My TRYST with COOKING

Its not the first time that I have started to cook, I seldom used to help mom in the kitchen. Otherwise there are a few special dishes that are always made by me at home like Frankie, Malai Kofta, Chole bhatura etc etc(reason being I was taught these dishes in School during Home Science by Mrs LATA RAI). I have never ever been serious abt cooking coz I always knew I could manage. Even last year when I went to USA for 6 mths, I did not bother much to learn/experiment/practice cooking because I knew I am gonna be with my brothers :-). I managed cooking with ease but I was not responsible for shopping of vegetables etc etc. It was just the cooking of vegetables I was concerned with which I feel is the easiest part. But this time may be the thought of handling all the things alone is scaring me and I am getting myself to be prepared. ;-). Also since I am getting married and will be in USA for my residency, my cooking urge has come to the fore. I am trying to cook something everyday in the evening (if time permits). So last 3 days I have tried my hand at PAV BHAJI, Ridge Gourd Bhaji [Birakaya(telugu)/Turi(Marathi)] and Aloo Bhaji (Chikoo Bhaji- don't know y its called so in telugu).

A FEW SNAPS:

DOSA & Aloo Bhaji:


ALOO BHAJI:


PAV BHAJI:



By the Way, the snaps say it ALL-I do not have to write down how my experiments/practice/learning sessions of cooking turned out :).................

COUSINS & Me

I feel guilty for not updating my blog since a long time..........As i was pondering over what to write, I suddenly realized that this past month of mine was hustle and bustle time with my cousins.

As it was the marriage time of my cousin cum best friend, Veena (height of co-incidence: my other cousin sister Karunakka also got married on the same day 9 yrs back, so both the Enagandula daughter's got married on the same day), we cousins had a gala gettogether in the past month. We met each other almost every other day for shopping, for the rituals and functions. As Cousins, we usually make it a point to meet atleast 3-4 times a year for our annual get-togethers: once usually in summer, the other for Raksha Bandhan and once more for paying tribute to our forefathers. The fun and joy whenever we meet is beyond words.....
Nowadays life has become mechanical and everybody is very very busy in their own lives. But moments like weddings and get-together's bring everybody from their hiding closet. When we started off as kids, I remember my grandfather used to proudly announce that he has 19 grandchildren. But now this family has become very very big: sorry i lost the count. With most of my cousins married and only a few of the younger lot being single, we have a lot of kids running amuck at every occasion. The oldest among the next generation is 10 yrs old Ritika and the youngest is the cute 1 yr old Vidhi. All the chintar-pintar's call me AKKA (BUA in my family is referred to as AKKA). Only 2 of the chintar-pintar's Vrinda & Bhairavi (my cousin Karunakka's daughter) call me PINNI (Choti Maa). The rarer the word, the more fond you are of that. Hence I love hearing PINNI from Vrinda's cute little mouth. Bhairu is too young & shy to call me yet.
This year at Veena's marriage i also met my cousin Saritakka's kids who live in Nizamabad for the first time - Sanmukhasai(Sai) and Himavaishnavi(Vaishu). Like all kids they are amazingly cute and sweet. Must add that Sai is also very very smart. All of 5 yrs and he impressed me with his strong memory and excellent communication skills. I was surprised that he missed me when he couldn't see me for a day or two and was asking his mom for me. Both the kids and my cousin's later went Mumbai Darshan to Juhu Beach & Iskon temple in the evening.
The Wedding preparation and excitement towards the wedding had bundled up for over a month but in hardly a few hours time the Wedding was over. The next 2 days were the usual rituals of pooja and feast as happens in all weddings and we cousins had few more reasons to meet up. Now that the wedding is over, everybody is back to their own busy lives. Now I guess another grand get together of us cousins would be due on Raksha Bandhan. Until then telephones hain na!!!!!!!!!!!!

HERE I AM SITTING IN MY OFFICE @ NIGHT.............

A nice piece of poem which I wanted to share with all of you … Not written by me though.

Here I am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed from a maverick collage life to strict professional life…...

How tiny pocket money changed to huge monthly paychecks
but then why it gives less happiness….

How a few local denim jeans changed to new branded wardrobe
but then why there are less people to use them

How a single plate of samosa changed to a full Pizza or burger
But then why there is less hunger…..

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed…..

How a bike always in reserve changed to bike always on
but then why there are less places to go on……

How a small coffee shop changed to cafe coffee day
but then why its feels like shop is far away…..

How a limited prepaid card changed to postpaid package
but then why there are less calls & more messages……

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed…..

How a general class journey changed to Flight journey
But then why there are less vacations for enjoyment….

How a old assembled desktop changed to new branded laptop
but then why there is less time to put it on……….

How a small bunch of friends changed to office mate
But then why we always feel lonely n miss those college frnz.….

Here i am sitting in my office @ night…
Thinking hard about life
How it changed….. How it changed……..



Snehal replied to this above email as follows:
that is really very true.
i personally miss nair a lot , many times in bus or train when alone.
but meetings like arpans wedding really charge us up.
take care.
god bless all our friends.

I couldn't agree more with you Snehal. Life has become so busy, that daily meetings have now reduced to annual get together's at marriage functions. But the charm, magic of friendship will never fade, It will be there forever in our hearts. May God bless everyone and give them what they dream and wish for.
Cheers to all my friends and no matter what the situation is Keep Smiling always my dear friends.

PETS

To be very frank, I am not a pet person........I am not a DOG person and to be true I am even scared of CATS if they look me directly in the eye. I get equally scared and run amuck in my house at the slightest vision of any rodent in my house, though they wouldn't be qualified as PET's but Ripley's Believe it or Not does show a few animal lovers having all sorts of animals as pets.

Yesterday I met ANGEL (a 2mth old pomeranian Bitch of my good friend Bhuvaneswari). And I must admit that I am in love with the cute lil tail waggling and trying to catch her own tail pomeranian. She looks every bit of her name, but must add that she is amazingly smart and mischievous. Yesterday's encounter with Angel, reminded me of my another close encounter with a pet during my early childhood days which i completely forgot about. One of my colony friends named Afreen had a Rabbit as her pet. We used to call him RAJA/SONA. The white and brown streaked four legged animal with amazing ears was a bundle of joy. We friends used to love, pamper and play with him.....Our favorite game was trying to catch him first when we left him in the tall green grasses. We used to catch him by his slender, cartilage ears. We had the best possible time for over 1 yr playing with him until he left us.

Just wanted to jot down how I felt about PETS. I believe a pet is the best friend a parent can give to a shy lonely child who would not venture out much. Pets will love you unconditionally and a strong bond is developed.

ALL SAID n DONE........I would be glad to visit ANGEL on a monthly basis :). But having her at my home will surely freak me out.

NOSTALGIA

A Beautiful POEM which everybody can relate to.........

These were the exact feelings I felt when I finished High School and the moment came again when I finished Medical school. Its been 2 years since I have left my Alma mater, Topiwala National Medical College aka NAIR Hospital. But the memories are still so fresh as if everything happened just yesterday.

I wish that I could turn back time
to those days of yore and glee,
and wander down those hallowed halls,
together, you and me.
How sweet 'twould be to once again
see all your faces there,
and skip along the corridors
where youth was free of care.

I'd love to feel the ambiance
of days that are no more,
where tender hopes were plentiful
and dreams were meant to soar.

I'd like to see your cheerful smiles
that brightened like the sun,
and feel the rush of eagerness
for journeys just begun.

But oh, alas, those days are gone;
I can't go back to see
those teen-aged classmates of mine,
except in memory.

How long the road has wound since then,
how far I've had to roam,
but the glorious days I shared with you
will always whisper home.

Perhaps the roads you've taken, too,
have led both far and near,
but I suspect that in your hearts
those nostalgic days are dear.

So take my hand and we will ride
the winds of memory
back to the time when we were young
and full of joy and glee.

-Ruth Gilis

Changes in 6 Months:

Its been really long since i haven't updated my blog.
Its been 5 days in India and I have noticed a lot of changes.
Family: My parents missed me lots and now I am being pampered(which was present even otherwise) My Mom had started tutoring in July, to keep herself occupied and slowly the number of kids increased from 1 to 5. So its like a mini nursery at my house from 5pm to 8pm. I m enjoying my time around these kids and teaching them. But I must admit, it needs a lot of patience to teach KIDS. Nonetheless it is a very enriching experience..........
Relatives: My relatives missed my other cousin who was working in Maldives and me. Actually we being the youngest are the jaan(life) of all get-togethers. So to make up for the last 6 mths we have planned for a big bash on New Year's Eve. Hope we have fun like the one planned 2 yrs back. This new year being a working day, I am kinda skeptical. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the Best.
Met my cousin's kids after 6 mths. One of my cousin sister's daughter who talked to me and called me PINNI (i love hearing that from her mouth) only when i urged/begged her, surprised me yesterday. She has become so talkative that you need to be always on your toes for answering her. A small conversation with her yest:
Vrinda: Pinni....ee cheppullu ekkada konnavu? (Pinni(Choti maa), Where did u buy these shoes)Me: Andheri lo (In Andheri)
Vrinda: Enduku? (Why) Me: Manchiga vunnayi ani (Because they are good)
Vrinda: Eppudu? When) Me: Yodu nelalu kinda (7 mths back)
Vrinda: Naaku konnivvu kada (Buy me also na) Me: neeku peddaga aytayi kada beta (They will be big for you beta)
Vrinda: Chinnayi konnivu.....ivvi nenu eskolenu pinni (Buy me small one's, i can't wear these big one's) (hahaha.....she is certainly smarter than I thought she was) Such intense gruelling session continued for other topics as well........She had started using Why, How, When, Where etc etc........Answering such questions can be tricky sometimes. You need to be really smart to answer kids queries.
Friends: My friends missed me as well.......They were happy bcoz they could not meet all this while and now we could have a grand get-together of all friends on my context. Still this will have to wait until the big CET Exams get over.......

MAA- Taare Zameen Par

TZP: One of my most recent favourite movies- reason's being- the STORY, the ACTOR & the DIRECTOR all did their part very well.
This is the best song in the recent times. Another favourite song of mine is Tujhse Naaraz nahi Zindagi from the movie MASOOM. Both of these song's are my all time favorite's and can listen to them for hours.
I searched a lot for the telugu version of this song- but i couldnt find it online. If somebody get's the link please leave the link as a comment to this post.
Just wanted to feel the song in my mother tongue......
It touches my heart everytime I listen to it. The word's of the song are so true & apt. This song is dedicated to all the mother's in the world.

I have translated it in English for non Indian's.

I never, tell u , but I am afraid of the dark; mother
Generally, I never show to you, but I care for you; mother
You know everything, u know na; Mother
You know everything, My Mother

Don't leave me in the crowd, that I can't even come home
Dont send me so far away, that you don't even remember me
Am i So bad Mother?? So Bad, my mother

Whenever Father used to swing me fast by the swing, My eyes used to search for you,
thinking that you would come and hold me; mother
I never tell u this, but i am frightened; mother, I dont let it come on the face,
but i get scared in my heart; mother
You know everything, u know na; mother
You know everything, my mother

I never, tell u , but I am afraid of the dark; mother
Generally, I never show to you, but I care for you; mother
You know everything, u know na; Mother
You know everything, My Mother

(P.S- I don't know if i have done a good job at translation)