PARENTING.....SOME THOUGHTS !

So the summer break is over in India, which means ‘Back to school with heavy bags on tender backs, new water bottles hanging on shoulders , chart paper and cellophane sheets rolled in the hands and all. Time when parents have shift duties to perform, when they need to be up early to pull kids out of bed and drag them into the wash room to get their teeth brushed and awaken the sleepy brats with a water splash on the face followed by an immediate body shower. It's the story of going to bed the previous day with a mind full of school going and home coming, thoughts of sharing the stress of project-work, reading and writing together, mid term tests, a fixed waking-up time, drop and pick up, menu for the school lunch box, books arranged as per the time table, a properly equipped pencil box, geometry box, colour pencils and crayons, uniform, ironing, Bata shoes, black and white cherry blossom polish, socks, ties, bag packing, listening to complaints and stories of broken test tubes etc. etc. etc. 

Phew! The ‘My kid goes to school’ project is a difficult one. Planned Plan A could be the best but with kids, it would be good to keep reminding yourself about unpredictabilities and stay prepared with a back up plan say Plan B, C, D............Z to fall upon. How you act in a particular situation becomes the plan of that moment. 

The school working hours keep changing every year. From 1 hour at first in LKG to full working days on weekends and holidays in ClassXII, all that is required at the parent's end is presence of mind, the ability to stay alert and be prepared to adhere to the timings. 

Quarterlies , halfyearlies and finals are crucial testing times, sometimes in the forenoon and sometimes in the afternoons. But ! as a parent no matter what, you never give up on your kids  - No matter how trying the situations are, key is to remember "This too shall pass " and it does, I speak from experience here. 

Parenting in school is all about mediating and doing the patching up, explaining to your own child, teaching the child to be competitive with himself, to perform to the best of his capacity without comparison and sometimes talking to a parent whose child bullies others in the class. 

Now, when I count the money, I would have spent on transport, school projects, annual functions and excursions, I thank my stars. As compared to the exorbitant fees charged now school fees were much cheaper a few years ago and convent education came with several concessions. The annual fees in Class X came to around Rs 8000/- only. Text books and notebooks were provided by the school at a nominal cost. School authorities took orders for the uniforms. All that the students had to do was to assemble class wise as per the dates mentioned, form a line roll no wise, give the measurements and go back to class. Pay and take atleast a minimum of three sets at a time was the option given to the parents. The weekends, vacations and rainy days were time for parents to celebrate and take it easy. 

The school provided free education to under priviliged children. Call it a pitfall or a blessing of studying in a school which accomodated girl children only  from all strata of society, while the children learned to be friendly with all, they came back home with heads loaded with lice. Though holidays meant leisure from pressure, at the same time it meant looking into various options on eradication of lice and how to prevent further infestation...

LETTER FROM A MOM TO HER DAUGHTERS !

Some memories of my daily sermonising routine a few years back when my girls were in piggy tails and in school.....

Dearest daughters,

Now that you are in high school, I request you to take responsibility of taking care of yourselves. You can fend for yourselves, and I, your mother, have made it easy for you to do so. Anyway that is my job and when you are grown up, taller than me and competent enough to stand on your own legs, I will still be doing as much as I can to make things easy for you.

I am at work and when the two of you come back from school, here's what you should be doing and what not till I arrive.

Step 1 : "For making you happy "

"There are cakes.... spongy cup cakes and black forest pastries, sweet buns, bread, cream, cheese, butter, milk and curd in the refriegerator. There is the colourful fruit salad which I made specially for the two of you. There are two small alphonso mangoes on the kitchen table . I forgot to tell you about the cold chocolate milk and orange juice inside the fridge...But hey wait. The first thing that you are going to do once you get home is to open the fridge door...I know that, but..do not partake of any of these till you have followed the instructions in Step 2."

Step 2 :" For lunch at 3PM when you are back from school."

"That is your designated lunch hour as fixed by me, your mother. Adhere to it. I made aviyal and aloo roast today. I have kept rasam satham and curd rice in two separate containers on the dining table. Please share it equally. Do not waste the vegetables. Do remember to have the salad and the boiled vegetables too. No, there isn’t much pickle left. And no, I am not inclined to buy any pickle on my way home from work...Anyway you may have curd rice with the tangy puli inji..That's good for you...Now you may move to Step 1 and you are free to ransack the fridge."

"Dear girls, I am sorry if you feel you must call me at the office with your tales of discontent and displeasure of having to consume the same rice every day. I am sorry if you feel deprived because I said "No" when you wanted to make maggi or order a pizza and garlic bread."

Dear girls, I cooked with a generous dollop of love. Please have the food without complaining. Otherwise Goddess Annapoorani will weep. After finishing, clean the table and go to play outside. I have checked the air in the cycles. I got a new set of badminton corks. I have kept them on your study table. Studies and homework can wait till Uma Amma gets home...

..

Your loving Mother 

smile emoti

I could write about politics. No ! I will write a novel, maybe I should be writing a film review, or better still be participating in a debate or a story telling workshop.. I let that all pass, because official notes and draft letters are within my writing purview, so is blogging but the aforesaid mentioned are beyond my grasp. I will stick to what I can do best and no prizes for guessing that.

On that note, I begin. Today the 16th of June, Circa Two thousand and fifteen, I resolve to stay close to the topic and so even as I will write, I will keep reminding myself..." Please remember the topic "..." Oh ! dear !...do not stray away from what you wish to say.." Please, that is not the subject."

So, dear friends how do you begin your day ? If you are past fifty, it must be pretty tough to get out of bed, right ? At the crack of dawn with the sound of joints creaking and cracking what is foremost in your mind ? Is it exercise ? If so, you are on the right track. Get into those track suits and start running.

If you are up daily, groggy and grumpy faced, you were probably tossing all night singing

करवटें बदलते रहे,

 सारी रात हम,

आप की कसम,

आप की कसम with a background score, a medley of

सो जा राजकुमारी.....

सो जा....

सो जा राजकुमारी.....

सो जा...... and a modern remix of

नींद ना मुझे को आए,

दिल मेरा घबराए and

निंदिया ना आए........

निंदिया ना आए हाये

रैना बीती जाए .........leaving you wide awake for the rest of the night.

So, Please turn off the gadgets and sleep well.

Having doctors at home helps. They reassure me saying that most of the creaking sounds are harmless provided one is physically active. I am relieved and I ponder...Hmmmm !..." What better song for staying agile throughout the day, than this favourite one ? "...

উর্দ্ধও গগনে বাজে মাদল.

নিম্নে উতলা ধরণী তল.

ওরুণ প্রাতের তরুণ দল.

চলরে, চলরে, চল

চল ! চল ! চল  ...or even this one...

জাগো তুমি জাগো !

জাগো দুর্গা ! জাগো, দশ প্রহরণ ধারিনী!

অভায়া শক্তি ভালো প্রদাযিনি তুমি জাগো!

জাগো ! তুমি জাগো !

or a …मेरा नाम चिन चिन चू

चिन चिन चू बाबा चिन चिन चू......

रात चाँदनी, मैं और तुम.. ..Hello ! Mr, How do you do ? :-):-)

That motivates me to get up, stay brisk and active. I start my day with the filter coffee and I prepare the brew with the Rama Nama chant on my lips. I would not mind singing.." Ay malik tere bande hum, aise ho hamare kadam "...... but that would be a distraction to a better half who sings well and loves old Tamil melodies. I allow him to sing..

.Ayya Murugaiya...Murugaiya Kandhaiya...

or...

Thirupparangkunraththil Nee Siriththaal Murugaa

Thiruththani Malai Meedhu Edhirolikkum

Thirupparangkunraththil Nee Siriththaal Murugaa

Thiruththani Malai Meedhu Edhirolikkum…..

That's how you go about doing the morning chores. Ok !...Sing, do a chore which you are compelled to, sing and do a job you love. I love to cut veggies but I hate the cleaning work..So, in between cutting veggies and the cleaning, I tune into Vividh Bharati or listen to Saavn....

That's morning activity sorted out. Right !

Alternating smartly between tasks you love to do and tasks that you are forced to do, is the key to keeping your cool. The intervening period gives you the scope to do what you want . So please do destress and make best use of the time available.

Get going, go out into the garden, take a stroll in the park, admire the greenery and come back right in to continue from where you had left. Now you may sing... मधुबन  खुशबू देता है, सागर सावन् देता है...जीना उसका जीना है जो औरों को जीवन देता है...

Dear friends,

Stay healthy, Keep smiling, Stay positive, keep moving and sing along…..

सायोनारा सायोनारा

वादा निभाऊँगी सायोनारा

इठलाती और बलखाती

कल फिर आऊँगी सायोनारा.

सायोनारा, सायोनारा

HING LAGE NA PITKARI, RANG BHI CHOWKA AAYE !

With plans afoot for tomato onion oothappam, idlis and pongal for breakfast, steaming rice with capsicum sambhar, rasam and yummy aviyal for lunch, lehsuni makki palak and phulkas for dinner, I am depriving  myself of indulging in the sheer luxury of writing.

I do not know if I am going to step into the spotlight with this post of mine, but all of a sudden there is a surge of excitement, a craving to be a successful food writer. Generally speaking, consistency is the recipe to success, the key to a good recipe is practice and there is nothing sweeter than success.

The aroma of the herbs and spices, a drool, appetites that demand for more maketh a novice a chef. With a little inspiration and motivation the good chef becomes better and with some encouragement a better chef becomes the best...This is no great secret. Maybe applying the same logic, I will also be a great cook and an awesome food blogger some day.

Healthy food, recipes easy and mundane, recipes seemingly complex but actually rather simple, I try my hands only at those. In this post of mine, I will try to keep the taste buds far and near, tingling and the saliva drooling.

All one needs is a little common sense,  the passion to dabble, mix, match, blend herbs and spices, a head full of creative ideas and a lot of patience. With practice even  the seemingly tough to prepare dishes can become child's play.

Anyway ! Whoever said that "One who loves to eat will love to cook too," must have been an awesome chef.

I am a hard core vegan and I will swear by the benefits of vegetarianism. Before I get immersed in a topic I love, before I can just go on and on about yummy vegetarian delicacies and irresistible dishes, let me make one point very clear. Health and nutrition are the two main factors spearheading the cause of vegetarianism across the globe today .

On that note I begin with a small introduction of myself.  Born into a liberal Tambrahm family, I was raised in cosmopolitan Kolkata. I consider myself very fortunate for I had opportunity of growing up imbibing two great cultures, their food habits and in the process, I also learnt that great greater grandmother handed down recipes are the tastiest and the healthiest. The ones that have been handed down generations are still a part of traditional lunches and banquets.

In keeping with my Tamil upbringing and the Bong influence, listed below are a few common lip smacking dishes, easy on the purse and also on the belly, when consumed in moderation. Now maybe I could also write a snippet about the thief and the finger licking Pulikaachal. The Pulikaachal is a spicy tamarind chutney. It is a Tamilnadu speciality. The main ingredients are tamarind, (the older and darker,the tastier) red chillies, roasted and powdered coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and peanuts. But since I have been designated with the job of writing about recipes that can make you drool I stick to that..So here you go...

One day, a few years later, when I will read this post, I will be still drooling and probably guffawing too, with a Pavlov in mind. I would be trying out newer versions of the recipes keeping in mind that times change and in order to keep boredom at bay, I will try to innovate......

Well ! Just that some of you tried to interrupt...let me add....I am indeed sorry.? Oh ! Let me get to the topic right away. I have started tapping on my keyboard and since there is nobody to stop me, I am drooling and typing..

This is a layman's guide to drooling and as the author of this post I am in no way responsible for incidents of tingling buds and dripping salivas that may be reported from across the globe. I will also not be held responsible if readers will start and bombarding Blogmint with hilarious anecdotes and time tested recipes...

Here's my list. I can see some of the readers drooling...Let's get started...

THE FILTER COFFEE !

If it's time to kick start your day, what better way to do it? So folks ! gear up and do a little homework. If you stay in that part of the world, where you have easy access to freshly ground coffee powder, you have reason to rejoice. Head to your nearest coffee outlet and buy a 50- 50 combination of Peaberry and Plantation beans. The shopkeeper will grind the roasted beans in your presence and you will be the proud owner of the most aromatic and fragrant coffee powder in the world. Invest in a humble coffee filter or a sophisticated coffee maker and enjoy the goodness of real frothy coffee with every sip.

THE IDLI AND THE DOSA ! 

Move out breads and buns. Make way for the delicious paper masala, sada, onion, paneer, dosas and creamy white soft and fluffy idles for a mouth watering breakfast experience. Essentially the trick in churning out the best batter lies in the grinding. Invest in a good quality table top grinder. The basic ingredients are the same for both the idli and the dosa. The difference is in the proportion of the Urad Dal and Rice. Ensure soft fluffy idles with the time tested combination of parboiled rice, urad dal and poha in the ratio 4:1:1 and yummy crispy dosas with my super success combination of raw rice, parboiled rice, urad dal and methi seeds in the ratio 1:1:1/4:1/8. Serve with yummy sambar, spicy onion, tangy tomato or a simple coconut chutney and spread the word that these are the one of the healthiest food items prescribed for breakfast. 

RASAM !

The simplest of all recipes, the heavenly Rasam is a South Indian delicacy. It is a clear soup made with the stock of boiled pulses, ripe cherry red tomatoes and tamarind. The rasam is served as an appetiser or partaken  with rice. The secret to a spicy rasam lies in the rasam powder which is a powdered mix of cummin, coriander, pepper, red chillies and asafoetida. The taste is enhanced with the final garnish...mustard seeds spluttered in pure ghee is dunked on top with finely chopped coriander and fresh curry leaves.

HOTEL SAMBAR !

Called the hotel sambar, it differs from the sambar that is served with rice for meals in South Indian homes. Unlike the  normal sambar where tamarind is one of the main ingredient, hotel sambar is prepared with either less or no tamarind. The trick lies in cooking the pulses with the onions and tomatoes in a pressure cooker. Fried shallots and vegetables mostly capsicum or drumstick are added for the enhanced flavour. The seasoning is in ghee. Topped with mustard, methi seeds and curry leaves fried in ghee, this is a delectable recipe easy to make and very tasty.

Now I am really hungry and I need more food for my brain. It could be mid noon, lunch, dinner time or any time of the day. Let's go oriental and move eastwards for an irresistible lunch menu comprising of piping hot Basmati or Gobindobhog rice, cholar dal, Potol and Bhegun Bhaja, Luchi alu Dhom and Rosogollas. From the sesame oil that adds aroma to South Indian cooking, I have made a shift to the fragrant ghee and mustard oil that lends the unique taste to Bong cooking.

HOT STEAMING GOBINDOBHOG PULAO !

The very enjoyable Gobindo bhog rice has a lovely aroma. Cooked with the right amount of water and blended with spices such as nutmeg, bay leaf, cardamom, cumin and cinnamon it forms the main course in any traditional Bengali meal. Highly aromatic the rice can be used for making mouth watering kheers in a jiffy.

BEGUN AAR POTOL BHAJA !

A hard core Bong food lover will swear by his love for the Pointed Gourd (Parwal) and the Aubergine ( Big Brinjal). Any meal is incomplete without the bhajas. Cut into long slices and marinated in a mix of masala and spice powders, the deep fried or sauted vegetables disappear from the frying pan once they are cooked. A great hit with the masses, these starters have existed from time immemorial and will continue to top the starter charts across homes.

CHOLAR DHAL !

The cholar dal is a very easy to make dish. Boiled chana dal is tempered with a seasoning of panch phoran, green chillies and fried coconut pieces. Turmeric enhances the colour of the dish and makes it irresistible. Highly nutritious, it is a great accompaniment with rice and loochi.

TOMATO CHAAATNEY !

The tangy sweet tomato chutney derives its taste from the combination of fried sesame seeds, dates and tamarind. Lip smacking, the dish requires very little effort to create the special taste. A little jaggery or sugar is added to enhance the taste. Bright red chilly powder gives the dish the colour that can trigger to activate the salivary gland.

Ofcourse ! I could go on and on about the lip smacking rosogolla and the yummy mishti dhoi, the traditional Tamilnadu payasam and the Tirunelveli Halwa, ice creams, sundaes and gulab jamuns, the roadside puchka, jhal muri, bhel puri, chaat joints, the vada sambhar, kuzhi paniyaram and the aappam kurma, idiyaapam, rava dosa and the dahi vada. I am a novice writer and an amateur photographer. I am guilty of borrowing pictures from the web and I don't think it would be fair on my part to bombard a wall with more shared pictures and on a lighter note, under the influence of a harmless amateurish gastronomical post, fearing that people across the world may be reaching out desperately for emergency medical aid for the cessation of saliva, in the interests of mankind at large and as a kind hearted good samaritan....I cease to be a blogger temporarily...........................


This blog (Recipes to make you drool) is part of BloggerDreamTeam-Food & Travel Carnival. Pictures are courtesy Wikepedia and the World Wide Web, except for the Potol Bhaja, my own creation and as for the recipe which I have not shared here, I may consider applying for a patent :-) :-)

THANDA THANDA COOL COOL !

May is drawing to a close and the heat is getting on my nerves.

Add traffic to my list of woes and I encounter no swerves.

There is no looking back once I step out on the road.

I follow the vehicles and abide by the one way traffic code.

Summer is a pain in the neck but I know how to keep my cool.

Listed below you will find recipes that can make you drool.

Keep ample milk, curd, butter milk and greens in the refriegerator.

Load it with capsicum, cucumber, turnip, radish, mint and coriander.

Buy some shallots and peel  them at your leisure.

Store them in the refriegerator along  with ginger.

All that you have to do is mix, match and blend.

Grind, filter the veggie pulp and serve the coolant to a friend.

If this sounds confusing, let me make it more clear.

I wanted to say “ When I am here, why fear.”

Pick up any green or any vegetable from the list above.

Remember ! the vegetable breathes too. Handle it with love.

Wash it, peel and grind it to a smooth paste.

Add buttermilk, a green chilly, ginger and salt to taste.

Determine the number of veggies as per your choice.

Gulp in a couple of glasses without making too much noise.

For example, for a litre of butter milk you could add juice of one lemon,

liquid extract of one cucumber,one onion, one garlic and a cinnamon.

Replace cucumber with any salad vegetable as you please,

Churn out coolants like a professional, just like that and ensure peace.

These are some coolers to keep you cool throughout the day.

Forget not your constant companion, the H2O, the elixir of life they say.

Drink water to your heart's content and live in cool harmony.

Also know that the way to anybody’s heart is through the stomach..Isn’t that true but funny ?

               

CHAI MUSINGS !

Time and again I repeat…”Please do not pull me out of hibernation and more so when I am happily engrossed doing the same mundane chores over and over again.” But I also understand that friends who care are friends for keeps and that invariably brings me back to cybernation. Clearly understand that I am not addicted to the web. I am a blogaddict and if you so wish you are most welcome to address me as Blogaddictakka . 

It’s been a great Saturday so far spent with family, friends on the web and Madan Mohan. Please do not mistake him to be a Malviya. Long back I took a vacation from politics and recently installed the Gaana and Saavn apps on my smart phone. Very recently, unable to hold on to the pressure of continuous charging, my Samsung Galaxy went for a six and inspite of several resurrections, continues to be in a comatose condition. The Madan Mohan I refer to is the famous Hindi lyricist. I love the lyrics he composed and the music………..and I am now back to listening to old melodies on the web.

If music is therapy, good food is sacrament and so I continue from where I had signed off earlier during the day. It was coffee in the morning. How about a tea trip now ?

Its unbearably warm in Chennai and the last one week has been scorching hot. In fact the mention of the word “Tea” has raised my morale for the moment and since afternoon I have been virtually travelling up to the hills, into the tea gardens and beyond.

I have friends in Ooty, Kodai and Coonoor.One of these days I am going to gate crash into one of their homes. I know they will welcome me with open arms. I am friendly you see. Mind you I am not bragging. My friends here, there and everywhere are good natured and compassionate. I am sure that they are not going to mind my company for a few days.

But ! still ! Instead of delving deep into fantasies of a visit to a hill station, which I do not see happening as of now or even next month, let us get into tea basics right away…

My favourite brand is Brooke Bond Red Label and in case you happen to be around in my vicinity please feel free to drop in. Do let me know if you would like your Tea light or strong. I am not a connoisseur of tea in the strict sense of the term. All that I can say is when brewed well , the aroma of the tea is certainly inviting.

A true connoisseur of tea will never have it with ginger, cardamom,fennel or basil. These kill the aroma of fine tea. The shiny golden brown transparent liquid gold has to be had without additives. That is the sign of a true connoisseur.

 Tea making, my way, is child’s play. As opposed to tea making as a ritual in some parts of the world, here at home it’s yet another mundane chore. In order to bring some variety into tea making and make the process interesting I have this habit of investing in colourful tea pots. That, I never use them is a topic for another blog post. Kindly bear with me. Here is how you brew it my way.

Pour water in a vessel. Add tea leaves and bring it to a boil till a fine infusion of the golden red colour is achieved. If you wish to have flavoured tea, you may add cardamom powder, ground ginger, basil leaves or fennel seeds as per your choice. Strain the tea water. Add milk and sugar and serve with pride. Chilled tea with lime is another favourite drink of mine.

I appreciate your patience for reading my post and if you have any doubts feel free to email me with your queries. I would only be too glad to help and I could also suggest choosing the best brew.

Incidentally the best aroma and flavours are experienced only on the hills, in the midst of tea gardens to be more specific and well ! for that I think all we need to do is arrange for a simple tea party…..

Coffee Akka Brews !

I am going to be I, Me and Myself yet again. Having received word wide recognition and acceptance, with all your permission and to further my interests in my cooking journey,  I solemnly declare that I will not stray away from my path. On that note,  without going into the details of why I am what I am, and because all of you are already too familiar with me, I will head straight to the matter I wish to briefly elaborate in precisely a few hundred words. So let’s begin.

From today, that’s being a Saturday, I will describe a foodie day a day, so that, at leisure or at work, some of you or most of you may be tempted to try out these basic recipes. Now please do not flare up if what I am going to say is already known to everybody.  As always I will keep reiterating and stressing on the most important fact that practice makes perfect and perfect recipes can make you drool.

So let’s begin with the humble coffee. I do not brag. I simply live in a charming city named Chennai and I reside in the hub of the commercial spot and because some of you may have forgotten let me repeat yet again. I reside very close to famous coffee outlets..So let’s not waste any more time.

Head straight to Dr Nair Road near Holy Angels School where you will find a Coffee Day Outlet. Just ask for a 50-50 blend of Plantation A and B. The shopkeeper will pick the choicest roasted beans and grind it in front of your eyes. I buy only 250 gms at a time and if I run out of it, all that I have to do is to take my Scooty out for a ride. It is as simple as that.

Got the awesome aromatic powder?  Now wake up. Its 5AM.  Put three tablespoonfuls of coffee powder in the top compartment of the brass coffee filter.  Pour hot water slowly so that the powder becomes moist.  After a few seconds pour a little more of the hot water taking care that only half of the top compartment is filled .

Keep half a litre of Heritage Milk aside. Place it in a copper bottom vessel and allow it to boil. Do not add water to the milk. Once the milk is boiled, take a heavy eversilver davara and tumbler. A pure silver davara and tumbler will do fine too. Pour hot milk into the tumbler. Add the first few drops of the concentrated coffee decoction that has collected in the lower compartment of the coffee filter. Add sugar, stir well,sprinkle Nescafe instant on the froth and proudly serve it to yourself……

A TIRELESS MOTHER WHIMPERS !

Yesterday, someone, I do not remember clearly who, but I am absolutely certain that it is a friend from a friendly forum who wanted to know when I was going to write a post again. "It's been long since you wrote a post" read the post on the wall...I was touched :-)

"I do not  know," I replied in a comment which has been liked and comments have been replied by many members of the august group. I was surprised to find the inactive members participating in the thread.

One friend said.."Are you really serious? I bet you must be joking."

Another said..."Oh ! Really ! You do not know when you are gonna write next !"

"Take a break and come back with a bang said another."

"Hey! Hang on there said another."

I scrolled down the replies, revisiting the likes again and again to stay updated with the latest count which kept increasing much to my despair when it struck me……..

"Hey the LIKES are pouring in for the four worded comment. " I DO NOT KNOW ".

Are they pleased about my inability to come up with a convincing reply? I wonder. I, the self proclaimed author, am in the dark about when I am going to resume writing once again...EEEEks...this is scary ! Will I never be able to resume writing once again ? How am I going to keep up my reputation ? Will I no longer be able to irritate the readers with my long boring posts?

When they read my posts, I read their minds. :-)

Anyway there have been a few  things taking up all of my time. Since a friend has posted the query on the wall, I am duty bound to respond immediately. I think it is my responsibility to explain why I am not writing about I, me and myself these days. Old habits die hard. Having been trained to be efficient in correspondence, I respond herewith...

Seriously,  house chores and office duties do take up a lot of time.

But, honestly, let me tell you, I have not blogged because I am just not doing anything. I am working on ideas to make the best use of the space available at home and build a library of medical books. I have been trying to arrange and rearrange  the books for many years now without much success and I will gladly welcome any viable space saving solutions. Till such time that I find a permanent solution, the medical books, text books volumes 1, 2, 3......  will lie in neat heaps, some in untidy mounds, some strewn all over the floor, on the beds, on the side tables, on the sofa, on the Diwan and on the Dining table. So you can very well imagine my plight. I am constantly rearranging the position of books to create space to eat, move and sleep. One day, I will be residing in a medical library which I will call my home.

Anyway, I am prepared to meet such an eventuality and till such time that the home becomes a full fledged library, I will continue to refurbish my wardrobe. I plan to hire the services of a Tambong who may be compelled to take a week off from work to help me with the washing, starching and ironing...Now how the heck do you expect me to write?

I am watching movies so that in the midst of all this craziness, I can continue to remain sane. I am attending weddings and upanayanams, visiting the veggie vendors, hanging out with friends and making mojitos. I am doing mundane things, I guess, all simple real stuff....other than blogging.....

Ten years later.....

Aah my poor blog. I have been ignoring it for some time now...So here I go..I will give a title later.Right now I am too sleepy !

It's the 30th of April, two months since I retired from government service. Friends ask me ." Hey ! You Rocking Woman, how's life post retirement ? How are you spending your time these days? "....to which I reply..

" I am taking it easy. I am an early bird and as always I am up at 5AM .The only change in my routine as I see is that I am not in a hurry. I do try to finish my chores before my Godmother arrives and now that I am a full time homemaker, I have requested her to come twice a day. She is a trusted worker and together we go around the house cleaning and scrubbing, mopping and washing, rinsing and dusting as if we had never done all this before...I was diagnosed with OCD many years back...

To all my friends who are still curious to know, I tell them...."My morning begins with the filter cuppa and a scan of the newspaper. Earlier I would just have the time to go through the headlines. Now I have all the time in the world to read atleast three newspapers every day, solve the crossword and chat with friends online.

As I look back and recall my years of service in the department, I am pleased with myself. Starting with typing on the Remington using the carbon paper, banging the side bar each time to move to the next line, to manual noting and drafting initially in ink, later in ball point pen and finally when I did graduate to work on the Personal Computer I was on cloud nine. My learning journey did not stop there. With the world wide web opening several avenues for self learning, I mastered the art of cut copy paste and became friendly with word, excel and access.

Today friends and relatives around me are so concerned ..."You have been so busy and active all these years. What are going to do now ?" they ask me. Please be engaged "..they also say...I am amused.

I am not perturbed though. After all these years of hard work, though I do appreciate the confidence people have in me, why should they be so interested in what I do...I ponder. What I wish to do or not to do is my choice...The younger gen is vocal about their choices..So why can't I ? I am just going to sit back and relax.

I also tell them...."Recently I acquired the latest hologram tech enabled mobile phone and that is a boon indeed. Got a few apps uploaded, some senior citizen friendly and I am learning to use them. I am doing a little bit of social service. I sleep in the afternoon. I go for a walk in the evening. I have never been so active ever before. I also continue to write, draw, try out new recipes, meet my friends to paint the town red....I chuckle...

Earlier in January this year, I had submitted my pension papers to the Personal Claims section. Jagriti the officer in charge is a 25 year old young girl recently recruited. As I spoke to her, memories of my first day at work came flashing by..

I joined service in June 1990 and I was twenty five years old then...how time flies...I thought...

It's been many years now and what a journey it has been...a journey of highs and lows but I consider myself fortunate to have served in the prestigious organisation. I was slipping into the past unmindful of the present.The Seventh pay commission is in force and I am happy with my pension package.

"Maam! please sign the papers and submit it with a recent photograph," ...Jagriti had said. Overwhelmed with memories of my stint in the department I was getting emotional.Your retirement benefit cheques will be handed over to you on 28.02.2025 on your day of retirement she said.....

From 1st of March, I started drawing my pension.......Forgive me for the abrupt ending...This post is due to be up on this wall only on 30.04.2025 smile emoticon

SYDNEY MAY JOSH BARKARAR !

Dear Boys In Blue,

I trust you are fit and in fine spirits.Out here, down under and elsewhere your fans are doing good. It's summer in India and stores are doing brisk business. Blue Jersey No7 and India theme world cup saree are in fashion.How is the weather In Sydney? What does Rainman predict? Are Duck and Lewis going to play today? Who's going to rain on whose parade? Where's the party tonight ?

You are duty bound and nation comes first. In the interests of the bleeding billions who stand by you at this hour, it is my duty to tell you that butterflies have entered our stomachs and I fear they may become pigeons.

May the best team win and may you be the best team. Just a request "Can you restrict them to a score below 270 ?"

I do not wish to burden you with unnecessary trivial matters that may stand in the way of your thinking process and the crucial game today,Yet ! I am compelled to bring this matter to your notice immediately.Trusting that my pleas will reach your ears and believing that the bearer of this message will inform you before the match begins, I write this post.Please check your inbox.

You are true professionals,masters of the game and currently in form.May your good run continue.

I know you not.You know me not but as a parent who prays for the welfare of her child, I pray for you. I am that caring aunt who loves her nephew.I am that sister remember who shares a rakhi bond with you.I am your contemporary,the mad youth the cricket frenzy boy girl or a kid and I am way too excited.

Dear Boys,the crowd will be packed to capacity with three fourths in blue who will be cheering for you. Back at home billions have started their akhanda prayers. The country is in the grip of acute coconut shortage.Coconut and flower prices have soared on low supplies.

Today morning, I checked what the stars had to foretell for my team.They augur well. If positive vibrations in my altar are anything to go by, seems likely that we have a bright chance of retaining the cup and as a friend remarked.."We Indians do not have the habit of returning back even pens,pencils or rubbers.Forget the cup."

I offered flowers to my favourite deity. What will I get out of all this ? My love is unconditional. I have no advice to give you except to remind you just in case you forget, "Please keep the worth of a duck and a lewis in mind while playing and emerge victorious."Just in case it happens to rain....

Please do not let us down.I am that caring aunt who loves her nephews.I am that sister, remember who shares a rakhi bond with you.I will rejoice when you win.

Its a funny feeling but I have to tell you what I think.I am worried about the sledging.I am truly concerned.I am pretty sure that the man at the helm is cool but some of his other brothers are not........Keeping my fingers crossed

An ardent fan