Books 2010

What I read between leaving school and finishing Masters could be put down mostly Harry Potters. The school library and its wonderful custodian encouraged me to read in the first place & I am ever so grateful for that. Getting into the mindless cramming of engineering books and numerous exams every 6 months after leaving school pretty much ensured that I gave up on reading almost all together.

Between 2007 and early 2009 I can see long gaps and Ayn Rand. In autumn 2009 I had no internet for a week & this pulled me back into reading :) A Suitable Boy was one of the epics I read that year. There were a few more and I was once again actively reading. I decided to keep a list of books I read in 2010. When I had started with the list, I was only trying to keep a count. But as December neared, I found myself trying to add as many more as I could. However, as it turned out - I couldn't do any last minute reading and book number 15 - A Passage to India was read on my flights home in late October.

15. A Passage to India - EM Forsters
14. Paths of Glory - Jeffery Archer
13. Nice Works - David Lodge
12. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
11. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
10. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
9. Aunt's aren't Gentlemen - PG Wodehouse
8. The Sea - John Banville
7. Home Truths - David Lodge
6. The Impressionist - Hari Kunzru
5. A Small Island – Andrea Levy
4. An Artist of the Floating World – Kuzuo Ishiguro
3. Web of Silk and Gold – Shakti Niranjchana
2. Brick Lane – Monica Ali
1. Department of Denials - Anurag Mathur

Favourites - Midnight's Children, A Passage to India (adds to my rather short list of re-readables)

Some light, some heavy, some funny, some tragic but all good enough to take me to a magic land where reality is not admitted.

Christmas Baking

Christmas break at work starts tomorrorw. And after a week of cold and headaches I finally got into the spirit of Christmas. So I baked a choco-coffee cake. It turned out pretty good in taste and look but lacked the texture of a cake i.e. even though it is soft like sponge, it is not really bubbly inside :(
After this non bubly cake I have realisd the importance of an electric whisk (when buttering the sugar, I was thinking to myself - I can do this pretty well by hand who needs a whisk). Now I think people know what I want for Christmas!

I had big plans of making an icing and decorating with nuts and choco chips but as the cake gave me some trouble coming out of the tin, I just finished it for namesake. I have cut it into squares which look like irregular chocolate brownies - a bit underdone. I plan to take a few to office for my team but not sure if it would be appreciated. After all in England every one bakes, making me such a rookie!

Enough cribbing about the cake, lets put the bubbles aside and cheer the good taste :)
Here are some pictures in reverse order of appearance!

Music!

Not until long ago, I was not a music person at all. In fact, at times I felt inadequate in company of some great music lovers who would discuss bands/music/tracks/singers. I wondered to myself this couldn't be something one claims to live by. Books I understand as they keep one occupied. But listening to music - as a hobby left me bewildered. Isn't hobby something one likes to do.
Lately however, this utter surprise towards music has melted into something more acceptable. But still music for me remains something very much in the background. I dont think so I can just play songs and sit by for hours. But I surely appreciate some random tracks playing in the background while I am in the kitchen :)
Thanks to SSS I have got a folder of 55 random (Eng/Hindi/OST/Pop etc) songs. As names of most songs here are random alphabetical strings, it is often a pure surprise when the song plays :) I have transferred some of these to my phone, but the rest have been rarely played. While trying to organise my 2.14GB of music, I came across this one from the SSS folder. Really liked the soft & optimistic feel of the song :)Thanks SSS for introducing me to music and many more such lovely songs!

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed

Nothin' seems to fit

Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun

And I said I didn't like the way he got things done

Sleepin' on the job

Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

But there's one thing I know

The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red

Cryin's not for me

'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'

Because I'm free

Nothin's worryin' me

& I meet HP in the UK

Last night I watched HP 7. Finally. I know it is obvious but I need to state it - I watched it in a theatre :)
Enjoyed the movie thoroughly and as always when the credits started rolling I was craving for more. Even though it is the longest Potter movie yet, but I felt it finished too soon, but that could be just my Potter mania.
Apart from the movie itself, the experience itself was fun too. Random person at office offered a late evening show & before I could mull over it, I said Yes :)
Later, I bothered to ask who else was joining and found out that there was going to be just 1 another random person. I felt like withdrawing for some minutes but then I thought, I have been considering watching it on my own, then why do I care about (in)adequate company. As it turned out another person from work (friend/colleague) also joined later :)
The cinema hall we went to is like a projector show in a village category in terms of screen/seating. If you are used to plush Indian cinemas then this would be highly disappointing. The screen was smaller than my room's wall and there were hardly 50 seats. The sound/heating wasnt great & we sat in our coats. But at least it was bigger than my lap top screen! There were mostly children in the crowd, even though it was a late show at 7.45 in the evening.
It had been a while since I last did/read/watched anything related to HP. The movie charmed me back into the world of wizards and witches or horocruxes and hallows. I noticed there were very few of fellow Hogwarts students in the movie, but for the scenes they were in - all of them looked beautiful/handsome young adults. Specially liked Luna Lovegood's costume. It was nice to recognise places in the UK :)
Having read the book long ago, the movie also had some surprises for me. Like when HH leave Ron behind on their search I was worried how will Ron reunite with them :) Overall, as all movies preceeding this one - it does justice to both JKR's imagination and narration.
However unreal/illogical/kiddish it may sound to some people, Harry Potter series is so popular across age & gender because we see characters in the movies doing things we would want to do ourselves only if it were possible. It translates what we wish for, into what we see on the screen. Innumerable times, I find myself wishing for an invisibility cloak. So many times I hear people talking about turning time back. And almost each one of us wishes to 'reach someone in the blink of an eye' once a day (apparate)!

To add to the fun - the person sitting next to me was a Potter virgin (cheesy I know, but it just fits :D) And I had to explain things to him like 'erasing memory', 'poly juice potion' and 'Ministry of Magic' :) He was so amused by my factual explanations that we couldn't stop laughing. I must confess - there were times when I joined him in making fun of the Potter logic. For some scenes between Harry & Hermoine after Ron is splinched, which we thought was desperately 'Bollywoodish' we even spoke the dilogues had it been a Hindi movie/soap - It was hilarious!!

Good fun it was :)

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi...

This is a Ghalib ghazal, and I dont claim to have the entire original version of it here. But lately, this has become quite an accurate and succint description of my life.

Hazaaron khwahishein aisi
ki har khwahish pe dum nikle
bahut nikle mere armaan lekin
phir bhi kam nikle

nikalna khuld se aadam ka
sunte aaye hain lekin
bahut be-aabru hokar
tere kuuche se hum nikle

kahaan maikhaane ka darwaaza "ghalib"
aur kahaan waeez
par itna jaante hain
kal wo jaata tha ki hum nikle

I dont understand much poetry, but I read through an English translation of this one. I realised while the original poem questions the sincerity of the beloved, I am questioning my own.

Chocolate and Almond Biscuits

This weekend has been busier in the kitchen than most. Today I baked some almond and chocolate biscuits. I had told D at work that I am going to try my hand at profiteroles but just couldn't get myself out of bed.
A quick chat with A motivated me to after all give up the comfort of my warm and cozy bed :)
My biscuits didn't turn out the perfect shape - but that was because I couldn't resist taking them out from the baking tray before they cooled which caused some rough edges (Even though I know 5 minutes later I could have taken them out without any effort!!). I guess it is the thing with baking - one doesn't get to taste anything before it is out of the oven. And once it is out - Its very very difficult for me to resist.

There is forecast of light snow on Monday. My freshly baked biscuits & hot choc would make for great company!

Sweet & Sour Sticky Rice

Just a random visit to the grocers' led to this impromptu speedy recipe. I like to chop vegetables, and this recipe needed lots of them. So while the rice cooked, I enjoyed slicing away some cabbage, white onions and spring onions. Here are a few pictures.

Sunday Baking!

A special guest came over last Sunday to spend the day with me. We played with trains & aeroplanes. We drew some pictures and read some books. And as we waited for Raaghav's parents we planned a tea party for them :)
To go with the tea I baked some butter milk and raisin scones :) It was not really difficult to get them right.
Appreciation - All finished even before the kettle could go on boil!!

Carrot Puddings

I had started with the idea of making gajar ka halwa for my cousins last weekend. But on Thursday on lunch from work, I bought my first cake tin :)) So I thought it wouldnt be fair on my new cake tin to make another dessert before baking a cake in the new tin. The result:

2 Carrot desserts - one Indian - Gajar ka halwa & one English - Carrot and Banana Cake with orange zest
It didnt take long before portions started disappearing and as 2 of my flat mates said - Yummy!!

Mission ITIL

Finally, after mulling over it for more than a year, I have booked myself for ITIL V3 certification on 3/01/11. Now, I just need to get through several thousand pages of service management theory to get the requisite 65% to clear the exam!!

It is my christmas gift/challenge to myself. If I clear the certification it would be some sort of achievement for me (in quite some time). Also, I find it comforting to have short term goals in sight.
May be I was a bit rash in paying the fee but I guess it was needed to get myself into the action mode. I hope I will remain motivated towards it till the exam.

I will update the blog about my progress. It will be a good way of telling myself what I did and what I didnt.

Any help for study material/sample papers will be much appreciated.

Good luck to me :)

What does family mean to you?

Some of the titles for blogs which I noted down during this trip were - presence of US Army in Kuwait and striking ambience of Asia. But when I saw ‘What does family mean to you’ posted on a forum, I thought it is rather relevant to my trip back home after more than a year.
I have moved out of my family home fairly recently – 3 years to be precise. However, the distance made sure that I have seen them only twice in more than 2 years.
On this trip I realised that for the time that I have been in London I have got used to being on my own. And to the idea that it is sufficient to speak/see my family over the internet. I am not ashamed of the fact that I am not homesick. I have never been the one who cries at airports or longs for reunions.
But meeting my parents, my siblings and other family members I realised that being detached with something/someone is not one way.
Even though living outside the geographical bounds of my family’s home has made me see my life as ‘mine’, they have not separated their lives from mine. Their joys, happiness, strength, emotions, grievances and everything else is still woven around all 5 of us. I share these lines from Shashank’s blog –
"For a wonderful physical tie binds the parents to the children; and - by some sad, strange irony - it does not bind us children to our parents. For if it did, if we could answer their love not with gratitude but with equal love, life would lose much of its pathos and much of its squalor, and we might be wonderfully happy." Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster
This trip has brought back to surface the deepest bonds I had let dust in the background. And the fact that family is not about you – even if you are 100 years old or 10000 miles away – it is always about us.

Jammie Dodgers!

Starting the festive seasons with some jammie dodgers. It made me think of the gift boxes of 'assorted' biscuits exchanged on Diwali :)

Bread and Butter pudding

Whenever I see bread and butter pudding made on tv shows, I always crave to have a bite :)
Then this weekend I came around to making my own version - with banana and mixed nuts stuffing!

It is an incredibly easy to do dessert which can be made in a big batch and wow all your dinner party guests ;)
Here is a quick recap - De-crust white bread (thick) and dip in molten butter. Grease the baking dish with remaining butter. Line with bread to cover the base sprinkle some sugar and cover with sliced bananas. Throw in some finely chopped nuts and cover with remaining bread. Sprinkle some more sugar on the top.
Next mix your custard powder with boiling milk and pour over the baking dish until the bread is soaked. Sprinkle with some more sugar and bake for 20-30 min or until top bread is golden and the custard is set.
I used ready made cutard as I am yet to start cooking with eggs.

Praying

There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we
don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have
to let go.
~Anon.

Praying for our dear friend and his family to have the strength to bear the loss.

Pear Tart

This week I got some really good crisp and sweet pears. In English cooking, they are often served as desserts - poached in spicy red wines infused with star anise, cinnamon, lemon juice, and vanilla ideally served with clotted cream or icecream.

But as I dont have access to wines yet, I thought I will go ahead with the second most popular pear dessert - pear tarts. Tarts are not really my favourite when it comes to desserts but cooking something new was motivating enough :) Here are the pictures -


This one turned out best!

I had made 4 ;)


Served with Custard

Blogging!

I am enjoying the joy of blogging once more thanks to friends who keep reintroducing me to my forgotten blog spot. I am not as keen on writing as I am on reading but having a space makes me put down my thoughts - in black and white. Sometimes it helps to clear the head and sometimes it leads to more research and at other times more analysis. Always, it gives me lasting satisfaction to have written something.

Today being the 4th consecutive weekend I have come back to write something makes me feel a little less random towards my blog. I would love to have written exceptional pieces - travelogues, reviews of movies and books or about food & cooking and culture or countries. But for now I am content with writing about myself, my moods and my cooking :)

Argh! turned into a smile :)

After a series of feel good posts (and probably weekends), this weekend I feel 'argh'.
While still at work on Friday, I was boasting to people how am I going to have a busy yet fun weekend. And it almost started that way when I left from work almost an hour earlier than usual. I happily went shopping for my small lunch-time get together on Sunday. The guests are not many but 2 or 20 it takes the same amount of preparation. Scaling is often not a problem while cooking Indian food.
But almost as soon as I reached the super market, my weekend was hijacked! First I was asked a favour which cut short my shopping. I was not all p***d off by this but only until my friend called at 7 to decide about a programme today. I know I am being finnicky but I need to know what am I going to do at least 1 day in advance so that I can plan other things!!
Now my Friday evening is gone, my Saturday is already booked (for more favours) and I am not meeting my friend cause I have got myself into a lunch which I could have happily postponed :( I am yet to do my laundry, clean my room and God knows what all work of house keeping which I had planned for Friday evening.

So nothing seems to be going the right way this weekend. Now this makes me p***d off. But what makes me more completly pissed off is that people feel that being s single woman I 'look forward' to 'demanding favours'!!

And then I spoke to Papa :) Thanks Papa for explaining it once again - "You are good on the outside, because you are good on the inside & you are good on the inside only when you are happy. So whenever you are sad, ask yourself - what am I being sad for - is it/he/she worth upsetting me? And you will end up smiling pretty quickly :)"

My version of having a day 'off'

It was one of those weekends which I had 'completely' to myself!

After work, I went to do grocery and picked up some random cooking ingredients – including red and yellow peppers and cans of kidney beans! I had some idea of what I will do with them but wasn’t sure if I will actually do any cooking this weekend.

Today I woke up only when the sunlight through the curtains became too bright. Fortunately I remembered that it was Ganesh Chaturthi so quickly got ready and did my own little puja :)

After which had a good chat at home with little brother and mum. It is always nice to talk to them, but it is even better when we talk about my upcoming holiday :) We discussed menus, trips and shopping! All this talk pepped me up and I in a drastic change of plan I decided to venture out.

I thought I will renew my books from the library while I am out. One of the books I was about to finish was Paths of Glory by Jeffery Archer. I am not really a huge fan of Archer but he does have a simplistic approach and was one of the first authors I had started to read when I joined secondary school. The book is about first ever expedition to the Mount Everest and makes a captivating read.

I finished the book in the library. It was a very satisfying experience even for half an hour, to sit amidst books and read :)

Then I carried on with my window shopping/shopping for an amazing 2 hours. It was fruitful to some extent having bought some more gifts for people back home and milk :) (I am really keen on milk - Peeyo a glass full :))

Came back home and made myself the cup of tea I was longing for since morning and watched some not so interesting series on BBC which lulled me into siesta. But just as I was about to sleep, the internet started playing games. I realised I am so addicted to its presence that I wanted it to be up and running before I slept, just in case it was still gone when I got up! So while trying to get it sorted out time for my nap was gone.

I resisted the ‘lazy me’ taking over the ‘cook me’ and got down to making my very own version of Mexican wraps :)

I also made chane ki daal, shimla mirch ki sabzi along with -

The colours just looked so good

My mini fajita breads

The filling

Presentation style #1

Presentation style #2

All this hard work is very gratifying as it means I have food to last for entire working week :)

Random thoughts about Life in London

1. You will be surprised to see how ‘Indian’ is London. There is nothing really ‘foreign’ about England.

2. Recession in the UK is reality. Companies are going bankrupt everyday and there is lot of redundancy.

3. You would consciously be spending less or at least thinking twice before spending money. The constant worry to save on the back of your mind does take away some charm of living in the UK. If your intention is to save money, there will be some constant sacrifice/struggle.

4. It gets dark very early in winters and some people find it depressing when there is so little day light.

5. Some theatres show Hindi movies and there are plenty of Indian shops around. Even there are temples to go and celebrate the festivals.

6. There will be no maid and you will have to do all your work on your own, from washing clothes and dishes to ironing clothes to cleaning the house and even toilet (or worse clean a toilet which you would share with 4 other people!).

7. Regarding work culture – Office timings are quite strict, while at work people are not expected to attend to personal phone calls, or take days off unless sick.

8. There are no holidays during the year except 4-5 official offs. You will get 20 days of annual leave which you can avail for your once a year India trip.

9. It may seem that for some initial period you follow a very dull routine of work-home-work but as you begin to settle down you will find more things to do and enjoy your time here.

10. Transport For London is fantastic.

Stereotype

Lately, courtesy 'facebook' I have come across numerous stand-up comedy videos where the act is centered around stereotyping nationalities, colour, religion, professions etc. One of the very first I saw was of Russel Peter a Canadian-Indian who managed to crack the audience up with his imitation and interpretation of the stereotyping Indians face in Canada. He didn't mind using himself as the butt of these jokes and I was slightly surprised at how he could joke about things so close to home. But then I came across more comedians from various 'coloured' parts of the world making fun of going through additional security checks, being addressed rudely and being the keepers of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) with panache. Middle Eastern comedians keen on showing to the world that their world is no longer Alladin's Arabia, Africans going beyond Rap about their accent and Indian crowds cheering to jokes about their children excelling at schools.

Quite unexpectedly I too, saw the humour and the purpose behind these shows. The genuine eagerness to show the rest of the world hidden facets of these 'infamous' countries. I was all for the cause eventually. And then I came across a news piece accompanied by a disturbing video of 2 teenagers being beaten to death in Pakistan while being watched by police. There were people who made videos, but none to stop the killing. Ironically, just before that I was watching a talk by Maz Jobrani (TED Talks) who with his group is on a mission to present to the world the positives of Middle East and is effectively leading a crusade against stereotyping.

Even though, I try my best to not to classify people because of their colour, geography or religion I found it really difficult to resist the mob-mentality of brutality being nurtured at our door step. In the 21st century, if an entire city did nothing but watch 2 young men being beaten to death in the most barabaric fashion and later hung as if dead animals, I could not but make generalisations. Apart from civilians who preferred making videos to post on youtube, there were armed policemen who simply took the 'best view' positions around the scene. If the police force of a country does not seem to think it was their duty to stop the violence what can one expect from the people at large?
And I am not talking about individuals, or even a dozen, there was a mob almost the size of a cinema audience. Not one of them felt the urge to stop it??

I may take a step back from my mental refinement, but very unfortunately it really made me re-think about the origins of stereotypes and that of 'popular belief'. Kudos to people like Maz Jobrani but incidents like this just keep letting them down. Again and again, breathing life to more security checks and more mistrust.

English Pancakes

Mostly when I cook, it is on an impulse - not of eating or hunger but of trying it out and being able to do something that I have not done before. That is why I find cooking for meals so boring - same old menu repeated over the week with slight variations. It is just not motivating enough for me to get myself to the kitchen to cook something which I already know exactly how it would turn out.


Crepe and Pancakes share almost the same batter in terms of ingredients. Whilst Crepes are said to be French, Pancakes are more English traditionally and lately American. But for political reasons and 'FOOD HONOURS' neither side would concede to this :D
Last month (when it was summer [sigh!]) I had gone to Brighton, a beach city along the SE coast of England. It is famous for it's full-of-amusement piers. There I had a super quick crepe recipe which just lingered on at the back of my mind.

The mystery batter was spread over a non-stick pan thinned out with a ladle, with a little amount of butter round the circle. It was left to brown for 20-30 sec only on one side. Then folded into halves still on the pan to make a quarter. Inside this cone/quarter we could fill chocolate syrup, whipped cream, bananas or even savoury ingredients such as minced meat.

The simplicity and taste of it made sure it appeared on my things-to-try-to-cook list. And the fact that this weekend, I had almost 2 pints of milk to use by this Monday finally resulted in the experiment ;)
I made mine without any egg, adding half a teaspoon of baking soda as a replacement (to give the fluffy texture).

Some of them did stick to the pan but eventually they started to come off smooth :) I cant wait to get to the market for some double cream (gluttony!!)and try the beach recipe by my window from where I see not much water down below but lots of watery clouds above! (After all, its English August)

Choco Chips Cookies

So this is cooking :)
I made a batch of almost 4 dozen, and they were gone before the week ended!
Looking forward to bake some to take home.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost

Sorry to all those I owed it.

Thank you mum, where ever I go from here I will know that a mother's love has no bounds.I owe you a lot mum, a lot more than I will ever be able to say.
I plead, let me live the life you have given me.

Thank you Mark

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Regards, Mark

Chocolate Brownie/Cake!

Easter baking :)

Time to open my eyes

Closing eyes doesn't make things disappear, they stay there to be more hurtful next time. It's been a long time that I started doing this. Whenever I have a conversation about things I don't want to think about or be questioned about I simply make myself forget that it ever happened. Living more than 7000 miles away from family surely helps. May be it is abusing the privilege of distance. I consciously replace the thought process by watching a cookery show or cooking or reading a book or going for a stroll or anything at all. It works every time; almost to perfection. This is so much easier when I don't have to breathe in the atmosphere pregnant with annoyance and allegations. There is no one around to push me back into it. It is indeed very convenient. But dangerous, I realised today. It makes you leave things unsorted, pending, piling up to strike back when you are least prepared - when you had comfortably forgotten about it.

So today I decided to take stock of the situation. I should not cave in, even if parts of me see it as the easier option out. But I wont, I cant let myself down by giving up without the fight I deserve. There are times when things work in your favour and times when they don't. It's quite easy to feel great about yourself when things fall in place and let the good times get to your head. That's exactly what happened. For last year and a half, things were working out, mind you I am not throwing away the credit to destiny, it was my hard work & good times made it pay. But I guess it's time to put on the fighting suit on once more, for a tougher, longer, more critical battle with circumstances not exactly on my side.