Petals!

When something good comes our way, my parents taught me to thank God. Of course, when I got two awards from Chitra, the first thing I did is to thank the lord of my choice, Baba, for symbolizing all that is good, inspiring and blessed in my life. My thanks to Chitra for bestowing two awards for my blog. I can't express how thrilled I am but I can definitely express my thanks with this poem. She's got an amazing blog that you've got to visit. Its http:// manchitra.wordpress.com/ I am going to thank her by quoting my favorite poem 'I Shot an Arrow into the Air' by H.W. Longfellow with a thank you note to all of you who read or follow my blog. I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight. I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song? Long, long afterward, in an ...

This squiggly looking wrapper is a toffee - a rich, yummy treasure that would put chocolate brands like Perk, Munch and KitKat to shame. My colleague and friend, Palash (my son calls him Polaash) got this from his hometown in Dehradun. The shop that sells it is over fifty years old. Its popularity, I can easily guess. I tasted this toffee and went straight to heaven (minus the calories, please) Well, as Palash and Adi are great friends, Adi got a better deal than I did. He got 4 toffees! Now, of course, that's called discrimination but I forgive Palash for it:) I had to content myself with the colorful, red wrapper that Adi gave me as a memento of sorts while he enjoyed the real thing, the toffee.

The 2009 Onam is on 2nd September. For those of us who love the Kerala Sadhya , it is an experience to revisit again and again. The traditional feast is delicious, colorful and so filling. To bring back memories of Onam and peek into the fun filled days of childhood, you've got to read this post on Onam by Life at Abhi. From the very depths of my heart, I wish you all a very happy, golden Onam. To my dear Malayali folks, entey hridayam niranja pon onam ashamsakal.

This weekend, I read a book that dealt with death, a fact of life that has always fascinated me because it is more real than life, like the darkest colors that haunt the night just before the beginning of dawn. Have you not ever felt that way on losing some one you've loved? The feeling of never ever being able to see or touch that person, that can be so heartbreaking even if you've got tons of memories stocked away in your mind. When I was a kid, I remember a wonderful, picture perfect Christian family I'd known. They were family friends. Extremely rich, well spoken, happy and wonderful to be with, their story is something I never forget because its the first time, as a child, I sensed and witnessed the power of death. The mother, a wonderful human being, died in a tragic car accident. Their two daughters were just beginning their teens. They were two beautiful girls. No body knew what happened to them. Their mother's death destroyed them. I remember hearing the younge...

Have you ever wanted to: search for your future by running a Bed and Breakfast country hotel of your own? heal yourself from a dyslexic past and a broken heart by taking on responsibilities of two sisters, one who shirks all responsibilities (Nattie) and the other who dreams and sings all day (Polly) get out of the rut called routine and do something drastically different with your life other than run a country hotel? run away from being the shoulder that everyone cries on? Welcome to Erica James' idyllic setting in "Paradise House", a novel that showcases three sisters with remarkably distinct characters, whose father is a kind, compassionate man and thinks only of bringing happiness to his family, even when his dreamy wife leaves him to 'take a break' for a year or two in New Zealand. There are times you may wonder if a man can be so complacent about the troubles in his family. To be honest, most characters in the novel except the bratty, saucy Nattie, are ...

Tomorrow is India's Independence Day. Across India, there are celebrations, flag hoisting events, speeches and lots of things that are planned for the day. In Delhi, the focus is more about security. Delhi's most important areas, particularly the commercial centers, are cordoned off early. Big movies are releasing this weekend, global retailers are offering great discounts and deals to shoppers on Independence Day, elite restaurants are offering tricolor menus that are priced at the most outrageous prices and schools are shut as its also a Saturday. The borders are closed off early,too. About six years ago, when I celebrated Independence Day in Delhi for the first time, I experienced a total culture shock. In Kerala, which is the State where I came from, its just another typical holiday to watch blockbuster movies, meet friends, go and do chores that you need to complete, that sort of thing, not much of a big deal about Independence day as such. In Delhi, my first feeling was t...

My top 10 food blogs are listed below. The ranking is random so please don't think it is based on my preference. Truth is I don't believe in ranks at all. http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com/ http://kaipunyam.blogspot.com/ http://faizaali.blogspot.com/2009/07/cheese-toast.html http://vishnucooks.blogspot.com/ http://indianreceipes-rekha.blogspot.com/ http://subhieskitchen.blogspot.com/ http://sanghi-tastybites.blogspot.com/ http://www.simplysindhirecipes.com/ http://vazhayilaa.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html http://spicychilly.blogspot.com/

In Noida, we went for dinner to a really nice restaurant called Asia Kitchen. I always saw it on my way to office. A Sunday lunch with friends persuaded me to visit the place on a Friday night with my husband and son. It was so relaxing to be there. The guests were all dressed well and having a good time. My son loves murg malai tikka (read:me too) and so he was fiddling with it when I took my camera and clicked. I love eating without these tools and instruments. I, like most South Indians, find it so difficult to savor food using such metallic tools. However, my son is very particular about eating with them and never likes to use his fingers. He finds it very unclean. I'm trying to convince him its not such a bad thing but he doesn't take my hints too seriously. Anyway, here is a pic of Adi fiddling with the yummy tikka. As you can see, we ordered more of it for ourselves:) So next time you find 'Murg Malai Tikka' on your menu, remember to order them and enjoy them wit...