Nostalgia...

Although the last few days have been totally disastrous, mentally and emotionally ,there have been instances which have helped me keep my angry and disturbed head on my shoulders – I dint have an expression to describe my shoulders. These instances have definitely gave me the courage and optimism to just keep going! All of them reminded me that nothing is really that bad as it appears and this too shall pass just like all those times gone by.

Precisely in last 73 days nothing has pleased me as much as news about old friends getting back in touch with me, trying to meet up, and actually trying to transport me in the past, a few times.

*I recognized a long lost friend from school on a TV commercial. She has turned a model.Found out her number and got talking to her about the old school times as if they were just yesterday.. added her as a friend on all possible networking sites… and we are in touch and I go yay!

*Another friend was making a visit back home from US, she had left last year…finally her life was figured out she had got admission in a course she always wanted to study, was going places and was home to be with all of us. Although she dint have much time for every one – without forgetting office friends, casual friends, just friends, relatives, inlaws and her direct family members.. phew! We got to our regular chats, bickering about our husbands and now its time for her to get back..

*To add to all of this, a friend from school who had made it together until college visited Delhi on his way back from his honeymoon with his lawfully-wedded-new wife. When I first greeted him – actually saw him, hugged him just like old days; while his wife stood watching …suddenly my better sense prevailed upon me and I welcomed her inside my humble abode; glee! It was one of the rainiest afternoons Delhi could have had… traffic swelling all over the capital and their flight back home almost on the verge of being missed! We finally made it to airport on time…

Over last few days I have been dreaming of weird things like old people from college, old places including schools and college too. I don’t know, may be its just state of mind which keeps getting back to the past?

One thing is definitely certain that your past makes you believe, makes you optimistic, and melancholic. Old pictures, dresses, books, everything that takes you back to what you were and what you arnt anymore is icky. Past brings in lot of self introspection, seminal changes and clearing clutter from present, sending out lots of subliminal harmonic convergence at hand!

After all of this, when this wasn’t enough I watched on TV that Zee Café shall be telecasting “I dream of Jeanie” next week onwards!!

Past knocking again….

pet bhar ke....

Ever had a weekend full of food? ... I just had one!

Started off on a Friday, with a pure vegetarian lunch at Rajdhani, a sit down traditionally indian eatery. we were 7 from office and each of our plates had over 13 katorees.... chaach and aamras were the highest points of the trip... with some jokes here and there and lots of harmless leg pulling it was fun... we were all sleepy heads after we came back to our seats!!
Saturday was with family, inspite of the heat and dust on roads of Delhi. We decided to take on the challenge and set out towards Central Delhi. Dad was in a nostalgic mood of reviving his gastronomical journey from the 70s’… and bachhey chal diye pichhe pichhe..! Reached Bangali market, and there was food every where. Think about it and it was there, chhole bhature, samosa chaat, gol gappa, mithayi, chevda…. all vegetarian!

Landed in Nathu’s Sweets, we eyed our choices from the li’l flyer-looking-menu and selected our food even before we could get place to sit… it was Saturday and the place was overflowing with people. Thin, short, fat, old, young and kids…all had just thing on their minds – FOOD! As soon we got a decent place to sit, our food arrived too. Piping hot chhole - coupled with rugby-ball-look-alike bhature, deep fried with lots of pyaaz and green chutney. It was spicy and very yummy; the next round consisted of aaloo tikki with chhole, khasta kachori with sabzi and stuffed kulche with paneer bhurji! Khaye jao Khaaye jao …was only on our minds… to top all of it was kulfi faluda and garma garam gulab jamun… after having eaten so much it was time for paan from the apna-banarsi- paan wala on the pavement… some gyaan ranging from where do all ingredients come from…. history of paan, how chewing makes teeth and corners of the wall all over India red, were a few things discussed at length and breadth…Through Dad’s little stories of hows when- he- about 35 years back came here, it was an incredible evening-out!

Saturday Gone… as Sunday drew closer, breakfast was light and fruity; thanks to the single course wholesome meal last night. People were lazy, not out of bed until 11… plans for lunch were by now in full swing since maid-cook had just called up and announced her unavailability to shower her favors upon us! The destination was Barbecue Nation, the table was booked and menu discussed! There was a marine food festival; on offer were squids, octopus, sardines, tuna, prawns, pomfret and lobsters… aur koi bacha ho samudra mein to usey bhi le aao… Thus began one more time of all kebabs and seekhs rolling in…. in our table- I mean literally In the midst of our table was the angeethi …live and red with rotisserie laden with meat and veggies… best was the amritsari fish tikka… aalloo-kachalu in yogurt …
Mutton seekh, and grilled tuna. I wanted to try octopus legs but ‘P’ reminded of my last encounter with Dr.Oct, when I had a strange thing in my ear after I had it in London, Squids were not welcome either… all the fish were ..I loved the pomfret fried and roasted…all this was part of ‘starters’… Main Course – Bring it On!!
Soups… Goshtaba, Methi Murg, Dum Biriyani, raita and 7 different types of breads…Kulcha, tikona parotha, lachha parotha, naan, tandoori roti, meethi naan, tava roti…. egg-tomato salad, pasta, fuseli, etc… and a whole platter of sweet dishes… you name it and it was there; jalebi, rabri, gulab jamun, ras gulla, rum balls, blue berry soufflé, vanilla ice cream with chocolate and straw berry sauces, pineapple cake and lots of fresh fruits…phew… in sab ke saath some good cocktails… by the time we finished our Lunch …it was 4:00PM… we had entered at 1:15PM…(winks) felt someone could just lift us on stretchers and transport us straight into our beds... but ofcourse, ye to ho nahi sakta…
After so much of chow, I believe it was totally inhuman that we even think of dinner…. Some nimbu paani and fruits did just fine…and off we went to bed to a 5 day start which marked one more dread ful work week!

All in all a belly-full weekend!

Born in ‘80s …

Ask anybody who was born in India in the ‘80s, they will tell you about the level of education, political changes, happenings and incidents over the span of his/her lifetime. Not to mention the unforgettable arrival of multichannel television. A journey from the black and white world of Doordarshan to Zee TV, Star TV… and so on. Changes that were brought about in our lifestyles from Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics to Play Stations and online games tournament! We are the generation who has witnessed the important incidents in the history of India. Right from Asiad Games in Delhi, to Golden Temple massacre with Bhindranwale, to the assassination of Indira Gandhi in ‘84 and later to follow the Sikh carnage, nonetheless, so called underdogs Indian Cricket team getting its first World Cup ever!!

Political changes in India were at their peak during these times, before this there were only economic issues and corruption. The only name that resonates with these incidents was Rajiv Goswami! 80s particularly saw the advent of the caste based politics, new parties, newer promises specially for the back ward classes of India… it was coined as ‘Votebank Politics’. And it worked… it still does!! There were too many things creeping in slowly, there were fiery sentiments over religion, the ever-green Hindu-Muslim Divide which was the fantastic approach towards divisive politics, history has proved that it had given great returns to all the past rulers of India and Indian politician took the ancient way - what followed were the Babri Masjid demolition, Hindu- Muslim Riots, and Mumbai Bombings… which was almost the first step towards Terrorism! There was no looking back on terrorism since then…almost after close to 20 years, we are still fighting the never-ending war …

When all of this was going on, there was another side of life picking up… coming to terms with world, India as a state, a concept about 45-46 years old had opted a free market approach and Levi’s, Adidas and several other brands had come in… tailor made simple cotton clothing was turning bright, branded and that was fashion! It was the time when India had just woken up to home bred designers like Ritu Kumar and Rina Dhaka just like Calvin Klein which became household names in America… Silhouettes had become masculine, kameez over salwars and tops had shoulder pads. There was a clear difference between formal and casual dressing. There was a boom in the market, all thanks to multichannel cable TV!! This was the age of matching shoes and accessories. The transmission of Zee TV from 4:00PM to 10:00PM had become 12 hours and later to 24hours! … Old programs like Bharat ek khoj, Potli baba ki were replaced by Himgiri ka Veer- a dubbed Chinese serial, on Sunday mornings. We would all remember the favourites in that epoch – Remington Steele, the Crystal Maze, Banegi Apni Baat and many others. Late night soaps for the elders like Yugantar etc were taken place by Tara ( Navneet Nishan fame). Chitrahaar was replaced by BPL Oye, and movies round the clock completely reinstated Saturday- Sunday Evening films.

Talking of films, how I can forget those late night films on DD generally on Fridays after 10:30PM – they were adult or may be not adult but definitely were based on topics which were less heard of or taboos! Mum always slept us off ... we were not allowed, am so glad I am on my own now, I have watched most of these on DVDs now.. :-P. Where movies made in 80s carried a realistic image and serious filmmakers like Shyam Benegal were working on problems like poverty and female suppression in the society; a larger than life image was manifested in 90s. Big banners of Yash Raj, Barjatya and Johars had slithered in with the screen shots of Switzerland, America or a complete movie based overseas but the plot definitely adhered to ‘Indian Values’ and family traditions. This was the time when emotional crisis was setting in and families had become nuclear and jobs BIG! Better than moderate salaries could afford weekend dinners, imported wines and almost everything on EMIs...

Our cultural set up has changed, and so our educational system, there was a time when each one of us worked day and night to get ranks and percentages in our classes.. But the scene today is much different children work towards getting grades, there are no ranks and till class 5 no child will repeat a class! We rode bicycles to schools… Luna and gearless scooter – Bajaj Sunny were owned by the rich!! We had so many activities, we played several games, went to talent courses, learnt dancing and singing…and children today have play stations... they lack sociable skills, have forgotten to touch feet of elders and become more and more demanding!!
I think, may be, this is what they call ‘generation gap’.

90s being the last decade of millennium bore extremities! It was also a decade when ‘woman empowerment’ was the UN agenda and it looked for independent women with comforts, poise and confidence as key features – live examples were Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai… for India. This was the decade that really saw the transition from archaic to medieval and to modern all in one go! There was a revival of ethnicity and this was when something that was practical, comfortable and aesthetically beautiful was accepted and was here to stay – contemporary!!
Cometh the year 2k and we have entered the age of materialism, live-in relationships which were unheard of in 80s and 90s and practice of only rich and famous have made their place in our society…
We are part of a global economy, never ending rat race in on… with rising bulk of our wallets, we give more and more tax each year to the government who in turn rips us off our democratic rights. Life through 80s and 90s was quite a lesson, am sure we can give our generations a more balanced outlook and see them grow we can go back and compare of how different things were in our times… don’t I sound like an old granny already?? Huh??

Sasural Genda Phool…and missing it!

Come to think of it Genda phool is a flower in which each petal is a flower in itself, and when all get together it makes a bigger flower... shayad isiliye ..sasural ko genda phool kaha gaya hai..

Just back from Sasural…I have realized that I actually loved the trip, wanted to stay more.
Thoroughly pampered, fed well - added a few inches to my girth and about a couple of kgs in about 4 days.
All days were pleasant, sunny and warm – not HOT!... Set amongst greenery, every morning I could hear koel cooing, birds chirping and rooster going like one alarm. Breakfasts were spread of traditional home-made food and lunches were elaborate with bhujiyaas, saags, and daal with raita and salad- unlike our twin dabba affair of roti+sabzi during dreadful work weeks!! Dinners were even better with at least one non vegetarian item….

No controversial things were talked about; whoever questioned our DINKS status was replied aptly!
I was happy...all in all an antithesis of trip I had thought about.

Nonetheless, a priceless gift from elders!

I am forced to think what my mother used to tell me when I got married – “Apnana seekho… sabhi apne lagenge, Dooriyaan badhane ka koi ant nahi”

Thanks for the lesson MA! Love you always….

Genda Phool??... bring it on…want some more..

Sasural Gendha Phool

Saiyaan chhed deve

Nanad chutki leve

Sasural genda phool

Saas gaari deve

Dewarji samjha leve

Sasural genda phool

Chhora babul ka angna

Bhaave dera piya ka.. hooo

Saas gaari deve

Dewarji samjha leve
Sasural genda phool…. Is the only thing I can think of in few days…As I embark upon yet another journey to my sasural for the third time in 5 years of marriage… my head is spinning with all the foreseen episodes which shall occur during the stay of 3 nights 4 days – sounds like a package isn’t it – Beware!!

What is going to be really worth looking forward to are quite a few things which are related to eatonomics … and those range from all the traditional bihari food which requires no amount of my prying into the kitchen with all types of bhujiyas dry and oily, fresh water fish delicacies; fried and with gravy, traditional murga-bhaat combo aka Chicken Curry and boiled Rice – all these at home… Phuchka, chaat, chilli chicken at local street joints and paneer chilli at the famous joint Kaveri on Main Road the only road in the town (winks). My taste buds shall be satiated for a long time gorging on all the food which in turn will only add up to a few kgs and few inches in my girth… but all for genda phool…

Am sure, all the elders – the elders, since there are no kids or young people around shall be happy with the li’l gifts and knick knacks that I have purchased for them keeping in mind each one’s requirement, choice and color preference… On my last two visits, Dadi-in-law appreciated my choices and told over a 100 ppl in a day in her vicinity about how she is akin to what I got for her; she is over 85 yrs of age! Rest of them shall be content am sure… and I truly can’t wait to see their smiling faces and collect compliments on the vast variety of things I have collected to gift them… all for genda phool once more…

Though, I am not in mood to answer and always choose to ignore, there can be an entire gamut of personal questions, thrust on to me, pertaining to our lives of DINKS, There can be gyan on all the hows, whats and whens of child bearing-rearing and future; How late children are a difficult thing to bring up? How one should just have all the children settled before retirement?, as if at 58yrs of age we’ll die on streets homeless and without coffin with orphaned babies living on morsels from garbage…

What may also follow are many unsolicited advices of managing lots of other things… there will be discussions in the length and breadth of it. Usual catching up with other relatives, if they are available, lots of emotions and sentiments flowing… with booze!

Amongst all of this, what I am looking for is a neat break…lots of sleep which I fail to get during moronic, dreadful work-weeks and weekends because of house hold chores! After all, these are petals of Genda Phool….

Aaao Saathi Sapna dekhein….

This is the name of the recent play I went for at Shriram Centre in Delhi. Produced and directed by Swanand Kirkire ( man behind ‘Bawra Mann ….’ fame). It was good fun… but why am I mentioning it here?? … because, this phrase popped up in my mind at midday today when I chanced upon Time magazine’s online edition of Photo feature on Paris – Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Salon-De-Provenance ( Nostradamus’ city) and many others alike.

It was just then I realized, that there are so many people around us who haven’t even heard anything like that in their lives...I have at least studied about them and know what all these things have stood for throughout the history until this day. I want to go to these places…and that’s my “SAPNA” – Hindi for dream.

I am not talking here about Freud’s idea of dreams… dreams here are those which we try to fulfill day in- day out… working hard harder each day… trying to get as close as possible.

How many of us really live our dreams? How many have dreams? What are different kinds of dream people have? How much do we value our dreams? Do we really work towards our dreams?