a story

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.
He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've got a favor to ask.
I have a friend I'd like to bring with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

"There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting.
He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm an leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us.
We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives.
I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.

A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told.
The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.
They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around,
but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable.
We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer
that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!

Rains in Delhi

When it rains in Delhi, it pours...Last week when it finally rained, the city was in a turmoil.. A few days of rain and the capital is at the mercy of the rain gods. Gross mismanagement and life comes to a halt. This makes me wonder what happens to other smaller cities in rain when this is what happens to the capital.

On a more positive side, it helped in bringing down temperatures and the office got shut half day on two consecutive days due to incessant rains. However, we were stuck on road for hours and hours .. Roads were converted into mini black colored lakes full of gutter water...the gutters got freedom to flow ...And trees got uprooted. This also gave us a break from the usual well dressed and grommed selves. I wore an old tee and capris with chappals to work.

But there was no way to venture out. All you could do was to wait at home for the rains to stop. The place outside was a mess with mosquitoes, open gutters, puddles of water and what not. I silently prayed for the sun to come out so that our normal lives are resumed. And finally it did, after 3 days :)

Tulsi : Herbal qualities

Ocimum sanctum or holy basil: You must be guessing what it is? Right? It is nothing but the small herb that grows outside our homes in gardens, pots and bushes. Tulsi it is. I have had many mails by my friends on the benefits of the tulsi plant in the prevention and cure of the dreaded swine flu.
I have always cherished tulsi leaves in my cup of tea. A few leaves plucked from the herb and put in the boiling water adds amazing flavour and taste to your morning cuppa. It also has medicinal value during common cold and cough. Moreover, it is worshipped in Hindu households too.
Just go out, search for a small tulsi plant and give it home in your garden or balcony. Else put a few seeds in a pot and see the plant come up. Holy it is ..

Delhi's autowallahs

Driving is a very essential skill to survive in Delhi. Unfortunately, I quit driving after mastering that skill, a few years back. Driving in Delhi is a pain, it exhausts you to the extent that you are demotivated enough. That does not change the fact that it remains a very important skill ...
Now me being one of the unskilled ones, falls back on autos or someone to drive me to places. The thought of travelling in buses is scary and the reach of metro is limited. The thought of travelling by autos is also stressful with the general perception of autowallahs to be mean, dishonest, impolite and opportunists.
Today was an exception as the two auto drivers I happen to travel with were really nice. They charged me per the meter. The chap who took us back saw that my mother and I were tired of the heat and crowd so he immediately agreed to take us home on meter charges. He also noticed that I was thirsty and was trying to drink the last few drops in my bottle, so he stopped on the way and offered us some cold water from the rediwalla. Though we refused, he got two glasses for us and refused money. His small gesture really touched my heart and I realised that we should never extrapolate our experiences..

Coffee times

Why are we all so stuck up with meeting over coffee? Tea is the common person's beverage. Then why do we all end up in a coffee shop buying expensive cuppas more than we can afford or would like to spend? Maybe because we do not have tea shops? I do not have an answer to this question. All I can recall is a list of long exotic names and most of us have no clue how to differentiate one from another. Here is a small attempt to give you an overview

Black coffee: As the name suggests, is drip brew, percolated or French press style coffee served neat. ( no milk). It is bitter and you really need to cultivate a taste for it to relish it

Espresso: basic standard espresso with a shot of whipped cream on top. Caffè, espresso, is a concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee

Americano: A single shot of espresso with about 7 ounces of hot water added

Caffe Latte: A single shot of espresso in steamed (not frothed) milk. The ratio of milk to coffee should be about 3:1, but you should be aware that latte in Italian means ‘milk’

Cafe Macchiato: A shot of espresso with steamed milk added. The ratio of coffee to milk is approximately 4:1.

Cappuccino: Usually equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and frothed milk

frappe: cold coffee

Irish coffee: A coffee spiked with Irish whiskey, with cream on top.

Mocha: This popular drink is basically a Cappuccino or Latte with chocolate syrup added to the mix.

Turkish Coffee (also known as Greek Coffee): Made by boiling finely ground coffee and water together to form a muddy, thick coffee mix.

growing out....

We all grow out.. grow out of things, of people and of jobs.. I've experienced this all my life. What I liked 2 years back is different from what I like today. People whom I left long back do not evoke much interest when they are back after a long gap. Work, whatsoever it may be, becomes monotonous after a time. Rare are the things, people, etc that keep your interest alive forever

Essentials to beat the heat

1. A pair of sunglasses.. a must

2. umbrella

3. A good sunscreen

4. An air conditioner

5. A pair of capris... cool during summers

6. Cool summer t shirts

7. A nice television set to spend the time all at home

8. Nimbu paani, roohafza and chilled coke

9. Lots of ice cream

keep ur head cool ;)

michael jackson

I was shocked to see the sms i received this morning... death of the pop star michael jackson...My memories went back to my childhood days when I used to listen to his songs.. specially black or white....Bad and dangerous... The one cassette I used to own had all songs of this legend. And I used to hear it over and over again trying to imitate his voice and steps...And slowly with time his charm and memories faded away . Still cannot believe that he is no more ...

disagreements

what are disagreements and why do they happen? I feel disagreements are a part of my daily life and move on. I really find it difficult to manage relationships with people who cannot live with disagreements.

I get turned off by people who always like agreements and withdraw when they experience disagreements.

I think arguments are healthy and its good to be with people who are a little different from you..

Tea harvesting

fine plucking: When plucking the leaves for a high quality tea, they pluck the bud and the second and third leaves only. If more leaves are taken with the bud it is said to be a coarse plucking and produces a lower quality tea.

A typical tea bush will generally produce about three thousand tea leaves a year. this makes only one pound of tea.

Tea is graded by size. A whole leaf has better quality than broken leaf

Tea times

One of my friends brought some packets of cherry tea today. I wondered what cherry tea is as I never tried it before. It was a little fruity. This made me wonder at the types of tea that are available. After some study, I found that there are 4 kinds of tea:

• Black Tea : fully-oxidized: It is the most consumed and it is made with the leaves of the tea plant camellia sinensis. The leaves after being plucked are left to dry for 24 hours. They are then crushed and left to be oxidized to turn black
• Green Tea : non-oxidized: The leaves after being plucked are left to dry for 24 hours. Then they are pan fried to prevent oxidation
• White Tea : non-oxidized:In order to prevent oxidation, white tea is immediately fired or steamed after letting them air dry for a period of time. There is no rolling, breaking, or bruising of any kind
• Oolong Tea : semi-oxidized: he processing of oolong tea requires only a partial oxidation of the leaves. After the leaves are plucked, they are laid out to wither for about 8 to 24 hours. the leaves are tossed in baskets in order to bruise the edges of the leaves. This bruising only causes the leaves to partially oxidize

Travel or Vacation

What do you like to do? I loveeee to travel... I have heard this so many times and I find that the entire world loves travelling. It makes me wonder what is so special about travelling. Is it seeing new things and places? well ,... And if I really cherish travel that much. If you ask me, I do not remember the last trip I really enjoyed.

I think I am so used to some routine comforts that any thing that takes me away is painful. And travel definitely involves a lot of uncertainties. The few trips I enjoyed were the ones where I had little to do..... But there are some learning from my travel experiences

1. Travel with like minded people, preferably... There are times when you are stuck in a group whose tastes and interests are entirely different. When you wish to visit a monument, they wish to sit in the room or sleep..that becomes a very tricky situation. I had gone to a trip to central india with a group of office colleagues who were so tired during the journey that they refused to move out of the room. It was a strict dampener. Moreover, they had no interest in sight seeing. I had to force them to stop so that at least I could do some sight seeing to get back some value for my money...

2. A similar thing happened when we went to corbett with a group of colleagues long back. The group had many smaller groups on a cold war... While coming back, we decided to halt at Nainital. There was this girl who refused to get down of the car because of her ego.It was such a stressful experience for the rest of the group.

3. Summer travel: Kids get vactions during summers, however, travel during summers could become a pain. The recent trip to Agra was a live example where I had to walk barefoot on burning marble inside the Taj at 43 degrees in the afternoon. We were scalded and drenched..Summer heat can get really oppressive and I would any day prefer to sit in the AC room with a book, laptop or TV.

4. Food: Sometimes there are uncertainties about the kind of food you may get during travel. There are times when we ended up hungry due to hygiene issues in places on road travel. The need to eat out is so high in some places that I find people lined up outside substandard eateries to get a bite. I mean why would I queue up to get a bite in the heat.. not me....High prices and poor quality

5. In some places, you are also duped by localites as they easily guess that you are a tourist and take advantage of the ignorance. In one of the religious palces, we were harassed and surrounded by people selling stuff at exorbitant prices. Due to our ignorance, we bought them and later got to know that they were not worth the money. Also, Autowallahs take you for a ride, i mean literally .... in new places. They take you round and round and end up making a lot of money. This is not just about money but about the mental harassment

6.In one of the trips to haridwar-rishikesh, we did not get a place to stay and had to go round and round to shady guest houses...

7. Hygience and loos: Indian public toilets are rarely clean and it becomes a nightmare to use them. Bathrooms at home are your own however basic they are.. but outside, even some really good places have not so maintained ones and the worst part is to share..

Review: Bikanerwala, Punjabi Bagh

I relish the food at Bikanerwala. In fact, having tried so many vegetarian restaurants around the city, I feel the food here is most pleasing to the senses.

I am an ardent fan of the lovely chhola bhaturas here. All preparations in ghee, the bhaturas are made with soft pure maida and are extremely delicious and yummy. The preparation of chhola is also super. I love the vegetarian thali where the preparations are rich, creamy and soft. The other delicacies are the malai laddoos, the rasmalai, dhoklas, pav bhaji... A definite paradise for the vegetarian lot

the slow drive to office

Every morning I get up at 6:00 and board my cab to office at 7:15 am. And then there is this long boring drive to office for an hour. I try to sleep but can't and its so boring..... I try to talk but can't as my senses are asleep and in sub conscious. . . The long ring road lined by green trees give me a feeling of drowsiness.... I close my eyes and try to listen to some songs over radio and they make me feel so low...

I have a slight pain in the legs getting up early and it continues throughout the drive... the drive never seems to end.. life is a long drive and a sleepy one too....

Stars and stars and star wars

Yesterday I went to the planetarium and some of my old school time memories were revived... some facts that I got to know

1. Pluto is no longer considered the 9th planet of the solar system. Due to some condition which it does not satisfy, it is considered a dwarf planet

2. I always thought that mercury was the hottest planet due to its proximity to the sun. However, I got to know that Venus is hotter than mercury due to the envelope of clouds that lead to greenhouse effect.

3. Sirius or dog star is the brighest of all

4. There are 88 constellations in the night sky

5. Jupiter has around 60 moons

......

Tea threshold

Tea is refreshing . Tea is amazing. People who are addicted to tea know what a welcome drink it is. I not only take tea during winters but also on sultry hot days when temperatures reach 45 degrees celcius. Non tea drinkers will never understand what tea means and why people take tea in the middle of a hot summer afternoon. It is like lighting a cigarette on a hot summer day. . . for a smoker.

The conventional way to drink tea was with milk and sugar. I had this almost all my life sometimes spicing it with cardamom, cinnamon or ginger. Recently, I have developed a taste and passion for tea without milk and sugar, be it lemon tea or herbal green tea. I use it after a very heavy lunch or when I feel low or overworked. And it was more effective than the one with milk.

Tea is definitely better than coffee as far as its side effects are concerned. Then why do we always talk about meeting over coffee and not tea :)? I guess its a common man's beverage in India and therefore, we need to have more meetings over tea ;).

some weight reduction tips

1. Reduce your sugar intake in tea, coffee and soft drinks. Sometimes we tend to take too much to sugar just by taking in too many cups of tea. 

2. Reduce intake of bread, roti and rice. Replace it by taking more quantities of vegetable and dal. 

3. Avoid late night eating or dinners. Try to finish dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed.

4. Take a short walk before you sleep.

5. Eat slowly and try to stop for 5 minutes before your second helping. The brain takes time to understand that the stomach is full. This leads to overeating.

Ice cream delights

Are you an ice cream freak like me??? I become a compulsive ice cream addict, specially during summer months. This leads to weight watching go for a toss. And believe me, I have been eating dollops of the delicious looking sinful thing almost daily for the past month.. Do not know why cannot get over the craving for more. Here are some thoughts on this

1. Gianis: I never discovered the local milky brand before I relocated to west delhi. Giani jees ice creams are a must have for people looking for creamier and softer flavours in ice creams. His  tutty fruitty is the best I ever had. So is the inviting green pistachio, pink soft strwaberry in its crunchy cone and walnut. A visit to one of the parlours in west delhi is a must. 

2. Mother dairy: It is definitely the cheapest and the tastiest option for ice cream. The new shahi kesar sundae flavour is delightful. So is the butter scotch cup. If you like something crunchy, go for the almond crunchy cone with hard chocolate crunchy layer right at the bottom waiting for your munch:).

3. India gate: India gate has a large hoard of Venus ice creams. However, I would prefer to go for the traditional barf ki chuski( sweet color in crushed ice) in kaala khatta or roohafza. It reminds me of my school days.

Will come back soon with more ... till then ... enjoy ur dollops.

Restaurant review: Pind Balluchi

Location : Cybercity, Gurgaon

Price: 400 per person

Taste: 4.5/5

Pind Balluchi has been set up as a Punjabi village with bangles, trees and metal vessels. The waiters are dressed up in the traditional Punjabi outfits and furnishing match the mood. They serve aam panna, lassi, jal zeera as coolers with mouth watering dahi ke kebabs and mushrooms. The dahi ke kebabs are worth mentioning due to the unique taste. We gulped down platefull of kebabs with lassi. The main course includes dal makhani, paneer, breads, matka biryani and raita. The desert had stick kulfi. Overall, this is good value for money and is recommended for a medium budget dinner.

Restaurant : Nooba

China club member

Price: moderate

Rating 3.5/5

Haldirams : Select city walk saket

Last weekend we went to Haldirams at Select citywalk. I visited this place after a longg time and was very sceptical about what to eat.
I went with the traditional north Indian delicacy - chhole bhature. And believe me it was worth a second helping. The bhaturas were well cooked, and chhole had just the right spices. I gobbled down the food and went for a second helping..It is certainly worth the money you spent

Rating : 4/5
Price: Rs 60 per plate

Restaurant Review

Rajdhani - the Great India Place, Noida
Price : Rs 253/- including taxes per person

I had heard a lot about the Rajdhani resturant chain where they serve you thali at 110/ or 150 / debated ??? And the food they provide is unlimited .. Well this weekend I decided to try this. Famished and sunburnt we reached the place. As soon as we reached the place, I saw an eye catching thali decorated in the display. And believe me, it was so tempting that we went in.
They served us huge metal thalis with 10- katoris. The serving started with some cool chhhachh. Chhachh in summer heat is a delight. We gulped it down in one go. Then they served us small samosas and dhoklas. They tasted good. This was followed by aloo bhaji, paneer sabzi, daal, kadhee, kofta . They forgot to serve us roti or rice..haha. then came khichdi with lots of ghee and roti, puris,...Overall the food served was very basic and did not taste any thing great.. However they made sure that your plates were full time and again checking if you have been served. By the second helping we were full and nothing more could go inside our stomachs. So we were then served some halwa, aamras and jalebi. The sweets lacked flavour and richness. Overall, the quantity is good but they need to go miles in terms of quality of the dishes.

Rating : 2/5

Business degrees in India

What are the ways of doing MBA in India:

1. Prepare for the Common Admission test and clear it to get into got reputed MBA institutes

2. Complete an MBA from a private college or university by clearing its exam

3. If you are working and want to earn while you learn, you can go for executive MBAs or distance learning programs offered by a lot of reputed institutes.

Quotable quotes

Here are some great quotations for you:
1. A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.
2. Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.
3. Most of the relationships fail because of love, not the absence of love but because one loves too much and the other loves too many!!
4. In fact I am quite snappy and irritable, and I don't know if I'd like to make myself worse in that respect.
5. Committee--a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.
6. The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.
7. I think, therefore I'm single.
8. Friday is really FRYday
9. Show me a good loser and I will show you an idiot

Tell me which one do you like the most. Write a comment.

simple Indian salad recipe

Last night I was feeling very full with the evening snacks in office. So I decided to skip dinner and go for a simple Indian salad. I like to call it Dhaba salad because of the reason that north indian dhabas serve this salad before food.

     The main ingredients are:

       cucumber -1

       tomato-2

       Onion -1

       lemon-1

       cabbage-

       carrot-1/2

       radish-1/2

Peel and slice the cucumber into small slices. Now slice the tomatoes, carrots and radish. The cabbage should either be grated or cut into very tiny pieces. Now slice the onion into round but very thin peices. Arrange all this in a plate and then sprinkle some salt and chat masala. Now squeeze the lemon. . , , ,The yummy salad is ready to be gobbled. It not only fills your stomach but also keeps you fit and healthy

Holiday to Choki Dhani in Jaipur

There a lot of reasons why you should visit this place

1. for the delicious unlimited cuisine.
2. For the fun and frolic
3. Then unique cultural set up

This was my second visit and I was still excited to revisit the place. I do not know how many of you have been there but it definitely is a great place for family.
The place is a 30 min drive from Statue circle in the heart of Jaipur.
Best time to visit: Winters: Nov-Feb due to the oppressive heat
The entry ticket is price reasonably at around Rs 350 per head and that includes entry as well as free dinner per the schedule. You are welcomed in a traditional Rajasthani way with a tilak on your forehead. As you enter, you can hear drumbeats and folklore music all around the place. The place is lit up with small village lanterns and u can see village type khaat to sit everywhere. There was a high machan. Though I climbed the machan, it was damn risky with the wood creakiing with my weight... and my fear of heights... We went for camel, elephant and bullock ride.
Hungry souls can find solace in the mouth watering pakoras and kullar tea which they serve. We then went to the caves where we were surprised by some tribals with long spears. I shrieked seeing one of them come to me with a spear. They were just trying to be playful... Then they dragged me to dance around the fire.. haha I still find it so amusing to imagine my sophisticated self dancing around the fire like a tribal. On the way, I tried my hand at a hookah and came out coughing too loudly.
As we moved on, we spotted a small hut with a fire place. When we went in, we were surprised by a woman cooking bajra rotis and lahsun ki chutney inside. We were welcomed and treated with the rotis accompanied by a lot of butter.
By this time, we were almost full of food but hungry for me.. We went to the dinner area where we sat on floors and were served delicious rajasthani food on pattals. After the initial few starters, I was so full that I pleaded the guy not to serve me more..And imagine, he threatened me to eat more or else he would not let me escape.. so much for the rustic hospitality.
The place is certainly a gourmets paradise. the more capacity to eat.. the better off you are at this place.. A must visit

Make up tips for you

1. Wash your face with a mild face wash before applying makeup

2. If oily skin, use a soft tissue to take any excess oil out

3. Use a powder or compact to smoothen skin,

4. Now start by applying some eye shadow on the lids.

5. Use a thin kajal pencil to darken the  eyes and then apply a liner on the upper lid.

6. Use a dash of mascara on the lashes to make the eyes look impressive.

7. Since the eye make up is already elaborate, keep the lip make up light or nude. You may apply a thin lip balm or lip gloss.

Cars unlimited India

There is a huge passion for cars among all of us... I remember the time when the sweet old Maruti 800 was much sought after.... Maruti 800 was a middle class dream.. A small car for a small family of four. Slowly times changes and the good old amby(ambassador, which was a car for the top bureaucrats) and the small cute fiat were replaced by other cars.

       The Zen model of maruti became a rage and you could see it everywhere. Also Hyundai small cars came into existence and took a good share of the market. However, at that time, long cars were rare of the road and only few could afford. Roads were mostly occupied by two wheelers and hatchbacks. 

       Post liberalisation, there was a huge change in the lifestyle of people. Big MNC lifestyle and bigger packages led to a higher purchasing power and people buying cars for luxury and style rather than need. Maruti launched its esteem model that defined luxury. In the 90's we had mercedes, Opel, ford motors and Honda come up. Toyota and Fiat were some of the others.. 2001 Skoda cars were launched here and then chevrolet also started to appear on roads.  

Some interesting facts:

1. 1905  Mrs SRD Tata was the first woman to drive a car in India

2. 1901 Jamshedji Tata was the first Indian to own a car in India 

3. 1911 : The first taxi in India came into existence

4. Reva is a small electric car and came in 1990s

5. Mercedes Benz SL500 (1 crore) is the most expensive car in India.

6. Maybach 62 (3 crore ) is not yet available in India but is even higher priced

7. Bentley arnage, benz s350, pajero, camry, mondeo, accord and sonata are the other expensive cars

8. Some cars like indica, toyota and qualis have become taxis and commercial vehicles

9. BMW is a manufacturer of sport sedans.

10. SSC Ultimate Aero is the fastest car in the world.

11. Tata nano is world's cheapest car.

 

Honda Cars: City, civic and accord

Hyundai: Santro, Accent

Ford: escort, ikon, endeavour, fusion and fiesta

mitsubishi: Lance, cedia, montero, outlander, pajero

Toyota: qualis, innova, prado

Maruti: alto, vitara, sx4, swift 

will come soon with more interesting facts... Bye

           

High and Low calorie food

High Calorie Low calorie

1. Ice cream and cakes
2. Paranthas
3. Samosa
4. Fried potatoes
5. Fried rice
6. Mangoes
7. Bananas
8. Cream cookies
9. Muffins

Low calorie
1. Plain dry rotis
2. Raw salad
3. thin lentil soup without butter
4. Idlis
5. Poha
6. oranges
7. cucumber tomato
8. corn flakes
9. skimmed milk

Careers and ambitions

Sometimes I wonder what career I want to pursue in my life. I do not have an answer to that. Because observing my inclinations over a long period of time, I saw that my interests change from time to time. It is surprising for me to see someone pursue the same career all their lives. A doctor continues to do the same things... or a finance person continues to be in the role all their lives. It is good in a way that they grow and become specialists in the area. But I am different in this respect. I cannot think of doing the same thing all the time, however interesting it may be.
During my school days, I aspired to become a doctor. I took up biology with maths and surprisingly did very well in the subject. I was a class topper in biological sciences and it make my determination to become a doctor, stronger. This continued till the time, I had to do my first rat dissection. The activity left me disillusioned.. yes I mean it. I just could not come to terms with the idea of doing this daily as a part of my job. So i went for a Physics graduation and post graduation from Delhi university. After post graduation, all I wanted to do was to get a job and begin earning. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to earn money. So I started with a small job and soon moved on to a BPO. I was attracted to the glamorous life of a BPO and got bored with the clerical type of job I was doing. So I went to join in. soon I was disillusioned with the place and the night shifts. Then I tried for the Indian Air force exam. i got through the first phase but gave up when they asked me to do physical activities like jumping ropes and monkey crawling..Haha I am not made to do hard work..Too used to comforts and laziness. I decided to quit and pursue a serious career. Guess what.. I began preparing for my civil services exam... I studied day and night at home to prepare for civil services. Finally I made it to the mains . This was more rigorous hard work in less time. Side by side, I also filled up forms for state civil services as UPSC was a tough nut to crack. Once the exams were over, I had nothing to do so that bug of earning money got into me again and I once again joined a BPO. This time it was a U"K based shift so easier for me and the culture and facilities were really good. Unfortunately I made it to the State services but could not make it to UPSC and had no energies to start over again, so I continued my job in the BPO. I went on from a slow starter to become a floor superstar rank 1. Soon the job started getting into my nerves, wanted a change badly.. Then I got this opportunity to work in Google and I was thrilled to join one of the biggest names in the globe. Now as time moves on.. I will see where my mind take me .... to the zone unknown

Sundae

सामग्री: ५०० लीटर स्त्रव्बेर्री icecream
५०० लीटर वनिल्ला आइसक्रीम
चॉकलेट सॉस
कटे हुए फल जैसे केला,आम, लित्ची, अंगूर
घर पे पड़े हुए चॉकलेट या बिस्कुइत या केक
मांगो शके
मेवा

विधि: एक सुन्दर सा शीशे का ग्लास लेकर उसमे थोडा सा मांगो शेक दाल दें. फिर उसमे एक स्कूप वनिल्ला और स्त्रव्बेर्री आइस क्रीम दाल दें.अब उसमे बिस्कुइत चॉकलेट और केक का चूरा कर के डालें. फिर थोड़े मांगो शके और दाल कर उसमे थोडी सी चॉकलेट सॉस डालें. ऊपर से छोटा चम्मच वनिल्ला डालकर उसमे फ्रुइट्स और मेवा छिड़क दें. युम्मी सुन्दे तैयार. ऐसे और ग्लास्सेस तैयार कर मेहमानों को खिलायें.

सर्विंग: ४-५

aam ki launjee

सामग्री: कच्चा आम- ५०० ग्राम
चीनी : १० छोटे चम्मच
नमक :
सौंफ सीड्स
मेथी सीड्स
जीरा सीड्स
मिर्च:
तेल : ३ chammach

विधि: कच्छा आम को छोटे छोटे टुकडों मई काट लें. अब एक कुकर में तेल डालकर जीरा, मेथी, सौंफ डालकर गर्म करें. फिर उसमे आम के कटे हुए टुकड़े डालें और नमक, मिर्च दाल दें. अब आम कियो ढककर पकने के लिए छोड़ दें. जब आम पूरा पाक जाए तो उसमे चीनी दल दें. अब उसे अच्छे से पका कर बन्ने दें. स्वादिष्ट लौंजी तैयार है और यह परांठे पूरी, चावल या सादा खाया जा सकता है

सर्विंग: ४

Friends

Sometimes I wonder why we make friends and why is there are a need to make friends. No doubt, humans are social beings. Beyond food, work and basic necessities, there is a need to connect to society in some way or another. How does a child start making friends? I remember when I was 5-6 years old, I had a lot of friends in my neighborhood. These were kids I used to play with in the evening. And yes, I always used to look forward to these evenings. We all used to get dressed up and come down to the park below our house to play. Sometimes we used claps or whistles as signals to invite other kids to come down. We then used to decide on the game we wanted to play. It was a variety of games ranging from pitthhooo, where 7 marbles were kept one on top of the other and hit with a ball,to chhupan chhupai, where we used to hide in the stairways and behind trees. Kho kho, cricket, cards, ludo , snakes and ladders, badminton, stapooo were some other games. I also had friends in my class, and we always used to fight to sit together in class. The teachers made many unsuccessful attempts to separate friends.. . however, we managed to get together during lunch to share our tiffins. I remember I had a south indian friend in school , Pavi, who used to get delicious idlis and dosas in her lunch box and all of us waited for her to open her box...
As we changed class and moved, I also lost some of my old friends. In class tenth, I chose Science, while some of my friends went for Commerce or Arts. Ours ways got separated. I got busy with my practicals and preparation to excel in class. Some of my neighborhood friends also got busy with studies and competitive exams. We shifted house and I lost most of my neighborhood friends as distances increased and lives got busier. School friends moved out of cities, contacts changed, some moved out of the country.
I moved to college which seemed like a passing phase. Most people find their college days to be the most important and enjoyable days of their life. Somehow, I do not have any fond memories, or to put it better, any memories of my graduation days. They were long, boring and exhaustive. In fact, I found my post graduation days, among the really golden years of my student life. North campus in Delhi University has a different feel altogether. The long hours of sitting under the tree doing nothing were fun.. spending all the time "not attending classes" was fun..coming to the campus dot on time but deciding at the nth hour that this class is not worth attending was fun..Made really good friends....However, life moves on...
I got a job soon and life changed tremendously. It wasn't the same anymore. Life now revolved around money and targets. It was tied up ... Soon I was out of touch with most friends. Made some new ones in my office.,...
Time moved on, I sometimes feel life is like a train... u keep on passing the landscape .. where you see and experience something for sometime and then it passes by and a new landscape comes. There are some stations where the train halts for sometime, but then moves on towards its destination. There are some people who manage to remain in touch with friends forever. I do not know but somehow, I am different in this respect... I get over this easily with time. People who were important in life at some point have moved on and that place has been taken by others. Somehow, with time, I stop missing any of the old folks. It feels great to connect with them sometimes over social networking sites, however, priorities change with time.....

Masala chai

समाग्री: 2 कप पानी
२ कप उबला हुआ दूध
४ चम्मच चीनी
१ चम्मच चाय
२ एलैची
दालचीनी
अदरक
तुलसी के पत्ते


विधि: एक बर्तन मई चाय का पानी रखकर उसमे तुलसी के पत्ते और अदरक दाल कर उबलने रख दें. फिर उसमे दूध डालें. जब थोडा और उबल जाए तो उसमे दाल्चीने और एलैची को पीस कर डालें. फिर चीनी और पट्टी डालें और मंदी आंच मई उबालें जब तक चाय का रंग गाढा लाल न हो जाएँ. छानकर पीयें. इससे खांसी जुकाम ठीक हो जाता है

सर्विंग : ४

srikhand

सामग्री: दही : ५०० गम
केसर:
पिस्ता
चीनी : स्वदुन्सार

विधि: दही को एक पतले कपडे मैं बांधकर लटका दें ताकि उसका सारा पानी निकल जाए.( पूरी रात). सुबह उसमे पीसी हुई चीनी और केसर पिस्ता दाल कर मिलाएं और ठंडा करने रखें.

सर्विंग -४

plain arhar daal

सामग्री: अरहर दाल: १ छोटी कटोरी
नमक, लाल मिर्च और हल्दी : स्वादानुसार
कर्री पत्ता
हींग
जीरा
राइ
देसी घी

बनाने की विधि: अरहर दाल को पानी मई आधा घंटा भिगो कर रख दें. उसके बाद प्रेशर कुकर मई पकाएं. ध्यान रहे की दाल अच्छी तरह से घुट जाए. अब उसमे नमक, थोडी सी लाल मिर्च और हल्दी डालें. अब एक तड़का दान में, २ -३ चम्मच देसी घी दालेंग और गर्म करें. उसमे राइ, हिंग, जीरा और कर्री पत्ता डालकर तड़का बनाएं. फिर दाल में तड़का लगाकर उसे थोडी देर उबलने छोड़ दें. इसको उबले हुए चावल के साथ खाएं.

सर्विंग : ४ व्यक्ति

Weekend trip to Chandigarh

I like to spend my weekends lazing around and doing pending things. Summer weekends are usually lazier .... However, this weekend, my slumber was broken by my mum's voice. She was asking me to get up because we had to leave for Chandigarh. I was feeling completely sick at the thought of getting up early morning. Saturdays are supposed to be meant to sleep and relax.. isn't it? Anyways we all got ready and left for Chandigarh at around 10:00 am. The sun was performing at its best and the heat was killing. We chatted and the music was loud... As always , I prefer listening to FM stations more than anything else...
Our first stopover was at Murthal which is known for its delicious paranthas. We went inside the restaurant and ordered lassi and paranthas. I ordered a paneer one. Soon our food arrived and I felt guilty looking at the mountain of white melting butter on the paranthas. The food was too salty for my taste. I feel that sometimes these very popular joints do not live up to the expectations ... We drove on ... saw a lot of fields on fire on the highway..I could see smoke rising and fields burnt to ashes. We reached our destination in the noon. The day was busy .....
The next morning we left for Delhi.... Stopped at a popular place called Haveli for some beverages... It was a theme mall cum stopover. There were those old time cots all over and punjabi music playing .... Next stopover was Murthal again but this time with some better quality paranthas :). Finally reached home sunday evening.. tired and sunburnt.

kesari kheer

केसरी kheer

सामग्री: दूध - १ लीटर
chaawal - २५० ग्राम
चीनी : स्वादानुसार
काजू/बादाम/ किशमिश/ पिस्ता:
केसर
देसी घी : २ चम्मच

बनाने की विधि : चावल को एक घंटा पानी में भीगने के लिए रख दें. दूसरी तरफ दूध को धीमी आंच मई रख कर उबल कर गाढा होने दें. एक कधी मई भीगे हुए चावल निकल कर दाल दें. उसमे २ चम्मच देसी घी डालकर अच्छे से भुने. इससे खीर मई एक अलग स्वाद आएगा. अब भुने हुए चावल गाढे दूध में डालकर धीमी आंच में पकाएं. जब चावल पाक जाए तो उसमे चीनी डालकर और गाढा करें. दूध मई भीगी हुई केसर के दाने डालें जिससे खीर में पीला रंग आ जायेगा. सब कुछ पकाकर गाढा कर लें. अब देसी घी मई भुने हुए काजू किशमिश पिस्ता और बादाम डालें. खीर को ३-४ घंटे फ्रीज में ठंडी करें.

सर्विंग : ३-४ व्यक्ति

Sangree kee sabzi

सामग्री: सांगरी - २५० ग
तेल : २ ब्क़दे चम्मच
नमक : स्वादानुसार
लाल मिर्च
हिंग
जीरा
विधि : सांगरी को गरम पानी मई उबाल लें. फिर एक कधी मई तेल डालकर हिंग और जीरा दाल कर तड़का बनाएं. उसमे उबली हुई सांगरी दाल दें. फिर नमक और मिर्च छिड़क कर ५-६ मिनट पकाएं. गर्म बाजरे की रोटी के साथ खायेईन.

सर्विंग: ३-४

नमकीन चिवडा

सामग्री: तेल :२०० ग
चिवडा : २५० ग
मूंगफली दाना : १०० ग
भुना हुआ चना : १०० ग
नमक : स्वादानुसार
हल्दी
कड़ी पत्ता
राइ/ सरसों के दाने
कोकोउनित गिरी :

विधि: तेल को कधी मई गर्म कर ले. फिट उसमे चिवडा तलें. ध्यान रहे की चिवडे को जल्दी जल्दी निकल लें ताकि वोह काला न हो जायें. फिर मूंगफली दाने तो तेल में ताल कर कड़क कर लें. अब कधी मई से फालतू तेल निकालकर एक चम्मच तेल ही रहने दे और उसमे राइ, कड़ी पत्ता, कोकोनुत गिरी बारीक, दालेंग और गर्म होते ही चिवडा और मूंगफली दाल दें. उसके ऊपर चने डालें और फिट नमक और हल्दी स्वादानुसार दालेंग. सब कुछ अच्छे से मिला लिंग और एक ब्रोव्न पेपर मई रखकर छोड़ दें जिससे की फालतू तेल निकल जायेंग. चाय या काफ़ी के साथ मेहमानों को खिलाएं
सर्विंग : ५-६

recipe

Light peas paneer

A lighter version of peas paneer

Light less oil and no onion recipe for yummy peas paneer

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सामग्री : मटर - ५००ग
पनीर - २०० गम'
टमाटर - ३
हरी मिर्च - २
तेल - १ बड़ा चम्मच
मसाले - स्वादुन्सार
हिंग
जीरा


विधि : प्रेशर कुकर मई तेल डालकर गर्म कर लें. फिर उसमे कटी हुई हरी मिर्च, हिंग, जीरा और टमाटर दाल कर पुरी बनाएं. प्यूरी बन्ने पर उसमे मटर दाल दें. फिर मसाले दाल प्रेशर कुकर मई २ सीटी तक पकाएं. खोलकर कच्छ्हे ही पनीर के टुकड़े डालें. और उसे गर्म पूरी के साथ परोसें.

सर्विंग: ३-४

Protein chaat

A high protein healthy chaat

Oil free, high protein chaat

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प्रोटीन चाट

सामग्री: राजमा उबला हुआ- आधा कटोरी
काला चना उबला हुआ - आधा कटोरी
काबुली चना उबला हुआ - आधा कटोरी
लोबिया उबला हुआ आधा कटोरी
मूंग दल अंकुरित आधा कटोरी
कटा हुआ प्याज टमाटर हरी मिर्च धनिया अदरक
नमक स्वदुसार
नीम्बू एक
विधि : सारी डालें मिलकर नमक दाल दें. फिर कटी हुई सब्जियां डालकर ऊपर से नीम्बू छिड़क दें.

IPL

The IPL fever is on!!! This time in South Africa.. The Delhi Daredevils and KX1P match made me feel so good, with Delhi Daredevils washing out the other team . Commentaries from Mandira and eeks her new hairstyle.. , players, Shahrukh and Preity, the overcast South African sky makes it all perfect... This reminded me of the last year IPL washout we had here in Delhi. We got 2 free tickets from the office ... each ticket worth 1500 bucks.. gosh and we were so excited. There was a lot of hoo haa all over the place ... we discussed how exciting it will be all the time. The D-day came and we all got on to a bus. Singing and playing we reached the destination. The entries had not started so we waited for some time. Finally we got in ... The place where we were supposed to sit was supposed to be a high paid section ... However, the place was a big disappointment. It was all muddy under construction with no covers. I envied the low price seats which had covered seating areas. Anyways. We were hungry so tried to get some tea ... no tea. Finally we took our seats and soon the cloud turned black with clouds. And it started to pour... All of us ran for cover but got no place except a dirty toilet. But our spirits did not dampen... WE waited for the rain to stop and came back to the wet muddy seats... Soon the sky burst again and we ran for cover. It started raining so heavily that the match was abandoned.
No we decided to go back to our cab to go home. I was completely drenched and cold..the distance from the stadium to the cab was large and it was a long dark and wet walk ... there was water all over and it was getting cold. There was a lot of jam on the road.I gave a huge sigh of relief when I reached home. Watching it on TV from the comforts of home is so much easier.

matar kachodi

MATAR KACHORI

Kachori prepared in a different way

A nice tasty snack

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मटर कचोरी

सामग्री : मटर :उबले हुए: १ कटोरी
नमक, मसाले: स्वादानुसार
तेल: ४ बड़े चम्मच
मैदा: २५० ग

विधि : उबले हुए मटर को मिक्सेर मई पीस लें. फिर उसमे नमक , हल्दी, लाल मिर्च , गर्म मसाला डालें . मैदा को अलग से गूंथे और उसकी छोटी छोटी गोली बनाएं. फिर उसको बेलकर मटर का मसाला भरें. तेल को कधी मई गर्म कर उसमे कचोरी डालें और भूरी होने तक पकाएं. हरी पुदीना चटनी के साथ परोसें.

सर्विंग : ५ व्यक्ती

break dhokle

ब्रेड के ढोकले:

सामग्री: ६-७ ब्रेड slice
दही - १ कप
हद्ली, नमक - स्वादानुसार
राइ - १ चम्मच
कधी पत्ता -
तेल - १ बड़ा चम्मच

विधि : ब्रेड को त्रिकोन टुकडों में काट लें. किनारे हटा दें. अबत दो टुकडों को जोड़ने के लिए बीच मई दही फैला कर दो टुकडों को चिपका लें. जब सारी ब्रेड को ऐसे ही तैयार कर लिए हो, तो एक कढाई में तेल गर्म करें. फिर उसमे राइ और कड़ी पत्ता गर्म करें. सारी ब्रेड को तेल मई डालकर नमक एंड हल्दी दाल कर अच्छे से मिक्स करें. फिर गर्म गर्म चुत्नी के साथ परोसें.

सर्विंग: ३-४ व्यक्ति

Rajasthani gutta curry

गुत्ता कड़ी: राजस्थानी भोजन मई खाया जाने वाला एक स्वादिष्ट व्यंजन,

सामग्री: बेसन - २५० गम
दही- २ कप
नमक - स्वादानुसार
लाल मिर्च- स्वादानुसार
हल्दी -स्वादानुसार
तेल - १ बड़ा चम्मच
जीरा - १ चम्मच
हिंग - स्वादानुसार


बनाने की विधि : बेसन को गूंथकर छोटी छोटी क्य्लिन्द्रिकल लोई बनाएं. फिर इनको १० मं तक पानी में उबालें. अब कधी मई तेल गर्म करके हिंग, जीरा का तड़का बनाये. उबले हुए गत्ते को कधी मई डालकर पकाएं और ऊपर से १ कप दही डालें. नमक और मिर्च स्वादानुसार डालें और थोडी देर उबलने दें. गर्म गर्म बाजरे की रोटी के साथ परोसें.


सर्विंग: ३-4 व्यक्ति

besan ka cheela

चीला विथ हरी चुतनी

बेसन का चीला : सुबह या शाम के नाश्ते मई परोसने के लिए एक स्वदिस्थ और आसानी से बनाया क्या व्यंजन.

सामग्री: पोहा - २ कप besan
हरी मिर्च -२ - बारीक कटी हुई
अदरक - बारीक कटा स्वादानुसार
हरी धनिया - कटी हुई
प्याज - २ बारीक कटा हुआ
तेल : आधा katori
नमक- स्वादानुसार



बनाने की विधि : एक बर्तन मई बेसन का पानी के साथ घोल बनायें, घोल ऐसा बनाये की न ज्यादा गीला हो और न ज्यादा मोटा. अब इस घोल मई कटी हुई प्याज, हरी मिर्च, अदरक, नमक और धनिया दाल दें. अब सब कुछ अच्छी से मिलकर घोल तैयार कर ले. एक तवे को गर्म कर तेल डालें. फिर उसमे घोल दारकर एक गोलाकार चीला बनायें. अच्छे से संकर उससे हरी धनिया की चुत्नी
के साथ परोसें.


सर्विंग: १-२ व्यक्ति

yummy healthy recipe for you

पौष्टिक पोहा: सुबह या शाम के नाश्ते मई परोसने के लिए एक स्वदिस्थ और सेहतमंद आप्शन.

सामग्री: पोहा - ५०० गम
मटर - छिली हुई
गाजर - बारीक कटा हुआ
आलू - १ उबला हुआ
मूंगफली - भुनी हुई
हरी मिर्च -२
अदरक - बारीक कटा स्वादानुसार
नीम्बू -१
हरी धनिया - कटी हुई
प्याज - २ बारीक कटा हुआ
तेल : १ बड़ा चम्मच
राइ : १ चम्मच
कड़ी पत्ता - स्वादानुसार
नमक- स्वादानुसार
हल्दी - स्वादानुसार


बनाने की विधि : एक पोरोउस बर्तन मे पोहा भिगोकर पानी निकलकर रख दे (१० मं के लिए). एक कढाई मे तेल डालकर गर्म करे. तेल गर्म होने पर कड़ी पत्ता, राइ, हरी मिर्च, अदरक और प्याज़ दाल कर थोड़े देर पकाएं. प्याज़ के लाल होने पर मटर, गाजर और आलू डालकर पकाएं. पाक जाने पर भीगा हुआ पोहा दाल दें और उसमे नमक और हल्दी मिलाएं. सब अछे से मिलाने पे, मूंगफली भी दाल दें. थोडा सा पानी का छींटा मारे और पकने दे. हरा धनिया और नीम्बो निचोड़कर गरमा गरम परोसें.


सर्विंग: ३-४ व्यक्ति

My hobbies and interests

I go speechless when people ask me about my hobbies or interests. I don't know what my hobbies or interests are because they keep on changing. What may be a hobby today may not be there tomorrow. And it also makes me wonder how people stick to a single hobby throughout their life...How long can you do a particular thing? How long can you keep your interest in that activity alive? I am different in this respect and my interests keep on changing from time to time... When I was a kid, I used to love playing badminton and chupan chupai.. i also loved reading fairy tales.... With times those interests died away and were replaced by full time academics with no time for leisure...?I acquire new interests all the time...I have tried my hands at all things, from menial useless tasks to important ones.. I learnt to type on the old typewriter when I was in class 10th. To go there. I used to ride my hexon bicycle to the nearby place and learn it. Learning to ride a bicycle helped me go to learn and type and typing has helped me to blog now :).
Then I tried my hand at HTML and web page making. World was new to the internet that time so I learnt to write emails. :) I feel like a paleolithic fossil now. Thereafter I wanted to learn cray paper flower making and clay modelling. I learnt to stitch and knit and tried my hand at learning the keyboard. I then got into a passion for driving... For that, I bought a car and learnt driving but gave up soon :( . Driving in Delhi is such a pain. Specially getting parking spaces and doing it just right. I moved on to learn Table tennis and can play at a beginner level and then learn pool too. I learnt bowling, go karting and foosball. The most challenging activity to learn was swimming as it involved submerging yourself in water and learning to breathe. Initially, I was even paranoic about taking a dip in the pool. Slowly moved to floating at the pool corners.. It took me more than a month and even more courage to reach the bottom of the pool. In spite of a lot of discouragement, I finally learnt basic freestyle and moved on to breast stroke too. I tried to get into couchsurfing but failed. No I have taken up blogging..Don't know how long it will last..

&What I like and do not like about Delhi&

A true Delhiite ... I am ready to stand for Delhi whenever there is a debate on the city and its culture. Somehow I always tend to take it personally ha ha ( can't help feeling that ). I am ready with swords and sticks to defend it.. however here are some things I like a dislike about the city:

What I Like:

• The city experiences all 4 seasons - summer, winter, spring and autumn.
• The cities delicious food. Seriously,.... I've travelled to so many places but never found food as sumptuous as this. .. I think taste lies in the Delhi water ;) Chat, daal makhani, paneer, mithai.. paranthe... never tasted as good as here
• Delhi metro... it rocks
  
• The kind of job opportunities you have in and around Delhi, NCR
• The swanky shopping malls side by side the street markets like Sarojini Nagar, etc. Shopping cannot get better and cheaper than Delhi. The fashion capital
• The greens of Lutyens Delhi. Amazing roads and greenery near India gate.
• The unlimited options to watch movies anywhere you go. PVR's cineplexes
  
• The eye catching crowd... Call me biased,... but Delhi folks are the best looking people in the country..
• The wide expanse and historical monuments
• The feeling of being alive which only a Delhiite can experience.. The pace and spirit of the city.

What I don't like

• The maddening traffic jams. Like in Delhi is a big traffic jam, you step out of the house and you cannot guess when you will reach your destination
• The hot temper of people on roads... Aggression and road rage over little things. Life is so fast that people, in general, lose patience over trivial issues
• The summer heat is crazy.....
• The creepy feeling that the city gives to women at night
• The lack of inherent discipline ( queues or throwing garbage on the road after eating)

Our obsession with Weight

Yesterday evening, I was walking towards my society when I was stopped by an aunty. She was one of them who sits right at the choupal and stop passers by to ask a question or two. My heart cried aloud... eeeeks.. what kind of questions will be thrown at me. . . I always missed her eye earlier but today was my day. And her smile made me shiver inside...

1. Aunty" so beta, tum to bahut patli ho gayee ho. Kya hua hai tumhe?"

2. Me thinking aloud "well well, i worked hard to get here". speaking aloud, " auntyjee bas yun hee. Thodi si exercise and dieting."
Aunty: " Beta, mujhe bhee bata na. Mai bhee bahut kam khaati hun, phir bhee kitni moti hun. Both my daughters are so fat. And look at the girl who stays below you flat. goddd she is so fat. who is going to marry her. Why don't you give her some advice too.
Ahem ahem... " sure aunty"

3. Aunty turning into agony aunt now "Beta, ab apne liye ek ladka bhee dhoondh le" Ahem ahem..
4. Me laughing aloud,"sure aunty... will do"

I quickly walked away cursing my bad luck to get caught here. We Indians, our obsession with our weight and others marriages. uffff

IIM Calcutta Day 4 and 5

By the third day, I got accustomed to the life at the hostel and stopped cribbing. I kind of started enjoying the new routine, which was a great change from the usual boring work life in Delhi. The classes were great fun. Some of them had a naturally situational humor added to them ;) he he. Nights were full of gossip and masti. Also, I got used to the stray dogs in the campus. No matter what, they followed you everywhere you went. And of course, you had to share your food and even ice cream with them, else they may get upset. The chief of these dogs was one called Tiger who got fatter each day eating the leftovers at the canteen and guarding the ladies wing of the hostel :) Lucky fella haan..And then two of my friends took us all to the rooftop of the hostel where there was water tank. I was so paranoic to climb up. When i finally did, I realized that I just could not come down. I somehow came down and was too happy that I was alive and kicking. Somehow I tired hard but finally had to go back to sleep.
The last day at the campus got me emotional. Our gang went for bowling and sightseeing. We had great fun and kept chatting almost the enitre night...Back home, i could still feel the post holiday syndrome.. The four days flew away like the westerlies with some memories behind....

IIM Calcutta Day 2 and 3

I was up at 5:45 next morning and the sun was up high in the sky. I quickly went and finished my bathing ritual before I end up in a long queue. People like me are extra fussy about all this as we are so used to our solitude and routine, that any deviation from it is seen as a punishment. We then proceeded to take a walk around the beautiful campus and made some new friends. Hungry by now, we were greeted by soft hot puris, aloo bhaji and some fresh tea in the mess. The heat was increasing as the sun was rising up the sky and I could feel the sweat all over the body. We were so delighted to reach the classroom which was air conditioned and it was a great relief to sit there. Some lectures were good while some other soporific, and luckily we had tea breaks in between to break the monotony. The day ended and we all sat on the jetty on the pond with mosquitoes feeding on our sweet blood.
The third day followed the same pattern with the exception that we had a dinner and a party at night. It was a lot of fun and we danced to the tunes of some bollywood numbers. We also made friends with some full time IIM students in the campus. The fun ended till late in the night ...

Trip to IIM Calcutta- Day 1

When I left for the Delhi airport, I was feeling completely low and bored. Just wanted to get over with this campus study trip as I was alone and had too many things in my mind. While checking in, I met two more batch mates and that made me feel a little better. The indigo flight was boring and uneventful. No food or entertainment screens made me feel zoned out. Finally when we reached Kolkata, we could already feel the humidity in the air. The drive from the airport to the campus was long and tiring.......And all of us were starving.
I had already planned to raid the canteen once I reach there. The IIM campus was a quiet peaceful place with lots of man-made water bodies and flora of all types. When both of us reached the hostel, the caretaker gave us the key to our rooms. As soon as I opened the room, I gave a cry of disappointment. Never having stayed outside home, I was a spoilt brat and was used to comforts. The gush of hot air and the not so pleasant room made me very unhappy. However, left with little choice, I dumped my luggage and rushed with my friend to the mess. You cannot imagine how a hungry stomach enjoys anything that is served. I relished the simple meal of lentils, rice, roti and curry so much that I ended up eating more than my fill. Post-dinner, I went back to my room and fell into a deep slumber.