My Musings

If you have never been to the US (maybe UK I am not sure - I have never been there); if there are 2 days holidays that are adjacent to a weekend, and somebody asks you - "So, what are you doing this long weekend?" - you would probably look at him weirdly, as if he has lost his marbles. In the US, there is a major hype about Long Weekends and to a certain extent weekends also. While back in India, when I came to office to work on a monday, all I would be asked/told was about the next defect to be fixed, or next project work to be done. Whereas in the US, almost every monday , atleast half an hour is spent in discussing what you did over the weekend - and you won't beleive it when I say that sometimes half an hour is not enough - because of the multitude of things that we do here over 2 days of vacation. If it is a long weekend - then that is even bigger a story. Almost everybody goes out of home for a long weekend here. In Chennai/Bangalore if you got 2 days off on Monday/...

There are probably very few humans who do not like Potato. In India, there is a variety of items that can be made out of this very simple "child of Mother earth". I was very surprised to find that, here in the US too, it is one of the most often used vegetable. Mashed potatoes, Hash browns , fries, pototoes (cooked in their skins - as Enid blyton puts it) ... these are some of the very few varieties that the so-called more privileged people know of. I am putting across here one of my most favourite ways of cooking potato, my mother's very own recipe. Ingredients 2 medium sized potatoes 1 onion - chopped finely. 1 tomato - chopped finely. 1 small cup peas corriander leaves for garnish. 2 Cups water Oil, Mustard, split Urad Dhaal for Seasoning Red chilli powder - 2 tsp Salt to taste. Way to Proceed Cut the potatoes into quarter pieces and boil in the cooker. I use a small Hawkins cooker to boil my vegetables (something I learnt from my mom-in-law).It is so simple using this...

to you ... Happy B'day to you .... Happy B'day Dear "Aena" (That is what I address Rajesh as).. Happy B'day to you ... So, finally over the weekend, Rajesh turned a year older ; with nothing much change in almost anything about him :) .... Neither did he wake up an inch taller, not did he have two more white hair on his "jungle" head, nor did he stop jumping up and down like a 8-year old for each goal that Brazil made .... Hmmm... atleast we had the most scrumptious, taste-lingering-in-the-mouth-after-many-hours, mouth watering, heavenly Black Forrest Torte with great relish.... As one grows older, b'days become just one another day - where at the most what you do is go out for a dinner and have a binge! My b'days while I was still "young" enough to celeberate them, were the most wonderful occasions. All because of my darling amma and her surprise gifts !! .... Amma had the best knack in the world to give suprise gifts and the best suit...

I frequent some Food blogs whenever I get free time at office. They have a world of their own. Just click on one of the blogs and you get a link to a whole new world I feel. Of all, the best presented is this . One of the recent topics that they are discussing on is - the title above :)... So, I thought why not I write about 10 things I miss in my Amma darling's cooking, though it is tough to pick only 10 - because I miss her entire cooking and herself too. Michch you amma .... Okay here goes ... 1- Amma makes the world's best Maanga kootan and kathrikai fry. This combination is the world's best meal for me. No matter how much I try, I can never get the taste of amma's maanga kootan! 2 - Keerai masiyal. When amma makes it, i don't know what magic is in her hands, it comes with the just right texture - not too kozha kozha(soft and soggy), not too elai elai (leafy) - but the perfect mash. And the fried coconut strips she puts in them .... ooooh ! Slrup! mouth watering...

Continuing my food blogging , here's one of Rajesh's favourite dishes - Javvu Arisi upma (Saabu daana). The moment you eat it, you will realise why this item is called Javvu (meaning sticky in Tamizh). The first time I got to know of such a thing was when I was in Class 5. We had gone for a trip to the " Paradise On Earth " and this was what I ate almost all the 5 odd days that we stayed there - for breakfast. No matter how much amma or I have tried, we have never been able to get that taste that is still imprinted in our minds! Well without much ado, let us sink our teeth into the recipe.. Don't blame me if your teeth remain stuck :). Don't forget these ... Javvu Arisi (Saabu daana) - 2 Cups Onion - 1 , Chopped very finely. Corriander leaves - 10-11 sprigs , Chopped very finely (for garnishing). Kadalai (Peanuts) - 1/2 Cup - dry roasted and coarsely ground Green Chillies - 4-5 small - slit lengthwise. Oil, Mustard, Split Urad Dhal - for seasoning Turmeric Pow...

It was a nice and eventful weekend. Friday evening as we sat discussing the weekend - what to do, what not to do ... we decided on an impulse to go and see "Cars". So, driving our "CAR" we went to the Great Lakes mall, got a pop-corn and just manage to park ourselves in the comfy seats and the "ads" started. Now this is something I HATE missing - the ads. Rajesh often complains that they don't play the "Sonali - Nirma" ad in the US... Well, more about "CARS" later... I grew some "Tennis limbs" over the weekend. Having touched the racquet for the first time about a month ago and running around more to pick the balls , than hitting the ball - i thought i would never play a single shot. But this weekend, i surprised myself and more than me - Rajesh(when i scored a couple of points hee hee).... We spent some time at our community center. The Govt. of this country does give you back some of the tax you pay and in definitely a v...

It was "Micham Socham"(left overs) day last Thursday. Once a week, we have this at home, all the left over one spoon uperi (subzi), 2 karandi(laddle) sambhar, 3 chappatis .... all consumed together, along with the all-ever-favorite curd rice!.... This time we decided to make Mooli Partha. I have been visiting food blogs for quite some time now. So, inspired by all those zillion cooks in the world, I decided to put across my recipes also here.Many of them might be repeats, but then who-cares! What to put in? Atta(Wheat Flour) - 5 handfuls (gave me around 6 medium size parathas). Mooli (Mulangi in Tamil) - 1 big (grated finely) Red Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon Salt - to taste Ajwain - 1 teaspoon Onion - 1 small finely, very finely chopped corriander - 4 to 5 sprigs finely chopped. Oil - 2 teaspoons Yogurt - 1 laddleful How to Make it? The Filling To the grated Mooli add salt and chilli powder nicely. Keep this aside for about 10 minutes. The Salt will help drain out all the wat...

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockleshells And pretty maids all in a row. Rajesh's latest hobby is the mini-pot-garden that he is growing in our patio. I am not a very flora-fauna person, my likes for the same extending only upto taking good pictures of the former. But I must say, the patio is looking extremely 'healthy' and beautiful. Yesterday, I clicked a couple of pictures of the same. Here they are...

Finally I got my wish fulfilled. I managed to convince Rajesh to take me to Novi to watch “Fanaa”. Going to Novi to watch a movie is very tiring I feel. For one, it is nearly 45 minutes drive from home; and the movie timings are such that we cannot have lunch before leaving or after coming back. The movie made up for all these petty troubles. Even the fact that we lost our way back and had to nearly drive an hour in the burning heat, did not bother us – as we discussed the wondrous movie that we had just watched. Well, on the onset – Fanaa is not something which will be liked by all folks. It is totally “hatke” from the current trend of movies – no sex, sleaze, fast music, dhishum dhishum, poor PJs…. It is a through and through emotional fare. A simple and told-before story – but with wonderful packaging and creative art which creates all the difference and the magic. Kajol has proved without doubt, that she is still the best with this shattering comeback. All the while I was watching ...

It was long weekend time ... For a change we did not go visiting any place, much to the surprise of all my colleagues. Though as the weekend neared, Rajesh's murmurrs started "We are not going anywhere at all. Why don't we go for a day's trip to blah blah ... or atleast half a day trip to blah blah ... ! Log agar pooche - Long Weekend ko kya kiye - we will say summit mall shopping gaye .. Cha! kya bore ho tum ..." Despite all his rantings, the weekend turned out to be a very restful and enjoyable one - he admits that himself now. All plans for "Fanaa" (one that i had been nursing ever since I saw that poster on rediff ) got washed out due to lazy waking-ups at 10 or 11 in the morning. With a promise that if the reviews turn out to be good, we would go next week - i diverted my mind to other activities. It was a damn hot time in town this weekend. With the mercury rising upto 97 on Sunday afternoon; there was hardly an inch free space in the pool in our a...

It is kinda too personal to be writing about my husband on a blog - well! that is the way I look at (not many may feel that)! But his act of yesterday's touched me so much that I thought I would put in a small writing to say just about how lucky I am to have the bestest husband in the whole wide world. He is the most caring, calm and loving person ; next only to amma. Well, you might say, everybody would say their husband is soooo caring, loving .... then what is so special about Rajesh ... Well, he is special ... He stands every single tantrum of mine without opposing or uttering a word. If we go to BK and it is ceasar's salad today ; and garden's tomorrow only because I want - he agrees. If I want to eat out ; so be it; If I won't buy raw banana because I don't like it - there is no objection. Every evening when I come back from work, there is a special snack ready for me at home; even it has been only seconds before me that he arrived. Tea is made the way I like ...

I miss home .. waaaahhhhh ... booo hooo..... I cried one night .... I miss amma ... her calls of "viva ... endhuru mani aaru aachu", her wonderful tea with the "vatta" biscuit(as paati calls it) ; chattering away nineteen to dozen with her while she is plaiting my hair; the well-packed lunch box she gave me daily; her telling me everyday "tiffin box eduthundiya, kannadi edunthundiya; cell eduthundiya; seri po vera onnum vendam"(did you take the tiffin box, spectacles, cell - okay go you don't need anything else)" ; calling her once a while from office to chit-chat on what she is doing/complain about how appa inevitable always calls her when she is sleeping and calls me when i am at lunch; miss hugging her and sleeping a night; laughing and making fun of her when she imitates periamma by asking "thoongiyaaaach" just before sleeping... I miss amma.... I miss appa ... his grumbling about my chatter in the mornings; dropping me off at the bu...

I got my temporary driving license ......... yooooooooo hoooooooooo!!!!I passed the written test and took our car for a test drive to the nearest grocery store..... Admist my tension, not able to find where the brake/accelarator is , rajesh's running commentary on how to drive, the excitement of being behind the wheel on the main road for the first time, fumbling with the indicators, fuming at rajesh's comments .... accelerating when i should brake , braking while changing lanes .... I managed to go to the store and come back home .... I Survived !!!!

Recently I have been looking at a lot of blogs, and to my surprise found that almost 70% of the people I know - blog. It came as a very amazing surprise to me. I found a lot of what was happening in their lives in their blogs. I got to know of the recent past of many a folks, whom I have not been in touch with for the past year or so. I was very happy to see how this small concept of blogging has made the world seem so much more "smaller". It made me sit back and think how quickly and enormously the world of communication has grown. When I left school, I had only two friends I could keep in touch with , and that too because they were close to where I stayed. We did not even have a telephone at home, so I never took down the numbers of others. And then when I got to college, I kept in touch with friends through letters. I still remember the thrill that I would feel to see a letter for me in the letter board of the hostel. Ah! those long letters from Rajani, Smitha and Sirisha ...

I always wore the one gold ring I posessed on my middle finger. It was a sort of desire to different from the routine of wearing it on the third finger, and a sort of rebellious act - when my father forbade me to do so, as the middle finger was supposed to mean the snake finger and one was not supposed to wear a ring on it (guess Americans would have a totally different explanation to give! hee hee). But it changed when I landed in the US of A. During my stay here, for some reason I was wearing it on my third finger - when one day my User asked if i was married. I said - No. He said - then why are you wearing your ring on this finger? That charmed me a lot - for at this point I was madly in love (luckily married to the person now), and it gave me a romantic, sentimental, mushy-mush feeling to wear a ring on my third finger and show it off to the whole world (Back in India, there is not much significance to a ring on a finger - atleast from where I come from). So much for an intro - tod...

It is little more than 2 months since I even ventured in this way. Though I would open IE almost 96 times in a day, it would be only to type the one URL that launched the (currently) world's best application (because I am involved to a teeny weeny bit in developing it). But then though I was not-even-worth-a-penny(read free-at-work), I did not feel upto blogging, only because - I did not know WHAT to write. Just almost anything I thought seemed either too stupid, or too personal to be written, or too boring , or too-whatever-else-you-can-think-of..... So, I did the thing I am best at - reading other's blog, and as usual- reading Kumari's blog enthused me .. and breathed life into my otherwise dull fingers ... I decided i would shake off the thick coat of murk and dust shroud around me, and pen down something - even if it were a meaningless ramblings... Atleast I re-started to write...

After watching a hat-trick of run-of-the-mill so called "comedy" movies "Shaadi No.1", "Garam Masala", "Deewane Hue Pagal", this movie was like a whiff, no stream , of fresh breeze.... Battling through a fierce snowstorm, driving on the fast-race course like 696 highway, we reached the theatre in Novi to see what is this so much hyped movie of Aamir's . Having fared pathetically in his last venture, we both(die hard Aamir) fans, hoped this movie would live upto his reputation. And we were not dissapointed. I read an interview of Atul Kulkarni's in Rediff, where he says that Aamir is an actor who gives every person in the movie his fair share. And I found this to be Cent percent true. Inspite of being in the movie, you would never feel only his role hard hitting . Every person has been given his/her fair deal of share in the movie and each frame is made with perfection. The movie starts off with a biiig bang, laughter, jazz music, fun, bik...

Often i am posed with this question in my mind. Before i proceed further, let me explain what I mean by the title... I am often faced with the dilemna : should I read a book before I watch its film adaption or should I see the movie and then pick up a copy of the book? When I first saw "Little Woman" the movie , I was so impressed that I went and bought the book , but soon was a little put off with the elaborate description in the book. Whereas after reading almost 4 books of the Potter series, I went with a very eager mind to see the first movie .. "... and the Philospoher's ..." and came out very disappointed. I should not be very cynical, I know the director tried his best to put the magical world created by Rowling into images, but there is just too much detail in the book that no movie can capture it in 2 hours ... But i cannot deny the fact that I loved and enjoyed seeing my favourite characters being given a face and a voice. The next time I read Harry Po...

A Novel by Judy Blume, that explores the lives of two girls over a period of 18 years, as they cross each milestone in their lives. I just finished reading it yesterday night, after having read it for nearly a month. There were days when I would complete a novel in a day or two and here are times when I get to read probably half a page in two days... Life indeed changes a lot, as portrayed by this novel itself. Just on the border of giving sufficient detail but not over-exaggerating is the narration pace of this beautiful life story. It is a story about two girls, Victoria and Cassy, who influence each other in every piece of their lives, unknowingly; from the moment they become “Summer Sisters” at the tender age of 12. It all begins when the rich and spoilt brat, but the cynosure of all eyes in the not-so-well-known school of Sante Fe, Cassy invites the plain and ordinary next door girl, Victoria to spend the summer with her in her Father’s place at “The Vineyard...

Well, it was not exactly one, but there was definitely much louder applause than I have ever heard in a theatre in the United States. It was a well deserved applause at the "Great Lakes Crossing" a the end of " The Chronicles of Narnia " - the beginning of a journey to a magical land. I read about it first in Kumari's blog and how she was dissappointed that people had shown no response to the most fabulously made adaption on the Original novel by C.S. Lewis. So, we decided today to go and see for ourselves what this wonderful thing was all about. And were we Awed and surprised and pleased to the tee... We were floating in a different world while walking down the aisle of the Theatre rows. Not a single detail missed, a single character unexplained, a single dialogue without meaning. Magic weaved into ordinary lives of 4 young kids brings out the most beautifully fabricated tale of a fantasy land called Narnia... It is very difficult to hold yourself from fallin...