When I promised to write about a light and frothy subject - I was referring to my favourite sport - Cricket. I was planning to discuss about the high and lows this game has brought into my life..
But after that heart breaking 1 run loss by Mumbai Indians against Kings Punjab.. I don't think I can summon up enough pleasure to discuss the game :(. Poor Sachin.. Why is that he always ends up with teams that fall like a pack of cards (or a line of cycles as Sidhu says) whenever he gets out! :(
Well.. I'll save my cricket story for another day..
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Travails with Rock Salt
It all started with our packet of iodized salt getting over. As it happens all the time, we forgot to replenish our stock of salt. So my intelligent and ever resourceful Mom decided to use Rock Salt (Kal Uppu in Tamil) to cook our daily meal.
The food turned out to be a lot better than normal with just that extra bit of salt. The aloo karamadhu(curry) turned out excellent last week :). So far so good. Then Amma decided to do most, if not all her cooking using rock salt..
Now rock salt is very unlike the normal free flowing powdered salt that we use. I am told 1 1/2 teaspoons of normal salt is equivalent to about 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt. Anything extra might just make your food inedible ;).
My Dad, a competent cook himself decided to experiment and added rock salt to the Idli batter. There started the problem - the batter turned out salty and the idlis saltier! Now to salvage the batter, we added onions and chillis and made dosas.. they were no better! Dad ate them with a straight face ;). No comments :)
We then added water to the existing batter, my mom's logic - the water will absorb the salt and then we can spill the excess water and use batter to make more idli's :). After all this natak.. what remained was a watery white liquid that can be only thrown away :D. I believe I glimpsed happiness in my Dad's face when he did that :D
And when Dad started making upma, he added all the ingredients.. took the salt, thought about it and called out to my Mom..."Please come and add salt for this upma!". Mom and I couldn't help ourselves and we started laughing out loudly :))
The food turned out to be a lot better than normal with just that extra bit of salt. The aloo karamadhu(curry) turned out excellent last week :). So far so good. Then Amma decided to do most, if not all her cooking using rock salt..
Now rock salt is very unlike the normal free flowing powdered salt that we use. I am told 1 1/2 teaspoons of normal salt is equivalent to about 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt. Anything extra might just make your food inedible ;).
My Dad, a competent cook himself decided to experiment and added rock salt to the Idli batter. There started the problem - the batter turned out salty and the idlis saltier! Now to salvage the batter, we added onions and chillis and made dosas.. they were no better! Dad ate them with a straight face ;). No comments :)
We then added water to the existing batter, my mom's logic - the water will absorb the salt and then we can spill the excess water and use batter to make more idli's :). After all this natak.. what remained was a watery white liquid that can be only thrown away :D. I believe I glimpsed happiness in my Dad's face when he did that :D
And when Dad started making upma, he added all the ingredients.. took the salt, thought about it and called out to my Mom..."Please come and add salt for this upma!". Mom and I couldn't help ourselves and we started laughing out loudly :))
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Words
தீயினால் சுட்டபுண் உள்ளாறும் ஆறாதே
நாவினால் சுட்ட வடு
குறள்129
The above is a couplet from Thirukural. I read it for the first time on a PTC Bus in Chennai and immediately mugged it up enough to search through google and get the write verse.
Meaning - Even if you get a fire burn, it will heal inside, but a bad burn(words) uttered by you will never heal.
This is something I feel very strongly about. I hate bad words and more so negative words. I think uttering negative words like "You won't do it, You will not be able to complete this unless... ,I don't have the knowledge to do it.. etc", they all subconsciously contribute to us being unable to complete the task. Well, I haven't done any scientific analysis on it to say its always true - but I believe I am right. You pick any self-help, personality development book and the first thing they say is think positive and a positive person will never utter the above words! So probably, we need to work at our vocabulary first for success!!
I hate to utter bad words and detest somebody using one against me. There have been numerous occasions where I have talked off a friend/ room mate for saying something as silly as "Dog" (Naye in Tamil). I agree they never meant to offend, but I don't like it and I don't think its healthy. I never say them and don't say them to me. Many a times, I fight with my Dad for speaking negative... He has the right to guide me/advise me, but he should not say I would not be able to do it!
From the looks of it, I guess I have projected myself as some saint! I am not, I do use some unmentionables, mostly in English..! The other day I couldn't stop myself from cursing an auto fella in the choicest of expletives.. He cheated me :(. In hindsight, I guess it affected me more than anything else!. Anyway, the point is I make a conscious effort to avoid speaking such words. I do fail sometimes, but its a struggle worth doing.
Anyway, I feel strongly about this, so the topic found its way into my blog! The next time around, I will discuss something light and frothy ;)
Bye then!
நாவினால் சுட்ட வடு
குறள்129
The above is a couplet from Thirukural. I read it for the first time on a PTC Bus in Chennai and immediately mugged it up enough to search through google and get the write verse.
Meaning - Even if you get a fire burn, it will heal inside, but a bad burn(words) uttered by you will never heal.
This is something I feel very strongly about. I hate bad words and more so negative words. I think uttering negative words like "You won't do it, You will not be able to complete this unless... ,I don't have the knowledge to do it.. etc", they all subconsciously contribute to us being unable to complete the task. Well, I haven't done any scientific analysis on it to say its always true - but I believe I am right. You pick any self-help, personality development book and the first thing they say is think positive and a positive person will never utter the above words! So probably, we need to work at our vocabulary first for success!!
I hate to utter bad words and detest somebody using one against me. There have been numerous occasions where I have talked off a friend/ room mate for saying something as silly as "Dog" (Naye in Tamil). I agree they never meant to offend, but I don't like it and I don't think its healthy. I never say them and don't say them to me. Many a times, I fight with my Dad for speaking negative... He has the right to guide me/advise me, but he should not say I would not be able to do it!
From the looks of it, I guess I have projected myself as some saint! I am not, I do use some unmentionables, mostly in English..! The other day I couldn't stop myself from cursing an auto fella in the choicest of expletives.. He cheated me :(. In hindsight, I guess it affected me more than anything else!. Anyway, the point is I make a conscious effort to avoid speaking such words. I do fail sometimes, but its a struggle worth doing.
Anyway, I feel strongly about this, so the topic found its way into my blog! The next time around, I will discuss something light and frothy ;)
Bye then!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Big Mom
Heeding to the wishes of my friend, here I relate the story(!!) of the "Big Mom"..
Who is "Big Mom"..? That is... yours truly! My BITSian name is supposedly Big Mom, but I can assure you no one actually called me by that name except in the first few weeks!
It all began in the first semester. We were about 11 girls from the same class in school at Pilani. At one point of time, we were badly ragged by some seniors..(Who will not if 45 people land from the same school..including the boys?). After that session, I believe I spoke some encouraging and sensible words(Well.. I never cried.. thats all. I don't remember saying anything ;)). So, the gang of girls decided to name me "Big Mom". I was Ok.. I mean Big Mom is not too bad a name... is it?
Then came the misery.. The friends(??) felt it was too long and decided to shorten it. Some of them called me "Big" and some "Mom". Since the latter was confusing, they decided "Big" was the best bet... and it stuck on. All of them :( , except of course the Professors and the boys(!!) called me "Big" at BITS. There were other forms used as well.. Bada, Badi, B..
I was Ok.. as long as it was confined to the walls of the hostel. But more often than not, I had somebody shouting at me at the top of the voice in the corridor... "Biggggggggg.. Hi!". I felt more irritated that anything else responding to whoever that was!
Even now, after so many years... when I bump into a BITSian girl from my batch, they have a confused look as to how to address me :|, and the first thing I tell them is my name! So much for having studied at the same place!!
Now, its an old story and not many people call me so but I must admit, I am relieved! I won't say I am missing too much of my name... but I do miss some of the folks who called me so :). Anyway, its a small world and I will surely catch up with them all!
So, thats it for now. Signing off!
Who is "Big Mom"..? That is... yours truly! My BITSian name is supposedly Big Mom, but I can assure you no one actually called me by that name except in the first few weeks!
It all began in the first semester. We were about 11 girls from the same class in school at Pilani. At one point of time, we were badly ragged by some seniors..(Who will not if 45 people land from the same school..including the boys?). After that session, I believe I spoke some encouraging and sensible words(Well.. I never cried.. thats all. I don't remember saying anything ;)). So, the gang of girls decided to name me "Big Mom". I was Ok.. I mean Big Mom is not too bad a name... is it?
Then came the misery.. The friends(??) felt it was too long and decided to shorten it. Some of them called me "Big" and some "Mom". Since the latter was confusing, they decided "Big" was the best bet... and it stuck on. All of them :( , except of course the Professors and the boys(!!) called me "Big" at BITS. There were other forms used as well.. Bada, Badi, B..
I was Ok.. as long as it was confined to the walls of the hostel. But more often than not, I had somebody shouting at me at the top of the voice in the corridor... "Biggggggggg.. Hi!". I felt more irritated that anything else responding to whoever that was!
Even now, after so many years... when I bump into a BITSian girl from my batch, they have a confused look as to how to address me :|, and the first thing I tell them is my name! So much for having studied at the same place!!
Now, its an old story and not many people call me so but I must admit, I am relieved! I won't say I am missing too much of my name... but I do miss some of the folks who called me so :). Anyway, its a small world and I will surely catch up with them all!
So, thats it for now. Signing off!
Books
Since my posts are so far and few in between.. I am gonna stop making excuses. This is my next post ;).
I wanted to talk about Books this time and the habit of reading. Ironically, I never read fiction when I was young, my reading was restricted to Text books(:|), Comics and Magazines! I started off in my college second year with the Sidney Sheldon thriller - "If Tomorrow comes". Then came a group of Sidney Sheldon books and loads of M & B's. In the hostel, you got a M & B from almost anybody! When taking it, I used to ask.. "How is it?"!! :) To be fair to the authors, I think most of them had/have similar plots ;).Strange!!
And then I got the reading bug, so to say. Shifted to John Grisham after that. I liked his court room related stuff. I actually had two of his books gifted for my Birthday one year. My friends not sure which book of his was good consulted our Batch topper for the title. I must admit, my friend looked more excited at talking to him rather than celebrating my birthday :D.
Anyway, I continued with this habit in Hyderabad as well. There, I grabbed my first copy of Harry Potter and the rest is history. Refer to my earlier post which talks about my obsession for the Harry Potter series! I also managed to read Ayn Rand's master pieces - Atlas Shrugged and The Fountain Head. Besides all of this, I have also read my share of Self Help books ;).
So what kinda book fascinates me..thats a question I have no clear answer. I like books which stimulate me. Until now, I have enjoyed books that have had humour, have discussed some strong ideas or have been informative.
I intend to carry on.. Next on my list is P.G.Wodehouse, Management books and Autobiographies..
I wanted to talk about Books this time and the habit of reading. Ironically, I never read fiction when I was young, my reading was restricted to Text books(:|), Comics and Magazines! I started off in my college second year with the Sidney Sheldon thriller - "If Tomorrow comes". Then came a group of Sidney Sheldon books and loads of M & B's. In the hostel, you got a M & B from almost anybody! When taking it, I used to ask.. "How is it?"!! :) To be fair to the authors, I think most of them had/have similar plots ;).Strange!!
And then I got the reading bug, so to say. Shifted to John Grisham after that. I liked his court room related stuff. I actually had two of his books gifted for my Birthday one year. My friends not sure which book of his was good consulted our Batch topper for the title. I must admit, my friend looked more excited at talking to him rather than celebrating my birthday :D.
Anyway, I continued with this habit in Hyderabad as well. There, I grabbed my first copy of Harry Potter and the rest is history. Refer to my earlier post which talks about my obsession for the Harry Potter series! I also managed to read Ayn Rand's master pieces - Atlas Shrugged and The Fountain Head. Besides all of this, I have also read my share of Self Help books ;).
So what kinda book fascinates me..thats a question I have no clear answer. I like books which stimulate me. Until now, I have enjoyed books that have had humour, have discussed some strong ideas or have been informative.
I intend to carry on.. Next on my list is P.G.Wodehouse, Management books and Autobiographies..
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Book Mom
These breaks between posts is not helping. Today's post is an attempt to actually post something rather than having something incredible to say! Still, moving on..
I'd relate an incident which, in hindsight, I reckon has changed my life! I was a timid school student, who by virtue of the school I studied in and my Mom scored good in my higher secondary examinations and got an admission to BITS, Pilani. I was sent there primarily due to Appa's wish.. I still remember his statement - "I will send you even for a sweeping course at BITS. You need to grow up and be independent, you need to get out of this house, you must go to BITS". It helped that about a dozen folks were coming from my class in school... so I was not alone. We reached Pilani, I got a few shocks, met a couple of seniors and tried to decipher the registration process and the time table book and stuff.
Then, the inevitable happened. My parents left for Chennai leaving me to fend for myself. I was devastated, to say the least. To add to the misery, I was ragged by a senior during lunch, I spoke a little and got back more and was branded as "thadi" [arrogant in BITSian parlance]. I was perhaps breaking down, did not want to stay there any longer..:|
My ego or my self esteem did not allow me to cry in front of others, so I was there crying my heart out all alone in the night on the bed and trying to fall asleep. At around 11:15 p.m, I had somebody calling out my name in the corridor. It was a second year student whom I had met earlier and from who I was to buy my text books[We call them Book Mom/Pop in BITS ;)]. I don't know what went through her mind, she said that she had come to take me to her room to give away the books. I was shocked :-(, her wing was notorious for ragging and I was wearing a night suit at that point.. a strict no-no for a fresher. She insisted and I had to go...
I think it was pretty obvious that I was crying, many folks noticed :-( and have told me as well! To her credit, my Book Mom did not once ask why I was crying. She went about and gave me all the books, told me how I should read them and the books that I can use for reference etc etc. So at about 12:15 in the night, I walked off from her wing with a huge pile of books and went back to my room. I kept them all on the chair and looked at them. It struck me then, I have come to Pilani to study and have no business to think about anything else. I have the books that I need to study and that should be my focus. My mind cleared and I decided to complete my education come whatsoever.
Its a fact that those 4 years at Pilani were some of the best years of my life! I changed from a timid naive person to a confident person. And I must thank my Book Mom for this! Good Bless her with the best in life!
I strongly believe that the Divine power sent her to me that night. There was no need for her to come to my wing that night, she could have told somebody to pass on the message. There was no need for her to take me to her wing and give all the books, she could have just decided that I was not keeping well and so should collect the books later. There was no need for her to behave normally and talk about the course work, she could have tried to sympathize and help me out. But, fortunately, she did none of these, but showed me the focus of my life in her own way.
My faith is that when we are down and giving up, we usually find people who talk/ behave in a manner that gives us hope and focus in life. Its happened to me a couple of times with friends, relations and my Mom (especially) dishing out nuggets that have change my outlook and mood in life. So, I just want to thank them all and the Divine for it! :).
I'd relate an incident which, in hindsight, I reckon has changed my life! I was a timid school student, who by virtue of the school I studied in and my Mom scored good in my higher secondary examinations and got an admission to BITS, Pilani. I was sent there primarily due to Appa's wish.. I still remember his statement - "I will send you even for a sweeping course at BITS. You need to grow up and be independent, you need to get out of this house, you must go to BITS". It helped that about a dozen folks were coming from my class in school... so I was not alone. We reached Pilani, I got a few shocks, met a couple of seniors and tried to decipher the registration process and the time table book and stuff.
Then, the inevitable happened. My parents left for Chennai leaving me to fend for myself. I was devastated, to say the least. To add to the misery, I was ragged by a senior during lunch, I spoke a little and got back more and was branded as "thadi" [arrogant in BITSian parlance]. I was perhaps breaking down, did not want to stay there any longer..:|
My ego or my self esteem did not allow me to cry in front of others, so I was there crying my heart out all alone in the night on the bed and trying to fall asleep. At around 11:15 p.m, I had somebody calling out my name in the corridor. It was a second year student whom I had met earlier and from who I was to buy my text books[We call them Book Mom/Pop in BITS ;)]. I don't know what went through her mind, she said that she had come to take me to her room to give away the books. I was shocked :-(, her wing was notorious for ragging and I was wearing a night suit at that point.. a strict no-no for a fresher. She insisted and I had to go...
I think it was pretty obvious that I was crying, many folks noticed :-( and have told me as well! To her credit, my Book Mom did not once ask why I was crying. She went about and gave me all the books, told me how I should read them and the books that I can use for reference etc etc. So at about 12:15 in the night, I walked off from her wing with a huge pile of books and went back to my room. I kept them all on the chair and looked at them. It struck me then, I have come to Pilani to study and have no business to think about anything else. I have the books that I need to study and that should be my focus. My mind cleared and I decided to complete my education come whatsoever.
Its a fact that those 4 years at Pilani were some of the best years of my life! I changed from a timid naive person to a confident person. And I must thank my Book Mom for this! Good Bless her with the best in life!
I strongly believe that the Divine power sent her to me that night. There was no need for her to come to my wing that night, she could have told somebody to pass on the message. There was no need for her to take me to her wing and give all the books, she could have just decided that I was not keeping well and so should collect the books later. There was no need for her to behave normally and talk about the course work, she could have tried to sympathize and help me out. But, fortunately, she did none of these, but showed me the focus of my life in her own way.
My faith is that when we are down and giving up, we usually find people who talk/ behave in a manner that gives us hope and focus in life. Its happened to me a couple of times with friends, relations and my Mom (especially) dishing out nuggets that have change my outlook and mood in life. So, I just want to thank them all and the Divine for it! :).
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Me Back
Ok. I am back blogging after some.... time. Many things have happened during this time. I shifted back home to Bangalore. Its been a pleasant experience until now ;-), and I hope it stays that way!
I am missing Hyderabad :-( ! I used to grumble if I spent more than 20 minutes travelling to work and now my travel takes close to 1 1/2 hours :-(. I am told thats normal here! God, I don't wish to spend my life in any city.. I'd rather be in a two-tier city or a campus like Pilani where you don't waste time on the road! Otherwise, things have been smooth..
Missing folks at work. Its rather strange to sit and work on your own. I am generally taciturn, but with the team and known folks, I can be rather bositerous :D. I am soon going to have sore hands with all that typing ;-) at work!
So, thats about it for now.
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