Finishing 'Thair Saadham'

Srikanth: No matter what you say, ‘thair saadham(curd rice) thair saadham’ only…No match for it!!!
Maya(sarcastically): Hey, don’t keep praising yourself every time.
Srikanth(with an angry tone): Maya , don’t call me thair saadham. One more time you do that I will kick your ass.
Maya (giggles): Why do you scold me for saying the truth. You eat ‘thair saadham’ right? That’s the reason I named you that way.
Srikanth: I eat any type of cuisine but ‘thair saadham’ is an excellent finishing. I got used to. It usually is like a thanks note in my menu.
Maya: Hmmm, then?
Srikanth: My dad eats ‘thair saadham’ with milk sweet. What do you say for that? I know you will have some comments on it.
Maya:!?!? (Went blank with a raised eyebrow)

KK mama (Srikanth ‘s dad) lives with his 'Thair saadham'. During an informal chat Srikanth had told maya that mama eats 'thair saadham' in many combinations. Frankly speaking, I have eaten it with pickle and love to have it with paalak paneer gravy. But mama eats it with rasam, and unbelievably with milk-sweet too. Will that combination work? Maama’s love towards 'thair saadham' has reached heights.

Yet another Po'em

Here is another poem, or rather a scribbling. It is a general saying that people write a poem when they are sad/depressed, romantic/being-loved, happy/energetic. This one too falls under one of the category....

Tears...

You rolled over my cheek,
and wet my shawl;
I thought you would better,
stop your crawl!

This time you made your session
a little longer than before;
Please leave me alone,
my eyes can't strain anymore.

People are watching me cry,
and I guess I must stop it now;
You trouble me almost everyday,
vanish today and come tomorrow.

My face-cloth is fully wet,
by your downpour;
Now will you please stop
embarrassing me more.

But to tell a truth
about you that's hidden;
You are my only mate who,
surprise me all of a sudden.

View Prasanna's poem from a different angle...

Hindi malum hai kya?

Whether Hindi is national language or not is a different question. Why are many people in Tamil Nadu not willing to speak Hindi - because they don't know Hindi, as simple as that! For many people in Chennai Hindi is still "Kuch kuch hota hai", " Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge". According to a NI (North Indians), Chennai is a place last in his list either to get a transfer or even for a short stay because he says "Less people speak Hindi there, how do I communicate even to an auto walla?" Everywhere in India people speak Hindi - be it Bangalore or Jabalpur.

For many Chennai'ites learning Hindi was never a 'must' during one's academics. "Ek Gau mein ek kissan raghu thaatha" - hope raghu's thaatha( grandfather) doesn't mind his profession being changed. But this is a serious issue. Hindi - National or Official language? Lets leave it apart for sometime. We are at one point of time forced to take Hindi as a language during school. Is that useful for our day to day lives now?

During my 9Th class , I remember coming out of Hindi class and joining Tamil class from the very next day just because I dint like my Hindi teacher. But then from my second class I was forced to study Hindi. I still remember "Saanch Barobar Tap nahi, joot barobar paap" - having memorising the Dhoha(like Thirukkural in Tamil) everyday with the fear of getting punishment. Today I research, by anyway is that Dhoha helping me converse with people who know Hindi?

Can the education systems be changed such that children get an exposure of spoken Hindi during school? Well, most of the Tamil parents make their children study Hindi hardly for 3 years. During that time if spoken Hindi is imparted to them, on a long run one more language will get added to their list.

Bridging it - India and China!

China :
Opens longest sea bridge.Descriptions of the bridge follows:

Distance : 32 kms
Construction started: 2003

Construction completed: 2007

Duration taken to complete: 4 years
Purpose: Connects Jiaxing City with Cixi City(2 major cities)

India(Chennai):

Opens Kathipara bridge(near Guindy). Only one phase of the bridge stands completed.Description of the same follows:
Distance: Less than 1/2 km
Construction started:2005

Construction completed:2008

Duration taken to complete: 3 years (one phase)
Purpose: Connects GST road towards Vadapalani(one phase)

Cheating....cheating!

The instructor cheated me. 3 weeks back when I checked my weight it was '_ . 3' kgs( _ intentional for light-hearted readers). Yesterday (after 3 weeks of heavy workout sessions), I could not take my eyes off the weighing machine which read '_ . 8' kgs (an increase in 0.5 kgs).

I immediately called for a personal meeting with the owner and the other trainers of the fitness center, to complain about my 'loss in money and gain in weight'. I made my face as an angry customer in front of them. I decided I am not going to compromise with their explanations.

Mr.Moses, the owner of the center decided to give a start from their side. He said, "We are very sorry if you feel our training is not satisfactory for you ma'am. But let me clarify one thing from you, did you follow our diet plans?" He then turned to my trainer and asked her if she provided me the diet plans sheet. Only then I came to know diet was 50% of the weight loss program.

I have been hogging like anything for the past 3 weeks thinking my exercises would compensate them!!! God has saved my calories!

Short Story - Bengalooru - The ultimate destination? (Part 2)

Back with Bengalooru series. Here is a true story which happened recently to a person whom I know.

After a long break and relaxation in his hometown, Srikanth is back in Bangalore . He started his career in Bangalore but developed the same in Chennai. Chennai’s dust and sun did not create a bit of dislike for him. But Mr.Kurubaani (his senior manager) wanted Srikanth to enjoy Bangalore for sometime. Their conversation went this way….

Kurubaani: Srikanth, people with your experience are thriving to fly on site. May I know the reason why rejected your turn.
Srikanth: Boss, personal issues.
Kurubaani: (to himself) I can't accept this man.
Srikanth: Sorry about that, could you please give me an alternative.
Kurubaani: You will have to move to Bangalore soon for your next assignment
Srikanth: Sir, but….
Kurubaani: No but’s and if’s please. Next week report there in Bangalore . Good day!
Srikanth: (cries within) Indha aal nadu mandaila nangunu onnu vaikka mudiliye.Why don’t managers understand we have issues. Why is that the company does not help its employees. Am I saying I won’t work. Why don’t they give me a project here. At least for sometime till my issues are resolved.

The following week Srikanth reached Bangalore at around 10.30 in the night on a dull Sunday. He took a pre-paid auto amid lots of call taxi people hounding him to take their vehicle and was travelling to his guest house clutching his luggage. The road was almost empty and desolate and Srikanth was enjoying the breeze though he was sleepy. Srikanth has already had few worst experiences there during his last stay. This time the ‘Tamil Nadu-Karnataka dispute on Hogennakkal’ added fuel to fire.

The auto driver tried to act as if he was a local by talking in the native language of Bangalore even though he knew only a few words. Suddenly Srikanth observed a motorist whizz past the auto at a fairly good speed and suddenly slowed down. A similar incident took place 2 years back while Srikanth was returning home and the auto driver stopped in the middle of a dark lonely road. A speeding auto came behind and Srikanth had to run fearing for his life. He knew both autos were following him, but luckily another auto came and Srikanth took that one to reach his home escaping the thieves.

This time Srikanth was reminded by that incident and wanted to be more cautious as he had 3 bags with him including a trolley suitcase. The motorist who overtook the auto slowed down to run parallel with the auto. He started staring at Srikanth and gave him wild looks. Srikanth wanted to ask the motorist “ What the f*** do you want?” Suddenly he was struck by a thought what if the motorist was the auto driver’s friend.

He was almost reaching his destination while the motorist still kept following the auto. The auto driver now crossed the destination and kept on driving. Srikanth got very suspicious and asked the driver if he knew the route correctly.

The motorist still followed and over took the vehicle. The auto suddenly stopped. Srikanth was going to get down of the auto as his suspicion rose to its peak. Within a fraction of second the motorist drove fast passing the auto almost as if to strike Srikanth down deliberately. Then only Srikanth realized that the motorist was drunk and it had been a holiday in Bangalore . Suddenly a hand touched his shoulders.

Srikanth turned back in a force to hit the person with his hand while he heard a statement “Welcome to Bangalore ”. That was Srikanth’s friend waiting to receive him. Srikanth smiled back and paid the auto driver and left to his room.

Lost 10 kilos...

...is what I always wanted to say. Looks like and feels like I have lost 10 kilos in a day's workout which is supposed to be my first ever proper workout session. Now don't raise your eyebrows saying "Have you never worked out till now? Shame on you!". I never used to go to a fitness center because of mere laziness. I was a trainer myself at home and was convinced with my 5 mins(maximum of 5 mins and minimum of 1 minute) aerobics/dance/workout (I keep changing its name according to my convenience). One person who constantly giggles looking at me workout at home is my mom.

Though my jeans never fit me these days as they used to, I convinced myself thinking my body doesn't need any exercise because I eat a lot and walk a lot which compensates each other. After repeated public demand I forced myself to join a fitness center and kick-started my sessions today successfully.

With lot of precautionary measures I filled my stomach from morning assuming that I would need a lot of energy to workout. Hearing my food itinerary maybe the trainer thought for a minute I need to be given counseling about ‘how to stop eating’. Well I am not a foodaholic though, but ‘Cornucopia’ at Cenotaph Road has made me addicted to ‘Continental cuisine’, while the ‘Dhabbas’ welcome me with a smile. Though the hospitality of ‘Don Pepe’ on Cathedral Road is not that good, the sizzlers they serve are awesome and I mainly go there for ‘Pussy Foot’ and ‘Virgin Mary’ ( names of drinks). ‘Eden’ at ‘Harrisons’ gives mouth-watering ‘Pastitso’, while ‘Sangeetha Desi Mane’ at Citi Center serves ‘Namma ooru Saapadu’ (South Indian meals).

Few people wanted me to stop outside food once for all, while others came up with a slogan ‘eat well, workout well’. I decided to follow the latter. Not too late though :-)

First full meal!

From the beginner’s kitchen, here is yet another successful preparation(how I decide its successful is based on my kitchen Vishwamithra’s comments – my mom). During my teens whenever I went to kitchen or whenever my mom used to yell at me for not doing any household work, my dad used to save me shouting at her back. He says never disturb a child when she is studying; and I took that as an advantage to escape household work.

Coming back to today’s recipe, apart from the usual side dishes I concentrate on, this is a perfect breakfast / night dinner which served two. It took nearly 1 hour and 30 Mins for me to display the output. It’s nothing new, but the usual ‘Roti and Sabzi’(trust me right from the flour preparation till the garnishing the entire work was mine this time); which came out perfectly well. During the middle of the preparation I had to grab an orange from the fridge and satisfy my hunger, I could not hold till my dish was ready. First time proper cooking so took a long time than usual and most of all I knew how my cooking will be and hence didn’t want to rely on that. If I don’t trust my own cooking then why this mess - practice makes things perfect!

Some few years back when I actually started cooking I found it real difficult as there were no proper guides for beginners. Hence I want to share my experience with people who are planning to kick-off your kitchen experience in near future. I would be very grateful to hear from beginners like me, experts, and masters in cooking art.

Roti and Aaloo gravy

Dough preparation:

• Put 1 to 2 cups of flour in a convenient vessel.
• Add salt as per your needs, a pinch of turmeric powder
• Those who want can add 1 tablespoon of Vanaspathi, or ghee to make the Roti’s rich.
• Mix them well with your hands to make it a perfect dough. There are many dough makers available in market. But I would suggest mixing with our own hands because it gave my hand muscles a perfect exercise for 5 minutes.
• Leave it exposed to air for five minutes.
• Make hot Roti’s with the dough.
  
  Aaloo Podimaas
  
  Ingredients:
  Potatoes – 2
  Onion – 1
  Carrots – 2
  Green Chillies – 2
  Curry leaves
  Coriander
  Turmeric powder
  Chilly powder
  Salt
  Oil
  
  Preparation:
• Boil the potatoes and carrots in a pressure cooker for 5 mins
• Fry onions in pan with required oil till it turns golden brown
• Add curry leaves, chillies, turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.
• Add water to it and let it boil for 2 mins
• Mash the boiled potato and carrots and add to it.
• Leave it on fire for 2-3 mins
• Add coriander leaves to the gravy and serve it with the Rotis.

10,000 B.C.

2008 AD as we are in, refreshing back about "10,000 BC" - A movie of its kind! My kind of movie too! I always wonder about how 'this' all happened and changed. 'This' i mean the transformation of man, the growth of civilization, the boundaries, the wars, the languages etc.

The movie is about fight and animosity at those(pre-historic) times. Man has had so many enemies, one side its the wild animals-the large tooth tigers and the mammoths; while the other side it’s the man himself.

We can see the differentiation between men from different regions of the world, men from different civilizations. Well, we see that even now. The movie shows where and how it all started.
The pyramid construction; men being treated slaves for it; the killing of the mammoths for food; were all beautifully portrayed in the picture. One more creation with awesome graphics but there is surely something missing.

Recipe - Spice up the Fish!

Ingredients:

Fish ( preferably the squared ones) – 2 pieces
Ginger – small piece
Garlic – 3
Pepper – 1 small spoon
Green chillies – 2
Lime juice – 1 table spoon
Corn flour – 1 table spoon
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Salt
Oil
Onion and Coriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Wash the fish cubes well with water and keep it aside
2. Put ginger, garlic, pepper, green chillies in a mixer and make it a fine paste.
3. Make fine holes on the fish with a sharp knife.
4. Put the fish in a big bowl; Add the paste prepared, lime juice, turmeric powder, salt to it.
5. Marinate the ingredients all over the fish such that the paste spreads thoroughly inside the holes.
6. Spread corn flour in a plate. Apply the flour thoroughly over the fish.
7. Put oil in a pan and once the oil is heated put the fish on the pan and heat it for 3-4 minutes.

8. Let the fish fry properly on both sides.
9. Remove the fish pieces from the pan and garnish it with the finely chopped onions and coriander leaves.

10. Serve it hot with mint sauce.

IT Speak - Had a break?

*non-ITians excuse
If I say ‘IT is growing everyday’, nothing new in it. But if I ask ‘where do you stand in the growth?’ are you going to take a thought about it?

If you relax for sometime closing your eyes; by the time you open your eyes the ‘world’ would have gone far away from you. The only possible way you could reach the ‘world’ would be to double your speed. ‘The rabbit and tortoise’ concept is not going to work out here. And I bet if you are not physically and mentally prepared to double your speed; then you are a loser!

Taking a long break from work, especially during your ‘crucial growth period’ is like inviting trouble with a ‘welcome drink’. Certain ‘breaks’ are unavoidable. But again be prepared to double your speed. Don’t imagine yourself as a tortoise, as the rabbits here are not fools to give you way.

The ingredients to reach the ‘world’ (that is to double your speed are); a whole you, with no worries, physically fit, mentally prepared, a good aim at the target, and of course a smile on your face(the last one is my personal suggestion everywhere)! If you feel you have them all then take the plunge – the second time! Else wait!

Shhh....No politics here!!!

I happened to visit a village near vellore where in few of the homes had no proper electricity, no proper food; water was contaminated, and more. But one thing which I could see in almost all the homes was a small television with "Tamil Nadu Arasal Vazhanga Pattadhu" written in blue. And every home had a cable connection with a few channels in which Kalaignar TV was compulsorily present.

A kind lady offered us tea as we came from far far away(from Chennai). As I was waiting for it, a small kid came home from school, threw his bag and grabbed the remote control. He tuned to 'Kalaignar Music' (am not sure about the name of the channel) and started dancing for Chimpoo's 'Kutti pisase' song. Heights!

I asked him when he will do his homework. He gave me a list of TV programs after which he said he will eat and sleep and will do homework the next day morning. This is 'India Tomorrow' (at least in villages) for us. But one appreciable aspect was every family had a 'TV' of their own and the ladies had some entertainment rather than gossipping with neighbours all time.

Struggle more and u will get.......

.......IT back!
Flash news today says "Ahmedabad, has registered a whopping Rs 1.44 crore salary offer, which is the highest in all the IIMs in India".

Heard about increasing 'dowry' for Software engineers(earning less than 10 L/annum) in AP...

How is it to be a mother of a girl child?

On the day of delivery,her prayers are to the maximum.As they say,its rebirth for a woman.But what actually is her prayer to god?Is it for a safe and non-problematic delivery or for a boy child?Well, people will definitely debate with me if I say that, as these days modern Mother-To-Be are 'OK' with any child, be it a boy or a girl.

Recently I had a chat with a woman who was a Mother-To-Be , she says her prayers are for a boy child.I was very curious in knowing the reason.She said, "I don't want my child to face the problems I faced in life".I replied back saying "Lady! come on, a child has to be either a girl or a guy.Why restrict one gender? It was Adam and Eve and destiny was, Eve had to face the consequences, no matter what." Am I right? I didn't want to disappoint her or to prove her prayers were wrong by talking more.But I felt bad thinking what if every woman thinks like this?

'Rear Window' experience

'Rear Window' directed by Alfred Hitchcock which was nominated for Oscars is a movie in which a man in wheelchair spies on his neighbour through his telescope and becomes convicted that one of them has committed murder. He enjoys being in the wheelchair as he is entertained by the various activities of his neighbours. Same way......

.....few weeks it was a great experience for me who had sprained my leg due to a minor accident at home.Sitting sedentary with a remote on my hand at one place(my bed) made me discover thousands of new ideas.Food, water, paper, books,junk all to my place. I can say I enjoyed this.Doctor advised me not to move for few days.There were in fact talks of buying a mobile commode.God saved me from that worser situation.For the first time I spent weekday afternoons at home, discovering what neighbours do. Same as what happened in the movie, I heard and saw a lot of fights,romances,chatting,cooking etc. I was not eavesdropping, but had no choice but to hear it, as my room window was on a corner of the plot closer to my neighbours respective windows.

In one window, a young girl was seen always on her mobile, I assumed she was engaged with a guy and was staying at home. The other window where a boy was yelling (a+b)^2=(a^2+2ab+b^2), and stuff. Probably his maths exam the next day(You guessed it right! I wrote this post during Half-Yearly exam time but forgot to post it then).Third window was a kitchen window where the magic of spices were disturbing me so much while I should be on diet. When I got bored with the windows I would pick my remote. Thanks to the sprain! It kept me away from so many things!

Last minute rush-up (December month)

2008-My first post this year! Let it be about 'the last few days'!

Do you postpone things to the 11Th hour and struggle at that moment? Well, I do! I do a lot of postponement and I admit I do multitasking in the 11Th hour. A lot of time goes waste thinking whether to do it or not, how to do it, what will be the consequences etc (merely speaking planning consumes a lot of time while actual implementation has to be rushed up).One good example is I never eat the whole day and finally stuff a lot of food compensating for the whole day! (I know you never expected such an example :-)).

If we give it a serious thought and look at the events (exclusively bad) that had taken place in the last week of December, that's called real postponement or last minute rush-up. No one expected Benazir's death during the year end. What about Tsunami? Well, that's god's postponement. Maybe god decided of a Tsunami in 2004 and kept postponing it till last week of the year.

The Thread!

//It denotes that one who wear the sacred thread should be pure in his thought, word and deed.//

A person I know replied for this saying, absolutely not necessary; and removed his thread. The explanation he gave for this was, "A person who wears it is not all that great. Why should a thread differentiate me from others? Let the world consider me equally from now on..."

Three cheers for him (for thinking uniquely and rightly) on behalf of me and my blog!!!

Wine shop!

The intensity of crowd at various shops fluctuate for various seasons...

Diwali/Festivals-Cracker shop, Saree houses are overloaded.

Start of academic year-Book and stationary stores are fully packed.

Religious occasions/auspicious days- Flower business go up. Valentine's day-Crowd at 'Gift' shops.

But if there is one shop which is always packed with people at any season and for no reason at any time of a day is the Wine shop (at least here in Chennai).

Are so many people addicted to alcohol? Occasionally consuming it sounds OK, but getting addicted to it needs a second thought. A man under poverty line becoming irresponsible and getting addicted to alcohol will lose a lot.

A search from a website says...

• Advantages: Better cardiovascular health, Improved blood vessel function, Value in religious systems, Social interactions at low to moderate use levels

• Disadvantages: Fetal alcohol syndrome, Driving related problems and violence, Alcoholism, Increased risk for various diseases (Many types of cancer), Interaction with several medications, even OTC drugs

Sedentary men!

Year 2007, booming or rather bloomed IT has a lot of men working for it. Long long ago, men went to the fields to earn some money for living while their counter-parts acted home-makers. Man is different from a woman by what means - physical appearance and the physical strength? That is the reason why men went out for hunting a little later while women still continued to stay at home. Years went, civilizations changed, culture bloomed; still men were stronger by body and mind and they volunteered the 'outside' job while the ladies took over the 'family-shaping' job.

But now as we see men working sedentary in front of the monitors, are they still stronger by mind and body? Ages back women at home used to send their sons to the battle field to fight for her country. Now every mom wants her son be a 'Software Engineer' instead and earn lakhs of money sitting at one place. Even now there are people who join the army and navy but are they recognized when compared to the ones working at 'Infosys' or 'Wipro' or 'TCS'?

Sometime back a bus in which I was travelling was full of IT janta and accidentally it hit a two-wheeler.Fortunately nothing had happened to the person on it. The angry two-wheeler guy came inside the bus and started hitting the bus driver wildly, as the fault was on the bus-driver's side. The whole scene took place for at least two full minutes and during that time none of the 'software men' in the bus went forward to stop the fight. Either they were busy shuffling songs in their i-pod or enjoying their sleep. My thought here is, how quickly will these sedentary men react to any critical situations?

Also, getting a girl is not so difficult these days. Girls easily fall for a corporate tag or for a visa stamping. Reminds me of 'Suyamvara' ritual during olden days or the traditional 'Jalli-Kattu' (cow-chasing) where a guy has to prove his braveness to get the girl's heart.

A good 'Song'!

Usually ARR songs will become hot favorites amongst many, but after listening to it for a repeated number of times. ARR songs are very reliable. Recently I heard a song 'Maduraiku Pogadhe' in one of the many 'FM' channels. Way different from the usual numbers this one created a curiosity in me to know who was the music director and which movie it is from. Unfortunately the 'RJ' did not announce that. According to me a song and its composition becomes good only when the listeners get the 'feel' of it and search for its details. Obviously, for any good job done don't we ask 'Who did this?'

While browsing through the channels, I violently came back to the channel where I heard this song again; just to know who has scored the music. A perfect folk song or a 'Kuthu' paatu or a 'Masth' song or whatever you mention; this one is from ATM (Now for people in Tamil Nadu ATM is no more Automated Teller Machine but Azhagiya Tamilmagan). I basically(and acidically ;-))don't like actor Vijay but ARR has proved that his fans will never be cheated! After knowing this song was a Rehman's product I felt 'No wonder'! Rehman rocks!