Friday, June 19, 2009

Have u ‘C’een my little angel?

Shifted houses last week and it was an arduous task for someone who has never moved houses in her entire life. I first changed my house when I got married and all I did was pack suitcases to move into a set house! The second time around I packed the bare necessities to move to Dubai and the rest was set-up by the blokes from the Home Centres, Lifestyle , Carrefours and Furniture marts of Dubai!

I’m still overwhelmed by this whole shifting process. Friends and family are overjoyed with the new house but keep asking me if I’ll miss the old one. I surely will, it was not a lavish one but a sweet home for two which MDH and I had done up just fine. I was reminiscing my first days in Dubai in that house as I kept thinking what it is it that I’ll miss the most about that place. And to my and MDH’s realization there is only one thing, rather one person who makes that place richer and more lavish than all the villas and deluxe apartments of the world.

The first year she would only be friends with me and would run-away from MDH. The next year as she started hanging around at our place more frequently, MDH became her pal, her best friend, her buddy, her ally. He was her favorite as he is with everyone I know. (Yes I’m extremely jealous of him but I’ve resigned to that fact of life)

A bundle of energy, a livewire, loving & caring beyond her age, pretty, naughty, tantrum thrower, rockstar, terrific dancer, shy, talkative, artistic, graceful, obedient, respectful …have I missed out on anything?(P and A please fill me in!)

She has the prettiest smile in the world to greet you, so if you are having a hard day, drop in and visit her to drive the tiredness away. Her awesome tea which she makes with ginger-garlic and a pinch of ketchup is the most sumptuous tea I have ever had in my life. Now she has learnt to make ‘hot corn” and “lemonade” which she will be treating me to, the day I visit her next. She has gifted me the most precious gifts – a bracelet and pendant
(Handmade by her) and a spoon holder for the kitchen (hand-painted by her).

Her eyes lighten up every time one visits her and she has endless stories to narrate. If we think we’ll drop in for 5 minutes she ensures we stay on for another 50 minutes.

Her knowledge and diction of her mother tongue will put anyone to shame, and this inspite of having lived abroad. More than her I’m amazed by A and P. The nicest couple I’ve known till date and the ideal parents of my generation. No wonder she is turning out into a fine little lady.

Bless you little ‘C’, our little angel who is only 4 years old today. I’m yet to have one of my own and someday when I do, I’ll be glad that he/she will have such a lovely idol to follow. If she/he turns out to be 10% of what you are I’ll consider that God has blessed me! I hope and pray that we will be in touch and you will continue to light up the lives of one and all.

May you shine always, your journey has just begun and soon you’ll be sailing through it at thunder-speed. You have brought me more joy and happiness than my real ones have. There is reason when they say you don’t need to be related by blood to be called family. In the 3 years in Dubai, you, P and A have become my family.
In future wherever we will be, we will miss that smile and laughter every single day of our lives but we will thank God every day for giving us the opportunity to have known you so early in life!

Bless You!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Food for Thought

Here is a meme I came by at Sands’ blog. For the original tag you need to go to Nupur’s blog and pick it up from there. I thought it was a very interesting tag since I’ve developed a fetish for cooking and food post my move to Dubai. I suggest all of you give it a shot, I had great fun doing this tag!

So here goes, the gist of the tag is as follows…

  • Copy the entire list, along with these instructions, into your blog post
  • Bold the foods that you have tried
  • Strike out the foods you would never try
  • Tell us your score in the comments
  • If you wish to, make your own list or add to this one.

So here is Nupur’s 100 with my scores!

  1. Ripe mangoes
  2. Curd rice
  3. Chaat
  4. Phulka
  5. Puran poli
  6. Boiled Peanuts
  7. Samosa
  8. Stuffed baby eggplants - Tried as kid ( no choice right!), can’t have it now!
  9. Aviyal
  10. Stuffed paratha
  11. Masala chai
  12. Tirphal
  13. Murukku
  14. Curry leaves
  15. Banana chips fried in coconut oil
  16. Jaggery
  17. Vada pav
  18. Tender coconut water
  19. Paneer
  20. Madras filter coffee
  21. Boondi laddoo
  22. Boondi raita
  23. Navratan korma
  24. Kokum
  25. Masala peanuts
  26. A home-cooked Indian vegetarian meal
  27. Sugarcane juice
  28. Sabudana/sago in any form
  29. Horsegram
  30. Maggi noodles
  31. Podi with rice and ghee
  32. Roomali roti
  33. Bitter gourd
  34. Nylon sev
  35. Vegetable biryani
  36. Thali at a restaurant
  37. Plantain flower - Cooked in my house, but will not try it!
  38. Undhiyu
  39. Nimbu pani
  40. Papad
  41. Kotthu parotta
  42. Panch phoran
  43. Drumsticks
  44. Indian “French toast”
  45. Sarson ka saag - (Find it too filmy to eat along with gajar ka halwa, hindi films have abused these two items!!)
  46. Bhakri
  47. Pav bhaji
  48. Sitaphal - The one fruit you can make me try
  49. Glucose biscuits
  50. Sprouts
  51. Chole-bhature
  52. Amla
  53. Tomato “omelet”
  54. A wedding feast
  55. Grilled corn on the cob with lemon juice, salt and chilli powder – (That’s bliss! To be had in rainy season walking along the beach or my favourite Worli Sea-face)
  56. Cadbury’s fruit and nut chocolateTried do not like, plain is the best!
  57. Sai bhaji
  58. SolkadiTried do not like – yeah call me crazy!
  59. Indian-Chinese meal
  60. Jalebi
  61. Black forest cake
  62. Bharwa bhindi
  63. Kashmiri saffron
  64. Misal
  65. Ripe jackfruit
  66. Idli-chutney
  67. ‘Tadgola’
  68. Bhut jolokia
  69. Baby mango pickle
  70. Meal off a banana leaf
  71. Falooda
  72. Moong khichdi
  73. Bebinca
  74. Daal baati
  75. Methi greens
  76. Basundi
  77. Gunpowder
  78. Appam-stew
  79. Sweet lemon pickle
  80. Ridge gourd
  81. Bisi bele bhath
  82. Coconut burfi
  83. Caramel custard
  84. Thecha
  85. Rasam
  86. Baingan bharta
  87. Mysore pak
  88. Punjabi wadi
  89. Chhunda – Sweet Mango pickle.
  90. Dal makhani
  91. Paper dosa
  92. Gongura
  93. Hand-churned butterMalai never but homemade ghee I don’t need anything more with it! Yummy
  94. Pakoda All kinds anytime!
  95. Curd chillies
  96. Mustard oil
  97. Fresh cashewsThis is my all-time favourite veggie dish beats all non-veg dishes hands down
  98. Tomato pickleI don’t like tomatoes! Only use them when forced to!
  99. Rajma-chawal - Tried but won't eat anymore
  100. Chaas

Score – 80%. I’m rather impressed with myself knowing how fussy I’m with my food habits! I’m more of a non-veg freak than veg hence the score surprises me. It’s like getting a century when you were expecting a duck!

Well here are some more I thought I would add to the list above: ( Just realized that listing foods can be an endless exercise – now waiting for more from some of you folks out there)
1) Pithla
2) Khaman Dhokla
3) Kachori
4) Onion Uttapam
5) Kanda Poha
6) Poori Bhaji
7) Aaloo Bonda
8) Kothimbir Wadi
9) Aaluchi Wadi
10) Ragda Pattice
11) Dahi Bhalla
12) Pachadi
13) Tikhat Shira
14) God Shira
15) Kala Vatana usal ( Black peas curry)
16) Kale Vaal Usal
17) Malida
18) Varan Bhaat
19) Molten Lava – Chilli’s
20) Coco’s Triple Dare Cake
21) World Class Chocolate – Baskin Robbins

Life's Little Learnings of the Week - 3

Sorry for the absentia last week! Shifted, moved houses - tiring but fun. Just settling in so regular blogging should pick up soon!

Since I missed posting last week , here is a double dose this week:

I Have Learned That...

  • Lord didn't do it all in one day, what makes me think I can - Age 46
  • Whenever my mom calls me on the phone to say " Hi", it always makes me smile - Age 20
  • When you have an argument with your spouse; the first one who says" I'm sorry I hurt your feelings;please forgive me", is the winner - Age 51
  • Learning to laugh at yourself is the surest sign of maturity - Age 47
  • Children and grandparents are natural allies - Age 39
  • Sometimes just taking a nap can be the best medicine - Age18
  • Whenever I'm in big hurry the person in front of me isn't! - Age 29
  • I never have insomnia when it's time to get up in the morning - Age 57
  • You should never try to ride your bicycle over a basketball - Age 14
  • You should never give your brother the squirt gun especially when it's loaded with water - Age 7
  • You should never park your new car besides a beat-up car in the parking lot - Age72
  • Just one person saying to me "You made my day", makes my day - Age20
  • A woman would rather be complimented about her intelligence than her looks - Age 39
  • If you want an honest answer on how you look, ask your little sister - Age13

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Smile a lot and spread it even more

If this does not bring a smile to your face, you are not normal;-))


Imagine waking up in the morning, dreading to go through the daily routine of work and this is what you are treated to at 8.00 a.m. at the station. I'd die to see this happen to me atleast once in this lifetime!

200 dancers brought the world alive with their phenomenal performance at Central Antwerp Station - Belgium. After I googled I learnt it was a promotional stunt for a Belgium Show.


But, If I ever get to see such an act here in Dubai, I'll be the first to join. Dance and Music brings such joy and happiness. Just see the reactions of all the people at the station and see how many joined in impromptu!!

Special, lovely, just made my day, week, month, year and lots more years of the life!

Do spread the joy around, the world needs it!


P.S: Special thanks to my friend who shared it with me on FB

Wednesday, June 03, 2009

WC, PAK and Us...

WC'92 -League - Sydney - Indian won by 43 runs
WC'96 - Qfinal - Blore - India won by 39 runs
WC'99 - League - Manchester Ind won by 47runs
WC'03 - Super Six - Centurion - Ind won by 6 wickets
T20 WC '07 - League match - Durban - Match tied - India won on bowl out 3-0
T20 WC'07 - Johansnesburg - Final - Ind won by 5 runs
T20 WC '09 - Lords - Warm-up - India wins by 9 wickets

17 years since we met Pak for the first time in a WC and they are yet to beat us in a WC match - warm-up, league or knock-outs!

I don't see the law of averages catching up with us this year either!
Men in Blue Rock. Period!!!

Monday, June 01, 2009

T20 Preview: Are you glued in?


I think it’s been ages since I blogged about my first love although I do keep having great discussions with my cric buddies (PK and Tugga) of years off-line. I need to put these conversations up on the blog as they will make up for an interesting read for all cricket lovers! Either ways that is for some other day for another blog post.
For those who thought I was off cricket, tough luck! If you think you can survive without water, good for you, it’s not gonna work for me without cricket!

People who know me well, know my love for test and detestation for ODIs and T20. I loathed T20 when it came into force but India’s win in the WC, the scintillating matches against Pak & Aus in the first WC and later the IPL changed it all for me. I’ve not switched loyalties, test cricket remains my first love, the pure and true form of the game.
Test cricket is like your mom’s homemade food, the taste stays on your tongue for years, it takes time to be prepared but beats any hotel food any day! T20 is more like a KFC or McDonald’s burger, tasty as long as it lasts as it helps beat the hunger in few minutes!

I’ve enjoyed every match of the IPL this year, changing loyalties from MI to BRC to DC, and hoping that the underdogs would win as they did last year! Not many gave RR a chance last year and I bet no one would have put their money on DC(last year's bottom team) to win this one!
I admire and hate Lalit Modi, he has made IPL bigger than any ICC cricket event but at the same time he has drowned in commercialization of the game. It worries me that the charm of IPL will be lost soon.

So DC won and had a fair fight from BRC whose comeback was the talk of the tournament. You know the tournament is serving its purpose where one cannot predict a clear winner unlike the international scene where Aussies seemed to dominate for a long time now! Fortunately, that’s changing.

All eyes are turned to the T20 WC in England. I’m glad that the bowlers will have a chance to shine. The conditions are conducive to seam bowlers and all that the bowlers need to do is stick to the basics and bowl a good line and length. South Africa showed us some close matches in IPL and not all were high scoring games.
I rarely, very rarely vouch for India as favorites because we have been an unpredictable bunch for long. I always prefer that India goes in as tournament underdogs rather than favorites, we somehow tend to play better without the weight of the expectations. But, Dhoni’s Dudes are proving me wrong and seem to fare much better when there are more expectations. They have been winning consistently in all forms of the game for the last 2 years, occasional hiccups forgiven:-)

Before I review our competitors, I feel we stand a good chance to defend the title again. We bat right down to no 9 if we field the following team:
Sehwag, Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj, Raina, Dhoni, Yousuf, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Ishant, RP Singh
If Dhoni opts for 5 regular bowlers keeping in mind the England conditions, he will drop either Sehwag/Gambhir based on form and field Praveen Kumar who has bowled extremely well for BRC in IPL. Rohit and Yousuf are in excellent form along with Raina. Yuvraj/Dhoni have been out of sorts a bit but then they are experienced warriors who cannot be left out. And even if anyone goes out form, Ravindra Jadeja is raring to go. A couple of shots he played today reminded me of his namesake’s innings against Pak in ’96 WC and the thrashing dealt out to Waqar Younis.

As for the bowling department, RP Singh is in tremendous form carrying from his IPL success. Ishant is a worry but he seemed fine today in the warm-up game. If Zaheer opts out due to his injury we have Praveen Kumar, while Pragyan Ojha is a fitting replacement for Bhajji. As MDH told me today after seeing Ojha bowl in the warm up game, 'Who the hell said spinners will be murdered in T20, see this bloke and see how Warne, Vettori and Kumble bowled in the IPL.' If you got the skill you will excel in any form of the game. Though I felt Nehra was a tad unlucky to miss out, he was bowling as well as he did in the 2003 WC.

The serious competition will be from NZ, we are yet to beat them in a T20 game. Even today we lost. This team is indeed our boogeyman. Ryder, McCullum and Taylor are dangerous blokes who can turn the game single-handedly and Vettori can do the same with the ball. The worst part about this format is that it takes one innings or one over to turn the match and all 4 have the ability to do so. By far it is a team that deserves some serious attention and is definitely in the race for final four.

Australia is the only other team to have beaten us so far but as a team we are far better off. I would place the South Africans with Duminy,Smith, Steyn, Morke, Kallis and Boucher way higher than the Australians. Even Sri Lanka and Pakistan stand a better chance, Pakistan because they are terribly unpredictable and Sri Lanka because they have the seasoned campaigners Sangakarra, Dilshan, Jayasurya, Malinga and good old Murali. I’m not so sure England will get that far, they have decent players but I’m not so sure they’ve mastered the art of playing T20 yet.
Although there is a high possibility of Bangladesh or Windies pulling off an upset, I still feel that the best teams should make it to the final four – India, SA, NZ, AUS/Pak.
Your votes are welcome for the top four but currently India is leading with 66% on cricinfo.com's poll!

It should be an exciting game to watch.


P.S: I’m moving houses on the auspicious day when the WC commences. I hope the new house brings in much luck to MDH and me as much as the day brings in luck to the Indian Team’s WC campaign.
There is a high probability of me not being able to blog about the game till we get the internet connection done in the new house, so I don’t know when I’ll join in again on this space.
Till then enjoy the cup and keep me posted as well!

Life's Little Learnings of the Week - 2

I HAVE LEARNED THAT...
  • After all these years I still have a crush on my husband - Age 28
  • When bad times come, you can let them make you bitter or use them to make you better-Age 75
  • You must fight for the things you believe in- Age 70
  • You should never go to bed with an argument unsettled - Age 73
  • A sunroof is worth the extra cost - Age 29
  • The ache of unfulfilled dreams is the worst pain of all - Age 51
  • It's not what you have in your lifebut who you have in your life that counts - Age30