them- see for yourself the crowd outside any movie theatre on any day, you’ll agree that I am right !

PS- A couple of Americans on official visit to my husband’s company expressed they desire to see a typical bollywood movie before they left !

Bollywood evolution - Plaits to buffonts to Silky Tresses

2008-03-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

Bollywood Evolution-Plaits to Buffont to Silky Tresses

The advantage of having a set top box is the choice available to the viewer of not only multiple movie channels, but also , thanks to Zee network, various categories of movie channels e.g. Zee Premier , Zee cinema ,Zee Classics. Indeed the viewer is really and truly spoilt for choice !

Watching Zee Network’s different movie channels last week I was fascinated with the evolution of the heroine’s crowning glory over the years in Bollywood movies ( a trait which I share with members of my sex , and one that is totally alien to men !).

Indeed we have come a long way since the time when one important physical asset of the Indian woman was her long and lustrous thick black hair- the heroine(of movies of 40s & 50s ) would be portrayed as the true Bharatiya Nari , sporting a long and thick plait (which would have put fairy tale character Rapunzel of long locks fame to shame ! ). Interestingly , a woman sporting a short crop of hair or khulley bal would usually be either the vamp or a ‘club dancer ‘ or a wayward woman ! In the movie Chandan ka Palna , Meena Kumari pretends to transform from a meek and dutiful housewife (the full package- long plaited hair, saree, sindoor and bangles !) to (according to the film maker ) a brazen woman smoking, drinking and sporting a short crop of hair ( symbolic shot meant to convey throwing away all moral values like cutting off long tresses ! ). Today’s feminists would be up in arms if such a scene were to be shown in any movie !

Then came the swinging 60s & 70s heroine with her swinging hips ,swinging dangling earrings and the “buffont ‘ hairstyle (think it must have been the French who invented this hairstyle - hair piled up on top and made to resemble a birds nest (probably stuffed with some sort of hair bun to give that effect !) and knotted into a juda at the nape of the neck ! Of course the style would be modified according to the type of character - a village belle would have a short plait cascading behind & ending with a parandi ,(e.g. Asha Parekh in Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Vyjaythimala in Madhumathi ), an urban simple girl would have the same buffont in the front with a long plait ( e.g. Sharmila Tagore in Safar & Aradhana ) & a modern lass would sport the sophisticated ‘buffont’ which would end in a French bun at the nape of her neck.( e.g Rakhee in Sharmelee, Waheeda Rehmaan in Jewel Thief , Hema Malini in Dost ).

Another fashion of the late 60s was the “Sadhana Cut” made famous by yesteryear’s beautiful actress Sadhana. The Sadhana Haircut was either a plait or a short haircut with a fringe above the forhead. It was alsi referred to as ‘bangs ” -probably so called because the fringe literally bangs the forhead ! Needless to say, Sadhana sported this style in most of her movies.

The ” Buffont” with its various modifications finally died a mutilated death ( thanks to experiment at the hands of Bollywood’s hair stylists ) with ushering in of the enterprising 80s movies ( its another well acknowledged fact that the ‘enterprising 80’s ‘hair stylists churned out some of the most horrendous hair styles in the name of fashion !). The heroines no longer sported very long hair , neither did they sport a ‘buffont’ anymore. Instead the Bollywood heroine of this period started sporting short cropped hair or long tresses.

The 90s and the following years finally brought in style and statement to Bollywood’s hair style. Bollywood actresses of this period have their own qualified hairdressers who are well versed in the art of hairstyling as well as in the art of hair style. The bollywood heroine of today is a far cry from her counterpart of the bygone era movies. The image of the Bharatiya Nari as portrayed in the movies of bygone era has also undergone a change as todays modern woman as portrayed in Bollywood movies is a woman of substance who balances a career and home, a woman who drives fast cars,who does’nt make a big deal out of enjoying a drink or too , a woman who enjoys spending an evening with her friends in a disco, pub or restaurant and yes - A woman who sports a short haircut too !

Vintage Movies- Norms of The Day

2008-03-11T00:58:00.000-07:00

My excitement knew no bounds when ,at the annual general body meeting of our society it was decided to install set top boxes in all the flats .Visions of viewing multiple channels in multiple languages floated in my mind .With my better half viewing all those gory action movies for a couple of hours after he returned from office (mostly late ! ) and my daughter virtually ignoring the idiot box during the week except on weekends , to watch some DVD , the idiot box was virtually mine almost for the entire day during the week!

Zee Classic being a favourite channel, watching movies of sixties & seventies was like reliving life as a carefree teenager. Indeed movies those days portrayed even emotions in a very subtle manner. The Indian audience were for years subjected to generous doses of discreet symbolism, and sometimes blatant uniform code portrayal. just by looking at the characters one could make out who was who and just by the setting one could decipher the situation on hand.

Two flowers shown brushing each other would imply the hero and heroine indulging in physical romance ! A character wearing horizontal striped T-shirt, or sporting a big mole or a scar on the cheek or a guy having a bald pate(,eg.Shetty ) would either be the villian or his sidekick ! A wealthy , young and pretty lady wearing "decent western outfits"(probably a pair of bellbottoms or some other attire) and screeching "eeeediot.."at the drop a hat or a pretty but poor young woman draped in a saree playing the dutiful daughter would definitely be the heroine eg.Asha Parekh, Saira Banu, Sharmila Tagore !. As for the vamp ,she could be identified easily by her loud figure hugging dress and heavy makeup ,indulging in flirtations with the hero(who would be scowling !) or the villian (whichever the case may be ! )eg. Bindu, Jayshree T, Helen. The guy always hanging around the hero would invariably be the hero 's sidekick , also alternating as the comedian eg. Mehmood, Mohan Choti, Mukri! The hero(if poor) would definitely be the simple boy- next- door,.wearing either kurta-pyjama or simple trousers and shirt eg. Dharmendra,(Naya Daur)Manoj Kumar(Roti Kapda aur Makaan), Shashi Kapoor (Pyaar kiye Ja ).On the other hand if he happened to be a bade baap ka beta, he would be dressed in trousers and shirt of the same colour -( eg. Rajesh Khanna in Haathi mere Saathi, Amitabh Bachan in Namak Haram, Randhir Kapoor in Kal Aaj aur Kal, )or some other flashy clothes ,driving a big car.

Some more of the standard norms- the heroine would always switch to wearing a saree in a serious or sad situation- the girl who had been shouting "eediot '" or "dadddy ' all the while would transform into a saree draped young lady & break into a sad song in chaste and flowery Hindi which would have made Ghalib's sher aur shaiyari sound like nursery rhymes !

The mother of the hero (who would spout dialogues such as " Ham gareeb hain to kya, dil se to ham amir hain " ) would always make besan ke ladoos which the hero would relish (even if it is hard !) saying ma ke haath se bane ladoo kuch alag hai kyon ki isme ma ka pyaar hai !.In this context apna Garam Dharam must be credited for being the hero who must have delivered these immortal dialogues maximum number of times.! The hero's mother (very often) would slap the hero for some rudeness or some other reason saying "Naalayak, kya mujhe is din dekhne ke liye tumhe paal pos kar bada kiya ? ". Nirupa Roy should have been given a special award for having excelled in the role of a slapping mother to maximum number of heroes !

The sixties and seventies' movies also had a dress code for the heroine's rich father - he would be dressed in a silk dressing gown , have grey hair and would always be seen either smoking or holding a cigar or a pipe- eg. Nasir Hussain , Ashok Kumar , Madan Puri.

Even meals had a code - in a wealthy house the hero or the heroine (as the case may be ) would always be shown spreading butter on toast , while the indulgent mother would be shown cutting an apple , inspite of the table having a bowl full of grapes, bananas ,pomegranates and other fruits ! On the other hand the meal in house of a poor hero or a poor heroine (again , as the case may be ) would be roti and pyaz !

Unlike today where even fight scenes are shot in outdoor locations , those days most of these scenes would either be set in godowns (where all sorts of things such as drums, tyres, giant glass beakers would be within easy reach to be used by the guys involved in the free for all fights !) or in the market (where vegetable carts ,sticks and plasticware would be readily availabe !). Of course there were exceptions to this rule where the fight would take place at the edge of a cliff at the end of which the villian would fall to his death , thus paving way for the hero and heroine to be united and live happily ever after !

All said and done, in spite of all the above mentioned factors , movies of those days continue to hold their magic even as Bollywood today dishes out movies which are more refined in terms of technology, more sophisticated in terms of locations, starring actors with perfectly sculpted bodies (thanks to sophisticated body enhancing technology).

Laments of a Vegetarian !

2008-03-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

Being a pure veggie can be quite challenging if one goes for a holiday beyond the frontiers of mera bharat mahaan as I discovered when we went to Singapore for a holiday !

The thrill of being in a foreign country was replaced with a longing to be back home, the very next day after we landed there ! During the entire stay breakfast was the only meal of the day I looked forward to, with the hotel providing a choice of veg (toast, porridge, fresh fruits , as well as juice,among other things ) as well as non-veg continental cuisine and the friendly neighbourhood restaurant Komala Vilas(bang opposite the hotel) providing nice , spicy South Indian breakfast if one felt like having a- taste- of- back home food. However, come lunchtime and dinnertime my heart (or rather my stomach!) used to sink, just wondering what kind of food we would be having . Not being familiar with the city,we were at a loss to locate place which would provide some kind of decent veg food (mainly for me as the remaining members of the family were not averse to eating non-veg) .

Returning to the hotel one night we asked the cab driver if there was a good veg restaurant nearby. Knowing we were Indains he said he knew of a good place where one could get Indian food as well as food from other countries. He dropped us at a food court telling us to enjoy a good meal ! Being tired and hungry we quickly entered a huge hall where there were rows and rows of food stalls - some had ducks and chickens hanging on skewers , some had transparent water tanks with live lobsters , fish , squids , and even some kind of water snakes . Some even had dead snakes on their display rack ! In one of the food stalls a guy was actually frying scorpions while another guy was serving fried beetles onto a plate ,to a waiting customer ! That was too much to digest ! (ha ha ha !) The entire family beat a hasty retreat to the nearest exit- even my husband and daughter (who don't mind non-veg food once in while ) had disgust written large on their face ! As for me, being a strict ghaas poos (for the uninitiated , the term refers to veggies ) khaanewali I vomitted into the plastic bag that I had with me . Littering being a strict offence in Singapore, I had taken to carrying plastic bags with me to avoid any such situations where I would end up cleaning vomit everywhere we went ! We finally managed to get bread and butter at a nearby shop and thats what saved the day (or rather the night ! ). On another occasion we entered a restaurant which served pizzas and pastas,and ordered pizzas with mushrooms , tomatoes and cheese. The pizzas arrived promptly with the waiter smiling broadly .Marvelling on good service and impressed with their"Service with a Smile " policy , we got ready to tuck in when my eyes ( by now I had become absolutely paranoid where food was concerned) spotted some suspicious looking toppings .On enquiring we were told that they were pieces of ham ! We had to impress upon the waiter that we wanted only veg and strictly ONLY VEG and no meat whatsoever ! The guy was totally bewildered for according to them when a customer asks for veg it means vegetables in addition to meat and not only veg, minus the meat ! He must written off the entire Indian population as being rather weird in food habits !

With such lessons learned now I will have to think twice before heading to forein destinations and as far as travel to other Asian and Oriental countries is concerned , either I'll have to become a non-veg or drop the idea of ever going there ! I prefer to choose the latter anyday !

PS- On returning from Singapore I discovered I had shed 3 kilos !

Cuisine Catastrophe !

2008-02-27T01:14:00.000-08:00

A couple of days back, not being in a mood to cook full course meal of dal, roti, sabzi, , I decided to make heavy tiffin. With freshly ground coriander chutney sitting complacently in the fridge , I hit upon the idea of making arisi upma ie. upma made of coarsely ground rice and dal ( which my husband likes and which I detest -the very sight of which is enough to kill my appetite ! ) . The thought of making this simple dish (my dislike not withstanding ) was enough to bring a spring in my step as I looked forward to a leisurely evening , watching my favourite serials ("sob sob serials as my daughter refers to them ) in peace. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the catastrophe that was to befall !

It does'nt require a gourmet cook to make arisi upma - unlike exotic dishes which comprise of complicated ingredients (half of them you probably would never have heard of ! ) , this dish has only about 5-6 ingredients , is easy to make, virtually oil free and healthy ( the only villian being coconut which anyway can be excluded if cholestrol looms large in the family - but which in my case , this time, proved to be my undoing ! ).

My body recently welcomed yet another tenant (othe tenants being Diabetes , Thyroid ,Rheumatoid Arthritis ! ) into its dwelling ! On my last visit to my diabetologist for my checkup, My doc looked at my reports (a full package deal !) and then looked at me disapprovingly and remarked that my cholestrol (the bad one of course)level being high, I was to cut down not only on starchy foods but also on cholestrol raising demons like coconut , fats (which any way my diabetes had already enforced ) and other such foods . Personally at the end of all this melee , I think I will be left eating only salads and vegetables of all kinds (root veg of course will not be part of this diet !) The day High Blood pressure joins the merry gang inside me , my food habits will equal that of rabbits and of all the herbivorous animals that one sees on Animal Planet !

The above mentioned was the determining factor in making coconut-free arisi upma that evening . Par honi ko kaun taal saktha hai ? It was ordained that evening that khayamat hone wali thi ! Instead of going about the recipe as usual (omitting only the coconut ) , my adventurous mind decided to try out one of the tips given in one of my innumerable cookery books - that is, grinding pepper , cumminseeds and channa dal coarsely and adding it to the upma flour . Happily and confidently (how misplaced it was I was soon to realize by the end of the day ! )I made the upma and transferred it to the casserole.

Dinnertime arrived and the thought of eating a different type of arisi upma actually built up my appetite (considering my dislike of it , I myself was surprised ! ). Opening the casserole , my senses were enveloped by the aroma of ghee ("one more cholestrol raising demon" said my mind -shush ,go away said my alter mind -if one can have alter ego why not an alter mind too ? ) and pepper and greedliy I served a heapful of upma and coriander chutney onto my plate and sat down to eat ! In went the first mouthful and "OUT" appeared invisible flames from my ears , nose and face ! Ooooooooooh I felt as if my whole body was on fire ! Realization hit me -I had happily overlooked the proportion of pepper in my state of overconfidence and added pepper liberally to cummin and chana dal while grinding.
Before he sat down for dinner , I warned my better half about the situation so that he would'nt also be subjected to the same torture ! Finally it was the morning meal of morkuhambu (South Indian version of Kadhi ),urulaikizhangu (potato) curry and rice that saved the day .Otherwise the family would have had to resort to eating "home-delivered restaurant food" which my better half hates ,and which I love to have once in a while . My daughter being the ever wise one (she detests all kinds of upma )had her usual fare of rice, morkuzhambu,urulaikizhangu curry !

Moral of the Story- It does not need too many cooks to spoil a broth. Even one cook can achieve that !

Luchbox Woes

2008-02-20T00:48:00.000-08:00

Lunchbox Woes

Necessity they say is the mother of invention- how truly remarked and how apt it is,is something I have discovered in recent times !

One might wonder in what way is the proverb even distinctly related to lunch – well, here goes. My offspring ( one of the many” always-in- a rush” officegoers of this bustling metro ) is blessed with a micro tummy and a tongue that has macro fussy tastebuds! She exhibited an unusual taste for raw potatoes as a two year old. She was caught on the sly, biting into a raw ,unwashed potato covered with mud ! Thankfully, she outgrew it before she turned three !

Coming to the present- she has two lists which comprise of a) Don’t pack into my luchbox, and, b) can pack into my lunchbox. The length of the former exceeds the length of the latter ! On her list of “don’t send, “ lady fingers tops the list followed by cabbage, cauliflower,all types of beans, brinjals, marrow, pumpkin, rasam, drysabzis , parathas, pulao, lime rice,tomato rice ,cauliflower parathas ,mooli parathas ,kootos (((vegetables and lentils in coconut gravy )Vetc-the list is virtually like Hanuman’s tail . The “can send” list has potatoes, palak, green peas, bitter gourd ,chappathis with select gravy sabzis such as mutter paneer, palak paneer, alu palak, alu mutter,channa masala, pav bhaji,alu parathas ,channa rice (my own devised recipe which she lovesl)lloves !) and curd rice.(which the Madrasi tongue cannot do without! )This list though not sweet is definitely short !! Finally I am left in a state of perpetual confusion as to what to make ! For obvious reasons (ha, ha !) potatoes or chickpeas cannot be repeated too often !. Over the past few years this kind of demand has necessitated in constant innovation on my part thus inventing all kinds of delights as well as disasters !

On one occasion, fenugreek leaves combined with boiled white peas and coconut was an instant hit not only with my daughter but also with her colleagues who tasted it. However, some innovations do meet with disastrous results! Yesterday, my jigar ki tukdi came home with her veg box full – even before I could ask her about it she accusingly turned around and remarked “‘Don’t ever send this preparation of cabbage and white peas. The minute I opened the box, the smell was so overpowering that I had to shut it before someone demanded a room freshner. “ So much for my overconfidence in culinary inventions- figuratively speaking I did have to eat a humble pie !

Moral of the story-Necessity may be the mother of invention but an invention gone wrong indicates Love’s Labour Lost !

Haath Ka Kamaal !

2008-02-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

The other day I was watching a cookery show in one of the regional channels- the presenter was the director of a catering college and a well known chef too. Armed with my pad and pen I eagerly looked forward to adding yet another recipe to my collection. At the very start when he announced he was going to prepare suraa ( a type of fish ) kuzhambu (or sambar),my enthusiasm took a beating. Being a veggie, the very name put me off ! To kill a lazy afternoon I anyway decided to watch ( curiosity got the better of me, I guess !).

The host - a man of generous proportions (khathey peethey type – like Obelix of Asterix fame !)- set about the task of preparing the dish while giving a running commentary. Whoosh! He dipped his hands into a bowl of water and took out the pieces of fish and placed it on a dish. (by now I was feeling a little queasy- but curiosity continuing, I watched ! ). Using his hands he took out onions, tomatoes ,chillies, garlic- ginger paste and put them into the kadhai for frying. Wiping his hands in his white apron (no doubt a new apron being used for every show ), he proceeded to take out the spices and the required masala from the containers using his hands once more. Not once did he use any spoon or spatula except while handling the kadhai ! By the end of the show, there he was standing with the dish laid out before him -with his apron clearly (rather, messy !) bearing the proof of his efforts !

The secret probably lies literally in his haath ka kamaal ! Whether suraa kuzhambu is prepared using only hands to get that extra flavour or not I cannot say -for obvious reasons ! In the meanwhile only those who dare to prepare suraa kuzhambu in the above mentioned manner ( using only hands !) can pass a judgement on that ! After all yeh to zubaan wali baat hai !

2008-02-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

Cold Winter, Hot Soups & Bread Rolls

Temperatures hit all time low । Mumbai shivered and woollens (mothballs preserved-in –case –of- a -trip- to-nothern hillstations , as well as not- so- well- preserved-slightly- moth eaten ones too ! ) came out and Mumbaikars who would rather be dead than caught wearing woollens even in winter (after all a couple of cool days in Dec-Jan can hardly be called winter ! ) flaunted their winterwear !

At home the family too indulged in this activity, especially my very own flesh & blood (my jigar ki tukdi ! ) who though she hated the cold weather , loved to dress up for any occasion and if this years winter was anything to go by,it really & a truly was an occasion to dress to the teeth (pun intended !) Out came her pullovers, cardigans, jackets and woollen scarves and caps (only mittens were missing !) My better half (blessed with an oversensitive skin which breaks out into rashes the minute he wears anything other than cotton ) made do with his (as usual sober )cotton and corduroy jackets, while I got to experiment with my daughter’s fluffy jacket (thoughtfully sent to her by her uncle in Delhi ) which she dismissed as too thick for Mumbai’s winter- but which came of good use when I attended a music festival ( where Mumbaikars came sporting all kinds of winterwear quite similar to mine ) that was held in an open area.

Not to be outdone in the celebrations , I rolled up my sleeves and got down to serious matters of the tongue and tastebuds ! As papers reported mercury level dipping lower and lower everyday, the temperature in my kitchen rose everyday ! For dinner , one day it was vegetable soup-croutons-pasta for dinner , another day spinach soup , baked beans-garlic bread ,yet another day, tomato soup-grilled sandwichfor dinner,another day creamy onion soup( instant soup packet!) vada pav and caramel custard ( to those who wonder –in this cold weather ? I say why not ? ) . Of course Sunday evenings were reserved for more delights – bhajiyas, pakodas , breadrolls ,sundal (steamed and seasoned lentils) cheese fingers (thanks to Godrej for bringing out this wonderful ready to make cheese fingers and coming to the rescue of many a kitchen mistress/master ! The family tucked into all these with full gusto not even sensing for a moment that the creator (ahem… who but me ) was longing for the roadside vadapav !

Looks like winter is all set to bid goodbye – well its also goodbye to the marathon session of soups and breadrolls and other such fried delights (rather, cholesterol raising demons ) !

Mooli Koftas- Rome was not built in a day

2008-02-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy brings with it not only physical changes which are noticeable to outside world but also changes within which only the mum-to-be feels. These include mood swings and craving not only for sour things but also for unusual things which by normal standards are not deemed edible – e.g ash, chalk, etc.etc. Fortunately I suffered from none of these- being morning sick (not only in the mornings) but most of the time right through , I had no craving except occasionally, when some food would taste nice to me. I remember once, gorging on cucumbers (about a kilo !)at one go, only to vomit out everything a little later !

One day my friend Meera taking pity on my plight brought parathas and mooli kofta (on one of those days when my nausea decided to take a holiday )which I devoured greedily ! They simply tasted yum……….my and out of this world !

A couple of days later, craving for mooli koftas , I decided to make it myself-after all it did’nt seem like a very complicated affair. Anyway I called up Meera and took the recipe. Excitement at trying out a new dish (,I think,) kept my nausea at bay probably making the villain (nausea of course ) wonder bhala uski(excitement) shakti meri shakti se zyada kaise ho sakti hai .

Arming myself with the ingredients I proceeded to make the gravy which turned out quite well. One half of the recipe done I made the koftas and then proceed to fry them . The hot oil sizzled and in went the koftas. My appetite (a phenomenon almost non existent those days ) built up looking at the koftas sizzling & turning golden brown in colour while the burner was on high flame. Voila ! the koftas were ready to be added to the gravy and doing just that , I kept it on slow fire and removed it a couple of minutes later and Lo behold – my mooli koftas were ready to be relished by one and all (that is by my myself,& my better half and probably by my liitle one within who exhibited her excitement by having a full game of football inside me !Ha Ha –that was just a joke ). My husband ,who had patiently been putting up with my mood swings and unpredictable behaviour during this period was taken aback when he encountered a cheerful(not one of myfrequent traits those days) wife when he returned from office and when I told him the reason he too was eager to have dinner. We sat down to dinner and my husband marvelled at my ability to cook something so complicated given my present condition. The first mouthful of paratha kofta went inside- yuck what was golden brown on the outside was yellow and raw from inside and I spat it out ! I burst into tears (the dam had burst open !) and looked at my husband who sportingly ate some ,saying “So what if the koftas are raw, the gravy is good……. By the way – Rome was not built in a day . Better luck next time !” The resident within me must also have had some inkling of the disaster because the very next day my nausea returned in full swing-Jo jeeta wahi sikander.

As for Mooli koftas there has been no next time since then. The incident was so traumatic that I developed permanent aversion to mooli koftas . Much water has flown under the bridge,and over the years I have perfected my cooking skills but to date I have never attempted to make mooli koftas ! In my case I abandoned building Rome forever !

Idli - Disaster to Delight !

2008-01-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

At the cost of being labelled a pompous ass I would nevertheless like to say that the idlis I make have often been appreciated not only by my North Indian friends but also by my South Indian friends (by no standards a mean achievement !).

The road to achieving soft, white and fluffy idlis has been a lonely one. During my cuisine, journey over the years , I have encountered taunts and contemptuous remarks - but never one to give up (especially when my culinary skills are questioned ) I trudged on tirelessly ,thanks to the support of my better half who (poor guy) sportingly ate whatever I dished out in the name of food! In those years when I was a young newly married bride ,trying to adjust to my new surroundings in a strange city (the same Mumbai that has been my home these 20 something years !) , living with my husband who till some months back (then ) I had not even met, I was perpetually miserable being "maternal homesick" (for which I was often gently reminded that Mumbai was my home and not Delhi anymore -so, how could I possibly be home sick ? ). My cooking skills were virtually nil! Having only theoretical knowledge , I perfected my skill over the years with the help of cookery books ,and experiences of "trial and error " method !

Once during the early years when I was still a novice in the art of cooking , my husband came up with the idea of putting the weight on the cooker when the steam came out , so that the idlis would get cooked faster . "You need not keep waiting near the cooker after all " he added. I was full of admiration for this wonderful idea and of course for my brilliant husband ! Alas words spoken too soon - on opening the cooker the sight that met my eyes -the sight was one of concentrated glue poured into the idli moulds ! "Never mind, ' if we can't eat it . It'll come in handy when we need gum to seal the envelopes !" quipped my better half ! Yet another time , being in a hurry one day to go out, I simply stirred the batter and left it to ferment without adding salt . Next morning the idlis turned out not only tastless but also stone hard ! I tried to salvage the situation by making idli upma, but neither my daughter nor my husband nor me could eat it. With good intentions of feeding a stray dog I gave the upma to the dog which sniffed at it , ignored it, and gave me a disdainfdul stare ! Once I was subjected to acid dripping comments by my mother-in-law for not mixing the batter in the way it was supposed to be mixed.

The idli journey has been a valuable one for me - some lessons-1) husband is not always right ! 2) never think that stray dogs will eat anything you give. 3)daughter-in-law's miserable culinary skills will give the upper hand to some mothers-in-law who will go on and on about their daughters' fine culinary skills ( conveniently forgetting "saas be kabhi bahu thi !" 4) most husbands will put up with the deplorable culinary skills of their wives during the first year of married life . Last but not least, I have learnt the proper way to make the perfect idli !

Today's South Indian youngsters of course would have continental breakfast of toast, omlette and cereal rather than idli-chutney. They in fact hate it . A niece of mine is of the opinion that since idlis are much ado about nothing affair its better to swallow the batter and be done with, than undergo the torture of eating it (according to her whether steamed or raw idlis taste the same.)! My jigar ka tukda (or tukdi ?) of course goes a step further and says "The guy who invented idlis should have been shot " !

Kadhi Sazza

2008-01-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

Kadhi Saaza

Nothing is more appetizing than having piping hot food especially on a cold wintry evening (even though Mumbai winters are nothing great to talk about ) and if one is in a slightly adventurous mood to try out a new recipe (even a simple one at that ),it normally turns out quite good (personal experience has often proved so in my case !).

Last week Mumbai experienced one such wintry evening (it was actually quite cold- next day’s newspaper corroborated that!),and stirred within me a strong desire to try out something new (but not for me those oh-so-exotic –sounding dishes which is the current fad that even if one is not fond of it, one likes to pretend that one does, though in the confines of the four walls of one’s dining room one would probably be tucking into aloo parathas, khitchdi, sarson ka saag, paneer mutter and other such typical spicy Indian food that the the desi tongue craves for !). After much consultation with Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal.,Neeta Mehta, Premila Lal , Savitri Bhatia ( what I am referring to of course are their cookery books ! ) I decided to make vegetable Kadhi ( whats so great about that some of you may wonder,) but here I was , a South Indian ,used to making only morkuzhambu (-the south Indian version of the North Indian kadhi) –embarking on a new adventure.

Armed with all the necessary ingredients I launched Operation Kadhi . Whisked curd with gramflour into creamy consistency and added a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and a pinch of asafoetida and kept the mixture aside. Poured a teaspoon of oil in the kadhai and as it heated up, in went ginger,garlic,green chillies,cummin seeds , red chillies, fenugreek seeds,and finally ajwain seeds.As the spices cackled and sizzled ,in went potatoes, drumsticks, cluster beans, baby brinjals and curry leaves and left to cook with a little water covered with a lid. Ten minutes later when the ingredients were cooked the creamy mixture was poured into the kadhai and kept on slow fire. Ten minutes later – Voila- my vegetable kadhi was ready to taste and the aroma that wafted was mmmmmmm………and tasted yumm……y (did’nt know that teaspoon of kadhi would all that I would get to taste that day ! )

Happy with the outcome, I poured my mouth watering ( rather pompous blowing ,my own trumpet eh ? ) preparation into the casserole and then made some gobi parathas and kept that in another casserole. Dinner time arrived and so did my appetite but as for my husband ……no sign of him ! With my appetite increasing by the minute I decided to do justice to the food. Took out my new melamine bowl (decide to inaugurate my new set )and as I started to open the lid suddenly developed a mind of its own and decided to stay stuck to the casserole. Half an later I was still struggling and the adamant lid remained in the same position ! Finally losing the battle I had to make do with eating only the parathas (which by now had become cold as they had been served on the plate half an hour before.) An hour later when my husband sat down for dinner , I warned him about the dinner that awaited him. Never one to give up easily, armed with a hammer and tongs he subjected the casserole to all kinds of banging and pulling and lo behold….. it split wide open revealing steaming hot kadhi. A for my better half… he relished the dinner thoroughly with a triumphant look of having won the battle while I felt I had been given Kadhi Saaza !

The agony of Summer vacation !

2007-05-11T03:02:00.000-07:00

The thought of summer vacation may conjure up visions of total relaxation for many , but not for those less fortunate souls who will literally be (pun intended ) be at the receiving end of visits from unwanted guests during the entire duration of the vacation !

The Swaminathan familythis year , decided to spend their summer vacation ,( not in Chennai which they did every summer without fail, doing the rounds of the innumerable relatives !) going to Darjeeling . Teenage members of the family were entrusted with job of gathering all info about the place and nearby tourist spots from the net, which they started even before one could say "Darjeeling" ! Mr.Swaminathan cheerfully left for office promising to book tickets (of course by air only) for the trip, which left the family in a state of euphoria !

Little did the Swaminathans know that the letter that was to arrive that afternoon would dash their hopes to the ground ! Humming to herself "Kastoba ..." (song from Parineeta, shot in the tea estates of Darjeeling) and imagining herself to be the lissome lass (never mind that in reality she was the typical plump mami with diamonds in her years ,and a Kalakshetra cotton saree wrapped around generously endowed frame !) Mrs Jayanthi Swaminathan answered the doorbell to see the postman with a letter !

As she ripped open the letter and read , and her eyes opened wide and she collapsed onto the sofa ! The letter was from her husband's aunt , in which she had written that her brother-in-law's son and his family would be arriving in Mumbai on a 3 weeks vacation, adding that she had recommended that they should not stay in any hotel , but in her nephew's house !

What to say about the poor Swaminathan family whose dreams of a cool vacation went up in smoke. As for the guests , the less said the better ! The Swaminathans house became a flurry of activity throughout the day with Jayanthi making idlis , dosas and kaapi , sambar , lemon rice, thair vadai, mysore bonda, curd rice ,appam , etc. in addition to pav bhaji , paani puri , dhokla (requests from the guests to be treated to local eats !). The 10 years old twin boys (little horrors ) turned the house upside down with their pranks and experimented with TV remote, played piano on the comp keyboard and drove the teenagers of the house mad ! The household bai did the vanishing act two days after the arrival of the guest (sore with Swaminathans for having cheated her of the vacation she would have had, had they gone outstation !) . Jayanthi ( a shopaholic herself ) vowed never to go shopping , after the experience of taking the visitors for shopping "(" we have heard in Mumbai everything is cheap" said the visitors ) . The Swaminathans also decided that after their 35th visit to show Gateway Of India to one more visitor ,they would never step anywhere near Gateway of India for the entire lifetime !

Relief washed over the Swaminathans as the vistors bid goodbye and the house became their haven once more ! `

Last heard that the Swaminathans were planning to lock their house on the first day of summer vacation next year, and do the vanishing act themselves !

Ayyo Amma !

2007-02-07T23:30:00.000-08:00

Two days ago my body hit the ground with a thud and I am still to recover fully from the impact ! I have been moaning " Ayyo Amma , Ayyo Amma "all the time ! As much indispensable as the household bai is in current times, the price one has to pay ( no, I don't mean the financial aspect !) for retaining the bai literally takes the wind out your sails ! This realization hit me (pun intended ! ) that fateful day when I met with the accident !

My maid (like most other maids ! ) is waiting for a chance to haphazardly finish her work (leaving a corner unswept , or carelessly leaving slippery surfaces without mopping) and run away, when my attention is diverted elsewhere( late morning is peak hour in most houses, when maids are banging away vessels in the name of washing, or some other domestic activity, and a time ,when one can do without answering the phone or mobile or the door bell ! ) . I am no novice in the art of running the house , akhir pachis saal ka tajurba hai ! I also keep my wits about me and once in a while have caught her red handed ( dusty handed , to be more appropriate !) merrily skipping dusty corners ! However such smart moves cannot be applied all the time , so for every red handed catch there is an equal number of miss too and thats what happened that day !

Must have been one of those days when I got out of the wrong side of my bed and one of those lucky days for Kusum bai ! She had just left after finishing her work and the house was quiet and looked sparkling and clean . Soon I was to face the danger that was lurking behind the calm and quiet .Humming to myself I stepped onto the bathroom rug (to close the door from outside ) and the very next moment my hmm (I was so involved in humming kabhi alvida na kahena ) turned to 'Ayyo Amma .... ' as my arms and legs went flying and I landed with a thud on the marble floor with my legs bent and full weight on my elbows ! I was dazed and lay still for some time and realized how close I had come to saying Alvida to life ! - and what a silly way to die , - kicking the bucket (ha ha, that sounds appropriate) by slipping over a pool of water ( under the rug) carelessly left without mopping by my indispensable Kusum bai !

Post- accident , I am still recovering and a bruised and swollen elbow , a limp and an occasional outburst of ' ayyo amma, ayyo amma , ayyo amma , ayyo amma ' as I go about my work bear testimony to near fatal accident , thanks to "Kusum bai " who I have retained, with an austere warning that she'll get the sack if it happens again- after all the show must go on and as mentioned before, the household bai is absolutely indispensable at any cost !

PS - Vowed never to sing Kabhi alvida Na kahena - seems jinxed as far as I am concerned ! Don't want to say alvida to life- not just yet !

Operation Vada Pav !

2007-01-28T22:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Australian Open , I achieved the perfect vada pav yesterday ! One might wonder what Australian Open has to do with the famous amchi vada pav of Mumbai -well , here goes - my better half is an avid fan of tennis and whenever time permits and whenever AXN , HBO , Star Movies , etc. , etc. channels do not show some action movies ( don't know why men all over the world , and of all ages love gory bloody scenes with lot of guns and revolvers ) , he will automatically start watching any sports channel which is showning any tennis match ( it could probably be last years match or the year before that ,it does'nt matter as long it is tennis !) in any part of the world ! So for obvious reasons any of the BIG TENNIS MATCHES simply have to be watched - not that I grudge him of that pleasure, far from it - all programmes for that particular Sunday (If I am right all these finals are normally held on a Sunday) are cancelled and priority is given to the Big Event.

Yesterday being the finals of Australian Open , my better half sat down to watch, with lot of excitement ( after being married for 28 years , I can sense his moods even though he is the silent type and is not given to revealing his emotions ! ) . About my interest in sports - I am a cricket fan (like most Indians ) and tennis somehow does'nt excite me . Hence with a long afternoon and an evening before me , my thoughts turned to one of my interests _ cooking .

With two thirds of the working members at homeI decided to tickle their tastebuds with something more interesting than the usual "chakli , sev, farsan'' Sunday evening snacks. A light shone in my mind's eye and before me I saw the humble but ever so popular Vada pav !

Operation 1- Armed with Tarla Dalal's ( God bless the sweet lady ) "Chaat ", I delved into vada pav recipe with full energy and excitement and a little nervousness and proceeded to create the perfect vada pav- boiled , peeled and mashed potatoes, let the oil splutter and swish , in went mustard seeds, & garlic-chilly paste, into the sizzling oil and finally mashed potatoes, a pinch of turmeric powder, asfoetida and salt and two minutes of stir fry - the golden potato stuffing was ready, merrily garnished with fresh coriander ! Next , ( now the excitement was growing !) some grated coconut , red chillies and some garlic pods roasted ( what an aroma !)and ground coarsely - Voila the pungent " lasun chutney " ! Finally, chopped green green chillies, fresh coriander, and ground with salt and a little tamarind and there -green chutney was ready too. Finally , gram flour, soda bicarb ,salt and a pinch of chilli powder mixed proportionately with water to the right consistency and lo behold - the batter was ready !

Operation 2 - Heated oil in the kadhai and as the oil sizzled blobs of potato filling dipped in batter, went intothe oil and emerged golden brown ! Took a pav ( one of those very soft ones ordered from the friendly neighbourhood kirana shop ) , sliced it , applied lasun chutney on one side and green chutney on the other and in between the two went the golden brown batata vada . The fruit (more appropriate to say snack ! ) of my labour was ready !

The stage was set for the verdict to be given by the family members and I was as nervous as a school girl as, first, my husband bit into his vada pav . Slowly his eyes widened in surprise and his face broke into a wide smile and nodding his head he ,gave me the thumbs up sign ! I heaved a sigh of relief and happiness washed over me , but I was still a little apprehensive as my daughter had to give her opinion ( she happens to be the one who, over the years has contributed by no small means to boosting my confidence in my cooking and till today considers me to be the world's best cook ). One bite and by the look in her eyes I knew that i had not let her down. "Romba Nalla Irukku , amma " (its very good ) and the lasun chutney is amazing " she piped ! I knew from that - I had made the perfect Vada pav !

Vote of thanks - 1- The Australian Open Finals without which my mind would not have come up with this creation on a Sunday evening !

2. Ms. Tarla Dalal without whose guidance I would'nt have created the perfect "Vada Pav " .

3. Last but not least, my better half and my daughter ( my confidence booster !) for their encouragement and giving me the feeling of "duniya meri muttee mein " as far as cooking is concerned !

Live & Let Die !

2007-01-25T23:22:00.000-08:00

Like the average good human being , I also belong to the category which follows the theory of 'live and let live' .However living under conditions of current times, namely dense population ,overcrowded living and health disorders of various types, I am forced ( like so many of my fellow human beings ) to change my policy - hence the policy of 'live and let die' ! In this regard I would like to clarify myself -this policy is not towards homo sapiens but towards the various species which make life miserable them !

A couple of days back the pest control guys arrived in my house, fully armed with all the lethal weapons to eradicate termites, cockroaches ( both big and small) and got down to serious business of carrying out their job- an operation that took two hours. Holes were drilled at various spots and medicine injected into and then sealed, toilets were sprayed with poison and repellants and gel applied to every place thinkable -walls, cupboards, kitchen cabinets, drawers, computer unit, chairs , tables -the list is endless ! Whether the concerned pests were affected or not , I certainly was , as I kept sneezing and wiping my tear filled eyes ! The house looked like a war torn area, with fine particles of dust suspended in the air and acrid smell lingering throughout the day ! How ever when I woke up next morning and saw small dead cockroaches here and there , I realized that "live and let die " had come into effect!

As for the mosquitoes, the hugely advetised All Out repellant (which is claimed to have the maximum MMR-mosquito mortality rate- a tall claim though !) is dutifully set every night with fond hopes of a mosquito free night only to have such hopes dashed to the ground when "oing " sound penetrates into the ears along with "khooni" bites bywretched mosquitoes ! I am seriously considering gathering support to sue the concerned company and make it pay for sleepless nights and blood loss incurred by khooni bites of mosquitoes !

Moral of the story- In order to live and let die , one has to go the gates of hell and come back !

Mummy Logic vs Ramsees Logic !

2007-01-22T23:21:00.000-08:00

My daughter & I have different views on several matters especially on those relating to healthcare . My views are termed as 'mummy logic' by Ramsees (my pet name for my daughter whenever both of us are in a jolly good mood and are willing to listen to each other even if we do differ on opinions regarding anything ) and I on my part consider her views as "Ramsees Logic" !

Following are some samples of conversations which reflect "mummy logic" as well as " Ramsees logic " . Here goes

( Mummy Logic to be referred simply as ML and Ramsees logic to be referred as RL ).

ML: Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.

RL: Wrong. Late to bed and late to rise makes the body feel well rested and feel energetic.

(Never minmd that acidity which rears its head due to skipped breakfast and makes Ramsees "energetically" irritable !)

ML: Oil bath should be had in the morning and if had in the evening is not good for health.

RL: Old wives tale ! Oil bath can be had any time .

(Of course following her logic loyally Ramsees will choose to have it only in the late evening ).

ML: Maintaining regular timing for food keeps acidity, headaches, fatigue vagera vagera at bay.

RL: Eating at any odd hours is fine with me , after all what the body needs is nourishment and what difference does it make whether I have my breakfast at noon or my lunch in the evening or my dinner at 1 am in the morning !

( This has given rise to the new concept of "noon breakfast ", "evening lunch" and wee hours of the morning dinner "! God help such population when they reach their evening years with such companions like diabetes, hypertension, cholestrol, acidity etc. etc ! ).

My final logic "An apple a day keeps the doctor away " is met with a cheeky retort from Ramsees " If the doctor is handsome, keep the apple away " !

Co-existence & Clash of the Titans !

2007-01-17T23:25:00.000-08:00

Whether we are heirs to vast property or not,we certainly are heirs to health problems passed on to us by our ancestors - a study of todays population's health will reveal that 99 % of us do suffer fr0m some hereditary health disorder or the other. The average Indian family will have a case history of either Diabetes, or high blood pressure , or arthritis , or cholestrol etc etc . among its family members.

Being a true Indian in this matter I am no exception to this rule. I am the third generation (to my knowledge-since I have no info on the generation before my grandfather! ) in my family to be afflicted with diabetes. In addition to what I have inherited from my ancestors , I have made my own contribution ( of course I am nowhere when compared to some illustrious ancestor who bequeathed the "wealth" called diabetes !) -namely thyroid, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis ,which, coexist peacefully within my body at times ,and ,wage a civil war at other times !

My body takes it in it stride and I go about my day to day activities keeping all these inhabitants in check by popping the reqired pills and insulin injections ! However all these residents have their mood swings and ego battles too - like the day I gave into temptation and had a gulabjamun, and that sent my sugar level shooting up (Diabetes is a very touchy customer -he does't like very sweet outsiders !). Not to be outdone , My other inhabitant Mr. Rheumatoid Arthritis immediately made his presence felt(bhala uske shakti meri shakti se kaise zyada ho sakta hai. Ma kasam meri shakti dikhata hoon ! )-the pain in my joints increased by leaps and bounds (pun intended!) . I then had to appease Mr Diabetes by assuring him that henceforth no "sweet " outsiders would be allowed inside my body ( rather ironical - the landlady apologizing to the tenant !) . Mr.Diabetes's ego thus pampered and bribed with a shot of insulin , decided to behave. Automatically Mr.Rheumatoid arthritis also magnanimously calmed down and withdrew the severe pain inflicted by him ! All is well that ends well and today,
in addition to medicines and insulin injections , I have a new friend called Yoga who helps me to keep my egoistic and moody inhabitants in check !

Khana - Gaana Classes !

2007-01-11T05:04:00.000-08:00

One of the FM channels regularly relays a programme called "singing chef" in which the presenter (no doubt well versed in the art of culinary delights ) takes the listener through the methods of making a particular dish ,singing popular hindi songs -quite innovative I must say-guy does'nt have a bad voice also !

Being a fairly good cook myself (thanks to constant reminder to that effect by my daughter) I have decided to share my knowledge with interested eager-to-learn students ,by conducting musical cooking class in my house (I also happen to be a trained classical singer blessed with a good voice- anybody who has heard me sing can vouch for that !). Adding my own idea to the existing idea , I plan to have jugalbandi ie., while preparing say Indianised pasta, I will resort to mixing a rendition of Carnatic music with a Beatles song - it might be Strawberry Fields Forever sung in the raag Kalyani or say Indianised Chinese wantons being taught singing "meri wanton garam masala, meri dimsum garam masala !" ! I am sure my students will definitely appreciate that.

Classes will be starting from next month . Those interested in cooking and singing may apply to Chachi ka Khana.com. Special discount will be given to those who have a good voice (a trained music expert has been appoinmted to interview such students, so that deserving students can avail of such offer.So hurry - First come , First served (pun not intended !)

PS - On completion of six months course the best student (one who can cook as well as sing) will be given a guitar and a Tupperware gift hamper ! SO Hurry !

Kissa Baal ka !

2006-12-24T01:51:00.003-08:00

Yesterday evening when the doorbell rang and I opened the door, I saw a smart young woman standing , beaming at me ! I am not used to strangers smiling at me -anyway I smiled back, puzzled , thinking the young lady had come to the wrong address and was about to say so ,when a closer look revealed her identity -it was my daughter ! What with the world changing so fast , ab yeh din aa gaye, ki ma apne beti ko pehachan nahi sakthi ! The reason for my confusion was the new haircut which she sported !
Perched smartly on her head was her crowning glory cut short ( somehow I was reminded of Jane Fonda) and shining with streaks of red ! "Oh amma , don't say red, the colour is burgundy"she remarked . The overall effort did look nice but still I was skeptical about colour being used for hair.Did'nt want my daughter to get grey hair so early in life ! Kyunki beti ke haath peeley karney hain , aur ladki ko is umar me safed baal achey nahi lagte !

Punjab da Puttar da Kamaal !

2006-12-20T23:18:00.000-08:00

An international alcohol company recently held a workshop in the city The event ,being one of its kind ,drew a considerable number of people . The workshop conducted demonstrations on how to mix cocktails , what type of glasses to be served for which drinks and other such matters
The event aroused quite a bit of interest among a select few -in this case the select few being the desi alcohol company owners, one among them being Mr. Jatinder Singh - the owner of " Piyo aur Jiyo " company which makes whiskey & beer ( since I am no expert on alcohol, I cannot comment on the quality though I am sure the quality is not on par with Kingfisher or Johnny Walker !) . Anyway Mr.Jatinder Singhji decided that if foreign companies could conduct workshops in India so could desi Piyo aur Jiyo do it, and do it equally well !
A couple of months passed with PJ's (short for Piyo aur Jiyo !) research department actively working to come up with cocktails suited to the Indian taste !
The much publicized "Desi Daru Chakko " workshop (keeping in mind the national sentiment the workshop was also given a desi name ! Having started his business in Mumbai and not back home in Bhatinda from where he comes, in Mr Jatinder Singhji was of the opinion that it was only fair that Mumbaiya Hindi should be used .Hence the name Daru and not sharab !) was finally held on a Sunday morning at Sardarji Da Dhabba at Koliwada.
At the reception lounge the visitors were welcomed by robust Bhangra dancers, served cold lassi and taken to the hall where the workshop was to be held. Mr Jatinder Sighji personally welcomed everyone . After an introductory speech he withdrew , leaving the centre stage to experts ,who, he said, would introduce them to the art of mixing cocktails so unique that nowhere in the world could they be found . Thus began a marathon session of this workshop - each cocktail having its own name. thus the visitors were treated to art of making "Balle Balle Bhatinda "(made of lassi and vodka !), " Jullender de Jaan " ( made of watermelon juice and whiskey ), Naach Mumbai (made of toddy and rum) , Soni kudi Pinky (made of whisky and sugarcane juice), Ludhiana di bhangra (made of rum, whiskey and guava juice ) and finally Punjab da Munda ( a rather potent mixture of whiskey, beer , rum and lime juice !).
Needless to say, Mr Jatinder Singhji being a true Punjabi thought it fit to give Punjabi names. Not that anyone complained , far from it ! Most of the visitors were anyway Punjabis ! The workshop ended amidst loud cheering ( not surprising-if Punjabis are present can liveliness be far behind ?) and praises for Mr Singh for having come up with such wonderful concoctions.
Back home in Punjab, Mr Singh's name and fame is growing by leaps and bounds and all are proud of this Punjab da puttar , even though the average hatta khatta Punjab da munda likes his drinks on the rocks ,afterall , yeh andar ki baat nahin , yeh to mardonwalli baat hai !
In Mumbai Mr Jatinder Singh ji has been awarded the Most Innovative Businessman Of The Year Award, and his company Piyo aur Jiyo is rocking !
PS- This is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental !

Tele Trauma !

2006-12-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

Who said only drug addicts and smokers have withdrawl symptoms- that was in the olden days. With the advent of tele serials into our living rooms and in some cases the bedrooms too ,( the more the number of TV sets , with one each in every room, the happier the family, the less the number fights within the family. Gone are the days when the general belief was 'the family that eats together , stays together". The new order of the day is the family that stays together is the one that watches TV not together but separately, which , has made it necessary for multiple TV sets in the house with each member watching what he or she fancies ! ) a new species has emerged. A species which by its loyaly to these serials can send the TRP rating either spiralling up or plummeting down ! Joining the ranks of smokers and drug addicts are these serial watchers when forced to quit watching tele serials also suffer from withdrawl symptoms !
Mrs Khanna is an avid watcher of roughly about 12-15 saas-bahu serials and spends most of the time sitting with her eyes glued to the TV during the major part of the day.Her schedule ,( kitty parties, beauty parlour visits , shopping for designer clothes,jewellery , etc. etc..) is carefully planned in such a way that she does'nt miss her favourite serial ! Everything went on fine till one day Mrs Khanna fell ill and a series of tests revealed a visitor within her generously proportioned body _ Diabetes ! A trip to the Diabetologist brought an end to her carefully structured day to day routine ! "Mrs Khanna , diabetes is not a disease but a condition which if carefully attended to with strict discipline in your daily regimen, can enable you to live a normal life. You have to adhere to three important rules -medicine , diet and exercise , only then can you lead a healthy life" pronounced the doctor solemnly. Even if lightening had struck her she would not have been more shocked ! What was to become of her TV serials - Bhagwan tuney mujhe yeh din kyun dikhlaya ? cried her heart ! Anyway man proposes and the Guy above disposes !
If you happen to visit the joggers park at Lokhandwala early in the morning or in the evening and see a short plump lady struggling to walk briskly,be sure it is none other than Mrs Khanna ! While efforts are being made to battle this new enemy , Mrs Khanna is also going through withdrawl symptoms that any serial watcher goes through if deprived of regular watching of teleserials ! Mrs Khanna's dose of serials have been drastically reduced to a couple of serials thanks to her yoga classes , walks and other exercises which leave her with comparatively little time to watch TV ! Her symptoms include among other things , restlessness, almost going crazy trying to imagine what is happening to her favourite character in such and such a serial , stiffness in the fingers ( not getting the regular dose of exercise operating the remote,) , headaches (thinking too much about the serials) , irritability and depression !
Mr Khanna is frantically looking out for a good psychiatrist who can help his wife battle her withdrawl symptoms ! Suggestions anybody ?

Dessert Deserted !

2006-12-19T00:24:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I made vanilla cusatard for the umpteenth time, with full confidence . After all , even a novice ( in the field of cuisine delights) can't go wrong making custard, thanks to brands like Brown & Polson, Bluebird, Weikfield , which give specific instructions on how to go about it-and here I was , a veteran in cooking (thanks to constant boost to my confidence , generously doled out , in ample proportions by my daughter who thinks I am the best cook in the world !) for whom custard preparation was as easy as breathing . Reading instructions ? Not for me such unnecessary efforts ! How wrong I was !
Armed with all the necessary ingredients and misplaced confidence (which I was very soon going to realize ) I set about the task - boiled the milk, added sugar and finally added the cornflour-custard powder mix into the milk and kept it on slow fire and watched with great satisfaction as it became thick & creamy. Voila ! the pudding was ready ! Without a thought I cooled it and in , it went into the fridge. The thought of my family relishing this favourite dessert after dinner pleased me and I was quite elated even though I knew I would not be having it myself because of my "sweet" problem.
Dinnertime- The look on the face of my daughter was one of pure delight as the pudding was served along with her favourite jelly. As for my husband who belongs to the species of the "strong silent type" , not a single expression flitted across the face !
The proof of the taste of the pudding was soon revealed as both of them tried to eat the pudding- the custard had solidified into a thick lumpy mass ( which, had it been pelted at some unsuspecting victim would have caused serious injury) on which were precariously balanced jelly, biscuits and bananas ! Not only was the custard lumpy ,but , was also flat in taste as I had made an error in judgement while adding sugar ! While my husband finished it without a murmer( he always does that ,unless asked for an opinion! )-on this occasion a feedback about the taste was helpfully given whenI asked him for his opinion , after seeing the painful expression on my daughter's face ! Poor thing , what a let down it must have been for her,seeing the blunder made by the best cook (her opinion ) in the world ! I did'nt have the heart the to torture her further by insisting that she finish her dessert . On her part , she must have heaved a sigh of relief to escape from the torture !
My confidence has taken beating and the idea of preparing even rice leave alone custard scares me ! So much for being an expert !
.

Oh Bai !

2006-12-09T04:01:00.001-08:00

A week has passed since my maid went on leave to her village,leaving me with fatigue, and sore hands ( washing vessels can be such a pain ). All efforts to get a partime maid, in her absence, have been in vain.
Realization has hit me like a place hit by a tornado - life can be thrown totally out of gear when the maid goes on leave . Today the smooth running of the house is dependant entirely on the "bai' ! She is indispensable to the efficient running of the household, so much so that the lady of the house would rather turn a blind eye to sloppy work than face the risk of the maid leaving- in her opinion , most of the maids (barring a few) do sloppy work anyway. Hence if goodnatured Kantabai leaves, along may come Sakubai who also will do sloppy work and in addition may be of an undesirable temperament and make life more miserable for the mistress . There follows a verbal tussle over the issue of Kantabai, with the lady of the house insisting that Kantabai continue, and the other members of the house insisting that Kantabai be sacked for her sloppy work and for taking too many holidays . Much to the chargin of the majority of the family members, Kantabai retains her job , thanks to the mistress ! Kantabai also knows this and carries on merrily as before, in full confidence that come what may, "sethani" will never sack her since she cannot do without her .The mistress's peace of mind depends on her working here , since she (Kantabai) is goodnatured and does not talk back even when she is scolded for not doing her work properly .
Last week I had to plan a dinner a week before it was scheduled because my maid was going on leave two days later !

Kolam - Creative art of Custom & Tradition

2006-11-19T23:19:00.002-08:00

Indian tradition is rich with certain customs which often bring a dash of colour to our daily life. One such custom is the practice of drawing designs at the entrance of the house .it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi will bless the house with her divine presence.
The practice of drawing designs is prevalent in most parts of India,and is referred to by different names in different parts of the country. In Tamil Nadu it is called kolam, in Bengal it goes by the name of "alpana", in Maharashtra and other parts of north India it is known as rangoli.
In Tamil Nadu two types of kolam are practised.The first one being podi (powder)kolam and the second one being makolamn (wet flour kolam). Podi kolam is is drawn in front of the house every morning while makolam is drawn on festival days and during celebrations such as weddings, engagement, etc.
In the olden days when life was not hectic and complex as it is today , the practice of drawing kolam was considered not only a customary practice but also an activity which brought forth one 's creative skills. Young girls would compete with one another to draw the best kolam in front of their houses . It is said that they would go from door to door at times to copy whichever designs pleased them, in their notebooks so that they could reproduce it in front of their house some other day.

In the villages, the lady of the house would wake up well before sunrise and clean the front of the house with cow-dung (yucky as it sounds, cow dung is supposed to keep away insects and germs)and allow it to dry for a few minutes and draw kolam - a simple one or a an intricate one depending on her creative skill. The powder used for kolam would be rice powder-according to ancient scritptures the theory behind this was that not only would it welcome Goddess Lakshmi into the house, but it would also provide food for ants .Today however special kolam powder is available in the market ,which is not rice powder.The practice of using kolam powder is on the rise not only in the cities but also in the villages these days. Life having become very hectic in the urbam area with more and more women opting for careers, the practice of drawing kolam is on the decline ! This in turn has given rise to a new concept-sticker kolams! Sticker kolams are available in the market in different designs and sizes.All one has to do is, to peel the paper layer and stick the kolam wherever one wants. The kolam sticks firmly and stays there for long!No more drawing kolam everyday-sticker kolams have come as a boon to many harrassed housewives and career women alike,who,while wanting to stick to tradition , feel rushed for time and are not able to engage in in this activity on a daily basis. Necessity truly is the mother of invention !

The second type of kolam is makolam. Mavu in tamil means flour . Mavu kolam in day to day life has come to be referred as makolam. Rice is soaked for an hour and ground to fine slightly watery consistency. The art of drawing kolam with this wet flour requires using a small bundle of cloth soaked into it and drawing with two fingers - difficult as it sounds practice makes it perfect and it is not very difficult. Makolam being normally drawn on festive occasions, the designs that are drawn also are very different from the normal podi kolam designs. An added feature of makolam is the red bordern that is drawn around the outline of the kolam so that it looks very bright and beautiful.

A special season meant especially for drawing large and elaborate podikolam designs falls somewhere from the middle of December to middle of January. Creative skills at their best can be witnessed if one were to walk along the streets early in the morning during this season (known as Margazhi Masam). The designs displayed are very elaborate , intricate and very different from the ones that are usually seen. During this season a small flowerholder (made of cowdung) holding a bright yellow pumpkin flower is kept on the kolam.

If only people would take time off to ponder over such traditional customs and maintain it to some extent and not lose themselves in the race to keep up with todays jet age,life would still have its charm despite modernization.

Childhood Summer Vacation Revisited

2006-11-15T22:05:00.000-08:00

Summer vacations today are carefully planned out well in advance and there are a whole lot of options to choose from. The current "in ' thing these days -that is if u are not travelling to one of those exotic foreign locations((considered the most "in" thing,but also the prerogative of only the rich & famous!~) ,to indulge yourself and the family in the innumerable attractions these locales offer or if u are not travelling to your hometown( to which the"aam janta" resorts to,) to which the average mumbaiya refers to as 'muluk' to meet your near and dear ones( never mind that your youngsters would rather spend it with friends than do the round of visiting dada, dadi,nana, nani ,aunts ,uncles,cousins...the list of the Great Indian Joint family goes on like Hanuman's tail in Ramayan !)-is to enrol kids in 'activity'classes for the two months,where kids learn things like painting, drawing, singing, skating, dancing,pottery and innumerable such other activites. The current craze thus triggers off such classes mushrooming all over the city to cater to the demand (and to make a neat sum of money of course!) The average child today is more busy during summer vacation than he/she is during his/her term days !If however you think differently and allow your child to enjoy vacation engaging in his/her favourite hobby of say, painting ,dancing and many such activites without sending him/her to the neighbourhood activity school ,you are considered 'out' rather than 'in' !
During my childhood days, when there were no such things as activity classes and technology was not what it is today,life was a lot less complicated as the confusion,which arises due to varied options,did not exsist. Summer vacation meant either making annual trips to meet relatives or receiving relatives from outstation. For thousands of Indian families living outside their home state, summer vacation provided the annual break to go and visit their 'native place'.Everyone in the family would plan for the trip with much fervour and enthusiasm.
Train tickets would be bought well in advance(private airlines vying with one another to offer reduced air fares , did not exist),new sets of clothes bought and last but not the least ,gifts for near and dear ones ,in addition to all the things which sombody or the other would have asked !I still remember, half a dozen modas(Delhi speciality those days),marble chappathi rolling boards,(whether it was ever used for that purpose God alone knew!), Nutan stoves(Delhi speciality again!), handbags, fancy slippers,forming part of our luggage along with our personal belongings !Whether all these were ever used was quite doubtful as the same list would be sent to us next year before we left for Chennai ! As the day of the trip grew near our excitement would build up till a peak would be reached when the great day finally arrived. As kids we would fight to sit next to the window and the lucky one would invariably be the eldest sibling with the other younger ones yearningly waiting for a chance to be allowed the seat when the parent took charge of the situation !
Travelling by a/c chair car was the ultimate in luxury (there were no ac sleepers those days -of course there was the ac first class sleeper but it had very few takers as it was too expensive.) The Delhi-Madras( as Chennai was referred to those days) Grand Trunk Express also had a dining car where one could have breakfast ,lunch or dinner sitting at the table , watching the world go by.There would always be a rush during breakfast time as most families would carry large food hampers containing lunch and dinner.The typical Tamilian family's food hamper consisted of lime rice,or tamarind rice, thair sadam(curd rice), idlis, molgapodi(gunpowder),potato curry and vadaham(fritters). The trip to the dining car would be to savour the experience of dining at the table in a running train rather than to actually have food.I still rember having hot buttered toast with jam and enjoying every moment ,watching the passing meadows ,fields, rivers,villages.cows , sheep-all from the cool confines of the dining car .
By the time train neared Chennai after a journey of 45 hours our patience would have reached the limit and we would be counting the minutes before it pulled into Madras Central. A funny practice those days and to which we were also prone to doing, was ,to wear a fresh set of clothes before alighting at Madras Central ( without having had a bath during the entire journey !). A wave ,of happiness would sweep over us as uncles, aunts, cousins and grandparents enveloped us in their warm embrace and for a moment chaos would prevail what with everyone hugging everyone and at the same time safely unloading the luggage. The atmosphere would be charged with excitement,fun and happiness all the way home. For us yet another enjoyable summer vacation had just begun and forgotten were the cares of exams and homework for the coming two months.
Welcome to Summer Vacation - days of getting up late, lazing around, playing with the calves in the courtyard,eating tender coconuts,.jackfruits, mangoes, munching granny's murukkus, cheedais, relishing iddiappam, palpaniyaram(Chettinad speciality),athirsam,laddoos,mysorepak,thengai burfi, and many such other delicious snacks, playing in the mangrove with cousins, visiting the local temple with granny to light the lamps,bringing water from the pond in polished brass kodams(or matkas),learning kolam designs from aunt,watching tamil movies( with all its loud melodrama and fights),in the local non a/c theatre, listening to stories from grandpa and going to sleep under the stars on the open terrace with all the cousins- Indeed I do miss the summer vacations of my childhood.
Todays kids may think of such vacations as boring . For them it is difficult to imagine life without cable TV, DVDs, computergames , amusement parks, shopping malls, mobilephones,mutiplexes-For those of us ,whose childhood passed through times when technology had not yet advanced and life was more laidback,it seems as if those were the golden years.

Navratri-One festival,varied celebrations

2006-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

No festival is celebrated all over the country in such a varied manner as Navratri -the festival of nine nights when the three shaktis ,ie. Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are worshipped . Be it north,be it south, be it west or be it south -this festival is celebrated ina different manner in each region.
Starting with north, Kulu celebrates with lot of pomp and show .Elsewhere devi Sherawali (the goddess who rides on the lion ,hence the name)is worshipped and everyday aarthi is performed and young unmarried girls are invited to take lunch and thereafter given gifts.In the south for nine days it is the festival of dolls in every house -dolls are arranged on several wooden steps and kept for nine days.During the nine days married ladies and unmarried girls are invited to the house and offered haldi-kumkum ,betel leaves, areca nuts ,coconut and banana along with that day's prasad (mostlyboiled chickpeas or some other pulses).During the visit those who can sing ,sing songs dedicated to the divine mother.In the first three days Durga is worshipped, on the second three days Lakshmi is worshipped and on the third day Saraswati is worshipped. On the ninth day special pooja is done for saraswati. Books, musical instuments are kept in the pooja (Saraswati, being the godess of learning).On the tenth day Vijaydasami is celebrated during which all form of tools are placed for puja. It is customary to start a child's first step toward learning ,on Vijaydasami.Rice is spread out on a tray and the child is made to write the first few letters with the help of the elders in the house. In the east Dassera signifies the comimg of Durga to her maternal home and she is worshipped with elaborate pooja, and bhog (meals) is served to all devotees who come for darshan. On Vijaydasami Durga returns to her husband's home and she is given a tearful farewell as she is taken to the sea to be immersed.For the Bengalis, Durga puja is the biggest festival and the state virtually comes to standstill during this time,as offices, schools, colleges and other institutions are closed. In the west devi is worshipped for nine nights and for nine nights, Gujratis perform dandiya and garba in colourful costumes with lot of vigour. Painted mud pots are kept with cereals and worshipped.
Navratri with its varied celebrations truly reflects the multicultural spirit of India.

The world through the eyes of a Diabetic

2006-09-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

There is a new breed that is increasing in today's world-the breed of diabetics. India is expected to have the highest rate of diabetic population ,beating all other countrie in this race,by the turn of this century !
The average diabetic looks like any normal being but the exterior hides the true condition of a diabetic- a pancreas that does'nt produce sufficient insulin,which in turn affects the normal metabolic activity of the body system. This results in damage to certain parts of the body, in the long run,namely the eyes, the kidneys,the heart.Hence the average diabetic is a highly vulnerable person in comparison to the average human being ! However with rapid strides in the field of research and medicine , it is quite possible for a diabetic to lead a normal life in today's world, provided certain restrictions and discipline are adhered to.
The world through the eyes of a diabetic is quite different (being a diabetic myself)-It never ceases to amaze me how others display so much energy, when a drive (in comfort of the car) to a movie theatre or a shopping mall leaves me drained of my energy.Every step taken has to be thought out keeping in mind this "sweet disorder". Giving into a craving for a pastry on an impulse like a normal person can play havoc with the diabetic's sugar level ! At the same time when hypoglaecemia strikes the diabetic has to literally gorge on those very food that are forbidden otherwise, to bring up the sugar level. Couple of times I have experienced severe nausea after a bout of hypoglaecimia,on account of eating chocolates, cream biscuits all in one go to bring up my sugar level ! R ather ironic is'nt it ? But what the heck,the tyrant called Diabetes dictates what I should eat and how I should eat !Sometimes I have felt like a two yeart old carrying snacks, chocolates(in case Hypoglaecemia strikes-and most of the time it strikes when least expected) and a water bottle whenever I go out. People tend to forget that a diabetic person (at least one who has had it for quite sometime) will definitely know the rules of this "sweet condition" , and start a long lecture on the dos and dont's (all in good intention)that leaves the D (D for diabetes or diabetic as the case warrants !) feeling absolutely bored and wishing that wellwisher would disappear altogether ! Being a third generation diabetic I am so familiar with the rules of the game that someday in the evening of my life I'll probably write a book on diabetes , with specific advice to non-diabetic people not to go into dos and don'ts of diabetes when talking to a D person-what the hell , the guy would most probably know all that if he is under treatment.
Given the choice I would rather eat three meals a day than keep eating after every few hours and that too in quantities that would be comparable to a kid's meal !For it is constantly drilled into the diabetic that he/she must eat small quantities of food at frequent intervals. I find I am perpetually hungry following this routine and since I am consuming something or the other (of course only what is allowed by my dietary chart) every few hours I often get the feeling that I am doing nothing except eating, the whole day and yet the stomach always feels empty !Stress created by a death in the family was one of the factors responsible for a haemorrage in the retina and today after undergoing two phases of treatment I still have problem with one eye, seeing clearly ,.To add insult to injury I was told that I would never resume my normal vision again in my affected eye.Every step taken has to be taken with due consideration keeping in mind that one has diabetes. Too much tension? sugar level will shoot up. Infection ? stabilize sugar level-diabetes can aggravate infection ! Rheumatoid arthritis pain(I am blessed with that also )-control sugar level-diabetes aggravates pain ! gynaecological problem ? stabilize sugar level. Diabetes increases bleeding ! All in all life becomes one long jouney of do and don'ts for a diabetic.
Neverthe less ,do not let the monster get the better of you. Medicine , diet, and exercise can help in keeping this monster under control . We have one life to live and we owe to ourselves to live life Kingsize .

Friendship

2006-09-10T08:48:00.001-07:00

Meeting an old friend can be a very exhilarating experience as I found out today when I met Sudha, my close friend of several years ,after long time. Today, though both of us live in different cities,do not meet each other often, nor correspond regularly,our friendship still continues to be as close and as warm ,as it used to be ,several years ago.Today when we meet it feels as if time has stood still still since our last meeting.We never feel the need to engage in irrelevant conversations (as normally one does when one meets people after a long time)and time flies and before we know it is time to part. Spending time with a good friend acts as magic tonic when one is feeling low .In my experience I have always felt relaxed and calm whenever I have spent time with my friend.In todays world of fleeting friendships I am proud that my friendship has stood the test of time.

LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI

2006-09-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

Lage Raho Munnabhai - A movie that sets the mind thinking about Gandhi's ideals and the current state of the country today-presented in a lighter vein .The charm of the movie lies in way it is presented as a comedy while still managing to convey the message across to the audience.Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi excel in their performances. Needless to say, Boman Irani as the hearty Sardar(who does'nt think twice before betraying his friend over the land deal)is outstanding in his portrayal-makes one forget he is a Parsi in real life-gets into the skin of the character that he portrays.Vidya Balan is like a fresh daisy in the movie and even though is not bad as far as perfomance goes, she still has a long way to go before her performance can be described as outstanding.The movie progresses smoothly and never is there a dull moment.All in all, a clean and good movie which one can see with the familly and come away feeling of full paisa vasool !

Motherhood- A lifetime experience!

2006-08-31T02:02:00.000-07:00

Motherhood starts with a missed period and what used to be a slim body literally acquires gigantic proportions as weeks pass into months,each month adding to the weight and discomfort ! Ooh, the nausea that sweeps over the mother to be,is nothing compared to the nausea that every human being goes through one time or the other due to some illness.It comes in waves, each wave bringing forth a spurt of vomit (yuck!). Foods that were once one's favourite make one want to throw up at their very sight or their aroma. I remember developing an aversion to khichadi(my all time favourite) during my pregnancy which after several years down the line still continues to revolt me.The lucky ones recover from their morning sickness after three months and start hogging as if there was no tomorrow ! The not so lucky ones trudge along carrying their sickness full term like they carry the baby within.More discomfor follows as the body starts bloating with baby developing into a full human being-the nights pass with frequent visits to the loo and attempts to catch up on sleep which is a formidable task as the bloated body is not able to sleep in one position .Everytime one wants to turn sides one has to sit up(it is drilled into one's head by the gynaec every time during checkup)and then change side . Next start those movements within the stomach-baby darling is bored of floating quietly in the amniotic fluid , and wants to make its presence felt, so it starts to kick (never mind that poor mama is trying to sleep ! ) During one of my checkups, I was told that my baby was playing football inside my stomach !Simutaneously come the hunger pangs (even for those who are carrying their morning sickness full term) and do they come at all kinds of odd hours !Suddenly one develops a craving for eating ice cream, or cucumbers,apples,why even ash (surprised?but then the expectant mother is not normal human being during pregnancy)in the middle of the night.Trying telling her that ash is not something that is edible and she'll either burst into tears or throw a pan at you(or whatever is within her reach!).Mood also swings frequently ,what with hormones going crazy with all the changes taking place within the body. Having to cope with all that is happening within her, no wonder the expectant mother looks perpetually tired and is irritable ,One fine day( or it could very well be night) a sweeping pain envelops the body and the entire family rushes to the hospital only to be told by the doctor that it is a false alarm and that there is still time to go before the big day ! By now every member of the family is in a state of nerves every time the expectant mother experiences a bout of pain-they don't know whether it is a false alarm or the actual alarm bell ringing . Finally one day the young mother- to -be experiences other symptoms along with pain and this time the family bundles her into the waiting car (along with a suitcase full of things for both mum and baby) and rush her to the hospital and the look on the doc's face confirms their doubts-yes the Big Day has finally arrived. The expectant mother is rushed into the labour room and subsequently the delivery room and after what seems like eternity there is a loud wail of an infant and the nurse appears with the bundle of joy in her arms and worry and tension fade and smiles appear on the faces of all ,especially the proud father as he is congratulated ! In the delivery room the new mother comes back to consciousness after a couple of hours and all the discomfort of the past nine months is forgotten in a minute and relief and happiness envelope her as her new daughter is handed over to her . For the mother it is a moment of happiness, and love as she realizes that this bundle of joy has been worth all the discomfort that she underwent during the past few months.Indeed motherhood is a strange thing but a wonderful experience!

Mall Culture

2006-08-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

The "Mall Culture" has arrived ( one more feather in the cap for the west which we desis are constanting aping) and is here to stay.Walk into any mall on a weekend one gets the impression the entire city is there ! They come in all types-the DINKs(double income no kids couples), the large Indian family(whole with granpa,granma,aunts uncles ,cousins,nephews, nieces!), the nuclear family comprising of young parents with a toddler in tow or in a pram, the groups of teenagers, the yuppies with their boy friends or girl friends, the newly married couple in the first flush of marriage, the not so young parents on the own(their grownup offsprings probably on a similar outing with their peer group )-all out to have an evening of fun.It could either be a mundane job ,like getting the month's groceries or it could be visit to one of the movie theatres to catch the latest movie(who cares if tickets are priced too high ,after all money is not a problem for the urban lot who come to the malls),or it could be a trip to one of the innumerable restaurants that offer multicuisine, or it could simply be an outing with no purpose other than to just browse at all designer brands.-whether its clothes, accessories , shoes or watches etc. A select lot will head straight for the book-cum-music shop where if one is interested in reading or has a ear for music ,the hours will simply fly. There is something for everyone who comes to these malls - of course it also helps if one's wallet is full of crisp notes and a couple of credit cards !Wecome to the Mall Culture !

The Magical World of Malgudi

2006-08-28T02:58:00.001-07:00

Malgudi- The very mention of the name conjures up an image of the ficticious little city (or should we say an overgrown village)created by one of India's finest and much loved authors-RK Narayan. The charm of his stories lie in the simple manner in which they are written and also in the subjects of his stories ( people like you and me who find themselves in situations which are not unfamiliar to the lay person).In today's age of pretentious writers who put in effort to deliberately sound very intellectual(even if they are not, and most of the time they are not!) RK Narayan's writing comes across like a breath of fresh air.Malgudi's characters (be it the sweetmeat seller, or Swamy and his friends,or the dominating head of the family who drags his reluctant son to the family temple for the ritual of hair shaving,or the English teacher who loses his young wife and many others)are people whom one can identify oneself with or with the people around oneself.As one reads Malgudi Days or any of his other stories,one is unconciously transported to that location and for a moment the current world in which one lives, ceases to exist-one can actually feel oneself walking along the bank of the Sarayu river,or sitting at the popular hangout (most of the time near the statue of the British general)and discussing affairs of the world,or joining Swamy and his friends as they jump from one adventure to the other-a world where life is very laidback,a world free from modern days' complex lifestyle .Indeed one starts to yearn for such a world in which life moves at its own pace,a world ,which gives importance to human relationships rather than, to material comforts.Though such a magical world does not exist anymore , we can still escape to that make believe world every now and then -thanks to authors like RK Narayan

All in the name of the Lord !

2006-08-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Ganapathy pooja in south Indian homes, is not complete without Kozhakkattai-the Lord's favourite prasad. Though on the outside the 'kozhakkattai' looks like an uninteresting sweet, a taste of this white rice ball will leave you wanting for more!Early in the morning ,On Ganesh Chathurthi ,the lady of the house will get down to preparing this much awaited delicacy! She will prepare the poornam (or the stuffing) by cooking jaggery and coconut(grated) over slow fire .When almost done, a dash of powdered cardomom is added to the poornam and Voila -the stuffing is ready!Now for the next step- boiled hot water (along with a pinch of salt and a tsp of oil) is mixed with rice powder and made into soft dough. Now next comes the creation of kozhakkattai . This is one stage ,where the entire family willingly pitches in (even the tiny tots join, after all the more number of hands , the more number of kozhakkattais !)and it becomes a team effort. The palm is literally greased (no pun intended !) and rice dough is made into a small ball and then pressed flat and patted into a small circular disc.A spoonful of stuffing is kept on the rice disc and then gently closed . A lot of camaraderie is evident as family members tease one another, as kozhakkattais turn out in all shapes and sizes what with so many hands involved in the activity! Finally the last of the kozhakkattai is ready to go into the vessel for steaming . The kozhakkattai are placed in a perforated plate on a stand and water poured beneath, on the base . The vessel ( most of the time the pressur cooker is used,without using the whistle) is closed and the kozhakkattais are steamed for five minutes,cooled and removed onto a plate and offerd to the Lord during puja ,while everyone patiently waits for the rituals to be over so that they can lay their hands on this mouth watering delicacy! All in all everything is consumed in the name of the Lord!

Weighty Issue !

2006-08-25T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Indian housewife (like her counterparts all over the world) is obsessed with shaking off those extra kilos (which probably built up as she sat and watched all those saas-bahu serials in the quiet of the afternoon,day after day !) . Enrolling in aerobic classes is out of question-those very extra kilos she wants to shake off , literally come in her way of doing vigorous excersise !Thats what is called a Catch 22 situation !So she opts for the next best option-enrol in yoga class. If she had checked it out she would have been informed that yoga implies union of body ,mind and soul and not disunion of weight from one's body! Our typical example lands up one fine day for her first yoga class and her first question is "Will I lose weight in one month?"Never mind ,that she has diabetes, blood pressure etc ( which can somewhat be regulated )!What nags her is, that she cannot wear those trendy outfits which will make her look like a youngster (which even a slim housewife cannot look if she is over 40!).SO...When she is told that it is not possible,she loses interest and goes back to her routine of watching soap operas and adding more kilos and thereafter does not show her face in yoga class any more!

Ganpathi Bappa Morya

2006-08-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

Once again it is that time of the year when the state is thrown into a frenzy of excitement and activity as it prepares to celebrate the festival of its most favourite god-Ganpathi !As one goes around the bustling metro there is a festive spirit in the air and all around.They come in all sizes and shapes-I am referring to ganpathi idols ,as they sit , on a makeshift table,viewing the world with benign eyes, waiting to be picked up and taken to different destinations. The crowds throng these shops,looking at the idols, totally excited and at the same time confused at the variety that is offered.Each idol is a masterpiece by itself ,adorned with with all kinds of decorations-some so beautiful that one feels sad one has to immerse it at the end of the festival. Nevertheless one still buys it and the shopping does'nt end there. There are other things along with the idols which tempt the buyer ! bejewelled gold & silver crowns, wooden platforms for keeping the idol, silk scarves in bright colours, small silken umbrellas to hang over the idol and of course, garlands (big and small) made of plastic flowers,beads and velvet flowers.The shops selling electrical goods also jump onto the bandwagon by selling festival lights that can be hung up like a garland to give these earthy idols a divine look!As for the music shops , (not to be outdone in this moneymaking business!)they sell new releases in the form of CDs and tapes-Move over all other Gods of the Hindus, the current favourite is the elephant headed God!So all one sees in these shops are bhajans and shlokas' CDs and tapes dedicated to Ganpathi !Not that anybody minds it-far from it !The janta is more than willing to pay for all this ,after all it is a ten day long festival and the deity in question happens to be the most important one-one that has to be invoked first, before the start of anything auspicious.Who can resist loving the plump little elephant-headed god as he surveys the world with his benign eyes.Mumbai has a vey soft corner for this lovable god.One can see miniatures of ganpathy in offices, in shops, in cars, in clinics, in restaurants,...the list is endless!Its Ganpathy everywhere for the next ten days as every mandal tries to outdo the other in size and creative skill as it competes for the best Ganpathy idol in town.One does feel a kind of vacuum as the idols make their way to the sea for immersion on the eleventh day, amidst loud chants of "Ganpathi Bappa Morya"

Trip down memory lane

2006-08-25T03:31:00.000-07:00

Looking at children hurriedly rushing to catch the schoolbus,brings to my mind my own schooldays, as it takes a trip down memory lane to those carefree and happy days when all one had to worry about was ,finishing the day's homework and performing well in the exams!One of the advantages in studying in a convent was that discipline was inculcated into the system at a very early age ,which, till today has stood stead in all aspects of life.Inspite of the strict discipline enforced in school,we girls still managed to have fun,at times bringing down the wrath of the nuns!There was this time, when the entire class(seniormost in school)was marched down to the courtyard and made to stand in the sun for the entire period -a punishment meted out to us for being talkative !Not that it bothered the girls......all of us stood there giggling oblivious to the stares of the junior classes! This infuriated Sister Catherine, who gave us a dressingdown ,finally concluding that we were a shameless lot ,and a bad example to the juniors and that we would never amount to anythinhg good in life.No one dared to look up into those piercing blue Irish eyes, while trying to stifle our giggles!Today I wonder if I step into my old school what sights I will see. Todays school kids are a much smarter lot and will probably get into mischief which in those days would have scandalized the nuns!Today's school authorities will have to be even more smarter than their predecessors to handle today's bunch of smart kids![edit] [graphic editor] [Delete]
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[15/08/2006 06:27:11] [jovialjaya@rediffmail.com ]

Evening musings in August

2006-08-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Mumbai looks lush and green in August as monsoon holds sway over the city. In the residential area that I live, the evening brings forth new sights and sounds. Today the rain God has taken respite and it is a lovely cool and cloudy evening.In the distance the chirping of the mynas can be heard as the y prepare to retire for the day. Somewhere a dance class is in progress with ghungroos shaking to the rhythmic beat. In the green park below the boys are playing football and excitement is in the air as they kick the ball around. The ayahs make the most of it as they wheel the infantds in prams and gossip among themselves. The aroma of onions assail the nostrils as dinner is being cooked.In the distance ,on the road cars are impatiently honking as they make their way home.All in all,God is in his heaven and all is right with the world( or so it seems!)

2 year old's mischief

2006-08-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

On a fine summer evening as we were getting ready to go out,our 2 year old ran out to the balcony and returned in a few minutes.Busy getting ready we did not pay much heed to what she was doing, till her trips to the balcony every now and then aroused our suscipicion.Every now and then she would casually stroll out to the balcony and return in a couple of minutes with a smug expression on her face.We decided to find out the mystery and quietly followed her on her next trip without her knowledge and there the mystery unfolded- resting on top of the stool in the balcony was a shrunken,dirty potato (left there probably by a visiting crow)which our 2 year old was gleefully biting into ! Every visit to the balcony must have meant one bite at a time ,for the potato seemed bitten into at various points ![edit] [graphic editor] [Delete]
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[15/08/2006 06:44:13] [jovialjaya@rediffmail.com ]

Looking through the window

2006-08-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the cosy comfort of my room, I look out of the window as the rain pitter patters outside. The garden below looks lush and green with overgrown weeds amidst pools of rainwater. The rains don’t seem to disturb the birds, as mynas and sparrows chirp away merrily. Two pigeons outside the windowsill sit quietly,shielded well from the rain as they look at the other birds rather comtemptuously ,as if to say “:what kind of fools will willingly get wet in the rains and not be bothered about it ! As for the canine and feline population which keeps hanging out everyday near the garbage dump-,they are nowhere to be seen !The lucky few who are having a holiday (,thanks to Janamashtmi) are for once enjoying the rains as they sit sipping hot cups of chai and hogging freshly made kanda and batata bhajiyas. The unfortunate lot ( the majority) curse the rains, as they struggle to reach office in the midst of incessant rain, delayed train services and traffic snarls. Yet another rainy day in Mumbai where life never stops come what may ![edit] [graphic editor] [Delete]
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Down & Out

2006-08-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

Oh what a fever! well the viral fever has hit me and boy does it feel really really bad ! The virus seems to be thoroughly enjoying itself doing the rounds of my poor body!Cough, Cough I go the minute my head touches the pillow.As for the temperature it merrily goes high and low-while one minute I am covering myself with blankets and the very next minute I am longing to douse cool water over myself !As for the tastebuds-they seem to have disappeared and all I can feel is sawdust in mouth!The gen practitioners (with due respect) must be making money as it rains (quite inappropriate to say make hay while the sunshines,leave alone sun shining one has not even had a glimpse of the sun for a long trime!) writing out prescriptions and collecting their fees![edit] [graphic editor] [Delete]
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[15/08/2006 23:18:01] [jovialjaya@rediffmail.com ]

Music

2006-08-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

Music - what can one say about it. It is something so divine that it trancends all barriers and elevates one to a state of bliss. Music in its various forms be it vocal or instumental, classical or folk , has the power to move human hearts. If one were to quietly listen,one would discover music even in the creations of nature.There is music in the gurgling of the brook as it flows along its course, there is music in waves of the sea as they surge forward to the shore and recede, there is music in the chirping of the birds, the gurgling of an infant, the swaying of the leaves of the trees. In the worldly environment one can hear music in the chiming of the church or the temple bells and even the music of the anklets of a woman as she walks ,sounds melodious.Indeed what would life be if there were no music in this busy world.So lets take time off, to enjoy music even as we are bogged down by our day to day activities.