कल ख़ुशी मिली थी
जल्दीमें थी रुकी नहीं
Trust Gulzar to know the state of our minds :-)
जल्दीमें थी रुकी नहीं
Trust Gulzar to know the state of our minds :-)
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
There is no telling what might pop out of an old attic. When we cleaned up an old storage space at my mom's place recently, three items - which I had not seen for years - popped out.
One, a puppet of a man - even as children we had not been able to describe it more than this. It is a dusky (read black!) man, wearing a headgear, a short green pant and a pair of over-sized shoes - way too oversize for his thin reedy legs. Dad had brought him back from his office trip to Germany - why I have no idea. Back then, I used to find the puppet exceedingly creepy and still do. But surprisingly, when he was recently unearthed from the dusty, cobwebby confines of the storage and mom declared her intention of throwing him out along with other junk items, my brother (to whom I had sent his photo on whats-app with caption 'Guess what we found') and I put up a stiff resistance. It is one of those items from a shared childhood that we can collectively laugh over as we pick it up and look at it. The puppet stays.
The second item shares this trait with the puppet. It is a pressure cooker from the toy cooking set I used to play with as a child. There used to be a stovetop along with it - which was way too over-sized for the cooker to fit onto it. But that must have been thrown out. When I sent this photo to my brother on whatsapp, I got a big smiley along with the message 'you used to cook imaginary food in this and ask me to eat it'. That part is true. Him and the younger brother of my friend next door were made to eat imaginary food from little plates as we both girls did our make-believe cooking. :-) Needless to say, the pressure cooker is staying as well.
The last item is of a more recent vintage than the two items mentioned earlier. It is from the days when the SSC exam was given a lot of importance. They used to have special magazines dedicated to the exam study like e.g. दहावी दिवाळी. The said item is an issue of the said magazine - it contains a history paper solved by me, in my handwriting. It shocked me a little, to see that I could write so much in one sitting once upon a time, and that too in such legible nice way. Now, my handwriting starts turning illegible halfway through taking down a recipe while watching a show. I neglected to maintain it - it is that plain and simple. Sad, but true.
Maybe I should start writing one paragraph in Devnagari every Saturday morning, the way they used to make us do in the school :-)
One, a puppet of a man - even as children we had not been able to describe it more than this. It is a dusky (read black!) man, wearing a headgear, a short green pant and a pair of over-sized shoes - way too oversize for his thin reedy legs. Dad had brought him back from his office trip to Germany - why I have no idea. Back then, I used to find the puppet exceedingly creepy and still do. But surprisingly, when he was recently unearthed from the dusty, cobwebby confines of the storage and mom declared her intention of throwing him out along with other junk items, my brother (to whom I had sent his photo on whats-app with caption 'Guess what we found') and I put up a stiff resistance. It is one of those items from a shared childhood that we can collectively laugh over as we pick it up and look at it. The puppet stays.
The second item shares this trait with the puppet. It is a pressure cooker from the toy cooking set I used to play with as a child. There used to be a stovetop along with it - which was way too over-sized for the cooker to fit onto it. But that must have been thrown out. When I sent this photo to my brother on whatsapp, I got a big smiley along with the message 'you used to cook imaginary food in this and ask me to eat it'. That part is true. Him and the younger brother of my friend next door were made to eat imaginary food from little plates as we both girls did our make-believe cooking. :-) Needless to say, the pressure cooker is staying as well.
The last item is of a more recent vintage than the two items mentioned earlier. It is from the days when the SSC exam was given a lot of importance. They used to have special magazines dedicated to the exam study like e.g. दहावी दिवाळी. The said item is an issue of the said magazine - it contains a history paper solved by me, in my handwriting. It shocked me a little, to see that I could write so much in one sitting once upon a time, and that too in such legible nice way. Now, my handwriting starts turning illegible halfway through taking down a recipe while watching a show. I neglected to maintain it - it is that plain and simple. Sad, but true.
Mainland China, High Street Phoenix
Most of the times when I go to Phoenix I haven't decided in advance where I am going to have lunch. But last weekend I knew that I was in mood for some Asian food. There is only one place that serves it there - Mainland China.
I was sorely tempted to order Nasi Goreng once again - it was unbelievably delicious last time I ordered it. But I had made up my mind to try something new this time around. So my choice was Burmese Pan-fried Noodles with chicken and Stir-fried chicken with Chilies, Garlic and Hot Basil. The server informed me that the noodles will be cooked in coconut milk (I wonder if it was because people are allergic to or don't like coconut milk!) and that along with chicken it will contain some vegetables (I have no idea why he had to put in that disclaimer!). We said that we are fine with both these things.
Now, I don't know if we are lucky every time we order from their menu or their chefs, by some culinary magic, manage to turn every dish into a delicious riot of texture and flavors. I suspect that it is the latter. The Pan-fried Noodles were cooked in rich coconut milk and the perfectly cooked generous chunks of tender chicken just melted in one's mouth. The Stir-fried chicken had all the flavors of Chilies, Garlic and Hot Basil blend into a thick out-of-this-world sauce coating the chicken pieces. Each morsel was an absolute delight.
Now if only they would serve some Khimchi instead of the pickled peanuts as soon as you are seated and some fortune cookies along with your bill, my world would be just perfect!
I was sorely tempted to order Nasi Goreng once again - it was unbelievably delicious last time I ordered it. But I had made up my mind to try something new this time around. So my choice was Burmese Pan-fried Noodles with chicken and Stir-fried chicken with Chilies, Garlic and Hot Basil. The server informed me that the noodles will be cooked in coconut milk (I wonder if it was because people are allergic to or don't like coconut milk!) and that along with chicken it will contain some vegetables (I have no idea why he had to put in that disclaimer!). We said that we are fine with both these things.
Now, I don't know if we are lucky every time we order from their menu or their chefs, by some culinary magic, manage to turn every dish into a delicious riot of texture and flavors. I suspect that it is the latter. The Pan-fried Noodles were cooked in rich coconut milk and the perfectly cooked generous chunks of tender chicken just melted in one's mouth. The Stir-fried chicken had all the flavors of Chilies, Garlic and Hot Basil blend into a thick out-of-this-world sauce coating the chicken pieces. Each morsel was an absolute delight.
Now if only they would serve some Khimchi instead of the pickled peanuts as soon as you are seated and some fortune cookies along with your bill, my world would be just perfect!
Sherlock, The Abominable Bride(Spoiler Alert!)
These days it has become fashionable to show Holmes and Watson in the 21st century. When the novelty of them using gadgets like laptops, smartphones etc wears off (and it does, in first episode itself!) the stories would be like any other depicted in countless other espionage and detective shows. It would be more interesting to see the crimes in the 19th century instead and how the duo manage to solve them using the techniques of the day and Sherlock's famous deductive powers. Alas! No one is willing to bet on this idea. :-(
Anyways, so that was precisely why I was very interested in this 2-hour episode that takes place in the 19th century England with Holmes and Watson residing in 221B, Baker Street with good old Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson in tow. I stopped short of stocking on chips and soda. :-)
The plot, in a nutshell, is like this - a woman goes on a shooting spree on the day of her marriage anniversary and then kills herself by shooting herself in the mouth. Scotland Yard treats this as a routine suicide until the dead bride shows up outside a club her husband is known to frequent and kills him.This is then followed by more shootings - all by the same dead bride. Sherlock's help is sought by a Lady whose husband sees the Bride who tells him that he will be killed on that night.
The plot looked promising and my first thought was that the Bride has a twin. I burst out laughing when Watson proposed the same theory and was chided by Sherlock who emphatically stated that 'it is never the twin'. :-) I have never much cared for Sherlock's elder sibling, Mycroft, and his fat, eating-as-if-there-is-no-tomorrow avatar in this episode didn't do much to improve his image for me. Frankly, the idea of the siblings betting on when Mycroft is likely to die as a result of his over-eating was ludicrous at its best and gross at its worst! The sudden switch from 19th to 21st century jarred horribly and I am yet to figure out why they had to insert 'the suffragettes' in this mystery. The presence of Moriarty and his role in the whole conspiracy was equally puzzling. That said, why was the actor playing Sherlock's nemesis over-acting so horribly?
All said, I think it was a clear waste of two hours of my life :-(
Anyways, so that was precisely why I was very interested in this 2-hour episode that takes place in the 19th century England with Holmes and Watson residing in 221B, Baker Street with good old Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson in tow. I stopped short of stocking on chips and soda. :-)
The plot, in a nutshell, is like this - a woman goes on a shooting spree on the day of her marriage anniversary and then kills herself by shooting herself in the mouth. Scotland Yard treats this as a routine suicide until the dead bride shows up outside a club her husband is known to frequent and kills him.This is then followed by more shootings - all by the same dead bride. Sherlock's help is sought by a Lady whose husband sees the Bride who tells him that he will be killed on that night.
The plot looked promising and my first thought was that the Bride has a twin. I burst out laughing when Watson proposed the same theory and was chided by Sherlock who emphatically stated that 'it is never the twin'. :-) I have never much cared for Sherlock's elder sibling, Mycroft, and his fat, eating-as-if-there-is-no-tomorrow avatar in this episode didn't do much to improve his image for me. Frankly, the idea of the siblings betting on when Mycroft is likely to die as a result of his over-eating was ludicrous at its best and gross at its worst! The sudden switch from 19th to 21st century jarred horribly and I am yet to figure out why they had to insert 'the suffragettes' in this mystery. The presence of Moriarty and his role in the whole conspiracy was equally puzzling. That said, why was the actor playing Sherlock's nemesis over-acting so horribly?
All said, I think it was a clear waste of two hours of my life :-(
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