WTF!!!

Happy V day

2012-02-15T20:51:00.003+05:30

Hi. I have not been too great these last few days. Don't ask why. On Sunday, I dropped KC off to the airport after my Jazz class. He was going to Pune for a few days and then to Mumbai... then back to Pune and returning after 6 days. I was pissed... he was going to miss V day. Initially, he had planned to return for one evening so we could have dinner together. I felt like something had changed. I am very scared of things changing... of becoming a boring couple who are too lazy to do anything fun... I miss the energy we used to have. We have traveled all over the country to be with each other even for one night. Most of our relationship and 1 year of marriage was long distance. I remember this one time- I had to go for a conference to Lonvala. I worked most of the night with my colleagues on a ppt, we left early morning for Lonvala... worked all day... partied till late night... started ppts next day early morning... went for water sports in the evening... returned at night for dinner at the Boss's house... left at 1 am for guesthouse... took the early morning flight to Indore... spent the day and night with KC... flew back in the morning to Mumbai... worked all day... took the train at night to Gujarat. And he has done the same for me.

And then negative thoughts come in... what if... what if... what if. Sometimes I wonder if we are happy or I am just like Carrie, not used to not having drama. Which one is it?

Anyway, KC agreed to come back (seeing that he had no other option) but I messaged him and asked him not to strain himself. There were 2 reasons for this:

Travelling from Pune to Gurgaon to Pune to Mumbai to Gurgaon does sound hectic. It seemed like a genuine reason
I did not want to be with him on V day if he did not want to be with me. Plain and simple. I do have my pride and ego

My bad ass friends were surprised to know I would be alone on V Day. "Umm... hmm... where is KC, if not with you?" I did wonder and kept tracking him to Google Maps. (After reading this, he will take me off his list for sure).

On V day, he did not call me ... now I was pissed AND sad. To be the higher person, I sent flowers online. I would have done it earlier but I was not sure if he would be in Mumbai or Pune or back home. 30 mins later, my doorbell rang. KC had sent me roses... orange roses with a "Sorry" note. All I could think was; "The romance is still alive" And Amen to that.

It was like "Gift of Magi" (by O'Henry)... with both us sending each other roses and all. I know the story was about sacrifice but for 2 self sufficient individuals the opportunity to sacrifice rarely comes.

Happy V day. I hope its a better one next year.

Back to baking... with a vengeance

2012-02-11T17:52:00.004+05:30

People who do not like my cooking posts... ignore. Come back later.

I went looking for Superman or Batman tee shirts for KC. Don't ask... he wants cartoon tees and has been whining about it for sometime now. During the workshop, one batch had to wear Superman tees. They all had purchased it from some shop in DLF Phase 1 market. I went looking for it last night and came across Modern Bazaar store. I have seen this store in Select Citywalk Mall. It stocks all the imported stuff. I picked up a few things and came across tutti fruti. Few months back I was looking for tutti fruti to add in cupcakes and could not find them anywhere. What a bummer. This time I was inspired- reached home at 8 pm and started making cupcakes batter. The recipe was taken from Maria Goretti's blog (she was a VJ on MTV and is the wife of Arshad Warsi). The batter looked fab and I was looking forward to devouring the cupcakes. Unfortunately, I left the microwave on preheat for a very long time. It conked off and wouldn't turn on. I had to throw away the batter. I was planning to get it repaired on Sunday and resume baking.

But I tried turning the microwave on in the morning and it worked. Yoohoo. I returned from work, did the whole thing again and baked a bunch of lovely cupcakes.

Below is the recipe taken from MG's blog: http://mariagorettiz.blogspot.in/2010/06/night-26-midnight-insanity-muffins.html

Cupcakes
1 1/4 cup , self rising flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp butter
1 cup sugar
3 large egg whites

Tutti Fruti (not in original recipe- added by me)

Pre heat oven to 250 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.. Mine took 10 mins only and then I turned it off.

1.Sift the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside.
2.In another small bowl, stir the milk, vanilla and almond extracts together. I used essence instead of extract.
3.In a large bowl, with the hand mixer on medium, beat the butter and sugar, until it lightens in colour about 3 minutes.
4.On low speed, add the flour to the butter mix in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, till its just about blended and set aside.
5.In another large bowl , beat the egg whites with an electric beater till it is nice and shiny white , smooth and nice and stiff. Stop beating when it starts looking like snow... you will see the peaks. This is the hardest and most boring part.
6. Stir about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, with the electric beater , then stop and with a spatula , just fold the rest of the beaten egg whites in.

7. Take the tutti fruit on a plate... sprinkle some flour and mix them together. This will prevent them from settling at the bottom. Add into the batter with a spatula.
7. Put the batter into your muffin moulds , they make about 6 and cook them at 160 degrees for 17 minutes, and the little white poppykins are ready , take them out and leave them to cool....

Ta... da... they are ready.

Mascara... for beginners/dummies

2012-02-11T16:09:00.006+05:30

Hiya. I am back, as promised... with a post on my favorite product- mascara.

Men, please ignore. Come back later.

I have always had regular eyelashes- thin, slightly curved and not too long. Eyelashes should be long, curved and thick. Thats where a mascara comes in. It opens up the eyes and makes them look more attractive. Not kidding. This is the 2nd last product I have come to like; last is blush. Anyway, right now it is my favorite product because even if I do not use an eyeliner, it makes my eyes look better.

The first mascara I purchased was Maybelline volume express in college. I never used it and could not figure out the big deal. Almost 2 years back, I decided to give it a try again. This time I picked up Mac mascara. I was not sure what I wanted from it- do I want to lengthen my lashes or curve them or thicken them? Every beauty counter I went to, the skin advisers would apply many coats of the mascara and make my eyelashes look weird. I did not want to look over the top.

I follow one rule- when in doubt, pick up Mac... if you afford it. I bought a mascara which only defines lashes. After some time of using it, I realized- its not meant for my lashes. My lashes need help- to curve, lengthen and thicken.

So, I bought another Mac mascara- this one for curved and thick lashes.

After a few months, I picked up L'Oreal mascara. I love L'Oreal products (most of them) and

decided to give it a try. I picked up the volume million lashes. I also decided to try out a brown mascara- L'Oreal telescopic mascara.

Front to back: Mac Pro Longlash: Price- around 1k; Mac Plush Lash: Price- around 1k; L'Oreal telescopic mascara: Price- around 600 bucks; L'Oreal volume million lashes: Price- around 700 bucks.

Mascara should be applied last- after completing the rest of the eye make up. Open the bottle, take out the wand, swipe on the lash- bottom to top. Swipe again. And again, if you want more volume. Use it on the other eye. Do not dip it again in the bottle. This is to prevent the air from entering in and drying it sooner.

Here is a pic of my eye with the mascara on- I have used volume million lashes mascara and swiped twice. The pic has been taken with my phone so it is not very clear.

You can compare the lower lashes and upper ones and notice the difference.

For a casual look, you can skip liner and apply mascara and kohl. It still gives a defined look to the eye and seems like a thin liner has been applied.

Reviews of the mascara:

Front to back:

Mac Pro Longlash: I do not use it anymore and will be glad to give it away for free. Lemme know if you want it

Mac Plush Lash: It has a thick brush which curves the lashes very well. The only problem is it does not cover the small lashes. I generally skip covering those

L'Oreal telescopic mascara: This one is my favorite. The brush is very thin and covers smallest lashes. It is brown colored and gives a very natural look. It lengthens the lashes but does not add too much volume. I need to swipe 3-4 times for volume. Best for daily, casual wear

L'Oreal volume lashes: Really, really adds volume. Covers even small lashes and lengthens them. Gives a black look to the eyes. Love it.

Tip: Always, always curl your lashes with an eye curler (costs less than Rs 50 and available at all cosmetic stores) before applying mascara. If lashes are not curled, they will not look very good. Also, don't go for blue or green or different colored mascaras. If lashes are black, no matter which color you apply it will not be visible.

For cheaper options, Maybelline mascara is good. Lakme is dependable. You can check out Revlon/Chambor/Max Factor etc. There are many, many options these days.

Life revolves around food

2012-02-05T15:19:00.005+05:30

Hiya. I am sitting in the bedroom after watching a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory Season 5. KC is sleeping and there is silence. It is cold but bearable. Last night's howling breeze is silent right now. Winter is saying goodbye and I couldn't be happier.

This week has been hectic and I have not been getting enough sleep. No, its not work... its never work. On Thursday, my colleague gave me a free pass for the movie 'Chronicle' playing at Vasant Kunj Mall. I invited D, AB and KC. AB couldn't make 'coz he had to "sleep early". KC was quite busy at work and we had to leave quite late. The traffic on Mehrauli road did not help and we reached half an hour after the movie started. Disappointed, we headed for a quick drink and dinner at Taman Gang. I had not heard about it but D had come for dinner with his family. He did mention that it is expensive but I did not realize then that our definitions differ. Anyway, since we were in a hurry D ordered for us. We did not even look at the menu. There was some chicken starter which was quite good. The chicken red Thai curry was yummy. The chicken was so so so soft. And rice was good. We had 4 drinks in all. The bill came to 5k. I was a little zapped. We have not done the whole get together with friends in a while and was not sure how much it is supposed to cost. Even then, it seemed on the expensive side. On checking the bill, I realized main course and starter cost 650 bucks each. KC and I do not have a budget but generally, anything above 350 bucks is expensive for us. I read the reviews on zomato.com and check the prices before going to a place. The prices are so high only in a 5 star. The food was good but quite expensive.

We then headed for The Descendants. I will write a review in my next post.

KC was working late on Friday night and we came home at 10.30 pm. I was in no mood to go out and we ordered in (with great difficulty since everything closes at 11 pm in Gurgaon).

Last night was great. We headed to Select Citywalk since KC wanted to shop. Dinner was at The Big Chill Cafe, as always. We visit it every month and love the food there. My only grouse is the waiting time. The first time we went there on a Sunday afternoon, we got a table at 3 pm (after more than an hour of waiting). At Khan Market, D had booked a table on phone an hour earlier. We were made to wait for another 45 mins. Last night was the same. 60 mins of wait and we finally got a table at 10 pm. Thankfully, the service was quick. Their Vanilla Oreo shake is to die for.

Last weekend was the workshop. I was happy to have no class on a Sunday and just wanted to stay in and do nothing. At 12 noon- after finishing all the chores, we were about to start watching TBBT when a friend R called. R and me live within 5 mins of each other and were together in engg college. Our friendship has lagged over the years and neither has made an effort to revive it. All my invitations to movies or dinner have mostly been turned down by him- for one reason or the other in the last few months. And I have basically given up. Anyway, he asked me to bring him some food since he is very ill and has nothing at home. I guessed he was in dire need of help to have called me. I packed some food and took it to him. He had been running a fever for 3-4 days and was surviving of D Cold and Crocin. His sister was away at a weeding out of town and parents had gone back to their home 2 days back. Basically, he was alone and there was nobody to look after him. After feeding him soup, I took him to the hospital. He had to be given a drip to bring down the fever. I brought him home, fed him lunch and returned home to a Sunday that was almost over. Sigh!!! I do not understand the reluctance of people to see a doctor. My father is a doc so advice is always available and I am quite used to it. For me it is very natural to see a doc when I am unwell. Most people wait and wait and wait till they are pushed by someone to see a doc. KC is like that. So, is R. Any symptom which lasts more than a week should be diagnosed by a doc; 2 days if it is fever.

And today I plan to do nothing. Just sit home and lounge around. I need to.

My favorite products

2012-01-31T21:08:00.006+05:30

Hi. I am going to review some of my favourite personal care products. I would not give them up easily. Sure, trying out new ones is part of the experience but I tend to go back to them sooner or later.

1) L'Oreal Professional Liss Ultime Masque:

I was recommended this when I got my hair straightened 3-4 years back. It was expensive- the small pack available in salons cost Rs 500. I have the bigger pack whose MRP is Rs 900. You should find it in wholesale market. I love this masque. The packaging is jar shaped and easy to remove. The jar is filled to the brim and product is of creamy consistency. A small quantity goes a long way. You just have to apply it after shampoo, leave it on 2-3 minutes and then rinse properly. Do try it even if it is hard on your pocket.

2) Matrix Biolage Anti Dandruff shampoo:

This is the only Matrix product I have used. Matrix is a poor cousin of L'Oreal Professional and I am more of a Professional gal. I face dandruff issue and have few shampoo options. I would use Head and Shoulders earlier. The problem was if I shifted to another brand, the dandruff would come back. On moving back to H&S, the dandruff would take a few weeks to go away. Not a very healthy sign. I tried this product and like it a lot. The MRP for 200 ml is Rs 190. Slightly more expensive than H&S but lasts longer. I am a fan and will not shift for quite sometime.

3) Chambor make up remover:

There are many make up removers in the market but most of them are for eye and lip make up. I think Lakme is the only other brand which has a face make up remover. I am not into Lakme products. They are good if you have just started using make up but not otherwise. I came across this product at the counter in Shoppers Stop or Lifestyle and decided to try it. It costs Rs 400 (approx) for 75 ml. I remove eye and lip make up with a Maybelline/L'Oreal remover, splash my face with water, take a small quantity in my palm and then massage it on my face into a lather and then rinse off. Initially, I was a little skeptical. What if it is not effective? How will I know the foundation has been completely removed? To test it, I used the product, dabbed a cotton with eye make up remover and swiped on the face. There were no trace of make up, my skin felt clean and soft. A small quantity of product goes a long way. It has granules which are very soft and spongy and exfoliate the skin too. Also, it acts my face wash. So, 3 in one- make up remover, exfoliation, face wash.

1 tube lasts me a month or more and I use it every night to remove make up. It is pricey but worth it.

4) Oriflame foot cream:

I do a home pedicure/manicure every weekend to keep my hands and feet well maintained. I had purchased a VLCC foot cream which was trash. After finishing it (which took a long, long time) I was looking for a good foot cream. I came across this Oriflame one. It is priced at Rs 229 for 75 ml. The best part about it is the non greasy formula. I cannot sit still and having to wait for the cream to get absorbed or worse, it sticking to my foot is too much to expect from me. A small quantity goes a long way and gets absorbed within seconds. This tube should last me 6 months.

Tomorrow, I will do a review of mascaras. Good night.

Agneepath- Then and Now

2012-01-31T20:47:00.002+05:30

Hi... by now you would have already watched the movie or atleast the reviews. So, my review is quite belated. Nevertheless, here my 2 cents. I will do 2 reviews- one for the new movie assuming it is entirely different- just to be fair and second will be a comparison between the old and new.

Btw, do check out Dipta's review (link in sidebar), it is bang on.

Review 1:

I had not watched the old Agneepath when I watched the new one. So, I saw it with an open mind and no reason for comparisons. Of course, I have seen a lot of movies with Amitabh as "angry young man". So, I knew what it must be all about.

The movie begins on a very depressing note- with Hrithik's dad getting falsely implicated and hanged to death by Sanjay Dutt- Kancha Cheena. He takes him mother to Mumbai where she delivers a baby girl. Vijay's life spirals into a life of crime henceforth. He is obsessed with revenge and joins the gang of Rishi Kapoor. He double crosses Rishi and takes revenge from Kancha. He dies in the end.

It is funny how nobody in Hrithik's family has green eyes- not even his childhood. How difficult can it be to cast a kid with green eyes or cast his sis with green eyes? Hrithik looks like a male model in the slum- no Mumbaiya lingo, well dressed, deliberately unshaved... very out of place. The sad truth is there is no actor today who can play a realistic tapori. Gone are the days of Jackie Shroff, Mithun or Anil Kapoor. Actors today are too image conscious to play to the lower class. The exceptions are Salman (I do not like him, so lets ignore) and Aamir. I think Aamir's tapori act in Rangeela exceeded expectations. Which hero today would agree to wear yellow pants and jacket? (Salman, excepted). Sad.

Priyanka plays a giggling, talkative bimbo. I hate such characters. I wanted to reach out and slap her hard. And then the crying- there was too much of it. After all, it is a Karan Johar movie. Hrithik was either crying or getting beaten up. I cannot imagine Amitabh like that. No ways.

I do not like Sanjay Dutt and watching him look uglier than ever did not help.

Please avoid. Save your hard earned money. It ain't worth it.

Review 2:

All curious, I downloaded the old Agneepath and watched it on Sunday. The best characters- Mithun, Neelam, Shetty etc have been edited out of the new version. Why? Mithun was so much fun and Neelam is so cute. I loved Amitabh's rasping voice, the way he survived 4 bullets in the chest, how he swam in the Mauritius waters when bombed. Its unreal and ENTERTAINING. He did not cry and yet managed to exude the anguish and pain. Oh, the best part was Kancha Cheena... he is not some bald, ugly, psycho man. He is a suave, sexy, chic Danny. I have never seen him look this handsome. Thats what a don is supposed to look like.

You know my verdict... loved the old one... hated the new one even without watching the old one.

The Week that was...

2012-01-29T16:06:00.002+05:30

Hiya. This week has been nice. I love mid week holidays. They are non chore days. I cannot wake up on Thursday with a list in my head. The lists are for the weekend. We had nothing to do on Republic day since we could not get passes for the parade. I was told tickets are for losers. Anyway, 26th Jan'12 bright, early and sunny. The day was beautiful. My friend AB told me he was going for a picnic to Lodi Gardens. I decided to head there as well. We had planned to go to the garden last month but it didn't work out. To avoid checking, we took the metro to Jor Bagh. The garden was crowded... all the Delhi families had come there to soak in the sun. And they had come with preparation- home made food, cards, cricket gear, badminton rackets, liqour, floor mats etc. I got to know later that Lodi gardens and India Gate are a draw during the winters. It is the ideal place to hang out. It was quite nice. We walked around the garden and visited the monuments. I was shocked to see people drinking liqour. Lodi Gardens is the most posh place in Delhi. Dignitaries live around there. If decent families can drink liqour in the open on Republic day, anything can happen. I mean, what are we teaching our kids? Sigh!!!

After an hour, we met up with D who lives near Khan Market. After a Vanilla Oreo shake (please try it) and pasta at Big Chill we tried to get tickets for a movie, any movie but were unsuccessful. It was a day well spent.

Yesterday was the Winter Workshop at Sirifort Auditorium. My day was filled with "to-do" items- buy shoes from Sohna Road Bata showroom (the only store in Gurgaon which stocks shoes worth 250 bucks), go to the bank, buy groceries, go to the parlour, have lunch, leave for workshop. The workshop was fine. Our performance lasted for barely 1.5 mins. We went on stage, did our stuff and came out. It was unbelievable- 2 months practice for only 1.5 mins. During classes, I don't interact much with anyone. I dance and leave- like everyone else. Anyway, 90% of the class has school going teenagers. During the workshop, I had the misfortune of interacting with them. We had to wear checked skirts given by the company. They were knee length skirts. ALL the girls found them TOO long. And then, they proceeded to fold them to less than half their length. For some reason, most of them have accents. I do not understand this. They don't look like NRIs. Where do they get accents from?

Lesson learned- Have kids but do not educate them in Delhi.

Movies...

2012-01-22T09:57:00.004+05:30

Arthur Christmas. Last weekend there were no movies to watch. We decided to go for this flick. How wrong can you go with animated movies? I love watching such movies on X'mas on TV. It gives me a warm, woozy christmasy feeling. Thats X'mas for me. It is a nice, cute movie about Santa and his kids. The 3D is quite good. I like the new 3D movies. The previous issues have been sorted out. Earlier, some parts would be in 2D and I would have to remove my glasses to watch clearly. Catch this when it comes on TV.

I had not so great reviews about this one and missed it over the weekend. KC and I had watched the first part few months back. We decided to catch the 2nd part over the week. I had free passes which were expiring on Thursday. We really enjoyed it. It is good entertainment. I do not follow Sherlock Holmes. I grew up on Nancy Drew and any other detective is just not interesting enough. So, I do not know if this sticks to the original series. My perception of Sherlock Holmes is of a meticulous man who misses nothing. In that sense, the character does not match the perception. But thats ok. Don't miss it.

Cold...

2012-01-21T21:58:00.003+05:30

Hiya. Its been a busy week. Any week where I have to go to Faridabad and Noida/Ghaziabad is hectic. I have not had a moment to breathe. Also, the Sunday dance classes just add to the stress. I do enjoy them but it does get tiring and I like my Sundays free.

Anyway, the performance is next Saturday. Hope it goes off well. If it does not, its ok. I am not planning to become a professional. Today I had to go shopping for the outfit- checked skirt, puffed sleeves top and skin colored stocking. Stepping into Promod is really hard on my pocket. I cannot leave with only 1 outfit. Sigh!!!

There are things I have been meaning to talk about:

Arranged marriage: 2 of my friends have started looking out for partners through arranged marriage route since their own search has been unsuccessful. In a way, arranged marriage is a convenient thing in India. It is not looked down upon. What about people in the USA? They have to find their own partners. What they cannot find anyone and want to get married? Anyway, these friends are educated, broad minded people but when it comes to arranged marriage- the rules remain the same. A grounded, good looking girl who is well educated and has a career but is not ambitious to pursue it strongly. Also, someone who can cook and will "blend" with the family. Everything is skewed towards the males. Can a female have "cooking" as a desirable trait in her partner? Naah... people will laugh at her. She is only supposed to compromise. Totally unfair. KC and me were discussing. I think the whole concept of a female moving in with the guy and taking his surname is very old fashioned. Can she ask her guy to move in with her parents? No, right? And why not? Are her parents not important? The whole concept worked when women were not working and males had to support wife, kids and parents. That does not apply anymore. Of course, KC did not want to argue or agree with me. Men!!!
Last month when I met my cousin, she told me she had quit her job. I was shocked. Even though we are in 2012 (when the world is supposed to end), my family does not consider financial independence of the female to be important. Strange since there have been many incidences where arranged marriage has led to fatal consequences. This cousin- lets call her L, was one of the few females in the family who was working. She had completed her engineering in a reputed college of Mumbai and joined a reputed company. Her parents are looking out for a groom and decided that she should stay home and lose weight instead. I was sickened by the whole thing. Of course, my arguments were shot down by my mom who thought anything is better than giving girls so much independence that they marry against parents' wishes. Argument over. Case closed. If things have not progressed for my family, what about the majority of the population? Will females ever get their due?
Met a friend last month. We had discussions on variety of topics. I had forgotten how much fun that can be. One of the topics discussed was fidelity or infidelity. We decided that a person does not cheat because he/she is dissatisfied by the other partner. It is always because of lack of something in the person and not the relationship. There are people who cheat and there are others who do not. It is a matter of character and will power. Anything else is an excuse. No, I am not moralizing. This is an opinion of someone who has been there. I am quite familiar with my dark sides. I think it is quite important to make mistakes so that you realize their consequences. Life is all about experimenting. There is a time to play with fire and a time to play safe. I have played with fire and have moved to the safe side.
I want to feel warm- if only for 5 minutes. Last weekend, there was sunshine and it was barely cold. I was so happy. I thought winter is over. Monday began with fog and rain. What is worse than cold? It is cold+rain. I just want to be warm... and nothing makes me warm enough. And I want to feel the sun. I miss the sun.

I will be back with movie reviews tomorrow. The cooking is on hold right due to lack of time and energy.

Food... food... food

2012-01-10T21:57:00.002+05:30

I wanted to write about some restaurants we have visited in the last few weeks:

Barbeque Nation: I have been to the Bandra and Thane outlets. Finding the outlet in Gurgaon was a major pain. It is located in a residential area so my GPRS could not locate it correctly. And asking for directions is not an option here since most people do not belong to Gurgaon. After searching for 45 mins, we found it and it was full. There was some private party and waiting was for atleast an hour. Starved and pissed, we turned back. But some other day. Btw, it is located 15 mins away from my house
Crazy Noodles: I had seen the board at Galleria but never tried it. The place is quite different... it has a glass exterior. The walls are all glass and the view is quite good since it is located on the 1st floor. They have these funky glasses which stay tilted. For a place called "Crazy Noodles" there is very little variety in noodles. We had stir fried noodles and liked it. A place we will visit again 'coz it cost less than 500 bucks for 2 people
Choko La: I have walked by this place many, many times 'coz I thought it sells chocolates. I entered it in Subhashnagar mall and ordered the tiny, expensive cup cake- cream, cheese and cherry cupcakes. It has a cherry stuffing and cream cheese topping. Lovely. Pricey at 90 bucks. This Sunday we went for their all day b'fast. Good part is that the b'fast is not till 11 am... but all day. We ordered omlette, scrambled eggs, toast, muffin, croissant, tea and juice. Omlette was great... scrambled eggs were served with a parmesan wafer on top and mushrooms on the side... masterchef quality. The muffin was nice and warm. We had a filling b'fast and it cost less than 500 bucks for 2 people. We will go there again... maybe, every month.
Asia 7: This restaurant is located in Ambience Mall. The first time we went there, we had the buffet and it sucked. The problem with most buffets is that most items are mediocre and the menu has items which will appeal to most. In Gurgaon, we stay away from buffets after 2-3 bad experiences. This time we went a la carte, we had Thread chicken with cherry dip. It was masterchef quality... a really, soft juicy chicken was covered with threads of wheat batter. The dip was a good complement. For main course, we had Pad Thai noodles. It was genuine with the bean sprouts and peanuts. Please don't try the cocktails there- we didn't finish ours and wasting liquor hurt our pocket bad. Cost is 1700 for 2 people with liquor.

All in all, a good food experience in the last one month.

Happy New Year

2012-01-10T21:33:00.002+05:30

Hiya... sorry, I have been gone too long. Life has been busy and the winter is making me lazy. Moving means letting go of the conserved heat and I try to do less of that.

New year's was good. We didn't do anything on 31st, for obvious reasons. But I have never done much on 31st- ever... no partying or boozing for me, well, except for this one time.

As a kid, I spent 31st at home... all of us (sis, bro and me) would be up till late at night watching TV. We would make some Maggi when hungry.... those were the days when we looked forward to TV programmes on 31st night. Once our parents dragged us to a party... not a dance and liquor party (How I wish!!!) but a get together of doctors and their families in a restaurant on the highway. Ghazals were playing live, there was chaat and stuff for dinner, cake was cut and we were all so bored. We cribbed like hell 'coz it was the night when Titanic was playing on Star Movies for the very first time. The next night we refused to go to any party and watched the movie at home. Bliss.

When I was in my B-School, we spent 31st night on KMC (Kasturba Medical College) greens with friends. In the 2nd year, we took a trip to Turtle Bay- a beach resort near Manipal. It was good fun. On the way back, I joined a friend for a party. The plan was to stay there for sometime and return before midnight to KMC greens. Unfortunately, the friend was there to DJ and I didn't know anyone too well. I ended up getting seriously drunk and puked my guts out. 1st Jan was a complete hangover for me... and I missed meeting friends at greens.

KC's and my first new year was at Mulund. I had to go to Bhiwandi warehouse on 31st. I got stuck in traffic on my way back and by the time we reached Mulund it was crowded and 10 pm. There were no empty restaurants for dinner. We ended up at Dominoes at midnight. Not the best new year.

We did the same this year- had dinner at Dominoes and stayed in. Not bad.

The best surprise in the morning was the delivery of the gas cylinder. I had been following up like crazy for a week.

Coming to the present,

I had the best Jazz class last week. The senior instructor P is amazing... she has to enter the class and I feel good. I look forward to seeing her... she dances like a dream... and she inspires. WOW!!! And its not just talent... but also loads of hard work.
So many sales are going on right now. Please check out Promod. I have never entered the store 'coz it is pricey. On Saturday, I just checked out the sale and it was a genuine one. Upto 70% meant actual clothes at 70% off. I bought a skirt priced at 3650 bucks for only 1090 bucks. How cool is that? I shopped like crazy... went back the next day too. And again the 3rd day (did not find anything I had not bought on the 3rd day).
Mango sale sucks.... they just bring trash from somewhere. Clothes look like seconds. Please avoid
My company just gifted us a Sony Home Theater. I have wanted one for quite sometime but we didn't want to splurge. Watching movies is a whole new experience. I do not fall asleep watching movies anymore
Sunday was quite hectic. We stayed up till 1 am on Saturday night watching movie on Blu Ray DVD (Scarface) and then a marathon session of Big Bang Theory. Waking up at 11 next morning was torture. I will never go against my body clock again. Sleep by midnight, at max. After a late and lazy b'fast at Choko La (details in next post) I rushed for my dance class... after which we rushed to buy groceries, shop and have dinner. Too much rushing around
Gym has been ignored completely 'coz of dance. We have the winter workshop performance on 28th Jan'12 at SiriFort. From 3 hours a week, I have to attend classes for 5 hours per week (1.5 hours on 2 weekdays and 2 hours on Sundays). It gets hectic but is a lot of fun.
I am tired of feeling cold all the time, waiting for 2-3 days for the clothes to dry, not seeing the sun for days, waking up to foggy mornings... I want the sun and the warmth. Will this cold end already?
What is worse than a Delhite telling you it is not cold enough? A mumbaite telling you it is not cold enough.

New year resolutions....

2012-01-01T21:17:00.003+05:30

Naah. I am doing away with resolutions this year. I was going through last year's resolutions (Thats why a blog is so useful... you can chronicle your life and go back to it anytime)... grow hair and lose weight. I have done none of them. Instead, I went and chopped my hair real short... the shortest they have been in a few years and I like it.

Of the year gone by I only want to remember the good parts 'coz thats what matters...

There were 2 big changes... the most important ones... life changing ones...

KC and I moved in together. He was in Karnataka earlier and I was in Mumbai. We met every weekend. 2011 is the year that we started living like a married couple... and it has been amazing... Ups and downs... but I love it... so much so that being away for even 2 days is a drag. I start getting bored... if I come home even by 7 pm, there is nothing to do. I do
like living alone... but I also like living with someone. Since we moved in together, we always made some long term decisions like buying a house. Our finances are screwed up but we are living one month at a time.
I went home during Diwali after more than 2 years. I used to dream about my room, my bed and it was so nice to see it. Home is still the same, unfortunately it is no more the place I can go for solace at a whim.

There were other good things and I want to remember them:

Jazz classes... how my life has changed 'coz of them. Right now, we are preparing for the workshop on 28th Jan'12. It is so damn difficult.. remembering all the steps for one whole
song... and also trying to perform. Today, finally, after 6 months... my instructor actually praised me. All this time I thought she probably hates me. Yippie.
Cooking... 2011 is the year when I got more into cooking... and have tried so many things. I am still not doing half as much as I want to but then I am not superwoman and something has to be on the back burner.
Leh/Ladakh trip... Goa trip... Sariska National Park... all the trips... new experiences...
Downloads... more downloads... and so many more... True Blood... Gossip Girl... 90210... Vampire Diaries... The Big Bang Theory...
Bryan Adams concert... so what if we missed half of it 'coz of traffic
The new couch and having a room only to lounge around...
Roasting in the Delhi heat... and now snuggling in the cold weather... love the cold
So much good food... Little Italy, Pind Balluchi, Kake ka dhaba, macaroons at L'Opera, Big Chill
Make up... discovering it...
Back to Nokia .... Blackberry sucks
Incentives... contests won.... 2 of them...
New haircuts... good ones (for a change)
August Osage County... 2nd celebrity play (1st was Vagina Monologues)
Online shopping at fashionandyou.com... my addiction
So many movies and books... what would I do without them

I hope 2012 can have all the above ingredients ... and maybe more.

I leave you with a perfect picture of what 2011 has meant...

Books... Books... Books...

2011-12-31T09:51:00.002+05:30

I have read so many books in the last few and am reviewing them below. Since there are too many, am not putting the pics.. too much trouble:

Dead until dark, Living dead in Dallas, Club dead and Dead to the world by Charlaine Harris: The obsession with vampires continues... since, Vampire Diaries is on a hiatus till Jan and I have watched True Blood till season 4, it is the books I am racing through. The problem with reading them was that I would confused between the serial and books. Another problem is they are not available in Landmark, Crossword or Om book shop. I end up buying at flipkart.com. I like the books... read them if you are into vampires
Custody by Manju Kapur: I had read 'Difficult Daughters' by Manju when I was in college. Decided to pick up this book. It is about a wife who cheats on her hubby with his boss and walks out of the marriage. She makes her husband's life hell by turning the kids against him. Her husband manages to keep the girl child but his male kid hates him. Thats how it ends... She has tried to bring out the havoc divorce can bring... but its an ok book.
The pregnant king by Devdutt Pattanaik: I read this book long time back. It is about Indian mythology... about a king who gives birth. It is a good book. I love reading about mythology... the stories are full of imagination. The sexual escapades cannot be matched by no other.
Mafia Queens of Mumbai by S. Hussain Zaidi: The book has been written by a journalist who works on the crime beat. This book was on my wish list on flipkart for quite sometime before I purchased it. A strictly ok book.... it talks about some women gangsters of Mumbai. I didn't find the book revealing enough. It lacked depth and research. Please avoid.
Death in Mumbai by Meenal Baghel: Another book on Maria Jerome and Emile... this book professes to reveal the true story. The missing piece is what actually happened in the flat when Jerome killed Emile. Why did he kill him? Was he provoked? Did Maria plan it? The book does not have answers. For some weird reason, it has many chapters on Ekta Kapoor... maybe to get insight into the tv industry but it does fit into the whole story. Avoid.
Diary of a wimpy kid Cabin Fever: Another one in the series of Diary of a wimpy kid. I love it... love their books and the movies as well. Please pick it up.
Lucknow Boy A Memoir by Vinod Mehta: Vinod Mehta is the editor for Outlook... he has had an eventful past... being fired as editor from 2-3 publications. The book is revealing and quite fair. I mean, for someone to admit that they got fired is courageous. He has also written about many other people- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shashi Tharoor etc. Worth a read.

Death

2011-12-27T21:45:00.002+05:30

Hiya... I have taken 3 days off since leaves are pending- Saturday to Tuesday. On Saturday, I woke up at 11 am... after a really long time. It is difficult to sleep when the doorbell rings constantly. I already have a list of things to do in my head- go to the gym, get refill of gas cylinder, buy groceries, wash clothes, give clothes for ironing, maybe watch a movie. Last weekend, we returned from Mumbai at midnight. Sure, it was a day off but we did not get a chance to relax and I was looking forward to that. One phone call changed that... KC's dad had passed away. He had a severe heart attack... the 2nd one in a week. We rushed to Mumbai asap. Of course, the flight got delayed and we reached at 8 pm. I was shocked... the last funeral I attended was when I was in school. My parents have never really taken us for the recent funerals- my maternal granny, paternal grandparents, dad's brother etc.

When I met KC's dad in the ICU last weekend, it brought back memories of seeing my grandfather like that. He had a liver problem due to excessive drinking. I was in 1st or 2nd standard when he was admitted in a Mumbai hospital. I did not meet him but remember the hospital... all the people just waiting there. We had gone to my masi's home and the phone rang as we entered the house... Grandad had passed away. He used to pamper me silly and I miss him. I remember him always laughing and being jolly.

Recently, my granny passed away. I had not spoken to her in the last 2.5 years despite my mom urging me to call her. She was not keeping well. Before my marriage to KC, I was a frequent visitor to her house since I was based in Rajkot and she stayed in Veraval (5 hours away). I was pissed with her 'coz she didn't call me after my wedding (just a brief- I married KC without my parents approval and have been cut off by the family). I just thought that if she wanted to speak to me, she should call... anyway, I did speak to her a month before her death. I did not attend the funeral and when Mom asked me to go to her house after her death, I refused. I don't think I will ever go to that house again... it will only bring back memories. Thankfully, rest of my family will move out of there and the doors to that life will be closed.

There are regrets when someone passes away... I know I will have many... but is there any point? No matter how perfect a relationship, it will not seem perfect after death. I'd rather hold on to the good memories than indulge in regret and guilt. Some things are destined and others chosen by us. I read in a Richard Bach book that we choose our paths. For example, instead of path A if we choose path B our life will have a different destiny. I do not believe in the notion that whats supposed to happen will happen. For example, if I had not chosen to do MBA and join a particular organization I would never have met KC. Ditto for him. We would never have met if I would have pursued medicine (tried really hard for it) or he would have gone abroad for masters. We would have ended up with different people.

And thats life...

Back with a bang

2011-12-21T21:53:00.002+05:30

Hiya... I had gone for a sales conference to Pune. I dislike conferences, corporate parties etc etc... I used to hate them. The hatred has lessened. I do not understand the fun and joy in drinking, dancing and interacting for 4 hours and more. 1 hour is my limit... after that I am ready to shoot myself. Anyway, 3 days were spent in Pune attending presentations at the end of which I won an award for best sales performance in my channel. It felt good.

On Sunday I met my brother and Mom. I treated them to lunch at 'Out of the Blue', an amazing restaurant in Bandra. The first time I went there was with an acquaintance from B-School. We ate 3 courses... pasta, pizza and fondue. KC and I have been there many, many times. Do visit it if you are on Carter road.

I also met another acquaintance from B-School in Pune- H. We used to be good friends but it didn't last. I don't remember our last conversation in college. But, thats the thing about friendship... you can pick it up any time anywhere. 2.5 hours passed away in a jiffy.

And now it is back to the cold.... mornings are foggy, I can barely spot the next building. We come up and tuck ourselves in the blanket with soup... KC likes to sleep by 10.30 pm which is a shocker since his normal sleeping hour was 1 am.

More ... later... adios...

One chapter closes

2011-12-13T21:03:00.003+05:30

Hiya. I just finished with my appraisal. It was a sham... ratings have been sent 10 days back and yet there butterflies in my stomach. I think a good appraisal is one where you know what feedback to expect. You should know what is going to be said. So, I guess it was good. Another challenge beckons tomorrow... I need to accomplish it else consequences will be devastating.

Sometimes I think life was so much easier for women like my mom... they had to deal with home issues and not so many other people like I do- clients, bosses, sub ordinates, colleagues, distributors etc etc etc. So many complications... and having to always come up with right solutions... give your best... be on top of your game... whew, it is exhausting.

Some days are so relaxing... and I can't wait for others to end. This and last week has been like the latter.

KC and I have been waiting for the winter to arrive. I was disappointed to know that winter lasts for only 1.5 months. Now I realize that 1.5 months will seem like 3. It is so so so cold... I sit/sleep in one position till I become warm... KC and me are constantly cuddling next to each other to share the warmth. Right now, we are gathering courage to open the balcony door, step out and dry wet clothes. Clothes take 3-4 days to dry completely and by then there are 2 more lots ready to be washed. Also, checking to determine whether clothes are wet or just cold is a challenge.

I am leaving day after for Pune for the sales conference. Saturday night and Sunday will be spent in Mumbai. Looking forward to meeting my mom and brother. I am planning to treat them at Out of the Blue in Bandra. Do visit this restaurant on Carter Road for the most amazing food. I had gone there for dinner and drinks with an acquaintance. We had eaten so much... pasta, pizza, fondue. Amazing food.

Tata... see you guys next week.

Love thyself

2011-12-09T19:00:00.002+05:30

Hiya... I have been gone long... really long. No, I was not busy... atleast not last week. No, I was not out of town or stressed... atleast not last week. I don't know why I didn't post. I did have things to say but could not bring myself to type. I cannot even call it writer's block.

Anyway, I am back...

Monday evening/night was great. I had the greatest time dancing. I have had a love hate relationship with dance. I was loved to dance as a kid... I would perform in school, at weddings, participate in competitions. The affair came to an end when a friend in school remarked that I don't look good when I dance. Don't ask me why. I was taken aback. I stopped dancing. Now when I think back it was not the remark but the fact that I was entering my teens and felt awkward in my body. I could only let go on the dance floor after a few drinks at B-school parties (never touched liqour before that). When I joined the Jazz class 3 years back I didn't enjoy it one bit but went anyway since it was some timepass on the weekend. I felt uncomfortable and didn't even stick around for 3 months. This time I had no intention of learning to dance. It was something extra to do... a hobby, also an activity to help me keep fit or even lose weight. Nothing more... For 3 months, I felt awkward. Our instructors always tell the new students that for 3 months we will look like chimpanzees and its ok. It is only in the 4th month that things change. So true. We were made to do exercises like- looking at our self in the mirror and saying "I love you". No kidding. It was so silly at first. Now I understand the importance. We were made to Jazz walk (something like Cat walk) in class. Now I can walk with confidence and look at myself in the mirror. I have come a long way. On Monday, the seniormost instructor- P had taken class... she is damn good. Our regular instructor- S was out of town. Before leaving, she told me that I performed really, really well. I am actually moving my body and should stand in front instead of middle. Everyone clapped for me. It is a long, long, long way for someone who did not want to learn dance and could not imagine enjoying it. I love the dance classes... I can let go... the music does amazing things to my body. I don't know why but my regular instructor- S has never appreciated me even once. Its kinda disappointing.
Watched Dirty Picture... It was pathetic. There was no heart, the dialogues were just dialogues... Vidya has not acted.. she has just spoken dialogues... I didn't understand it... I don't understand the character... one moment, she was ok with her sexuality and flaunting and next moment she was craving society's acceptance. Only Nasseruddin Shah was tolerable... the others were horrible.
Watched Puss in Boots... loved it. The 3D was superb. This is what it should be like. I hate it when the movie is 2D with 3D thrown in... I have to keep removing the glasses and putting them on. So bugging. KC didn't enjoy it too much but I liked it. Worth a watch.
It is appraisals week and it makes me tense. I know whats done is done... but yet. I finished off my team's appraisals yesterday and I hope it has been fair. Now, I am waiting for mine. My career decisions for next year will depend on this appraisal. I am a little de-motivated right now. Last 2 days have been exhausting. Thank god, the week is almost over.
KC has been unwell. It is weird living with an ill person.... it is quite frustrating when someone insists on going to work and refuses to go to the doctor when ill. Finally, he took the day off yesterday and we visited a doctor.
Money problems are looming over our head this month... LIC is screwing with us... the long waits at the phone calls... stupid processes... so many demand notes... oof!!! Frustrating!! Dealing with all of this on the week days is tiring.
I cooked schezwan fried rice and noodles on Sunday. Its quite simple... same cooking method has to be used for both. For schezwan I added the ready made sauce available in the market. It was quite good.

Catch you over the weekend!!!

Whats this Sunday about...

2011-11-20T15:09:00.008+05:30

Well, I got a lot done and am not even feeling exhausted...

Woke up 7.30 am and wanted to go to the gym but had to supervise the cleaning and cooking in case the maids turned up early... Relaxed with a book, newspaper, Nescafe Vanilla Latte, True Blood, face pack, hair pack
Cleaning and cooking started at 9.30 am. The plan was to cook dal bhaati. My native pl
ace is 3 hours from Rajasthan and I have grown up eating this dish at home... there are numerous dhabas also which serve it in Gujarat (close to Rajasthan). The bhaati is cooked on coals... in bhattis... at home we cooked in a special tandoor. I cooked it in a microwave today. For recipe scroll down
Once KC woke up, we had b'fast and I headed to the gym. I do not understand the guy... how can someone complain of insomnia at night and sleep so much during the day.
*Shaking head*
The AC was not working in the gym... there were only 3 of us working out which was a change 'coz peak hours are packed with people on all instruments... there was 1 instructor
only... I was sneaking out after an hour of cardio and he stopped me... I had the shame to do my leg work outs for another 15 mins
After grocery shopping, lunch, a bath which ended with cold water (geyser does not work during power back up... my electricity woes are going to start)... I am now relaxing in the lounge type room. It is not cold but it is cool... I cannot sit on the bare cold floor without a mat... just finished reading latest part of Diary of a wimpy kid and will pick up part 2 of True Blood now.

I will begin with recipes for jam filled muffins which I have taken from Anita's blog

(http://sliceofmylyfe.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/muffin-monday-jam-filled-muffins/). Ok... not posting it here... you can hop onto the link for the recipe. Having some issues with the font color.

I baked around 4 muffins- 4 with jam and 3 without jam. The ones without jam taste less sweet... I guess you need to increase the sugar measurement if not using jam. Just stick to the jam.

And here is the recipe for dal bhati:

Bhati- nos 7 small ones

Add 1.5 cups flour (regular one), lots of oil (triple the quantity you would use when making regular chapattis), some salt and little haldi. Knead the dough with little water. It has to be very, very hard... as hard as you can make it. Make flat oval shapes (you can even make round ones)
Boil water in a big vessel. Put the bhatis in them. They will be done once they come on top. It takes around 10-15 mins. Ensure that the water completely covers the bhatis
You can either cook them in a tandoor (available everywhere) for 10-15 mins. Heat a tandoor, put the bhattis on the grill, cook covered. Once the top becomes firm and brown, turn and cook the other side till they also become brown
For microwave, mine has an automatic setting and cooked in 15 mins. For others, I guess the convention mode will have to be used. Put bhattis on a tava, place tava on high grill and cook on high for 7-8 mins. Turn the bhattis and cook for another 7-8 mins

Dal (serves 3-4 people)

Boil 1/4 cup tuvar dal, 1/4 cup urad dal and 1/2 cup moong chilke wali dal. The idea is to use 3 types of dal in this ratio
Crush the dal once boiled. Add the water leftover from boiling bhattis (why throw away nutrients?)
Add 1 chopped tomato, salt, green chillies, salt. Boil
In another pan, heat oil. Add jeera, hing, 1 small chopped onion, red chilli powder, haldi.
Add the mixture to the dal and let it boil
After 5 mins add nimbu/tamarind paste

Serve the bhattis with ghee.

Years ago, some guests were invited to our house for dinner. They brought their relatives along who had just come from Australia to visit. We were not aware extra people were coming (Indian culture!!!). Mom had cooked dal bhatti. There were 2 NRI kids who did not know how to eat it. They were dipping the bhattis in dal and having it. It was quite funny. We taught them to crush the bhatti, pour ghee over it, dunk dal on top, mix it well and then eat.

Yum!!!

Disclaimer- There are many, many recipes for bhatti and dal. I don't know how genuine this one... this is how my mom makes it and its good enough for me.

Rockstar

2011-11-19T22:44:00.002+05:30

The reason this review is so late is because everyone has already said everything about it. I will now give my views on it.

While deciding whether to watch it or not, I found the reviews very confusing. They said positive and negative... nobody told me if I should watch it or not. We went for it last weekend.

Rockstar is not a movie about a guy becoming a rockstar... it is a movie about him falling in love, getting his heart broken, finding the love again, losing it... finding it again and then losing it finally. Thats the kernel. Music and stardom are the shells. Ranbir as the "Rockstar" is fab... I loved his North Delhi guy's typical accent and dressing. It is on spot. The accent does not change throughout... just 'coz he becomes famous his language does not get refined. Ranbir is a natural and I don't think he has ever acted in a "bad" movie till date.

Nargis is torture... she cannot act... it is as artificial as Amisha Patel, Aishwarya, Katrina- in the beginning of her career. Her voice is dubbed by the same female who dubs for Katrina. I found her pout very, very, very irritating. I have not come across any females with such a prominent pout in my day to day life. It has obviously been surgically enhanced.

Imtiaz Ali has a thing for firangs... a role which can be performed well by an Indian is given to firangs. I have nothing against them... but they need to be able to dance, act and speak the language, atleast.

Music grows on you. I did not like the songs when I saw them on TV but after watching the movie, I love them.

Watch it... once... for Ranbir.. for the music... for Imtiaz Ali.

It had potential to be a great movie but ends up in Bollywood cliches.

JS and the Times of my life

2011-11-19T22:36:00.002+05:30

I just finished reading this book. Jug Suraiya is a famous journalist. He writes the column Jugular Vein in TOI. I have always like his columns and am familiar with his wife Bunny through them. The book traces his experiences as a journalist... it is witty, humorous, gives an insight into journalism and gossip. Worth a read.

Rewind...

2011-11-19T22:18:00.002+05:30

Hiya... this week has been slow... less hectic... more laidback... I gave myself sometime.

But lemme talk I most comfy with... in bullet points:

KC was gone for 2 nights... he was supposed to be back after 1 night but his stay got extended. I had a hard time falling asleep... thinking about Paranormal Activity part 1. When he left home at 4.30 am, I told myself "Now I am alone... if there is something, it will happen now". Nothing did. I should have been convinced but... I didn't find PR 2 as scary... PR 1 is what gives me nightmares
I broke into my new Allen Solly red colored jeans. I bought it for 50% off on fashionandyou.com. Love the buy... so worth it. I have bought skinny jeans after a very long time. Thank god, it fit perfectly.
My left foot had been aching for the last 2-3 days. Strangely, I didn't feel the pain in the gym or Jazz class. It was always in the morning. Yesterday, I could not even put my foot on the floor. I limped my way throughout the day. The thought of going to the doc crossed my mind but I remembered the last experience. I had a skin infection, the doc gave me 99% guarantee that it is incurable but she needs to do a biopsy. I was charged 2500 bucks after which she said that it is curable and I just need to apply ointment. Next time, I will go to a hospital in Gurgaon when I am on my death bed
Lesson learned today- Do not wear heels when your left foot is aching. Fashion can kill
We went for dinner to Ambience Mall. The soup and starters- dimsums were at restaurant 'Dimsum'... and main course and dinner was at Kobe Sizzlers. KC was about to pay without checking the bill but I always check the bill, just to know how much we have spent. I was shocked to be charged for 2 main courses. The waiter was called for and he rectified it. We would have overpaid by 300 bucks. Checking the bill specially at retail chains has become a habit. Twice I have been charged extra or charged for a 1+1 promo. Since my work involves dealing with chains, I know how screwed up they are. Once there was a 1+1 promo running at 50% off which means, on buying 1 unit of a product you get another free and are charged only 50% of the value.
I baked muffins today- jam filled muffins. The recipe was taken from Anita's blog. I share the pics tomorrow. Finally... next I want to try cupcakes with cheese frosting. I had them at Choco La (priced at 95 bucks each) and sooooo yummy... Cheese frosting is not sweet or sour... it balances out the sweetness of cupcakes.

Thats about it... more updates on books read and movies watched.

The week in pictures

2011-11-14T20:59:00.005+05:30

A pic of the muffins. I experimented with a strawberry sauce filling and nutella topping. Both were tasty. Just need a good recipe for a proper muffin now. I need to try cheese frosting next Sunday.

My library has started stocking Calvin and Hobbes... I am so happy. The comics are really, really expensive and being able to rent them is a dream come true. I ordered one book and was surprised to receive the biggest book I have laid eyes on. It took me a few days to finish it... but I did. Every minute was spent on it... KC called it my Gita since it is so big and I laid it in my lap to read.

I have started reading the book after watching season 1 of 'True Blood'. I had heard a loooootttt about this series, specially from people abroad. Its quite a rage. An acquaintance had read horrible reviews on facebook after watching 1 episode. That got me intrigued. I watched the first few episodes... and was "WOW"... its full of blood, violence and sex... loads of it... dirty sex. Nothing like I have seen on television and I have seen a LOT. After completing 3/4th of the season, I gave up half way since the download speed is too low of the torrents and so is the buffering on tvduck.com. I picked up the book and liked that the series does not follow it strictly. Now I have picked up the 2nd book and am downloading season 2... no matter how much time it takes. Not for everyone. I looked for the book in Om Book Shop in Metropolitan Mall, then at Ambience Mall, then at Reliance Time Out and finally found it in Landmark. Sadly, at every shop the guys helping out were looking for it in the kids section. I would have been mortified if they had stocked it there. I mean, a book about vampires, sex and blood in the kids section? Wow.

Whatta Sunday Morning

2011-11-13T10:42:00.002+05:30

Hiya. This week has been extremely boring and slow. Generally, time flies away but this week I was actually counting minutes until the weekend. I didn't go the gym... I would decide to go in the morning and then wouldn't wake up since it has become cooler and sleep has become more precious. I would be determined to make up for it in the evening... but something or the other would come up... and laziness would get the more of me.

I was not even feeling too well this week. Friday was the most boring. We were home with nothing to do... couldn't get the tickets to any movie... we ordered dinner from Yo China and they sent the wrong order... they replaced it but it was not what we wanted. Hungry and bugged, we went to sleep by 10.30 pm. Such a waste.

I baked muffins and filled them with strawberry sauce and topped with nutella. They were tasty but too sweet. I think they were a bit undercooked. I am looking for a good recipe for muffins/cupcakes. The recipe I used was for chocolate chip muffins.

So, thats the update. More on movies watched and books read.

Books and Movies

2011-11-06T15:38:00.006+05:30

Hiya. It has been a week full of books and movies. I had a stack of books in my drawer and I have devoured them one by one. Travelling in metro helps... it gives me time to read.

I wish this book didn't have Rekha on its cover... the book barely mentions her and she does not represent the "history" of Bollywood.

Anyway, apart from the cover... I loved it. It caught my eye and I ordered from the library. It starts from the beginning... first film made in India and abroad and chronicles the history, rise and fall of actors/actresses, their personal lives etc. It is very revealing. It does not dwell on actors like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Mithun etc but spends maximum time on the earliest actors... Dilip Kumar... Amitabh Bachan... Raj Kapoor... Prithviraj Kapoor etc. Worth a read. I found it very difficult to put it down and waited to get home from work so I could continue reading.

Another book by Khushwant Singh and a very honest one. He has not hidden the fact that he got a job as editor of HT through Sanjay Gandhi and that he was fired from it by Birla. It takes guts to be this honest. Planning to read the rest of the books also.

I had taken part 2 home to watch it with my bro. But the format didn't work on the DVD player and we didn't get enough time to watch it on the laptop. Part 2 is scarier and yet it is not. It is scarier because the events happening are not as subtle as in part 1. It is less scary because part 1 gave the feeling that this could happen to anyone... in anyone's house but in part 2... the history is established. Which means... I will not have sleepless nights. I am looking forward to part 3... where it all began.

Downloaded and watched this flick yesterday. We were planning to watch "In time" but chucked it. I remember debating about it with my friends in school when I was in 7th std. The friends were Jainee and Monica. Jainee and I were of the view point that such movies should not be made. They set a bad precedent for the audience and gives them weird ideas. Monica was of the opposite view. So, unlike what I think now. I guess, then I didn't know what it was actually about. I still lived in the world of Mills and Boon and Barbara Cartlands.

I loved the movie. Shekhar Kapur is a genius. I wish he had made more Hindi movies. I loved the actors he picked- Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Raghubir Yadav, Namdeo (don't remember his first name), Manoj Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla etc. Its a wonderful cast... and at a time when they were nobodies. It shows an eye for talent.

The scene with Seema naked was a shocker. I had heard about it earlier... but thought it not be showing her completely nude. After all, which Indian actress will agree to such a scene? If she does, her reputation will be in ruins. It also made sense... if the movie is completely based on facts, why edit things out?

Another thing I loved was that... Seema does not have to mouth long dialogues or the rapes were not glorified to make the audience sympathize with her. The lines said by her; "Why no bullets for me?" when Namdeo (the villain) threatens to kill her partner. It means that her death will be a relief... she always has to suffer much worse... rapes... getting stripped in front of the village.

KC thought Phoolan was stupid to kill innocent villagers instead of the villains she had come after. If Phoolan was smart, she would have stayed with her husband instead of running away. The choice was getting raped by one man all her life or getting raped by many other men... of course, she didn't know then.

Phoolan had protested against this movie. But after its release, she became popular. She even got her autobiography published. She was a low caste icon and that explains the rise of Dalits in UP. They were tired of the oppression by the higher caste.

And if anyone reading this believes that oppression and discrimination does not exist anymore... you are wrong. But thats fodder for another post.

Happy Diwali

2011-10-30T18:08:00.002+05:30

Be grateful... I never reply to Diwali wishes and hardly ever wish. No, I am not being rebellious... it is pure laziness. I have always been home during Diwali or atleast with parents. A lot of times we would have only 2 days off in school and final exams would be near. My school term was from March to November- due to extreme winters in Mt Abu and Christmas. The nuns wanted to celebrate X'Mas without nuisance and so they changed the school term.

Anyway, my parents were always around for Diwali except once... when I had joined the boarding. Parents sent loads of fire crackers for sis and me. While bursting them, 1 cracker went hay wire and almost hurt a kid. The nuns confiscated our crackers and no amount of begging and pleading helped. I hate all nuns... my hatred for them deserves a separate post altogether.

In the last 3 years, 2 Diwalis have been spent in Goa and 1 in Mumbai. I would have loved to go to Goa this year too. I went home instead after 3 years. Diwali has never been a happy one.... I won't get into the details. I prefer Holi to Diwali. This time it was extremely low key 'coz of my maternal granny's death last month (maybe a separate post on that). Even on Diwali day I didn't know it was Diwali and I realized about New Year too late.

In Gujarat, the 4th day is celebrated as New Year... everyone wakes up early, wears new clothes, decorates the home, lays out delicacies like namkeen, sweets, dry fruits etc. People go to each other's houses and wish them. Generally, we would receive guests till afternoon and visit others in the evening. We would try and meet everyone... those we could not meet on the same day, we would visit sometime during the week. It was in Manipal I realized that New Year is a Gujju tradition. People outside do not follow it.

There was so much that I did at home:

I felt like I had never gone... my absence was visible on the walls... No, I never cleaned them or anything... but the effect my leaving had on the house residents was visible in their neglect
The first day I asked mom to cook besan ki sabji... which I could not make well last time I tried. I will give the recipe some other time... it is somewhat like ghatte... but better. Ghatte has only besan... while this veg has onions, anardana, chillies etc.
I took all the recipes I wanted. We wanted to make cheesecake but there was no time
I downloaded ZNMD and made my parents watch it... they were unimpressed
I downloaded Khuda Ke Liye since my dad liked Bol
Drove dad's Manza and realized how smooth it was... now, craving for a car like that. He took me through the empty road and wanted me to drive at 20 kmph in traffic
Indulged in so many chocolates mom brought from New York...
Made fafdas- a Gujju specialty, made during Diwali
Ate Pav Bhaji at Honest Restaurant... and loved it
Opened all the cupboards and brought whatever I could. As kids, we loved exploring mom's cupboard... it was always full of stuff and we could find something for ourselves
Had daal bhaati... being close to Rajasthan, it is a popular dish in my hometown. I plan to make it next week

The days flew past... I have been wanting the month to end, there is too much pressure. But the only holiday of the year is over and it does not feel good. I guess, I need to plan something for December to cheer me up.

Today has been relaxing. I flew back last night and reached home at midnight. There was no dinner since restaurants close down by 11 pm.

I woke up early... unpacked, washed clothes. The maid and cook turned up on time, thankfully. After buying groceries, I relaxed for sometime and then hit the gym. Now I am waiting for KC to arrive.

All in all, a good vacation and a significant one.

Paranormal Activity

2011-10-23T23:06:00.002+05:30

Finally, I downloaded this movie and watched it. I have been meaning to do that for a very long time. I like horror flicks... but KC does not... so the motivation to watch them decreases. I have not watched too many horror flicks.... Saw, Evil Dead etc which are considered classics have been skipped by me. But during MBA days... I caught up on Exorcist part 1 and 2, Gothika, The Hours in my room alone at night with the lights switched off. Horror movies have scared me... but not so much that I could not sleep.

Paranormal Activity is a very different movie... it has been shot on a regular camera and is about a couple who are haunted in their house by a "demon". The female, Katie has been haunted since she was a kid... a psychic tells her that she cannot run from it and must contact someone who can rid of the demon. Her bf, Micah does not take it too seriously. He leaves his camera and microphone switched on all night to record any supernatural activity. Initially, its very subtle... the door closing and opening on its own... Katie hearing her voice... footsteps being heard... and gets more and more obvious... and in the end, it is drastic.

There are no scary images in the movie... no horror music... nothing... and THATS scary. I mean, when we watch a movie with people in ghost masks... we laugh at ourselves after it ends. But PA is about 2 regular people.

I went into the room at night and tried to sleep.... reading helped me sleep... then KC came in... spent sometime and went out... I lost my sleep. Everytime I closed my eyes, I could hear every sound... every footstep... I left the light on and slept.... till KC came in and was surprised to see me sleep like that.

Worth a watch.

Have skipped PA 3 in the theater 'coz we were feeling too lazy today... but I will download and watch it. Until then, it is PA 2 next week.

Books...

2011-10-23T22:46:00.005+05:30

I like Khushwant Singh's books... whether I agree with them or not, he writes well and has the guts to speak his mind. More Malicious Gossip is a collection of his writing. What is commendable is that since he is very old, the writings range over a large period of time. There are writings about Indira Gandhi. I think he is very pro-Gandhi (not the Mahatma... the family) and his writing about Indira is biased. But, I appreciate anyone who can express his/her views fiercely. I plan to read all his books.

Worth a read.

This is Aravind Adiga's 3rd book... the first one was brilliant, the 2nd one - Between the Assassinations was very forgettable... coming to the 3rd book...it is about development in Mumbai. Basically, people in smaller flats or slums are offered huge amounts for buying off the flats... a new building is constructed in its place and sold off for higher amounts... most of the times, the people are also given free flats in the building. It is a win win proposition for everyone.

'Last Man in Tower' is about one man who refuses to sell off his flat. According to the law, every person must agree to the settlement else it will not be valid. One hand is a lot of money which will fulfill every dream of the residents... on the other hand is one old man with nothing to lose ... for who money is not a motivation. I will not get into details or the end.

The book is strictly ok.... Would I have picked it up if it was not by Adiga? No. The story would never have tempted me to pick it up. Just like a lot of writers, Adiga is a one hit wonder... I don't think he will enjoy the same level of success.. no, thats not the correct word... many will call this book also successful... he will not enjoy the same peak in his writing.

The book is quite long... the story does not have enough twists and turns ... and I read it for a month... its not a pick you can carry on the metro 'coz of its bulk... it cannot be read after a tiring and frustrating day.

I would suggest you avoid. Why pick up a book 'coz of its author?

Say it with pictures

2011-10-23T22:34:00.002+05:30

The Diwali diyas... at home it was my duty to light the diyas and place them in every room... every balcony... I like doing it even now. Since we are not home for Diwali, I didn't think about doing it. But seeing lights in every house, have decided to do today and tomorrow. Also, there are no candles or match sticks but I had enough of the perfumed diyas. We also had a Diwali Mela in the society... we indulged in kachori, bhel, chicken seekh kabab and ice cream. Fun.

There were Diwali celebrations in office on Saturday. I skipped the Puja... prefer work to Puja, anyday.... participated in the Rangoli competition... above is our team Rangoli... pretty decent considering none of us had any idea how to go about it. My bro and I used to make Rangolis at home for Diwali but being creatively challenged, we used the design stencils.

My new footwear ordered from Fashionandyou.com.

Terrible, terrible day

2011-10-19T21:25:00.002+05:30

It has been a terrible day... too many things going wrong. I hate such days. It all started in the morning... I had half a mind to take leave and stay home. But work beckoned. After that, everything went downhill.

Sure, things could have been worse... more things could have gone wrong.

Sigh!!!

I am looking forward to the Diwali holidays. I wish it was in the beginning of the month rather than the end... work will be on my mind... and that may ruin it all.

There are only 2 months in the year I truly look forward to... Diwali month because of the long holidays... and December since it is year end and thus, pressure is low. This year, both may be ruined.

I will be going home after 2.5 years... I hope I am not saying it too soon. Home was my comfort place... somewhere I went to escape reality, everything going on in life, where I could tune out... recharge and return to battle. I hope it feels the same way this time. I plan to switch off... away from the phone, internet, everything.... just relax, sleep, laze around, cook, get all the recipes I need. Fingers crossed.

If it does not work out (home trip has been cancelled at the last moment 2-3 times already), I just want to stay home... and do nothing. One day in the week is not enough at home... and 5 days would be a luxury.

Fingers crossed....

August Osage County

2011-10-18T00:08:00.002+05:30

I came across the details of this play on bookmyshow.com 2 weeks back and booked the tickets immediately. They were priced between Rs 500 and Rs 1500. I bought the pricey ones... 2nd row from the front. KC was put off by the high prices... understandable.

The play has been a big hit on broadway and has been adapted by Lilette Dubey for the Indian stage. Actors like Lillete Dubey, Ira Dubey, Sandhya Mridul, Kitu Gidwani, Meeta Vashisht star in it. I love Lillete, Ira and Sandhya and would have willingly payed double the price to watch them.

I rushed back from work, changed clothes and rushed to Epicenter- the cultural center of Gurgaon... similar to Habitat Center of Delhi. Thats why I like Gurgaon... access to posh places. In Mumbai, I would have to go to Bandra or Juhu to watch plays.

Anyway, on reaching there I found Gurgaon Hi Society for company... Ballantine's was serving free liqour since they were sponsoring the play. Impressive. On reaching my seats, the usual started... 2 people had booked seats separately and was requesting everyone else to move. The old couple next to me reluctantly moved 1 seat left... when I was requested to move, I politely refused. I had specifically booked that seat... it was in the center... I was not going to move after paying 1500 bucks. People should not be stupid enough to book seats separately. The lady gave up and the old couple gratefully moved back into their seats. Why do people do this? Why can't they book tickets - whether on a train, theatre or play; well in advance to avoid inconveniencing others?

The play went on for 2.5 hours. I was zapped throughout. I will not go into the story... it is not a movie which has 1 story... in a play things are happening every minute... there are well developed characters... rather than 1 single story... and there are no fillers. Lillete was fab... she acted so damn well. What is amazing is that such fine actors have to play trivial roles in movies or serials. Example, Meeta Vashisht... I have grown up watching her in some movie or serial... mostly trashy roles. In the play, she was playing the role of a vain, silly, self involved female... I could not believe it was the same woman.

Theatre is so different from regular cinema... I will be watching more plays in the future... atleast I will try and catch every play at Epicenter.

Please don't miss this play if it comes to your city.

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-16T15:26:00.007+05:30

Hiya.... for the first time the house looks like a home instead of a bachelor pad. It looks cozy, nice, warm, welcoming and filled...

Below are some pics:

Dining room which is part of the living room. No changes made here... the ugly curtains are given by the broker of the landlord. We didn't bother buying new ones. The biggest struggle here is to keep the dining table clutter free. I have to clear it every morning and night. The fridge was near the dining table which has been moved to the kitchen. I love the big windows and balcony.

This is the living room with the new recliner leather couch. The couch and TV unit are both new purchases.

The newly renovated room. Until now, it was filled with trash... loads and loads and loads of bags. We stored them here. On Friday night, all the trash was removed... the sofa cum bed was moved here from the living room... the cupboard and dressing table were purchased in Mumbai almost 2 years back. Ideally, this room should have been the bedroom since it has an attached bathroom. But I wanted the bedroom to have a balcony. Also, the other room which is the bedroom has more cupboards and a dressing table. I have always wanted a study where you can lounge around and this room is exactly that place. KC and I have spent the entire day here... we have books in the small shelf, a TV with DTH, playstation. The curtains are short but I am not going to buy new ones. Don't really care... I guess, only a bachelor/spinster pad can have such curtains.

The reason we have 2 TVs is that... we are awfully rich. Kidding... we bought the smaller TV while shifting to Mumbai. Then a few months later I got the bigger TV from the company for meeting targets. So... now we have 2.

The kitchen has become very cluttered because the fridge has been moved here. The microwave was actually placed where the fridge is now. Don't mind the laptop and rest of the clutter... KC had just tried cooking sabudana khichdi... his first attempt at anything in the kitchen.

This is the bedroom... I was adamant that there should be no TV in this room... We would have spent all the time here and it would be cluttered all the time. I like going in this room just to get clothes and to sleep. There is a big balcony also. The good part is the room faces the east and sun rises from here. The harsh sun rays wakes us up early. Btw, that dolphin on the bed has been my companion for the last 4 years. I cannot sleep without it.

Layout changes

2011-10-15T22:36:00.002+05:30

Hiya... it has been a busy week and will continue like this. I skipped gym 3 days in a row since I was exhausted but now the schedule is back on track.

We bought a new couch... finally. It was quite a search... we spent 2 weekends searching for a sasta, tikau leather couch and found one. I wish I could spend entire Diwali on it... but there are better plans (if they do not get cancelled again).

Thats about it... I can't think of anything else to blog about. Will be back soon... hopefully, tomorrow.

Its been a good day... good, good day

2011-10-09T21:17:00.003+05:30

It has been a good Sunday. The morning was a rush. I could not wake up early enough to go to the gym. The plan was to finish all chores in the morning and meet some friends for lunch at Khan Market. We rushed to Galleria to buy groceries, veggies/fruits and a b'days gift for the friend. We had to meet A and D. It was D's b'day yesterday and I wanted to get him a gift even thought A asked me not to. It is so difficult to buy something for someone who can afford

everything... what can you gift a guy? With KC, its different... I spend enough time to notice what he is drooling after and what he needs... but for friends, it becomes difficult... specially guys. I got a cologne from Body Shop. We rushed home... I got dressed while KC napped. After a very long time, I wore my heels. I am not comfy in heels and do not like it when my legs ache. Also, work involves travelling, walking and standing around... so I avoid heels. Today was the perfect day for it... since the only walking would be from my car to the restaurant.

Lunch was at Big Chill where we had to wait for 45 mins even though a table had been booked in advance. When I gave D the gift, he looked quite embarrassed and told me it was unnecessary since now he will have to remember my b'day and then buy a gift and finding a gift for females can be a drag. Wow!!! I never thought of it that way... I mean, I had to meet up with g

irlfriends a day before or after my b'day... a gift would be given to the b'day girl. No questions about it... its taken for granted. I guess, men are different... very different.

A complained that I not gifted him anything for his b'day. Well, when I called to wish him... he

had denied that it was his b'day and that facebook was lying. No kidding.

After the crazy lunch, we dropped in at L'Opera... A and D wanted to see what the big deal about the macaroons is... what is it that costs 130 bucks. They were unimpressed.

We headed home soon after. Rest of the day was spent lazing around.

Some pics of my fav heels... I don't remember when I bought them.... its been more than 2 years.

Jazz... Gym... Vampires

2011-10-06T22:01:00.003+05:30

Hiya... after 3 months of Jazz, the instructor finally noticed and appreciated me today. I am on a high.

I still remember joining the classes 3 years back. I used to have Sat and Sundays off... without a car then, NCR was a boring boring place. I decided to join the Sunday batch to kill time. I cannot dance, 'coz of which I am not too fond of it either. The objective was never to learn dance... but maybe to lose some weight. I would go through the motions, try to match the steps and just get through the class. After 2 months I moved out of NCR.

This time I decided to join the classes to lose weight... and learn something in the process. The first month was not too great... I was shy... and conscious. By the end of it, I learned something... I could remember the steps and perform them. It made me very happy. In the 2nd month, I was quite confident that I would be better than the newcomers. Unfortunately, dance is about talent and hard work. When others are more talented, I need to work harder to get better than them. Since I was not competing, this did not make me feel good. The 3rd month was the best... I could now remember the steps, pick them up quite fast... and perform them. I renewed the membership.

After more than 3 months, the instructor praised me on my energy and performance today. It was great... I can feel I am better and someone else noticing it is the best feeling...

Few things I have done to improve: (No.. I did not practice at home.. not once... too lazy)

I downloaded the songs that are played in class and listen them over and over and over again. I started to like them and just listening to them again in class made me get into rhythm. This really helped. 2 of those songs are now my ringtone.
I realized that listening to the song over and over again can make me like it. For example, we have song for the month on which dance steps are choreographed. I did not like this month's song when I first heard it... but now I really like it.
I reach class early and revise the steps. I cannot remember the steps once I come home. I doubt I will be able to perform them once class is over. So, I reach early and revise with the other students. This helps perform better in class.
Clothes: NCR beats Mumbai's ass when it comes to fashion. The girls in my class dress so well... those who have the figure, do flaunt it in their tiny shorts and spaghetti tops. It is important to be able to see how your body is moving. After weeks of wearing either loose tops/bottoms to hide my body, today I went with hips hugging tracks (I bought them 3 years back specifically for the class) and a tight top. I was surprised to see myself perform the steps correctly... something, I didn't realize earlier. But, good clothes can bring a lot of confidence
Confidence: The class has mirrors placed in front. We are all encouraged to look at ourselves while dancing. Now, that is damn difficult 'coz all newcomers do not like how awkward they look in the beginning. Also, dance means being absolutely comfy and proud of your body... 'coz you have to flaunt it... I am not. We were made to do exercises where we looked at the mirror and proclaimed our love. No kidding. Funny... but it worked. I try and position myself so that I can see myself in the mirror.

I have joined the gym as well... for 2 reasons:

I have gotten into the habit of waking up at 6 am... and now I can hit the gym in the mornings... to lose weight and tone up. I tried jogging/walking... which is fine... but it does not tone up the body
I have bought a lot of workout clothes recently... and 2 days in a week is not enough to wear them. Ok, this one is a big motivation for me. Call me fickle... but whatever works for me.

On a totally unrelated note... below are soaps I am completely addicted to these days:

Gossip Girl: The series is about 4 friends from Manhattan... rich, popular and screwed up... Serena, Nate, Chuck and Blair. There is Ted somewhere in the equation. They are rich, spoilt brats but stick together against outsiders. I hate that I can only watch 1 episode per week now.
How I met your mother: This needs no introduction. Of course, it has started dragging now... the whole Barney, Ted and Robin triangle is sooo old season and boring. Also, high time we got to meet the mother.
90210: Another series about rich, spoilt teenagers... this time in California.
Vampire Diaries: Love it... every episode has twists which are unpredictable...
True Blood: I just started watching it... its about vampires but is gross and scary... and slow. But I have read great reviews. Right now, I am hooked.

Today was a perfect day... love mid week holidays... looking forward to the long break of Diwali:

7.45- 8.45 am : Gym
10: 30 am: B'fast
12. 30 pm: Lunch
1-3 pm: Nap
3 pm: Bath
4-6 pm: Search for the perfect couch in budget
7- 8.15 pm: Jazz

Good night...

Hair raising tales

2011-10-02T18:30:00.002+05:30

I got a haircut on Saturday. ... let me rephrase that... I got a significant haircut on Saturday.

The last few hair cut experiences have not been satisfying... at all. I generally go to a salon with a vague idea of what I want. I feel it is a stylist wet dream when a customer walks up and says; " I am not sure what I want.... do what you feel good". Unfortunately, in India, this is a dreaded statement. Every stylist ends up giving me the same hair cut... layers ... since my hair are wavy. Once or twice I have told to let them grow and return after a few months. Weird. I had gone to the stylist last weekend and she said the same thing. I decided to be patient.

Except... a stylist from Italy was practicing on Indian hair in office. I decided to give it a try... how bad could it be? After many mediocre and one horrible hair cut I have become immune to them. On inquiring from the senior stylist when the Italian was not around, I got to know they were opening a new salon at Oberoi, Gurgaon. I was not too impressed.

Anyway, the Italian was teaching the senior stylist and asked him what would suit my face. He mouthed some random stuff like any Indian stylist. The Italian let him start the cut. I was petrified... I did want this guy to experiment. Thankfully, after a mistakes the Italian took over. He chopped... and chopped and chopped some more. Once styled, I was transformed. This one of my best hair cuts... another one being at Lakme, Kolkatta. The best part is he understood what I meant when I said; "I do not have time to style my hair... I want something which will stay that way".

I had attended a training for stylists where they complained to the instructor that customers expect hair cuts to look the same way once styled... which is not possible. The instructor sympathized with them.

Now I understand the difference between a firang and an Indian stylist... also, difference between a 5 star salon and a normal one... no wonder, they charge a bomb. I would willingly pay that bomb.

The whole experience... the way this guy spoke about hair and how it should be cut... was like Masterchef for hair.

I do not know if it looks good... due to lack of female company and the only male who can give an opinion cannot be relied on. If he says its good I may wonder if he is lying... and if he does not like it I will question the judgement of someone who has had one style for 28 years.

Atleast, its different... thats all that matters.

Saheb Biwi aur Gangster

2011-10-02T14:02:00.002+05:30

Lack of any other options and good reviews made us watch it on Friday night. It is supposed to be inspired by Sahib Biwi and Ghulam. I have not watched it so cannot compare.

Jimmy Shergill is the Saheb... he has respect as a royal but no money. He is involved in illegal activities for the money... Biwi is Mahi Gill who is mentally unstable made worse by her husband's infidelity... Randeep Hooda is the gangster who has been hired by a rival to spy on Saheb. It goes the usual route... he and Mahi have a torrid affair and manage to get rid of Saheb's mistress. Instead of eliminating Saheb and marrying him, Mahi Gill and Saheb get together.

The end is predictable... Randeep is killed by Mahi... Saheb becomes paralyzed and Mahi takes over.

The story is predictable towards the end and spoils the fun... all 3 have acted well... Mahi needs a makeover... she can look good but the dinosaur age make up doesn't help... Jimmy is awesome.

Sunset Club

2011-10-02T13:55:00.002+05:30

I have read a few books by Khushwant Singh and liked them. Yes, the description of the sexual escapades can get a little gory (even for me) but otherwise he is a brilliant writer.

Sunset Club is the story of 3 old men- one a Surd, another a Muslim and 3rd a staunch Hindu. They used to go for walks at Lodhi Garden and become friends. They meet everyday and talk. The book is about their discussions... it does not go into their past or present. Sounds strange... but it was not boring at all.

Worth a read.

The Carrie Diaries

2011-09-25T10:36:00.002+05:30

The Carrie Diaries is an effort by Candace Bushnell to write about Carrie's life before the show... before she moved to NYC (in part 1) and before she become the columnist (in part 2). I think I have blogged about the first book.

Anyway, in book 2 Carrie becomes friends with Samantha and Miranda. She has an affair with a much older playwright and spends most of her time wondering if she is talented enough. She does not write much but wants to make it big as a writer in NYC. The whole thing sounds extremely fake and not connected with the show at all.

Samantha is engaged to a multi millionaire for the money. That is so not like Samantha at all... Miranda does not like to have sex and hates men. Its as if Candace has gone bonkers and forgotten what her characters are all about... something like what she did in the 2nd part of the movie. Why can't writers realize that it is ok to end things? J K Rowling is smarter... she knows that the obsession will not end just 'coz the story has. We all crave for a happy ending... why ruin it by half baked attempts?

Friends is the biggest example... at the end of the seasons... the jokes were less funny... the actors less good looking... they ended the show. But it lives one... re runs are played over and over and over again.

Candance needs to drop it and not go further... or backwards. She is ruining it.

Speedy Singh

2011-09-25T10:30:00.002+05:30

We generally watch movies on Friday night... with both of us working late on Friday, we could not make a plan. On an impulse, we headed to the Mall to catch Speedy Singh. I was cranky 'coz we had to skip dinner. I cannot operate when hungry and the food is so bad at the theatres. When the movie started Anupam Kher's voice was dubbed... the Canadians were talking in accented Hindi. I was horrified... we had walked into the Hindi dubbed version. We left after 5 mins.

Yesterday, we went for the English version... so avoidable. The movie is a bad remake of Bend It Like Beckham. The story is the same... made worse by the whole Bollywoodish Punjabi tilt. For some reason, people in the theatre were giggling like crazy at the most mediocre dialogues. The whole paghadi Punjabi thing was pukish. I pity Anupam Kher who has to play such roles for the money.

Please avoid.

Sunday Morning

2011-09-25T10:24:00.002+05:30

It is just 10 am and so much is already done... house is clean, b'fast and lunch has been cooked, my shoes have been washed and are drying outside, the shoe case has been settled, the newspaper has been read.

There are more chores to be done:

Fill thermocol balls in the bean bag
Change bedsheets and wash them
Send courier, get eyebrows done, buy veggies

But most of the above has to be done by KC.

Sat and Sunday mornings are a pain. I cannot sleep for even half an hour extra on Saturdays... same is the situation on Sunday. The door bell rings non stop- maid, cook, garbage man, laundry guy, car cleaner, newspaper bill... etc etc etc etc. I have rested my ass at 10 am only.

But today will have to be a relaxing day... I am determined to relax today. I need it. The last week is always hectic.

Long time....

2011-09-24T23:13:00.003+05:30

Hiya. Just 5 posts in this month.. it is not good... not good at all. It has been busy and hectic. I have started going for morning walks. Its been 1 week. I am trying to get into the habit of waking up early... which also means sleeping early. And there lies the problem. I cannot sleep before 11 pm.. there is always too much to do.... have dinner, come online, read a little... etc etc etc.

Fitting in too much into a day gets hectic but I am guessing I have one life to live and I might as well live it well. Also, cooking has been on the back burner. I have been planning to bake muffins for more than a week now. May do it tom. Fingers crossed.

So many things happened since I last blogged. Generally, I do not blog about whats happening in the world... there is enough said on news, twitter and facebook. But this time I will:

The bomb blast in Delhi- People say that Mumbai moves on... so does Delhi. The next day was normal. When I heard about the blast I was in Ghaziabad. I was checking the news on my mobile and messaged KC about it. We didn't discuss it further at home or even check news. Nobody in office spoke about it. And there lies the problem. In USA, something like this is taken so personally that the President goes and bombs 2-3 countries while nothing happens here. I am repeating what others have said... but its so sad
Shoot out at Gurgaon- I came across a news item on twitter... 2 people in a car shot the guy at the toll 'coz he did not let them go without paying. The toll costs 21 bucks. A guy got shot for Rs 21... a life is worth that much... not even that, actually. Surprisingly, I did not come across it in the newspaper. Strange but true. It is scary. You never know who is carrying a gun here... someone who does have 21 bucks in his pocket... could be anybody.... the maid... the cook... her husband... the car cleaner with who I fought today.... anyone...

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/massive-manhunt-on-for-killers-of-gurgaon-toll-booth-attendant-136019?pfrom=home-lateststories

The earthquake: The more I read about it... the less I like... people still under the rubble? No way to reach the interiors? Really? What the hell is the government doing?

Gurgaon is quite expensive... the VAT is higher... service charge everywhere and today, Pizza Hut added "voluntary" donation to my bill. I blew up... asked them to remove the donation from the service charge. If I want to donate... I will... At Pizza Hut, stick to the pizzas only.

Thats about it for now... movie and book reviews coming up.

Good Morning

2011-09-17T08:58:00.002+05:30

Hiya... I am writing this just before my phone starts ringing and the day begins as usual.

I woke up slightly earlier and went for a walk. I have been trying to do that for the last few days... but its only today I managed to wake up. It was a toss up between the gym or a walk. I decided to walk... enjoy the morning air... and make waking up on time a routine before joining a gym. No point in paying and then not going regularly.

Its nice to hear the silence... only the birds chirping... some kids learning karate under the trees... men washing cars... some couples taking a walk... others buying milk or veggies... maids walking dogs... so different from Mumbai. This does not feel like a metro... it feels like a tier 2 city... a place where people have a life... where everyone is not running. And I completely appreciate it. I love the fact that there are trees everywhere... that cars are not trying to run me over everywhere... that life can be as slow as I want it to be.

There are cons too... the trees look monstrous at night without any street lights... that I can be kidnapped or raped after dark without anyone being able to hear me... etc etc etc.

But right now.... it feels good. And I appreciate this morning... no matter what the rest of the day brings.

Clothes... shoes... make up... fashion

2011-09-13T21:51:00.002+05:30

Hey!!! I am addicted... to so many things these days:

Vampire Diaries: I loved the first few books (the last 2 were pretty boring)... but the series was quite good. It did not follow the book strictly, was scary and much more interesting. I am waiting for season 3 to begin... do not know how to pass time until then
Online Shopping: I came across the website fashionandyou.com through Femina magazine. It is quite good. I always wondered how people shop online... without the touch, feel and trial factor. I never buy anything without trying it first. I made the first purchase around 1-2 months back and now am hooked. My first purchase were leggings and kurta from "W"... the fit was great and at a discount. The next purchase were tees from Disney and Adidas... each costing less than 400 bucks. And now, I am addicted. I wait for 11 am for the new sale to begin. Footwear, I have bought for 2k (Enroute) are available for 700 bucks online. Cool, na? Of course, you have to be fast... atleast twice it has happened that by the time I started paying, the products got sold out. Delivery is a little delayed... could take anywhere between 1-3 weeks. If you want to join, let me know. I will send an invite... it will give me some credits (Thats NOT why I mentioned it here).
Make up: This post is really about make up... something I have inculcated in my life a year back. Till I was in college (grad and post grad) application was limited to parties... mostly an eye liner and lipstick. Never more than that. My first job involved a lot of travel... mainly to rural places and make up was limited to kajal (technically- its not make up). Working in the beauty industry had made me more aware.. its difficult to resist temptation when make up is all around me. For the past one year, make up has become part of my daily routine. I do not leave home without it (unless I am going grocery shopping).

My reviews on products and tips are below:

Base make up: For the longest time I was oblivious to the importance of base make up. It mainly includes foundation, concealer and compact powder. I skip concealer 'coz its awfully difficult to apply and can look bad if not done correctly. As for foundation, I have experimented with many, before finding my preferred brand. I started with Chambor's foundation (since Mom is a fan) but was using the incorrect shade until a colleague pointed that out. Its so difficult to figure these things out. I tried L'Oreal's True Match foundation but did not like the heavy coverage. I like low coverage so that the face does not look too made up. I came across Lancome accidently... it is an imported brand with limited outlets in India (Mumbai- Phoenix Mills, Delhi- Select City Walk Mall). The foundation is called Tient Miracle and covers pores, gives a glow and is perfect was party wear. It is pricey at 2700 bucks... but so worth it. Its my most expensive buy- I do not have any clothes or shoes that have cost so much. But its worth it. I have saved it for party wear. For daily wear, I discovered L'Oreal's mineral foundation. This is perfect for my oily skin. It gives an amazing glow to the skin without making it oily.... also, there is no need for compact. Another daily wear foundation is the recently launched L'Oreal Mousse... love it. It spreads easily but compact application is needed. I think Revlon also has mineral make up but I do not like that brand... for some reason. When buying a foundation, always inquire for the shade at atleast 2 counters since the beauty advisers can get it wrong. Better safe than sorry. A good foundation makes all the difference and is most important. Take it from someone who never used it before and now is not comfy being seen without it at work or on an outing. I am not very choosy about compact and have been using Chambor for the longest time.
Next step is eyeshadow. There are so many, many, many options. I used to look up videos on you tube to learn the correct application. There are so many ways to apply eye shadow... it was quite confusing. Also, very few women wear eyeshadow in India and it can end up looking out of place- specially at work. I just apply it on my eye lids.... thats it... no highlighter, nothing on brow bones... nothing to make eyes look bigger or smaller. Also, if I am using a catchy shade like blue or green, I skip the eyeliner. When I use base shades like brown or pink, I apply an eyeliner also. Coming to brands... Mac is the best out there... at 900 bucks its pricey. Go for Mac if you are looking for that perfect shade... they have the largest range. Lakme and Maybelline are good within budget... L'Oreal eye shadows are nothing to write home about. Revlon sucks... I bought their kit with 4 shades but they settle on the eye lid crease after a few hours. Max Factor is another good brand. Clarins is the only brand with liquid eye shadow but they have very basic shades (brown, goldenish, pink, green) and are pricey at 990 bucks.
Eye liner: There are so many kinds available in the market now. When I was in college, everyone used Lakme's liquid eye liner which took ages to dry and you had to be careful before opening your eyes incase it had not dried and would smudge. It took me a lot of practice to be able to apply it correctly. None of that anymore. The best options are gel liners... smooth, applied with a brush, do not smudge... Maybelline, L'Oreal and MAC have these liners. Maybelline is budget and strictly ok... L'Oreal is better but has only black shade... MAC is pricey at 900 or 1000 bucks but has many shades- brown, copper, green, peacock green, peacock blue, bluish purple, black etc. I have only 2 liquid liners... L'Oreal and Lakme... both are good. For pencils liners, I think Chambor is best... Maybelline has many shades but I do not like them... L'Oreal's contour liner pencil is also good. It does not smudge.
Mascara: I did not understand the importance of a mascara until recently. I love how they make the lashes look. There are many options in the market but I have not experimented with too many... for lengthening, volume, curl, defining etc. I read somewhere that washable is better than waterproof 'coz it is less harmful. Not sure about the facts. My first mascara was Maybelline which dried 'coz of under use. Many years later I bought Mac's defining mascara. It didn't do much since my lashes are not long and curled. Next I bought Mac's volumizing and curling mascara which is better suited. Don't go by the way a beauty adviser demonstrates its application. They tend to over apply... also, it takes some getting used to. It makes the lashes feel slightly heavy and that can be uncomfy. Go for a good brand... and practice. It is worth it. Also, its important to curl the lashes with an eye lash curler before application. It hardly costs 20-30 bucks.
Lipsticks: Again... so many options... long lasting, matte, glossy, lip gloss. Whichever... it will need touch ups... My favourites are Chambor's long lasting, Mac's lipsticks (for that perfect orange shade), Lakme (cheap and tikkao), L'Oreal's color riche. Mac has all kinds of shades... pale pink to bright orange red. Its pricey at 900 bucks... so go for the niche shades. Lakme is good for generic shades... L'Oreal has very nice, glossy nudes not found in other brands. I had tried Colorbar's long wear lipsticks... they hardly lasted and dried my lips real bad. So, pick with care.
Nails: Females in my workplace in Mumbai actually matched their nail paint to the outfit... and yet turned up at work at 9 am (after spending 1-1.5 hours in traffic). Thats dedication. I can barely change the paint twice in a week... sometimes, even once is an effort. I have so many, many shades... Lakme, Maybelline, Colorbar, Vov... Lakme is good for generic shades... Maybelline has funky colors like green, purple, black, yellow, orange etc... My fav is Color Bar... they have a huge range- 2-3 shades of green, pinks, purple, blue, yellow, purple. Not bad at 150 bucks. I do not see the point in spending 600-700 bucks on nail paint for brands like L'Oreal, Inglot etc.
There are many other things I have missed out- primer, blush, lipliner.... but I generally skip these. For a party, they can be included... but otherwise skip it.

All comments and suggestions welcome. A girly post after a long time...

Conflicts... work... stress... life

2011-09-12T22:26:00.002+05:30

Hiya. I wish I could import people from Mumbai out here... work people. It would make life so much easier, better and fun. I don't blog about work but these days its getting to me. A new conflict everyday.

There are many thoughts rushing to my mind... best way to organize them is through bullet points:

I am an aggressive person by nature... my job also does not allow me to be anything else. Begin a woman means I cannot be soft with people... it is either misconstrued as weakness or flirting. No kidding. Instead of mellowing me down, the aggressiveness spills into my personal life. It has its own pros and cons.
In Mumbai, I hated working after 8 pm... never did. I just wanted to come back home and do my own thing. Now, I don't mind so much. If there is something important, I do open my laptop at home. I guess I am less irritated and impatient now that KC is around. Having someone to talk to or just be with makes a world of a difference. Staying alone ain't much fun. But I could not admit that to myself in Mumbai... it would have made me weaker. And when things are not in my control, why wallow about them?
There is a major difference between people in Mumbai and out here. In Mumbai, you wake up to run.... from morning to night... thats the life. Someone who refuses to run will not survive a day... whether he/she is from Mumbai or not. Everyone is running... either ahead or with you or behind you. Not so in Delhi. People are born and brought up here... there are not too many outsiders... everyone stays with families... generations of them... it is all about taking it slow... working at your own pace. For a person like me who did not take it slow even in Kolkata, it is not a very comfy place. I am running... and I need to get people to run with me... the only way I can... through aggressiveness.
Thats how conflicts come in... I want to reach the goal ... people can either work towards it with me or I will drag them along... but I refuse to let them drag me down. Its complicated.
Thankfully, I come home and everything is easier to handle. I go for Jazz for 1.5 hours and suddenly life seems much better. It can't be that bad if I can spare 3 hours per week to do my own thing after work. How many people can boast of that?

Movie Reviews

2011-09-11T00:11:00.003+05:30

I like Mila Kunis... she was fab in That 70s show and Black Swan. She is so pretty and I love her voice. We were trying to decide which movie to watch today... Mere Brother ki Dulhan was out... the choice was between FWB and Contagion. We picked this. The movie is full of cliches... guy and girl have commitment and emotional issues... both are single... become friends... decide to have sex... it gets complicated... they fall in love... the end. There was no interval and I couldn't even have nachos. A bummer.... but I got to watch Mila Kunis and that makes it worth it.

Avoid.

TGIYB is out and out an art movie... Art movies these days are... Phas gaye re obama, Pyaar ka punchnama... Dhobhi Ghat... etc... also called multiplex movies. TGIYB is not in that genre... it is an art movie of the kind in which Shabana Azmi... Om Puri... Smita Patil etc would star. The background reminds of that time.

I like art movies... so found it quite ok. Ok... not good. I was surprised that all reviews given were good. This is what happens when perceptions take the front seat. Anurag Kashyap has made a name for himself... to the point that critics have stopped trashing his movies. Some have even called it his best movie to date... which is so not true. Dev D and Udaan are the best. None of the others come close.

I also do not understand why such movies are hyped and why there is advertising done. Everybody goes to watch it expecting it to be a commercial movie and comes back disappointed. Why not just target the niche audience who will appreciate it?

Watch it only if you like art movies... else avoid. I would have preferred to download it online and then watch it instead of spending money.

Time for Update...

2011-09-04T16:30:00.003+05:30

What have I been doing??? Loads...

I didn't feel like going to my dance class today. It was actually an extra class and since I missed class on Thursday it was sort of compulsory for me to attend. One part wanted me to just stay at home and laze around... the other part knew I would regret it and the guilt would eat me if I did not go. So, I went... I really needed the break. 1.5 hours of hectic moving has made me cheerful again
I spilled milk on my blackberry phone. It started acting weird... switching off and on at will. The people at the service centre told me to give it for 6-7 days; after which it may or may not get repaired. I was horrified. Thank god, I had not spent my money on it. It was a gift from the company last year. I decided to buy a new one...my only priority was that it should be sturdy enough to withstand further spills. Its back to Nokia. This time with E6. The internet is not as convenient as a bb since it depends on gprs network but thats ok. I do not want to spend 10k for another phone every year.
My brother (who is in grad college) recently changed his relationship status to "committed". I was curious... on checking the gf's profile on fb I could not find a link between her and my bro. They are definitely not from the same college and have different set of friends. I questioned my bro after one week of digging. He said they met 2 weeks back and "hit it off". I wasn't convinced. KC cheekily reminded of my age when I had my first relationship... I was not even 18... atleast he is 21. Old enough to make these decisions. Aah... first love... when we are stupid enough to believe 2 weeks is enough to dive into the relationship pool.
I met my best friend this week... she came down for a day. I picked her from the airport and planned to drop her at the hotel in New Friends Colony after work. Big mistake. I was not carrying my GPS. The phone's GPS was hard to read... and we kept going round and round in circles. We reached after 2 hours... But it was so nice to meet her and talk. I didn't have to explain "how I feel"... she just knew. I miss that. Also, silences with friends are so comfy... they do not need to be filled with words...
We finally, finally went to Big Chill which is a famous restaurant in Delhi. We reached at 3 pm for lunch on Sunday and it was packed. We had to wait for an hour to get a table by when we were not too hungry. We just ordered a pasta (cannelloni) with a red pesto sauce. It was delicious. Definitely worth another visit. Next I want to visit Kareem's.

Day 5, 6 and 7

2011-08-30T22:10:00.003+05:30

Sorry people... have been gone long. Updates on what's happening in next post.

Coming back to the trip. Day 5 was the trip to Numbra Valley which we skipped. KC and me were exhausted, we didn't want to travel anymore but just rest. We decided to stay back in Leh. I was ill on day 5 and had half a mind to fly back the next day but the tickets were awfully expensive. The agent worked out the hotel details so we didnt have to pay extra. Unfortunately, our hotel did not have available rooms so we shifted to the next door hotel.

After sleeping all day on day 6, we explored the market. The weather was now hot and we didnt need warm wear. Leh is closest to civilization. It has many, many restaurants. We tried only one and stuck to it throughout. I tried the local food called "thukpa"... it is basically noodles in soup with chicken/veggies... filling and easy to make... but too bland for me. I could not have it after 3-4 spoons. The market mainly has warmwear- pashminas, stoles, shawls, sweaters and a lot of handicrafts. The only problem is the high price. Since many, many foreigners visit here the prices are high. The pashmina sweaters/stoles were more expensive than the ones sold in 'Zara'. I bought 2 leather jackets but whether it is real leather will have to be tested. For example, we came across a shop with some Buddha sign on a shiny cloth. For some reason KC was fascinated by it (I personally did not want to see it in my house) and wanted to buy it. The shopkeeper quoted 4k as the price. He brought it down to 3k. It was still way above our budget and we didn't purchase it. The next day, we came across the same piece in another shop for 2k. I am sure after negotiation we could have bought it for 1k. Those guys would still have made a profit. Another reason for the high prices is that tourists go to Leh only during 4 months in the year. Everyone has other means of livelihood during the balance of the year.

Day 7 was the same... we shopped... walked around... slept... relaxed. We returned the next day after a stop over at Jammu airport for 3 hours.

Some tips if you plan to holiday in Leh/Ladakh:

Keep the trip short... 3-4 days max. It can get hectic otherwise
Skip Kargil... fly to Leh directly and start the trip from there. We came across a few people on motorbikes. I know some batch mates who did the trip on bikes
Loos are hard to come by on the way... be prepared for that
The roads are deserted... don't expect decent food on the way. Best is to carry packed lunches else you will end up eating Maggi on all days. The hotels mostly served us aloo gobhi/paneer etc. We got really, really tired after 2-3 meals. The driver will know the best places for food
Carry a lot of warm clothes... gloves, jackets, sweaters, thermal wear, socks, caps etc.
Pray it does not rain but is sunny
Places around Leh are famous for river rafting and trekking. An adventure trip is a good option here. I wish we had done river rafting
If you are looking for a leisure holiday, avoid this place...

Day 4

2011-08-25T22:21:00.004+05:30

We started in the morning for Pangong Lake. It was a 7 hours journey. Pangong lake is where 3 idiots climax scene was shot. Travelling was hectic... roads were treacherous and the high altitude starting making most of the people dizzy. KC was not well throughout. He was cold and dizzy. We came across snow covered mountains and it was soooooooo cold. Btw, I forgot to describe my outfit... my best one. I had worn a Wills Lifetyle skirt... with skin colored tights... they were woollen and warm... with a red Zara spaghetti top and red Zara cardigan. I had the overcoat over it plus a black stole.

We reached the Chang La pass which is the 3rd highest in the world. There was snow everywhere and the highest cafeteria. I got down from the bus to go to the loo and felt so dizzy. Slowly and steadily, I reached the cafe, went around the back which was covered with snow and came to the loo. I didn't think that snow would be so slippery. It is common sense but the feeling was new. Its not like I skate at home on the snow.

A word of caution.... there are hardly any loos on the way... the few that we came across were dirty and filthy. I am quite particular about men peeing on the roads but in this case they did not have an option. There are still some loos for women but none for men.

We kept moving up the mountains till the peaks were parallel and then moving down... and then moving up. It was an amazing experience. Lunch was at a small hut on the way. By 2 pm they were out of food.... and we had to satisfy ourselves with Maggi and egg bhurji. It was so cold outside we huddled in the one room kitchen while the women cooked for us.

Pangong lake arrived at 6 pm. The cold was biting and fierce. We savoured the lake... its pristine beauty... clicked many many pics... and then I left the group to return to the vehicle. My overcoat was with KC and those 5 mins of walking in the cold took its toll. I was slightly woozy on the way to the tent which was 10 mins away.

There was a huge goof up... our agent had booked 5 tents but the manager there had given away 2 of them on first come first serve basis. There were 10 of us and 3 tents... no phone signal... no way to sort it out. The guys then took the vehicle to the nearest STD booth to sort things out. I sat inside one of the tents and suddenly started shivering. When KC returned he gave me his warm clothes and covered me with 4 blankets. I was still shivering. It was scary... no phone signal to call my dad for medicines... no medical care... and no way out. KC was took great care all night... brought me dinner... kept checking on me every hour... got me ORS to prevent dehydration. He was not too well either. All night I kept waking up wondering when it will be morning so we could leave from there.

Next morning I was slightly better but wanted to get to Leh to rest. I was tired and not in the mood to continue the trip. On the way back, everyone else wanted to visit monasteries and the palace. I was screwed. All I wanted to do was return safe to the hotel. After stopping at Thiksay monastery for an hour (I did not join), the palace was skipped 'coz nobody wanted to climb so high... and we reached Leh.

KC and I decided to skip last 2 days of the trip. I was actually planning to return 2 days earlier... better to recover at home than in a hotel at Leh.

Next... day 5 and 6 at Leh. I leave you with some pics:

These are 'marmots'... they go into hibernation during winter... are herbivores and quite friendly

Snow at Chang La pass

World's 3rd highest pass

Pangong Lake

The place where 3 idiots climax was shot

Day 3

2011-08-24T22:02:00.002+05:30

So... I was happy when I woke up in the tent. It was warmer and I slept better.... there was a sun shining down on us and last night's conversation made me feel closer to KC. We skipped a bath. We were headed to Leh which was only 2.5 hours away and decided to bathe among walls. We looked forward to staying between walls after the tent experience. One of the guys had an important conference call and we left early. While boarding the vehicle somebody decided that guys will sit together and the girls could sit together. I couldn't believe my ears. For a moment I was carried back to my kindergarten days. There was a merry-go-round which would go round and round (not up and down). If there were fewer guys, the girls would sing; "Guy among girls... in Gujju- Chokriyoni vache chokro" and force him to get off. Same treatment would be meted to females.

Anyone who knows me well will know that I do not believe in gender bias. I like my guy friends as much as my female friends. And I hate being labelled "wife" all the time. Its a word loaded with expectations. I do not go by the rules of society. So, to have to sit with the other females 'coz I am a female was very off putting. And KC did not protest. He happily sat with his friends. If my hubby will not stand up for me... who will?

I plugged my ipod and sulked... what I do best. We stopped on the way at Magnetic Hill. According to the signboard, any car parked in neutral will move away from the slope. Gravity has no effect here. Somehow, we found the car moving towards the slope. The landscape was beautiful. It is one of the most scenic roads. We clicked many pics... I sulked in most of them. I also made it clear to KC that if we do not sit together I will not sit with him throughout the journey. I was a little worried about the threat... what if he still did not sit with me? Would I have to carry out the threat? Would I have to sulk for the rest of the trip? I cannot stay pissed/mad for too long and I do not like tension between us. If I do not carry out the threat... he will not believe me again. Sigh!!! What a dilemma. Thankfully, he asked me to come sit with him in the car. I think eyebrows were raised but I didn't care.

We reached Leh at around 10.30 am and got a shock. Hot water for bathing is available only between 6 am to 8 am and 6 pm to 8 pm. We snoozed throughout the day since the hotel staff advised us to rest, acclimatize ourselves and not go out. Hill stations face shortage of water and none of the hotels offer water. You have to ask for it. Water is not served in the rooms and nobody fills your glass in the restaurant. It is very, very precious here.

After a nice, late bath we were heading for dinner in the restaurant when KC's friend invited us to his room. Everyone had gathered for a daaru session. I was too hungry and not in a mood to drink plus did not want to join in another Marathi session and so skipped the rest of the evening. It was much more pleasant to just sit in the room, rest and watch TV.

I leave you with some pics... Next... Day 4... Leh to Pangong Lake.

Day 2

2011-08-23T19:33:00.002+05:30

I slept till 8 am on day 2 at Kargil. Unfortunately for me, the hot water was gone by then. Instead of going to another room where there was a geyser, I decided to take bath in cold, cold water. It actually helped.

We headed for Uleytokpo. It is an insignificant place but the distance to Leh was too huge to cover in the same day. We were supposed to stay in a tent there. It sounded exciting. The landscape was amazing. I had the IPod glued to my ears to avoid interaction with the rest. I have never listened to so much music in my entire life put together. Anyway, we had the huge mountains and the river for company. In some areas there was ice and the river was flowing from under it. The rocks looked so dangerous. It reminded me of cliffs described in books. Nature in its varied forms. I fell in love with it.

We stopped on the way at a monastery. It was very small but the mountains around gave it a beautiful touch. Our lunch was arranged 20 km away which would have meant 1-1.5 hours of driving and we decided to have it at the restaurant nearby. Big mistake. The food arrived 30 mins later and tasted bad. I couldn't swallow even one morsel. Somehow the rest gobbled down the food and ordered for more.

We arrived at 6 pm. It had rained during the day due to which the stones were slippery, it was very cold and our tent was dripping with water. We got the tent changed but it was not warmer here. We whiled away time till dinner in the stone house where food was served. It was so much warmer and we were tempted to spend the night there.

One of the guys who is a regular drinker and smoker wanted to have liquor but the manager was not agreeing to it since there were other guests staying there. He requested the guard to arrange something. The old guard lent us his hut. We huddled on the floor in the room of the hut. He gave us glasses and hot water. I had a few sips of the whisky but it had no effect. After dinner we all retired to bed. KC and I had a long talk about how the trip was progressing. I told him about my frustrations. He was sympathetic and we bonded. It was a good talk.

I will leave you with some pics. Next post... Uleytokpo to Leh.

The tent where we stayed

The river and the mountains

Beautiful landscape

Not a Love Story

2011-08-22T21:33:00.002+05:30

I read good and bad reviews about the movie but wanted to watch it. Ram Gopal Verma is one of the best directors when it comes to thrillers... he has proved it in the past. Also, Mahi Gill is a damn actress and I wanted to watch the movie.

The story is based on the Neeraj Grover murder case whose verdict was out last week. The correct time to release the movie. It is completely based on facts... no judgements, no moralizing. The movie only states what happened. The acting is damn good and reading about gory facts is so different from watching it on screen. Maria and Jerome have sex in reality after murdering Neeraj. Its shocking.

The camera angles are weird but thats just RGV. No other director would take shots of the car from above.

I do wish there was some deviation from facts... those who have followed the case will not find it very revealing. When you make a movie you need to bring something to the table. RGV has not done that. He has just stated facts... even the end is abrupt since the verdict was not out.

I am sickened that the court has released Maria. She helped Jerome in covering up the murder. What kind of sick people chop off a body into pieces and burn it? Do we want someone like that living around us? Shouldn't such people be made to rot in jail all their life instead of being let off? What was Neeraj's fault? Trusting the wrong person?

Its a sick sick world we live in.

The Carrie Diaries

2011-08-22T21:29:00.001+05:30

Apparently, this book is about Carrie Bradshaw when she was in high school. Just a marketing gimmick. There is nothing Carrie like in the main character... it could be anybody.

Please avoid.

Day 1

2011-08-22T11:08:00.005+05:30

Hiya. So, I am back and so happy to be back. I will post about the trip but break it down day wise. It will help me get into details and it will be easier to read.

But before I begin.... the trip was with KC, his friends and their wives. We have never done such a group trip... the only other time was when we went with his other group to Pune for a friend's engagement. Hanging out with each other's friends does not count. Anyway, so I have never met all the people of the group... some I have been out with at one time or the other... but not for more than half an hour at a stretch. Everytime a plan to hang out with some of them was made... I either ditched or left. So, basically these people were strangers for me. I didn't care... I was going with KC and thats all that mattered. Also, I do not know who came up with 'Leh Ladakh'... none of us were involved in planning or researching the trip. Lets say I walked into it blindly.

We took a flight from Delhi to Srinagar... everyone else was arriving from Mumbai on the same flight. Flight got delayed by half an hour which was insignificant till we were on the road. The schedule was tight and the delay was going to cost us. From Srinagar we headed to Kargil 204 km away. First thing we learned was that there was no correlation between the distance and time taken to cover it mainly due to the roads. The journey time was supposed to be 7 hours. It was warm at Srinagar but people removed warm clothes from their bags. I had over packed- going by the size of my suitcase compared to others. If it was my friends, I would have consulted with everyone and brought similar sized luggage but guys just don't do that.

The major shock was when everyone was talking in Marathi. All the 8 people (excluding us) are born and brought up in Mumbai and are post graduates. 2 of us (me and another guy's wife from Delhi) don't speak or understand Marathi. One of KC's friends took up our cause and requested everyone to speak in Hindi but guess what... they REFUSED. Someone actually said; "80% of us are Marathis... we will speak the same... not so comfy with Hindi". I wanted to run away there and then and that would have been a good decision 'coz all conversations were in Marathi. I will commit suicide if I hear one more word of Marathi and so hate the language now.

I will come back to the trip later....there are some points I would like to make. If educated, young people... the cream of India will act regional... what hope is there for rest of the country? It is almost like racism and I hate caste ism of any sort. I was born in Gujarat and am a Sindhi. As a kid, I spoke in Hindi at home and Gujarati outside. The switch came easily. When I shifted to a convent boarding in Rajasthan, the language spoken was English and Hindi was spoken only in Hindi classes. We were not allowed to speak Hindi otherwise. I was juggling 4 languages but that came naturally. I think in English and not Sindhi and that makes a world of a difference. When I shifted to B school in Karnataka, I came across the weirdest thing. 80% of students were from South (obviously) but whenever Mallus gathered they would speak in Malayalam without a care for who was around. Even if you were in a group talking in English with a Mallu, another Mallu would come around and they would speak in the language leaving you out of it. All complaints fell on deaf ears. Compare this to my engineering days in Gujarat. There were 30 students... 22 girls and 8 guys. 2 of us were non Gujjus. Even though I was fluent in the language I refused to speak it in college. I stuck to Hindi. Thankfully, my group in 1st year had a mix of Gujjus and non Gujjus and we all spoke Hindi. Coming back to the batch of 30 students... they had all grown up in Gujarat... the Profs taught in Gujju... they would spend their life in Gujarat and had no reason to speak another language. No kidding. But they went out of their to speak Hindi with me. Trust me... speaking Hindi is an effort for a Gujju.... their style of speaking reveals that. And I appreciate it even more. Even when they forgot and spoke in Gujju, they would apologize and switch right back. One day the Head of Department who was a Sindhi asked me why I don't speak Gujarati in college. He knew my parents and was aware of our fluency in the language. I told him clearly that I study in an English medium college and will only speak either Hindi or English.

Language is for communication... it was to unite people and not to discriminate. Sindhi unites me to my family... English and Hindi to the world... and Gujju is an add on. I have never bonded with someone 'coz we speak the same language. I cannot speak Sindhi with friends... it is restricted to family and relatives. If and when KC and I have kids... the language spoken will be Hindi and English 'coz thats our language. Marathi is not mine and Sindhi is not his. I will never encourage them to learn either of the two 'coz then it will shut out one or the other.

Yes... I feel strongly about language, caste, creed etc. I was obviously in wrong company.

Coming back.... we stopped on the way to Sonemarg to click pics even though the driver assured us that a better view lies ahead. Lunch was at a small dhaba on the way. We did not have the patience to wait till Sonemarg where better food would be available. We did that a lot... ate at the wrong places despite the driver's warning.

There was some snow at Sonemarg and ponies could take us there. I was excited. We were charged 500 bucks per pony and off we went... over the mountains and wet stones. It was a bumpy ride with my pony acting aggressive and competing with the other ponies. For once, I did not want to compete. After 45 mins of the torture they dropped us some feet away from the snow cave. I was exhausted and decided to give up while everyone else went till the cave. Since we had spent too much time on the ponies, the drive brought the car closer and we had to ride the pony for only 5 mins. We were fleeced... there was a shorter route but deliberately we were taken through the longer one. Also, we were late. Kargil is the highest army base and you can be refused entry after a particular time. The driver was a little concerned about this. There were jawans at every kilometer distance due to red alert on Independence Day. It was scary... the amount of money and manpower we spend on guarding that area has to be seen to be believed.

The road to Kargil is open only for 4 months of the year... it is covered with snow rest of the year. All the rations have to be sent up during this time. If some truck gets stuck at any other time, nobody can help. There is no phone connection and you have to cross a no man's land to reach it. My camera could not capture this and I gave up after a few attempts. You really have to see it. There was a particular turn where the car could not carry everyone. The guys were asked to walk the distance while the car carried us ahead. Some privilege of being a woman. And it was cold... really cold.

We stopped at Dras for some tea and reached Kargil at midnight. All the views that KC wanted to see... Tiger Hill etc were shrouded in the dark. Thankfully, the hotel had kept dinner for us. I snoozed after dinner while KC spent time with his friends.

Next post... day 2 at Uleytokpo.

Here are some pics:

Sonemarg

The snow cave... where we went on ponies

Sonemarg. The river was our companion throughout

Early morning at Kargil

View of Kargil from the hotel

The river and the mountains

Yoohoo

2011-08-13T21:47:00.003+05:30

Hiya. I just returned from Mumbai. It was a one day trip for Rakshabandhan. Some festivals are huge in Gujarat... Janmashthmi, Holi, Diwali, Rakhi, Uttarayan. I guess I mentioned them all. Tieing a Rakhi has been a life long tradition. Even now cousins we may not be in touch with, send Rakhis for my bro. Actually, their mothers send it... just like my Mom sends Rakhis across to my cousins on my sis and my behalf. It was hectic but worth it. My Mom also lent me all her warm clothes which are much needed for this week's trip.

The other day I was thinking how I do not get hit on anymore. I wondered if its because I am older and men my age are all hooked up. Or maybe I am never in a situation where I give someone the opportunity... like in a pub or club. I was not being vain.. the thought crossed my mind and it was reinforced by this incident:

I was in GIP Mall with some time to kill. I went to Om Book Store to buy some books. While browsing the bestsellers section a guy approached me and asked for recommendations. Sounds innocent enough? I replied saying; "I don't know" and walked away to the billing counter. Instinct told me he was hitting on me. As a female, I never ever ignore my instincts. Anyway, instead of being flattered I wanted to reply; "Play with girls your own age and leave me alone". I am not pretty, I don't flirt, I do not have time to make small talk and make friends with strangers at random places. Nope... I am not boring. I have been there, done that and am happy I do not have to do it again.

I remembered how carefree, trusting and risk free I was as a teenager. It almost seems stupid now. Thankfully, nothing seriously bad happened to me. It was a good time and I'm happy I indulged in all of it.

Below are some memories from those times:

After passing out of a girls school in 10th (where there was little scope for interaction with guys), I was completely focussed on studies in 11th and 12th std. I went out just once... with my best friend. All interactions were limited to coaching and school. While going for my tuitions one day, a guy followed me on the bike and asked me; "Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar". I knew it was a line but decided to meet him after my tuitions. Don't ask why. I have no idea. I was bored. We talked and it was really boring. We decided to meet again the next day. Don't ask why. I couldn't say no. I said yes and planned to ditch him. Only problem was he knew where I had my tuitions. To cut it short, I didn't stop for him. He followed me for some distance and then gave up.
The internet opened unimaginable avenues when I joined college. Hours were spent chatting before college opened. I met numerous guys from the net. Again, very risky. Its something I wouldn't dream of doing now. But then, heart made the decisions and the head followed. When college opened, I met college mates through the internet. Some are still friends... others have moved... some ended up being boyfriends for a short period... and there were many many lies exchanged. Some rules were followed while chatting- general chat was the norm, private messaged were exchanged only when someone seemed interesting, ASL (age sex location) were never given out correctly in general chat, chat was followed up with phone calls and then a meeting. There was this guy who I had planned to meet and then decided to ditch at the last moment (For some reason, I did THAT a lot). There were no cell phones and I didn't want to call and cancel. Teenage guys can be persuasive to the point of desperate. After making him wait for half an hour, I decided to make an appearance. He told me how he stays in a conservative joint family, girls cannot call/come home and the internet is the only place where interaction is possible. Internet was an excellent medium for exploration.
During one of my on again and off again relationship during college, a guy who was a friend's friend asked me out. I agreed. He was an interesting dude and had a crush on me for quite sometime. Well, he talked non stop for an hour. I did not get a word in... neither did the waiter. We didn't order... he just talked. I was ready to shoot myself. Finally, I made my excuses and left

Looking back, I am glad the dating game is finally over and I am settled.

Sometimes, the thought that the excitement, craziness, risk taking and heartbreak will never come again.

But then again, do any of us need any of these back in our life?

Tata.... I will be back on Sunday. Adios till then...Hoping to have a fab trip.

Lessons learned this week

2011-08-10T20:55:00.002+05:30

Happiness : It is an internal feeling... money, success, people do not bring happiness... you are either happy or not... you cannot be happy one moment and unhappy the next moment... or maybe I am mistaking it for contentment. But I prefer to define the above as "happiness". I had forgotten this. Just remembered it now. I am happy... even if my day is bad, my bank balance is low, there are few friends around etc etc etc etc
Independence: I learned that no matter how far you come in life... or how many people are around you... you can only truly depend on yourself. I keep forgetting this and start depending on people around me. When they do not live upto my expectations, I get frustrated. I have learned that it is better to do things on your own than depend on someone else.
Dependency: I have learned the relief and joy someone else's support, involvement and effort can bring. It minuses out the above lesson... but thats the trick....
Blogging: 2 people reminded me yesterday and today how important blogging is to me and how important it can be to others. I will not let it flag like this again. I started blogging in 2006. It has been 5 years already and my journey is reflected in my posts... something which reminds me who I was as a person at a particular time. Nothing can replace that.
Commenting: I am not huge on commenting for various reasons- some blogs are so popular my comments get lost out. I eagerly look forward to their posts but they probably dont know I am a regular reader... they have so many fans, it won't matter if there is one comment less. Another reason is sometimes I come online only to read posts.... I do not have enough time to comment... specially when I am at work. Thirdly, I write for myself... the blog has never been an "exchange" of ideas for me... it is more about me spewing my thoughts and feelings here. So, less importance on comments. But, I have learned that for everyone blogging serves a different purpose. And I am going to be open to the exchange of ideas
How to take a long live: Plan the trip 2 months in advance, at least. Get the leave approved... no one thinks so far off into the future. Do not mention it again till 2 days before the leave begins. Your immediate superior may get a panic attack remembering his approval... but it will be too late for anything. Do not... feel guilty. If you do, you will end up working on the trip
Nothing is so important that you cannot take a whole week off in the year

Peek a boo

2011-08-06T23:44:00.002+05:30

Hiya... I have been gone long and I am truly sorry. I never thought blogging would suffer like this.

Life has been busy... hectic and most nights I come home so dead... all I do is have dinner, watch an episode or two of 90210 season 4, read a little and then sleep. I have not spoken to some friends in weeks and its not a good thing.

Sundays are for chores... movies... going out... fitting in many many things in one day. My day for tomorrow is already planned...

8 or 9 am: Wake up... cannot sleep late 'coz of maid, cook, car cleaner asking for keys, laundry guy, garbage guy. Everyone descends on Sunday morning

10 am: B'fast of waffles and grilled sausages

11 am: Blood donation for KC's friend's father

12: Pick up reports from hospital

1.15-2.30 pm: Jazz

Evening: Dinner and maybe shopping...

I do want to slow down... I am not going out of my way to make things hectic but... there is so much to do. There is always some fire to put out... something to follow up on... somewhere to go... and many mails to send.

On Saturday I am flying to Mumbai for Rakhi since my bro is there. 14th to 21st, we are off to Leh, Ladakh, Kargil etc. It is our first trip with friends (KC's friends). Totally looking forward to it. I have been shopping for warm clothes... could not find boots and had to buy something slightly similar. I am still searching for a good jacket, even if expensive.

I want a day to myself... when I have to do nothing. I wish I had Saturdays off... really need Sats off.

Book Reviews

2011-07-27T20:59:00.002+05:30

This book is by a writer who was an Assistant Director in Bollywood. The main character is also an AD trying to get a foothold in the movie industry. She goes through happiness and pain... affair with the main actor, unwanted pregnancy, success and failure in the career. Very 'Page 3'. I don't think every AD has affairs with the actors but the author needed to spice it up.

Very chicklit and not bad for a time pass read.
This book is by a Pakistani writer- Mohsin Hamid. It is based in Pak and is about a young man who loses himself to drugs. The beginning is good, book is short but loses everything in the end. Its as if the writer could not figure out how to end it and did so abruptly. Avoidable.

The Perfect Couch

2011-07-24T13:07:00.002+05:30

The last 2 years KC and I have not bought too much furniture... for the first 6 months after marriage we did not even have a bed. The relocation, deposit and rent cost too much and we decided to wait a while. After the 6 months, we bought basic minimum furniture- bed, mattress, sofa cum bed, dining table, a center table and a TV unit. It filled the 1 bhk to the brim. In our current 2 bhk it looks sparse. But now all our savings have and will go in the flat we have purchased in Noida (I will come to that later).

We have also realized that we will not be able to live in our own house for atleast the next 5 years and waiting for so much time to buy proper furniture is not feasible. Anyway, now we are in a dilemma... we want to buy furniture but cannot spare the cash. That does stop us from window shopping and picking items we will buy later.

Yesterday, I dragged KC to Lifestyle's Home Centre. It has a sale on furniture. The top item on my wishlist is a good couch... a leather couch which will welcome me into its arms after a hard day's work... a couch on which I can lounge around while watching TV on weekends... a couch where we can invite friends for movies and drinks. We found the perfect couch and I am dreaming about it... hoping to buy it soon. Of course, it costs a bomb. The next item on the wish list is a lazy boy or a recliner... a good one. This also costs a bomb but is so worth it. KC is a little reluctant to blow up money on a chair but I am all for it. I know he will love it.

Anyone here interested in gifting them? If you have a tree where money grows, please let me know.

The papers are full of Noida farmers' agitation on construction of flats on their lands and low compensation. I will not get into who is right and who is wrong. We recently bought a flat in Noida and have not received any notices YET. We checked out all the constructions which are conflicted right now. I was a little keen on going for something which cost less, took its time in construction and development was to happen... while KC wanted a flat in a developed area even if it cost more. We went with the later and thank god for that. The construction is 60% complete... it is within Noida and not on the outskirts and the builders are very well known.

I sympathize with everyone who bought their flats in the conflicted area... it is like buying a flat in the to-be constructed airport area of Mumbai and finding out later there is a problem. It seems like a damn good opportunity right now but how are buyers to know who the land has been bought from and at what rates?

Its a sad situation with both parties being right- farmers and the buyers. Maybe the builders are also in the clear... it is the Govt who bought and sold the land.

Lets see how this gets resolved.

Back from Mumbai

2011-07-17T15:56:00.002+05:30

Hiya. I have not blogged since my return from Mumbai but there has been loads of work.

We headed to Mumbai on Friday night. After a restful sleep, I met up with my old colleagues on Saturday. The realization that I have moved on and not a part of this team hit me finally. Evening was spent with my bro in Marine Drive. The weather was awesome with mild showers and Marine Drive was teeming with youngsters. We watched Delhi Belly again in Eros and the tickets were so damn cheap.

Sunday was lazy... I visited Candies for the very first time. Getting the food was torture... the wait in the queue and self service... and they don't take cards. But the ambience is awesome. Who knew such a green place could exist in Mumbai? We also had our fav sausages at Pot Pourri.

Monday and Tuesday was the conference. I reached home at midnight on Tuesday and was back at work at 9 am the next day.

My life has become really busy... after work on weekdays there is always some housework... and there is Jazz or gym. Weekends also are busy with grocery shopping and other chores. And I am ok with it. I wouldn't want it any other way. As I see it, the 1 year in Mumbai was a waste.... I don't want to regret next year that I didn't do anything. I want to do more than just work and come back home. I want to read, blog, watch my fav serials (right now it is 90210), learn Jazz, go to the gym, cook... and anything else I can fit in.

Thats how I have always been.

This week I also realized that friendship does not end when your friends are not there for you. As long as they are there when you ask them to be there. Thats all that matters.

In today's busy schedule it is difficult to expect someone to keep in touch regularly... on phone or mail or in person. Priorities change... people change... but with good friends you can abashedly call and ask for help... even at 5 am.

A big revelation.

August should be fun... we are going to Leh/Ladakh for 7 days.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

2011-07-17T15:49:00.002+05:30

The theatres are running housefull. We could not get tickets for any evening shows yesterday and had to go for the 11.40 pm show. 12 is past my bedtime and there was a chance I would fall asleep. I had some teas and hoped for a good time.

The flick has been most awaited 'coz of the actors... and Zoya Akhtar. Luck by Chance is one of my fav movies but it was a safe way to start as a film maker. Who else can portray the actual world of filmdom?

Anyway, I loved the movie... it captured a new terrain... Spain instead of cliches we see in Bollywood. I love Abhay Deol... the rest are also good... chemistry between Hrithik and Kat is hot hot... songs are superb... Farhan has never played such a character... Kalki was good. All the actors were given equal screen time. Nobody overshadowed the other.

The only drawback was editing... some parts were avoidable... and felt like they dragged... songs were too many...

Overall, superb.

I am glad there were 2 good movies this weekend after the previous lull.

Hari Putar

2011-07-17T15:33:00.003+05:30

We caught this flick on Friday night... If I could, I would have seen it first day first show. Harry Potter is the only sequel which has lived up to the book and to the first part. The reason is not just the direction or the editing. It is mainly 'coz the book is soooo good and the actors are so apt. I could not have imagined a better Harry or Hermione or Ron or Dumbledore or Hagrid etc. They have been the heroes till now... but there are new heroes in the last 2 movies... Bellatrix... Voldemort... and the best... Snape. Bellatrix is perfect as the mad crazy woman... and Snape has this measured way of speaking. I cannot think of any Bollywood actor who could have acted it this way.

I wish the movie would have covered the entire book and I sympathize with the people who haven't read the book. 4 hours also would not be a deterrent. It has been edited well and does not cover Albus, Aberforth and their sister's back story. The search and finding of the horcruxes is too fast.

I loved it ... and Harry will be missed.

Hiya

2011-07-07T23:38:00.002+05:30

Hey... Sorry for the long pause... loads has been happening and yet nothing has.

I have been a little stressed, tensed and troubled all week. Nothing major. There are major changes happening at work which may or may not affect me. The old stress of sales is back and I do not like it.

I have seen these organizational changes in my earlier company and they are not good... atleast not for people who want to work their way up on merit.

Even in my dreams I think about work. No kidding. When I am talking to myself (in my mind) it is about work. Don't ask me why. I don't have major responsibilities but tend to take un-necessary tension.

Also, there was the mid year review. I spoke my mind. I don't know how well it was taken but everyone has their own managerial style and with me, each member of the team should know where he stands.

Tomorrow we (KC and me) are off to Mumbai for the weekend. I have a conference on Monday and Tuesday and for once I am looking forward to it. It will be nice meeting my old colleagues.

Coming to the very good part. I joined Jazz dance classes. Jazz is a street form of ballet and focuses more on technique than on movement. I mean, its not like usual latka jhatkas. I did learn a bit of it 3 years back at 'Danceworkz' and joined it again. The weekday batches are on Monday and Thursday from 7-8.15 pm... but they begin at 6.30 pm (basic revision of previous class) and go on till 8.45 pm. 1 hour is spent on exercises and technique and rest 45 mins on routine. It is so exhausting. I reach home at 9 pm, take a shower, have dinner and am dead. But it is 4 hours in the week when I am not thinking or worrying. Its a nice feeling and its been a long time since I felt that way.... when I can cut off from everything and focus on one thing. My gym has suffered in the process but thats ok.

Coming to the hilarious part... On Saturday I went to the gym early morning. I was very energised and actually running at a speed above 7... then, my hand towel fell down and I didn't want to break the rhythm (I just used spell check to write this word... I am ashamed) and decided to bend a little and pick it up. Of course, I lost my balance and fell off the treadmill... for the very first time (I know...I know... nobody even has a first time). The instructor was very, very concerned. He banned me from listening to the ipod 'coz he thought I lost concentration. What an embarrassment. Now I totally seem like a country bumpkin who cannot even run on a treadmill.

Coming to food, we bought a toaster cum grill cum waffle maker last week. B'fast on Sunday was sandwiches and waffles... yum while lunch was risotto and pizza. The risotto was sort of bland and I will look up better recipes. I didn't want to add too much cheese. One thing I am grateful about in Gurgaon... all the imported ingredients are available. Arborio rice (used in Risotto) is not there even in Hypercity in Mumbai but I found it here in Spencers.

For another amusing incident you can read this link.

Good night... catch you next week.

Delhi Belly

2011-07-06T21:48:00.001+05:30

I know I have been gone long.

I loved, loved, loved this movie... it is hilarious, original (there are rumours floating around about this but I don't care), smart, has abuses never heard in any Bollywood movie.

A movie for the youngsters... the characters and actors are oh-so-perfect.

Please go watch it... you are an ass if you don't.

Also, don't watch it with family... definitely, not with parents.

White and Dark chocolate cheesecake

2011-06-30T23:29:00.005+05:30

I have come across many recipes of cheesecakes and decided to try my hand at it.

I first came across the recipe of white chocolate cheesecake. KC does not like white chocolate so I decided to make white one with half the mixture and dark chocolate with the other half.

It looked good BUT was quite sweet. I don't know why. I used the exact quantities and it didn't taste so sweet while making it.

Next time I will add half the quantity of sugar or avoid it altogether.

Base ingredients:

Oreo crumbs... they are available in India now. But I didn't like the taste so much... maybe neutral tasting Marie biscuits would have been better. Your call. Crush the biscuits with hand or in a mixer.... the smaller the crumbs the better it is. I won't specify the quantity. It should be enough to cover the base of your baking tin

2 Tbsp butter melted

1 tbsp sugar (avoidable)

Cheesecake Ingredients:

1 packet cream cheese (Kraft's Philadelphia... costs 430 bucks)

1/4 cup sugar (avoidable if the chocolate is very sweet)

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 egg

65 gm white/dark chocolate... I used Belgian white and Bournville dark

Preheat oven to 325 degrees C. Line muffin tins/baking tin with butter paper. I didn't have any and only greased the tins. Mix biscuit crumbs, butter and sugar. Put 1 tsp in each tin and press to cover base.

Beat cream cheese for 30 secs, add sugar and beat for 30 secs. Add egg and mix. At this stage I divided the mixture into 2 parts and added white chocolate and vanilla to one part and dark chocolate and vanilla to another part. Mix well.

Put it over the base in the tins and bake for 12-15 mins at 180 degrees C. Cool and refrigerate overnight.

http://ruchisimplyfood.blogspot.com/

Pyaar ka Punchnama

2011-06-30T23:11:00.002+05:30

I had been hearing rave reviews of the movie on FB and finally decided to watch it in the 3rd week. The movie is about 3 young working men and their first experiences with women.

It is a completely guy movie with the abuses, lifestyle and failure to understand women.

Guy 1 (don't remember the names) is a loser.... a pervert... he cannot talk to girls but manages to befriend one. She uses him for everything- borrowing money, dropping her home, doing her extra work etc etc. All this while she has a long distance boyfriend. Sounds quite familiar. I have come across many, many women who do this and do not have any sympathies with the guy. A loser will be treated as such.

Guy 2 gets into a relationship with a female and is madly in love. They move in together... life slowly turns hell. Just like a guy he wants to hang out with friends and live the way he used to. But his gf wants him to do spend all his time with her... and help in the housework. There is this scene where she is folding clothes and fighting with him. She is tired 'coz he never helps out and she tells him; "You think I like folding clothes? Well, I don't." This was uncannily same as the fight KC and I had 2 weeks back. Exactly the same words were spoken. I guess we are not the only ones.

Guy 3 is a smart cookie and realizes that his gf is cheating on him with her ex. He hangs on for sometime and dumps her when she sleeps with the ex.

The 2nd half drags a bit and movie has to show the females as being psychopaths. There is no other way the guys could have gained sympathy. The guys were loving it.

An excellent movie from a new director and absolutely new actors. It is actually in the theatres even now.

Surprisingly, there were many kids in the theatre. The movie has abuses galore and I was shocked. Do I want my 5 or 10 year old using such language? Sure, they do hear it in schools anyway but would I deliberately choose to expose them to it? Absolutely not. And then we are surprised when rich kids are caught drunk driving and murdering people.

Book Reviews

2011-06-26T15:10:00.005+05:30

I know I am a little late on the 'Vampire Diaries' craze but I have read Twilight and watched the movie and did not want to indulge in similar stuff.

Vampire Diaries is sort of similar to Twilight except it is darker, the action is more dangerous and thrilling. It is everything that Twilight should have been. I wish I would have read it before twilight. By the end of the book, I was not willing to pick up part 2 but it ended at a exciting turn and now I will have to read the next one. Also, once I am done with 90210 I will start on the series.

2 of my FB friends had praised the book. I could not find it in Landmark and ordered it online at flipkart.com. Amazing website... I received the delivery within 3 days... no hassles... no follow up required and it was at a discounted price. I have started ordering books online every month. They are cheaper and no shipping charges.

Anyway, I do not know who Anthony Bourdain is... I have never watched his shows so don't ask me for his introduction. The book is about a cook, his real life experiences in the kitchen and they are unimaginable. We all think of chefs/cooks as creative, decent, respected people... but thats not how it is... even in 5 star kitchens.

Worth a read. I received the delivery for another book by him from the website.

Restaurant Reviews

2011-06-26T14:59:00.002+05:30

Hey people.... I have been meaning to blog about the recent restaurant visits but have not had the time:

Punjabi by Nature: On my b'day we went to this place for lunch. It is in DLF Cybercity in one of the office buildings. I had heard a lot about it and was excited. We ordered for Galouti Kebab and some chicken gravy dish. The kebabs were huge... 8 huge pieces... we could finish only half of it. Somehow, I still prefer the galouti kebabs in Great Kebab Factory. The chicken dish was sort of sweet and good but I had wanted to eat something spicy. We finished off with a gulab jamun... again, HUGE. The meal was ok kinds... not bad, but not rave worthy. It cost us 1500 bucks. I wish they would have given smaller servings (for a lesser price, of course). Only a group of 3-4 people could have finished the food.

Barrique: It is located opposite to Punjabi by Nature. It was empty on a Sunday night.. maybe 'coz Gurgaon people do not venture around the office areas on weekends. We ordered a stuffed mushroom and veg lasagne. The lasagne was better than the one at Earth lounge but not Little Italy. The lasagne in Little Italy does not have veggies... only spinach, tomato sauce and cheese.

Pretty ok place.

Pind Balluchi: KC and I met up for lunch on the weekday at this restaurant. We ordered a chicken gravy and rotis. It cost us only 200 bucks. Not kidding... the food was delicious. We will be going there more often.

Kobe Sizzlers: I have been to Andheri East outlet couple of times and liked it. The one at Ambience Mall is the black sheep. The food was the same... but chairs were dirty and the place had a weird smell. Not a good place.

Movie Reviews

2011-06-20T21:54:00.005+05:30

Watched this flick on Friday night for lack of options. It has lesser known faces as main leads. The story is about 2 gangs at war in Mumbai. Everyone has their ambitions and end up killing each other to fulfill those.

The movie is A rated due to the dialogues and scenes. Be prepared to hear some very bold dialogues.

The 2nd half became a little boring and the climax was predictable.

Watch it if you have no other options.
I have watched East is East and found it depressing. I couldn't understand Om Puri's character or his wife... why should take all the shit from him... why was he so stern?

West is West gave me the answers to those questions. It is about complicated emotions... about decisions made without thinking too far... Om Puri abandons his family in Pakistan to move to England. He sends money home regularly but marries an English woman there. He tries to bring up his kids keeping Pakistani values in mind but they are all English to the core. In this part, he returns to Pakistan and feels guilty about leaving his kids all alone. He tries to make amends but his English wife also lands up there.

Its a good flick... but not everyone will enjoy it.

I watched this movie as a kid in bits and parts and have been meaning to watch it for the longest time. 2 weeks back I picked up the DVD. Watching it was a problem 'coz KC was not interested. So, weekends were out. I watched 1.5 hours on one weekday and the rest on the next weekday. Yeah... I can do that. It is a great movie. I liked how Shabana Azmi has no money or anything to call her own after parting from her hubby. Independence... specially financial independence is very important. All 4 actors are superb.

Somehow Mahesh Bhatt has made 2-3 movies on the same theme... one with Kangana... and then another with Esha... if memory serves me right. The song "Tum itna kyun muskura rahe ho" is soooo soothing.

Need a break

2011-06-19T10:56:00.003+05:30

Hi... Sorry, I have been gone long. I wanted to blog but didn't get the time. My life is more hectic here compared to Mumbai even though I had expected it to be the other way around. Work is hectic since it has been 3 months only and it will take time to get things in auto mode where I can take a back seat. Until then, it will be hard work.

Last 3 days have been horrible. My mom had come on Thursday for a quick visit. It got me very emotional... I miss home... I miss my dad... I miss the old days. And there is no going back... When I was in the hostel, I went home every 2 months. It was enough to help me rejuvenate. It was time away from regular troubles. It was a safe haven where life moved slowly... there was nowhere to go... nothing to do... a perfect time out from the daily running out.

I have been running around for 2 years ... and there is no safe haven to go to. This is IT.

I returned at 8 pm on Thursday, bought groceries, invited a friend over for dessert since Mom baked muffins and he is a fan of her cooking, changed the invitation to dinner AND dessert, reached home to discover the cook had not turned up due to an emergency, cooked dinner and washed clothes and setting the house in place. By the end of it, I was exhausted... mentally, emotionally and physically. I cried myself to sleep.

I wish I could take off somewhere... ANYWHERE for 2 days... away from everything and everyone.

I wish life would sort itself out instead of involving me in its maze. Why is my life so complicated when people around me have it simple?

On Friday morning I wanted to curl up and sleep all day. I didn't want to go to work but that is not even an option. Thankfully, work took my mind off other things and for that I am grateful.

Shaitan- fresh off the oven

2011-06-11T19:11:00.002+05:30

I had been looking forward to this movie... it is Anurag Kashyap with a movie on youngsters, drugs, violence etc. I had Dev D at the back of my mind.

All the reviews - online and on twitter raved about the flick. I was happy that after a long time I will watch a good movie.

Where do I begin? The movie is not good... first half is watchable, the 2nd half just does not make enough sense. You can watch it... you won't get bored... but you will come out wondering what the hype was all about... what was the movie about?

Spoilers ahead:

4 friends (all newcomers) meet Kalki (a disturbed teenager in need of therapy) and become a gang... they booze, dope, race in cars, bunk college and do crazy things. They are all from rich families. While racing one night they hurt 2 people. Instead of helping them out or moving them aside, they drive the car over them again and they die. A cop figures out what they have done and demands 25 lakh for destroying evidence. Kalki suggested that the rest kidnap her and demand ransom from her dad. The details were not worked out... so everything goes haywire. They fight, kill and hurt each other.

The actors are good.... all of them. Nobody hammed or over performed.

You can give it a miss.

B'day bumps

2011-06-11T18:03:00.002+05:30

Thats KC's b'day pastry. Its b'day week... KC's on 7th and mine is today. We didn't do much on his b'day 'coz it was a weekday. I had planned to bake some b'day muffins on 6th night and cut them at midnight. The b'day gift- a new laptop bag was supposed to be purchased on Sunday but KC didn't like anything in the Samsonite factory outlet. He wanted a Victoria Knox bag. While working on Monday I came across the outlet in Ambience Mall. The prices shook me but I took KC in the evening. He didn't like them either and we headed to Lifestyle... His Highness did not like anything there either... so, we went to Metropolitan Mall where he finally bought jeans and I pushed him to buy a laptop bag. We arrived home at 9 pm. I was too tired to bake anything after that but did buy pastries the next evening after work for both of us.

B'days have always been special for me... they have always been celebrated... not necessarily with a party but atleast distribution of sweets. If I was home, Mom would bake a cake and make yummy food. Most of the times, I was in school since we had winter break instead of in summer. I started working on 7th June'07. On 11th June I was in B'glore working in the market in the heat... the sales officer did not let me off early even though it was my b'day. I fell sick in the evening and could not even receive calls. It was a very forgettable b'day. After that, I am on leave on this date every year. Thankfully, a lot of times it falls on Saturday which makes it convenient for a leave. I wonder if KC will also take leave on a weekday. Staying home alone will be no fun.

The week has been busy but I managed to find time for the gym. I also attempted a mango pudding- the pictures and recipe will be put up tonight. We had been chasing carpenters for 2 weeks... our regular guy was away and will come back next week. The guard gave me another guy's no which was unreachable... he gave a 2nd contact who was actually a press guy who gave us the contact no of another carpenter. This guy finally turned up. The fat broker of the owner was also a pain in the ass... she had not paid the electricity bill of 8k. We were shocked when we received the bill. Our broker was contacted and screamed at... he then made her pay the dues.

But the most important incident of the week was in metro... 6 out of 10 times there are men travelling in the women's compartment. I have been keeping my mouth shut the last 2 months... none of the Delhi women speak up and shoo them away. This is most surprising. I have been reading in the papers how you call guards if such incidents happen... have not ever seen anyone do it. Yesterday I was changed trains at Rajiv Chowk to go to Uttam Nagar which is on the way to Dwarka. Men got off the women's compartment... and there were no guards to catch them. When we entered there were around 10-15 men in the compartment. 2-3 of the women spoke up and asked them to move back. Some did, others didn't but definitely not out of the compartment. I was pissed... really, really pissed... the guys were making fun of us calling us 'Sonia Gandhi'. I lost it... pressed the emergency button and complained. Nobody came for next 2 stations and I lost all hope... thinking this is what law and order situation is like. On the 3rd station, 2 guards and 1 lady came with a gun and walkie talkie. They pushed the men back but did not fine them (wonder why). The men did not dare move an inch after that.

If there is any Delhi women reading this- please tell me why are you so complacent and do not stand up for your rights?

In Mumbai, the women would have thrown all these men out of the train. What stops you from doing so? There are security measures to protect you but you don't take advantage of them? Why?

I was scared... I wouldn't be surprised if someone would have stabbed me there and then. I read those sort of news in the papers everyday- random killings but someone has to stop it...

Hectic Week

2011-06-05T15:16:00.002+05:30

It has been a very hectic week... work, work and more work. Month end and beginning always is... there is sales closing, targets to be met, presentations, reviews, reports, next month's plans, meetings... more meetings... and some more. I have been coming home late at night... have not been able to hit the gym.

Last evening, we went to the factory outlets of Samsonite and Puma at Ghitorni and the headed to CP for dinner of Chicken Curry at National Dhaba and then caught Hangover 2.

Sunday has been busy as well, with the gym and then groceries shopping, washing clothes etc etc. I have been able to seat my ass just an hour back. I plan to relax for rest of the day.

I missed one week of the gym 'coz of chums and then illness. I spent another week busy and lazy. I was more afraid of the trainer who would scold me for not coming so I kept putting it off. When it comes to gymming, half the battle is starting again after a break. I plan to stick to it this time. It is all about time management.

The other day RT and me were discussing compromise. I remember my mom telling me; "Life is about compromise". At that stage, I wanted it all... nothing wrong with that. But over the years I realize instead of having it all, it has been about choosing something/someone most important to me... and letting go of less important things. And thats ok. It does not "feel" like a compromise.

Somehow the word has a negative connotation... it needs to be replaced with a more positive word.

Hangover 2

2011-06-05T15:00:00.002+05:30

We watched this movie last night since there was nothing else to watch. I wish I could say I laughd atleast once.

A horrible, pathetic movie... so bad, I'd rather watch a chick flick over and over again to counteract the effect. We were thinking of walking out in the middle but then decided to stick it out.

Please avoid.

Kung Fu Panda 2

2011-06-05T14:54:00.002+05:30

Part 1 was ok... good but not that great. I wasn't too keen on the 2nd part but KC is a major fan of the series... he can quote each dialogue and never fails to catch it on TV over and over and over again.

Part 2 was about the search for the Panda's real father. So, there is Kung Fu, the panda, monkey, tigress, bird, snake... and a new villain- the peacock.

Worth a watch, specially now that there are no good movies.

Isn't It Obvious

2011-06-05T14:41:00.002+05:30

Eliyahu Goldratt is one of my fav authors... his books never fail to impress. The only Management books I read are by him. He makes the most complicated theories seem extremely logical and simple... while other management books do the opposite.

This book is about a problem faced in retail- inventory. How to maintain correct inventory- something all retail chains grapple with.

Worth a read.

New Recipe

2011-05-30T21:37:00.003+05:30

I will copy paste the recipe from Anita's blog with minor variations:

ngredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour + a little more when you roll out to make the crust
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
dash salt
6 tablespoons butter( or substitute 3 Tbsp of shortening)
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Filling

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese ( I added less than a cup... you can add more. It will add to the taste)
1/2 cups frozen peas and diced carrots, beans cooked and well-drained. I used all cooked veggies- beans, peas, carrots, baby corn. Next time I will add sausages also.
1/2 cup frozen paneer... I was reluctant to use this but liking it now
3 tablespoons flour... maida
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder(optional)... I didn't have any so used garlic paste
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cups milk
4 eggs, beaten.. Used 3 and still had some leftover. I think 2 would have been ideal for the smaller size I made.

Preparation:

Combine flour, 1/4 teaspoon oregano.
Cut in 3 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons shortening (or all butter like I did) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle with the milk, one tablespoon at a time, mixing until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape dough into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to form a circle 12-inches in diameter. This is the difficult part. Mine didn't reach the upper edges of the container. Thats why I had to use less eggs. I guess, the egg mixture should not be more than the height of the pastry.
Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; turn under edges and flute, forming a rather high rim.

For filling,

Combine cheese, vegetables, flour, salt, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper; gently toss.
Place cheese mixture in bottom of pie crust.
Melt butter in a skillet; saute onion until tender, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle onion over cheese mixture.
Combine milk and eggs; pour over cheese mixture.
Add the paneer pieces
Bake at 350° 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. I baked for 20 mins since size was smaller
Let vegetable Quiche stand 10 to 12 minutes before serving.

This is a simple dish but healthy (if you avoid the cheese) and can be eaten as light dinner or a heavy snack. I was not sure if eggs need to be beaten by a beater. I didn't... maybe I should have.

Try it.

Lots of cooking

2011-05-30T21:06:00.002+05:30

Hiya. We didn't go for a movie on Friday since there was a damn IPL match. I am sooooo glad its over and I can actually watch TV without guilt. On Saturday we headed to Noida for house hunt after which we caught Kung Fu Panda 2. I was very exhausted and too keen on the movie but went ahead anyway. I mean.. I liked Kung Fu Panda 1 but was not crazy about it... atleast not like KC who can mouth every dialogue. How different could part 2 be... there is Kung Fu and there is a panda. It was definitely better than watching a boring Bollywood flick.

We also fought like any married couple on Saturday... me, complaining about the lack of involvement in household chores and him, about me wanting to go out too often.

Sunday was relaxation time... we just went mango and chicken shopping during the day and spent all day indoors.

I tried my hand at Tandoori Chicken. Somehow I have been unable to cook good chicken till now and almost given up. All the food blogs I read these days gave me hope. If a normal housewife can do it, why can't I? I purchased good chicken drumsticks from Le Marche at Galleria. It is a heaven for non-veg shopping.

Here is the recipe:

3 tbsp hung curd. I do not have a muslin cloth and don't know where to purchase one... so, I use a colander (used for sieving milk) and leave the curd on it for 15 mins. I did not leave it long enough due to which it was slightly watery. Please ensure it is kept for atleast 30 mins

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp tandoori powder... more if you want it really spicy

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp red color (I didn't have any)

1 tsp red chilli powder (to give it color)

1 tsp garam masala

salt

oil/butter (I used butter)

1 tsp chat masala (I didn't have any)

Mix all above. Make incisions on the chicken... this is the most imp step if you want flavours to enter inside. Add chicken to the marinade and keep in the fridge for an hour.

Now, my microwave has automatic settings for tandoori chicken but recipes suggest microwaving in a greased tava for 10 mins. Brush with oil and butter and grill for 15-20 mins. Flip pieces in between. Please ensure excess water is removed else marinade can burn and cause fire. My microwave almost caught fire.

I don't have pics 'coz we were too hungry and didn't have patience for pics.

Tonight I am trying out Paneer and Veg quiche from Anita's blog: http://sliceofmylyfe.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/a-vegetable-and-paneer-quiche-from-scraps/

Will post the pic after tasting it.

This is really nice... it feels good when something turns out well. Next on my list is mango cake. I find it easier to follow recipes from blogs instead of books.

Brb...

Pasta with sausages

2011-05-26T21:28:00.002+05:30

Hey... I have been meaning to try cooking pasta for quite sometime. Tonight was perfect... KC ain't home. Experimentation is much easier when he is not around. He is quite fussy when it comes to food and if the experiment is not to his liking he will not eat it... which will make me feel bad. It means either he has to stay hungry or 2 meals have to be cooked. Yeah... its kinda complicated.

I purchased sausages over the weekend and looked for recipes of pasta and sausages. I found one on Kalyan's blog (in sidebar). It turned out to be quite good.

Ingredients:

Pasta- I used spaghetti... anything can be used
Sausages cut into small pieces... chicken or pork. Available in all hypermarkets
2 tbsp cornflour
2 mugs milk
1-2 cheese cubes
Tomato puree
Tomato ketchup
Basil....
Black pepper
Salt
Garlic
Chilli flakes (I didn't have any)

Boil the pasta till almost done. Drain. Wash in cold water and keep aside. Heat olive oil, add garlic. Add tomato puree (half pack) once garlic becomes red. Sprinkle a little tomato ketchup. Add the sausages and cheese. Mix till cheese completely coats the sausages and starts sticking a little. Mix cornflour in 1 mug of milk and add to sausages. Add 1 more mug of milk and boil. Reduce flame, cover the vessel and let it thicken. Add the pasta and salt. After 2 mins add basil, chilli flakes and pepper. Do not add too much salt since sausages do have salt. Cover and cook for a few mins.

Serve immediately.

http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/2010/03/oxymorons-rule-light-sausage-pasta-in.html

Happy weekend

2011-05-24T16:33:00.002+05:30

It was a good weekend. The priority was getting the balcony door fixed. The repairman told us he would come at 12 for measurements and then at 5 or 6 to fix it. It eliminated any plans we could make. The morning was very rushed with cooking Chinese lunch, ordering groceries and water, ordering in b'fast. I had to rouse KC from his deep slumber to help me out.

The b'fast from Flip Bistro is becoming a Sat or Sunday morning ritual for me. The service is slow...the food cold... and delivery takes an hour. But I like the waffles and sausages.

We headed to Dilli Haat after lunch in the awesome weather. After some daal bhatti and kachori I was ready to hit the shops. The bargaining was so much fun. I wanted to buy pearl earrings to match the necklace KC had bought me from Bangkok and pearl necklaces similar to the ones I bought last time I was here. The guy priced it at 500 bucks, brought it down to 400 but I was ready to pay 300. He offered 350 but I walked off and was surprised when he didn't call me back. I went back and was giving him the 350 bucks. Another customer next to me told me he had called out to me ready to sell it at 300 bucks but I guess I didn't hear. I thanked him profusely for saving me 50 bucks...paid 300 and left. The shopkeeper face was quite a sight.

We reached home in time to get the door fixed. It was a relaxing weekend but it did not stop Monday blues.

Both of us were feeling extremely lethargic and tired on Monday. Even our horoscope asked us to take a break.... but we went to work. It got to me last evening and I have skipped work and rested. Of course, that did not stop the phone calls asking me to do this work or that. I will work on my day off over my dead body.

I have a rule- I do not call people who are on leave- unless it is the end of the world. And I expect the same in return. I know people who work even when they are on vacation- whether out of their own will or by pressure, I don't know. But it sucks. I can imagine this person in some exotic place working on his laptop. The family is either away sightseeing without him or waiting for him to finish. I mean c'mon, the work we do is hardly serious. Its not like we work at nuclear plants where one mistake can be disastrous or policemen who have to be on their toes all the time.

We are just managers.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

2011-05-22T11:39:00.002+05:30

KC is a fan of the series. I have watched the first part and bits and pieces of the 2nd and 3rd one.

The movie is a major disappointment... dialogues are cliche... romantic angle is un-necessary. I used to like Penelope but she cannot act. I would have preferred Kiera Knightley in this one also.

It is same old... same old... and very slow. We didn't know what was happening in the first half... there was no action. It all starts in the 2nd half.

Avoid.

Now that I've had B'fast

2011-05-22T11:21:00.003+05:30

I cannot stay hungry, it makes me irritable and cranky. With waffles and sausages for b'fast I am blogging on a happy tummy.

The weather has been stormy past 2 days which is good... there is respite from the heat and it saves electricity. But... on Friday night after watching Pirates of Caribbean we were just sitting at home. I had dug into the lightest cheese cake and KC was online when we heard glass shattering. I thought it was the bathroom cabinet lying in the balcony. It toppled over whenever there were strong winds. If only. The glass on the balcony door had broken. We had forgotten to close it and the glass had given way due to the constant banging. The glass was all over the bed and floor in the bedroom. Catastrophe. So at midnight KC and me armed with broom and vaccum cleaner set out to clean the mess. Thats how strong the winds are here. We slept on the narrow sofa cum bed in the living room while the wind howled outside. Very uncomfortable.

The search for a good Italian restaurant continues. I have bought the Time Food Guide and marked restaurants we can visit (Ok... ok... I am crazy). The plan was to go to "56" at Golf Course Road which is supposed to be the best Italian place here. Some more research online took me to FresCo. The reviews were excellent specially for the buffet. We went there last night. Major disappointment. It is popular, the huge crowds are testimony to that. But does not even come close to Little Italy. Going for the buffet was a mistake. Italian has to be served fresh... it cannot be cooked hours earlier and then re-heated and served.

We have decided to take a break from the Italian search for the time being. There is a limit to the number of disappointments we can take in a month.

Spencers hyermarket has a bakery which serves the lightest Japanese cheese cake. It truly melts in your mouth... I have a slice whenever I am there. Yum!!!

Meaning to blog everyday

2011-05-18T20:12:00.004+05:30

I have been meaning to blog everyday... but life has been busy and hectic. I will get to that in the next post.

This last month in Gurgaon I have been calmer than usual... my tempers have reduced, I leave work at work and things don't seem too stressful since KC is with me.

But today I lost it. I had to bully, abuse and lose my temper. Don't be surprised... it comes with the job I am in. I had to make some things clear and put my foot down. If I am right, I don't "bloody" care what anyone else feels. What is wrong is wrong. I have been trying not to rock the boat by letting things go. I would tell myself- "Let it go. Don't stress". Not the best thing to do. If its war, I am ready for it.

All the above refers to work life. Personal life is damn good.

On Thursday my colleague told me how he and his wife had gone to Sariska for a day and liked it. I planned the trip over the weekend. Bookings were made within 1 day- booking at RTDC hotel for 2500 bucks for an AC room. We decided to take the train instead of driving. The train is till Alwar only and the hotel guy told me cabs will be available from the station. KC and I left on Saturday evening. We arrived by 6.30 pm but could not find any cabs. We headed to the bus stand hoping to find something there. I loved the small town of Alwar- I could smell Rajasthan in the air and it took me back to my school days in Mt Abu. Its amazing how the air smells and feels different in every place- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka. Maybe it is the memories.

Anyway, we had to take a rickety old bus. We reached Sariska at 8.45 pm. The bus fellow forgot to inform us that the town had arrived and we had to get off some meters away in the dark.

KC and me were extremely scared... no lights, no visibile sign boards, no people around, no town, just buses and jeeps passing us by. Thankfully, the RTDC guy came and showed the way. We reached in time for dinner. After spending sometime in the lawn we hit the snooze button.

RTDC hotel is located within Sariska wildlife park. The first jeep safari begins at 6.30 or 7.30 am. That is the best time to go... the animals spotting is easier. In the afternoon, they generally move into the shade and rest. The duration is 3 hours.

There were 4 snobbish Delhi oldies with us. We decided to take a safari with them since sharing is cheaper. Whenever KC and I travel we always run out of money... always... no matter how much cash we initially carry. This time also we were running short and chatted up the oldies. It was nice since they were carrying candies, water and channa... Yeah, I am kinda cheap that

way.

The safari was good.... we spotted lots and lots and lots of deer- spotted, cheetal, smabhar; jackal; many species of beautiful birds; wild boar etc. Thats not even the best part. We saw 4-5 peacock dances. It is a sight to be seen. I have only read about it in school textbooks (generally, Hindi). We tried to click pics but could only get 1 clear one.

The jeep stopped at a temple where we had hot, yummy kachoris with my fav tamarind chutney. There were taps of drinking water. A small monkey opened the tap, put his mouth to it, drank the water, closed the tap and ran away. Wow!!! The safari back was dull. We had seen enough of the deer.

The plan was to hire a cab, check out some nearby sights and catch the train back.

But destiny had other plans. Only 1 cab was available who was charging more than double. We cancelled sight seeing and took another rickety bus to Alwar. KC did not get a seat and bus was packed. The train was on time and we happily boarded the sleeper class (tickets for AC were not available). The train refused to move for the next 3.5 hours. We reached home at midnight instead of 8 pm.

If I forget the return journey (very difficult) it was a good trip.

While planning, I wondered if it was better to sit at home instead of making the efforts. Sometimes we get into a comfort zone and do not want to move out.

Some tips:

Drive... it is 180 km from Gurgaon... public transport in North sucks
You can either stay at Alwar and travel 37 km in the morning for the safari or stay in one of the hotels near Sariska- Sariska Palace, Tiger Camp, RTDC etc
The food at RTDC is homely and it is a decent place
Don't expect to see tigers... there are only 4 of them... they have better things to do than exhibit themselves

Stanley ka dabba

2011-05-14T14:05:00.002+05:30

I read excellent reviews of this flick and watched it last night. It is an out and out kids movie... Stanley does not bring a dabba to school... but his friends share their food. Amol Gupte- the Hindi teacher also does not bring a dabba... he dips into his colleagues' dabbas during lunch but does not like it when Stanley does the same. He is asked to not come to school without a dabba.

In the end we get to know why Stanley does not bring a dabba and why his uniform is torn... and why he has bruises on his face sometimes.

Good movie... for the kids.

Welcome to advertising, now get lost

2011-05-14T13:48:00.002+05:30

I picked up this book from the library. There is no way I would spent money on such a title.

It is a satire on the advertising industry. Some guy (the author) has worked in advertising for a very short period and poked fun at everything that goes on there. It has 3-4 forewords from eminent advertising professionals. Maybe to justify its need?

I mean... why would I want to read someone making fun at an industry? What purpose will that serve in my life? Beats me. As a blog post it would be a hit... but as a book it is useless.

B'fast like a Queen

2011-05-08T11:00:00.002+05:30

Today's b'fast:

2 sausages
1 plate poha
1 croissant
1 glass of freshly squeezed juice which turned out to be bitter and had to be thrown away

I came across a nice B'fast place in Galleria in the morning. Wish I'd seen it earlier... we could have gone there today.

I have joined the gym... freaking expensive. But all gyms around my house are expensive so I do not have an option. The trainer really pushes me hard. I am hurting all over but feel nice. Whether I lose weight or not, atleast I will be fit and increase my stamina. The best part is all treadmills, cycles and cross trainers have a personal TV. I catch up on my fav serials during gym time. It helps that most English channels have subtitles.

Last night we went to Earth Lounge. It serves Italian food. Good place but we didn't find the lasagne to our liking. The perfect lasagne is served at Little Italy... it has layers of the pasta with spinach, red sauce and covered with cheese sauce. Yum!!! The best part was the dessert- Chocolate Lasagne... chocolate sponge cake covered with a layer of white chocolate and then dark chocolate. Chocolate sauce was spread all over it. The white chocolate has a mild taste- not too milky or sweet. Heavenly.

Riot

2011-05-08T10:54:00.002+05:30

Another masterpiece from Shashi Tharoor... not at the level of 'The Great Indian Novel' but much better than 'Show Business'.

It is the story of an American lady who comes to India to work with a NGO in a small town of UP as her research project. She gets killed in a riot. Her family comes to the town to figure out how she died. I loved the beginning... with newspaper reports on her death... the story moves forward through the diaries of various people. The only let down was the fact that the reason of the death was pretty simple. I mean, after all the build up... there should have been something surprising.

But worth a read.

Beatrice and Virgil

2011-05-08T10:42:00.002+05:30

I was looking forward to reading this book since 'Life of Pi' was so damn good.

I gave up after 1/4th of it... which is a big disappointment for me. I hate leaving books half way...it breaks my heart.

The story is about a writer whose book newest book gets criticised by the publishers and he gives up on writing. He then meets a man writing a play on a donkey and monkey called Beatrice and Virgil (I can never remember which is which). Thats when I lost interest.

Read it at your own peril.

Chalo Dilli

2011-05-07T23:43:00.002+05:30

This is what happens when you have commercial actors trying to produce and star in "art movies". They make a complete mess of it.

I know... I know... people have given good reviews. I just don't understand why. The movie begins well... with good jokes and acting. It drags in the middle and enters cliches at the end. Predictable.

For movies like this, the pace has to be fast... you cannot dwell too much on anything. Lara could not act "angry" in some scenes. I hated seeing Akshay in the end. Why?

Vinay was good, as always. Lara did not have to apply sooo much make up. She ended up looking uglier than she is.

So disappointed.

Tere Bin Laden

2011-05-03T21:02:00.002+05:30

I was typing a comment on Madmomma's blog on the Osama death and decided to put it in the post also.

She wanted people's views on the incident. Here is my reply:

I do not believe it at all... everything sounds fishy:

- Osama conveniently dies when elections are near

- There is no proof- no photos or dead body

- If Islamic tenets mean so much, why was Saddam's body not buried at sea? Why was his hanging video taped?

- How could USA have enter Pak air space without PAK not realizing it?

- Osama was staying near the army and Pak was clueless?

- There was firing for 40 mins and Pak army was unaware?

- Was Obama tired of waging a war with 2 countries and withdrawing would mean USA is a failure and coward. Was this a clever way of ending the war? I hope so.

Even if pics are released, who knows what Osama looks like now? Wouldn't a smart man cut his beard and get a makeover after newspapers released his pics?

Sorry, I am not buying it. Will USA use this excuse to start a war with Pakistan? I hope not.

Anyway, coming back to India and specifically to Gurgaon...

Weekend was ok types... I caught up with a friend... caught up with movies... bought a GPS device (Yes... directions from people are completely unreliable)... we drove all the way to CP for a yummy dinner at Kake ka dhaba. Totally worth it and so damn cheap.

Shor in the city

2011-05-02T22:03:00.002+05:30

Sigh!!! Its a season of disappointments. Another dud. Most of the movie was spent on introducing the characters and hardly any time was dedicated to the climax.

Don't watch it... the stories are nothing great even though they are based on actual incidents.

I am

2011-05-01T15:25:00.002+05:30

Hiya... watched this flick on Friday night. Was disappointed. I had read extremely good reviews.

The movie is about 4 people- 4 stories which are not linked with each other.

Story no 1: Nandita Das is divorced and looking for a sperm donor. For some reason, she is not looking too good in the movie. She looks fine in her recent photographs. Anyway, she meets Purab who is her sperm donor. End of story.

Story no 2: Juhi travels to Srinagar to sell off her ancestral property. She has to confront the past which has made her bitter. Manisha is her friend and is looking good. Thank god, she has lost all the excess weight.

Story no 3: Sanjay Suri is gay and was abused as a kid by his father. He is expected to attend his father's funeral but does not want to.

Story no 4: Rahul Bose is gay and meets Arjun Mathur. They start making out in his car when the cop catches him. He has to pay him a bribe of 50k to get out of the situation.

I wish the movie was about only 1 of the above stories and as an audience I could connect with it. The last 2 stories had more impact compared to first two.

Avoidable. The acting is great but not the concept.

The search for good food

2011-04-26T20:38:00.002+05:30

Hiya. Yesterday something terrible happened. My self esteem was at a low and I wondered how to handle the situation. One of my colleagues had mentioned that if I type a mail when stressed I should send it a few hours later. Thats what I did. I didn't lose my temper which was a big surprise. I took time in the day to decide on the best course of action.

When it comes to work... specially in sales, this calm attitude is a surprise for me. Victory has been mine. I guess coming home to someone really helps keeps the stress at bay. I can actually leave work worries at work once I am home. Total work life balance.

It also helps that I have a hubby to nag at home...:)

Anyway, none of our weekend plans materialized. We spent 3 days trying to find a gear lock for the car... and succeeded. On Saturday night we headed to Mainland China for dinner. I have liked the outlet in Gurgaon... we used to go there often while dating. The buffet was quite good then even though pricey. The Powai outlet does not have buffet so I was looking forward to dinner.

Except... a pint of Sula wine cost 550 bucks... there were ONLY 2 non veg starters... there was no chicken drumsticks (I don't know if it is Chinese or not... but should have been served)... paneer as one of the starters (REALLY???)... the main course was strictly ok... and so were the desserts. Something seems amiss. The outlet seems to have gone on cost cutting spree even though prices are the same. Maybe we should have gone ala carte. I don't know but I am disappointed.

On Sunday, I wanted to have Italian. We planned to go to sbarro at DT City Center. There is no Little Italy in Delhi NCR. The outlet has been shut down. We had disappointing dosas at a South Indian outlet in the same mall. And I discovered that sbarro is an Italian fast food joint... a far cry from authentic Italian we wanted to have.

So, the search for good food in Gurgaon continues... hope I find it.

Btw, my cook can actually COOK. I don't have to stand and instruct the basics. She just made yummy dal fry... all on her own.

Rio

2011-04-23T10:25:00.001+05:30

We watched this flick last week and I forgot to review it. Rio is the story of a rare bird who species does not exist anymore-except for another female bird. So, the plan is to get them to mate and bring back the species. On the way, they get stolen and have to be rescued.

Animation movies are the safest bet these days.... they rarely disappoint. The movie is enjoyable and a riot of colours.

Must watch.

Tender Hooks

2011-04-23T10:19:00.002+05:30

Anyone remember my review of 'Diary of a social butterfly' by Moni Mohsin?

It is a collection of columns written by Moni who is a Pakistani... a hilarious book based on the central character (don't know her name... the book is written in first person) who is a wealthy socialite. Her husband is a sensible man who has little patience with his wife's idiosyncrasies.

Anyway, the current book is on the same lines except it it fictional. The lady has to find a bride for her aunt's divorced son- Jonkers. Everyone wants him to marry someone rich and from a "good" background while he just wants someone nice and sensible.

The book is hilarious and stays true to the characters. A must read.

Dum Maaro Dum- garama garam review

2011-04-22T21:41:00.002+05:30

Starved of movies KC and I headed for this one despite reading some not so great reviews.

The 1st half is good... the introduction is unique. It reminded me of Dev D... the camera movements... capturing the drugs and liquor. So not original.

The 1st half is about introduction of all characters- Abhishek, Bipasha, Prateik, Rana and Aditya Panscholi. It is quite bearable... background score is good. Some songs- those lip synched by Rana are good... rest are avoidable.

Abhishek is so linear in his acting... same role... same expressions... same double chin. Do we pay 250 bucks per ticket to see an actor not concerned with his physique? His done to death inspector character is not amusing anymore. Just 'coz it worked in Dhoom does not mean it will work everywhere. He gets very irritating by the end of the movie.

Rana is good.. very good.

Prateik is whiny... he reminds me of the role in Jaane tu ya jaane na.

Bipasha is shown to be plain dumb in the movie. I wanted to tear my hair out.

It is a usual story... cop chasing the goon. It is set in Goa which makes it slightly interesting... the styling and cinematography is good. But without a good story, nothing can salvage the movie.

I really wanted to walk out at the end of it... everyone dies in the end and I didn't really care if the goons were caught or not.

Thank god, we watched on a Friday and not Sunday... it would have been a waste of 3 hours out of 14 hours available (ten hours spent sleeping).

Btw... I bought a delicious orange coloured lipstick from Mac. It looks orangish red when applied.

Up early

2011-04-22T08:55:00.002+05:30

Good morning. I was up early because I forgot to ask the maid and cook to come late and now I can't sleep.

We were planning a trip to Amritsar or Jaipur for the long weekend but we could not get train tickets (to Amritsar). Have decided to spend the days exploring Delhi. There is a lot to see- Lajpat Nagar, Dilli Haat, DLF Promenade etc. We will check out furniture at Ghitorni today and probably catch 'Dum Maro Dum'.

I have not had retail therapy this month because its an effort... I need to take the car out of parking, drive, park and then can shopping begin. Its not like a Mumbai where I can hail an auto for the nearest mall. Also, bank balance is at an all time low. But I really need to buy something... anything this weekend. Generally, when I don't want to buy clothes or shoes I turn to make up. It is completely an impulse buy. The only problem is... good makeup costs as much as clothes or footwear.

Last night a very funny thing happened. I reached home at 8 pm and got busy with my mails. KC called around 9 pm... he said something about waiting downstairs 'coz he does not have change. I changed my cothes, locked the house, took the car and headed to his office. When I had almost reached, he called and asked why I was taking so long. This pissed me off. I am named after a bird but I cannot fly. I told him that obviously it will take me sometime to reach his office to pick him up. Thats when he said that he was waiting below the flat and wanted me to get some change. He had been waiting for 20 mins. Sigh!!! I headed back home. We had a good laugh about it. I can be so absent minded sometimes.

Saraswati Park

2011-04-17T09:53:00.003+05:30

I have been reading this book for the last 3-4 weeks... since the shifting from Mumbai began. I wish I would say it has been a good companion. The reason it has taken ages is 'coz it is boring. The story has no purpose... there is no story. The initial description of the surroundings was good but alone cannot take us anywhere.

Please avoid.

Good Morning

2011-04-17T09:11:00.002+05:30

I hate writing titles... after thinking about what to write in a post I have to find an apt title. When I wrote poetry as a teenager another friend made up titles for them.

Good morning!!! It rained... again. And that is so nice.Wish I could say KC and I took a walk in the nice weather. He is still sleeping... I am awake 'coz of the cook.

The weekend was good. Friday night was spent in TGIF drinking, watching cricket with KC and his friend. We had to pick him up from his guesthouse and I am getting familiar with the roads. The only problem is either people don't know the roads 'coz they are new or lie. Not kidding. They lie confidently. We make it a point to ask 2-3 people.

I tried steak for the first time and had a tough time. I am superficial non veg eater. I grew up with fish but never involved myself into the details. Chicken came into my life in college. I do not like red meat like goat. It is tough to chew.... sea food was out when I tried squids... gross, slimy creatures... bacon/pork is tolerable but once in a while on my pizza. I follow the food blogger 'Kalyan' (on the side bar) and admire how he has eaten everything- pork, beef, chicken, meat, fish, sea food, kangaroo, frog legs. Wow!!! Anyway, he would have liked the flavours of the steak (he blogged about it some few months back) but I couldn't appreciate the flavour.

KC spent Saturday with his friends drinking which lasted all day and night. It started with Bauji ka dhaba at Metropolitan Mall... moved to happy hours in Rodeo next door. We headed to CP at night. This was my first time driving on Delhi roads... AB gave directions on the phone. The roads are sexy without traffic... the road signs were helpful till we almost reached there. We got confused among the 4-5 circles... people lied about the directions again. We went to the rooftop restaurant China Wok for drinks. AB picked me up and we headed to Cibo at Hotel Janpath while KC and his friends moved to another lounge.

Cibo is sexy.... huge screen for the match (not the attraction), tables laid out on a cobbled path, open air, nice lights, a fountain bang in the middle. I wanted to try the Italian food but AB was keen on some chicken curry. After drinks we headed to National on CP. You have to try either National or Kake da dhaba for some non veg. The prices are low. We had 2 plates of chicken curry (very very spicy) and 4 rotis for 280 bucks only. And the food was good. I have never seen anyone eat non veg with so much passion. AB sucked out everything and only looked up when carcasses were left.

Today we will relax. I have an early morning flight to Mumbai for a training. Looking forward to meeting my old colleagues.

Gurgaon Updates

2011-04-12T19:12:00.003+05:30

The cook rang the doorbell. I have been looking for one for days. She demanded double the money I used to pay in Mumbai. I shooed her away. The cooking is not an issue- I am managing fine. B'fast is never a problem, lunch definitely is when I go to office. KC has a good office canteen while there is nothing around my office. Ordering out is damn expensive. Its not like a Mumbai where lunch for 50 bucks and less is available. There is nothing less than atleast 100 bucks. Thankfully, I have to go to office once a week.

Dinner does not seem hectic right now but I would love the free time. I return home by 7, start cooking by 8, we have dinner at around 9.30 and at 10 it is time for bed. And the whole cycle begins at 6.30 am the next day.

The Airtel DTH is finally done... after 2 weeks of calling and holding. It wasn't done by the customer care. The Relationship center gave me the contact no of the local guys who actually install it.

This is the first time money is flowing out like water. Relocation is always expensive... no matter how much of it companies reimburse. Unforseen costs cannot be accounted for. I hate withdrawing cash 'coz I know it will flow out the very next day.

Here are some things about Gurgaon:

There are little or no street lights in the city. It is like the government is encouraging crime... look, no lights... now go ahead and loot
All houses have maids... not just to clean but maids who stay with the family. Every morning when I leave the trash out I see all the other maids doing the same. Very embarrassing
Gear locks: A term we had not heard of in Mumbai. All cars have gear locks else the car may get stolen
The weather is awesome right now... nice breeze... lots of sandstorms... drizzles
People are completely unreliable. I had to call the laundry guy for a week and he has not yet turned up to pick up clothes. I have a huge pile for ironing. At 7 pm he tells me he is on his way... at 8 pm he is in the next building.. at 9 pm his phone is unreachable... at 9.30 pm I send KC to find him and get my clothes back. Tomorrow I need to find a reliable laundry fellow
The language is difficult.. it is Hindi but pure Hindi. Example, mirror is "kanch" for me in Hindi... here it is "sheesha". Takes sometime to make the connection. Nobody uses sheesha in daily lingo. Right? The desi accent means I have to ask people to repeat themselves 2-3 times

Will be back with more updates and observations.

Sunday morning with hot Bournvita

2011-04-10T09:50:00.002+05:30

Hiya. I am waiting for the plumber to turn up and then electrician and then maybe, maybe... the Airtel DTH- if my stars are aligned. And then we will be done. The house will become a home... almost. We need seating arrangement in the living room which will have to wait till next weekend. The gas connection is done and I am having hot Bournvita after a long time.

Last night was great, after a movie with hubby we had drinks at home with AB followed by maggi and parathas at midnight at Convergys dhaba. It is nice to have some place teeming with people at that hour- a rarity in Gurgaon.

It is actually raining right now. Unbelievable weather. The winds will change in another month and I am savouring it till then.

I am liking the silence of Gurgaon after the noise of Mumbai. Everything in life is relative. We make future choices basis past experiences.