Hot Hot Jalebis

The weather in “namma Bengalooru” is turning chilly and cold. This is the best time have all those mouth-watering chats and hot Jalebis.


Talking of Jalebis brings up fond memories for me from one of my innumerous trips across India when I was younger. My father was working for the KPTCL (earlier KEB) and we would do 2 trips every year in our school holidays.

During one of these trips – it was a piligrimage through North India, we went to Allahabad in Uttarpradesh, which is one of the holy places and figures in most of the Piligrimages. In the ancient times, it was called as Prayaga. This is also one of the places where the Kumbh Mela happens – the other 3 being Haridwar, Ujjain & Nashik. This city is situated at the Triveni Sangam – a confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.

So, to come back to the Jalebis  We had gone to this place because of its holiness. We had to bathe in the river at the point of the Sangam (where the 3 rivers met). We were taken by boat to this point, where we could get into the water and take bath (or rather just immerse ourselves once and get out on to the boat) the water was very shallow here.

After the bath, we had a long way to walk to the lodge where we were staying and we were simply very tired and hungry and the task of walking such a distance was very daunting indeed!

My mother, brother and sister had already walked off and my father and I were left behind when we saw a guy making hot Jalebis by the river. Both of us were so happy at the prospect of eating that would give us the stamina to go the remaining distance. We went to the vendor and bought 1/2kg of fresh-hot jalebis. We ate them (literally gobbled them up like there was no tomorrow) and relished every single bite we took.

This Jalebi eating experience has stayed so fresh in my memory even after almost 20 years. This is also one of the memories that we father-daughter share till date.

Every time we see Jalebis we go back in time on the memory lane to relive it!!

Maavu Mania!!

Before I start writing let me tell  all my blogger friends out there that "Maavu" in Kannada means Mango - The king of summer!! The summer holidays and the mangoes have always gone hand in hand for me. Some of the best memories of my childhood have mangoes as the main character...
In the summer holidays, we used to go to our native - which is about 50 kms from where i stay now :-) I know everyone is not so fortunate enough! :-))
So, we would be about 8-10 of us at any given time and my uncle used to get basket full of mangoes home.
Each of us would get a mango after lunch! yes! you heard me right! we would get 1 each and not more...we would eat them in limit and relish each and every bite we would take. The way the juice would trckle down our hand and the way we would lick it! ummmm... (this explanation reminds me of the Aamsutra ad ;-)!!!) but that is how it was I promise!
We also had a mango tree in our front yard - we used to get someone to climb the tree and pluck the raw mangoes! the amazing combinatons we would get of raw mango, a little salt and a little chilli powder..yummy-licious!!!

The mango tree that bore so many fruits year after year for us is no more - it had to be felled as it had aged but the memories will never be erased from all  our minds! It still is like movie running infront of my eyes...waiting for the mangoes to be thrown down, pleading with aunt to mix it for us and finally waiting for our turn to taste it!!!

Triology - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I just finished reading the Triology from Steig Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.

I went to RN's place on the 30th of April, wanting to pick up a book to read. It was sometime since I had read anything serious and big. I had some errand on the 1st which required me to wait for more than an hour in some place. So, RN gave me these books. I asked her to give me 1 at a time but she told me take all three - you will read it one after the other.
I took them home and my Tryst with Lisbeth Salander and Michael Kalle Blomkvist began...
I was so bowled over by the character that Stieg has put across. She is the ultimate in what she does - she does it so perfectly. doesnt get affected by what anyone thinks of her. She gives a damn. Imagine, someone who has a photographic memory, who just by looking at a complex formula once can know how it is and how to solve it.

But, howmuchever i liked the character,  the book set forth in me a raging war against all values and beliefs. It goes on to tell you about the complexity of relationships. It Shreds into pieces the trust you have on marriage as an institution. It makes you wonder if you were thought the right thing and somewhere along the way all of it were lost and a new system came into place. It Makes you think hard - if it really happens and you are just too narrow-minded and it your own little safe & secure world.

I know- "this is not a book review, just my view!"

A collegue and I were discussing all the stuff that happens in this book and we thought - as Steig died just after submitting the manuscript, the publishing house did not bother to do any editing as a tribute to him! :-)

The first book was amazingly awesome but the 2nd & 3rd just take a toll on you, makes you skip pages like (a lot of them)

Finally, I finished the book 1 & 2 in a week each but the 3rd book took me for ever to complete but I am done now. I still feel it will take me a while to digest everything I learnt from it!!!

The Day I Became A MOM!!

I had almost completed 8 months and that day was the wedding of I my husband's cousin. I had to go to the doctor and then the plan was to go to the parlour for a bit of threading coz god knows when i would get a chance to go again..a few months may be. As usual, I went at 1.30pm to the hospital as my doc would only come at that time there. I went to her, she did my routine check up and gave me the news that my BP had shot up and they had to keep me under observation. I was not at all prepared to go & get admitted in the hospital but to go to the cousin's wedding. I went back home and on the way called hubby dearest to come home ASAP. Came back home and told my mum - " the doctor asked me to get admitted right away and I am scared" she said - "why?" nothing will happen do not worry. So hubby came and took me to the hospital. The doc checked my BP again and put me under observation. hubby did not want to go to the wedding reception but I sent him off as all his cousins were there and in any case I was not delivering that day..in the morning my mum had made Bisi bele bhath and I relished it :-)! When the doctor came a lttle while later, and asked me what I had for breakfast - i told her. She is like oh oh! we will have to wait for the food to digest before we start on you. Then she asked me how I wanted to deliver as a debate was going on b/n mom & MIL -natural VS C section. Finally I went in for the C Section - not coz I wanted to obey my MIL but was scared to go through the natural child birth. Finally I went in to the operation theatre at 4.30pm. My daughter was born at 5.21pm. When the baby cried, I was crying too..the doc did not tell me what baby it was, when I asked her - she told me it was a baby girl! I was overjoyed and cried. The doc thot I was crying coz I wanted a baby boy?? no ways!!! nada I always wanted a girl! I had got her. my little angel. She was born at 5.21pm on the 31st day of August in the year 2006! She is soon going to be be 6 yr old. I have been a mom for almost 6 years now! But still remember the day she was born and her first cry so vividly!!

8 Years of Togetherness!!

Soon we are going to cross another milestone, another year of togetherness - of love, of fights, of irritation, of faith, of trust, of knowing each other like the back of the hand, like the wart on the finger,of wanting our own space...I can say I have been really lucky to have him as my better half. I am little flighty, over-entusiastic, emotional types and he is the strong logical anchor who has kept me rooted to the earth. He completes me. He is the yin for my yang. If I am a rainbow of 7 colors, he is the purest of whites who absorbs all these colors into one! It is going to be 8 years for our wedding soon very soon...When we told at home the first time, there was a world war at my place :-)!! I shudder to even think about the day I told at home about him- all hell was let loose and the next morning when I got up, I was hoping all that happened yesterday was a dream....but it had haapened. From the day he came to our house when summoned by my pa, I fell more in love with him...Every year has been a new learning...Last year when we crossed the threshold of the 7 year itch - I kept threatening him but he truly knows it is all just air and no solid substance. I cant look beyond him. I guess when we both are old, we will sit together on the porch or in the balcony and look at the sun setting in the horizon, throwing a orange-pink-golden glow on the whole world!!

Weekend That Was....

The weekend that flew by was a pleasant one. On Friday evening, just before leaving office it started pouring heavily and i had to extend my return home by an hour :-). Came back at 7pm, went to RN's house for a book to read over the weekend. She gave the Millenium Triology - The Girl in the dragon Tattoo...she told me to take all 3 as i will not put it down until I finish all 3 at a stretch...how I wish there was no work today so I could read and finish the first book :-). Saturday morning i went to Soum's house to meet D. She was coming there to give us the invitation for the House Warming on 4th May. Met up with both of them and went for the monthly ritual to Bhagya. Finished it and on the way met Roopa nayak after a loooonnggg time. Came back home. In the evening RN and me went to BDA complex by walk just like old times. We had some errands to run and then had gelato and came back home.
On Sunday, Went to aunt's place in the morning and my sis was here. She went home in the noon and all the commotion started. My daughter decided she wanted to go to Garuda mall and cried and screamed and acted up till 3.45 from 2.45. By the time she finished both my mum & I had a splitting headache. Finally after she calmed down we took her to the children's park in Yedyur. This park had huge slides and she enjoyed immensely i think!
Tomorrow being a holiday in the middle of the week, we have plans of going to the Orion mall. Hope to have a nice time with mum, sis & daughter!!

Admin Professional's Week

After joining this company I have realized how important a responsibility i hold. I work towards getting some of the other people's life organized and make work easier for them. If not for us they would have gone bonkers!
I joined here a year ago...yes! it has already been a year! time flies.
The 2nd week i joined we celebrated the week there. This year was much more fun as I was already firmly ensconed here.
We had week-long activities for us and our managers wishing us a very happy Admin Professional's Week :-)
Earlier I have only had managers who would crib and say " what do you do??" even after getting their work-life organized so well. This was a pleasant change from the earlier scenario :-D
We started the week off with a bang. The first day was chocolate day!
we started our day with a chocolate and continued with chocolate ice-cream after lunch and in the evening we had chocolate cakes..isnt that nice? I forgot about my diet for the day and gorged on it!!
The 2nd day, we had some quizzes and we played on...
The 3rd day was the best of them all..we had Potluck Lunch. I had taken Palak Pulav and we also had birthday celebrations. Mine was a month overdue..they gave me a chocolate facial.
The 4th day was a filmi activity on call and also nail art with Saree day. I painted 2 of the girl's nails
The 5th day was Twin-day and Team lunch at IBIS restaurant. The lunch took away 1/2 day from our schedule but thankfully there was not much to do today as some of my managers were traveling and some were off and some gems did not trouble me at all
So, all in all it was a "Wonderful Admin Professional's Week"!!!
From nothing to the backbone of a company and good people who appreciate even the little things you do for them...I have come a very long way!!!!!
P.S: We also have our Team outing which is on the 5th of May!! :-)))))