Thoughts and books :).

Hello! After all these days, months (and may be almost a year), it occured to me that i haven't written anything here for a long, long time. So, this is just an attempt to dust the cob-webs. For starters, i discovered some really refreshing debut books, and i am clearly looking forward to reading more works from the authors of these books. Two of these books are short story collections, vignettes mostly from the everyday world around us and sometimes from a hypnotic and very surreal world of imagination. The third one is a debut novel, which i liked purely because it broke quite a few stereotypes associated with "desi-lit". You do have the beautifully ornate sari picture on the cover and you do have quite a few of the standard things associated with what lies beneath such ornate covers, what you also get is a refreshing story of an ordinary citizen trying to make sense o the world around him.

And here they are, three very interesting and gripping works :

If it is sweet by Mridula Koshy
`Etudes by Aseem Kaul
The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa

And then, besides my standard fix of Murakami and Abe, I have also enjoyed reading the works of Banana Yoshimoto. I recently read "Kitchen" and "Hardboiled and Hard Luck" and was impressed by how simple words can sometimes convey very powerful emotions.

What's on your reading list these days?

Oh, and meanwhile I also visited Boston, along with my dear friend MD, in late summer this year, lots of fun, as always :).
Besides doing a highly touristy thing like taking a duck tour, the other highlight was going to Brookline Booksmith, the best bookstore ever! Meeting my friends Ms. Doll and Ms. E. and just walking around in my old neighborhood , besides eating in our favorite places, awesome! You know what i mean :).

On blue skies and sunshine :).

There are times, when we just go on about our lives like a machine. Oftentimes, for me, this has included spinning a cocoon around myself, albeit involuntarily. Those times, when we just offer ourselves to the day to take us through it. And for what it's worth, i love those days :). But in the midst of it all, there are moments that make you sit up and take notice, of the world and people around you.

The moments when you suddenly notice the blue skies and the splash of gold around you, when the warmth of the sun comforts you like never before. When an ordinary cup of chai tastes like elixir, because it had that extra ingredient of love. When someone calling you "silly" actually feels great, because it's your lil' niece who spouted this wisdom :). Those are the moments when i love being the butterfly, fresh from the warmth of my cocoon.....

Having spent several deliriously joyful days in my cocoon, i took a lil' time to step out and soak in the warmth of the glowing sun and just walking under the gorgeously beautiful blue skies.
And just being mesmerized by the vastness of the ocean.
It was a bliss to feel the raindrops, to see a gigantic full moon waving at me from up there, to just laugh on silly things and all the goodness that comes with it. To watch fireworks while it was raining. To giggle like a kid, with a kid, while watching the dolphin show at the Baltimore aquarium. To have mad, mad fun on a dragon boat at Inner harbor, and then proceed to have an ice-cream, even as we shivered. To take a walk through the fog on the Golden Gate bridge and feel surreal every moment of it.
To stand in the line for more than half and hour, just to ride the cable car-even though you could have taken the Muni and saved much time. Just because it felt just the most appropriate thing to do. To shop silly and to know that its OK to sometimes do things for yourself. To sit in the sun and have masala chai after a really fun day. If only it were possible to say it all in words.....For now, i will just leave you with few pictures. They are the reflections of those fun moments, the moments of just being.....

The best part-doing it all with your friends :). Golden girl and MD, yay !!!!!!!! we did it!

Chai and pakode :-D.

Oh, don't go, yet. You haven't reached my food blog, you are doing fine, still on my diary. Its so happens that old habits have prompted me into chirping about something gastronomical (and by the same token, emotional?) :-D.

I have gotten back from having some "chai" and "pakode". This is a combo, that i lighten up my weekend evenings (when not at home) with, quite frequently. Before you decide to feel jealous, let me dash those hopes. In the interest of full disclousre, that "chai" is from Starbucks! and the "pakode", well they are a close cousin, the falafel :-D. . By all means, feel jealous about the latter, because what i just had, are the best falafels ever (and they are served along with the best hummus and very-very hot saunce). And like i said, i get to enjoy those on a rather regular basis. The "chai" however, is a tricky/sticky note here ;).

I know i am making myself available for some criticism here for "enjoying" the Strabucks kinda' chai. Even though i have it quite often, the "chai-tea latte" at Starbucks (or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or Pete's Coffee, or at any one of their cousins), isn't remotely like what i know as chai, with or without the masala. A hundred million people have said that before me, and an equal number is more than likely to say so after me. The name "chai-tea" itself creates confusion, exemplified by the following conversation that i had with my ex-colleague and friend AK, who hails from Russia:

Scene: AK and me standing in the line at Starbucks at workplace, waiting to order.

AK: "Musical, i have to ask you something-What is chai?"

That question drew him a strange look from me. Knowing that chai means the same in Russian as it does in Hindi, it sounded a strange question.

Me: Chai means tea in Hindi, and i guess its the same in Russian.

AK: (Big grin on his face) Yeah, true. But then, why do they (Starbucks) list chai separately and not with tea? So may be it is different indeed.

Me: They are trying to use the term chai for their version of the Indian style chai with spices, milk and sugar. Since in India we call it chai, i guess they just have been using that term. But their version is very different from homestyle masala chai.

And AK was happy, having freshly illuminated himself with the difference between "this" chai and "that" chai :-D.

This debate, whether the chai-tea or whatever is worth your $$ and attention or not, will go on. For me, i have a couple of choices, either to go to the local desi restaurant and order a beverage (many a time after waiting atleast for 15 or so minutes) which might match the taste, but may be served at a temperature totally not acceptable :-D or to go to Starbucks, and get some beverage which is not the same taste, but i can get it boiling hot! I choose both, depending on my mood and time :-D. Oh, and while i am at it, i must tell you that i recently discovered some tea bags for "Indian Chai: Classic Indian Chai with exotic sweet spices". Its black tea with spices, which suit my palate perfectly. For once, i don't reall feel the need to add any milk or sugar to this. The aroma is perfect! I wish they would make something similar with green tea as well, and then we can enjoy kahwa too :).

What can i say, i am shameless. I like that name, chai-and while i continue to treat myself to my home made REAL CHAI every weeekend and some weeknights (along with the delish goodness like upma, paranthas and what not), some weekends when i am not at home, and missing my buddies, i let the emotional appeal of that word get the better of me. I miss chirping with MD and Golden Girl over a cup of hot chai, i miss how Ms. Moon demands that her chai should not have any spice in it. And to think of it, i never even had much chai or coffee till i got into Graduate School. Like i have said before, chai and pakodas are the best combo, especially when friends are around :-D. And having a less than optimal "chai", with what i will again describe as the best falafels ever, sounds pretty good on such evenings :-D.

Give me my sourdough :)

Yeah, yeah, as if i could do without talking about food here for long ;). Well, there is no recipe here, and there's a lot more to tell before i get to the "food rant", which makes it suitable for my diary. If you want to snark on the inappropriate title, so be it :-D. So, last week i was away for cpl. of days for a conference near San Francisco. The conference was near a tourist spot, Point Reyes, about one and half hours away from the city. We drove to Point Reyes from San Francisco late in the evening, which meant that we would encounter fog and low visibility. That would only add to the already difficult, serpentine route on highway one :-D.

The Bay Bridge was closed that day, because of the oil spill that everyone has heard about now. We had to make it to the conference by 7:30, because a colleague had her presentation the same day!! After crossing the Golden Gate, we were on our way! While driving through the foggy, dark and very serpentine route, we didn't even realize that we were driving sooooooo close to the ocean!! That realization would set in after a cpl. of day on our ways back, when we would be driving during the day time. This part of highway one is really scenic and gorgeous during the day time, but in a very dizzy way! The many twists and turns can leave one car-sick!

Highway one, on the way back

The conference venue was kinda' obscure.....we missed it, went ahead a cpl. of miles, only to realize that we needed to turn around :-D. This place, as a colleague intutively remarked (which turned out to be an accurate hunch)-was an ex-rehab place!! The place was around a bay, very dark and foggy, just like everywhere else around there, in the night. But we were thrilled to have reached in time, and safely at that! What with a cpl. of deer and a coyote sightings during the drive!


The next morning revealed the true beauty of the place! Lush with pines and wildflowers, it was refreshing! The place is near the sea-shore and has cute lil' trails to explore and enjoy the natural beauty and fresh air! Whatever tiredness (and bitterness) we had gathered from our drive the day before, all melted away!

A big plus about this place was their kitchen! They surely took good care of the vegetarians :-D. I have written here before about how conference usually reserve pasta and salad for vegetarians. Why complain, i will agree with you that conference food in gereal isn't anything good. But here, they had a huge number of choices for breakfast, one vegetarian soup and great bread for lunch and dinner everyday, besides some really well done salads, pastas, vegetables and desserts (except the first day when people felt if the cake was doused, no, make it soaked, in marsala, instead of a gentle drizzle!). I was kinda' thrilled :).


It was nice being San Francisco after a long time, even if that meant mostly driving through the city. I love the city, and i don't mean just the tourist attractions. I love the fact that they have a reasonable public transport system there and a lot of other such things :). No plastic bags, for instance :). And it has something like seasons (compared to Los Angeles) :-D. There's a lot more thats nice and lovely about this city. I just like the place, i love it, actually!

So, on our way back, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for lunch-we went to Boudin's. They are known for their sourdough. and i am known for my love for sourdough. i was really hoping something yummy, having had their bread a number of times. All my hopes were dashed when the only vegetarian sandwich on their take-out menu was NOT ON SOURDOUGH! Now you know what made me sour enough to entitle my post thus!! I am not a big fan of cold sandwiches, and the "No sourdough for you" didn't make it anymore pleasant for me :). What made it more painful was the sight of everyone enjoying their breadbowl (well, clam chowder in breadbowl) :-D. My experience during the conference had spolied me into expecting something great :-D. But seriously, was i expecting them to have a fake corn chowder, sans bacon, on their menu, just for people like me ;). Not quite, its Fisherman's Wharf, so naturally the emphasis would be on sea-food. But a sandwich with sourdough wouldn't hurt, though may be, for those (including vegetarians) who visit Fisherman's Wharf for reasons other than having sea-food (which many say isn't great), may be its a decent idea to have some vegetarian soup that can be served in bread bowls :-D. I have to tell you this though, i made myself a nice breadbowl with fake corn chowder soon after i got back home!! ok, not that soon, the next day :-D.

And, to those, who love a breadbowl: please think before ordering one, especially if you don't intend to finish the breadbowl! There's a lot of food wasted, why would you want to contribute to that! Or may be we can have smaller bowls? I told ya, i was gonna' rant ;).

The diary turns one :)

Yeah! The diary turns one year old today.....it was a year ago, that i began chirping on these pages. The pages that have nurtured me in many ways.....the pages that are a reflection of who i am.

You know the warm and strangely comforting feeling that one derives from turning the pages of an old diary..... The color and the smell of old pages invokes nostalgia.....recreating thoughts, images, feelings.....That is what this diary is for.....

Its really fun reading my own thoughts :). Sometimes it makes me wonder, if i were the person who wrote all that! Really, its fun looking at how my thoughts and feelings have shaped up. The many thoughts that i have poured here, have also sometimes given my friends and me a chance to cherish good old times.....

And the diary has become a space for me to chronicle the books i read, the occassional movies i watch and my holiday trips :).

he he, and did i say that the diary has some dedicated readers too ;). Though most of them refrain from improving the comments statistics on this page (hint, Ms. Moon and MD) :-D.

Few days back, i was wondering if i should be changing the look of my diary. I decided to let it be.....it looks as comforting as a favorite old book, that i'd love to read again and again.....

This may not be a well written blog, it doesn't pretend to be-but its a corner where i can feel cozy :). Now what can be more enjoyable than that :).

I saw a bumble-bee :)

Last week, my friend Swiss-Miss chided me a bit....."You have no life", she chirped! As i chuckled shamelessly, she continued, "You should enjoy life a bit, go out, have some time for yourself. Lets go to Lake Shrine this weekend".

Ah! This was not the first time that she asked me to visit this particular place. To her, this place means a lot. In her words, "Its so serene and peaceful, totally takes the stress of your mind". She always vividly decribes this place and its beauty. After my failed attempts to avoid going there, i finally gave in. I didn't want to upset a friend and given the fact that i was not feeling too well, i decided to take the plunge :).


The lake shrine indeed is a lovely place, with the lush greenery holding a beautiful lake in her lap, and its wears mostly an au naturale look.
Nestled in Pacific Palisades, near Pacific Coast Highway, this place did provide a few moments of calm, what with two lil' falls, a serene lake, swans, a variety of flowers, butterflies and even a bumble bee :). There is a service held in the morning for meditation, according to Swiss-Miss. She usually attends the same on weekends. We went there in the afternoon, so i didn't get to see what it was all about. For us, the main purpose that day was to go out and enjoy. And we did :).

The main reason my friend thought i would like this place is, ofcourse, its Indian roots/connection. The place was founded by Paramhansa Yogananda in 1950 and has Mahatma Gandhi memorial too.

These pictures are not the prettiest, but i enjoyed taking them :). It was quite adventurous though! You are not allowed to talk on your cell phone, and i clicked my pictures with a cell phone camera!! Not that i was talking, but its easy to misinterpret :).


Isn't that a pretty picture :). There were only two swans in the lake and i caught this one at the right moment. The garden is full of beautiful flowers, including roses, which are really fragrant!


And here's the picture that made my day :). A bhanwra/bumble-bee! Hadn't seen one in ages! It was a site to behold!


They even have a small suvenir shop/store. They have a great incense collection, and me being an incense lover, i did indulge a bit :). It is indeed a nice place, and we had a nice outing. After we got back to the University, we had our really late lunch at Elysee. It is a bliss to top it all with a chocolate cheese-cake, i tell you :).

Dreams and the duality of life.....

A cpl. of days back, Ms. Moon and i were chatting online and she happened to share a cpl. of her poems with me.....lovely writings! They really did strike a chord, because in many ways, they reflect my own thoughts too :). One of them talked about dreams.....dreaming with your eyes wide open.....and how they are equally wonderful, as the ones we see while sleeping.....may be even better! Atleast they don't leave us halfway through.....Dreaming at my own will, that sounds fantastic, even reassuring.....as i said, i am a dreamer :).

Its raining outside right now. Raining after a long long time.....The weather has changed so much since the bright and crisp morning.....and so have my feelings.....Swinging between hope and thoughtlessness, i have suddenly found my ground.....and i know, its okay to dream.....as i said, i am very much a dreamer.....i dream about reality.....

..............

That is an oxymoron.....Well, life presents you with lots of duality.....we just need to let go and accept this duality :).

Few days back, i was waiting at the bus-stop.....completely tired, and completely hopeless.....figuratively and literally.....i tried to cheer myself up by engaging in small talk with a cpl. of students who enquired about a bus schedule. They had been waiting for a long time. Finally their bus arrived.....they left, with a smile. Smiles are infectious, i smiled too :). And then, i noticed something.....A poor, homeless man was picking through the trash. That is an everyday thing, they sometimes pick out plastic bottles, cans etc, i thought. But this was different.....he picked out two huge plastic cups, almost filled and drank up the soda greedily.....as a tear rolled down my cheek, the homeless guy burst into a nervous laughter.....Was he happy? I don't know, i won't know.....but i learnt that life is all about living on.....i tucked my small worries and tensions into a tiny pocket in my mind.....my bus had arrived.....

She likes it ;).

Ms. Moon, my dear dear friend, recently announced that she likes this diary blog better :). While many of you many not agree with her, i perfectly understand her reasons for this verdict :)). Its always more enjoyable when you know a bit of the backstory, eh? What say Ms. Moon :)). After all this blog has all those cups of chai, chit-chat and Boston stories.

While it is interesting to share what goes in my plate, for me its equal fun to write what goes on in my mind.....and that sort of nudges me to look at the posting stats! One post a month!! My inner voice says, "Sharam Kar" (have some shame)! where have i been! and i promised to Ms. Moon not to proclaim myself lazy anymore :)). So take it as those pages of the diary which remain empty, because there was too much to say.....or may be just nothing. How else do you describe emptiness.....Oh well, moving is a part of life.....Golden Girl has headed eastwards.....MD back to Europe.....One moment so full and the next one hollow! Takes time to reassure oneself that they are still there with me.....in thoughts, and yes, on Gchat and Skype ;).

Its funny, this whole definition of being close! Ms. Moon and i chat almost everyday even as we go about living in different continents. But while i was home, we hardly got a chance to talk much!! So draw your own conclusions :)).

And yes, not to leave you in this web of words, i present you with some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.....Enjoy :).

Thoughts :)

I have been away for long!! and never imagined that i would do so ;). May be i was just being lazy. I have recently equated myself with Garfield :)). But hey, i have really gotten that lazy to not even type a single word over here for one full month! Irritating and amusing at the same time. Or is it because i didn't have much to say. Not true, cuz' there's been a lot that i felt like writing. Probably i published those posts in my dreams ;).



Recently, a very very dear friend of mine Ms. Affection visited me. Actually she was in the city for a conference so we met up quite a bit. it was fun, good fun. We have known each other since M. Sc. days :). I didn't get to show her around much (as if i myself have seen the city a lot), but we did go to a cpl. of my favorite spots, including The Third Street Promenade and the Santa Monica Beach :). And we enjoyed every bit of it, including the lil' ride on the Ferris Wheel after a long time! Its good to be childish sometime :)).


Also, inbetween i had to take cabs a cpl. of times. There's a certain cab company based in Beverly Hills which usually is very reliable. The first thing (or one of the first things) that i got asked after i got inside cab was "Miss, are you from India". The cab drivers, both elderly gentlemen asked this really endearingly. And while we chatted on the bad traffic on 405 and so on, it turned out that both of them were of Armenian origin. Infact, majority of the employees in the said cab company are of Armenian origin. These two gentlemen had daughters my age and had really sound knowledge of India and also "Bollywood" errrr.....Hindi movies! One of them asked me if Zeeta was a very popular Indian name. When i told him that i hadn't heard of this name before, he asked me if Geeta was popular. And i suddenly felt illuminated about what he was trying to say. He was referring to the popular Hema Mailini movie "Seeta aur Geeta" :). The other gentleman talked a lot about his daughter and other kids her age.

He said he felt good that i was so polite and respectful to him and then narrated a horiifying incident on how two young ladies his daughter's age, took the cab and didn't pay him and threatened him!! I had to believe him because he clearly sounded shaken as he spoke about it.....he was grateful though, that the next day when he went to the hotel where he had dropped them the previous night, those two kids were found creating problems in the hotel and given their due. His thoughts on having your roots in a certain place were also very touching.....in his own words, "You belong to place because you were born there, you learnt the basics of life there.....but you also belong to the place where you set up your shop, make your home and babies, see them grow up, the place where you turn from a young guy to a Grandpa, the place you pay your bills and taxes, the place that gives you food, fruits and water....."

Yeh hai Cricket!

I guess its high time i should detach myself completely from Cricket! i know, i have been telling this to myself since years now.....what with all the match-fixing and the politics ridden scenario of Indian Cricket. But then, the game is far too enticing to avoid.....and like many an enticing thing, this one often leads to heart-break!!

Y'day, during our weekend chirping, no sooner did MD start whispering a few words about India-B'desh match, i began lecturing her on why i am not opening any of the web-pages that provide live coverage of the game. This, much to her chagrin! And then.....half way through our conversation and after hearing repeatedly from her about the dismal score, i got into the trap! yes, i was fervently refreshing the pages.....and i don't need to tell you how it ended. But, kudos to the Bangladesh team-they played real well.....

The results implied fans being upset, really really upset. A cpl. of days back dear ladies exchanged this friendly banter on which Rahul rules: Rahul Sharma or Rahul Dravid.....Bee, who was rooting for Dravid is now finding Gollum hotter than him! See, we girls have more than one reason for being upset. and may be guys too.....atleast those who paid for channels showing the World Cup! (sorry, i don't any girls who have subscribed for the said channels-good sense prevails sometimes).

ab aur hum kya kahein.....this is one time i am really tutoring myself to abstain ;). ah! the trap that Cricket is.....

and our historical arch-rivals didn't well either.....On a more upsetting note, y'day's events have been followed with something really sad.....

Yeh hai Cricket.....enticing, heart-breaking, addictive.....

Am bracing myself to fall into the trap for the next game!

Whats there in a name ;)

A cpl. of days back i had an interesting exchange with the wrap-around/duttee guy. So, he was looking at a signup list for some instrument and came across my labmate's initials, and he thought its me (our first names begin with the same letter). I told him it was my labmate. He then asked me what was my last name (he knows and pronounces my first name correctly)-when i told him my last name, he was like, "wow! thats a cool surname".

Hmm, surprised, i asked him what excatly was he implying. He said that i had a very traditional first and last name, surprising me even more. So, now i was a bit irritated and amused at the same time, wondering why he was going on about my name. He then said, "Like, you know, lot of people change their name soon as they come here-its nice that you didn't". This puzzled me even more-because what he said first that he found my surname cool, without knowing what it meant didn't really suggest me that he was pointing to an issue like changing your name in a foreign country. What he said also indicated to me that some people actually change their last name also!

Anyway, i asked him to elaborate more. He then said that he had an Indian friend who changed his name-so no one ever knew what his real name was. All he would say is that people are going to find it difficult to say his name. I told him that i didn't know anyone like that in person, but have read/heard about it from others. And you know, it really surprised him! He went on to tell me that he found this to be a common practice in people from Asia. He then said, "I have a long Spanish name too, and i have chosen to keep it that way" with a wink. He finally left me with this, "I wonder what will i do, if i ever visit Asia-i'll have to find myself a cool name" ;).

Now, in my opinion, if someone prefers to change their name, its fine. May be they don't have the patience to teach everyone the correct pronunciation of their name everyday and also they might not like their name being mispronounced. In same cases, it can truly change the meaning of a name. However, changing the surname! does that really happen! No clue.....

Anyway, as i said it was an interesting exchange-thought i would just share it. and am glad that people think my name is cool :)).

What an award.....

So, its Oscar time. but thats not what i am gonna' talk about.....here's to the Razzies-for being the worst awards! and the single great reason they win themselves this honor is this.

Yes, Manoj Night Shymalan, according to them is not only the worst director but also the worst supporting actor! and he "wins" these "honors" for his 'Lady in the Water".....really! now, that was not a bad movie, if you ask me! infact i found it pretty alright-not his best, but not something that would get him these accolades either.and he definitely doesn't qualify to be the worst supporting actor in anyway!

The movie was a simple fantasy.....with a simple message, that each one of us has a role to play in this world.....we may not know it.....but we are all here to do our bit. To me thats a fine message.

He's being labeled a man full of ego.....

"He cast himself as the savior role of the film on top of everything else," Wilson said. "Shyamalan falls into one of the traps that's almost guaranteed to win you a Razzie, when you let your ego run rampant as that man did." (From the CBS news link mentioned above)

Now, this is going over-board. His was not the saviour role-he was just the link that brought things together, someone who clearly couldn't do things alone.....Rather, he got the fantastic Paul Giamatti to play the protagonist.

If you have seen the movie (or have read through the links above) then you know that this was just another fantasy. How different it is from other fantasies that have graced the silver-screen!

Oh, i forgot, he deserves all this hate, because he actually criticized the critics!

Really, the only thing that could possibly be criticized was the over-the-top portrayal of the Korean family.

Some of the opinions expressed here and here and sounded more balanced to me.

Criticism is always better than hate!

Commercial Habit ;)

So, it is Valentine's day tomorrow and love is in the air ;).

ahem, some of you may still be wondering which presents and gifts to buy your beloved and few of you are definitely worrying about the scenario if they don't like your present! sounds familiar even if you don't much care for the V'day stuff. i am sure we all have friends/people around who have really been bitten by the V'day bug.

Please don't get me wrong, i don't want to sound biased-but mostly its the girls who raise a big hoo-ha if their boy friends/fiance's/hubbies don't invest enough time and money into this day. Atleast, thats been my observation-please let me know if anyone has observed otherwise :).

Anyway, so today we had this lunch-time discussion on Valentine's day celebration in different parts of the world. and no surprise, it seems to be an omnipresent vocation of love-birds ;). Those who think of this as a Western menace, please-even the Americans debate if this is really worth being classified as a festival, or so i heard at the table during lunch. But most interesting was a rejoinder from my Japanese collague, who verified with me if V'day is in the same standing in India, as it is in Japan, namely a "Commercial Habit" :)).

P. S. : His wording may not be the best English (in his own words), but to me, it sums up the situation rather well :).

The great dinner time questions by and for a desi :)

Hmm, today was a busy day :). Have been up since 5:30 AM. Too tired right now, but i must share this with y'all. You must know, i am a real foodie and a chatter-box. and so this post is about my lunch and dinner today-and the chit-chat while taking care of my calorific needs ;). Hold on, this isn't as simple as it sounds. There are those lunches and dinners that you love to attend, and then there are those that you have to. The latter is the focus here, folks.

You know, these are the lunches at the most expensive restaurants in the best of hotels, where you go as a part of professional obligations/duties :). The celebratory lunches and dinners.....;).The kinds, where the ambience promises to be great, but the dining leaves a lot to be desired-both in terms of whats on your platter and the conversations during food. Read on, this desi first asked some silent questions and .....got asked the most brilliant question ever!

And so, my lunch and dinner today was at two 'great' restaurants in Santa Monica in two adjoining hotels facing the beach-after a marathon session of presentations and discussions. I totally love this place-ideal setting:beach, sun and warmth.....
The lunch, well, was a buffet: one salad, breads, cous-cous, ravioli, fish and chicken. Yummy, yeah :)). If only you knew that salad was just arugula leaves with the blandest possible dressing, cous-cous didn't taste like cous-cous and rest everything was not my cup of tea since i am a vegetarian. Colleagues informed that rest of the stuff could probably count as one of their least memorable outings! If only money could buy flavor and taste.....The dinner was more expensive, with fewer vegetarian choices (one salad and a ravioli). The food was fine, OK Some discussion with colleagues and some senior people, very interesting thoughts and experiences exchanged while waiting for the main course.

but here are my questions: 1. Why can't such places provide better quality food for the exorbitant prices they charge. 2. Why does the vegetarian choice end at either a very rich ravioli or a very light salad (indeed, this has been my experience at the so called fine dining places). The learned and experienced chefs can do wonders (hopefully) with meat, poultry and fish-does it really take a lot else to dish up something vegetarian thats innovative, delicious and fulfilling.

And as they say, save the best for the last: so here comes the masala. During the dinner, the gentleman sitting next to me was chatting with me. He looked Indian (but he wasn't)-and asked where i was from. After talking about tons of things, including how difficult it must have been for me to be away from home all by myself (really, i get this a lot)-he popped the question :)). No, not THAT question, silly. What is the best thing anyone ask an Indian-any guesses?

" Do you still have elephants roaming around on streets in India".....(swoon).....

i am charmed.....the wit, the intelligence.....ah! my dil goes ummmmmmmmmm ;)

do you have any answers.....

i thought of this ;)

and this :)).

PS: Don't believe it? I felt may be i was hallucinating! but no, other people heard it too and were shocked beyond their wits.....and i thought such stuff existed only in bad comedies.....guys, i need a chai.....(rushes to the kitchen). Let these pictures soothe a hurting desi dil.....

Feels like :)

So said the weatherman-"feels like" so many degrees.....

what it actually "feels like" is very personal ;)

otherwise why would you see some people still in shorts and half-sleeve t-shirts, while others are dressed perfectly for a trip to the poles :)).

Whatever, i am loving the Cold but Bright (atleast today) SoCal weather-simply great.....

"feels like" Wonderful :))

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Great, so we have a long weekend coming.

To rest, enjoy, make merry and be thankful for all the good things we cherish....

Turkey or no turkey, cranberry or blueberry: enjoy it your way.....

Enjoy and be thankful, to God, family, friends, life and whatever else you may please.....

Often, i hear it from some people "Oh, we don't beileve in Thanksgiving"-well, you don't have to believe in something to be thankful.....if not tomorrow, be thankful sometime in your life.....

If nothing, be thankful for the long weekend and the sales afterwards........awwww! ;)

Indiawich!

Aha! the title of this post sounds strange. Many of us have heard of Naanwich, and i really heart this wonderful fusion khana, but Indiawich-well, that was a surprise, hehe.

So, the story goes, there is a sandwich place in West Los Angeles that goes by the name East-West Sandwich. they specialize, and you are right, in fusion sandwiches. and so they have Japanwich, Chinawich, Koreawich and INDIAWICH!

And this is one extremely popular place, popular among all sorts of people.
and here's the descrption of their INDIAWICH, reproduced here ad verbatim, for your reading pleasure.....

Our INDIAWICH™ sandwiches are prepared with madras curry powder which gives them spicy but not overpowering flavor.

and this interesting creation is presented in two glorious flavors:

Chicken yellow curry and yellow curry salmon!!!!!

Now, if anyone can answer the following questions for me "whats Madras Curry powder" and even if we assume that it refers to some spice mix with Southern Indian Spices that flavor our beloved Sambar, rasam, palyas and kootus, i certainly am left wondering, if yellow curry is an Indian dish i know of.....Go figure, this is your Thanksgiving homework :)).

I crave

The good things i am craving for right now

I crave.....

hot masala chai and mirchi bajji

warmth of the sunshine outside

mints and very strong ones at that

a warm coat (my sweat-shirt isn't warm enough for this room)

a great book to read when i go back home (something as readable as Anne Frank's Diary, that book really talks)

fragrance of the roses, no, my hand cream doesn't smell like roses - hence the craving!!

more sunshine and a winter like feel at the same time, talk about paradoxes

The week that was :)

Aha, haven't chirped for quite some time. am back. haven't written a word since Diwali. so, here goes.....

So, on Diwali day i just met some friends for a chai and early dinner-hold on, after work . we meet at our usual desi restaurant very close to work-not a great one, but lets say we are used to each other.

but the most touching thing about that weekend was that i got a chance to talk to my brother-who's now a proud Dad. "wow, we are growing old"-he quips. Love that! yeah, sure.

and so life goes on-its another warm SoCal week in store. and i am just lazy so i don't blog at all. not lazy, just into my own world.....

one of my friends has been mentioning about another girl whom she met around her work place. and last week i finally met her. a nice person, very affable-we are from the same profession and there is a Delhi connection.....we chirp on about multiple things at our favorite hangout, munching on chhole and kulchas (folks, folks, don't go green in envy-this is not the kind of chhole-kulche taste that these very words invoke). after all, the chhole-kulche from a thele-wala (cart food-vendor) is beyond comparison.

and onto another weekend.....the week has gone by so quickly. i am always lazy on weekends to pack lunch to work-actually i have something like a brunch, so takes a while to go hungry again. and thats the thing, my dear. in the evening, you don't want to eat something substantial that would dim the chances of a great weekend dinner. so, i am hungry, just hoping to finish work and go home (fleeting thoughts of a great sandwich and cream of mushroom/broccoli soup from local deli, hot sambar and rice/rajma-chawal and planty many more goodies)

and thats exactly when i remember that i have to go to a friends place and from there to a function, with her. i reach her place and when i buzz the door-bell, she's on the phone with someone and insists that i talk to her, emphasizing that its a her she's talking to . i take the phone, and spend a few seconds guessing who it is.....thinking her to be another friend.....but i don't say much and then suddenly a flash ....."oh! how are you"-its a friend i recently caught up with (well, recent is a few months ago). and she's in another continent. we were together in Grad School. we catch up again, on lots of things.....my lovable host makes me a cpl. of crispy dosas because she's heard me (and my hunger pangs) scream on the phone a few hrs. back. BLISS :). i dig on the light and yummy food and then get up to make chai for both of us. we still chirp on with our friend on the phone and ask her if she wants her cuppa too.....

Shaadi ya.....

Many of you would have come across sporadic, strange marriage proposals from the shaadi-byah type web-sites or through other channels.

there are some who are probably (and you don't need to be a rocket-scientist to figure that out)sending the same mail to everybody: "hi, i am interested in your profile, if you are interested in mine, please contact me at :xyz@abc.com". there are some absent minded ones who don't care to leave even a contact address!

then there is another "DANDAman (guy with a danda/lathi)" breed: sample this gem"i love to dress well and exprect the same from my spouse (good so far) and if you are not into dressing well, i would have to take you for shopping to overhaul your wardrobe".

some male lurkers can be seen expecting their to-bes to be really "she should be taking care of herself well"-what does that mean? do you want her to be independent, i appreaciate that-but the following few sentences emphasising about manicures and pedicures suggest something else!

there are few who introduce by saying "i have a degree from a prestigious institute and am currently working at a fortune 500"-well if you are spending enough time to say this, then may we please know, where exactly!

A friend recently mentioned about a call she received from a guy's Mummyji:here goes-
Mom: Hi beta, i am xyz's mummy.
Ms sakhi-saheli: namaste aunty ji.
Mom; arrey beta, aapne namaste kaha. aajkal kaun namaste use karta hai( u said namaste, who uses this greeting these days)! so on and so forth.

and then "beta do you wear skirts etc, mera beta abhi US jaane wala hai-to thoda match bhi dekhna hoga na" (my son is going to US soon, so we have to get someone who matches).

and then some have a very practical quest" kya aapke paas H1B ya green card hai"-usually reserved for girls who are either in India or are here on F1 or J1 etc. or some men back home trying to woo women working here in USA in the hope of getting here, nothing wrong with that-but the way they ask is crazy and usually the first thing when they email/call the girl.

one may be a man/lady of few words, but this is really too few! PHEW! "i am tall, athletic guy in city XYZ" or" i am a slim, smart and educated girl"-no details, cliched and no one knows who you are and can be!! and for everything else:will tell you later.



with such proposals, one either laughs or fumes, but i bet you can't ignore them-so enjoy.

anyway, this is a sampler-share some of yours whenever you can :)