We live in a city where a new lane system has come into effect on one of the main roads.For those of us not used to discipline this is a big problem,trying to remember which lane to stay on.
This is India,we don't follow the rules,we are a country with so many people so we simply have to be whizzing along just to save time.Well so most of us think but the harried cop who is on duty doesn't think so.
Its been a constant source of amusement for us at office.Our window overlooks the main road and we watch with interest as the one who want to follow rules struggle to stay on course,In between all this traffic there are all those chaps on motorbikes who refuse to obey the rules so they weave in and out.The cop in the meanwhile is not sure if he has to direct traffic,book the offender or simply hold a placard.So for the last three days there have been constant announcements on the rules and how we should follow them
Well all said and done this is India,this is Chennai.What would life be if we all followed the rules?It wouldn't be Chennai would it?
tea gardens
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
fish curry my style
Ingrediants
fresh fish-a few good pieces
fresh ginger-1/2 inch julienned
curry leaves-4 to 5
kokum(kind of tamarind found in Kerala in south India)-3 to 4 pieces
corriander power-1 teaspoon
chillie power-3 teaspoons
coconut oil-3 to 4 tablespoons
salt to taste
clay pot-to cook in
water-3 cups
method
Heat oil in pot to a simmer,add ginger,curryleaves and saute for a minute.Add coriander power and continue to fry withour burning it (it shouldnt turn black),add chillie power and continue to saute,preferably on low heat.When one has sneezed a bit and coughed a bit,the masala is ready so add water.Bring to a boil and add the fish.let it continue to cook for about 10 minutes and add the kokum.Lower heat and simmer gently until the curry is a lovely think consistency.Add salt to taste.
As a final twist,drizzle some coconut oil for that perfect look.
Perfect with staeamed rice.
fresh fish-a few good pieces
fresh ginger-1/2 inch julienned
curry leaves-4 to 5
kokum(kind of tamarind found in Kerala in south India)-3 to 4 pieces
corriander power-1 teaspoon
chillie power-3 teaspoons
coconut oil-3 to 4 tablespoons
salt to taste
clay pot-to cook in
water-3 cups
method
Heat oil in pot to a simmer,add ginger,curryleaves and saute for a minute.Add coriander power and continue to fry withour burning it (it shouldnt turn black),add chillie power and continue to saute,preferably on low heat.When one has sneezed a bit and coughed a bit,the masala is ready so add water.Bring to a boil and add the fish.let it continue to cook for about 10 minutes and add the kokum.Lower heat and simmer gently until the curry is a lovely think consistency.Add salt to taste.
As a final twist,drizzle some coconut oil for that perfect look.
Perfect with staeamed rice.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
IPod and me
Its 2007 and I have finally got myself the ultimate fashion statement (or so I am told).Four years ago on a hot Spanish evening in Madrid,my friend and I searched every shop worth its salt for this little gadget that was the ultimate must have for his daughter.Considering my friend was a few years older than me,it fell on me to take the decision on the Ipod that we were to buy for the daughter.
Our problems started with the name itself.Belonging as we did to the 60s,we are a little clueless on technology and an ipod was way beyond what we knew.But for the average 16 year old this was a piece of cake.To ask for any specifics would put us in the class of the dumb and dumber so we didn't.
At the shop we were asked if we wanted a 2gb,4,gb or 8 gb one,would we like and ipod or an ipod nano.First hurdle...gb.How on earth were we to know that this was a memory yardstick.In our limited knowledge gb was great Britain so were we looking for a made in UK tab.Obviously not.When we did get around to it the question was what was the difference for heavens sake.We ofcourse resorted to time and tested method.So tick tack two....and hey there we were,it had to be 2 gb and oh yes a nano.It just looked better so we guessed the glam quotient had to be taken care of.Great said the shop assistant,that would mean you can store 500 songs.Wow we heaved in collected sighs.That was a lot of music (not by teenage standards).So with our purchase tucked away in a nice apple bag with it half eaten apple and all we arrived back home.
One would have thought we would get a bit of appreciation,but since when did 16 years old ever appreciate anything we oldies did.She looked at it murmured a thanks and got on the phone to her friends.
Oh dear,can you believe it they got me a 2gb nano.Trust them to goof.Why do they have the money to go abroad.Couldnt they just save us and them all the trouble and get us to do the techi shopping....sigh sigh,what with parents and their friends.
well four years on I am writing this with the 2gb ipod nano firmly in my years and listening to 50s and 60s musicNot bad at all in my opinion.I have managed to download music,use itunes,talk intelligently on the ipod and better yet,I also know that Steve jobs is a person,if he quits then apple shares will drop,also that apple is more a lifestyle company with lifestyle gadgets and yes I have just got myself the ultimate fashion accessory.
Talk of being smug.The kids were right,this is a real neat gadget and I just love it.
Our problems started with the name itself.Belonging as we did to the 60s,we are a little clueless on technology and an ipod was way beyond what we knew.But for the average 16 year old this was a piece of cake.To ask for any specifics would put us in the class of the dumb and dumber so we didn't.
At the shop we were asked if we wanted a 2gb,4,gb or 8 gb one,would we like and ipod or an ipod nano.First hurdle...gb.How on earth were we to know that this was a memory yardstick.In our limited knowledge gb was great Britain so were we looking for a made in UK tab.Obviously not.When we did get around to it the question was what was the difference for heavens sake.We ofcourse resorted to time and tested method.So tick tack two....and hey there we were,it had to be 2 gb and oh yes a nano.It just looked better so we guessed the glam quotient had to be taken care of.Great said the shop assistant,that would mean you can store 500 songs.Wow we heaved in collected sighs.That was a lot of music (not by teenage standards).So with our purchase tucked away in a nice apple bag with it half eaten apple and all we arrived back home.
One would have thought we would get a bit of appreciation,but since when did 16 years old ever appreciate anything we oldies did.She looked at it murmured a thanks and got on the phone to her friends.
Oh dear,can you believe it they got me a 2gb nano.Trust them to goof.Why do they have the money to go abroad.Couldnt they just save us and them all the trouble and get us to do the techi shopping....sigh sigh,what with parents and their friends.
well four years on I am writing this with the 2gb ipod nano firmly in my years and listening to 50s and 60s musicNot bad at all in my opinion.I have managed to download music,use itunes,talk intelligently on the ipod and better yet,I also know that Steve jobs is a person,if he quits then apple shares will drop,also that apple is more a lifestyle company with lifestyle gadgets and yes I have just got myself the ultimate fashion accessory.
Talk of being smug.The kids were right,this is a real neat gadget and I just love it.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
It all comes around
stories and things
Life they say has a way of going full circle.For years now I have hounded my parents about healthy eating.Gone on about how walking is good for them as they grow older etc.As the years went by I did my yoga on and off,worked out when I felt like it and kept going.From thin to slim is ok,then it went to fat and one gets used to the ohs and ahs about how much weight I had gained till one day in desperation I said thank you to someone after that common comment and they stopped.
Yet somewhere I began to feel myself loose control over my body.Its a scary feeling of something creeping up on you so one fine day before rational thought could hit,off I went to the clinic and got myself checked.It was perfect in every way except for the weight.Where had all this come from,why didn't I notice so did denial take me so far and so close to a complete disaster?.
The doctor said I could choose to go to another one if I didn't like his rules.Well let have it straight I said and didn't like it one bit.
He took everything out of my life that was worth eating and walking is a must he said.Dinner came around and I settled down to whole wheat bread and soup.The one good thing about being a foodie is that I learned along the way to cook with whatever I had so there I was cooking up some interesting looking dish.
Did anyone say life was easy.Well I didn't quiet realize how tough this all was.That night I dreamt of suckling pig,apple struddle,juicy cooked prawns and I wept in despair.
This is only the beginning but like all things in life here was a chance to change despair to opportunity,so I am going to be cooking to a different tune.The opportunity to create is still mine and while I walk I shall conjure the wildest dishes that can be baked grilled and eaten.
Life they say has a way of going full circle.For years now I have hounded my parents about healthy eating.Gone on about how walking is good for them as they grow older etc.As the years went by I did my yoga on and off,worked out when I felt like it and kept going.From thin to slim is ok,then it went to fat and one gets used to the ohs and ahs about how much weight I had gained till one day in desperation I said thank you to someone after that common comment and they stopped.
Yet somewhere I began to feel myself loose control over my body.Its a scary feeling of something creeping up on you so one fine day before rational thought could hit,off I went to the clinic and got myself checked.It was perfect in every way except for the weight.Where had all this come from,why didn't I notice so did denial take me so far and so close to a complete disaster?.
The doctor said I could choose to go to another one if I didn't like his rules.Well let have it straight I said and didn't like it one bit.
He took everything out of my life that was worth eating and walking is a must he said.Dinner came around and I settled down to whole wheat bread and soup.The one good thing about being a foodie is that I learned along the way to cook with whatever I had so there I was cooking up some interesting looking dish.
Did anyone say life was easy.Well I didn't quiet realize how tough this all was.That night I dreamt of suckling pig,apple struddle,juicy cooked prawns and I wept in despair.
This is only the beginning but like all things in life here was a chance to change despair to opportunity,so I am going to be cooking to a different tune.The opportunity to create is still mine and while I walk I shall conjure the wildest dishes that can be baked grilled and eaten.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Those were the days
stories and things
being a typical 60s flower child or atlest having grown up on books,good fountain pens and music which didnt go much beyond the beatles and bob dylyn,its difficult to understand the world wide web.Blogging is a new word,a new world and having to remember passwords and stuff is really touch.Do all my generation feel this way.Well a large numebr of my friends do.
Twenty years after we left college,some bright spark decided to have a reunion of the batch of 82 so without much ado all of us who were in some ways accessable,were contacted and lunch happened.
Did the hotel even fathome the kind of guest they were expecting?Obviously not,for if they had any clue we would have been refused entry.
Fifteen fourty five year old women trooped into the dining hall in various shapes and sizes.Some well kept,some gone to seed and some almost on the verge of giving up.Most of us had changed but one single charertisitc that hadnt was our ability to creat a noise.For two hours we yelled and shouted over each others heads,eager to catch up on the latest news or rater the news of the last 20 years.Some had been in touch oftner but nevertheless we regaled each other of our college girl crushes,our parents angst,the manner in which we drove our professors crazy etc.Some of us had grown up children some were not married(the lucky ones as we choose to brand them) and some were highfliers with interesting jobs.
Yet for those two hours we were just a bunch of 20 yearolds reliving our great days in college which clearly made us the women we are today.
being a typical 60s flower child or atlest having grown up on books,good fountain pens and music which didnt go much beyond the beatles and bob dylyn,its difficult to understand the world wide web.Blogging is a new word,a new world and having to remember passwords and stuff is really touch.Do all my generation feel this way.Well a large numebr of my friends do.
Twenty years after we left college,some bright spark decided to have a reunion of the batch of 82 so without much ado all of us who were in some ways accessable,were contacted and lunch happened.
Did the hotel even fathome the kind of guest they were expecting?Obviously not,for if they had any clue we would have been refused entry.
Fifteen fourty five year old women trooped into the dining hall in various shapes and sizes.Some well kept,some gone to seed and some almost on the verge of giving up.Most of us had changed but one single charertisitc that hadnt was our ability to creat a noise.For two hours we yelled and shouted over each others heads,eager to catch up on the latest news or rater the news of the last 20 years.Some had been in touch oftner but nevertheless we regaled each other of our college girl crushes,our parents angst,the manner in which we drove our professors crazy etc.Some of us had grown up children some were not married(the lucky ones as we choose to brand them) and some were highfliers with interesting jobs.
Yet for those two hours we were just a bunch of 20 yearolds reliving our great days in college which clearly made us the women we are today.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Like a beginning
One of those funny days when one is not sure if life is all about work or all about play.The kind of day when your mind is full of stuff and is it right to leave it there or download it and get it out of ones system and make way for more stuff to fill ones head.
Looks like it was time to do something so started a blog.Thanks to email I seem to have lost the art of writing down things so typing seems so much easier.Then when the blog is actually created the pressure to write begins so I put down random thoughts and hope that this is the beginning of some creative writing.
Funny that when I sit down to put thoughts it just happens that my fingers do the writing so what do I do.It all started with the stress of looking after old parents.Much as you love them there are times when the need to escape into a little world of the make believe becomes so important.Reading help in some ways and then I wonder why not put it all down.Who knows perhaps there is a story hidden in the recesses of my sub conscious.
So on one hot Indian summer I start this blog and will discover where this journey takes me.
Looks like it was time to do something so started a blog.Thanks to email I seem to have lost the art of writing down things so typing seems so much easier.Then when the blog is actually created the pressure to write begins so I put down random thoughts and hope that this is the beginning of some creative writing.
Funny that when I sit down to put thoughts it just happens that my fingers do the writing so what do I do.It all started with the stress of looking after old parents.Much as you love them there are times when the need to escape into a little world of the make believe becomes so important.Reading help in some ways and then I wonder why not put it all down.Who knows perhaps there is a story hidden in the recesses of my sub conscious.
So on one hot Indian summer I start this blog and will discover where this journey takes me.
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