Monsoon showers drenched Delhi yesterday bringing in cool winds and pleasant temperatures. The fragrance from the mud after the first rain was still the same as it used to be 3 years back :-). Everything looks green and fresh after the first rain. This rain incidentally also reminded me of the first snowfall in Madison. We were in CAE, and a group of friends came and yelled its snowing outside. It was the first snowfall i had ever seen and all of us were extremely excited. We all went walking to State Street, in the snow to Taco Bell. We had a nice dinner and again came back walking to Engineering hall. Those days were fun! As far as i remember we were Me, Daphne, Bharathwaj, Rohit Malshe, Anand, Vishal mehta, Sunil Sunkara. Just 2 years in Madison has formed many many amazing memories which keep popping up now and then making those refreshing moments alive!.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
My Best Buddy
After a long time, i finally got to spend time with my best friend D today. It was nice talking and shopping together after one and a half years. D selected all my clothes which includes 8 T-shirts and 2 jeans, my shopping stock for the next one year. She reminded me of one of our golden childhood memories definitely worth a mention. We were in class 8 and we were best buddies :-). D suddenly changed her school in class 8. It was like a life change for me when she left the school and so for her. We used to miss each other a lot and i actually remember crying in the school and my class teacher explaining me that this is life and things like these happen, we should get used to it. Me and D used to wait for our schools to get over, get back home and talk to each other over the telephones. Our conversations were always a big source of business for MTNL! We used to chat for hours together over the telephone. And then D did something incredible, she left the new school, pleaded to the principal of our old school and came back to my school in my class. The day she came back, there was a round of applause in the class for the two of us, for our friendship indeed! What a gem of a friend, a friend for a lifetime!
And today D and i had a wonderful time talking about our lives, sharing our thoughts, concerns and complexities. Cheers for you dear friend!
And today D and i had a wonderful time talking about our lives, sharing our thoughts, concerns and complexities. Cheers for you dear friend!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
More Experiences in Des
I encountered some resistance from my friend H who read my last post and thought i was being anti-Des. I just wanted to say that these posts about my experiences in India after being gone for 1.5 years are merely my expressions of happiness over things that have improved, disappointment over things that have deteriorated, desire over things that should change and unhappiness over things that never change. In my posts I am not trying to compare India with US as the countries are very different in every way and it would be like comparing apples with oranges. But i do express my opinion on certain things which have been copied from the West and implemented in a very inefficient way.
So i saw a movie Indiana Jones on PVR. Awesome theatre. The theatres in Delhi are very superior to the ones where i went during my stay in US. Here in Delhi, the seats are much more comfortable, sound systems are better atleast by a factor of 5X and the screens are bigger. So far so good. I also took a ride in Metro to Dwarka. Delhi metro is undoubtedly a class apart, a very well implemented network, convenient, clean. Kudos to the Delhi people who have maintained this asset neat and clean till now. I went to the Tilak Nagar Gurudwara and had an encounter with horrible traffic. There is absolutely no way pedestrians can walk on the crowded roads in Delhi ( most of them are crowded and pedestrians do walk). It took me a while to get back to the old ways of crossing roads by running and not expecting the vehicle coming to slow down or stop. People push, force their way and what not. This is something i really dont like and definitely want it to change but its like hoping against hope.
I also visited Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh stores which are new built on the same concept as the grocery stores in the West. Unfortunately, these stores are extremely crowded and claustrophobic. The crowds push their trolleys all around and there is absolutely no space to move around. The product quality is not too good and vegetables and fruits are not too fresh. The billing takes extremely long and i saw some people just leave their stuff and leave the store after waiting for long in the billing queue. The average time per person in the billing was 10-15 mins. Huh! I have a small suggestion for these stores, they cant do much about crowds and their small areas as thats the case in any city in India but they must start an express lane for people who have lesser items so that they dont stand in the queues waiting so long for their turn.
They should also make their billing staff and computer systems more efficient to reduce the billing time per person.
Still more experiences both sweet and sour are going on...
So i saw a movie Indiana Jones on PVR. Awesome theatre. The theatres in Delhi are very superior to the ones where i went during my stay in US. Here in Delhi, the seats are much more comfortable, sound systems are better atleast by a factor of 5X and the screens are bigger. So far so good. I also took a ride in Metro to Dwarka. Delhi metro is undoubtedly a class apart, a very well implemented network, convenient, clean. Kudos to the Delhi people who have maintained this asset neat and clean till now. I went to the Tilak Nagar Gurudwara and had an encounter with horrible traffic. There is absolutely no way pedestrians can walk on the crowded roads in Delhi ( most of them are crowded and pedestrians do walk). It took me a while to get back to the old ways of crossing roads by running and not expecting the vehicle coming to slow down or stop. People push, force their way and what not. This is something i really dont like and definitely want it to change but its like hoping against hope.
I also visited Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh stores which are new built on the same concept as the grocery stores in the West. Unfortunately, these stores are extremely crowded and claustrophobic. The crowds push their trolleys all around and there is absolutely no space to move around. The product quality is not too good and vegetables and fruits are not too fresh. The billing takes extremely long and i saw some people just leave their stuff and leave the store after waiting for long in the billing queue. The average time per person in the billing was 10-15 mins. Huh! I have a small suggestion for these stores, they cant do much about crowds and their small areas as thats the case in any city in India but they must start an express lane for people who have lesser items so that they dont stand in the queues waiting so long for their turn.
They should also make their billing staff and computer systems more efficient to reduce the billing time per person.
Still more experiences both sweet and sour are going on...
Saturday, May 31, 2008
First Day in Desh
I landed yesterday night after a long long journey of over 24 hrs including the waiting times at the intermediate airports. Was finally glad to land and stretch my cramped legs. At Delhi, as i landed i was shocked to see an extremely long queue for immigration. In fact the queue was uptil the stairs which lead down to the immigration area. There were lot of folks who were pushing and forcing their way through the queues to get their immigration done soon. Well, thats how things work here, don't they? I waited and got my immigration done in 1 hour.Quite an experience. Then i headed towards the baggage claim area and got my 2 suitcases very quickly. Was relieved to see my baggages on time! Finally i was on my way home. The parking of the cars was as always disordered. I was expecting to see some change but hopefully will see somewhere. The new road built was pretty impressive from airport to Dwarka. It was a 4 lane road wide and nice just like the highways in US. I was home pretty soon. Today i went to the local market and sat on the rickshaw to go to another sector to buy some stuff. Quite an experience, well it does take some time to adjust to the traffic sense here. Rickshaws never stop on redlights. They squeeze their way through the narrowest bumpy side walks anywhere. It would really be good one day to see the traffic abiding by the traffic rules everywhere. I am sure i can no longer drive here as driving here means being careful not just for yourself but for every other vehicle driving around you and unexpected rickshaws and bicycles which can crop in any time. So first day a mix of both good and bad. Good because there are new big wode roads and bad because the traffic sense of people still remains the same.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday evening by myself...
After a few hrs of work, i came back home at 5:30 in the evening today. With a totally empty stomach i attacked the aloo pakoras i made yesterday evening. Followed by that i had a combination of maggi tomato soup and maggi noodles - my favorite combination since i was a child. i sat for some time in my patio enjoying the cool breeze. So then i wanted to go for a walk around the community. I saw the full moon in the sky. I was totally taken by its beauty that i went home and got my camera and tripod and clicked some pictures of the moon..Here is one, Enjoy!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
What is Life...
What is life, is the most complex question, almost as complex as the origin of life and universe. Atleast there is a theory in place for origin and evolution of life- Darwin's theory, but there is none that defines 'What is life' from a human perspective. In the end both remain unanswered.
Today evening i drove down to the Golden Gate Bridge inorder to break the same daily routine of coming back home late from work followed by eating with Fred Flintstones on my TV and then sleeping. Although it was a thursday evening, i had the enthusiasm to go since its Friday tomorrow, finally! Yes, i am one of those who look forward for the weekend.
On my way to the bridge i saw the hills of San Francisco and the low black clouds hovering over them, which reminded me of the Mordor tower in Lord of the Rings :-), although there is nothing evil about these hills. Maybe just a little fantasy running across my brain after seeing the LOTR triseries last week. The moon suddenly peeping through the windshield brought an unexpected smile on my face. Well, these unexpected smiles are a must once in a while to get the blood pumping through your jaws. Finally i was at the GGB. Quite some people had turned out there, with their cameras to capture the bridge and the Sf city shining on the bay in the night. The first thing i noticed was the Big Dipper in the sky, visible very clearly. I was quite happy to recognize it.
And then i was doing what i had gone to GGB for. I just stood there looking at the calm ocean in the dark cuddled by the bay bridge, the city and the golden gate bridge. Looked like somebody had painted a painting in front of me. I was trying to find answers to the questions which keep cropping up in everybody's mind once in a while. What is life, and what do i want to do? Huh, thinking and thinking but no answers. And then i just looked in the distance and thought maybe this is what is life:
Traveling to the unexplored lands, far and distant never seen before, experiencing the wonders of the pristine nature untouched my man, musing and shocking yourself by composing a rhyme , singing a song long lost and forgotten, feeling the drops of rain, the colors of sunlight and the frail breeze on your face, seeing the stars twinkle in the dark sky, loving someone.
I dont know whether thats the answer or not but for now my soul is satisfied with these thoughts that came across my mind. But, not for long!
Today evening i drove down to the Golden Gate Bridge inorder to break the same daily routine of coming back home late from work followed by eating with Fred Flintstones on my TV and then sleeping. Although it was a thursday evening, i had the enthusiasm to go since its Friday tomorrow, finally! Yes, i am one of those who look forward for the weekend.
On my way to the bridge i saw the hills of San Francisco and the low black clouds hovering over them, which reminded me of the Mordor tower in Lord of the Rings :-), although there is nothing evil about these hills. Maybe just a little fantasy running across my brain after seeing the LOTR triseries last week. The moon suddenly peeping through the windshield brought an unexpected smile on my face. Well, these unexpected smiles are a must once in a while to get the blood pumping through your jaws. Finally i was at the GGB. Quite some people had turned out there, with their cameras to capture the bridge and the Sf city shining on the bay in the night. The first thing i noticed was the Big Dipper in the sky, visible very clearly. I was quite happy to recognize it.
And then i was doing what i had gone to GGB for. I just stood there looking at the calm ocean in the dark cuddled by the bay bridge, the city and the golden gate bridge. Looked like somebody had painted a painting in front of me. I was trying to find answers to the questions which keep cropping up in everybody's mind once in a while. What is life, and what do i want to do? Huh, thinking and thinking but no answers. And then i just looked in the distance and thought maybe this is what is life:
Traveling to the unexplored lands, far and distant never seen before, experiencing the wonders of the pristine nature untouched my man, musing and shocking yourself by composing a rhyme , singing a song long lost and forgotten, feeling the drops of rain, the colors of sunlight and the frail breeze on your face, seeing the stars twinkle in the dark sky, loving someone.
I dont know whether thats the answer or not but for now my soul is satisfied with these thoughts that came across my mind. But, not for long!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Bagalabath Recipe
I tried making the South Indian curd-rice or Bagalabath yesterday night. Quick and simple to make and tastes delicious. Being a North Indian, i didnt really know that curd-rice is typically eaten at the end of the meal. I actually ate it as a full meal with the gobhi-gajar-shalgam pickle. Awesome combo! Funny trivia is that since i only eat Basmati Rice, thats the only one i had at home so i made bagalabath with Basmati rice. My tamil friends were all laughing at this. Here is the recipe:
1. Make the rice in the microwave. Put some more water so that the rice are overcooked and can be mashed easily later.
2. In the mean time, take some ghee in a pan and heat. Add mutard seeds once the ghee is hot. Once the mustard seeds sputter add ginger, green chillies to the pan and mix. Now add curry leaves.
3. Take some seedless grapes and split them into halves. Add these to the pan mix. Also add a pinch of hing to this.
4. Once the rice are done, mash them and while mashing them add some milk to it. Once they are mashed, add curd . The amount of curd depends on the amount of sourness you like. So you can add more as you like.
5. Add the above rice-curd mix to the pan and garnish with very finely chopped coriander leaves.
1. Make the rice in the microwave. Put some more water so that the rice are overcooked and can be mashed easily later.
2. In the mean time, take some ghee in a pan and heat. Add mutard seeds once the ghee is hot. Once the mustard seeds sputter add ginger, green chillies to the pan and mix. Now add curry leaves.
3. Take some seedless grapes and split them into halves. Add these to the pan mix. Also add a pinch of hing to this.
4. Once the rice are done, mash them and while mashing them add some milk to it. Once they are mashed, add curd . The amount of curd depends on the amount of sourness you like. So you can add more as you like.
5. Add the above rice-curd mix to the pan and garnish with very finely chopped coriander leaves.
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