Nine nights

Brightly decked up shops screaming out 'SALE' , streets filled with incense fragrance, exotically decorated pandals at every community park and a slight nip in the air - this is the charm October brings in. Come October, one of the biggest Hindu festive season sets in - Navratri followed by Diwali. Navratri (Nine nights, literally) has a special place in my heart. The kind of cheer and happiness this festival spreads - one has to experience it, to truly adore it.

While in school, Navratri meant 10 days of break from waking up at 6 a.m. every morning. It also meant shopping, new clothes, visiting friends , eating delicious food everyday in the name of God. The meaning more or less remained the same to me over the years, except that the 10 day breaks are replaced by a long weekend. An article I stumbled upon recently, threw open a different perspective on Navratri.While reading the article, I told myself to blog about it without fail. So here goes! A few excerpts from the article: Navratri is observed to celebrate the victory of spirit over inertia,pride,shame,craving and aversion. The first 3 days of Navratri are attributed to 'tamo guna',signifying depression,fear and emotional instability; the second three to 'rajo guna' characterised by anxiety and feverishness and the last three days to 'sattva guna' that pertains to calm, peace and dynamism. Though Navratri is celebrated as the victory of good over evil, the actual fight is not between good and evil.It is the victory of spirit over inertia and negative tendencies... Navratri is the time to reflect on and renew the inner depth of our lives. I shall leave you with that. May the true meaning of Navratri sink in and may we all rediscover a humbler and more peaceful side in us. Dussera Subhakanshalu!

It happens only in India!

If foot-over bridges in a completely uncrowded area are completed before flyovers at crucial choke-points, where else would it be?

If slight rain washes away roads and leaves behind huge swimming pools,where else could it be?

If commuting to work feels like an adventure ride, maneuvering around pot-holes, rain-made lakes and heedless,selfish riders ...
If following traffic rules is frowned upon....

If private construction is rampant & fast while public infrastructure creation, sluggish...

If a country with 70% of the population under the age of 30 is ruled by a meagre 10% who are aged above 70?...

Where else can there be corruption at every single rank of administration? ...

Where else would the governing body keep mum even on being aware of the malice of the neighboring countries? ...

Where else can be it?

Sigh!

Mera Bharat Mahaan!

Top Chef !

I'm no Tarla Dalal or Sanjeev Kapoor. Mine is all practical and quick cooking. However, sometime back I purchased a vegetarian recipe book authored by Neeta Mehta. It was an impulsive decision which I never repented. I remember going through the pages of the book soon after getting home and wondering if I would ever even try atleast one of them. That was then. Now, I proudly reveal that I have tried 7-8 recipes from this book and none of them have let me down.

The other day, I came home ravenous. Paneer danced around in my thoughts. I decided to make something out of paneer. Why search for exciting recipes when Neeta Mehta is at your disposal? After a quick reference, Kadai Paneer was chosen. To my dismay, the recipe appeared to be quite elaborate. Neither did I possess the patience nor the energy to prepare this dish. But that dint deter me. 'It will be my adaptation of the recipe' was the thought that refueled me. With new found energy, I started chopping the ingredients. Where the recipe said 6 cloves of garlic and 1/2 inch of ginger, I used the ready-made ginger-garlic paste. The step which required red-chillies and dhaniya to be roasted and then ground, was replaced by a ready made masala. This way, including some, excluding some steps from the original recipe, my own adaptation was born.

And to our delight, it turned out to be quite nice. I totally relished it. Unfortunate that I could not click any pictures. Alas! if only all our energy wasn't focused solely on devouring it!

The Racquet

On our drive back home, while waiting for the signal to turn green at one of the traffic signal posts, we spotted this guy making rounds with a racquet in hand. It is a common sight at traffic signals. So common, that if you are a newbie in the city,you wonder if Hyderabad is such a sports fanatic place. Well...in a way, it is. Hyderabadis with this racquet, do play a game or two every evening - no ball/shuttlecock required! The opponent/ball/victim is the mosquito! Yes, to the uninformed, this is no ordinary tennis racquet - its a deadly weapon that electrocutes the evil mosquitoes! Now isn't that quite an innovation?

Alright, coming back to where I left - So, curiosity got the better of me and we purchased one of those bats. I could hardly wait to get home and put this masterpiece to test.
Once home, there was no time wasted - the bat was immediately unpacked and employed as a mortal combat weapon on the tiniest winged being spotted.A few hours later, as the initial fancy wore out, I realized it was time to bed. The next morning, when the maid noticed the number of flies,mosquitoes and fruit flies on the floor, she gave me a puzzled look. I returned an innocent glance and said nothing, inwardly amused at the achievement!

Raavan

We watched 'Raavan' last weekend. I was looking forward to watching this movie from the time I first heard about it. Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Abhishek Bachchan - yes a trio very tough to resist! There is something else which made Raavan even more irresistible for me (pun intended ;)) - and that is, the modern day adaptation of Ramayan.
Ramayan holds a dear place in my heart. Don't ask me why - because I do not know the answer. Be it the influence of grandma's mythological fables
or the very popular TV show (Ramayana) ,that was telecasted those days ...I cannot put my finger on it.

As a young girl, I remember being enamored by the subject. When in a mood for mythology, I'd pester my father with questions like - whether Ramayan really took place? Why is Ram considered God? The possible dates of Ramayan, the possible setting, the place where it took place, did Raavan really have ten heads and many such questions.
He would patiently try to answer them all. Though he acknowledged that the account of Ramayan is exaggerated, like many other epics, he believed it did take place. "May be Ram was the leader of a tribal clan , may be it was not monkeys but monkey like tribals that helped him find Sita, may be Raavan wasn't as bad a person", he would speculate. May be? Such conversations often left me in an enthused and stimulated state of mind...

Excited I am even now, after watching Raavan. Not because it is such a masterpiece. Nor did the performances of the cast sweep me off my feet..no! But, may be because I found this adaptation of Ramayan closest to what I have imagined it to be. It connected to my thought process. Believing that the legend most Hindus consider sacred is not an exaggerated , overrated piece of fiction but a true life story (with may be a little bit of exaggeration) has a lot of joy associated with it. There is some kind of peace, hope and contentment which I'm not able put into words. I believe ... maybe, its the romantic in me!

Its been a year!

Yes, its exactly a year ago that I made the beginning...took the first step towards writing. When it began, I never imagined it would last this long. I supposed it to be one of those numerous fancies I never pursued more than a month!

But, lo & behold! here I am, creating yet another post....surprising myself yet again! I wonder what could be the reason? The only thing that comes to my mind is the selfish motive to observe how my thought process evolved over-time, may be? Anyways, that is for me to go figure.

Here's what I owe you, my readers : All of you who read, follow,comment , criticize my posts, a BIG thank you for hanging around and encouraging me.

The Orange Hibiscus

Last year, on the World Environment Day, we brought home an orange hibiscus plant. This plant was actually on display at the 'mini' plant exhibition held at the office,celebrating the day.It was on full bloom and naturally, caught my attention and that's how it landed in our home. We started petting it from the moment we brought it home - watered it dutifully,fed it manure once a month & even patted it now and then!

Over time, slowly, my petting came down and eventually, I forgot even that this plant existed! After a period of such 'hibernation', I was jolted back to reality when one day I discovered the plant in a very pitiful state, with just a few leaves left on it. I knew I had to do something - anything to save my plant. First thing that came to the mind was insecticide! I knew I had 'some' insecticide which I bought 'some'time back, which was meant to kill 'some' kind of insects. At that moment, these 'some's din't matter. All I wanted was an (any) insecticide. So I brought the bottle out and quickly sprayed a generous amount. That, I thought, would rid the bug that was feeding on my plant.

I went back to my religious routine of petting/watering. But, to my disappointment, the plant showed no improvement. Over the next couple of weeks, it withered further and lost a few more leaves. I knew the insecticide dint work. I heard loud sirens ringing in my head. I had to act and act fast. That's when I took out my laptop and started reading extensively about this plant and the possible pests that can attack it. After a few hours of research, I could finally nail down the nasty culprit. I learnt it was a mealy bug attack & from the condition my plant was in, quite a severe one! I read all I could about the damn mealy bug, homemade remedies to get rid of it and lastly the proper pesticides that can be used. My mission was to save the plant at any cost. I started acting on the bug with a vengeance - left no stone unturned. After a few weeks of battle, the bug finally gave in. I could get rid of it completely!

A couple of days later, my plant started leafing again..voila! Though the recovery process is slow, the plant is definitely coming back to life. This World Environment Day, as a token of its spirit to survive, the plant bore two tiny buds.

The experience totally revived my long lost love for plants. I am now more aware and sensitive to plant needs - they are living beings too! Thanks to my orange hibiscus, I now have learnt how to pot and take care of young plants.
One would definitely find more plants at our home now, than ever before.




I also started looking at Environment day as a thanks-giving day to the nature & try to do whatever little I can to protect & nurture it.

For people in Hyderabad who love plants, this is for you : http://hobbyhub.co.in/
Check it out!