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!

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... 

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. 

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!

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 :)

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.

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! 

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! 

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!

:)

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! 

May be I'm never going to Heaven...

Just after I published my post on an irritating colleague at work, I stumbled upon this beautiful story that inflicted enough pain in my heart.


An old man sold toys in the Baghdad market. Knowing that his sight was not quite perfect, his customers sometimes paid him with fake money.


The old man discovered the ruse, but did not say anything.
In his prayers he asked God to forgive those who cheated him.
“Perhaps they’re short of money and want to buy presents for their children,” he said to himself.


The time passed and the old man died. Standing before the gates of Heaven, he prayed once more:


- Lord! – he said. – I am a sinner. I did many wrong things, I am no better than the false coins I was paid. Forgive me!


At that moment the gates swung open and a Voice was heard:


- Forgive what? How can I judge someone who all through his life never once passed judgment on others?

I have judged. Lot of times. Lot of people.

I'll never go to Heaven.

Haven’t you ever lost someone?

Sometimes I wonder... why do some people fall in love over and over again...In and out of relationships, in and out of sorrows. Many people continue to love.
Some fail to do so. And I understand.
But to the ones, who continue loving, it's amazing how they do it! I read this somewhere (I don't remember where)

Haven’t you ever lost someone?

A man was walking along the road to Damascus. He recalled his lost love and his soul grieved.
“Pity on those who know love,” he thought. “They will never be happy, with the fear of losing the one they love.”
At that moment he heard a nightingale sing.
- Why do you act like that? – the man asked the nightingale. – Don’t you see that my beloved, who loved your song so much, is no longer here by my side?
- I sing because I am happy – answered the nightingale.
- Haven’t you ever lost someone? – the man insisted.
- Many times – answered the nightingale. – But my love still remains all the same.


And the man went on his way feeling more hopeful.

I think this is a very pretty picture of love. Love is such a mysterious emotion. Quaint yet so simple.
I think Love is contained in this magic cup that is always full to the brim. No matter how much we take away from the cup, there is still a full cup left behind.

Like a mother's love towards her beloved child.

What the hell

This morning I saw a man waiting for his chaffeur to come open his bloody door. The chaffeur got down from the car, leaving me wait behind him, ran to the backdoor and opened the door for the loser inside.
I hate it when people do that.
Why the hell can't people open the doors on their own? What do they think of themselves? I was so bloddy pissed off that I kept honking at him. That loser casually got down and looked at me. I stared back at him. I wanted to scoff at him. But I didn't.
Because he is a bloody loser.