To all my boyfriends! for letting me be one of the Guys

For about 7 years of my life I discovered how light in the head I felt when I hung out with my boyfriends. About 8 or 10 of them. Yes. I had lots of them. And I didn't know that I was a girl in disguise. Being one of the guys liberating in many ways. There was no need to dress up nice or be ladylike at all. They ever really cared who joined the gang as long as the person was open to impromptu evening sessions at bar in the 5km radius and had an empty head. Its the perfect way to beat the stress of being a single girl and not ready to mingle.

I never planned it that way. It seemed like a natural thing at that point. When they had girl trouble I would take them out for a drive, give them the girly angle on their spouse problems. When life would get boring on a saturday afternoon at work we would go have a beer and tikka's in Khan Market. Oh! it was such fun. And then I always had girlfriends too to seek solace, gossip, shop and timepass some more.

All good things must come to an end but I must thank all these fellows for putting up with me and they know who they are. So Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!!!

"If" by Kipling

When I first recited If by Kipling poem at one of the debate sessions at school I never really made any sense of the words. I think I was 10?! Its was just a bunch of words thrown in together by some dead English poet and one was supposed to appreciate and applaud it.

This is an excerpt: (If)

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

To me those words just mean one thing. You got one life to live and no time to waste. Move your butt and make the most of it. Triumph and Disaster will happen and that's not reason enough to stop Living.

I am sometimes caught between living an ordinary (useless/comfortable) life or doing something fantastic with it. One would need tremendous courage to do that. For the most part be these "Ifless people" (my new word!!) are completely unaware that they excelled at something beyond everyone's imagination. And I'm not talking famous people. Just an ordinary everyday people and I'm constantly amazed at their strength and persistence to make it easy for the lesser mortals to believe that there is still Goodness in the World and the Big Guy up there.

The applaud just a few people who do not think what If.

• I had more cars then I would keep a few at home and save fuel!! LOLOL
• all my limbs worked then I would do everything I ever wanted to do, even laugh.
• I were from MIT graduate living in the America? then i would do my BIT. eg. I've chosen William Kamkwamba, a Malawian boy, who at the age 14, in poverty and famine built a windmill to power his family's home.

Style is all about Attitude

Its very easy to ramble on about one's grandparents but I will try to keep this really short.

My Nani was a complete babe as far as I can remember. She loved cricket and Sachin Tendulkar. And hoped to marry him someday! Here was a lady who would change her clothes every night into another white cotton sari which still smelled of agarbattis after a million washes, comb her hair into a tight plait, wash her face, apply cream on her hands and feet, have her last paan for the day and the go to dreamland. I asked her once why she puts in that much effort just to go to sleep. Her answer was in Bengali and here is the translation "If I die in my sleep atleast I know I'm looking good when I meet your grandfather in heaven"!

When she was in ICU at the age of 83 she asked me cut her hair like Barkha Dutts while she was still strung up on oxygen machines. She said that her hair had become unruly and out of style and very unmanageable. So we did give her a haircut and she passed away 2 days later.

So I guess Style is all about Attitude after all

Cooking with heart not science

This one is for some of my friends who cant cook but do have the very best of intentions about getting the recipe. (I have written and explained several times over). I know they have the best intentions about wanting to cook for their family and friends but its just not their thing. So what? It doesn't make them a bad person but everyone thinks of it as a handicap (how sad is that?). Its like driving a car. Some people can drive but don't enjoy it, some people cant drive but would like to, some people just think it plain unnecessary!Believe me people, its the only way to your friends and family s heart!!

Its not rocket science at all. So her are some simple rules about cooking.

1. Indian cooking - is all about More is just about Enough. And there is no such thing as Low Fat.
So just take all the ingredients and fry, stir, add masala after masala after chilly after chilly on slow fire till you get it Just Right!

Here is an example of simple chicken curry:

1kg of Chicken

For the blender

6 onions

4 tomatoes

1 pod of garlic

1sq inch of ginger

-----------------------------

Run the above through the blender and make a paste

2-3 tsp dhania powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 can of curd
2 bay leaves

4 cardamom, whole

4 cloves, whole

about 1 inch of cinnamon stick

salt

Method

Heat oil in a pan. Throw in the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Next pour all the stuff that was blended. and fry, fry, fry till starts changing colour. Please stick with a medium flame.

When masala is medium brown add the dhania powder and garam masala and fry some more.

When the masala is quite dark inn colour add the chicken, curd, chilly powder, salt and turmeric powder. Set the flame on low cover the vessel and leave to cook for 20 - 30 minutes.

Note: If you want more curry in the chicken add some milk after turning the flame on high for about 3 minutes.

2. Western Cooking - Less is more. No fuss at all but tasty as hell.

I'm going to go with my husbands favourite thing in the whole world. Spagetti with Olives and Mushrooms

• 
  
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• 1 cup (100 g) pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 dried chile pepper, crumbled
• 4 anchovy fillets preserved in salt, rinsed and chopped
• 5 oz (150 g) mixed wild mushrooms preserved in oil, drained and chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb (500 g) bucatini

Procedure:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.Cook the pasta in the boiling water. Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of the cooking water
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over low heat
3. Add the parsley and garlic and saute until the garlic is pale gold, about 3 minutes
4. Stir in the lemon juice, olives, chile pepper, and anchovies
5. Stir with a fork over a low heat until the anchovies dissolve into the sauce, about 5 minutes
6. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper
7. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the frying pan
8. Toss over high heat for 1 minute
9. Eat and Enjoy!

Generation gap

Zara is now about 3 months old and life is certainly passing by at super speed.

So it set me thinking about generation gap one day. And I was thinking that if I ever said the words "chok chok gadi" Zara would think I'm her great grandmother. So basically I will have to start growing younger as she grows up or else be ready to be treated like a complete duh!!!

I have always imagined myself as a super dudette with regard to fashion, technology, travel etc. I am now getting ready to eat humble pie.

The other night i dream't of Daffy Duck, Daisy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, Porky Pig, Tweety Pie, Tom and Jerry, Shrek, Baloo, Mowgli and Mickey Mouse!......I think i was secretly afraid of not being up to date. So these days I'm hooked on to all things meant for little monsters!!!

Wish me luck please, please, please :-)