जिंदगीसे आप जो भी बेहतरसे बेहतर ले सको ले लो
क्योंकी जिंदगी जब लेना शुरू करती है तो साँसेभी नहीं छोड़ती

(Forwarded)

It was the last signal before the office. I had almost finished reading the newspaper. That's why I was looking out of the window. A PUC van was parked at the curb and its door was ajar. The lone attendance inside was feeding a street dog some biscuits. I remembered my brother telling me that the digestive system of the animals gets disturbed if they are fed the biscuits that are meant for human consumption. But looking at the skinny dog, I rather doubted that he was getting much to eat otherwise. As I looked at him, an article from yesterday's newspaper came to mind. It was about the perennial issue of what to do with the stray dogs. When I read how a small child on his way to school was attacked by 3 stray dogs, I could think of no other solution other than putting down the dogs. But the dog near that PUC van looked very tame and harmless, rather forlorn. It would be cruel to put him to death. But then who knows? He might turn vicious and attack someone some day. It's a difficult choice like in many of the problems that continue to plague our nation :-(

A guy driving a scooter stopped near the PUC van – most probably to ask for directions, I thought. But as I kept watching, the PUC guy got down from his vehicle, went to the back and got a thin pipe out. Just then the signal changed to green and my cab pulled away so I could not see the rest of the process.

Must say that this is the very first time I have seen anyone use the service of the PUC van.

"The Supreme Court has upheld Kasab's death penalty" read my friend's SMS. I looked at the message and wondered whether to be happy or not. It's not that I have completely lost faith in the country's judicial system. But who knows what appeals and pleas – not to mention appeal for presidential clemency - his lawyers may come up with to keep him safe behind the bars for years to come. Come to think of it, I wouldn't even have rejoiced if the SMS had read 'Kasab to be hanged tomorrow'. The only message that can ever bring satisfaction and some sense that the justice has been served to those who died in the 26/11 attack and their relatives is 'Kasab was hanged today'.

Just wonder what happened to the old-fashioned Hindi movie tactic of the cops taking the criminal out of the prison on the pretext of transferring him somewhere and then shooting him in cold-blood because 'he was trying to escape'. I wish the real life would imitate reel life just this one time.

अर्ज किया है

दिलमे चाहत का होनाभी लाझमी है
वरना याद तो  दुश्मनभी रोज किया करते है

(Forwarded)

The Making of Khao Soi

It had been days since I had bought Thai Red Curry Paste from Godrej's Nature Basket. Every time I opened the fridge, the packet would remind me that I am yet to try my hand at making Khao Soi. Last Saturday night, I had made up my mind that it is either going to be tomorrow or never.

A search on the net brought up 3-4 recipes. I selected the one that had maximum match between the listed ingredients and the contents of my fridge – http://www.food.com/recipe/chiang-mai-curry-noodles-kao-soi-192829. I simply didn't have the time or the patience needed to buy anything extra.

So on the D-day morning, I faithfully followed the recipe to make the curry. But when it came to serving the dish, I added a few boiled noodles at the bottom of the bowl. Then ladled spoonfuls of the gravy onto it. To that I added chopped coriander, chopped mint leaves, fine powder of peanuts, thin slices of deep fried onions, finely chopped spring onions (green part), a sprinkling of red chilli flakes and finally fried noodles. And topped it off with few drops of lemon juice.

I am happy to say that the end result turned out to be surprisingly delicious. Maybe it was the beginner's luck! I will know for sure when I make it again - and again and again :-)

'These are bad times. You cannot trust anyone' we keep saying the same thing in our living rooms, our offices, trains and buses. Are we being too cautious? Too paranoid? Too afraid to call our existence 'living'? I used to wonder but then it changed yesterday evening.

I was paying off the rickshaw driver when I saw my bus pull away from the bus stop. There was no use running after it. A conductor who stops the bus upon noticing a harried commuter is an endangered species. It is safe to assume that you will never come across one. I made a half-hearted attempt at waiting for the next bus. A drizzle was all that it took for me to change my decision and make a beeline for the nearest cab.

I told the taxi driver my destination and he nodded. Just as I was getting into the cab, a girl standing nearby asked me if I was going to an area which was en-route. I obviously was. It was a split-second decision and hence something that was truly reflective of my state of mind. I thought for a moment and then blurted out that I have to pick someone up on my way. She nodded and stepped back. As I sped away I felt really bad.

I put the question to 2 of my female colleagues today. One of them did say that there was no harm in sharing ride with the girl. But when the other one shook her head saying 'we cannot trust anyone these days', the first one nodded too.

I just wonder if that girl believed what I said yesterday or did she figure out that I was afraid to trust anyone?