Time Lapse

“I will always be with you, my princess can’t be let alone”

“Call me whenever you need, ok? I will reach you in no time”

“Is that very urgent? Can I call you back after my meeting?”

“I’m busy, I will see you when I’m free”

“(Automated voice message) The number you have dialed is busy, please try again later”

“(Automated voice message) The mobile phone you have called has been switched off, please try again later”

The princess walks alone now. No more anticipation of any call… Streets away, a beggar is staring at a mobile phone he found on the road.

Hattrick Post!

Not only my 3rd post in 3 simultaneous days but 3rd simultaneous post about same topic-FOOD!

While going all praises about restaurant food, it I realized there is more glory of home food too, especially when it was prepared by someone who didn’t even know names of commonly used vegetables. Yes, Raghav cooked. And what inspired him? His sick wife who did not enter kitchen for couple of days. He decided to take the kitchen by storm after several takeaways.  

I was surprised as cooking never interested him. He would struggle even to fix a sandwich & needs my assistance to prepare simplest noodles.(No, not Maggie) So with doubtful shock, I lied down in my room dreading the outcome. As time passed, I could hear chopping & dropping noise from kitchen. My Prestige Cooker too whistled in disbelief & fridge sighed after his raid. After patiently waiting for 40 mins (yes, that is the level of my patience), I spied into kitchen. And what do I see? Kitchen table consisting of several bowls filled with ingredients laid out just the way they do in cookery show! And midst of all lies the laptop with recipe page open. As if this show off is not enough, he was humming to the background music, while totally lost in his experiment.

After some more waiting & nail biting, my chef of the day laid a beautiful table, served me with steaming long grain rice accompanied by desi ghee-seasoned lentils cooked in tender tomatoes & crunchy papad. In simple words, Anna-Saaru (Rice-Rasam).

I was already awed by his gesture. Adding to it, the food tasted awesome. All in all, I gladly declared him the best chef of the day and happily clean wiped my plate. Are you wondering about situation of the kitchen after his invasion? It was left spic & span, garbage trashed and dish washed till they sparkle. Isnt he a sweetheart?

Here is the proof of leaving his trails in kitchen:

Ashwini

B'day-Food day

I love food. I love to cook. I love to eat out. I love to eat 'coz the food looks great, 'coz the food tastes awesome, 'coz the food soothes me.. 'coz, well can I just eat?

For a foodie like me, any reason to celebrate is welcome. Corn flakes or oats or raw vegetables tastes like punishment & any sort of vegetarian colorful platter is my delight. The foodie in me was glad to turn her birthday to Food-day . I let the pictures speak the aroma & taste of the day. Keep some snacks handy, 'coz I'm sure you will crave for it by end of this post :P

Customary celebration started the previous night with Fruit salad+cinnamon flavored cake-ice cream. The wording on the cup seems so apt

Next day started with flower soft idly & crispy wada soaked in sinful sweet & spicy saambar, followed by "Namma Bengaluru" Filter Coffee.

Lunch was just bland at canteen in office. This was on intention to keep the appetite prepared for the evening delight.

Dinner was the highlight, at a new place - Via Delhi. Spiciest momos, best Bhatti Paneer I have ever tasted, Chilly Garlic Noodles softened by Manchurian sauce & cooled by cold coffee. I was so happy at the end that my smile lasted till I fell asleep.

The next pic is clicked at the same location & somehow I find it mysteriously attractive. May be his sharp eyes or the colors in the container on his shoulder, I don't know, but it kept my eyes locked for long time.

Eat well, be happy.

Ashwini.

Once upon a thali

My blog is starving since quite a long time. With the food I am offering now, I'm sure he wont have more complaints like before :)

A Gujarati thali served with:

Pooris                              : Hot Hot Hottest..wont believe? Poke your finger and feel the fume

Undhiyu                          : Short of words to describe the delicacy. Waste of life if not tried yet

Sprout Moong Daal      : Awesome-st companion of the poori.

Sweet n Sour Dal          : Another dil choone wala taste.

Carrot Cabbage Sabji   : Simple & flavor full.

Rabdi with fresh fruits : Never imagined this combo but guess what, its the show stealer !

Plain Rice, Fried Salted green chilies, sweet tamarind chutney, fresh lemon wedges&onions, pickle, papad & chaas!

(I deliberately avoided Alu-Tomato Ras, though it is in the picture, its just tastes blah)

I have love hate relationship with this place, Anand. It sometimes surprises me with its heart quenching food & sometimes as bland as food that I cook in bad mood.Needless to say, today was my best day, I loved the food till the last bite.

I noticed something very interesting there. A couple sympathizing & consoling another person, probably their friend, who probably faced a tragedy ( I'm adding so many probably's as this is just my guess). Know what is interesting in this? They did all this while having lunch & savoring each bit of it & asking for more servings & requesting the supplier to increase the volume of background B town music ! The poor friend was standing there all the while, not knowing how to react. In a normal situation, I would have missed to notice them, but what drew my attention was the lady's voice. It sounded like song even when she was speaking. Coming back to my point, I wonder how can one mix two exact opposite situations in one thali..err situation. Just imagine this convo

Hunger Stricken Lady : Im so sorry to hear the news (slurp...the chaas glass been attended)

Tragedy Stricken Friend : What to do, my destiny

Hunger Stricken Lady :(To the supplier) “Bhai, jara music loud karna “ & then to the Tragedy Stricken Friend "I'm glad you have taken it like a challenge”

Tragedy Stricken Friend : I have no other way bhabi.

This time Lady's husband : (to the lady) “awesome food, is it not” and then to the tragedy stricken friend “ Good luck dear, let us know if you need any help”

Not in exact above words but that was how it went on. No idea how their friend must have felt, but I was left in splits. May be they were genuinely sympathetic while being genuinely hungry.. I just don't know how to react to this.

So here I am, happy with awesome food for stomach and funny fodder for the blog.

Ashwini.

My Affairs

He was tall,blue and smart;smart enough to that age when he belonged to me. Though I dated couple more before, none of them were official. We were hand in hand for quite a long term & I was enjoying his company. He was just the perfect one for me. But as the time passed, he started misbehaving. He would hang on me often or blank me out completely. It was high time for break up.

I was single again for some time looking for a perfect one around. When I could not find anyone for quite a long time, my folks hooked me up to this black guy who was sophisticated & decent looking. I was mad at my folks for forcing him upon me, so reluctantly stuck to him. But to my surprise, he was genius. Very smart, very sharp & always on toes. He literally leapt me to a faster generation. Gradually I fell in love with him,admiring his looks and his talent. Every day was a date with him & every night, melody. Unfortunately, this affair came to a drastic end when I lost him in an accident.

It took some time to overcome the grief of losing my last love. But life has to move on. Not wanting to be forced upon like last time, I started looking for another soul who would accompany me all time. Lately, I found him in ceremony of “Sawayamwar” & what a finding he is !! I am still dumb stuck with my own choice & stunned every time when I hold him. That is his charisma ! Sleek, sexy, irresistibly tempting & outperforming the guys I have ever seen so far !!! I am dazed in his presence and still struggling to cope with his talent. Dear curious minds, introducing you to my new found lust “Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge”

BTW, the previous ones are NOKIA X6 & MOTOROLA 1st GEN in respective order. What else were you thinking??

Ashwini.

This date that year

There she stood, in anticipation of his arrival, holding her throbbing heart and restless eyes. He, whom she was about to wed, he, who flew over the ocean to surprise her on their engagement, he, whom she was meeting for the first time, was about to arrive any time. It was a big decision for her, to accept the alliance even before seeing him in person. But that is why they say marriages are made in heaven, you just know the right person at right time.

She cursed the clock for ticking too slow. She adjusted the pleats of her saree nth time and tucked the hair lock behind ears. She was staring at her mirror reflection but her mind was a crazy horse, wandering uncontrollably on several things at a time. There is no one who could know what is going on in a woman’s mind. Right now, it was like a storming ocean... Waves of anxiety, fear, gushing through her mind to face. Aware of her excitement, cousins around her were leaving no opportunity to tease her till blush.

Noise & hustle outside her room made it obvious of his arrival. He, with his parents & relatives, was at their doorstep & exchanging greeting with her relatives. She peeped through the door and caught him looking around, in attempt to catch her first glimpse. This made her smile. Not like a Bollywood hero, but he was nothing less. The peace on his face & smile in his eyes assured her of her future.
While admiring her charming guy, she noticed he was not as tall as his parents claimed. Not in a position to react, she just prayed he was at least as tall as her. With mix of emotions, she waited.

Rituals proceeded and in no time, she was standing next to him, to exchange the rings. Aware of the staring eyes of the surrounding folks, she hesitated to look up & verify the heights. She wondered why her parents are not bothered yet. Taking up the matter in hand, she looked up. And then, the time stood still. His honey brown eyes met with hers and she was relived & smiling. Yes.. they were just perfect for each other. With blush in her cheeks and pride in his eyes, they committed to travel the journey of life, hand in hand.

And then they got married, on this date exactly 9 years ago. She cannot thank enough God for the blessing she is chosen for. They fight, they argue, they have differences, but end of the day, none of the cheek goes unkissed.

Happy Anniversary Raghav!

Ashwini.

How to be a smart trader

First of all, Wish you all a Very Happy New Year. For all those who made resolutions, Good Luck! And for those who did not, Congrats, Stay Happy.

As part of New Year renovation, we discarded some of our used furniture and bought the new ones. This selling and buying process enlightened me to write this post, which will help you if you are planning to do the same.

How to sell the old furniture:

• Your friends and family would have advised you to give them away for free to the needy. DO NOT fall for it. You have invested in buying, so you ought to earn it back. Use your social network to spread the sale news. Call your friends, mail them the pics.
• Follow up with friends. Lure them to buy. Meanwhile book for new furniture.
• Friends failed to help? No problem. Put up an ad on Dubizzle. Wait for the enquiries and ask the buyer to collect it from your place at the earliest.
• Buyer did not turn up? Problem! Panic.. New set is about to be delivered anytime and not enough space in home to accommodate both sets.  Emergency call to friends again, begging them to take them all, for FREE!
• Ultimately the old furniture is gone, friends are happy and you are relived. But did you notice, you are back to point 1, where someone had advised you to give the items away for free? Damn! 

How to buy new furniture:

• Hunt for the place with sale. Visit all of them. Shortlist the suitable item and keep a note.
• Wait for the sale to end. 
• Visit the showroom again and bargain to get the item in sale price. When they disagree, exchange an online discount voucher claiming the discount.
• Return home happily.. So what if you missed to buy the item at 30% discount during sale, you still got 25% discount from the voucher!!! 

Being wise is good. But being otherwise is memorable :D

Ashwini.