clueless desires

All about Keto!

2018-01-15T17:58:00.002+05:30

That's the buzzword in diet nowadays - "Keto". And I've been part of this journey for the last 14 weeks. You must be wondering I drop in here out of nowhere and then begin with the rambling on Keto! Well, it is an important journey for us (S & I) and I wanted to pen my thoughts here so that I can come back to it in future and comprehend when need arrives!

It all began on 9th October for me and maybe a few months ago for S, he has been pestering for a while to embark on this blissfulness that is keto (read - sarcasm!). He has been interested in it and has been reading up on it as well after seeing his friend’s journey on this platform. To be honest, I was quite apprehensive because, you know, who lives without carbs? I love my rotis & idlis and don’t even get me started on the daals. I could never imagine a life without them. So I waited & waited and finally gave in. Thus began this journey.

In order to understand the Keto or the LCHF (Low Carbs High Fat) diet, one has to understand what ketosis is all about. Ketosis is a metabolic state of the body wherein it derives energy using the fats that you intake (there is little/no carbs to convert into energy). Basically your body turns into a fat-burning machine! Usually keto enthusiasts will tell you not to bother about weight loss and concentrate more on inch loss, now that’s a whole other chapter to discuss and I don’t want this post to go technical about it.

And does it work? Oh yes it does. I have lost about 11 kgs in 14 weeks and can see surprising changes in just 3 months!

In the beginning when I actually started this diet it was more about experimenting with limited food that we, as vegetarians, could consume and believe me, it was challenging. I was surprised to know the amount of carbs a simple onion or a carrot contained! I knew potatoes were bad but other vegetables were increasingly shocking for me to understand. I have to limit my carbs to about 20 or below 20gms! Took me a while to comprehend but once I got the hang of it, there was no stopping. I put on my chef’s hat and got busy in the kitchen, some experiments are pictured below!

Growing up we are advised that fat is bad for you but after being in keto I am just appalled how much damage carbs do to you! It’s shocking. However believe me when I say it’s amazing to see your body react so beautifully without carbs! I won’t deny that I miss my regular food since it’s natural - you are brought up eating that food, it will pinch you somewhere. After all I am human and it doesn’t help that no place in Bangalore provides keto food on demand, it’s frustrating especially when you don’t want to enter your kitchen. However big a chef you can be, there will be a time when you want to chuck your hat and gobble up some food made by someone else!

If I have to consolidate this whole journey in one word then it has to be - "satisfaction". Yes I think that’s what I would call it! Because health-wise, nothing has been satisfactory in the past the way being in ketosis has been! Not only has keto helped me physically, but I believe I have become a lot more calmer mentally. The only tough part of ketosis is that if you exceed your limit of carbs, the body will throw you out of ketosis and it usually takes about a week to be back into it. Keto can be very unforgiving if you cheat!

Unfortunately due to the holiday season as well as a travel that was planned, I had to give it up for about 10 days which surprisingly wasn’t all that bad. I expected a good amount of weight gain but then, thankfully, it was negligible. Keto stayed good which helped me end 2017 on a high!

Now that we are in 2018 and settling in, I am back into Ketosis and I have to say that I missed it. I don’t crave for carbs anymore!

Not so long ago!

2015-05-18T18:03:00.001+05:30

Wow... Its been so long since I paid a visit to my own blog! How neglected it looks!!!

I just sort of peeped in here in what looks like years and I am simply sad to see it like this... un-attended! True, the blame is on me but I guess I was kind-of forced to forget this page with a toddler around.

I'm sure you know the drill when it comes to children and mine is quite a handful. While I have been thoroughly enjoying seeing him grow, at the same time I have allowed myself an absence from this space here.

But now I am yearning to be back here and kick start this space, my space, rather, more than ever. Let's just hope I maintain the enthusiasm that I have just displayed here with & that's the challenge I am taking up now!

I have so many comeback stories that I start with but I'm afraid that will just have to wait. I only came here to say hello to my neglected blog :-)

With a promise to myself and to my blog to be regular, I leave now. See you soon!

...

2013-10-17T15:23:00.001+05:30

Life is a full stop. Lost a dear one today...

The heart is full of pain and eyes tearful. It's just not fair...

The 11 brothers & 11 sisters story has lost one dear sister.

May your soul rest in peace Sneh didi...

Raagi porridge

2013-04-11T19:08:00.001+05:30

This post is specifically for a friend who requested this most common and predominant baby food prepared in the southern part of India.

The credit for the recipe goes to my maid who helped me six months ago when I was confused while starting solids for my baby. Though there are a lot of options in the market these days, I wanted something which is not milk based and of course which is homemade.

Traditionally raagi is used in south India and as north Indians, the benefits of raagi are lesser known to us primarily because raagi was unavailable up north earlier. But now things have changed and the benefits of raagi are out for all to experience.

Raagi is a very good source of calcium and your baby will need it in abundance once he/she starts to crawl and starts teething. Traditionally this porridge is made only with raagi but I have decided to include other grains and pulses like moong daal, wheat, barley etc.. These are optional and you need not add these if you don't like. So without much ado here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:
----------------

500gms Raagi millet
250gms wheat
250gms Green Gram (moong daal)
125gms barley
125gms brown rice
2 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2tbsp carom seeds (ajwain)

Procedure
---------------
1. Wash all except jeera and ajwain. Raagi needs much more time while washing since it has a lot of impurities. You will need to keep washing it till raagi looks clear to you in water. This will take about 4-5 washes.

2. Soak the washed grains accordingly:
Raagi - 8hrs
Wheat - 8hrs
Moong daal - 8hrs
Barley and brown rice - 2hrs
3. Drain barley and the rice and let them dry completely.
4. Drain the rest of the grains and tie them up separately in a clean muslin cloth. You will need to keep this until they start to sprout.

5. Once they have sprouted untie them and spread it on a neat surface or on a plate and dry them completely. Ensure that there's no moisture left in them.

6. Dry roast each of the ingredients. I do this for at least 5min each or till you start getting a pleasant aroma from them. You also do this to the cumin and ajwain seeds.

7. Finally you collect them all and grind them into a fine powder. If you are doing this at home then care should be taken that the powder yielded should be really fine, you may also need to sieve it till you get the perfect consistency. I prefer to do this in a flour mill rather than at home as the former involves less sieving.

Store in a air-tight container.

OPTIONAL:- I also add around 50-60 roasted and powdered almonds into the mixture above. But you can exclude this if you are concerned about nut allergy.

Cooking before feeding:-
--------------------------------
I take about three spoonfuls of this, mix it in sufficient water, add a pinch of salt along with a few drops of ghee and finally cook this on a small flame. Keep stirring this till the paste thickens to about the consistency of a porridge.

Cool and serve... Or rather feed ;)

You can feed this porridge more than once a day but I generally do this once in the afternoon. Since this porridge contains many ingredients its quite filling in nature and the baby is likely to sleep for over 2-3hrs after consuming the same.

Apart from this I also feed my son oats for breakfast, wheat in the evening and rice & daal at night apart from about 20oz of milk everyday.

Dinner Tonite

2013-03-09T23:47:00.001+05:30

Our Dinner Tonite... Baked Macaroni....

Recipe later

Masala Dibba

2013-02-26T13:40:00.001+05:30

I love, love, LOVE my new masala dibba... This is exactly what I wanted to have in the first place.

I have been chasing this design ever since I saw it on a blog featuring Dastakar in 2009. After 3 years of searching I finally found it on fabfurnish.com. A relief and finally... happiness!

The blog mentioned this site called Ethaan.org (NGO based out of Delhi), whom I tried reaching to them desperately. Unfortunately despite my innumerable calls, emails I was never able to get any answer and hence left very disappointed, only until now...

Sigh I can't take my eyes off this new entry in my kitchen... Bit cheesy it sounds I know! But I am a sucker for these things and keep a great eye for the unusual...

This is definitely a must have in an Indian kitchen. It replaces the boring steel spice box so beautifully...

Here you go, some pictures of my new Masala Dibba

Quinoa Salad

2013-02-26T12:47:00.001+05:30

What started as solid food for my baby turned out to be an action packed bollywoody food for the both of us. Bollywood I say, because there is so much masala and lots of things to make it zingy!

Quinoa (prononced kinwaa) needs no introduction. It's one of the healthiest grain in the entire world, an all-rounder in nutrition. It's a good source of calcium, iron, magnesium and more importantly, it's gluten free. In layman terms it's a yummy tummy treat.

I included this as a part of my son's diet mainly because it's gluten free and it's packed with all the necessary nutritional quotient that it instantly ticked all my check boxes!

The only drawback is that it's not readily available in your regular departmental store and hence you will need to source this from an upscale high end supermarket. However I found this online at "zansaar.com" which has thankfully eliminated my travel time by bringing this to me to my doorstep. I use Roland white quinoa and a packet (340 gms) is priced at Rs.430 (quite expensive I must say). But considering everything that I have written above I've decided to ignore the price.

There are a lot of recipes to try out but today I am sharing this very simple salad. It's so simple, yummy and at the same time very healthy. So I am not complaining.

Ingredients:

Cooking quinoa:
Quinoa - 1cup
Water - 2cups
Salt - 1/4tsp

Add salt to the two cups of water and put it on boil. Once it starts to boil, add 1 cup of quinoa and stir in. Cook it till the entire water is evaporated which takes about 15 - 18 mins. Once done, keep this aside. 1 cup of quinoa yields 2 - 3 cups when cooked.

For the salad:
3 cups quinoa (procedure above)
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Peanuts - 1tbsp
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 finely chopped

Parboil the below:
Carrot - 2 finely diced
Potato - 1 finely diced
Pumpkin - small piece finely diced
Celery - 1 finely chopped
Dill leaves - a bunch chopped finely
Coriander leaves - a bunch
Green chillies - 1tsp
Ginger - 1tsp
Chickpeas or any other legumes (rajma, moth-gram etc) - 1 cup cooked
Salt to taste
Turmeric - 1tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1tsp
Chat masala - 1tsp
Juice of one lemon

Procedure:
1. In a wok heat up olive oil, add in peanuts and ginger, sauté a bit and then add onions and celery. Sauté this till onions become translucent. Now add tomatoes and green chillies and sauté till it blends in.

2. Add in the parboiled vegetables, sauté for a minute and then add the legumes.

3. Now add in the quinoa and all the masalas and give it a fine stir. Finally add in the dill leaves and lemon juice and give it a quick mix.

4. Finally garnish with coriander and serve.

This will guarantee you a guilt-free and a yummy indulgence!

Online shopping!

2013-02-15T23:29:00.000+05:30

If you still haven't tried online shopping yet, I suggest you must do so! It is definitely a boon... Well, at least to me. It helps me save time and trust me, with an infant around, time is something that is hard to come by these days!

Shopping as such has become more of an ordeal these days, our little man is definitely not a shopping person... He becomes awfully cranky every time we go out shopping though he loves being outdoors! He is surprisingly happy in an autorikshaw or when we are out on a drive but a few minutes in any shop turns the little fella red with fury!

Hence I have had to give in and order almost everything online. Though it is convenient, I must say I hate the bell ring almost everyday... Sometimes good things do come at a price :-(

I have listed down a few online stores, more specific to India though, which I frequent regularly.

Here goes the list (please add a ".com" to all these).

Baby needs (not surprising my first pick is a baby store! All moms out there will agree with me):

Babyoye

Firstcry

Hoopos

Shoppers-stop

Mothercare

Groceries

Towness

Big basket

Lifestyle products

Urbandazzle

Zansaar

Fabfurnish

Clothes & accessories

Myntra

Jabong

Medical requirement - Apollo pharmacy

Of course there are many others but the above ones are those which I frequent the most.

I do miss shopping the traditional way; the window-shopping and the coffees in between but I do ensure that I occasionally squeeze in those as well while the sweet husband babysits...

Disclaimer: The above is hazardous to the husband’s wallet :-)

L.O.V.E

2013-02-14T00:00:00.000+05:30

Just when I thought my life couldn't get better than it is at the moment, he goes and does this!

Muahhhh... I love you!

Happy Valentines day!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

2013-01-08T23:17:00.001+05:30

This post is dedicated to the Daughter of India, Jyoti Singh Pandey (I hate it when people refer her to the Delhi rape victim, it makes me think that's become her identity now and I am sure where ever she is she wouldn't like to be known as that!) and to those numerous others who have become victims to such horrendous crime.

I don't want to dwell too much because it just pains me, so i dunno what punishment has to be given to those culprits... I hear words like chemical castration, death by hanging, shoving an iron rod just like what they did to her, I don't know! what I know is that girl is no more and that this was not the way she would have wanted to die. Nobody not even the worst enemy deserves it.

Its time we do something, take things in our own hands... pepper spray, Stun gun, etc.. are the options available to us and lets use them. I read somewhere that in every 16 hours there is a child/girl/woman being raped in this whole wide world... that is so disturbing and depressing... I just hope and pray these things stop and stop for good.

Someone sent me this video and I found it so heartbreaking and so thoughtful that I had to share it here... I hope you like it too.

On poop duty!

2012-12-28T20:06:00.001+05:30

And loving every stinky bit of it. Motherhood, I have realized, is something that's got to be experienced to understand what it exactly means!

Right now my life totally revolves only around my baby boy... Mushki! He is, as the cliche goes, the apple of my eye! There is not one moment that goes by without him in my thoughts, it's like he is sitting in my brain all the time... Not that I am complaining. For me any moment without him around is a moment in my life being wasted.

Like any other normal mother, I do have pouts of anger and frustration running in my blood every time he cries or the constant attention he craves for... But that's the part and package of the deal :).

A lot of mothers/people as such advice on how to bring up my child or how to hold him or blah blah blah.... To all those... Thanks so much, I do appreciate it but I am the person who held him inside me for 9 months and so, I am very well aware of so many things myself.. Maternal instinct is just not a word, it means something too...

Parenthood is a learning process involving lots of trials and errors but its definitely fun, we enjoy his company and he has brought us all together in every true sense. And the patience levels that I have developed, thanks to him, is to be seen to be believed... Phew!

Oh well, I can just go on and on about how things are going along but oops.. poop duty calls... :)

Hold the press! I AM BACK

2012-07-21T13:37:00.001+05:30

It's been so so long that I am finding it difficult as to where to begin... So many things have happened in these past few years...

Do I start with my most amazing US holiday in the summer of 2010 or do I rant about my day to day life or do I talk about my new found passion -"baking" which I have taken an interest to lately or to finally burst out what I am trying to hold back - the best news of my life!

Well, the most exciting of all is the last bit; not that my holiday wasn't, it was definitely the best holiday till date and the memories of it still linger on inspite of the two year gap!

Baking is probably the most exciting endeavor that I have picked up lately and yes, I have been doing loads of it. Though I don't want my blog to turn into a food blog and I am definitely not interested in starting another one, I do plan to regularly update some little post nips here on cooking/baking stuff that I do...

I am sure no one is interested in my constant day to day rantings, so we can just leave that out for now...

Let's see... what else is there to share? Any guesses???

Ok ok enough of the suspense.... Here is what I am dying to say...... I am a mommy to a dear little fellow :) yes! I delivered a baby boy on 23rd May 2012 and he is an absolute joy. I have no words to express the magical mysteries of motherhood... Definitely the best phase of my life, rather our lives... Dare not leave the dear hubby out of this, he is more excited that I am! We are ecstatic, he is too much fun and I thank God for this. I always wanted a boy and I got mine :)

It's been three whole months and I am totally looking forward to all the fun things in store for the three of us!

A Century

2010-04-10T13:32:00.000+05:30

Finally!!! I never thought I’d ever come to this... It took me four years to reach my 100th post and guess what?? I celebrated that by cribbing...:-0. My previous post was my 100th post and after all that BESCOM bashing, I realised that the post should have been a happy one!!! *SIGH*

Anyhow coming back to my happy post, it has been a great journey and I can see myself mature, not talking age-wise here, but in my writing. I have tried sharing all my experiences (good ones and not so good ones as well) in the ‘blogland’ and tried using humour to the maximum extent possible to make it interesting. And boy have I thoroughly enjoyed myself or what??

As I continue my journey forward, I shall try to keep my blog updated during each phase of my life with the same vigour and enthusiasm that has kept me going for the last four years. Whatte journey it has been and I am hoping the future only gets better :)

Democrazy

2010-04-06T20:06:00.000+05:30

In a democratic country you choose your government by casting a vote to the party most suited to take control of the place you stay in. Sadly in our case we cast a vote to a bunch of irresponsive morons who give us power cuts in return....

The reason for my outburst is because I am sitting in darkness for the 6th hr today!!! Each time I call the Bescom dept the answer I get is unscheduled load shedding – but for 6hrs???? This is the heights! The cheek of the department to tell me that we get orders from the station and we only take complaints, so then where do we even complain? And if you ask them for the station number they simply reply saying they don’t have any and that it won’t matter whom ever you call! Can you believe this???

Any other day would have been fine but not when the summer is down on us at its best!!! I do have an alternative to this situation; we are already getting an inverter installed but think of people who cannot afford it... I’d say you should kick all these politicians on the road who only talk and fart...

These are the sad and sorry state of affairs in India, we are all so helpless in the hands of the so called politicians that we have nothing left but to sit quietly and do nothing... when I complain to the husband the answer I get is “what is it that I can do”? Why is it that we can’t do anything, they loot us in the name of development and in return give us only inconvenience - be it inflation or power cuts!!! Unfortunately me a common man is not gaining anything!!! Grrrr....

I am so irritated and annoyed to an extent that I feel like marching down to the ministers house and sit in his luxury, after all that’s something we have given him in return for his begging!!! Why should he sit in comfort while I suffer from heat and darkness???

Better watch out, knowing me I might just do that one day!!! And the next time you come begging for votes I know what to do... give you a total shock with the electricity you deprive us of!

Addicted to Bones

2010-03-10T19:21:00.005+05:30

My latest obsession on TV is this serial on Star World called Bones, an FBI murder mystery investigation based on forensic science... How did I get addicted to this?? Thanks to the husband’s visit to the US and our late night chats, I started watching the serial (aired between 11 & 12am) and started liking it as well...

That’s what I am currently following on TV apart from my regulars like ‘The Nanny’ and ‘Friends’ (repeats of repeats!!!). Bones is a serial which is currently aired on Star World channel here in India. It is a murder investigation serial with a lot of blood & gore in it and revolves primarily around two characters - Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan. Given the theme of the serial, one might think it could be a serious stuff like any other serial in that genre but on the contrary it’s very funny and full of humour. That’s probably why it makes for an interesting watch and caught my attention at well.

The chemistry / romance between the two leading actors and their constant denial is the highlight of the serial... So when there is a lot of gore involved, the relief comes in the form of humour and light- hearted comedy not just between the leading actors but also amongst their working team.

The show’s main characters are Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel). Everyone in the forensic anthropology team is great and I love the character Sweets... he is indeed a sweet guy!!! I have always liked David (Booth) from his ‘Buffy The Vampire' days and he is still the same handsome guy as he was earlier!!

The show i.e the 4th season ended today, which is really sad news to me especially because I really liked it so much and would watch it though it was very late in the night (in spite of the husband now having returned). *SIGH* I only started watching it from season 4 onwards... I have to get hold of the earlier ones before the start of season 5!

Hindustan Ka dil Dekha...

2010-02-21T15:21:00.007+05:30

The latest ad of MP tourism is really captivating, very creative and one of a kind. It’s so simple and yet so informative. Each time I see the advertisement on TV I leave everything that I am engaged in and watch it fully.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, this is part of the ‘Incredible India’ campaign and portrays the different locations in Madhya Pradesh (located in central part of India); from mountains to palaces to lakes etc and the highlight of this advt is that every place is expressed so fascinatingly through the varied expressions using just two eyes. It features no fancy props, no storyline, nothing whatsoever – it’s just simply the set of eyes that express the whole story; in this case the ad. What a beautiful way to present a picture!!

Kudos to Ogilvy India for making this ad, it’s intelligent, unique and so mysterious in many ways. I was so fascinated by it that I decided to do some background research. Though there is no particular source of info on the subject, I did however get a lot of information with regards to the model and how the idea was developed. I cannot source the information but I can share whatever I have read so far.

Shekhar Jha, creative director of Oglivy India, is the singer, musician and lyricist of the ad. They were in need of a model who is a trained Indian classical dancer. Their hunt led them to Jayalaxmi Appadorai (also referred as Shree Jeilachmee Appadorai in some places), a South-Indian model based in Malaysia who is trained in Bharatnatyam and other Indian classical dances. She has also acted in some other ad films such as the new Minute Maid Pulpy Orange and is the runner up in Miss India Worldwide 2001. I also read that the expressions in the ad are 60 per cent real and 40 per cent computer graphics and was carried out in Malaysia.

Find below the YouTube link to the ad… Am sure you all will like it too... Enjoy!!!

Summer already?

2010-02-18T21:16:00.001+05:30

Well whaddya know... It’s here and with a vengeance... It is already scorching hot and getting hotter with each passing day!

The most interesting thing is that the weather almost changed overnight, or so it seems, without even a warning or a hint, tch tch... Not that we could do have done anything about it but still!! At least, I could have prepared myself not just for the heat but also for the wonderful method with which the Govt chooses to make our lives even more miserable, the power cuts :-(

Yes dear Bangaloreans, brace yourselves up for hotter days and many more hours of agonising power cuts; they are here to stay. The day the weather changed, almost the very same say the power cuts also began – so far it’s only 4 hrs a day but I am 100% certain it is only going to increase along with the heat waves... Kudos to our Govt; they are punctual and prompt in this matter at least!

I never liked summer season which is quite contrary to my upbringing - born in the hot month of June in a desert (Rajasthan) and later spent 15 long years in Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu); summer and heat isn’t new to me but I have always hated it! Weather was the one thing that I liked about Bangalore but guess that’s changing as well, all thanks to the global warming... And guess what, the husband, brought up in Delhi and Bangalore, doesn’t mind the heat... A match made in heaven I swear!

And while I am crying here, the husband is facing one of the craziest blizzard ever in the US! I believe this year has been the worst ever in terms of snowfall... Phew... Talk about irony!!!

Now the only solution I have here is first to install a UPS. So far I never thought of that as something important but since the time I changed my work status from a working wife to a homemaker, I can tell you that this has become a necessity now. Well the second task is to get air-conditioning fixed, I know it might sound absurd for people living in Bangalore but times are changing and so is the weather... The only relief is rains and only God knows when and Oh I forgot the husband's consent for all these – after all it will come out of his pocket!!!!!!

Where is my Valentine!!!!

2010-02-14T20:39:00.000+05:30

Usually am not in for celebrating days... I feel it is stupid and dumb... for instance take Mother’s day or Father’s day or Friendship day – I don’t really see the meaning of it... Every day is special for that special person in your life, be it dad, mom or friends and I feel we don’t need a day to celebrate that, do we???

But today being the most romantic day in the calendar, I hate to admit that I miss my husband a great deal... maybe the spirit of the day has finally struck me or maybe it is the distance and looks like the days of endless wait have finally taken a toll on me. Not that I would have done anything extraordinary but I guess with him not being around, I am thinking I could have done everything that a cupid-stuck person could have :-)

Today was the day my husband was to return as per his original schedule but then the workaholic in him decided to pay heed to the calls of official responsibility and hence has delayed his return by another 3 weeks!!!! 2 months (almost) is the longest I have ever been without him... I am hoping I don’t have to face a similar situation in future :-(

As mushy as it sounds I can’t help but blog... of late my posts have been mostly about him but what the heck, that’s just what I miss the most right now!!!

Come Back Soon....

Mystic River

2010-02-08T22:39:00.003+05:30

I happen to watch this movie today on World movie channel. The Movie released in 2003 and is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins (Shawshank redemption fame) Kevin Bacon to name a few...

The story revolves around Jimmy (Penn’s) daughter being murdered and while Sean (Kevin) a detective tries to solve the case Tim gets unnecessary involved in it too... I think you should catch the movie first before you try to comprehend what I am exactly trying to say here.

The most realistic thing that is conveyed, at least my understanding is how people get misunderstood and then if you are not up to it might just cost you big time!!! Seriously you’ll have to watch this for me to prove my point.

This movie gave Penn and Robins Best actor and Best supporting actor awards at the Oscars for their performance and if you are a lover of interesting stories then you must catch it.People who have seen the movie it is a good one, isn’t it?

And the Grammy goes to.....

2010-02-03T19:40:00.002+05:30

I know this one is a bit late but I just had to blog about it... Late than never right!

The Grammy awards 2010 was a special one for us Indians... 3 of our esteemed musicians were nominated and I knew if not anyone, then at least AR Rahman had to win it and he did... not one but two.

Doing India proud last year, he won the Oscars, at all the award ceremonies here in India and now the final big one - “The Grammys”. He took away the award for the best album compilation for movies and the best song for ‘Jai Ho’ all for Slumdog Millionaire... he definitely is a Star :)

My husband who is a huge, huge fan of his is more than elated hearing the news!!!

There is one thing about the man that no one can deny, he is mesmerising... his nonchalant way of talking to the media; his music or anything else about him. One thing that I have discovered is that his music grows on you... just hear his album for 4 times in a row and then it becomes your favorite of the season... am not kidding – just try it.

Another thing special this year was the tribute to MJ... It was just so overwhelming with Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson and Celine Dion singing the Earth Song :). While other attractions in the ceremony included Eminem, Jon Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Pink, Beyonce, BEP and many more but MJ’s tribute was the highlight!!!

Just for you Honey!

2010-01-29T13:02:00.003+05:30

A sweet surprise all the way from the Americas; well not literally... My husband who is away for a month surprised me today by sending across this... I am not a sweets person meaning I don’t have a sweet tooth but when it brownies I can’t resist them. I am not fond of any other dessert!

They are scrumptious and yummy, just the way I like my brownies to be... gooey and medium sweet they just suit me perfectly... hmmmmm

And the message to the sender...What can I say – Sweetheart you are the best! I wish you were here this would have been more delicious...

Love you loads!!!

Salami de...

2010-01-26T22:33:00.005+05:30

Wishing all Indians a very Happy Republic Day... 60 years and we sure have come a long way! Let’s all hope for growth and prosperity in the coming years. Republic day is celebrated as the day when our constitution came into force in the year 1950 and so, in the true sense marks the birth of a democratic and political India.

I am not going to get into further details on the subject but I do want to share a nice piece of remembrance with you... Today also marked the launch of “Phir mile sur”, the newer version of "Mile sur" which was released on 15th Aug 1988... I was instantly flooded with lots and lots of memories and am sure all of you would feel nostalgic as well... I grew up with that song and like every other Indian, I too know it by-heart... The song has now been re-done and features 22 superstars, 18 musicians, 13 artistes & singers and 15 other known personalities including AR Rahman, Sivamani, Aman & Ayan, Anuksha Sharma Bhupen Hazarika, Aamir Khan, Amitabh bachchan, the list is loooooooooooooong!

Though I must admit I have a fondness towards the old version just for a simple fact that it is more dignified and brings back childhood memories; nevertheless the newer one portrays the new generation.

Here are both versions of the song... hats off to each and every person who made this!!!

Old is gold

While the New is bold!!!

Don’t miss on Sivamani and AR Rahman's bit... and the one featuring Salman Khan as well.. It is different!!!

However the sportspersons' and the army personnel bits seemed like they were added at the last moment in haste... Not too sure what were Shahid, Deepika, Priyanka and Ranbir doing in there?? No industrialists and politicians as well... India is not just movies & bollywood; there is a lot to it... This album is about coming-together of people from different walks of life and I would have loved to see a genuine mix of all... Anyways, it is a good effort and we must applaud everyone who has worked on this!!!

A true heart-warming tribute in a very Indian way... Jai Hind!

2010

2010-01-21T21:23:00.000+05:30

Firstly wish you all a very happy and a safe 2010. It has been good so far except that now I am separated from my husband for a month starting from the 15th of Jan. Yes it has been a teary-eyed start for me as I have never been separated from him (for this long) in all our 4 and a half years since our love blossomed. Being an emotional fool, it is kind of hard for me and so my day begins with tears and ends with the same :-(

The long video calls are the only things I look forward to these days. Even though it has been just 5 days since he left, it feels like eternity and guess what?? I’ve got another 25 days to go before I see him in person again... *SIGH* you can’t even imagine!!!

I am constantly thinking of ways to keep myself occupied. I had my elder sister from Coimbatore for company and now she has gone back as well. As of now I have my mother till tomorrow. I am also thinking of restarting tatting; a hobby I lost touch after I quit work. It was more like a stress buster to me in those days and now that there is no work, there is no stress and so no tatting also!! I also plan to read at least over 5 books, the reviews of which I shall post as and when I finish.

However unlike the previous years, I don’t intend to create any resolution list for obvious reasons... Looking back to the one I made in 2009 and keeping with the tradition, I can proudly say that I haven’t stuck to a single one so far, though all I can say is that I want to be happy and feel good. I personally think only that works!

Enough of my sob story. I didn’t want to start my first post in 2010 to be a sad one but just can’t help it... I hope it has started on a fabulous note for all of you.

On a cheerful note - Let’s toast to a happy 2010 everyone!!!

26/11 - A year after

2009-11-26T21:20:00.002+05:30

And we still burn.

Those agonising 60 hours of nonstop horror; I feel as though time has just stopped! The whole episode keeps on running in my head over and over again! How the entire year just passed by is not a secret to anyone - Finger pointing blame game continues but we will never forget or let it fade away the happenings of that fateful night.

And I am still angry, angrier than that night and it seems to build over time promising not to subside. If I feel this way I cannot imagine what those people, who lost their kith and kin in that horrific tragedy, would be going through. I can’t even express and it will be a shame on anyone sympathizing with us! Sympathy is for weaklings not fighters...

Today, exactly a year later, while watching the entire tragedy unfolding yet again on all the news channels I keep thinking what did they gain? We have fought back and always will! I guess that's human nature.... Life goes on...

Time keeps teaching us that hope still prevails and justice will be done, it is just a matter of time and we shall wait for it to come.

This burning candle is my tribute to each and every person who fought that night; each and every person who lost their precious life that night; each and every person who shared a helping hand that night; each and every person who lost someone important in their life that night.

God Bless and Jaihind!

Time flies

2009-11-15T10:36:00.005+05:30

Wow yes it does realising that it has been over few months without any updates on my blog. Interestingly now that I am a homemaker there a lot of things that demand attention including gym,sleep and other activities, I've somehow lost track of days; quite contratry to my belief that staying at home will give me a lot of time to myself... but there is always something to occupy my time.

It was quite difficult to leave work after 3 and a half years it had almost become like a home but change is inevitable for the both of us (office and myself) and so I had to take this decision.... I must admit it was a bit overwhelming as I had made a lot of friends as well as enemies (You know what I mean :)) well that is past and past it shall remain - I am happy now that this action atleast leaves me with time [its been nearly 8 years since I have been working - 3 and a half yrs being an articleship student, one year at GE and 3 and a half at Amba]...

I was so frustrated at first but now I am kinda loving this timeout however long this turns out to be!!!