B: Blink

Linking to http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

The platform was crowded as usual. The usual hustle bustle of the daily commuters, the loud whistle of the train's engine, street vendors on the platforms and passengers waiting at the platform for the last local train, seemed to be a very regular. The lazy dogs slept in one corner near a group of elderly men playing cards. As the last local arrived at 7:40 pm , students rushed towards the train. All seem to be familiar faces, except him. He caught my attention and my eyes stayed glued to him. The white platform light fell on his face. Almost 6 feet, the slim guy had long brown hair. He blinked his eyes fast. . Dressed in blue denims, white tee and a bag pack, he came across as a student to me. I stood towards the end of the platform staring at him.

From the past four years, I traveled daily from Mandi House Railway station to Ghaziabad  in the last local train. I had seen students and working professionals like me, daily at the same time. Many a times I befriended students in the train guiding them the routes or discussing about the latest course books. My friendly attitude was perhaps why many students treated me like friends instead of a teacher. After college time, I used to coach students from financially weak families. Among them, was a very bright student Raghu. His financial conditions did not allow him to study full time. He worked part time as an accountant during the day and studied in my evening classes. Tall and slim, Raghu also blinked his eyes very fast. He was my favorite student. Last year he died in a road accident, leaving his family alone. My eyes welled up as I saw the tall guy at the platform; Raghu's look alike.

He glanced at me as I managed to keep my tears from rolling. He walked towards me, blinking his eyes very quick. I pretended to look away. “Excuse me sir. Is this the last train?” he asked me in his husky voice.

I nodded my head unable to speak at that time. “Where are you headed?” I asked him swallowing the lump in my throat.

“Sahibabad” he replied.

We hopped onto the train together making our way through the crowd on the platform. We stood near the entrance door, holding on to the support handle.

“Sir, do you travel daily?” he started a conversation, with his eyes blinking fast.

“Yes. What about you young man?”

“I am new here. I started commuting today.” His eyes blinked swiftly.

The train sped through the Yamuna Bridge and screeched to a halt suddenly at a small junction. Somebody might have pulled the emergency chain. The lights inside the train went off.  The tall guy lost his balance and I felt him lean over me. Few more passengers lost their balance to tip over each other, hurling abuses at the train. The confusion, clutter and noise prevailed for about few minutes. The train moved, lights were on, people were back to their places. But the tall guy was gone. He might have got down at the platform, I thought. “But he fell over me. Why would he leave suddenly?” I thought as I rubbed my back which had hit the seat-rest. My hand moved to my back pocket. My wallet was missing. I checked in my other pockets and looked around. As the train left the platform, I saw the tall guy disappear on the platform within the blink of my eye.

Kellogg's Breakfast

This blogpost is for https://www.facebook.com/anaajkanashta

When people self-invite themselves over breakfast at your house, it means there is definitely something nice about it. That's what Gupta family is known for. Kellogg’s presents over 100 mouthwatering recipes featuring Guptaji’s family who know how to whip up the perfect breakfast for any occasion! And there are over 100 reasons for me to go to their house for nashta.

Late in 2011, I started going to the gym in attempt to make my lifestyle healthy. My gym instructor suggested me healthy diet, which included cornflakes in breakfast. Reluctantly I started to consume cornflakes. For me, the only way to eat cornflakes was to soak cornflakes in milk and top with fruits of your choice. Gradually it became a part of my daily routine and my colleagues know me by the name "cornflakes girl". The only thing that keeps changing is the fruits topping. At times its apple or almonds at times banana or raisins. But I was restricted to these fruits only. Unlike Guptaji I did not know the use of cornflakes for such an amazing variety!!

Cornflakes make such wonderful shakes. Why it did not hit my mind ever? Guptaji's recipe of Almond Coconut Shake left me surprised. Blending almond, chocolate syrup, ice cream, coconut and soaked cornflakes with a topping of thin slices of coconut n ice cream. Wow, almond shake with cornflakes was never so easy. Besides,  almonds is healthy and filling, recommended for all age groups. Where was this recipe all these years? Certainly a unique way of getting the remote back in your hands.

What Mrs. Gupta calls Cornflakes Crumble Mango Custard, a "Razz Kholne Wala Nashta", indeed is something to die for!  It is mouthwatering. Custard paste just takes 10 minutes of preparation.  Yummy, healthy and awesome. Not only a breakfast, but can also serve as snacks or dessert. Get the yummy-licious dish at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0yDjFygJtU

Even the peach cornflakes is ready in nick of time! I had never tried peaches with cornflakes.

For one recipe of Cheesy Cornflakes, I literally started doubting my creative thinking. I had only prepared bhelpuri with cornflakes. Adding cheese paste would have given my bhelpuri an Italian twist. Fine chopped onion, tomato, cheese paste and 1 minute of microwave is all that takes to prepare Cheesy cornflakes.

I would certainly like to go to Guptaji's place for the date shake made by Guptaji. They way he made the date shake to revive his love for Mrs. Gupta was indeed impressive. Few dates removing the seeds, 3 cups milk and soaked cornflakes, that'st it!  Date the shake onhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcXVY-P5BGM Kellogg's has definitely changed my perspective of breakfast recipes.

Making sweet dishes in Indian family is a nightmare. Hours of toiling in kitchen and loads of sugar and refined oil refrained me from making Indian desserts, especially laddoos. I could have never imagined preparing laddoo with cornflakes! It is amazingly marvelous! Crush cornflakes, add shredded nuts, ¼ cup milkmaid, ¼ cup ghee and desiccated coconut. A easy mixture of this into small balls and crispy laddoos are ready in no time. Get the recipe at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JR_6GlFGE0

Kellogg's breakfast recipes have not only captured the essence of India' middle class who are on their toes juggling with health, office and time, but also given new dimensions to quick breakfast.

Be it the Cornflakes Fruity Yogurt Cup, Cornflakes Khatta Moong or Walnut Cornflakes Chocó balls, there is a huge variety of such wonderful recipes from the house of Kellogg’s. Who does not want to have breakfast at their house! I would love to.

NH10- Movie review

Director- Navdeep Singh, Producer- Anushka Sharma

Cast- Anushka Sharma, Neel Bhopalam, Darshan Kumar, Deepti Naval (in cameo)

Plot- A well off, working professional couple, Meera(Anushka) and Arjun (Neel Bhoopalam), stay in Gurgaon. Often known as the concrete jungle, it offers dream jobs with high pay packages, lavish lifestyle with dark naked truth underlying in its wraps. A good lifestyle may not mean secure roads. That’s what happens one night, when Meera is attacked in her car by unknown goons as she drives to office from a friend's party. She manages to flee from the spot in nick of time, but the incident leaves her shattered. Scared and scarred, Arjun applies for licensed gun for her safety. Soon, he plans a short vacation in a forest resort, close to Gurgaon for Meera's birthday. The road trip goes awry as they witness a couple being beaten at a road side dhaba. When nobody approaches for help, Arjun intervenes, only to be slapped by the gang leader Satbir (Darshan Kumar). 

An insulted and upset Arjun, spots the SUV of the goons on the way and detours to follow them with the gun. Meera’s plea to stop him, fall on his deaf ears. He watches horrifying “honor killing” of the same couple. The girl was the goon’s sister. As Arjun prepares to run away from the crime scene, he bumps into a mentally challenged lad, a bother of one of the gang members. The gang catches hold of the Arjun & Meera, hit Arjun and plan to kill both of them. In an attempt to escape, Arjun accidentally shoots the mentally challenged lad.

A still from NH10

The couple are chased throughout the night by bloodthirsty gang members, for whom law & order don’t exist. Arjun is brutally hit again. Meera, the protagonist puts up a tough fight to save injured Arjun. She secures Arjun under a railway line bridge, promising to return with help. She runs from pillar to post in the murky no man’s land asking for help. Scared but determined, Meera does not give up in spite of being hurt, exhausted and alone. She gets hunted several times, is pelted with stones, takes shelter in a labor’s hut, kills a corrupt cop, meets with an accident and lands into the village sarpanch's home. This is where the climax again takes a spine chilling turn.

Characters- After playing a kind, good, supportive husband in Mary Kom, Darshan Kumar plays the rustic, dominating Harayani man, who has no qualms in killing his sister for his family honor. Tough, untamed and raw, he carries off the uncanny role really well. Kudos to the director and the scriptwriter who created the thrilling frames.

Anushka does a brilliant job with her memorable performance. Her acting skills would be etched in the audience's mind for a long time. Watch out for her body language and eye expression as she lights up a smoke and patiently waits for Satbir to rise up with his fractured leg. Deepti Naval as the village sarpanch impresses in a cameo. All characters essay strong roles which give that edge to the film.

Background score adds excellence to the film. The entire movie keeps you glued to your seat without letting you blink an eye.Cinematography deserves big applause. Filmed with realistic angles and backdrop, NH10 has the power to scare you in spite of not being in the horror genre. Navdeep has an eye for detail which is very apparent from the reality touch he has given. The audience get to view Gurgaon's shimmery lights and tall buildings through a car window, where the couple is heard chatting. It is the usual private conversation between a husband and wife which instantly hooks audience. The forest areas, half constructed buildings, sandy hills, scattered houses in village, barely maintained police chowki, all add real touch. Even the villagers, who reluctantly and sarcastically tell direction to Arjun for forest resort, would make you nod heads in agreement and anger.

NH10 does not suggest measures to the social evils portrayed.  What it does is reveal the horrid truth that sobs silently beneath the glittering city lights. It lashes out to the patriarchal society for its gender bias and an apocalypse world who confines women in houses and stab them if they get married in the same gotra. When Meera lodges a police complaint against the attack on her, the cop asks her not to venture out alone at night. He also warns sarcastically that law & order remains confined to the visibility of malls. The former vanishes when malls disappear. Sad but true. 

Several things leave the audience seething as the film shows the harsh reality, which are- When Meera asks for helps from the cop at police station, he instructs her to complaint at the thana where the incident took place. Jurisdiction depends on location; else FIR would not be registered. Happens often, yeah? No education can change the mind sets of people who kill in the name of family honor. In this case, it’s a woman who initiates and supports the evil. Cops join hands with criminals by covering the social evil. What could be more disgusting that this? A woman trapped in such a family tries her best to save Meera by lying, but gets slapped.  How many times have we noticed or heard such incidents in these shady villages? Shamefully, countless times. That is why Meera picked up the iron rod to teach the bad guys a lesson, jabbed a ball point pen into the evil cop's eye, crushed her attackers under the wheels and shouts at the sleeping society. She ends with 'Jo karna tha so karna tha' leaving a message for the disgraced world who refer to women with derogatory words on toilet doors or walls of public property.

I admit I was disturbed and scared after watching the movie. I was not able to sleep well at night, as the movie thronged my thoughts. A must watch of this season is NH10. Go for it!

Being together

This post is for https://housing.com/ #together

It was Esha's birthday. Like each year, I dialed her mobile number to wish her on her birthday. Irrespective of the fact that we could rarely meet after our tenure in the same job and being room mates, we remained good friends. Post two years of quitting job, she got married. I was still working in Delhi, trying to make something out of my career. We were physically apart but kept in touch throughout. We made sure to call each other at least on our birthday, if not at regular intervals.  It was 11:00 am and I thought to call her as I was not loaded by work that day.

I expected to hear a bubbly chirpy voice at the other end. The time that I spent with her brought a smile on my face. As the call got through, her number was not reachable. I was disappointed, wondering why she had switched her phone off. Leaving a message on social account was not an option, as she was not active on social media, and had discontinued her profile of late. After trying her number thrice,  I called on her hometown's land line.

"Hello?" the bubbly voice received the call.

“Happy birthday moti!” I wished her in excitement.

“Thanks SD! How did you know I am in Chandigarh?” (She often abbreviated by name to SD)

“Idiot! Your mobile is not reachable. I thought of calling your parents to give me alternate number of yours if any. 

Why is your phone off?” I scolded her with a concern in my voice.

“No, its not off rey! I have discontinued my Delhi number” she replied with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

“Why the hell? So who will update your number to me? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Things are not quite well at my end. I am going through a rough patch in my life sweety. Will tell you later.”

I had no idea what had happened, but I was concerned and worried for her. Why did she discontinue her Delhi number, why was she in Chandigarh, was there a problem in her marriage…thoughts wrung my head as I tossed on my bed that night. I felt guilty of not being to talk to my best friend for a long time. Amid my own struggle and work life balance, I had almost forgotten Esha. Post my broken love relationship, I was never myself. That night I kept thinking how life had made a joke of me. More I thought about my past relationship, more I felt hurt. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I felt that void within me again.

The next day at work, I was informed about an official visit to Chandigarh to one of our clients. I felt happy and was eager to visit Esha during that visit.

I bought a box of chocolates for her and headed for her house on Saturday afternoon. As I pressed the door bell, she opened it for me. We hugged each other. She rushed to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of watermelon smoothie and home-made cookies. I was touched. She had not forgotten my favorites. After a brief chit chat about job and family, I asked her about her marriage.

She smiled. “I knew this would come. Well SD, I have filed a divorce from my husband. The case is still pending.”

I ran a blank at her in shock. She was married one and a half years ago. What could have possibly gone wrong!

“This alliance was brought by one of our relatives who had woven lies to us. My family fell for it. I trusted my parents and got married, hoping for a good life ahead. But all that shines is not gold. The good looking guy had an extra marital affair. Plus, he had lied to us about his education, job & salary. Financial condition deteriorated. When I offered to help by working, his family refused. Big ego you see. They can die hungry, but will not allow the bahu to work. Things went terribly wrong when he started to return home drunk and physically tormented me. I kept mum and tried my best to save the marriage. When my parents came to know about it, they brought me back. They keep feeling guilty of not doing a background check that brought my life to a standstill.”

Esha’s words pierced into my heart. I was disturbed and angry at the same time. How dare could a man hit his wife? Why did he marry if he was into another relationship? My eyes welled up. It should have been my turn to hug her. But she came to me instead, and hugged me.

“Why are you crying silly? I am fine. See, I am out of a bad marriage. I was wrong when I stayed quiet. It’s worse to accept wrong more than doing it. Now I am free from his clutches. I will start working very soon,” she said with hopes in her eyes.

That moment I compared myself with Esha. She had braved the odds with maturity and is so much calm. I felt like a fool who was crying over a broken relationship of six months! I learnt a big lesson from Esha that day. 

Optimism is what I was missing in my life. How well did Esha put her broken pieces of life together deserved an applause. My meeting with her that day filled me with hopes, optimism and courage to move on. Her story helped me get over my broken relationship and I was my normal self. She gave me the strength and motivation to go on with optimism and look up.

(Image in the post is my copyright, clicked my me via Samsung mobile)

Look up

While toying with the idea of relocating to the U.S for a job, Anirudh was not only worried, but reluctant too. His new employer had hired him at higher salary and promised better perks, but the job required him to move out of Kolkata. Leaving his home town, parents, friends and his lifetime’s memories for a new place, made him jittery. To search for a new house or to stay in guest house, to cook on his own or hire a cook, to stay alone or with room partners, to adapt to a new lifestyle, totally different culture, to manage  everything alone; these thoughts bothered him as he spent sleepless nights before accepting the new job offer.

Yes he had reasons to worry but his career was also at stake. As his elder sister I could gauge how his mind wavered between his job and family. To leave ailing parents behind for a new job was indeed difficult. I was married and had relocated to Delhi. I visited Kolkata for few days and I could sense the uneasiness on Anirudh’s face, no matter he tried to conceal this thoughts with his cheerful smile. I counselled him to accept the job opportunity. He was reluctant and did not seem convinced. Two days later, he came to me with an envelope in his hand. He seemed to be relaxed. “Ki holo?” (What happened), I asked him.

“I rejected the job offer” he said with a smile.

“Why? This was a great chance you always dreamt of! Are you crazy?” I exclaimed.

“I won’t leave my parents for a job. It’s just a job. I told that to my employer and they agreed. I can stay here in Kolkata and work for as on off-site employee. See, I rejected them, but they accommodated my needs. Didi, I knew my priorities and I was positive that my employer would agree to my terms and conditions. Why should I leave my home. I get my energy and happiness when I see my parents.”

I was stunned by his reply. What great optimism was my brother full of! I felt proud of him.

Years later, I was back to Kolkata in city hospital to attend to my father after he met with a stroke. I sobbed as Ani hugged me in the hospital during dad’s heart surgery. The doctors had reported 70% arteries blockage. In the critical situation when Mom and I were a nervous wreck, we could regain our strength and hopes with Ani standing by our side, silent but steady.

Our cousins were there in the hospital to support us. To cheer up everybody, Ani cracked jokes.

“How could you be not serious in this difficult time?” one of our elder cousins snapped at him. He was our uncle’s eldest son who was very close to our dad.

“Crying or worrying will not cure him anyway dada” Ani said calmly keeping his hand on his shoulder, transferring all his positive energy into the grim environment.

“Dad will be fine. Don’t worry. He will be healthy and hearty. Heart surgeries look complicated but trust me they are very common for doctors. Have a cup of tea”, and he extended his arm with cup of tea to calm us. The surgery was successful and dad recovered gradually. I am often amazed by the optimism that he carries and never feels low. What motivates him, even he does not know. All I know is that he is different and a very positive person who lights up everybody’s life with this cheerfulness and people look upto him for his optimism.

This post is part of  https://housing.com/lookup in association with indiblogger

The world remade

I write, I build emotions, I express, I catch eyes of the readers, I create content to attract the world to the brand that I work with; to hook them, enlighten them, confuse them, give them ‘gyaan’ and ultimately sell the products in our brand portfolio. They call me copywriter, I call it “copy creator”. I create, other than the brand, for my own self at times. I create stories and the characters. I believe in fiction and I live the dream of being the creator through the characters that I create in my stories.

Often I wonder how would be like to create or let’s say rebuild a new world in my way! Don’t we all remember, how we played “Raja Raani” or “Chor Police” in our childhood?

As we grow up, we fight odds every day. We crib, we cry, we fight, we feel hurt & cheated when things don’t happen in our way. We really want our railway ministers, or finance ministers to make a budget that suits the largest population; the middle class. I really don’t wish to remake the world by holding a powerful post, else who would do my job then?

I want a new world which has a fresh and good mindset. Let’s create a world where education is not confused with literacy, because even the so-called educated lot today kill girl child and demand dowry during marriage. The degree holders from good universities are found involved in molestation & rape. Decorated officers and corporate employees hire little children for household work. What’s a world with such educated people? The world that I would rebuild will not have people with a mindset that think of female feticide, dowry, rape, eve teasing, molestation or child labor. I would rebuild a world free of crime against women & children.

Degrees and certificates don’t make you “educated”. No school or book teaches you to be a violent and open fire. My new world would be sans violence and terrorism, because people would be literate. The world would be rebuilt with educated minds and literate people who could not go to the extremes of picking up ammunition when brain washed. Dictators and terrorists like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Kasab, Muammar Al-Gaddafi, Joseph Stalin, Robert Mugabe would not be born as bad people. Undoing the harm they inflicted would be impossible, but I would build them as people who could prove to be blessing for the mankind. Let their creative thinking bring joys and innovative modernization for the new world to be a better place. They had great ideas to rule and kill people. In the new world they would have great ideas to develop and utilize people for an amazing world. It’s then when everyone would say "Here's The World, Remade!"

Yes, we don’t live in a perfect world. So we try to live within the framework of society. My new world may not be perfect too. So it will have laws that would deal with serious issues strictly. Since humans are divided by religion & caste, it results in inter-religion clashes. My new world WILL NOT have inter-religion rattling. This take care of so called honor killing. I would sit back on my seat and be relieved of any inter-caste/inter religion disputes.

I may have to deal with global warming and climatic changes as the human race progresses. However I would leave that to the mankind to tackle. My new world be free of terror, crime and cultural gaps. My new world will have ‘educated’ humans who think positively, creatively, ahead of time and progress together without pulling down others.

Making a world like this is next to impossible, but we still can try to use our minds diligently, isn’t it? Why can’t we have and implement strict laws for menacing crimes like rape, child trafficking, child labor, dowry death? That’s because of the limitations of the mankind by law. My world would not be limited to such margins. How I wish the fiction was a reality.

I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15

Jodhpur Palate

Jodhpur, the second largest city located in central Rajasthan has loads of historical stories in its façade. Founded by Rao Jodha in 1459, the city boasts of rich Rajasthani culture and grandeur, much evident from the monuments and savory food.  Rajasthanis are known for their affection of sweets, which we enjoyed on our trip to Jodhpur.

Right in the center of the city is clock tower. In the same vicinity is Sardaar Market that houses several eateries, always bustling with people. Not only tourists, even the locals relish sweets in the eating joints. One such eating joint is Janta Sweet Home on the main road of Sardaar Market, which offers a variety of snacks and sweets. Spacious, well maintained and neat, Janta Sweet Home is run by a courteous family who receive the customers with smile.

Makhaniya Lassi@Mishri Lal

Makhaniya Lassi@Janta Sweets

Jodhpur is well known for Makhaaniya Lassi. Sweet curd is topped with malaai and a dollop of home-made cream (butter), and that’s where it gets the name from. Heavy and creamy (plus the extra sweet), a single glass can make you feel really full and drowsy.

Maawa kachori

The most outstanding sweet dish which we discovered was Mawa Kachori. Ya agreed, it is high on calories and too sweet, yet we could not resist and gave in to our temptation. The filling of the kachori is with mawa and dry fruits with a tinge of spices. The kachori is soaked in chaashni and served hot on the plate.  With every bite you take, you feel the spices burst on your taste buds. That’s the uniqueness of Jodhpuri dish. However, beware of the calorie intake as this is high on sweet and is deep fried of-course.

The only disappointment is lack of seating arrangement in Janta sweet home. So, you can manage to stay awake as you slurp on the heavy snacks.

Another speciality food in Jodhpuri cuisine is pyaz kachori, which is available almost everywhere. They serve pyaaz kachori with aloo subzi. Reminded me of Uttar Pradesh, where kachori is served in breakfast as well as snacks. (I have experienced the kachori ritual in Mathura, Lucknow & Agra)

Take a turn at the end of the road, and spot a small eating joint named “Mishri Lal & Sons” which serves you excellent makhaniya lassi, dosa, kachori and tea. We had a meal!

Warm milk preparation

Kesar Doodh Jalebi

Doodh Jalebi adds on to the list of the sweets that we savored in Jodhpur. Jalebi is dipped in a bowl full of warm milk with a tinge of kesar. The milk is warmed in a large iron vessel swarmed with dry fruits, kesar and malai. The guy with a huge sweet shop on the clock tower road near our hotel was a hotspot for doodh-jalebi during evening. One can have it as dessert post dinner or treat it as dinner itself. The wholesome dish fills you to your core. Who said Rajasthanis have sweet tooth? They have sweet jaws!

                                   

Towards the road leading to the clock tower is a tea shop named Bombay Tea Stall. Ah! The thought of Mumbai's "Cutting Chai" came gushing to me. A thin tall glass full of tea just made my day, while my husband stared at me enjoying my tea (He is not a tea person). Beware of the tea loaded with sweet and milk
.

As we entered the market next to Clock Tower, we were taken aback by the sight of sweet shops and namkeen stalls. The place bustled with shoppers, rickshaw pullers, horse carts, cloth merchants..the place bustled with an enthusiasm, and positive spirit of Jodhpur..it bustled with life.

Our 3 days of stay in Jodhpur was a joyful one where two food lovers had their plate full.

"Twisted" tale of bread

Bread Poha

What happens when you are left with boring pieces of bread at home without much options besides butter, jam or omlette? You either end up forcing yourself to sandwich them or throw them after they turn stale. I chose to give the bread pieces a nice twist and turn them into an interesting poha. This is bread poha. No, I hold no patent of invention. This dish has existed for years! I am sharing a quick, light and healthy breakfast fix with you all.

Things needed- Heavy bottomed pan, cooking oil, Bread pieces (any type), tomatoes, onions, mustard seeds, curry leaves, salt.

Cooking method-

1. Cut the bread pieces into cubes. Slice onions and tomatoes. Keep these aside.

2.Heat oil in pan. Add mustard seeds. Optionally you can add peanuts or raw chana daal in oil and fry them till they brown. (I skipped peanuts, as they are not too healthy). Add curry leaves and dried red chilly, once mustard seeds start crackling.

3. Add onions to the pan.Keep stirring till onions turn light brown. Add the diced tomatoes.

When the tomato dices turn pulpy and start to dehydrate, add bread cubes in the pan. Add salt to taste.

4. Stir the content in the pan and add a little water. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

I used brown bread for this dish. You can use multigrain bread as well. Any kind of cooking oil can be used, be it ghee or refined oil. I used mustard oil.

This healthy, lip smacking dish barely takes 10 minutes. This preparation is low on cholesterol and has the necessary spices required by body for daily metabolism.

Caution- Do not over cook the dish and do not add too much oil.

Stay healthy, stay blessed

Paper Boat ~ For Tea Lovers

While shopping for groceries in super markets, you see the attractive colorful packs of carbonated drinks or fruit juices and get into a dilemma of whether or not to buy. Thanks to your calorie intake and unhealthy lifestyle. Trust me, to control and restrict your calorie intake is not only difficult, but at times next to impossible. The cliche "I will work out tomorrow" urges you to load your shopping trolley with colorful packs of drinks. So how does a person cut down on this unhealthy intake? Paper Boat comes to your rescue. Especially for the tea lovers, who cannot say no to tea and slurp on the sugary liquid.

Paper Boat gives a refreshing twist to the old concept of tea in India with the rejuvenating flavors of ice tea! Take a look at the little tagged notes which say it all

Paper Coaster

Having tried the aam panna drink from this brand, my expectations were high from the ice tea packs as well. The expectations were met! Lemon and ginger tea and tusli flavours come our as the most rejuvenating ice tea flavors. For tea lovers this is a blessing, as you do not often get flavored ice tea! The most common ones we have heard is lemon ice tea, right? Lemon & ginger ice tea gives a little spicy taste due to the blend of ginger. Tusli ice tea is the better of the two with a healthy and cool brew of tulsi or basil. The best part is low sugar content, which means low calories and low fat! Refrigerate the tetra packs and have a cool refreshing drink quenching your craving for low-sugar yet energizing drink.

The attractive use-and-throw packaging is very pleasant to look at and user friendly. Tightly sealed cap and plastic doypack promises zero spillage and tear. Each pack is priced at INR 30 which I think is slightly higher. I guess INR 25 would have been a fair deal for these. The tagline on the packs says drinks and memories. How can the brand create memories? Well, the cute packaging with the water bubbles and paperboat as the name as well as a doodle, just gets the nostalgia out! A product of Hector Beverages, clever marketing of Paperboat is grabbing eyeballs.

Being a health conscious person, I am glad to have found a drink that suits my needs and taste. I would rate it 3.5 on a scale of 5.

Watch the paperboat youtube video here. Nostalgia will leave you in tears.

Dabur immunity

We work hard and earn for our family. Our children complete the family and we live for  them. They bring us joy and we draw inspiration from them. They are our emotional anchors and we go to any extent for our kids. With hectic lifestyle topped with a lot of stress, we are barely left with time for ourselves. In a jiffy, we tend to overlook the needs of our kids too (Not intentionally though). I remember how my mother used to get worried over the smallest incident of coughing or sneezing. She continues to do so even today when I am grown up and stay all by myself in a different city. Childhood was a phase when mothers take the pain of nursing us, even if that meant to be awake whole night. Staying away from family keeps me away from that luxury, or lets say mother's love.

Our lifestyle has made us weak, precisely hollow from within that fails to fights diseases. "Who has the time to buy and eat aamla mom?" I often question her, post her lectures over the phone. That's when my mother suggests me to have Dabur chyawanprash, to build immunity. And yes, she is right. Unless I am a millionaire who can spend on hospital bills and medicines, I can afford to fall sick. Because I am a girl next door with simple lifestyle, who works for a living and has dreams in eyes, I cannot afford to fall sick. I'd rather build immunity thrice and adopt preventive methods instead of curative ones.

I think of the same when I would enter motherhood, I would need to be strong enough to bring up my child. How am I supposed to do it without looking after my own self? As it is popularly said, that a person may not be able to look after others if he/she is not able to look after his/her own self, I make conscious efforts to stay healthy. Besides exercising, yoga and healthy eating, I do take chyawanprash every day, to fight diseases and those scary hospital bills too!

Durba playing Tennis @6

2 months old Durba

My mother used to thrust a spoon of chyawanprash into my mouth, when I was a kid. I miss that act. I miss that caring touch and closeness of hers when I lick off the chyawanprash off the spoon. Dabur being one of the oldest brand that I have seen since my younger days, it feels like a family brand now. My best friend' lil daughter is growing up and as I see her turning into a smart sharp girl, I also get worried for her health. Her mother was on bed rest post delivery. Dabur chyawanprash struck my mind in the first go. Her daughter Durba is an active child, indulged into lot of activities. Touch wood, her immunity is strong. It still feels she was born yesterday. She calls me "Bua" and pulls me to watch her play tennis.

As I pledge to have a healthy living, and promise my unborn child a healthy future, I remain loyal to Dabur Chyawanprash which is a store house of amazing benefits that none or few have. A blend of 40 natural ingredients and Ayurvedic herbs is the need of today! The magnificent brew contains Ashwagandha which has anti-stress, anti oxidant and immunomodulatory properties, Satavari that helps to promotes general health, improves memory & eyes, Bala, the strength promoter,Vidarikand, the rejuvenator and Guduchi with antioxidant, immunomodulatory and rejuvenating properties.

Yeah I know the names are heavy, but little do people know that modern science is merging with Ayurveda for better medicines and cure. Ayurveda science is time tested and age old method of healing naturally, minus any side effects. I made sure that my baby sister consumes chyawanprash without fail daily and today I proudly say that her immunity is strong enough. A daily dose of chyawanprash and works out has shaped her into an adorable and strong girl. Look at her picture on left. That's my girl :-) Looks like I am playing mother to so many kids around.

The powerhouse Dabur Chyawanprash is recommended not only for kids but for all age groups, because we all need the power to fight diseases, don't we?

Look for more Dabur wonders at https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/

This was my runner's up blog post for Dabur 

Words..

Words o words, that can calm us wen we pray,
that can turn sour and also slay....

Words o words. you hurt & don't let me sleep,
why did u pierce into my heart so deep?

Words o words, you untamed shameless things,
I'd fly far away from you if I had wings...

Words o cruel words, its better when not spoken,
and save fragile hearts from being broken.

The blue umbrella

Enter and exit

                               Clicked at the tunnel leading to Chamera Dam, Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh.

The hatti lunch

Weekends should be fun and vibrant that leave you with good memories and rejuvenated. Eating out is an activity that brings a smile to many faces. However choose right and eat right. Hogging can be risky and land you in bad state of health, needless to mention gastric problems, food poisoning, stomach infection and so on. Okay, I don't intend to scare you. This post is about a famous eating joint in Old Delhi.

Popular for well prepared royal cuisines, Old Delhi holds a record of many titles, unmatched and unbeatable till date. Be it the oldest shop in India since British rule, the most visited place, busiest market or yummiest food. Kaake di Hatti, an eating joint of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi holds the record of being more than 60 years old shop which serves the most authentic North Indian food. As they say, curiosity kills the cat, I got killed too and ventured out on one weekend to grab a bite at the Kaake Di Hatti.

Located in the interiors of Chandni Chowk, this shop is indeed old and almost easily missed. The restaurant serves pure vegetarian North Indian food, with a huge variety in breads (roti/naan). The first floor is air conditioned with basic seating arrangements of tables and stools. DO NOT expect a neat, calm or hygienic ambiance, though the food is neat and served on clean plates/utensils. The first thing one might notice are the dark decaying walls which they have tried hard to maintain. The newly fitted AC in the walls come as a big relief. The waiters are courteous and services are quick. With the limited walking spaces in the narrow floor area restricts your movements. Yet, all you would care about is the yummy food, which is worth the pains you take to reach here.

Aloo pyaaz naan

Daal makhni

 Another thing that immediately gets your attention is a newspaper clipping framed on the wall which

challenges you to eat a naan (bread) all by yourself. I thought it was a publicity stunt. However my

inhibitions proved to be wrong when I ordered one naan stuffed with potato and onion. One buttered naan has four big pieces which is a full course meal for two! The daal makhni was fairly good and malaai kofta was out of the world! Obviously I failed the naan challenge. Pickle and chutney are complimentary. The menu has a wide variety of naan, vegetable curries, dry vegetable mixes, raita and lassi. Against all expectations, in the menu you

Malaai Kofta

would find half plate vegetables too, which is a rare practice in many restaurants.

Try the food once and you'd love it forever. It is a must visit place in Old Delhi. You would never  forget the pocket friendly delicious meal, which would barely cost Rs 200-300 for 2 people. Post lunch I had rabri faluda from Gianis (which is the original shop) next to Kake di hatti, and it was beyond words. I had never tasted such amazing rabri faluda ever in my life. 70 rupees a glass is worth!!

Morning hues

                        The morning sky in McLeodganj- A view from our hotel balcony 

The taste of Gujarat

My search for authentic food continued and landed me to Gujarat Bhawan restaurant which is in the official resident complex of Gujarat commissioner. I savour Gujarati cuisine for the tinge of sweetness and less of spices. I loved the food here. Unlike Andhra Bhawan, this is comparatively a small restaurant with limited seating capacity. The ambiance is neat and quiet.  Located at 11 Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri, the pure vegetarian restaurant serves unlimited food worth 90 rupees on weekdays and 120 rupees on weekends.

TASTE ALERT- If you love spicy food, this place is not for you.

The superb thaali in Gujarat Bhawan

Gujarat Bhawan Restaurant's timings are 12 noon to 2 pm for lunch. The food is not authentic Gujarati but its the preparation which is different. Be it the daal makhni or choley, which are not typical Gujju dishes, they still have an aroma and taste of Gujarati food. The menu on weekdays consists dhokla, salad, papad as starters, along with one dry vegetable, yellow daal (which is sweet), 2 curry preparations, tawa roti and steamed rice accompanied with chhaach. Weekend menu is the same with additional items like paalak pakora, poori, dessert and paan.

I loved the thaali because of its simplicity and sweet tinge. Excess of spices in any cuisine not only spoils the taste but attacks your digestion too! I stay away from too spicy or chilly food. Choley served here has been the best that I have ever tasted at any restaurant. The neat and clean place with great food keeps seeing me come back each week :-) (I have been here several times now)

An ice cream lover can also buy ice creams from the Amul counter. Packed khakhra, thepla and Gujarati namkeens are also available for sale over the counter.

Ambience- 5 on 5

Food- 5 on 5

Overall quality- 4.5 on 5

Recommended for all age groups, this place is MUST VISIT for all.