It is an enlightening experience for me to find out what Westerners and other Asians think about the Indian curry. For the uninitiated, Indian curry is just anything that an Indian (me in this case) eats in her meal- which may be even fried rice/ pulao! For some who know a little more, know that curry is liquid in form. And those who know a little further, know that it is yellow in colour.
So everyday during lunch when I take out my lunch box, the first question that is thrown to me with immense excitement is: "Is that curry?" with all the hopes of the guess being correct. To be honest, now I am myself not sure of what Indian curry actually is. I describe it as something liquid that looks yellow because of a particular spice called "turmeric" and is made of curd/yoghurt. This is the basic version and it can be made more intricate by adding other stuff like dumplines (pakore)/ potatoes/ onions/ beans/ pulses/ vegetables. I know this definition can be refuted by Indians also as different cultures in India have different ways of cooking curry.
But whatever it is, they all love seeing, talking and eating Indian curry- depending on whatever they define it to be!!!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
To keep writing
It gets a little tough to be able to update my blog space regularly, not that I am some ultra busy person who does not have spare moments to herself to jot down a few words here and there, but may be because I am not that happening a person who encounter significant events in life worth writing down. So I have decided not to judge anything as significant or not worth writing when I sit down to writing. Discard it if you feel it is insignificant and read on and let it stay with you if you feel something significant got conveyed.
Just came to know from a friend that her two Gmail accounts got hacked. This is disturbing both because of the enormous loss of contact details and all other important informations that she had been storing, but also because she was an avid Google fan and feels deceived on the occurrence of such an incident.
I am also disturbed on thinking that I cooked one huge cauliflower on Saturday and since the past four days I am trying to finish it. But like "Water of India" magic of famous magician P.C.Sorkar which I saw with my father when I was a kid, wherein by his magic the water in the jug would never end even when in full public glare he would pour the jug down into the bucket- my cooked cauliflower does not even seem to be near to getting over.
I am happy about the Indian win on Australians in cricket. Such incidents provide a kick to the ego and probably thats what make us happy about them.
Oh it is time for dinner. Here I come, my darling veg-in-the-fridge-since-four-days :-)
Just came to know from a friend that her two Gmail accounts got hacked. This is disturbing both because of the enormous loss of contact details and all other important informations that she had been storing, but also because she was an avid Google fan and feels deceived on the occurrence of such an incident.
I am also disturbed on thinking that I cooked one huge cauliflower on Saturday and since the past four days I am trying to finish it. But like "Water of India" magic of famous magician P.C.Sorkar which I saw with my father when I was a kid, wherein by his magic the water in the jug would never end even when in full public glare he would pour the jug down into the bucket- my cooked cauliflower does not even seem to be near to getting over.
I am happy about the Indian win on Australians in cricket. Such incidents provide a kick to the ego and probably thats what make us happy about them.
Oh it is time for dinner. Here I come, my darling veg-in-the-fridge-since-four-days :-)
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Revive BJP
I am not a political commentator, so I claim of no expertise in political analysis. I have not cast my vote in any of the elections and don't see any such opportunity coming up also. This post is about my personal views which I have formed on seeing India and in particular the BJP from a distance now.
I have respect for the diversity India carries, the multi-party democracy that it has been able to sustain over a long period of time. But now, I think it is time for us to realize that our democracy has come off age and it is time for us to make the country politically more stable so that we can solely concentrate more on its economic development. I understand the need of regional parties as that is the best way through which the regional issues can be best addressed. But at the same time I realize at the national level there should be more political stability, and the big political parties should grow bigger to get full majority in the house so that they are not under constant threat of appeasing allies. And to win this full majority in the house it is important that the parties keep growing in stature by winning the respect of the people.
BJP is a party which is in doldrums at the moment. Though personally I feel there is a lot of potential that I see in this party. The way they led the dynasty-favoring country for nearly full term under Vajpayee was when I took notice of the party. The "India Shining" slogan may not have helped them win votes and come back to power, but it did a lot of good to Indians. It gave all of us the confidence that we have the ability to shine, we can do what we have not done till now and the feel good factor that it left us with helped us to actually work hard and do good in our own capacity. After all everything boils down to confidence at the end.
But recently the news item of Lal Krishna Advani being chosen to spear head the BJP campaign for the next assembly polls bothered me. At this time when the party needs to reinvent itself, it was important for them to choose a candidate who can be revered by everybody. They should have been bold to make a choice as critical as this.
If not Advani then who? I might look completely wrong to some when I state my choice of the BJP prime ministerial candidate. But I am convinced about her abilities and so my choice would be Sushma Swaraj. To me she is able, smart, confident, stylish, responsible and young. All these factors go in her favor and she is the only one who I think can put up a tough competition to the incumbent government. This will help BJP to be seen out of its stereotypes which people do not want it to be associated with. She represents Indianness and competent to be the face of a new emerging India.
Above views are completely personal. No malice intended.
I have respect for the diversity India carries, the multi-party democracy that it has been able to sustain over a long period of time. But now, I think it is time for us to realize that our democracy has come off age and it is time for us to make the country politically more stable so that we can solely concentrate more on its economic development. I understand the need of regional parties as that is the best way through which the regional issues can be best addressed. But at the same time I realize at the national level there should be more political stability, and the big political parties should grow bigger to get full majority in the house so that they are not under constant threat of appeasing allies. And to win this full majority in the house it is important that the parties keep growing in stature by winning the respect of the people.
BJP is a party which is in doldrums at the moment. Though personally I feel there is a lot of potential that I see in this party. The way they led the dynasty-favoring country for nearly full term under Vajpayee was when I took notice of the party. The "India Shining" slogan may not have helped them win votes and come back to power, but it did a lot of good to Indians. It gave all of us the confidence that we have the ability to shine, we can do what we have not done till now and the feel good factor that it left us with helped us to actually work hard and do good in our own capacity. After all everything boils down to confidence at the end.
But recently the news item of Lal Krishna Advani being chosen to spear head the BJP campaign for the next assembly polls bothered me. At this time when the party needs to reinvent itself, it was important for them to choose a candidate who can be revered by everybody. They should have been bold to make a choice as critical as this.
If not Advani then who? I might look completely wrong to some when I state my choice of the BJP prime ministerial candidate. But I am convinced about her abilities and so my choice would be Sushma Swaraj. To me she is able, smart, confident, stylish, responsible and young. All these factors go in her favor and she is the only one who I think can put up a tough competition to the incumbent government. This will help BJP to be seen out of its stereotypes which people do not want it to be associated with. She represents Indianness and competent to be the face of a new emerging India.
Above views are completely personal. No malice intended.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
LIC- zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi
In my private conversations with God I have always wondered as to why does He give uncertainties in life, why can't we know what would happen to us the next moment, why does life need to be so complicated that we need to solve a puzzle everyday about how life would be the next day. I know some would argue that it depends on the way you look at it. It depends how complicated you make it, it just might be too simple but if you choose to ignore the obvious then it is bound to get complicated. So my brother (from the Paulo Cohelo's book) advised me that whenever I feel life is too complicated and tough, I should write it down and while writing I would find miracles happening. And to be honest just moments back I found myself in a true state of confusion and utter uncertainty, while now thinking about what exactly these thoughts were, I find them so mundane- unworthy of serious thoughts. There are a few things about which I cannot do anything, it has to happen naturally and things about which I can do something are not uncertain.
Isn't it really great to tell somebody who is most special to you that "I am like a LIC policy for you- zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi" ... then where is the uncertainty ??!!??
Isn't it really great to tell somebody who is most special to you that "I am like a LIC policy for you- zindagi ke sath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi" ... then where is the uncertainty ??!!??
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
For Nawab
I just completed watching "Taare Zameen Par"(TZP). Ishaan is a dyslexic kid who is not good in studies but is an amazing painter... His brush strokes convey what words fail to convey, the use of bold colors and the confident strokes, all tell a story on the canvas. He is not an achiever in studies and so is discarded by his parents and teachers only to be discovered by Amir Khan who tells his parents and teachers about his problem and works hard with the kid to reach a respectable level in studies and an amazing level in painting.
I cried so much while I watched the movie. There was a pang of guilt in me, guilt that I even scolded Nawab once for not performing well in Mathematics. At Salaam Baalak Trust (an NGO for street children) as a Mathematics teacher I tried my best to teach Mathematics to Nawab, Sharafat, Tabrej and Satinder. Sharafat and Satinder were really good, Tabrej was good too but was not consistent while Nawab was the one who felt himself out of place amongst this group. He was not quick at picking up concepts though never showed that he was struggling to understand. He would portray himself to be a bad boy not willing to study than confess that he is not able to understand. I scolded him once for he would not do any of the homeworks I would ask him to do and he never showed up after that. Today while watching the movie, I cried, cried really hard, cried for not having understood Nawab.
I remember once while teaching him, I said "Nawab, if you don't like doing mathematics then tell me honestly, I am here to help you, we can do something else. You like literature, so we can do that instead." And he was so elated at that only to see his friends reject the idea as they wanted to do maths. I now wish I had more time to have sat with him after the class to discuss literature. The day I scolded him was because he was not doing anything that I asked him to, I gave him simpler problems than the others but he still would not do them.
I did try to explain him enough though. I explained him that it was not essential for him to top in this race where everybody is running after something or the other, I always encouraged him to do what he was good at and enjoyed the best, but then also explained him the need to just do a little bit so that he manages to be there where he wants to be. He did understand that but I could not devote enough time to help him with it. I wish I could help him find out the meaning in his life. I wish he himself finds out the meaning in his life. He is a bright kid, only needs some guidance and the confidence that he can do what he believes in. Aah! I just remembered, he asked me one day what it needs to be a Radio Jockey... I said no Maths for sure :-) good speaking ability and a great sense of humor and you have both... but yes you would need some educational qualification and so you see it's important that you manage to pass these tenth boards.
His tenth board exams are coming now. Its mid Jan and they start in March, not much time left and I am not there to see his progress. Nawab, this post is for you. To tell you that YOU CAN DO IT. Just do the chapters from your maths book which you feel you are comfortable with, do them well. Attempt all the questions that come from your done chapters, solve a few practice papers and see if you score pass marks by attempting those questions. Ask Rajan sir and Maths sir to take some maths tests for you before real exams. And don't panic, you wont need maths in Radio Jockeying :-)
Sharafat and Satinder, revise well all the chapters. Revising means working out problems and not reading them like you read literature. Work out more and more back year question papers as that will give you a lot of practice and confidence. Tabrej same goes for you, but with extra caution of staying calm so that you don't go blank and make mistakes.
My best wishes are with you guys! May you rock always. May God bless you.
I cried so much while I watched the movie. There was a pang of guilt in me, guilt that I even scolded Nawab once for not performing well in Mathematics. At Salaam Baalak Trust (an NGO for street children) as a Mathematics teacher I tried my best to teach Mathematics to Nawab, Sharafat, Tabrej and Satinder. Sharafat and Satinder were really good, Tabrej was good too but was not consistent while Nawab was the one who felt himself out of place amongst this group. He was not quick at picking up concepts though never showed that he was struggling to understand. He would portray himself to be a bad boy not willing to study than confess that he is not able to understand. I scolded him once for he would not do any of the homeworks I would ask him to do and he never showed up after that. Today while watching the movie, I cried, cried really hard, cried for not having understood Nawab.
I remember once while teaching him, I said "Nawab, if you don't like doing mathematics then tell me honestly, I am here to help you, we can do something else. You like literature, so we can do that instead." And he was so elated at that only to see his friends reject the idea as they wanted to do maths. I now wish I had more time to have sat with him after the class to discuss literature. The day I scolded him was because he was not doing anything that I asked him to, I gave him simpler problems than the others but he still would not do them.
I did try to explain him enough though. I explained him that it was not essential for him to top in this race where everybody is running after something or the other, I always encouraged him to do what he was good at and enjoyed the best, but then also explained him the need to just do a little bit so that he manages to be there where he wants to be. He did understand that but I could not devote enough time to help him with it. I wish I could help him find out the meaning in his life. I wish he himself finds out the meaning in his life. He is a bright kid, only needs some guidance and the confidence that he can do what he believes in. Aah! I just remembered, he asked me one day what it needs to be a Radio Jockey... I said no Maths for sure :-) good speaking ability and a great sense of humor and you have both... but yes you would need some educational qualification and so you see it's important that you manage to pass these tenth boards.
His tenth board exams are coming now. Its mid Jan and they start in March, not much time left and I am not there to see his progress. Nawab, this post is for you. To tell you that YOU CAN DO IT. Just do the chapters from your maths book which you feel you are comfortable with, do them well. Attempt all the questions that come from your done chapters, solve a few practice papers and see if you score pass marks by attempting those questions. Ask Rajan sir and Maths sir to take some maths tests for you before real exams. And don't panic, you wont need maths in Radio Jockeying :-)
Sharafat and Satinder, revise well all the chapters. Revising means working out problems and not reading them like you read literature. Work out more and more back year question papers as that will give you a lot of practice and confidence. Tabrej same goes for you, but with extra caution of staying calm so that you don't go blank and make mistakes.
My best wishes are with you guys! May you rock always. May God bless you.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Happy marriage!
Just got an email marriage invitation from a very special friend of mine. This friend is special for many reasons. First, the way we had our first meeting and second, the way we had our second meeting.
He was my classmate in my school in class-X. That is all that I have known him for, one year as a classmate. And to top it we never talked, not even a single hello did we ever exchange. The only conversation I remember having with him was on the day when we had our last exams and he asked me "Erpor ki korbi? Aager ki plans?" , which in English means what would you do next? what are you plans? and we had a small two liner chat where I replied that I am not sure what I would do next as a lot depends on the result of these exams and he said that he would go to Kolkata.
With such little conversation, you would be wondering why he is still so special. He is, coz he would make me feel special everyday while I was in his class for that one year. Everyday as I would come out of my hostel which was inside the school campus to go to the building where our classes would be, I would feel two eyes following my each step. I used to get conscious earlier, but then got used to the idea of him watching me. The whole day in the class, he in spite of sitting on the front bench and me on the third bench, he would have his head turned around to stare at me. I would always wonder if I look so funny that he can't take away his eyes off me, but whatever it was, I felt special indeed. I remember how my girl-friend would keep a book in front of my face on getting irritated by this as she had a crush on him.
So yes he was very special, the whole class would tease him, would pester him to go and express himself, but something would always stop him from coming and even talking to me. Oh! probably I guess I looked scary and not funny that he could never muster courage to talk to me.
But he remained special, and we left the school and I had no touch with him thereafter.
Our second meeting was after 8 years i.e last year when he tracked me down through an Orkut community (for those who don't know about orkut, it is a social networking site by Google on the lines of Facebook). I had not thought even in my wildest of dreams that I would ever get to talk with him, though he was somebody I could never really wipe out of my memory. We started chatting on gtalk (Google's chat service). He was not the shy guy anymore or probably it was easy for him to talk to me as he was not seeing me anymore and writing is always easier than speaking. But apart from all these, our lives had changed a lot. He was in a relationship for the last four years with a girl he met in college (I guess) at Kolkata . Our discussions were more centered around career and current affairs. I never asked him about his behavior in school but he did make a passing remark regarding that when he confessed that he had "tons of crush" on me though he could never tell me then. I did not pester him to tell any more on that.
I have again lost touch with him since the last five - six months now and it would be interesting to see how our third meeting is like. Nevertheless I just got a marriage invitation from his new email id, and my joy knows no bounds. This friend would remain special for all the weirdness this friendship carries, and I wish him a very happy and blessed married life.
He was my classmate in my school in class-X. That is all that I have known him for, one year as a classmate. And to top it we never talked, not even a single hello did we ever exchange. The only conversation I remember having with him was on the day when we had our last exams and he asked me "Erpor ki korbi? Aager ki plans?" , which in English means what would you do next? what are you plans? and we had a small two liner chat where I replied that I am not sure what I would do next as a lot depends on the result of these exams and he said that he would go to Kolkata.
With such little conversation, you would be wondering why he is still so special. He is, coz he would make me feel special everyday while I was in his class for that one year. Everyday as I would come out of my hostel which was inside the school campus to go to the building where our classes would be, I would feel two eyes following my each step. I used to get conscious earlier, but then got used to the idea of him watching me. The whole day in the class, he in spite of sitting on the front bench and me on the third bench, he would have his head turned around to stare at me. I would always wonder if I look so funny that he can't take away his eyes off me, but whatever it was, I felt special indeed. I remember how my girl-friend would keep a book in front of my face on getting irritated by this as she had a crush on him.
So yes he was very special, the whole class would tease him, would pester him to go and express himself, but something would always stop him from coming and even talking to me. Oh! probably I guess I looked scary and not funny that he could never muster courage to talk to me.
But he remained special, and we left the school and I had no touch with him thereafter.
Our second meeting was after 8 years i.e last year when he tracked me down through an Orkut community (for those who don't know about orkut, it is a social networking site by Google on the lines of Facebook). I had not thought even in my wildest of dreams that I would ever get to talk with him, though he was somebody I could never really wipe out of my memory. We started chatting on gtalk (Google's chat service). He was not the shy guy anymore or probably it was easy for him to talk to me as he was not seeing me anymore and writing is always easier than speaking. But apart from all these, our lives had changed a lot. He was in a relationship for the last four years with a girl he met in college (I guess) at Kolkata . Our discussions were more centered around career and current affairs. I never asked him about his behavior in school but he did make a passing remark regarding that when he confessed that he had "tons of crush" on me though he could never tell me then. I did not pester him to tell any more on that.
I have again lost touch with him since the last five - six months now and it would be interesting to see how our third meeting is like. Nevertheless I just got a marriage invitation from his new email id, and my joy knows no bounds. This friend would remain special for all the weirdness this friendship carries, and I wish him a very happy and blessed married life.