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.