अर्ज है.....

हर जख्म किसीकी ठोकरकी मेहेरबानी है
मेरी जिन्दगी एक किस्सा एक कहानी है
मिटा देते उनके दिये हर दर्दको
पर कंबख्त दर्दही तो उनकी आखरी निशानी है

(Forwarded)

Have a nice weekend, folks! :-)

I think I will scream like a banshee if I read the words "Basis Point" - followed by "1 Basis Point is 1/100th of a percentage point" in parentheses - even one more time. Every time the RBI hikes its key rates, which happens more often than not these days, the newspaper articles are flooded with these words. The expert comments follow - some are still talking about a 9% growth and some are being skeptical about it. What is a laywoman like me supposed to infer?

As the Americans say "Enough monkey business! Do it already!".

Tough Recipe!

I was looking for a recipe the other day. Rather a difficult task given that I have about 7-8 notebooks filled with recipes culled from years of watching television cookery shows. :-( I dream that one day I will be able to turn these into a collection neatly organized as per not only the categories (breakfast, lunch, dinner etc) but also ingredients, cuisine and time needed for preparation. I dream that I will be able to have that collection on my laptop and place it in one corner of the kitchen so I can summon up the necessary recipe with a click of a mouse. And I dream that sometime in my life I will get time to try out all these recipes - at least once.

So far it has been tough luck. I jot down a recipe in the hopes of making it over the weekend but never actually get down to doing it. More recipes pile on and the cycle repeats itself :-(

Alright! Enough griping! Here's the site that features in Google Chrome's ad - http://archanaskitchen.com/

I frequently exchange SMSs containing Urdu sher-o-shayari with a friend who likes them as much as I do. I forwarded one such SMS to him yesterday:

आप हमे रुला दो, गम नही
आप हमे भुला दो, गम नही
जिस दिन हमने आपको भुला दिया
समझ लेना इस दुनियामे हम नही

(Source: http://shayari.co.in/)

After a while, I got this one back from him:

याद करनेवाले कम न होंगे
वक्तके साथ शायद हम न होंगे
आप किसीको कितना भी याद करलो मगर
आपको सबसे ज्यादा याद करनेवाले हमही होंगे

And then we both realized that this sher was like an answer to the one that I had sent earlier. :-)

BTW, if you like sher-o-shayari, do check out that site. It has lots of gems.

The burning question

What's with people? Since yesterday evening, I have been getting junk SMSs asking me to join this group or that in burning the Lokpal bill. I agree the bill doesn't have much teeth but is this the way to register a protest? I firmly believe that Mr. Anna Hazare has been very wrong in starting this trend. You do it once and people will follow you blindly. He, of all the people, should have realized this. It's a pity that he doesn't.

Most surprisingly, I got one such SMS from the Art of Living group. I don't remember receiving any SMS from them asking to do my bit to stop female infanticide, to conserve environment, to alleviate poverty, to provide education, to clean up the cities or the holy river Ganga. Then why are they asking me to join them in burning this bill?

Don't you think it is high time we look for peaceful, but powerful, ways of conveying our disagreement? If you do, check out this TOI site - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/for-a-strong-lokpal-against-corruption/lokpalbill.cms

Good Heavens!

There is nothing like a good hearty laugh as you begin your day. And I had one, thanks to Yahoo! "Here's how heaven looks like!" - says one of the links. At first, I wondered - shouldn't this read 'Here's what heaven looks like'? Curious, I read on. There were the usual descriptions of pearly gates, heavenly music and out-of-this-world aromas. I am not sure if the person who saw all this asked God "What's cooking?" ;-) As if this isn't enough, people's reactions on this news were interesting as well. Some are actually looking forward to going there. And here I am, thinking that only the good people get to go there, while the rest of us will have an appointment in Hell.

Please note that I am not making fun of the tenets of Christianity here. Hinduism also has the concept of Swarg (heaven) and Narak (sort of hell) though the Hindu scriptures don't mention any devil. If any Hindu priest had claimed that he has been to the heaven and back, my reaction would have been the same. It's just one of tricks played by the fascinating thing called Mind. Nothing more than that!

BTW, how is that every person who has had the near-death experience ends up in heaven and back? Has no one been to the dark gates of the hell or don't they want to talk about it?

अर्ज है.....

कभी यू भी आ मेरी आखोंमे
के मेरी नझरको खबर न हो
तुझे भुलानेकी दुआ करू
तो दुआमे मेरी असर न हो

(Source: http://www.orkutuncle.com/shayari2)

Book Exhibition at Sunderbai Hall, Mumbai

There is a book exhibition by Ashish Book Center at Sunderbai Hall, Mumbai from 4th August-22nd August, 9:30am-8pm.

Happy Birthday KishoreDa!

These days, RJ Anmol has been doing his 'पुरानी जीन्स' episodes (Radio Mirchi, 98.3FM, 9pm) from homes of his listeners. I got a chance to tune in to yesterday's episode for a bit as it started.

This time it was a Bengali family from Malad, Mumbai. It was fun to listen in as they welcomed Anmol in the full-blown traditional Bengali way - by blowing the conches etc. It is heartening to see that people have been so warmly welcoming the host of a radio program that plays Hindi songs mostly from the Golden Era. But what made me almost choke with emotion was the song that the 17-year old kid from the household requested as the first one to be played for the evening - Kishore Kumar's "आ चल के तुझे मै लेके चलू" from the movie "दूर गगनकी छावमे". I simply couldn't believe it that a teen knows and likes this song. Just proves that good music is truly timeless. Welcome to the club that loves the Golden Oldies :-)

The kid said that he wanted Mumbai to listen to this song. Thanks pal! All of us Mumbaikars really need to spend a few minutes in such a land where there is no grief, no tears, just love - even if it is make-belief.

And it seemed like a fitting tribute to the late singer. It's his birthday today.
Happy Birthday KishoreDa!

David Rocco's Dolce Vita

When I saw the listing for "David Rocco's Dolce Vita" in the TV guide, my first impression was that this must be some program on fashion. Then one day I chanced upon it while flipping through the channels and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was about, what else, food. :-)

I confess that given a choice I won't head out to any restaurant serving Italian food. Noodles and pasta are just not my cup of tea. But it's fun to watch David cook up a sumptuous array of dishes within minutes. And you get to see a bit of Italy - even if it's just some simple neighborhood with cobbled streets and cars parked on both sides of the road :-)

La Dolce Vita Indeed!

Wanna see an Indian village?

Check out these sites - http://www.villageways.com/ and http://exploreruralindia.org/

The Silver Lining

'Is there absolutely nothing that is going right with this country?' this is the question that I have been increasingly asking myself as I skip from one grim news to another while reading newspapers or flipping through news channels. Sometimes things seem so utterly hopeless that I wonder if we all have failed as a country :-(

But maybe, just maybe, the problem is that the media concentrates more on what is not working. Agreed, that's their job but part of their job is also to spread positive news so that the citizens are aware of it and can contribute if they wish to. That's something that the Indian media seems to have lost sight of completely.

There were 2 news items that cheered me up to a certain extent yesterday and I thought of doing my bit to spread the positive news by posting about them.

Villages begin to reap benefits from rural tourism

New reflections on an ancient art

Mantra for a successful life

Success is not the key to happiness
Happiness is the key to success
If you love what you are doing
You will become Successful

I guess I have a future in tourism, photography and cooking :-)

Food Safari

I watched an episode of Food Safari (Fox History channel) that featured Korean food. Since then, I have added Bibimbap to my list of "1000 dishes to eat before I die" :-) Of course, I would prefer it with chicken and not beef! The episode also showed the machines that make Khimchi - another favorite. Hmm.....but the cuisine doesn't seem to have too many options when it comes to sweets though they do have a wide array of rice cake preparations.

A thousand thanks to the team that puts together such sumptuous episodes! Hope you manage to cover all the countries of the world before they manage to destroy each other :-(

Sometimes I think the TV channel "Colors" is hell-bent on driving us all back to the Dark Ages. I chanced upon one episode of their show "Balika Badhu" over the weekend. The leading lady Anandi has apparently lost her husband Jagan to the charms of another woman, Gauri. Jagan and Gauri have got married though their marriage is neither legal nor acceptable as per the social norms. Any woman with an ounce of self-esteem would break all ties with her husband and start life afresh. But not the protagonist. She instead drives away her parents who have come to take her away with them. And she still loves the husband who has left her for another woman. Totally spineless!

To add insult to this injury, at the end of every episode, the channel displays a little strip of pearly wisdom which could be described as appropriate only in Stone Age. e.g. at the end of the episode that I happened to watch, the strip said something like 'after marriage, women in India consider husband and his family as their only family and don't hesitate to sever ties with their parents, if need be'.

I think what needs to be severed is the head of the person who dares write such c*** on prime time TV! And Pronto!

अर्ज है.....

दिल जीत ले वो नझर हमभी रखते है
भीडमेभी आये नजर वो असर हमभी रखते है
यू तो वादा किया है किसीसे हरदम मुस्कुरानेका
वरना इन आंखोमे समंदर हमभी रखते है

(Source: http://www.orkutuncle.com/shayari2)

Nigella Kitchen

TLC seems to have brought a new show by Nigella Lawson - Nigella Kitchen. I watched it for a couple of minutes on Monday. There was a chicken dish, which was too bland for the Indian taste - even though she served it with dollops of English mustard. Despite sitting in the oven for minutes, it had all the appearance of boiled meat. I cannot imagine chicken without spices. Despite all these things I like to watch her cookery shows because there is no rush to get a notebook and jot the recipe down before she moves on to the next one. :-)

Oh, and BTW, true to her style, as the credits roll by at the end of the episode, she pops the refrigerator door open and starts munching on the leftovers in the dead of the night. I have never been able to figure out why she does that. One of life's mysteries! :-)

जिंदगी न मिलेगी दोबारा

"Jindagi na milegi dobara?" when I read this line in the SMS I thought that my friend must have sent it to me by mistake. It's been years since I have watched any Hindi movie in a theatre and almost all of my friends know that. So I SMSed back a series of question-marks.

My friend asked me if I had seen the movie yet and highly recommended that I do so if I ever missed my college days. Oh, sure, I miss my college days. Who doesn't? But not so much that I will make myself sit through 2.5+ hours of a Hindi movie for that. Agreed, everyone has been raving about this movie. so there must be something good about it. But I cannot simply make myself go and sit through it. Guess I have simply lost the drive.

I have, however, added its name to the ever-growing list of Hindi movies that I might one day have enough enthusiasm (and time!) to watch. The top 3 entries in the list till then were "Chillar Party", "Stanley Ka Dabba" and "Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na".

Just when you think you have seen it all, the Indian politicians seem to find ways to surprise you. The latest to join this long list of irate, irrational and downright annoying bunch is the caretaker chief minister of Karnataka. First a minister got slapped in the face and then it was Mr. Naidu's laptop's turn to get slapped, sorry smashed.

Can someone please let this gentleman (!) know that this isn't funny anymore. If you are getting cranky because of old age, better stay at home and do whatever it is that senior citizens do. But if you insist on staying in politics, better behave.

When, oh when, will this sorry bunch learn to behave responsibly and accept defeat gracefully? :-(

The best way to keep your blood pressure down is.........not to follow India's Test Series with England. The English bowlers are taking wickets and scoring runs as well while the Indian bowlers seem to have forgotten that they are on the ground to take wickets. The lesser said about the Indian batting the better. The bottomline is that we don't deserve #1 ranking on the Test side. So it's best if it goes to the nation that is playing better cricket.

A bitter pill to swallow but swallow we must. What say MSD?

अर्ज है.....

हर वक्त गुल बनकर मुस्कुराना जिंदगी है
मुस्कुराकर गम भुलाना जिंदगी है
जीतकर मुस्कुराये तो क्या मुस्कुराये
हारकर मुस्कुराना जिंदगी है

(Forwarded)

Instant Fame - the Kyle Sandilands way

Did you know who Kyle Sandilands was last week? I bet you didn't. Yet, chances are that you know who he is today - thanks to his rude, insensitive, derogatory etc. comments on India, Hinduism and the river Ganga (I don't know why people keep referring to her as the 'Ganges'!). Way to go Mr. Sandilands!

The Indian community will demand an apology. Maybe they will get it. There will be articles on racial attacks on Indians in Australia. There will be articles on the Aussies who have supported India. Mr. Sandilands will get his share of the limelight and then he will be forgotten. In short, the events will take place in the same sequence that they do when someone decides to take this path to instant fame.

The question is, when will we Indians get down to cleaning up the river that we consider so holy?

I can't figure out why everyone is up in arms against Amitabh Bachchan because he didn't say that he liked Hrithik in 'Jindagi Na Milegi Dobara'. I am no fan of Mr. Bachchan but the man has got a right to say who he liked and who he didn't.

People have been saying that he is jealous of Hrithik because his own son isn't doing so well in films. Oh c'mon now, think back to your childhood. Wasn't there even one instance when your parents resorted to partiality? If we didn't expect our parents to be magnanimous 24/7, why expect Mr. Bachchan to be any different? Why do we keep forgetting that all these so-called "celebrities" are humans like you and me - prone to the same petty feelings and weaknesses?

Then again why do Hrithik fans need Mr. Bachchan's seal of approval? It should be enough that they liked Hrithik in the film. If Mr. Bachchan didn't, so be it.

हाल-ए-दिल - from "Murder 2"

There's this new song that I have become addicted to - हाल-ए-दिल from the movie "Murder 2". Trust me, I keep flipping through FM channels these days in the hopes of listening to it one more time. When I heard it for the first time, I didn't know which movie it is from, nor did I care. After listening to it a couple of more times,however, I started liking it. So finally last week, I googled to find the movie it is from.

Hmm....I like the music but absolutely love the lyrics, especially the following ones.....

काश यू होता
हर शाम साथ तू होता
चुपचाप दिल न ये रोता
हर शाम साथ तू होता

तेरे संग जो पल बिताता
वक्तसे मै वो मांग लाता
याद करके मुस्कुराता

Of course, I cannot think of Imraan Hashmi mouthing these words. I would have much preferred John Abraham singing this one. But then John has always been my favorite :-)

In case you haven't listened to this haunting melody yet, do give it a try. I think you will like it.

Do you think we humans will always be cursed with not appreciating what we have in life and running after what we don't? I kept on wondering as our car winded its way through the lush green landscape of Alibaug. Everywhere you turned, you could see green mountains, with their tops lost in mist, wild flowers were in bloom in the shrubs, the sky was laden with rain clouds and yet, there was not a soul in sight when we passed through villages. Those out on bicycles or on foot were completely lost in their thoughts or absorbed in their conversations - hardly taking a look at the landscape around them. And I was feeling sad that I have to return to Mumbai come Sunday evening.

I said the same aloud and our chauffeur remarked that at least some of these villagers might be feeling the same way about life in a metro. Many of them are awestruck by the sky-scrappers, shiny new malls and fast paced life. I wonder, I just wonder, whether they must be also be thinking that we city-dwellers don't appreciate what life has given us and run after what we don't have i.e. nature? :-(

अर्ज है.....

जिंदगी तुझसे हर एक सांसपे समझौता करू
शौक जीनेका है मुझको मगर इतना तो नही


(Forwarded)

Getting back to work on Monday is hard enough, and it seems next to impossible when you have spent the weekend at a place like Alibaug where greenery rules supreme at this time of the year.

Mountains, rain, overcast skies, chirping birds, gurgling streams and a sense of peace - these are the things that I brought back with me to keep company with the cough that's been refusing to go away. :-(

I hope that I will get rid of the cough this week and manage to hold onto the rest of the things for as long as I can :-)