Another year goes by

Another year goes by... another birthday comes to an end. I just turned 31 yesterday and well, as much as I would love to say it has been interesting and exciting, it was just another day. You know, one is told that as we get older, we get more mature, more wiser in nature.Oh how I would love to say that I am not only a year older, I am also that much more wiser. Ah.... sadly I cannot say that without being called...'pants on fire':). Yeah well... we live to learn. So that much more to learn for the year to come.
So I guess the question really is- what is it the we have to learn? I mean sure its different for different people. But really, what is it that we are striving to learn even if it not a conscious process. I have asked myself this question a lot of times in the past 10 years..( wow that sure makes me feel old if not older). But really years have gone by, I still seem to be stuck at that basic question. What is it that I am really trying to learn or should I say what answers am I really seeking? Most of us ask ourselves these question and sure the answers we are looking for changes from person to person. But ultimately what is it that we are to do once we get the answers. Is it the be-all and end-all. Or is it that once we receive the answers, the questions itself than changes. If that is infact the truth, then how is it that I am stuck asking the same question over and over again. You might say its because I haven't received the answer yet and you might be right about that. But I guess the question still remains- what is it I am looking for. 
Of late I am starting to wonder if I am even asking the right question and the probability of that being the case is higher than me not finding the answer. So in that case, what should my question?? Ah that probably is the puzzle for next year.... oh what a wonderful way to deflect my responsibility to another year.Responsibility........is it really??????

Cooking... foodies... blogging

Like always, I was having a tango in my head... too many thought bouncing around in my poor tired overworked brain. I read somewhere that you actually use only about 5 percent (not very sure of the number.... always been a bit weak in that particular area) of your total brain. Isnt that interesting. I am mean what if you were to actually use a lil more than that. Ok I am 100% sure somebody somewhere or may be a lot of somebodys already thought about this.

See this is what I mean about thoughts bouncing in my head. I totally was not going to write about this. In fact I was not even thinking about it. Till my fingers decided to do the talking for me. As a matter of fact I was thinking about food. Now isn't that a much more pleasurable activity. Its definitely more palatable than my thoughts on brain matter and its percentages. OK enough already!!!! So back to food... yesterday during ( yes, you heard that right...it was during...not before..not after... if you know me, you would know that I am not a peaceful sleeper...I am always or almost always have been a disturbed sleeper..so ok before I digress even further..zeezz) my afternoon nap.. I thought it would be a wonderful idea to blog all my recipes. Gives me a chance to share and store them in one place. Well OK it wasn't exactly a brilliant or a unique idea. I mean sure a lot of people have done and lots more will continue to do so. BUT hey this is my idea and I am sticking to it.... Applause or not. See the thing is, although I have an active 17 month old at home who takes a chunk of my time and I am actively looking for work, and after playing, taking care and cleaning up after Sahiti and cooking and the everyday chores, I have this great need to fill my remaining time with something more rewarding or should I see fulfilling. I mean usually I am using this time to catch up on my reading. I love reading. Ask anyone, they will tell you how much I like reading. I usually try to catch up on my fav authors and trying to find new authors to read. I mean I have gotten picky, which means it that much harder to find good ones. And before you ask me I love fiction. And thats a debate for later post... I mean really, it is whole different subject again. So don't get me wrong, I love reading but come on.. once in a short while I need a break from my oh so lovely pastime. And I figured why not blog recipes.

And since I have decided (well more or less did.. actually it more thought and less decision..but why quibble ..right!!) to do it, I thought I would take a look around the web and see how things are done. I mean if you are going to do it.. do it right... right? So here I am chugging away on my internet checking out food sites and oh my!!!! It whole new world out there. True, with the advent of internet, the world is at ur fingertips and it has opened new doors ...yadda yadda yaddah.. but ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? There are so many websites and blogs with people talking about their recipes and more new ones that, even if I manage to cook a three course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.... I would still not run out of recipes to make, for the rest of life..... And I am not even a foodie.... I just enjoy food most days of life..and I enjoy cooking 4 days out of 7 freaking days in the week.

So blogging about my recipes has just gotten a bit more daunting... so I am thinking or should I say rethinking my oh so brilliant idea. I am thinking I should sleep on it some more... oh the cursed sleep... it got me into this trouble in the first place... but oh my I do love my sleep... oh what a dreary fate!!!!!! To actually sleep on an idea!

The Written Word.... What a fascinating discovery!!!!

I was watching a one hour special on JK Rowling. This was filmed during the release of famed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And then I went on to her website and as I was reading some of the anecdotes and links on her website, I started thinking. Wow! What would it be to actually write like her. Not her specifically, in fact write like any one of the authors.
It has always been a dream of mine, actually it was more of a wish. A wish to be able to express myself that well. The more I read books/articles, the more I have this burning desire to be able to able to speak/think/but more importantly write that eloquently, that flawlessly, that creatively. I can go on, but possibly never be able to say it as clearly as I want to.
My parents started me on this habit. I remember my dad buying books for us one summer and I was hooked. I can't remember not wanting to buy books from then on. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love reading. And I have always said it, something about the written word fascinates me. I think there is nothing more in the world that fascinates me as much as a written word does. I love gobbling up these words. I love reading, anything from novels to articles. I rather spend time reading something than watching a movie. This does in no way means I don't enjoy watching serials or movies. Nah! I love watching them as a person next door. However, if you ever give me a choice between a book or something to watch, I would pick a book 8 times out of 10.
I have this dream..... I want to see something I write come alive. I have been wanting to write and write well from when I discovered I love reading. Till then... well we know what they say about practice and perfection.

Burqha.... to wear or not?

As is my routine, every morning I log into some of my favourite news websites and do a quick read as to whats happening around the world. By no means, am I a serious reader/follower of news. But I do like to keep in touch with the top news at least. So anyway, as I was doing this today, I came across this article from France. Let me give you quick summary of the article. France' s president, Sarkozy said that burqha is banned in his country, as it is a sign of "subservience" and it is not considered a representation of religion. He believes that it would "undermine" women's rights in France.

Hmmmm..... really? Well.... the first thing that hit me when I read the article was ..."Aren't you doing the same?" Personally I am not a big fan of burqha. I believe that the whole concept of covering your face and body was introduced in the Islamic society to put women in their place. Ok may be I am being harsh, but the concept of burqha just didn't sit well with me. And I actually mentioned this to a muslim friend of mine when I was in my post graduation. Let me mention that this friend is one of the outgoing persons I have had a chance to meet and she wears a burqha. And lo and behold.. I was surprised to hear her say that she doesn't treat burqha as a obstacle or even worse as suppression of her freedom. She believed that it protects her from unwanted attention and comments and she is indeed very happy to wear it. That was indeed a new and interesting perspective of burqha wearing.

So my question to Sarkozy is this... " Who are you to tell women to wear or not to wear something?" How can you question their religious beliefs? No one gave you the right to dictate terms to them. And at the end of the day, that is exactly what you are doing. You sitting there and telling them that they cannot chose to do what they want to do in your personal belief of freedom. I think its a contradiction of "women's rights"! Any and every woman has a personal right to choose to do things and that includes the right to wear their kind of clothing. Their clothing preferences cannot be infringed upon a country' law. That is like the Taliban ordering women to wear burqha or following certain rules. If you are going to talk about women's rights, then you have got to let women choose to do and exercise their rights without a state, country questioning them. They have a right to choose to exercise or not to exercise these rights.

It all comes down to freedom of expression and the right to choose (as long as there is no personal harm intended towards others). It doesn't matter if you are a woman or man. I have a right to choose to do or wear things I want to do personally. Period!!! No country' law or rules have a right to question my religious or personal rights.

Reality television..Is it really real???

There is an influx of reality shows on television these days. And more seems to be cropping as we speak. Infact it is downright amazing the variety of these shows.. right from right wedding dresses to wedding shows to 'real housewives' and now we even have shows on the prep school kids. My god... it staggers me to think what else they will come up with given time.

Are these so called reality shows really real?? There is so much drama, so much hoopla about and around these shows. The participants might be real, but as far as I can see that's the only things thats seems real. The rest of it is just as much fake as it would, if you hire actors to star in the series. In most of these shows, you have a camera following you around, recording your every minute ( ok may be every other minute) and obviously there is nothing like privacy. I mean just forget about it. Privacy has suddenly become a rare commodity. The cameras record atleast 20 hours of your precious 24 hours and then the editors get to work...pick and choose. Cut ..paste ...copy and showcase those moments that the producers know will gather maximum audiences. Out of the 20 hours of camera recording.. they show may be 30 minutes of your footage and in that 30 minutes .. they make sure they showcase the ones where some on is dishing out out somebody else. And the audiences sprouting their so called secrets.

Do these people forget, that they are being watched be almost half of the country. Even worse do they forget that they will be watched by the people that they talked about. What drives people to spill their secrets out on to the national audience? Even worse..some of these circumstances are infact manufactured to get the desired result. So how does that translate into "reality" television? Fact is there is nothing real about it. Most of is fake, except for who they are. SO why the compulsion to call it reality??? I mean its not like the audiences can actually relate to these participants anyway. They are so far away from reality that calling it a reality show is just preposterous.

And worse the damage some of these shows cause can be staggering. Sure...most of these are recorded, but they are in fact happening or happened somewhere in the recent past, So that leaves a lot of future we haven't seen. That just means the children taking part in the shows have a lot to deal with when the shows are over or when the series go off air. These shows become an insulation to most of the participants. The litmus test to them is really when the show is done or when they infact are not taking part anymore. How do they live/survive/accimilate their surrondings then?

It is just seems like a different version of "living in the well".

Cleanliness... Filthyness

I was reading the article/blog on cleanliness and filthy Indians by Jug Suraiya in Times of India. It was a satirical comment on the state of cleanliness in India and by Indians. It was an interesting write up...more so because there is indeed some truth to it. We Indians are very good at keeping our insides neat... infact we can be spotless when it comes to our own homes, but unfortunately we have the tendency to not take this a step further into our community. I think we collectively dump the responsibility of keeping the community clean onto others. Well as to the who "the others are" is debatable. Sure our country isnt as neat as compared to Europe or US. But to say that we are filthy..is absolutely deplorable.

How can anyone actually generalize us to be unclean? No let me rephrase that ... how dare they? Sure we as a country are not "neat" in general. There is a lot of room for improvement and we definitely have the potential to maintain a better and cleaner environment. But it doesnt give anyone the right to point fingers at us.

What really surprises me is ....why we (Indians) in general are targeted. Why is it that we become the face of " immigrants" all over the world? It is not a justification or rationalization... it is a very curious question on my part. Furthermore, how does one actually talk about attacks (racist or otherwise) and filthyness in the same sentence? (ok may be that's an argument to be pursued in a different blog.)

I disagree with the author's comments/opinions. As a country, we might not be as clean as we can be, but that is in no way a justification for people from the other countries to call us filthy. That is a racist comment and should not be condoned by anyone.

Thats my two cents on this particular thought. Maybe I will add more.... but for now. Ciao

turmoils...ego ...universe

Ego .... wow.. now that's a word, I seem to be thinking about almost every 20 mins for the last two days. It's a hard blow, when things happen that hit your ego. It's never easy to swallow when you make a mistake. But it is especially hard for egoists like me to make a mistake,worse if I am also close to being a perfectionist. I hate being wrong. Don't get me wrong (pun intended), I am not perfect. Never once did I think that I am perfect, or even close. But it rankles when I make mistakes..small or huge.... intended or accidental. I live and relive those moments till I drive myself crazy. It slowly kills me and in short I am my own worst nightmare come alive. I hate it even worse, when someone knows about this mistake.

I hate the turmoil..well u might say WHO DOES?And you would be right... who like turmoils. But I am one of those creatures who can't resist beating myself up... I analyze ..I think.. I relive the moments. I wouldn't call it therapeutic( no .. I can't call it therapeutic), I guess the right way to put it would be ...I exhaust myself out of the thought process. I literally tire myself till I can't think anymore about it.

Now you would be thinking... for someone like that .. it would be a great idea.. to do thorough study about things to avoid mistakes.. ANd you would be right ...Again! But somehow universe has a unique way of teaching me lessons. No matter how much I know, I end up realizing that I dont know enough.
And man that's a very hard lesson to learn. It keeps getting harder as I grow older. And worse I can't help learning it. Well talk about patterns and repeating them. (well if you want to know what patterns I am talking about... it something else to talk about)

Till the next lesson .... Adios!!