Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Who is to be blamed?



Rape was always a part of society’s being and it will continue to be so. Unless every man turns gay, in which case, other men will be raped. Nevertheless, rape will continue. So will murder, cheating, theft and lying. So then who is to be blamed? What follows below is not my reasoning. There is no answer to this question; perhaps, it is natural for bad to exist.

We just want a leader. A bad leader.
When Jesus was sentenced to death, nobody cried for his release.  They wanted Barabbas instead. They learnt from Jesus’s teachings, were fed and nursed by him, yet they wanted to kill him.
When Hitler decided to kill millions of Jews, everybody stood by him. He had millions of people backing him for what he claimed was justice.
Jesus had all but 13 followers, most of who fled away when he was in trouble.

We want to have an upper hand over women.
We watch movies where they show an illiterate, dastardly goon falling in love with a girl; who at first hates him. But after being stalked repeatedly, she falls madly in love with him and leaves her rich parents behind to lead the “happily ever after life” with him. Whose ego are we boosting? Why is the girl falling prey to an idiot who thinks he can get a girl by following her and tormenting her and sometimes slapping her for being so arrogant!
A young student in Chennai was victim to acid attack for not accepting the love proposal from a petty construction worker. Why should she say yes to any dick who thinks he can get the girl if he wants to?

Good education is for the rich. Only.
Only the rich and affluent can afford great education. If you are poor and helpless, there are umpteen number of corporation and government schools. But you might as well not go there. The teachers don’t speak any English nor do they really know what they are teaching, your uniform is not of any concern to anybody, and you needn’t have any food in school.

Discrimination begins from school.
The rich children are one gang. Which means they can bully those who cannot afford the same watch or have the same luxury car. The poor children are another gang. They aspire to become rich and arrogant like the rich gang someday.

 The Police force is all but a bunch of male servants.
They salute ministers, buy vegetables for their seniors’ wives, bring their children back from school, don’t speak good English. Nobody calls them officer, nobody respects them. If somebody drives around in an Audi, the policeman has to talk to them softly, so as to not hurt the rich guy’s sentiments.
They live in 200 sq ft quarters, 4 or 5 of them in the family. Their children go to government schools and they don’t get a deserving childhood even though their dad is in the prestigious police force. The department does not do anything to remind them that they got into the police force by sitting in the scorching sun for hours, waiting for their physical tests; when each one of them walked into the police grounds with pride that they were going to serve the nation. Today, they have paunches and they don’t care. Because, nobody cares.

The law is governed by the rich and influential.
The rich once governed the church. They would pay money to wash away their sins. It’s the same today; they pay money to judges and courts to evade their faults.

Parents take pride in giving their children luxury gifts.
It’s OK for the sons to have a car at the age of 13 and an iPhone to go with it, as long as everybody in the society knows that he is your son. It’s OK for the daughters to lash out their tongue at the servant maid, who is barely 10 years of age; because the daughter is born into a rich family while the poor servant girl chose a poor family. It’s OK if the sons keep switching girlfriends and speak abusively of them, because having a playboy image is an absolute necessity among the elite.

Nobody does their work.
If everybody does their work with sincerity and honesty, a lot of things would be different today. A bus driver drives slowly; a corporation lays good roads; an architect builds an apartment with good materials; a consumer goods manufacturer manufactures unadulterated goods; a government rules honestly – these are some of the dreams of a common man in the society. And look at us, we go to work, update our status on FB, browse through websites and come back home. 

Corporates don’t want people.
They are looking for human robots, who will do just as they say and have no opinion of their own. Qualities like being a suck-up and backstabbing co-workers is a plus.

We are angry.
Anger is a fashion statement. You are not a man, if you don’t get angry. It’s just like growing a beard.

Black Vs White
I’m a dark woman/man, and therefore I’m a disgrace in the society. I have no confidence, I have no good clothes to complement my complexion, I don’t get jobs, basically I can’t live. As a dark man, I don’t get girls.
Because Fair & Lovely, Fairever, Fair-whatever can only do camera tricks and not save you in reality, you are for eternity, a shame!

Love is nothing but a fashion statement.
Love is 2-day anniversaries, 6-week anniversaries, photo-shoots in exotic locations, international vacations, expensive dinner dates, and exorbitantly priced diamonds.

Everybody has a secret. They will never share it.
Every single human being on this earth is living a lie. What they really want to be in life, and what they really become are two different extremes. We begin to accept the lie and slowly start believing that it is the new truth.
A man once killed his sister’s children, brutally beating them with a cricket bat. Both the children lay on the bed, soaked in their own blood. When questioned on what led him to commit such a gruesome act, he said that he felt liberated and free when beating the children. He felt like he was beating his dad, who always overpowered him and dominated him. Killing those little children was therapeutic to him.
There are instances in our lives, when we want to break open and speak out our minds. But we just can’t. Because, nobody will understand.

If it is forbidden, it will instigate curiosity.
When Eve ate the forbidden fruit and let her partner participate in the same, little did they know that they were going to change the way the world would live from then on.
Every forbidden act, object will nevertheless create a great sense of curiosity. So great, that until you unravel the mystery behind it, you will not have any other purpose to fulfill. And when you do come to learn the truth, you will abuse it extensively, as if without it your life was never complete.

I want to conclude by saying that, any problem is not the cause of one factor.  It is the combination of myriad factors. If we want to solve one problem, many other problems will have to be solved too. Greed, money, caste and religion.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Puzzled

You know how it feels when you talk and nobody listens? Or they listen and pretend like they didn't listen? It's weird that way. My blog is possibly going that way.

While I don't mind it, sometimes it is funny. I mean, imagine. Just typing away posts, on this space like as if scribbling in my personal diary. Yeah, it is my personal diary then right? Then why am I ok with it being public? As a matter of fact, I have not really shared my blog with many people, because you know, I can sound very arrogant sometimes. So I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.
My! Am I mad?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Two face!

At work, I'm silent and reserved.

At home, I'm a lunatic.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Human Worshipers!

When Moses rescued the people from Egypt, they worshiped a Golden calf for God. Today people worship human beings. Seriously? Which group is more naive?

They will ignore their mother, blast her, scream loudly at their dad, and treat their siblings badly, but they will worship Sachin Tendulkar, ministers, godmen.

No Moses will come to rescue us.



Friday, October 26, 2012

Lunch with Ajith

"Hey Naaz, how have you been? Possible to meet you sometime? Let me know" Ajith texted me
I messaged him back.
'Sure, Ajith. Let me know when and where.'
"Lunch, today?" He replied quickly
'Okay, let me know where and I'll be there' I replied back

I had been ignoring Ajith for a long time and thought it was unfair. Even if I did continue to ignore me, he wouldn't stop texting me or keeping in touch with me.
One lunch wouldn't hurt. I thought.

"Let's go to Pesto. 1:30 pm" he replied
'Sure, I'll meet you there.

Ajith was Dev's younger sibling. Basically, Ajith and I were of the same age. But somehow, he always appeared to be less mature than me. Or may be I was too mature for my age. I found Ajith's attitude very casual. He simply cracked jokes, texted me incessantly, spoke too fast. I didn't find him attractive, didn't thinik he was funny and sometimes I thought he was slightly cracked.
Let me see how he eats. I thought

I took a rickshaw to the restaurant. These rickshaw guys drive me crazy all the time. It's almost like they know I hate them and they gladly reciprocate the hatred towards me.
Pesto was like a 9 km drive from where I lived and the rickshaw charged me 180 bucks. I didn't complain because I wanted to keep my mind free from all negative energy. I wanted to think.

****
"Anna, we need to get to Adyar" Dev spoke to the rickshaw guy
"200 rupees" he demanded
"200? 200? Why are you asking for 200 anna? Adyar is just 20 minutes away" Dev rebutted
"So?" screamed the rickshaw guy "I have to take so many U-turns, there are so many diversions, plus this is peak time. Come for 200 or go"
"Ya, we'll go" proclaimed, Dev. "Let's walk, Naaz"
All the while, I was hoping Dev would just say yes to the rickshaw guy. I didn't want to walk.
'Erhm, let's look for another auto na, Dev' I sweetly told him
"No, all of them are like this. Besides, walking is good for us. The weather is not so bad" he assured me

I looked up at the sky and I almost went blind. The sun was out in full glory and as if smirking at me, it tickled my eyes. I surrendered to Dev and the Sun.

"These auto guys are notorious." Dev continued
'Yeah, Dev. They are. Let them be. Why don't be take the bus?" I asked in futile hopes
"Naaz! Let's walk and let's talk"
'Ok, but I don't talk when I walk.'
"Why not?"
'Because that's how I'm trained.'
"Trained?"
'Yeah. In the gym. I walk on the treadmill and I'm not supposed to talk.'
"Ha ha ha Naaz. Man, you are such a lazy girl."
I blushed in embarrassment
"Man, we're going to be really hungry after this walk."
'I hope it rains.'
"That would be awesome. Let's hope so!"
We walked some distance and I was already feeling exhausted.
'Dev, what are your plans in life?'
"Hmmm, I haven't given it much thought, Naaz. Why do you ask?"
'I just like to know what people's aspirations are like.'
"Really? What's yours?"
'I don't know.'
"Are you looking for an inspiration? ha ha ha"
'No. Not like that. I'm happy now and that's all that matter for the moment.'
"Good, good. I may be going abroad for my post graduation."
'Oh.'
I didn't say anything. Dev was 2 years senior to me. He had one year to go and then he would fly away. Just like that.
"What? That's your reaction? Oh?"
'What do you want me to say then?'
"All the best?"
'All the best, Dev' I smiled
"You're not happy, are you?"
'Of course I'm happy for you Dev'
"Then why do you sound dull?"
'Nothing.'
"Tell me"
'Nothing'
"No, tell me"
'I will miss you'
"ha ha ha. That's all? and you're upset?"
'Ok, I won't miss you. But don't be so mean.'
"Why will you miss me. Come with me"
'WHAT?'
"You also come to do your PG abroad"
My heart skipped a million beats. Just imagining being in the same place with Dev was killing me in joy. Such a weird feeling love is. I was crazy about Dev and I think he knew.
'Let's see, Dev.'
"Ok, Naaz." He smiled
'Ok, Dev' I mocked him
 We both laughed.

****
"Madam, this is the place no?" The autorickshaw guy spoke
'Ah, yes. Thanks.' I got down and noticed Ajith was waiting for me
"Hey Naaz! Good to see" He extended his hands
'Good to see you too, Ajith' I shook his hands
"Our table is ready. Let's go."
We sat down and the waiter brought the menu cards. Ajith ordered for a bottle of water and he let me read the menu in peace. I took my own time to understand what was on the card.

"I really like this place, Naaz" he interrupted
'Do you come here often?' I asked him
"I've come here with my office colleagues. The food is really good."
'Oh alright.' I placed the menu card on the table
"So, what will you have?"
'Since you've already been here, I thought I should let you decide. I am good with anything.'
"Wow. That's quite a task." He sighed
He ordered a Basil Tortellini soup to being with.
"Thanks for coming, Naaz. I had my doubts. You hardly reply to my texts."
'I know. I just don't text that much.'
"How's work?"
'Not bad. But I'm in no mood to discuss it'
"I understand. ha ha"
He laughed just like Dev. I ignored it.
A little baby girl in the adjacent table was seated on her baby seat and was playing with her food.  She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back and made funny faces at her. She laughed and clapped her hands.
"Hey, she seems to like you" Ajith spoke
'I'm good with kids. I can easily make funny faces'
"It's cute"
'Huh?'
"The baby"
'Hmmm, yeah' I ignored his last comment
"Let me see if I can solve this puzzle" Ajith announced as he got busy with finishing the puzzle on our table mats
For the first time, I took a good look at Ajith. I had seen him a couple of times, but I never took the trouble to notice how he looked, his features, his hair, nothing. It was none of my business.
He was tall, very tall, lean and dark. He had a weird smile. When he smiled, his teeth on his right extreme would jut out. It was cute but weird cute. He had a rather long nose. He had thick black hair and sported a french beard. One cannot miss his great sense of dressing. I should say, he was dressed to kill.
"Ah, done' He looked up
I quickly looked away, as if I was never looking at him in the first place.
'Oh, good good.' I congratulated him
The waiter brought our soup. It was steaming hot and I was getting hunry.
I ate my soup silently.
When I looked up, Ajith was looking at me.


"Where is Dev, Naaz?" He asked me.

That's when I knew, all this while, Ajith didn't want to tell me anything about Dev.
He wanted to know something about Dev.


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ajith and Naaz meet

Saturday, 10:00 AM and I was wide awake. A time when I'm usually in bed, sleeping like a log. In fact, there are times, my mum has thought I was dead. I sleep like that.
I was up since 6:00 in the morning, wondering why Ajith wanted to meet me.
I wore my faded blue jeans and a white shirt. Tied my hair into a ponytail and looked myself in the mirror. I looked miserable but I didn't care. I wasn't particularly interested in meeting Ajith. I was rather skeptical about him bringing Dev into our conversation. I closed the door behind me, prepared for whatever was waiting for me outside.
Why on earth would anybody want to meet at Topaz? I thought.
Topaz was a new hangout for hookah enthusiasts and for solitary readers. It was old house, renovated to give a vintage feel to the ambiance. Complete with creepers, rustic fans and swings, the place was a steal away from the buzz of the city. But it is an expensive affair nonetheless, to sip a coffee in there, one'll have to shell out Rs. 115. Gasp. I can buy myself a whole meal with that money.
I walked into the garden and seated myself on the swing. It creaked when I sat on it.
'Doesn't matter.' I thought to myself and continued swinging.
My phone beeped.
Hi Naaz... I'll be there in ten mins. Just on my way. 
I did not reply. Let him come.
The waiter came in and asked me if I wanted something. I asked him to hold on.
Just then Ajith greeted me.
'I thought you said ten mins' I exclaimed, not expecting him to walk in like that.
"Yeah... well, I wanted to surprise you"
'What's there to surprise in this' I was irritated.
"Ok. It backfired. So, how long have you been waiting here Naaz?"
'10 mins may be...'
"Sorry to have kept you waiting..."
'That's OK.' I cut him short. Honestly, I was not in a very chatty mood that morning. My mind was occupied by Dev.
Ajith sat down next to me on the swing. It creaked even louder.
I got up and walked up to the next table that was free. I couldn't risk getting embarrassed. Ajith joined me shortly.
"Guess, these swings are not meant for two people."
'Yeah, may be they are meant for pigeons'
He laughed like he had never laughed in his life. Like a maniac. Now he was beginning to irritate me more.
'Ajith, I'll be honest with you. I want to know why you wanted to meet me. Please tell me before I lose my patience.'
"Naaz. I have been texting you everyday, hoping you'd reply. You seldom do. I just wanted to meet you in person."
'That's all?'
"Are you expecting me to say something?"
'Huh?'
"Coffee?"
'Ok.' I looked away.
He waved at the waiter and ordered two coffees.
"How's work?"
'What do you do Ajith?' I asked him curtly.
"Wow! Well, I'm an engineer. I work with L&T."
'Oh...' I sighed
"Sad life I know"
'I never said that'
"The sigh speaks volumes"
'What do you do on weekends?'
"Nothing much, I catch up with friends. It's at the movies mostly. What about you?"
'What's taking the coffee so long?'
"Naaz, I know. Here see this."
He stretched out a small piece of paper towards me.
I looked at him and then the paper and then again at him.
'What's that?' I asked him rather suspiciously.
"A love letter?" He smirked
'WHAT?' I squealed.
"No. Relax! Goodness, you freaked me out"
'What the hell is that Ajith?' I was now irritated to the utmost core that I wanted to tear him into pieces.
"I want you to tell me that Naaz."

I simply stared at him. The coffee arrived. The waiter placed it on the table and left to attend to other hungry souls. Hardly any at that time. I took a sip and got up.


"I found this in Dev's desk. It's a song." He handed the piece of paper to me.
I took a look at it. Folded it and tucked it away.
"May be it's for you"
My eyes welled up.
"Naaz..." Ajith called for me.
I heard him but I was already gone. I was no longer there. I just wanted to read that song.

The song that my Dev had written for me.

Happy Meeting

"Naaz, Naaz, Naaz" Dev kept chanting over the phone
'Yes, Dev. What do you want?' I asked him slowly.
"Your name. It has a beautiful sound to it." 
I was blushing on the other end, but didn't want to accept it.
'Please Dev, I don't like it when people make fun of my name'
"I WAS NOT making fun of your name, Naaz! Why would you think that?" He asked concerned
I was smiling here, Dev didn't know.
'I'm kidding. And thanks. So what plans for today?'
"You tell me" he asked me lovingly
Over here, I was flying over the clouds. Dev asking me what my plans were. Such bliss.
'Let's go to the beach?'
"Done. I'll pick you up at 4:00 pm"
'No, I'll come on my own. See you.'

I was feeling exceptionally weird today. Something in our tone had changed. Were we falling in love? I was already in love with him. In a good way. There were so many questions in my mind. 
I got dressed and went to the beach.  I sat down in the spot we usually haunt and started making a circle around me, like demarcating an area for Dev and me to sit. 
It was 3:55 pm and I looked back to see if Dev was anywhere around. I saw him walking towards me. We were such sincere timekeepers!
Huffing and puffing after walking on the bumpy shore, Dev sat next to me, inside the little circle I had drawn. 
I looked at him and smiled. He smiled back at me. As always, his smile blew me away. 
I looked down at the sand. I realized Dev was still looking at me. 
I slowly tilted my head to look at him and he was staring at me.
'What Dev? Why aren't you saying something?' I broke the awkward silence.
He smirked at me and pulled out a little packet. 
"Here open this."
'What is it?' I asked him
"Open."
It was little white box. Paper box. With a pretty ribbon on it. I untied the ribbon and slowly opened the box. 
'What's this, Dev?' 
"It's been an year already, Naaz!"
'I know!'
"So? Shall we?"
I simply smiled.
'Ok, let's do it together.'

We took out the little chocolate cupcake from the box and shared it together. 

"Happy Friendship day, Naaz. I'm glad we met"
'I'm glad I met you too, Dev.'





Friday, October 19, 2012

Blank

OMG just this morning, I had 3 great posts in mind. I kept re-remembering them throughout my drive to work. As soon as I sat here, I forgot the posts. Like all of them.

Chi. I'm so stupid. I have a phone, I should have made a note. But no, I relied on my brain to store it. I thought I will reprocess it and then we can live happily ever after. But no. I just can't seem to rely on it anymore. It must be the age.

Or. May be, that's how it has always been.

May be I overused it.

Hee hee.





Tuesday, October 16, 2012

I'm a semma K.D

This is kinda like my confession. Ok world, I confess, I am a BIG K.D 

Hold on, let me search for the full form of K.D

Old Chennai police abbreviation for either "known delinquent", "known depredator" or "known defaulter" or "Known Denotified person".

I have done lot of K.D things. Hmmm... where do I begin? 

When I was in 4th standard, my brother and I devised an evil plan to disturb an aunty we used to hate. Hee hee hee. We used to dial her number and when she picked up, we would play the "Muqala Muqabila" song loudly... hee hee hee. It still cracks me up so much.

When I was in 5th standard, I tied up one small little boy (who is a non-related brother) to a tree for being naughty. Che. I'm such a bully.

When I was in the same 5th standard, I used to play hotch-potch/Pandi with my friends. You know that super game where you draw 8 boxes and throw stones. You have to hop on the boxes and pick up the stone and come back. It's a super duper fun game. You need a smooth stone for the game, otherwise the stone will roll off and not settle on the boxes easily. Before we began our game for that evening, all of us in the colony scattered around to search for smooth stones. I found one, my friends found one for themselves, my brother also found one. There was this little boy in our gang, the same boy whom I tied to the tree, who just couldn't find a stone for himself. I noticed that there was some dried dog shit lying among a pile of stones. I'M SO EVIL. I told him to pick up the dry dog shit because it was smooth! Man, HE DID! Hee hee hee. He kept holding onto it and when his turn came, he threw what he assumed to be a stone and it just powered away.

Sometime, during the same phase of my life, the boy gang in our colony used to bully us by taking up all the space in the colony play area to play cricket. One day, all of us stole their cricket bats and hid it. The next day when they came looking for the bats, they didn't get pissed off that we hid their bats, they got pissed off that we were dancing for 'I'm a barbie girl' in the play area. Nearly 10 girls dancing to that song! ROFL. This is so funny. 

I once conducted a culturals event in my colony. I was the event manager and organized everything. I must have been in 6th standard then. The plan was that everybody pays a small amount, 20 bucks or something, prepares for a dance, song or skit, and brings food from home. The amount was for the gifts. According to my plan, all participants would get gifts so that no one would feel bad. See? I'm a nice girl :) I was so excited about this event, I ran about the entire area, shopped for gifts, planned everything and practiced for my performance. On the day of the event, all the children came out and assembled in the lawn. We all brought along snacks and sweets from home. Our parents were also excited and everybody assembled in their respective balconies to watch the event. They were otherwise not allowed to come :P The event started and everybody participated. I was the judge for all the events and I participated in all the events. Can you imagine? I won the first place in most of the events. LOL. Best bit, everybody agreed. LOL

There was this one time, when my brother and I played a prank on our friends. They were twin brothers and always an easy bait for any bullying. We told them that it was my brother's b'day the next day and that they are invited for the party. Those paavam, naive boys ran back to their homes and informed their mother about it. The next day, we were all playing and these two boys, all dressed up and big gift box in hand, walk towards my house. Seeing them going, my brother and I hid to see what was going to happen. They rang the bell and my mother opened the door. She was shocked to learn that they had come for a b'day party. She was obviously moved because she called them in, gave them juice and snacks and sent them back. They went back home with the gifts. My mother gave a piece of her mind when we got back home. When my brother really celebrated his b'day those boys never came!

When I was in 8th standard, my parents took us to watch The Titanic. I don't think it said 'A' rated movie or anything because a lot of families came to watch the movie with their kids. Everything was going well in the movie, till the painting scene came. My mother, as if by some reflex action quickly turned to look at me. In an equally faster reflex action, I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. She was relieved and continued to watch the movie. What she didn't know was, I was actually watching the scene through my closed eyes. Ya, ya, ya, I'm sure you all know how to do that! :P Then things came back to normal until the car scene popped up. Again my mother turned to look at me. This time, I acted even more convincingly, I snored! To give an impression that all through I had been sleep and that I was really sound asleep. She was again relieved. But I saw the entire scene. Just like you all did. Hee hee hee. 

When I was in college, I used to be the first girl in class to shout, "ma'am please ma'am.... please ma'am...." whenever the professor came to take a test. All the other girls would join me in chorus, but I'd take the lead. 

You know, I can go on... :)

I have also done some sweet innocent things like burying a dead cockroach and conducting a funeral procession for it. I assumed that since we are catholics, the insects in our house are also catholics. The coffin was made of the infamous Cheetah matchbox. Sweet no? 

Hmmm... so how was your childhood? Mine was fun, alright! :)

Boss a? Illa Loosu a?

Vadivelu is a funny guy. Or whoever writes his lines, is a funny guy. In any case, this post is not about him. I just stole his line from a movie for my blog title. So I thought I should give some credit.

This post is actually about bosses. And some looosu cases.

Ok may be not bosses.

NOTE: This post is a work of pure fiction. Well, not exactly fiction. Somebody once narrated this to me and I jotted it down, cause I found it funny. If you feel it sounds familiar or is remotely related to somebody you know or if you are trying to think who it is, no need to rake your brains. Just read ahead! :D

There was once a boss, who was a typical loosu case. She would say do this thing, and then send 2 people to spy to see if the person was really doing it or doing something else. She is like this one turtle story I heard somewhere. It is one super semma comedy story. 

3 turtles went out on a trek. (This in itself is a semma comedy line no?) Anyway, so they trekked, and trekked and trekked. Like for a long time they trekked. Then they felt very hungry. So they all sat down to eat, when one of the turtles realized he forgot to bring his food. All became semma angry at his foolishness. And the other two turtles were very strict about sharing food, because they only brought enough food for one. The absent-minded turtle then announced that he was going to go back to get his food and that the other two turtles should not eat while he was away. He made them promise him. They promised and he left. 
The two paavam turtles, waited, waited, waited and waited. 

Still waiting.

Waiting. 

Waiting.

Waiting.

(Ok, I'll stop)

So even after 2 years, the mokkai turtle didn't come back. These paavam turtles sat hungry waiting for him to return. (Yes they waited 2 years without eating; I told you its a story right?) 
Then finally, one brainy turtle said "Hey what da machan, that mokkai payyan will not return. At least let us eat. I am famished." The other agreed and they opened their tiffin boxes to eat. 
Suddenly, they heard a bush moving and they saw their mokkai friend walk towards them. 
He spoke angrily, "I KNEW IT! I knew you guys wouldn't wait for me to return. That's why I stood spying on you for two years, testing you to see if you would really keep your promise"

Ada mokkai payyaley! Nee innum pogalliya? 

Super story no? 

So, that boss was like this only. She used to make people hit their head on the wall; everyday. She would 'delegate' work, and then sit on their back, like vetal on Vikram's back' and go 'noi noi noi noi,' finished a? finished a? show me? finished a? when will you finish? finished a? why is it like? why is it not like that? 

She is one typical case only. 

She would schedule a meeting with somebody and then talk to somebody about how she is an olympic gold medalist, a pilot, a Nobel laureate, a top chef, F1 racer, dancer, actress, singer and ah, yes, a martian! She would claim that she was every damn thing in this universe.

If somebody met a vendor and updated her about the company and she would go "Ya ya, I know... I used to be in this business and all... I know everything." Somebody once met a Radio Jockey and told her about the how they could tap Radio for marketing and she went "Ya ya, I know everything about Radio. I have trained Radio Jockeys and I have been one myself." Somebody asked her, "WOW Really? When? Which Radio Station? What frequency?"

She doesn't like being asked question, because she really can't conjure up stories fast. She needs time. Because, she has no brain. So when somebody asked her these questions, she stammered, drank water, coughed and asked somebody to get out.

Somebody came out of the room and rolled on the floor in joy. Somebody defeated her. 

Somebody worked with her for 3 years and became bald. Also, somebody's head was starting to look like that of Megamind's. It was on the verge of bursting open.

Somebody wrote an article on women achievers of India, to be published in the company magazine. She looked through it, smirked and said "Write an article on prostitutes in India"
Somebody went "Ehhh?"
She said "What? Write an article on prostitutes. They work hard for a living"

Somebody resigned the job immediately!

Boss a? Illa loosu a?

Friday, July 27, 2012

Corrupt Killers!

Something terrible has to always happen before precautionary measures are implemented in this stinking corrupt country. Children must die in a fire accident in a thatched roof school; they must die of food poisoning in schools; they must to fall into gutters and die of suffocation; they must drown in rivers because of overspeeding; they have to be run over by school buses.
How many more children will this country kill?

I forgive thee.

How many times do we mean it, when we say, 'I forgive you.' Can we really forgive someone who has caused us pain. made us cry, made us hate ourselves? And even if we forgive someone, do we forget?
Can you live happily with someone who has hurt you?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The BPO Story

You know how you get the inexplicable vibes, of western cultures crossing lines with the Indian ethnicity, encompassed in one bubble called a work space, when you say BPO. To be honest, that is precisely what the BPO I'm talking about here is. A cross between western influences over subtle Indian flavors. Ramalingam a.k.a Norman Lew from Chennai speaks flawless American English, resolving complexities faced by a very naive Sandra from New Jersey. Sandra is probably aware that Norman is possibly from one of the third world countries, but doesn't complain because she gets a resolution instantly. Norman on the other hand, is rewarded with some petty salary for his consistency in resolving issues, and he doesn't complain. This is the scene in every BPO today.  

But the real story is about how every BPO has changed the outlook of thousands of likes of Ramalingam. To  remain contended with whatever is at hand and never think beyond the comfort of the cushioned chair and a steady bank balance. The BPO industry has blown away standards of education into a mere option, take it or not, there's a job at hand. A school drop out walks into a BPO and is employed for a mere 10 thousand per month. He is assured that he may continue his college education through correspondence. Most of them enroll into a correspondence course, and then it's history. Imagine, what a 17 year old is thinking with 10 thousand in hand every month? I leave it to your imagination. 

Very recently, a BPO went through a massive management change. The entire crew of directors, senior managers and president left the company to start a competitor enterprise. And they took with them nearly 20% of the employee population in the first phase. Hundreds started moving to the new company every month. You'd think the employees were loyal to the old management and believed in their strengths. But the truth is, they were offered a 40% hike, if they left the present company and joined the new operations immediately without the necessary exit documents. The employees who shifted to the new company have no work experience certificates from the old employer, no documents that substantiate their career. The baseline you see here is employees in a BPO sector are lured into other companies for only want of a better pay. The BPO sector today relies on this aspect heavily while setting up business. They will draw 50% of employee force by merely projecting better pay scales. 

A BPO employee, comes with no specialization nor relevance to the business. They are trained for a particular job role by a well set up competency development team. If processes change, they are once again trained. The work therefore is more reliant on the training that is offered. However, a good knowledge in English speaking is always a plus in the BPO sector. That apart, no special skill or knowledge is required to get a job in a BPO. When a sector is so independent on the skill set of an employee, it becomes implausible to find an ideal employee for a fit. Anybody who can be trained is hired. 

The recruitment process in a BPO is like the process of stamping cows. They walk in as herds, show their documents to the HR executives, sit through some formalities and they are offered a job on the same day. Recruiters say that what they are looking for in an employee is whether he will sustain, but what they are actually doing is to fill up number of positions required in a given project so as to win clients. The biggest challenge for recruiters in the BPO sector  is to see through the fake projection of character and talent that the potential employee is putting forward. Sometimes the HR fails here leading to misfits joining the company. 

To be continued.... 

Transition may be?

For a long time now, I have been thinking that I should write on more serious topics like economics, politics to cite a few, instead of random rants about my life. I don't have a great command over magazine quality writing, but that shouldn't stop me from expressing my views I think.
I'll sample a few topics here, just for starters. If you are reading this, let me know what you think :)

From driving to Dancing.


Driving and I have a love-hate relationship. I can't live with it, and I can't live without it. I drive to every possible nook and corner of the city, even if it is just 200 meters away. (I'm scared of dogs, chain snatchers and the like)
I tell you, there is nothing more nerve wrecking than driving in Chennai. You have to watch out for the horrendous bus drivers, who I suspect are driving with the sole purpose of killing the rest of the commuters, the bikers who will wade through any possible gap, the autorickshaw anna who will sometimes only drive in the middle of the road and if you honk at him, he'll generously hurl abuses at you, the taxi drivers who will overtake you bringing you to a screeching halt and speed past as if we don't know how to drive and of course, the who's-who of the city, who with their sirens sounding loud will drive only on the opposite side of the road with their flags waving, as if mocking at our pity state. Amidst all this chaos, how am I to keep my cool and most importantly keep my car from scratches? But, this post is not about driving and the tribulations I face as a driver.

This post is about what I do in the car while driving. Yes, I shift gears and accelerate and brake, but I also play blaring music to shift my focus from thrashing the driver by my side to choreographing a song. Amusing no?

It's no surprise that my beautiful mind is an avid traveller. Travelling distant places, all at once. So while I'm working mechanically to make my car move, my mind is patiently instructing dancers on a show how to dance to the song that's playing on my system. I pray they design a device that can download thoughts into real. You'll be happy to see how well we all dance!
I imagine wearing pretty costumes, some awesome makeup and hairdos and I see the crowd going mad at our darn good steps. This happens every single day in my car.

Earlier on, I used to fall asleep while driving. Blame the distance and my inability to do anything else apart from driving! But after I started employing my mind into some productive work, I feel fresh and active after a drive. How weird is that? I love it! There have been weirder times, when I have taken a longer route to my house, so that I will have ample time to complete my dance. And all of this is happening inside my head!

I asked myself why I'm following this habit while driving. Seems like I love dancing. So obvious isn't it?
After about a month of imaginary dancing, I joined a dance school here and I'm thoroughly enjoying my time learning dance. You know, I should have joined earlier!
This doesn't mean, I stopped my imaginary dancing in the car. Now I have some distinct steps to apply to the songs. That's the difference :)

Happiness lies in giving

TBH that post title is totally unrelated to what I'm scribbling here. I have discovered the path to happiness and peace. Shutting off, ignoring and deleting. From my mind, virtual existence and everything else.
I know it doesn't make sense. But what I mean is, if I want to remain happy, I shut off anything that will lead me into unhappiness, I ignore things/people who will cause pain and I delete anything that will disrupt my peace.
Recently, I have been observing all the events taking shape in my life and I'm forced to draw a conclusion. And that conclusion is that everything that is happening in my life is trying to teach me something. Unless I learn what that lesson is, the scene perpetuates itself. If I start giving examples, I will have to sit and write here forever. But the underline is, I am learning. Something new, something shocking, something silly, something.
To do some justice to the title, yes, I have also learnt that happiness truly lies in giving. I am often dejected when people take something away from me and don't acknowledge it; knowledge, possessions and so on. But, I'd like to think, if that gave them happiness, then I was the reason. So be it!
And now, moving on to my shutting, ignoring, deleting mantra. I tell you, it really works. It has been working for me for the past few months. Come to think of it, I actually ignored this one person who constantly tried to pull me into a whirlpool of tension and pain. Soon enough, by God's will (I can't believe I'm thanking God!) I was no longer in her clutches. The mystical power of me not wanting her around me, actually took me away from her forever. At first, I did not realize what was happening. But later I came to understand and it completely blew me away. Whenever I was around her, I would always be in a state of irritation and frustration and yet continue to be drawn towards her, like a magnet. And then, one day, she was gone! (Not dead, but gone!)
I learnt that only if we want to be hurt, will we be hurt. What a lesson that was!
Another important lesson I learnt was to take the risk. Even if it costs what we think is very dear to us. For instance, my job was very dear to me. I was underpaid to unimaginable extremes, yet I loved my job. I was so comfortable in my job that it hardly occurred to be that I was losing my value in the job market and that I was actually being exploited. Then it only got worse. Soon, people wanted me to lose my principles and values, because they knew how much I loved doing that work that I was assigned to do.
But, I'm not the one to bend my rules and principles. I stood up for my right. It seemed to shock some people. As if, I was not supposed to speak. And then I walked out.
And I'm happy today! So happy because I'm a person of character. So happy that they also realized the same thing.


I think this post should have been titled lessons in life. Bah!





Friday, May 25, 2012

What if dreams came true?

Would we be really happy?
And how long would this happiness last?
What if the dreams I dream are not the dreams that I'm meant to dream?
Then would it matter that it came true but it was not meant to be?
What if the dreams that came true are the dreams I didn't want to come true?
Then what should I dream about?
Should I dream at all... 

Friday, May 18, 2012

Marina Beach

Taking a walk in the beach is like passing through a kaleidoscope. There are different images at every turn. Some beautiful, some not so very.
There's a balloon stand. The colorful balloons waiting to be shot at and the poor man sitting by, waiting for someone to come and shoot, and fill his pockets.
Then there's a couple in love, intertwined as if inseparable. Locked in love, unaware of their surroundings.
I see an old lady selling mangoes, seasoning it with chilli powder, waiting for someone to come by and relish it.
I also see two people, fighting with each other, the guy hitting his girlfriend, threatening her, the girl hitting him back.
There are little children flying kites, running about, untroubled by worries.
There is a man, who in his inebriated state of mind, is sleeping on the beach, arms and legs spread about, as if he were in his bedroom.
Take for instance the little boy selling groundnuts. Disturbing the lovers, to make a sale.
Then there are children playing a ball game. Cheering loudly as they score points.

As I walk on the sands, struggling to take keep the sand off my sandals, the saltiness in the air finding a place in my mouth, also subtly settling on my skin, making it sticky. The distinct smell of fish, rotten and fresh; I know I'm getting close to the waves.
I hesitate to let the waves wash my feet; wary of the dirt it is carrying with it. But tempted by the soothing comfort it will bring to my tired soles, I soak my toes in the water. As the waves pass through my toes, slowly tickling my ankles, and moving away, as if trying to carry me also into the water, I clutch my feet into the sand and keep myself steady. One wave after the other, the waters come to me, and then go away from me. I know, the one moment I loosen my grip, I will go away with the waves. 
Life is like that for me. Trials and tribulations try to sweep me away from my soul. But I cling on. As long as I know I can control my grip over my character and principles, no wave will wash me away.

As I walk back from the beach, the scenes repeat themselves; this time in darkness, under the shadows of the setting sun. Love, hatred, loneliness, fulfillment; so many faces on the beach, so many phases of the beach. 

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Dear Politician

I don't want to kill you
I don't want to drive close to you just so that I can get a glimpse of your face
I don't want to salute you
I don't want to be do anything with you or your presence or your very existence

So will you please let me drive in peace without having me wait for hours to see your cars zoom past, and inevitably end up going late to work?

Yesterday, I had to wait for 20 mins on the road, in anticipation, like a pregnant lady in the labor ward. Will you ever come or not? Your sincere servants; traffic police and the entire police force; were standing in stark discipline, barely breathing, waiting to salute you. That's what you've made them.

But dear Sir, I'm not your servant. I don't see why I should be subjected to unnecessary waits in a jam packed road, for which Sir, you are the reason.

Where are you going? To make amends? To help the poor? To initiate development activities? To do something about the poor roads here? To do some good?

I assume, and forgive me for that, that since you hardly have the time for all the above activities, you're probably going to some place far off for a chit chat with your fellow colleagues, may be to discuss how you can loot us more.

Why don't you all fly in helicopters? I swear I can't afford one and I confess, I have no intention of blasting your plane down.

So, dear Sir, if you would please, not make me waste my fuel and incur more costs on my living, just carry on with your daily tasks without disturbing me, I'd appreciate that!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Why did we grow up?

Today I'm thinking how different my life was when I was young. As I think, I'm wondering why I grew up in the first place. Why did we all grow up?
I think it's because we wanted to!
'You're too young for this' 'You'll know when you're old enough' 'No, that's not for you. It's for adults'All these encouraging comments only created inquisitiveness in us to actually want to grow up. To know what is actually in store for adults.
BAH!
How I wish nobody said those things. Now, I'm here, all grown up, mature (supposedly) and knowledgeable; but yearning to go back into days of ignorance, innocence and craziness.

To come to think of it, knowledge is poison. No wonder, God (as in Bible) got wild that Adam and Eve ate the apple that opened their eyes. I'm no staunch believer. But I understand why he got angry with them. What with all the knowledge and wisdom, the only thing you will want to do is 'question' and argue. To consummate this acquired knowledge, we reason out.

When I was a little kid, I'd depend on my parents to take all my decisions and I would dedicate my existence on their very counsel. Now all I want to do is reason out that 'I'm mature enough to handle things on my own' I'm not usually a rebel with my parents, I love them a lot, but then there are differences in opinion.
I can't imagine how much they would be offended to see their daughter who once even depended on them to be fed, talk back and say big things. Sigh!

When I was a little child, my only purpose in life was to play with friends and eat whatever my mother cooked.

Then slowly it changed to going to school, studying something, coming back home, eating something, playing with friends till darkness engulfs me, having dinner and sleeping with my parents. The only expectation from me was to pass examinations. Later, expectations grew exponentially.
Pass with flying colors.
Be an obedient child.
No fighting with sibling.
No fighting with friends.

The trend continues.

Come to think of it, I can live with the growing old bit, what really bothers me is that my parents are growing older as I grow old. That hurts me. Nevertheless, we all have to abide by nature's rule. While we are at it, might as well enjoy it.

When I age and sit back to reflect upon the days I lived, I pray I will be a person filled with no regrets :)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Donuts - Inspired Recipe




When I was in class 8, my brother and I used to ask my mum for Rs. 6 each to go buy donuts from FoodWorld. We used to love those sugar glazed donuts, soft and light. We used to devour one everyday after school. Soon after, they stopped selling those donuts and we forgot it in time, leaving it behind as one of our childhood memories. One day, I suddenly had this burning urge to eat donuts. I don't like the ones they sell here in Chennai. They get really hard and stretchy. So I decided I'd make them myself. 
I went shopping and bought all the ingredients and I was ready for the battle. I searched online for tons of recipes for donuts, watched videos on Youtube. I even tried out one batch following a certain recipe from a Youtube video, but I failed miserably. All I got was fried chunks of sweet maida. 

I don't know how, but miraculously the below recipe worked like magic for me. My very first batch, came out perfect. Here's how.

Donuts - Recipe (Frying version)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 yeast
3/4 cup milk
1/4 butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
Oil for frying

For the glaze:
1 cup castor sugar
3 tbsp water
1/4 butter
vanilla essense

Method of preparation:
1. Mix well yeast in 1/4 cup warm water 
2. Take flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre
3. Add the yeast, butter, milk, sugar and egg and knead well
4. Cover for an hour to let dough rise
5. Once the dough has risen to double its size, take it out and roll it on a floured surface
6. Cut out donuts using a donut cutter - I used a dessert bowl to cut out the donuts and a coke bottle cap to cut out the holes in the donuts
7. Let the cut donuts stay for another 30 mins to rise again
8. Fry the donuts till they are brown on both sides
9. Glaze - mix all ingredients till you get a glossy mixture
10. Lace donuts with the glaze and serve. You may also dust some castor sugar on top. 



Any takers? :) 

Temper

Over the past few years, I've been controlling my temper consciously. Whenever I get really angry, I just utter a few words to myself and then just erase the episode off my head. On and off, I rant here or update my FB/Twitter/LinkedIn status. One way or the other I vent it out. I have come a long way from the 'screaming and yelling' bit to 'silently walking away' bit. 
Things that anger me are not silly stupid things. They genuinely affect my daily dealings. Like today, one extremely insensitive email really pissed me off. I uttered a few sick words to myself and breathed. Once calm, I sent a nonchalant reply. In reply to my email I got another insensitive email. I just shoved it down my trash bin and walked away to join my colleagues for a training session. I consciously threw the email out of my system (both virtual and physical) and moved on with my tasks. 
But to think, I came back here to talk about it :)
Back at home, I thought to myself, investing that much energy in such petty issues is really uncalled for. I'm reading this book called Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman that talks about how every emotion is controlled in the brain. Interestingly enough, anger triggers excessive blood and a sudden rush of adrenalin to flow down your arms; that's why you feel this urge to grab a tool to hit someone or slap or throw something or just bang your fists against the wall. My! 
Anger is such a powerful emotion. But it shouldn't be manifested. It does no good to the soul. Any activity done is haste and anger bears severe consequences later when the anger subsides. Leaving us with a feeling of guilt and remorse. 
Today, during those tense moments of anger and frustration, I simply breathed heavily. Releasing all the tension off my mind. I never meditate. But I felt an environment of positivity build around me when I did that and my conscious efforts of forgetting the episode relieved me a great deal. 
My control on temper needs more conditioning. Hopefully, as I grow older I will be able to achieve it. May be later in my life, I will explore the possibilities of meditation. For now, the best way to stay cool, I've learnt is to simply ignore. And that's my lesson for today. 

To forget and ignore completely.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Nanban


Vijay has always come across as a rather discreet personality. He claims he is an introvert, so do his colleagues, but somehow his body language conveys something else. Like he has purposely buried another part of himself somewhere so that he comes across as an introvert. It sometimes irritates me to see him crack jokes on screen, sarcastic ones; beat up all the baddies; and then sit for a talk show like he was being paid to shut up. I have met and interacted with Vijay once on my way back to Chennai from Hyderabad. I told him how much I liked his remakes, Friends, Kadhallukku mariyadhai and so on, he only force smiled, nodded his head like a cow and shook my hand. I was like, bleh. 

I hate Vijay's movies that have been tailor made to suit his fan following. The redundant fights, item songs and romance. And not to forget his, unshaven rugged look and mockery of a wardrobe. His potential as an actor never really came to the forefront. That's why when I first heard that Shankar cast Vijay in Nanban, I was laughing at Shankar's stupidity. I assumed the movie would be an utter waste of a great story and script.

But! I was wrong. 

Nanban was a treat to watch. And I must really say this, Vijay rocked! Even a Vijay hater (read: Ajith fans) will love Vijay for his performance. 

Shankar played it safe by simply replicating the original 3 Idiots scene by scene.  One would expect, that a director like Shankar give the film his touch of perfection. I'm glad he did not. He respected the flavor of the movie and let it take all the credit. He just ensured that the picture sewn together looked appealing. And it did. 

Nanban comes to Vijay as a hattrick victory, after Kaavalan (Bodyguard) and Velayudham. Nanban is definitely a turning point in Vijay's career. With this movie, Vijay has got to come to his senses and stop catering to his 'mass.' He should look at more such character oriented roles in his future projects. 

Jiiva was a treat to watch on screen. He is witty, has great screen presence and kept his character alive throughout the movie. Shrikanth wasn't exactly a great cast for the role, but his performance towards the climax really moved me to tears. But I really wished Madhavan himself had taken up this role. Sathyan, as silencer, did full justice to his character. The welcome speech, where Sathyan keeps addressing the principal as a rapist and the education minister as a fart machine, stands out. The theater was in splits. Ileana looks sweet on screen and great dance moves. Ooh! 

Sathayraj, who am I to say, was simply too good. He matched the 'Virus' profile perfectly. 

I wish Vijay had gone for an image makeover as well, read: moustache. Well, how is one to straighten out a dog's tail? 



Aloo Tikki - My Recipe



I fondly recollect the first time I had aloo tikkis. I used to live in Ahmedabad and back then (I'm talking about 1995) MG road was THE most happening place in Ahmedabad. We used to go there every weekend and have veg pizza from a popular eatery, (there were no Pizza Huts/Dominoes back then), and strawberry milkshake with whole chunks of sweet strawberry; aah bliss.  One day, we decided to try out chaat from one of the eateries and my dad got me aloo tikki. I loved it! I ate two and wanted more. After that day, I would have aloo tikkis almost every weekend. 

Strangely enough, I never took a great liking to potato anyway. But for the sake of my cherished childhood memories, I will share the recipe of Aloo tikki I tried out one weekend at home. 

My recipe for Aloo Tikki

Cooking time: 30 mins
Ingredients
Potatoes - 5 nos, peeled and boiled
Green chillies - 3 nos, chopped
Green peas - 100 gms or 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Chaat Masala - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil - enough for shallow frying

Method of preparation:
1. Wash, peel and pressure cook potatoes till tender
2. Mash potatoes.
3. Mix green peas and green chillies
4. Season with cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, chaat masala and salt as per requirement
5. Knead well until all spices are infused into the potato mash
6. Make tikkis of desired thickness and keep aside
7. Heat oil in a tawa and arrange tikkis
8. Shallow fry until golden brown on both sides
9. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney

With that, my childhood memories are back! 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Semiya Payasam - My recipe


I love making desserts. That's largely because I have a severe case of chronic 'sweet tooth.' To further substantiate this, I have 8 cavities; all filled in at the tender age of 13. 
Aah! 
Getting back; I love sweets and I love making them. Of course, I'm still only going through the trial and error stages, at least I'm making efforts. 
To be honest, when I cook, I go by my instincts. I don't follow 'these many tbsps of masala or these many portions of this and that' I just taste, adjust and cook. I'd like to call myself an uncomplicated cook. Nevertheless, I will share my recipes, with the measurements, just so you can try them yourselves. 

Without further ado, here's my recipe for Semiya Payasam

Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
Milk - 1/2 litre
Sugar - 5 tbsp (may be adjusted as per your requirements)
Clarified butter (ghee) - 1 tbsp
Semiya/Vermicelli - 100 gms
Almonds - soaked, peeled and chopped
Cardamom pods - 4, pressed 

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat milk in a saucepan
2. Add sugar to the milk and stir until sugar is completely dissolved
3. In a fry pan, add 1 tbsp of ghee and fry the vermicelli till golden brown. Turn off heat. 
4. When the fried vermicelli has cooled a bit, slowly add it to the milk. Be careful while adding the vermicelli; if the mixture is too hot the milk may curdle. Ensure you are stirring the milk while adding the vermicelli.
5. Let the milk simmer, till vermicelli rises to the top
6. Add ground cardamoms 
7. Keep stirring till vermicelli is completely cooked
8. Add chopped almonds
9. Serve hot

My simple Semiya Payasam is ready! 

Mutton Keema - My Recipe


I never eat Keema from outside. I'm apprehensive about the fact that whatever parts I usually discard from the mutton/chicken meat will be included in the minced chunk in restaurants. Therefore, I safely avoid eating any keema dish outside. But that doesn't mean, I will restrict myself of ever trying it out. The safest option for me is to mince the meat myself.
It took me an hour to separate the meat off the bone, but it was worth the effort. I put the boneless mutton pieces into my food processor and I had a beautiful chunk of minced mutton meat with me, ready to be cooked.

Here's my recipe for Mutton Keema
Cooking time - Approx 30 mins
Ingredients:
Minced mutton
Ginger-garlic-green chilli paste - 1 tbsp (10 garlic pods; good amount of ginger; 4 fat green chillies)
Onions - 2 nos, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 nos, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Green peas - 100 gms
Water - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a kadai/wok
2. Add the ginger-garlic-green chilli paste to the hot oil; stir till light brown or no more raw smell
3. Add the chopped onions and fry till translucent
4. Add the minced mutton and stir
5. When mutton turns pale in color, add chopped tomatoes
6. Add turmeric, coriander, pepper, garam masala powder and salt. You may adjust the seasoning as per your requirements
7. Mix well and add water
8. Close saucepan with lid, and let it simmer on low flame
9. When the water is half reduced, add the green peas
10. Simmer till mutton is completely cooked and raw taste of green peas is gone.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with Paranthas.


Fraud Tomato Soup - My recipe

I have a very bad habit of saving up ketchup, oregano, chilli flakes sachets. Today I opened my draw to push in a few more of these sachets and found that the draw was already overflowing with the previously collected ones. I then decided that I should do something with these beauties. Soup I thought! 
We usually eat Knorr soups, but lately I realized that more than the good stuff, they are loaded with tons of preservatives. Ya they claim there aren't any, but why believe them? They'll say anything to make a sale. 
So I decided I'd make some tomato soup today; using the ketchup sachets, oregano and chilli flakes. This is not anything like the traditional home made tomato soups and it takes only about 10 mins to cook. That's why the name, 'Fraud Tomato Soup' :)

Here's the recipe: Tomato Soup - Fraud Version
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 4 nos
Water - 2 cups
Garlic Pods - 4 nos (finely chopped)
Butter - 175 grams
Tomato Ketchup - 8 sachets
Oregano - 1 sachet
Chilli Flakes - 1 sachet
Pepper - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander, Butter for garnish


Method of Preparation:
1. Peel tomatoes and blend them together in a blender, adding water to dilute the consistency
2. Heat butter in a saucepan
3. Add the chopped garlic into the butter and let it cook till there is no raw smell of garlic
4. Add the tomato puree and cook until the consistency is thickened a bit
5. Add the tomato ketchup
6. Season this with Oregano, chilli flakes, pepper, garam masala and salt
7. Bring to boil
8. Add water if the mixture is too thick. You may wish to add butter at this stage to give the soup a nice buttery texture
9. Remove from flame once you get the desired consistency 
10. Garnish with coriander leaves and a dollop of butter. 

10 mins, 10 easy steps - Your fraud tomato soup is ready to serve! 

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Life as I know it

My life has been a concoction of dramas. There is this one pattern that is a constant in all the dramas.
Anything I put my foot into, goes well for the first year and then the very next year, it gets jinxed. Education, work, relationship, and the list goes on.

I wont talk about the relationship bit. But the education and work bit I will.
My first year of PG was a breeze. Lot of hard work and equivalent rewards. The next year, all of a sudden, there was too much stress, too less recognition and a lot of drama.
My first year of my job, was bliss. I loved it. The second year started off with a lot of pressure and frustration.
I'm only in my second job in my career span and my second year of 'tribulations' has officially started.
I'm not reacting. I'm just thinking, how I managed the last time. Well, last time I quit. But I had a darn good reason for quitting. Of course this time quitting isn't an option.
While I'm thinking how to handle this mess, I'm also wondering, why life keeps throwing these situations at me.

I should document all these in detail somewhere, someday I'll write a book on it.
Provided people are willing to listen to my rant!

:)


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Books, I sorely miss thee.

I have simply stopped reading books.
That explains why I am not able to write anything here. 5 long years of blogging and 2008 was the only productive blogging year. I feel really bad.
I've come to realize how important reading is to me. I just can't seem to draw any inspiration anymore.
I could cite something from work. But you know how work is. It's like as if a group of people came prepared for their part and were giving their 100% at this play. At least for me it's like that. My work is a well executed drama.
But I'd rather not discuss it!
I miss them books. I think they are my soul mates. Gah, how could I abandon them?
Well, for starters, I think I'll read 'The Shadow of the wind'
I just can't get enough of this book. I've read it 5 times already. Yet, I love re-reading it. Every time I do, I rediscover myself.
If you haven't read it - READ IT!