Kitchen Comfort..

Most people I get along with really well are foodies. This claim will be substantiated by the fact that my most commented upon post, commented upon my some of my favourite people, is about food.

I am a foodie too, a claim which will be visibly substantiated once you meet me in person. For me , food takes the centrestage. If I happen to go to a restaurant I like, all I can talk about is the food, much to the annoyance of my companion, who has probably brought me here for some life changing conversation :P

Little surprise then, that when I did eventually pair up, I paired up with a Foodie. The Capital F is to emphasize the fact that he is a bigger foodie than I am. I think the day his love for me went from the level of a 4 storeyed building to the level of the Burj Khalifa , is the day I made 'Pakora' for him. The golden coloured batter covering a crispy onion ring, gently bobbing up and down in the oil in the hot 'Kadai', sent him into transports of delight yet unknown by me.

Ok, I'm not exaggerating, He nearly had tears in His eyes once he started wolfing them down. Yes, no slow savoury mouthfuls for Y. You know how much He likes the food by the speed at which He wolfs it down. :) "Ye bilkul mumma jaise bane hain !" , He all but sobbed.

Ok He is not a sob !! Its just that food brings out his noblest emotions. Since that day,He has appointed himself as the Procurement Manager for my humble kitchen.

I'm a lucky girl. And Y is a lucky guy. He is I think one of the few people who are everyday fed by Two Doting Women (Who actually like each other) . My new flatmate is an awesome cook too. I guess it runs in her genes, her father owns a restaurant. But she is skinny. This has made her the butt of jokes all her little life. "Never promote your dad's restaurant.. you'll put it out of business !!" So S is now happily settled here and the kitchen is her favourite part of the house. :)

As I embark on this long ful'FILLING' journey towards cullinary excellence in my little kitchen, I would once again like to pay Homage to Hari Bhai and Johnny , the urban legends who have greatly influenced me and thank my little foodie friend, who told me about them.

Till the next post.. cheers !!

New beginnings...

My friend.. very sadistically reminded me that he is stil having 'Canteen wala fun'..
What can I say other than the fact that I miss it like hell. No matter how much you try.. noone can have fun.. like real fun.. once they're out of college. Well.. I do not want to take credit away from my office.. who try to bring back the fainest imitaion of the Canteen fun into our lives. But how much fun can one have on a 'Fun Friday' ??

He he.. before I come across as obsessed with this word.. let me change the topic.. not so subtly.. I'd like to congratulate all my friends whose orkut and facebook profiles are already filled with congratulations on their wedding ,engagement and in some cases, honeymoon pics. May this year keep that lovely million dollar smile fixed to your face. :)

I'd also like to congratulate all those 'GRE Bashing' friends of mine who are putting up lovely snow pictures on their profiles.. Enjoy the fruits of your labour and while you're at it.. water the trees for more fruits in the future.

And I'd like to congratulate Amir Khan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra and team, for making the most enjoyable film of the year. For anyone who has not seen it yet.. do go see it.. and for everyone who has seen it or will see it. If you think that the film is promoting ragging, do contact the Maharashtra Government. The will definitely welcome you for a chai and chat.. Because I dont see any other way they can 'Act' without censure from intelligent and informed citizens from their own state..

On that 'award-ceremony announcement' note.. Cya..

Hello Again

I have been consumed by work. The company I work for , stresses a lot on some elusive concept called 'Work-Life balance'. I have seriously lost track of which is which. Is work = Life or is Life = Work? i felt i just could not go on without taking a few moments to think about. This is one equation everyone tells me I must Master.

Once upon a time, i was the typical engg college-having the time of my life in a heavenly place-give a damn abt the world kind of person. The change been gradual and i never knew when i changed. I've now become the typical B.E-recruited by a big brand-slogging to make myself known kinda person. 'Fun' times in office have replaced FUN time in classes, I miss the college canteen every time i enter the office cafeteria. But i'm still enjoying my life-work-or-whatever-you-will-call-it.

So i've come back to the old love of my life.. writing.. Hello again world.. you'll hear from me soon and often enough now..

@ Home in Hyderabad

we're finally settled.. even though we still dont have a fridge and keep throwing food away every alternate day.. we have a place to call home.. its an amazing flat we have named 'The Disco House' . we have bright blue and yellow textured walls in some parts of the house .. and we have friends with ideal bouncer dimensions.. and we have music and lights.. so the disco house it has become.. :)

our landlord is called Chakradhar.. he is one of the most accomplished men i know.. he owns a grocery / vegetable shop, has rented out two flats with brilliantly coloured walls and also possesses unmatched plumbing and climbing skills.. he climbed up on my roommate's commode to fix her geyser.. what he doesnt possess is good sense and probably knowledge of english.. the lease has our names as MRS ketaki gupta Mrs sneha Dutta and mrs pankhuri patni.. but what the hell

The house has some more absurdities but we're taking everything in stride. It's a new life with the old people I love. And I hope we'll get through it.

Palolem... :)

not many people i know can boast of having been intercepted by police in the middle of the night.. on a national highway

i can.. :P

it was this on time we made a last minute plan to go to Palolem, a.k.a south Goa and in snehaspeak- Non Party Goa

We began our journey well by getting on the wrong train, one that would take us to Madgaon and not Cancona..
we compensated for that by getting off at a station we knew from experience was an hour's drive from the Palolem beach.
Which in turn led to us getting off at the most incorrect of times, 2 a.m .. the Time of No Conveyence in Small Towns..
we were welcomed very enthusiastically by an Auto Manager, who after duly informing his driver "NAI,, Firang nai hain.." asked us for 2500 bucks
.. i leave u to imagine what we felt like.. not to mention we had very bravely come with only not warm clothes and it was chilly..

so we somehow managed to end up at the deserted bus stop.. as luck would have it, the only vehicle there was a fish delivery card.. stinking of.. yes u guessed it..
fish!!
the guy took our request for a ride seriously.. and scurried off to wash his filthy truck and make it a little more approachable..

well.. for a sheltered little child that i was.. this was the biggest adventure i had ever been in.. not that i have been in many..
crossing an interstate border in the middle of the night .. in a stinking fish delivery cart is not something i get to do everyday..
in spite of this tight little knot at the pit of my stomach which was causing me to remember Sai Baba every 5 minutes.. i was enjoying the ride..
the back of the cart was open.. and i could see the road as well as the sky.. i swear i have never seen so may stars..

it was a good thing i was thinking of Sai Baba every 5 minutes.. the police caught us at the border.. Technically , we were not doing anything wrong..
but i guess we looked like ppl who wore money necklaces.. the inspector duly demanded "ledijj ko leke kidhar jata hai?? "
our poor guys were both even tempered and mild..they politely and unsuccessfully tried to explain the situation to him.. we were stuck there..
but since 2 of us had parents in ministries.. we couldnt risk calls at home.. even though that would meet immediate release..

finally after threatening us for at least half an hour, writing down all our names and reg numbers at the back of a dilapidated notebook, and taking our
chief warden's number.. and unsuccessfully trying to cane our stupid looking driver.. he let us off.. it was more than evident that he was trying to
get us to warm his pockets... we had not taken greedy cops into account while fixing a budget for the trip..lol.. i dont know if we beggers even had a budget

it was 4 when we reached the beach.. and started hunting for a place to stay...
everything was pretty uneventful compared to this.. unless u consider sleeping off on a random verandah eventful..

my friends appreciated the happy hours and i think we rated almost all the firang females on the beach..

it was the best trip i had during my stay in manipal.. :)

oh and we broke the shower of our bathroom ..

Happy...

i've always wanted free time.. not that i'm particularly busy with anything, but i had always wanted days when i could wake up and while still snuggled in my blanket, look at the sky outside and wonder what i'd do with the day lying ahead of me..

i had always wanted the feeling of not having to hurry, having no particular place to go to, and choose where i wanted to be at a particular time.. and then be there..


i had wanted days where i can do completely crazy things without having to worry about things waiting for me afterwards..

i had wanted long walks in the cool breeze.. to look at fireflies in bushes and think that the sky had too many stars and some of them fell off.. to listen to crickets and find rhythm and music in their sounds..

i had wanted walks on the beach , writing my name on the sand.. looking out for blue balloons , seashells and tiny crabs scurrying around.. and funny though it may sound fill up a crab hole or two.. to stamp on the foam thrown upon the sand by the waves.. and look out for shapes in it..

i had wanted to look at the sky and find dogs and bunnies and monsters in the clouds.. running in and out of huge castles in weird shapes..

i had wanted to spalsh in puddles of rainwater..

but most of all i had wanted someone i could do all this with..

i've done each and every thing i just mentioned.. and i'm happy.. [:)]

Home and Hogging..

yes.. one of my very sweet friends who posted a comment about my last entry said i had food in my thoughts... when you live in a hostel.. you are a weirdass if food does not occupy an important place on your priority list.. well.. i know drink does.. no comment..

i am back home.. and guess what the first thing i ate was??? ok dont exert yourself.. masoor dal and hot steaming chawal... mmmmm... after months of bulletproof chapatis in the mess, your heart yearns for nothing more than these delightfully simple delicacies..
and i greedily look forward to two months of exaggerated and extended gluttony.. :)

and yes jd.. i guessed it was you... :)