my first love

When I was 7 years old we moved back to dgp from mas. My dad was doing his phd at iitm and we were there for about 3 years.

It must have been Aug-Sep when we reached dgp. Having lived there before, had very vague memories. While in mas, I learned Tamil. Speaking only. Writing - I was a disappointment to my teacher. I dont know how many times she must have taught me the alphabet!

In dgp, it was all new. A new language, a new culture. Didn't have any friends - the first few months. It was until school started in Jan. Maybe not even then. The language was quite a barrier and it wasn't until many weeks passed that someone would talk or even acknowledge a stranger's presence.

It was during this time - between Sep and Jan that discovered my first love. My uncle who had completed his bachelors in the college and had moved out just as we came in. He had left some of his unwanted stuff in a small suitcase. All that I remember was some books - A Tale of Two Cities, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I dont even remember if they were abridged or unabridged versions. The last two did not appeal that much to me because of the small print. Somehow the first one fascinated me - perhaps the print was slightly larger and I must have felt I could read it.

Thus began my journey into the world of books. It was fascinating. Dont think I understood every word of the book but I did manage to get the horror of the french revolution and the guillotine and the sacrifice of Sidney Carter.

Since then I must have read whatever I laid my hands on - Amar Chitra Kathas, Comics, Chandamamas, Tintin, Asterix, Enid Blytons, Hardy Boys, ....

My favorite author was of course Enid Blyton. They were a delight and joyfully devoured every time. And I love the smell of books, esp. when they are no longer new ... mmmm!

Coming back to now, I still read a lot. And I love the libraries in this country. Something I missed when we were in Swiss. At least in India there are plenty of bookstores you could go to and just hang around. Swiss - not many English bookstore. The library had a small collection of English books - old ones that too. Everything else is in German. No wonder, I was only too glad to move out of the country when S got an offer here.

When we move back to India, that's what I will miss. The easy and free access to tons of books! And DVDs:)

jinku kinva maru

We are celebrating Republic Day this Sunday. There is a cultural program presented by the locak community. The Indian community has grown in number and many of them learn music from the two teachers in this area.

Previously, there would be two occasions when these programs were held. 1. For Thyagaraja Aradhana in May 2. Dussehera in Sep/Oct.

Whoever is interested can participate and the numbers have been growing. Last year, there were enough participants for the program to last almost 4-5 hours. These "participants" are a good mixture of children and adults and are the students of the two teachers and any others who know Carnatic music.

This year, a similar program is being held for Republic Day. The Mumbai event has raised the patriotic fervour of the desi community and people are energized and enthu. 150 children+adults are participating. Quite a number.

Our group is singing one devotional song and one patriotic song. The patriotic song is a Marathi song - Jinku Kinva Maru (our teacher is a Marathi who learnt Carnatic music). It's a cool song. Remember having heard it before though I just cant recall where and when. Maybe on Doordarshan when programs and themes on national unity and patriotism were aired.

Now, have to find a saree/dress that matches the Indian flag colors ...


माणुसकीच्या शत्रुऊसंगे युद्ध आमुचे सरू
जिंकू किंवा मरू

लढतिल सैनिक , लढू नागरिक
लढतिल महिला, लढतिल बालक
शर्थ लढ्याची करू, जिंकू किंवा मरू

देश आमुचा शिवरायाचा, झाशीवाल्या रणराणीचाशिर
तळहाती धरू, जिंकू किंवा मरू

हानी होवो कितीहि भयंकर, पिढ्या-पिढ्या हे चालो संगर
अंती विजयि ठरू, जिंकू किंवा मरू

pesto with gusto!

I love cooking. I enjoy food. A lethal combination. It wasn't always like this. There was a time when I believed solving physics problems to be much easier than cooking food. How does one know how much salt or chilli or spice to add or in which order?

They say necessity is the mother of invention. I learned cooking during my first job - out of sheer need... since then I have overcome my dislike for sambar and rasam (the staple diet in the hostel mess) and also for idli (our common lunch item when in school).

These days I eat about anything and everything as long as it is vegetarian. As I said I enjoy cooking but there are days ... like the weekend.

During the week, it is easier. I decide the menu upfront and then go make the dishes. Done.
have no idea what happens when weekend arrives. The fridge is full of vegetable but my head is empty of any ideas. I just dont want to cook. I wish there were angels who would make lovely food and serve it. What dreams!

My husband loves cooking and he enjoys food. That makes it two of us. But the weekend problem does not get solved. The options are
1. Go out and eat
2. Open the freezer and take out some frozen curries and parathas
3. Hope and pray somebody would invite you for dinner or lunch
4. Make your own

Indian restaurants in this area are not great. I get the feeling they take out frozen stuff and heat it and serve us. Italian - am tired of the pasta and pizza. Plus, I want fibre and dont prefer the white flour, well maida ot the tons of cheese they put. Chinese - we there are a couple of places and my liking varies from time to time. Sometimes I like to go - sometimes I feel the smells are too strong. Thai - we love Thai food and there is one place out here and it is not great. Option 1 gets ruled out.

My husband loves to stock up the freezer. Says it is for the rainy day. For an emergency. Initially, I scoffed at the idea but over time I have realized the benefits. The frozen stuff is actually much better than the restaurant food the Indian places serve. When you are too lazy to cook this does serve as a good alternative. So I dont complain too much and in fact have become a partner in crime. We both buy frozen stuff now when we go to NJ. The prices are nearly double in this place as far as Indian is concerned.

Well, it is not always that prayers are answered. There are those occasions when someone invites us and we have a great time ...

But then there are those other times ... when nobody is holding out invitations and we just have tomake our own food and eat it.

S makes good pesto sauce. He would brag about it but I never believed him. He even grows basil in a small pot at home. He has made tomato pasta sauce many a time and it is great. Pasta - I am not very fond of. A few weeks back he wanted to make pesto sauce and pasta and I reluctantly agreed.

The pesto sauce was so amazing - it has since become a craving. The following week we got whole wheat pasta instead. This seemed like a good idea. Saturday evenings with pesto. But I had to do something about the pasta. And then I remembered the Mediterranean sandwich - the one with roasted veggies and pesto sauce and feta cheese.

So this week, when I went for my weekly groceries I went and got the basil+pine nuts, feta cheese, zucchini, rainbow peppers, eggplant and whole wheat bread. I sure compliment and praise S for his culinary skills and his great pesto sauce ... it's like a dream I tell him. Out of the world!

Well, for some weeks, till I get bored of the pesto, our Saturday evening dinners are an easy guess...pesto with gusto!

Crybaby of the year

We are having one of the coldest winters out here with temperatures going below zero degrees F. Christmas and New Year was bitterly bitterly cold with plenty of ice and snow.

We stayed at home for the most part. And caught up with a whole lot of movies.

Slumdog - starts off with harsh reality and ends up in true Bollywood style. Disturbing, moving, and fun. The kid was very cute. A smart story that weaves life and a TV quiz show. We saw it on Christmas day and were quite surprised when the hall became full. Did not realize it was so popular. It's won many GG awards and Anil Kapoor's face was worth looking at. And yes, I cried through some parts. Just could not help it. Harsh reality is all I would say.

Then, there was Becoming Jane. It came last year, never could make it. So we watched the DVD. Jane Austen has been a favorite author of mine. Famous for her P&P. Had known she had a failed affair and she died in her late 30s. Dont know how close to reality the entire story is but it was cute and sweet and sad ... no wonder JA decided to make all her novels have a happy ending. Maybe it is a formula - if you have a great life you write depressingly tragic stories and if you encounter some sadness you write happy ones...food for thought! Yes, I cried again. The day was gloomy and depressing and cold and my favorite author's heart is broken - what better reason does one need (and I had to go make dinner - aaaaggghhhh)? My husband looked at me disbelievingly...slumdog made some sense, but becoming jane?

There there was Robin Williams Man of the Year - ok,ok. Starts off well but loses the grip somewhere.

August Rush - this was cute. About music and long seperated lovers and a little boy ... and how music reunites them all in a concert. The little kids in the movie were adorable...
As the movie neared its end, my husband kept a careful watch fearing a downpour...I would have perhaps but the ending was abrupt. The guy holds the girl's hand - they are in the audience - first row - the little kid is on the stage and he turns and looks at them and he knows they are his parents, and they all smile at one another. Hello? Is that how a movie is supposed to end? How about some slow motion Bollywood style running towards one another, hugging and crying, and a dance number and a family song after that? These guys need to take a leaf out of slumdog...

Dont know about who is going to win the oscars but you know who won the crybaby of the year ....