To My Mom on Her 49th Birthday.....

With a year left for your fifties,
Im looking back in time,
Digging the memories I've hidden,
In the pockets of my mind.

There are times when I gave up,
But you pushed me up,
There are times when you stood up,
When all my odds where up,

There are words that I feel,
Should never be spoken again,
That pricked you many ways,
But you loved me anyways.

I wonder if I could be,
As strong as you were,
When I relive those moments,
Of happiness and Despair.

I kept thinking of a gift,
For this precious person,
For, moments like these
Are God given occasions.

The falling dried leaves,
Said no more long days,
So thought of a place,
We could visit before its too late.

This place brings you chills,
So don't forget your jacket,
Take your shawl with the cap, and
Put your gloves in your pocket.

We shall wave goodbye,
To the leaves that fall,
As we take a drive,
To the Niagara Falls.

A small and happy trip,
That would remind you of this day,
For, a special person like you,
Gets to do a special thing this day.

Happy Birthday MOM!!

Pet Diaries!!!

 Hi there... its been some time since i sat down with something interesting to pen down...  I kept scrolling and reading articles.. and i came across this article about how people get attached to their pets these days. That triggered lots of long lost memories of Pets, in me. In this fast paced world, where people just keep moving on, kids live abroad and feeding them through skype is the only thing that is yet to happen, pets do come in handy. Of course they cannot replace relationships but, a bow wow or a meaww as a reply to questions... is not bad at all...especially when people are alone.

  When I was a kid, i always kept visiting my cousin. We played lots of games and fought like hell. So, the next day we met, each of us will have our grudge going on ...."you hit me hard yesterday.. you had it from me today.. god is my witness"... well well.. that's what makes us feel happy about, in the later years... But..... i had  something else very interesting at my cousins place... 

  BLACKY!!!... the Labrador girl dog that my cousin had. she made my day :) The moment she looks at me.. she comes jumping to the window and screams her throat out... scratches the door until we open it..  pushes it open and plays with me even before I could enter the house.. she'll be all over me... licking and lying down on the lap... and what not!!

   It was one such calm and sunny afternoon,, and after all the excitements, blacky was settling down for a quiet nap. She was walking around with her round tummy, (which eventually ballooned round after she had that yummy dog food lunch!!) swinging left to right, as she quietly walked around to find some shade and shut her eyes. It took her two to three rounds to find a cosy place to rest her tummy.  My aunt was drying the clothes that had been washed and the only sounds I heard,  were those of fluttering cloth  and scratching vessels. My cousin and I were looking at each others' face as we were not allowed to play in the sun. We had no clue what to do. We were looking all around, exhausted after playing all the games we invented....and suddenly our  eyes turned towards blacky. Our eyes widened and we started waking her up... we kept moving and shaking her, ignoring the screams from my aunt,  "Don't wake her up.. she's gonna make a mess of this place"!!!... we were not bothered.. not a bit!! 

After our hard work for about  ten minutes, we managed to wake the dog. She gave us a disappointed look ...."what do you want kiddo, please let me sleep" ......with her red eyes starring at both of us in dismay :( We managed to interest her in a game and were successful in making her walk again. 

The plan was to make her jump over the smallest bench we could find in that area, WITH A DOG TREAT for appreciation, in case she jumps. 

My cousin and I were so excited about this, as though we were about to make her perform in "The Animal Actor's" show. Blacky did co-operate with us .. poor thing :D My aunt's place was quiet big and blacky always loved running around on the portico. Guess what that's the place we chose to perform the act.. We placed the stool right in the middle. It was about 2 foot tall but not that wide though. Here comes the announcement ....

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, its blackyyyy.... with her beauuuuuutiful jump... and then blacky comes running, with all her concentration not on the hurdle she is about to jump over, but on the dog food that i was holding. She came pretty close and then retreated. We were not disappointed. it was her first try. We tried again...."Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever, its blackyyyy.... with her beauuuuuutiful jump... and then blacky comes running,  and it went on and on for three to five times.. I could see the expression on the dog's face.. she was constantly licking her lips.. (yeah it was sunny) but remember the dog treat..lol ... she had a good appetite :P We just wanted to try one last time and call it a day. 

My cousin keeps calling out common blacky.... we also had a bunch of people gathering around cheering the dog... "common sweetie, you can do it" and finally I started seeing some changes in blacky too :) She finally started running !! and it was all done in a flash of a second!!...........

I know what you are thinking ... lets rewind the whole thing... "we all were screaming... blacky began to hop slowly, she started picking up speed.... i hated to turn while all this was happening   but, my aunt was calling me in for some help..... i just replied I'm gonna be with her in a few minutes and turned back only to see the dog food that i was holding lasted no more... and blacky did cross the small bench not by jumping over it but by hoping around it ... man she was smart... 

I know... we laughed out Loud too :D... ...it was quiet a memory.. only that i didn't try it with any other dog :) lol....  

     We could not hold on to blacky very long. My aunt had to leave blacky with some responsible people as she had to shift and that really pricked us all... the whole family in fact... we could not let her go.. she was such a wonderful dog... Pets are like any other person in our house.. and we need to take complete care as we do for people. They mingle with us so well and it becomes so tough to let them go. Ive always wanted to have pets, but that thought was always accompanied by a fear of letting them go. Good that there are lots of centers, were animals without care are taken care of and left with people who care. May be one day ill get over this fear of letting go and make room for at least one pet . Let's see..... 

  

A Birthday Present!!

I see you've opened the door,
I can hold this surprise no more,
You wish to know what it could be?
Read through this note and you will see.

This talks to you,
When you run out of words,
Especially at times,
When you travel round the world.

A small gift from me,
That would remind you of this day,
Whenever you look at it,
To hear what it can say.

With so many goals lined up,
For all the years to come, and
The plans you've piled up,
To be the one you want to become.

Through all your hardships and achievements I shall stay,

and  Hey!!!

Wish you a happy birthday!!!

This Day That Year

July 1st 2009,

It was 2:00 pm in the afternoon. I was at my cousin's place, settling down with some hyper active chatting with all my relatives and friends, who kept visiting me, showing their faces and passing on comments about me, most of which i accepted with a bright smile..... and suddenly i hear this polite request..... 

      "janani.. straighten your hand... the design is getting disturbed" and i was like "oops... forgot that its the mehendi"..

         "It was for my engagement to be held on July 3rd 2009. I was receiving constant pulls from all my cousins both on calls and in person, for all the name gestures on my mehendi and the delays in my reply for every minute - often referred to as dreaming in your own world, oh.. its the derived and defined meanings from what??? some marriage dictionary.. lol (a very innovative dictionary yet to be published, where everyone has their chance of  deriving their own meanings)

  "i was quiet well into the moment, as i was about to meet my hubby for the first time"....

        I know what you are thinking.. well.. we sailed through with the online "P cube" ceremony (Penn Parkum Padalam) ;) 

     "So, im about to meet my hubby for the first time, in person. But, to my surprise, i didn't get him anything. I was still thinking. "What can i get for him"..."ah... a watch - im sure he has one...... some shades.. nooooope.... finally i decided to get him some flowers. But, not the roses. Im not the "look what those flowers mean" type, but just felt, it would be way too feminine. So, ruled out. I decided to get some Lavender and Lilly bunch on our way to the meet. I had no time to remove all the mehendi.  Believe me, the design doesn't stick on that easily either. So, with my arms and foot full of mehendi, i was sitting like a ninja robot, on the front seat of the car, with my father by my side (the way i used to sit when i was a small girl) , with my mom at the back along with two other close ones. No regrets though, 'cause i was enjoying the moment just too much".

     "Now, we were all set for the ride. On our way to the meet, the oldies were talking about the whole engagement and marriage thing, while i, was pointing my index finger to every possible florist that we crossed by, just to pull over for my lavender bunch"...

    "jan.... hold on.. there are some awesome shops at T-Nagar.. you can fetch some flowers there..." said my mom and dad.. 

     " With questions pouring in about the flowers.. i tried to stay as cool and calm as possible. Then came the traffic, adding to my anxiety about being on time. That too on such a sunny afternoon, with the sun's rays totally burning my skin through the glass windows..The road was jammed with vehicles, good enough for us to move inch by inch. At first, i was like, "okie.. this is gonna be just fine, jan"...... the signal was still red.. then i was like "common... now change" ...and then, after 5 minutes, the signal changed to green. With all the anxieties in my mind, i was enjoying a nice drive to a temple at T-Nagar, the venue for the meet" .........We had a huge shopping list after the meet, 'cause my hubby was rushing his trip to India, on a grace period of two weeks......

      "With my parents discussion about the big day plans, still on, we finally entered the busiest T-Nagar. Now, i had to break their conversation before we reached the temple....."
                         Hold on.........hope you didn't forget my lavender bunch.....Good... neither did i ;)

   "We pulled over, to get some flowers. My father and I crossed the road, squeezing ourselves to the other side, filled with a line of colourful florists, blooming with flowers. But, i was looking for my choice. I quickly browsed through the flowers and it didn't take much time for me, to find my choice. The florist persuaded me to buy some more flowers, while he packed my flowers. I really wanted to spend some more time and money, but had to rush. So, leaving a smile indicating we are done, we rushed back to the car. I opened the fornt door, with the flowers on one hand, and tried to squeeze in,  followed by my father.........". 

   I heard a huge awwwwww, inside the car. Well.. who wouldn't like lavernder and liily. The combination of lavender and white was so good to look at. Everyone liked it and so did i. My mother was pleased too..

     Now with the only skeptical thought that, whether my hubby would like the flowers, we rode our way to the temple, reached the temple, and i saw my hubby and his brother waiting right in fornt. I slowly helped my relatives out of the car, walked forward with a stretched out hand and flowers, gave the flowers and said.......

             "Hello ...":P

      "Though online chats served real good for us, we didn't open up that easily. Meeting in person was totally different. So, we had the darshan at the temple and sat down for some time, enjoying each others' company. Then headded of to finish a huge list of shopping. While we had the general  inquiring and teasers talks going on for a long time, we selected the clothing, then came the rings and so on.The shopping went on for a long time say 3 to 4 hours (still couldn't park the time properly).. it was awesome. My hubby got me an awesome shades and a cute doll..

       Then came the dinning part. Got into one of the hotels and after a half-an-our wait, got a slot and finally got to order something.. All this while, i was managing to walk with the almost dried mehendi, that was scratching my legs to let go. But, when i sat down, i could feel the real plight of my legs. Still, enjoyed the dinning company. Then we had to call it a day, for we had loads of arrangements to be made for the engagement.

     "So, finally....reached home .. and guess what i would have done first?? removed all the mehendi... i couldn't keep one step ahead. It was like some scratchy wound that was burning like hell. So, neglecting all the requests which said the contrary, i removed the mehendi, and to my surprise it came out really well,in the exact colour that i would always expect and the smell really good enough to put me to sleep. I had no words... So, with all the beautiful memories of that day, where we spoke so much, and planned so many things together, i went to sleep... It was quiet a day"....         

        Couldn't believe its been a year since this happened and we are about to celebrate our first Anniversary. Time flies by, even before we notice. And in this one year, i truly realised, how terribly blessed i am.

Summer of 2010 !!

I could feel the warmth in my hand and some chills on my foot...standing by the shore with my soul mate... Leaving my bro behind ,to try his hand on photography, I looked in front..it was a vast spread, silent ocean and in some corner of my mind i was hearing the happy laughter and frightened screams from the theme park behind. I still thought i could stay on the shore, but the water was too freezing, so we started back on a stroll. I saw so many kids... one gal with her favorite toy that she won by hitting few balloons, another on top of a ride with no one around, a small boy's face with a purple mouth bearing a satisfied smile...the big one's revealing "the child" within them, by playing along.. It was a people's park, as i found the rides just not enough to keep them all busy... didn't know where they all were until now... They came out blooming from no where, just like the blossoms... all of a sudden i found the place so dense with people... Barbecues, music, people taking long strolls along the shore side, just like me... it was lively and refreshing. I didn't know how time passed by... i was carried away by all that i saw..The rides, that take us high, so high that we disappear in the evening sun. For a second it makes us feel that the whole world is so small. Then we come rushing upside down or zig zag... a rush of air that blows on our faces making us struggle to breath.. tingles and makes our stomach peep out for a second. We open our tight shut eyes and feel happy that we landed on the earth and look for another ride that'll take us higher. Though scary.. the moment stays as a memory for the years to come... fascinated by "the doll winning games", i had an urge to try my luck, and so i played this basket ball game. I did use all the possible chances for $10 inclusive of the extra trials the game keeper provided out of pity... but no doll :( .. then we  moved on to the balloon game.. you think i would have tried again??? nope.. not that i give up so easily.. just thought ill watch this time ;)... this time my husband tried his luck ... and blew as many balloons as required to win me a cute monkey doll... hmmm.. so finally i got a doll... i don't go crazy about dolls.. but that has never stopped me from having one.. then we again started to walk around, of course with my new monkey companion on my shoulders, hugging my neck . We passed by a food court.. and until then i didn't realise i was hungry... but now its tough 'cause my stomach was totally screaming its throat out , so just thought we'll stop by.. had some fries to crunch and coke to quench... and then????

        Again we started out on a long stroll. I was scrolling down the moments my brother had captured... out of which a few i felt could be framed and nurtured... Then we passed by a line of beach houses.. each one, welcoming guests with a unique style of flowery fragrances.. Couldn't miss to capture those flowers.. It was an ultimate place for relaxation.For a few hours i just lived the moment without having any other thoughts, no worries, no plans.. just figuring out what next to enjoy, for the whole day... I was totally charged up for the weeks to come.. "Refreshing" was the summer of 2010....

Reminicense of History

Wondering why i'm jumping to history all of a sudden.. oh please.. don't think i'm a great fan of history. ah ah.. not me. Saw this movie recently " The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" - a movie that talks about holocaust. A secret method carefully drafted by the Germans, to kill millions of Jews by burning them alive in stone chambers. Merciless.. yes of course. I'm sure talent and smartness caused the Jews a lot. May be, the Americans handled competition better than the Germans. The way Jews were treated was horrible (may not be the exact expression that matches the scene) . May be they were classified as wood sticks rather than humans. They were evacuated from their home lands, transferred to different camps, just to face death.The camps were classified into death camps and refuge camps.. can you believe it??. Big deal, anyways the jews were never left for a long time in the refuge camps.. Such was the situation of those victims, whose every possible means and scope of  existence was marked by the Germans. 

     The movie talks about a beautiful friendship that evolves around two small boys,one - a holocaust victim named Shmuel, and the other a German named Bruno. Shmuel,just like any other jew, lived in one of the camps that were built with the special feature of stone chambers. Guess this poor boy was in a death camp, wondering what to do, having got himself caught up in a series or rather a life full of unfortunate events . He, was never allowed to go out, must do the work so ordered, and so should he die when ordered. It was painful to watch this movie and couldn't believe that this happened in history. The Jews were never to be spoken to, and were considered to be the most degraded people. Even the children were of no exception.  It was a very dark time for the Jews, i should say, where, ill treatment and awful killing, were the only two things that revolved around them. They were transported to the death camps and burnt in lots, say about a 40 to 50 in one chamber. Well... it doesn't look as short and plain as it sounds. Let me explain...... Once they reach the death camps, these jewish refugees work for a while, before being moved to horse stable kind of rooms and fed nude into the chambers.   
Chambers..... how can i miss to explain that.  
   "Those were dungeons, 
  living on gun powder, 
  that howl signs of death. 
  Covered by complete darkness,
  outside and within,
  refugees wonder in fear "what next"???   
  For a second, they would see a light
  that flashes their shadows 
  on the chamber walls, standing tall.
  But, before they  realise what it was, 
  they live no more, for, 
  it would make them burn and fall"..... 
      No wonder Hitler shot himself (all though there are clarifications still awaited on his death). Im sure all their voices and memories would have haunted him.

    Talks about holocaust reminds me of madam Anne Frank, who was a victim herself. Though i had been to Amsterdam, i couldn't visit madam Anne Frank's museum. You can imagine the queue. It is a great deal to comprehend a person's life. But this part of her life was really striking my head, the time since, i saw this movie.So, just tried to recollect her. Amsterdam - the most beautiful place I've seen so far. But not to this fifteen year old who lost her family there.That was her family's hiding place for about two years and one month, where they were later joined by two other families.  Well, i guess she would have felt like pouring out all her emotions, fears and what not, and that gives us her diary. From whatever i read, i feel that she is way matured for her age. She has a very simple understanding or "The Funda" as we all call, to live life peacefully. Writing is a very good form of relief. You can just pen down whatever you feel like and it feels so good once you do that. May be thats why she wrote and may be i should have started to blog a little early.

Now, back to our story... 

    "Anne was just like any other normal girl, you know, the, going to school, friends, school grades and evening games stuff. She started to write about all these in her diary and it continued until she went hiding. As i said, "Jews are smart". The Franks, felt an urgent necessity to flee to some secret hiding place with their family, as they could smell their enemies approaching Netherlands with a death banner. So, they move to their new hiding place in Amsterdam. It was called " The Secret Annex" or i would call it "The fight club", 'cause the families were busy with their own opinion clashes. The books served good here, as it was a book shelf that lead them to the family's secret hiding place. If we had such a huge pathway behind my school library book shelves... im sure my friend's and i would have figured out some way to escape..... So, Anne stays there for two years and a month, before her family gets arrested and transfered to Westerbork, a camp that was situated in the north eastern part of Netherlands. There she was separated from her family except for her sister Margot Betti Frank, and there,the sisters died, due to typhus... Anne following Margot".

      After sneaking into her life, i could do nothing but pity this small girl, for she was denied a peaceful life. She didn't wish for something thats impossible. All that this girl wanted was ' a quiet place, alone, with the heavens, nature and God"......
      Oops ....I didn't get to listen to, the other side of the story, meaning, what did the Jews do other than establishing competitive businesses, to earn "The Great German Grudge". Well.... that is something which i need to look into, but for now, i'm atleast happy it ended with Hitler. Phewwww....

Gobi Manchurian

Guess what???? I love gobi  manchurian. I mean, who does'nt love it. My dinner menu, in most of the cases, does'nt go without this yummy stuff as a starter. But, i guess i dont have to keep visiting hotels for this anymore. Just tried this recipe at home and it came out really well.


Ingredients:
Gobi:

• Gobi /cauliflower
• water enough to bring Gobi to a half-boil.

Gravy:

• capsicum
• Onion
• Green Chillies - 2 to 4 (as per taste)
• Soy Sauce - as per taste
• Chilli sauce - as per taste (if you are using chilli sause, green chillies are optional)
• Garlic - 4 to 5 flakes

Method:
Gobi :

• Bring the cauliflower florets to a half boil in about ten minutes. Its okie even if it is a little hard,  watch the time (if its boiled for long it does'nt get fried well, so ten minutes it is)
• Allow the water to drain from the gobi, completely
• Then, add rice flour, corn flour and Maida flour in a bowl (qty: just enough to cover all the gobi that you have half boiled)
• add red chilli powder and salt to the above mixture
• Mix this well
• Now, add the half boiled gobi
• Just sprinkle water on the mixture and mix it in such a way that the flour mix sticks to the gobi really well
•  Heat oil in a pan
• Take enough oil to fry the gobi unti it  becomes red in colour
• Place the fried Gobi in tissues so that it absorbs the excess oil

Gravy:

• Cut onions and green peppers/capsicum
• heat little oil in a pan
• Add onion,capsicum/ green peppers, green chilly and garlic
• Fry the stuff
• Once the onion turns to golden colour, add Soya sauce just enough to wet the fried vegetables
• Add little amount of chilli sause
• mix the contents well 
• add the fried gobi
• allow it to blend well with the gravy mix

Serve hot as starter, with roti , naan and rice