Pot pourri

Hey there! My last post sounded as if I wouldnt materialise here before 2009 rang in, but then here I am. What to do! In a space of 3 hours, I had so much blog material in my grey matter, that I had to reappear here.
You know I should carry a recorder around or there should be a thought recorder (which after censoring ofcourse ;-)) records what I am thinking currently. Its easier to catalogue my blog matreial that way. I'll list my thoughts so it's more a pot-pourri than a coherent post.

1. The other day I heard somebody put an accent but what took the cake was when he looked at adai and called it paruppu dosai in american accent. This started off a discussion at lunch table on accents and I got a different perspective that anybody who has to teach in a US university has to get that accent to get the point across and over a period, this becomes their natural accent. Ofcourse there is a different class of people who fake their accent just for effects. This also reminds me of Arthur Clarke's comment in Space Odyssey (m so addicted), which says "we americans insist on speaking in english in mixed circles, we just are either chauvinistic or just lazy" That can be said for many of us Indians too ;-)

2. In my opinion, a foodie has to learn cooking. I learnt for the same reasons. When mom's loving touch is not within reach, I should be able to cook food to some degree of her magic. And occasional cooking is indeed therapeutic, believe me. You are creating something, and when your stomach appreciates that, bliss and pride cant be further away. So here's a recipe for rabdi, the instant coffee way.
Ingredients- Milk, cornflower powder , milk powder and sugar.
Boil milk, and add cornflower to it. After this is cooked, remove it from the flame, and add the milk powder and sugar and mix well. Voila!
On TV, I had seen somebody just cook milk till its thick and then add sugar to it. But then we lack the time and patience to do that. Hence the additives ;-) Yummmm

3. I forgot the rest. See a thought recorder is very much needed.

Last post, I sounded dismal and had the year-end blues. But today I am chirpy,chirpy and singing lolly lolly friday morning.
I guess it just has to do with the fact that I woke up early morning today! Yes thats an achievement for me considering the fact that my alarm rings everyday at that hour, I just dont hear it :-D Really, waking up early is good!!

Hasta la Vista! :-)

So long, farewell 2008

Don't you feel a kind of listlessness towards the end of any year ?
I certainly do. As if the world has shut shop and is enjoying the holidays, and meanwhile in India, we work though the services are down. Also, there is a feeling of impatience, that this year should get over soon and bring the new year. Albeit there is no big difference between the 31st and 1st, there is always a hope that the new year will bring more joy, more adventures, and more sanity to life.

The Mumbai attack affected all of us, more so because it brought the reality of what happened in Kashmir all these years right into our living rooms. Such audacious incursions and attacks must be pretty common in that beautiful state, it was just not lucrative news material for our news channels. We certainly did not see live coverages of their plight all these years. But the reality that any interior territory of India can be subjected to such an attack was a shocker. We did have bomb attacks, but they were silent killers. But, this was upfront warfare.
Subsequently, Pakistan army and its associates have been creating war hysteria, to deflect the world's attention from what it really has to do, namely clean up its backyards. Our media will do well in not assisting it in this cunning tactic.
Among the many positive signals arising out of this carnage, one was when the Muslims in Mumbai, refused to give proper burial to the terrorists. It sends a strong message to the local India-born terrorists even more than it does to those involved in this act.

Serious thoughts apart, I have not seen Rab ne Bana di Jodi yet. I am keeping that as my holiday treat. Though the movie features indigestibles, SRK rocks. I feel his success is more due to his genius in making you smile while escaping the real life for those three hours. Like a member of the previous generation said, "I hope he never ages".

I have been reading 2010 space odyssey lately. I had always heard about Arthur Clarke, but I am not much of a science fiction fan. My sci-fis have been limited to Michael Crichton, and Doug Adam's Hitchhikers (Of this Im a big fan). Reading space odyssey makes me feel as if Im actually setting off on a voyage. Interesting stuff.
Last good read was 'Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time' I was always afraid of reading this book. Insecurities maybe. But it is a good book. At no point does it dramatize, belittles or bemoans the kid's state. There is a quiet dignity associated with the kid. A must read I think. As necessary as it is to watch Taare zameen par.
Kalki's Ponniyan Selvan has been lying on my shelf for the past few days. I think it means Ponni's son, and is Ponni a river? Ill know more when I read it. Thats next on my reading list. This was highly recommended to me. I had read Kalki's Parthiban Kanavu (Parthiban's dream), which was beautiful, and which made me realise that our central board education system focuses more on the history of North India. I am told that Kalki's creations are mind blowing in its native language, Tamil. I don't read it fluently, so it is lost to me.

Wish you all merry Christmas and a very happy new year :-)

Khuda Ke Liye

Amazing intelligent movie and very relevant to the current times. Perhaps it is also in context with the kind of witch-hunting that today's generation is being subjected to. Dont miss Naseeruddin Shah's arguments at the end.

This is where you can find it.
http://www.videoduniya.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3347&Itemid=27

I create..

I believe I am most creative when I am in an extreme state of boredom. So recently I was attending a set of lectures, and some of them put others to sleep, while they put me to work, in other words, create. So, here I present to you my scribbles.
Do let me know if there is still merit in attending classes. ;-)

What a teacher expects
is a little respect.
Premonition berates
that your future awaits,
when its you who teach
see your students asleep.
---

Path to success
is work I guess
I toil and toil
but sleep foils
and puts to rest
my intentions earnest.
----

Route to chaos
are manifold.
World is filled
with tales untold.
But the common strain,
is when you entrain,
routes abound,
and confound,
you know not where
lies your lair,
until you get there
and despair
---

I'm upto this ..

On the books front, I have been busy with short stories of Ruskin Bond and more recently Chitra Banerjee Divakurni. I read somewhere, that short stories are tougher to write, as within a few pages, the writer has to catch the reader's attention, and make reading it worthwhile. Ruskin Bond's work conjures up beautiful images of the region around Nainitaal.

And finally, I got Rushdie's Midnight Children issued from the library. Having heard so much about his work, and especially this one, I am looking forward to reading this. In fact, his Haroun and the Sea of stories was very imaginative and I enjoyed it.

On my way to work, I get to see the beach everyday. I love this part of my journey. One can see the different moods of the weather reflected in the sea.

Seasons of life (a fwd)

A good forward I received recently:

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.


The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.


The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.


The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season.

Or in other words : Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost ;-)

Ctrl C Ctrl V, , apart from perhaps getting the season pictures mixed up, is a bad way of resuming blogging I admit. I promise better posts when the inspiration strikes and time permits.
Au Revoir :-)

Dekho baarish ho rahi hai, its raining :-D

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
...
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain

:-D Chennai has had a lot of rain this year. Infact, since it started raining in May, every month has seen intermittent rains. The climate is lovely and pleasant. Almost like Bangalore :-D

Let me wish you all a very happy new year at the outset. May you all (and me) have a great 2008. Between my last post and now, many things have happened and milestones passed in many fields. Hindi Cinema had many good films to offer in this period - Chak De, Om Shanti Om, Jab we met I have seen. Johnny gaddar, Life in a Metro, Taare zameen par, I would like to see. I'm also looking forward to Jodha Akbar, as we will get to see the handsomest Akbar till date, and its a Gowtriker movie to boot :-D

In books section, please do check out Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid suns, this author's works are worth keeping track of. Really good writing. I am trying to read Orhan Pamuk's My name is Red currently. A bit slow to start with. Maybe it will gain momentum by and by.

Good luck and cheers :)