Nostalgia

It's pouring outside. It's almost dark and i can hear the thunder. And i feel a tiny bit nostalgic. I dreamt of home yesterday. Home and moments that i have left behind. I know this is a diversion from the 'current mood of sillyness' which i had enthusiastically proclaimed will continue for some time, but i don't particularly feel silly at this moment. Guess it's the rain.

I would like to think, i have come a long way. A long way from the giggly, naive teenager that i was. On being prodded once, Chitra told me what she thought of me when we first met. 'Freshly hatched egg' was what she said she thought of me! Did i come across as that naive?!! It seems i did! But then that was long back. My friends have seen my journey from 'Freshly hatched egg' to what i am today. Someone has always been there with me in my worst moments.

Somehow Kavita and me never talked about fashion and accessories and the usual girly stuff that is the main topic of discussion amongst most girls that age. Perhaps it was because of her age. She is 5yrs my senior. But we surprisingly connected well! Maybe i wasn't that naive after all! I was the youngest amongst my friends and in a way it worked for me. We had more to talk about. More than what i would have if i had been with girls my age. I remember the grand plans that we made, on our bus rides back home. Plans about saving up money and taking a euro trip, just us girls. Travelling and not resorting to a cooped-up existence is something that i dreamt of even then.

My friends have been witness to my goof-ups and embarrassments as well. I remember this incident on Kavita's wedding. She was getting married to a bengali. All of us - our whole batch took a trip down to Lucknow and i have hardly had so much fun...ever! Because it was a Bengali wedding, we had a 'Bashor Ghor'. On the wedding night, all friends and family gather around and spend the night singing, dancing - having a good time basically. Now we had some singers in our gang - the girl's side. Jeevan was there with his guitar, and of course yours truly had to sing. I could sing quite well back then, it was customary for me to sing in gatherings of this kind those days. But that was long back. It's different now. Anyway as i was singing, and i reckon i must have been singing well enough, one of kavita and her husbands friends started tossing money on me! And my obvious reaction was that of shock! I had never expected anything like that and i had seen things like this in movies only and that too 'you know in what' settings. I was embarrassed. I was very very embarrassed. But i continued singing - later i learnt that it's not an uncommon practice in lucknow. It's part of their culture and is a token of appreciation. I was relieved. There are countless such moments that we have shared. Countless nerve-wracking moments on being proposed, little crushes that are so much part of being young.

Some years later, they were there by my side at my wedding. Chitra and Kavita, both dressed in red border saris - perhaps they thought it appropriate for a bengali wedding! But there was no throw-away money this time around :D

I am happy that i am in touch with all three of them. Chitra i chat with almost everyday. She has been with me through my darkest moments. I meet up with Kavita and Preeti whenever i'm in Delhi. I guess our friendships survived because we were there for each other all along, but we never owned each other. Each one of us is living a different life, but each one of us will somehow or the other always be there in each others lives.

I got this really nice email from Kavita after i met up with her in delhi this time around. She wrote:

Hi Appu

I keep looking at the photos of us, its really nice. Its nice to feel that time has passed and some things (like u just dont change).

I thought i have changed a lot. But perhaps i haven't - inside.

As i sit inside writing this while it's pouring outside, i can't help but remember this incidence.

It was my 18th b'day. Kavita and me stayed nearby so the days she brought her moped i would take a ride with her. But there was no moped that day. So we had to take a walk from our Art School to the bus stop, which was some way. And all of a sudden it started pouring! There we were two friends walking in the pouring rain. Me in my blue embroidered salwaar kameez. Bouquets in my hands. Lots of roses. Lots of cards inside my bag. And soaked to the skin. Walking in the downpour, not a care in the world, not even bothering to take shelter! I remember saying that the rain was a birthday gift from the heavens above! I have always liked rain - the one that lashes out and pours.

It's raining pretty much the same now, but i haven't taken a walk in the rain in a long while. I haven't been soaked to the skin in rain, in a long while. I would love to though. Some other time.

Another inane post - but i had to post it!

Since i am in an inane/ridiculous post spree, and gladly so after some very introspective ones, i thought i should continue with the current mood of sillyness. And so here goes.

I indulged in my staple diet of tabloid news today. Hollywood to be precise. Cameron Diaz & Justin Timberlake getting married? or not. Jessica Simpson all over Fred Durst. Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston separation. But then hollywood (and our very own bollywood) has seen enough of these break-ups and hook-ups. And lets not talk about sad things, lets talk funny. So as i was going through all this, i came across something very funny. It seems after...

Bennifer - part I
Bennifer - part II

its time for some Brangelina!
(whoever comes up with these terms?!!)



Both voted the prettiest of them all!

Now it can't get hotter than Angelina - Bee stung or not! Tattooed or not! I would think perhaps only Natalie Portman can pack that much punch when she grows up, she's still quite young. And like Angelina she is also a Gemini (and i still haven't gotten over her and Clive Owen's spell in Closer). And Brad Pitt is a pretty boy indeed! Second only to George Clooney i think. Although i'm sure more than half the female population of the civilised world will disagree with me.

So here's to the pretty girl who wants to adopt a kid from each religion and the pretty boy who wants to be a dad desperately! Here's to Brangelina!

I spotted a Spotted Dick!

Yes, you read it right! Let me explain how...

A few days back i was watching one of those stupid Reality-TV series (but i still watch them!). This one had a few American girls competing for the title of 'The American Princess', wherein they had to go through 'rigorous' training in being ladylike. Basically how to walk-the-walk, talk-the-talk, eat-the-eat and look all dressed up and elegant, upper-story being empty...not a problem.

So in one of the sessions they were being tutored on table-manners by none other than Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's butler. While he was tutoring the girls on how to eat - which fork/spoon to use etc etc, in came this delicious looking thing. And he informed us (the girls and i) that it was the 'Spotted Dick'.

Come again...Spotted what? Me and the girls asked.

Yes you heard it right, 'Spotted Dick' he said, which simply put is a traditional pudding. Now that's some pudding!! :D

So that's how i spotted the Spotted Dick. And then i had to go into my google over-drive and spot it again!

So girls (and boys) here's the Spotted Dick recipe for you:



6 servings

8 oz self-raising flour
1 pn of salt
4 oz margarine
2 oz castor sugar (superfine)
4 oz to 6 oz sultanas (big-raisins)
6 tb water

1 - Have ready a sheet of foil or a double thickness of grease proof paper brushed with melted margarine.

2 - Make the pudding crust: Sieve the flour and the salt. Rub in the margarine. Add the sugar and sultanas. Mix in the water to make a soft dough.

3 - Turn out onto a floured board and form into a roll.

4 - Wrap loosely but securely in the grease proof paper or foil. Tie or seal the ends.

5 - Place in the steamer and cover tightly. Steam for 1.1/2 to 2 hours.

6 - Serve with hot custard sauce or sprinkle with castor sugar.

Variation: At stage 3: Put the mixture in a medium-sized (1.1/2 pint) pudding basin with a round of grease proof paper in the bottom and brush all round inside with melted margarine. Smooth the top. Cover with foil, or double grease proof paper brushed underneath with melted margarine and steam for 1.1/2 to 2 hours. Serve with hot Custard sauce or sprinkle with castor sugar.

[Recipe sourced from www.recipesource.com]

Those of you, who are familiar with Irish/English cuisine will be familiar with this dessert. Some more information:

The earliest recipes for spotted dick are from 1847. For non-British readers, "spotted dick" is a boiled suet pudding, with bits of dried fruit (usually raisins or currants) that (as already noted) look like little spots.

The Oxford Companion to Food comments that, strictly speaking, "spotted dick" is made by taking a flat sheet, spreading sugar and raisins on it, then rolling it up. A similar dessert is "spotted dog," a plain cylinder of suet paste with the raisins and currants and sugar stuck into it, so that the spots are visible on the outside. Both spotted dick and spotted dog were traditionally boiled (or even steamed) in a cloth, but nowadays they are usually baked.

The dessert is slightly different in Ireland. In Ireland in the late 1800s, the tradition of yeast-bread manufacture was not strong, so most breads were raised with bicarbonate of soda and an acid, rather than with yeast, and thus called soda breads. Thus, the spotted dick in Ireland is sweet soda bread, with sugar, currants, and raisins, and it's also called the spotted dog or railway cake.

[Info courtsey www.straightdope.com]

Have a great time errr...savouring some home cooked Spotted Dick. :D

05/05/05

A friend of mine reminded me today was 05/05/05. I was like...oh really, wow! I didn't realise that!

And it was then that it struck me how much 'for granted' I take dates and time. I don't keep track of dates on a day to day basis. If you were to ask me off-hand what date it is, it would take me a wee bit more than normal to give you an answer. But I am good at remembering b'days of my friends and family. B'days and Sunsigns. :-)

Is it that in the end your life becomes a succession of 365 days? You don't even realise till one has turned into past and another one is staring you in the face.

In school, everytime I jotted down a new year on my notebook, it left me with bittersweet feelings. As juvenile as it seems now, I would find it difficult to let go of the past year. It left me with a faint sadness - as if I was letting go of something personal. Something that I owned and felt attached to. But the sweet of the bittersweet meant I was excited with the thought of new experiences, another year of growing up and one step closer to adulthood. But that was then. Teenage. When adulthood and emancipation were infinitely charming and exciting.

And this is now.

A few months back I went through the same feelings that I experienced while jotting-down the year on my school notebook. I knew I was hitting the big 3 soon. It was quite unbelieveble that I was crossing the threshold to the 30s. That I was leaving behind my 20s; a whole decade of being young. Funny how I had stopped thinking in terms of age once I crossed my teenage. But all of a sudden my third decade was not a thing of a blurred future. It was real, staring me in the face. I was a little sad...no honestly I was quite sad for sometime! But again the sweet of bittersweet came to my rescue (as did my friends and family), and I started seeing all the perks of being 30! I am so much more aware of myself. I think I understand people better. I hope I am more mature - a lot less of the girl in me, a lot more of the woman in me. I wouldn't want to loose the girl altogether though. And I can finally look down upon the 20 somethings with an air of 'I know it all'!! :D

Even then, I sometimes wonder how many more 365s do I have to go through. And should I just relax and see them go past me, one after the other. Or do I jump-in and run along? For some reason, I feel like being a spectator, for now. Tomorrow at some point I'm sure I would want to jump in. I wouldn't want to be left wondering in the end - the last 365, why didn't I jump-in after all?!

What colour are you?

WINTER SKY

You were given rare combination of artistic creativity and financial know-how. It is a wonderful gift to be able to create your dreams while building a financial structure to support them. It is important that you share your talent and your wealth with others because it is the sharing that will bring you some of the most worthwhile blessings. Your personal color helps you stay centered. Wearing meditating or surrounding yourself with Winter Sky infuses your life with faith and magic.

So what colour are you?

*For the design conscious, don't skip the intro. It's well done, i like the flash transitions.* :-)

The potter's wheel

The wheel spins into a blur. And your fingers caress the wet shapeless mound to give it shape and identity. Wet mud. Sensual. Your fingers are like a dancer's or a masseur's fingers, soft yet firm. You see contours emerging from this shapeless mound, much like a baby in the mother's womb. Just a little stress there, a different choreography of the fingers and you see a whole new form unfold before your eyes. The incredible feeling of creating something.



I have always wanted to learn pottery and i was happy that i could make that happen...finally. I risk sharing a few of my creations with the world at large. They are not the best ones, but they are special to me. They are my babies. Like all first good things, the first crush, the first kiss, the first painting, the first sculpture...my first attempt at pottery :-)

Which Desperate Housewife are you?

Aparna is the Susan of Desperate Housewives!

You always mean well, but somehow things don't always work out as you'd planned. It doesn't matter. You take your tumbles with good grace and always come up smiling. But try to remember you're the grown-up in your family.
hmmm....:P

So which one are you?