This is your chance!

At the age of 84 people are normally supposed to go senile, worried about the mahabharat show they are going to miss because of grandson's unexpected hijacking of the remote control and the subsequent discussion they are going to miss out during the morning walk, with other fellow members of the fraternity. But then there is certain someone by the name of Bal Thackrey who is crying foul against people in general because his own family life is in shackles and because his maid wont serve him that delicious pizza from Pizza Hut (apparently a multinational chain run by a North Indian).

Talk about utter cheap-giri. So much that it has caused a pretty laid back person like me to write stuff down!

Ab tak to J&K kisska (India ka, Pakistan ka ya J&K ke logon ka) ye sawaal tha, aur ab ye bemuraad insaan ne naya bakheda khada kar diya hai, Mumbai Kiski ?

As if life was not hard, frustrating and stupid (read everything related to the Kasab case) enough!

Dude, I am telling you (also includes certain someone related to you, by the name of Raj) none of us have much time on this planet (and this existence actually does not make sense), so try to enjoy that extra cheese wala Pizza and marvel at the simple delights and pleasures of life. Stop bugging people. Sachin, Ambanis, APJ, SRK might have a lot of patience. But normal people like me, we no likey this divide and rule stuff. 

What makes Mumbai so easy going is its vicissitude. Its capacity to absorb people, its ability to give everyone a chance (that sadly includes you) .

So count this one and please live and let live.

~nightflier

P.S. I have been taught to be respectful to elder people, I guess I did not cross any line :P

Questions and my answers

Roomie: We dont differentiate much between what we want or what we need. Dont you think so ? (on our way from the grocery shop)

Me: Have not given a thought to what I want, for a long time now. Things have become so need based, and now that you say it, I feel like a stranger to myself. Since when did I become so dull ? (Of course, I did not say that out loud, instead my answer went like this "Now that you say it, I realize I NEEDED some cilantro! shucks!")

Friend: I am friends with my dad on facebook. Imagine how life for our kids would be ?

Me: Long sigh.. Straight face gives a 3 fold answer.

1. Something more REAL will evolve.

2. Our kids will be super rebellious.

3. We will go back to having Avatars.

Inside my mind, something else is playing. Dude, sometimes I dont understand why is it called social networking. I am friends with X,Y,Z on facebook and orkut and linkedIn. X,Y,Z are also on my frequently pinged people's list. How REAL could my virtual life get ?

~nightflier

P.S. I recently lost some of my code. I WANT some motivation to avoid such mishaps!

To X,Y,Z : being REAL keeps my virtual existence sane. Thanks for being there!

Mom special!

On a casual Jewel Osco visit, I found super fresh cilantro (kothimbir/sambar/coriander) judis neatly stacked. As any female would do, I quickly made my way to the aisle and smartly bought 2 of them. At the checkout I realized my secret (there you go!) resolution to not waste any food items, and my spirits sank (guess to my knees). 

A quick call to India, and aai told me to make Sambar wadis! (oh well, she was woken out of her deep slumber and she still managed to give me a detailed recipe as well :))

I made my own changes to the recipe (out of constraints) and voila!

Here's my recipe for low cal Sambar wadis!

1. All one needs is cilantro, washed, very well dried and finely chopped, some green peppers finely chopped, few raisins, few sesame (til) seeds, grated dried coconut, rai (mustard seeds), haldi, mirchi powder, salt.

2. To make the dough one needs some gram flour (besan) and maida as a binding agent (I did not have it, so I used wheat flour). I took both the flours 50-50. I put some hot oil (called as mohan) in the flour mixture and made the dough and set it aside.

3. The filling which was the cilantro/kothimbir sabji was made the usual way. Tadka of rai, green peppers, haldi, mirchi. And then the coconut, raisins and sesame seeds. And finally the cilantro and salt. Took me hardly 5 minutes. One can also add grated carrots and green peas. Makes it even more healthier.

4. Now I made small rotis of the dough and started filling them with the subji and shaped them like spring rolls (thats the traditional way). In the midst of all this, I forgot that I was almost out of cooking oil. Sheesh..

So I devised a work around (which my roomie had suggested earlier :P). I microwaved each wadi separately for a minute! And the results were awesome!

Here's a pic stating the same!

Do try them, if you happen to buy an extra bundle of cilantro like me. Otherwise also ;)

~nightflier

makes sense ?

I was running. For a long time I was alone. Then I turned back. I saw a guy was following me. I thought may be he likes to run too. After a while, I turned again. This time I could see the guy closely, and realized I knew him. It turned into a chase. Like chor-police. I started thinking smart and began to dodge him by changing my route unexpectedly. Thankfully I would find a perfect turn at the desired point. During the whole chase, he got real close to me. I started fearing I will be caught. Then I saw a playground full of football players. I slipped into the crowd. I managed to swap tees with one of the Chinese players. I could see the guy waiting on a cycle at the other end of the ground, ready to catch me. I made an exit from a different direction. I kept on running. I came across a portal. It opened as I stood there. Then a guy gave me a hand to get in. We were in a horse carriage. There was another girl there. I realized my shoes were missing. And the girl gave me new shoes. As I was struggling to put them on, the carriage stopped in the middle of Camp. Guy and girl went to a disco. 


And I got up to the sound of my alarm...


Oh and this is the dream I saw yesterday. Very weird it is, as the 3 people in the dream are not a part of my routine life. We chat once every 3 months, on birthdays, special occasions and lead our lives happily.
The other weirdest part is it ended in Camp, yah, Pune Camp. I know I miss being there all the time, but whaa..Horse carriage and Pune camp..If dreams are a product of imagination, then amazing! Also a football field full of international people ? How much distance did I actually run in the dream ? Fails me :D


Sherlock did some investigation behind this dream. And here is what she found.
1. Reading hitchiker's guide to galaxy again, does wonders to one's imagination. I recommend it if you are bored of mundane stuff and want some weirdness in your life.
2. Watching weird movies boosts the effect of fact number 1. Mulholland drive, now proudly sits in my top 3 weirdest movies ever, following Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind and Memento. The movie is surreal and a masterpiece of narration. It does not make sense at all but it keeps you glued and grows on you. And it is weird to say the least. (These are very few words for this legendary piece of cinema from Mr. Lynch, but its about dreams after all!)


So, its elementary, dear Watson ;)


~nightflier

of re-connections

oh, and since that post was written long time ago, it set me into the thinking process. It struck me, that one of my closest friends is someone I had lost touch with many years ago. But then miraculously (as I would like to call it) we met again on the hostel steps, in a new city. And have been pretty close since then.


I think its perfectly random. Much thought to it doesnt help.


~nightflier

of lost friendships

I find adventure in being unsettled. Maybe that explains, how this trait got inculcated in me, by the needs of good education.


Although having spent my entire childhood in the same city, I had to change schools because, I was an above average student. So the need for exposing me to more competition! Well, I want to be honest, parents' transfer is not the only reason for changing schools and for that matter friends. The one good thing about this was it made me a friendly person, wherever I went I ended up making lots of friends. The one bad thing about this is the mutual feeling of losing touch also became very common.


Sometimes you can lose touch within a household, then living in the same city and going to different schools/colleges is not beyond comparison. And it isnt an ego thing either. It just happens. As I said mutually.


But over all these years, with the advent of facebooking and orkutting, at least 'being in touch' isnt that difficult. I mean I feel this strange excitement when I find a school friend on any of these sites. I add them in anticipation of knowing more about what's happening in their lives and how are things shaping up. But guess things are not as simple as it seems to the child inside. As we grow up we also get presumptuous, and form images about people. The feeling of simply connecting is lost over trying to project oneself as better than the other. And the mutual feeling sets in. You merely become an update for the other such numerous people with whom you lost touch. And oh, vice versa too.


May be there isnt much need of being connected. May be thats why we lost touch in the first place.


I recently met a very close school friend on facebook. I was in touch with her till 2006 may be, through random phone calls and random get togethers during my home visits. But then we lost it. Until I found her on facebook again. I was so excited to catch up with her for the 3 years that we had missed on. The hopeless optimism of the sagittariun took over to strike up a genuine conversation and by the time I realized it had become awkward, I literally had my foot in my mouth. Since then there has been no need for anything. We have mutually become the formal friends.


And why do I write about it now ? Because I find it weird, why the need to stay connected ceases. And even if we lose touch, why is it so difficult to re-connect. Is it the baggage that we gather while moving on ? Or simply relationships also become need-based ?


Whatever might be the reason, makes me think. And give it to my slightly neurotic nature, I am still thinking, whether to try to get in touch was a good idea after all ?


~nightflier


P.S. Inability to pen down anything for the better half of Jan, makes me post random drafts written long long ago. Have nothing against 2010 ;)

To the year that was..

To start something on a good note, one has to end something on a positive note ;)

With this thought in mind I started my 31st morning by getting up early. The sleep late in the night and get up in the wee hours of afternoon routine had to be changed. So I decided to twist it a little, to let it not become a thing of the future (many of us call it a new year resolution). Early morning sun rise with some kick-ass yoga session and a 2 course breakfast with NYT and TOI in 2 windows felt really awesome. The rest of the day that followed has been great. Finished a lot of pending work on a lot of fronts.

Now as I get ready for the dinner party with a bunch of friends, I realize instead of calling anything I decide as a resolution, I am going to call it a 'thing' I am going to follow (The word resolution sounds might scary to a person like me, who has a tendency to break one by the tick of the clock). So my 'thing' for 2010 is not to be lazy. On any front. Be it health, relationships, studies, getting up early or even finding myself a job ;)

On this note a big cheers to 2009! clink ;)

And I wish you all a super duper fantastic and wonderful year ahead.

lots of joy, sunshine and love,

~nightlfier