Food Festival

A couple of weeks back Prerna’s school decided to hold a food festival at their premises, wherein parents have to cook and bring a dish representing their culture and the kids have to dress according to their culture and present the dish…

The main intention of this food festival was for the kids to understand various cultures and food related to that region.

Being a foodie myself, how could I miss the chance to display my culinary skill … So my mind started to work, thinking of all the dishes which represents Udupi-Manglorean culture…?

After coming home I consulted my food experts (My parents), who gave me a big list of recipes, which send my head reeling…Finally I decided to do “Manni” which is sweet prepared using rice, moongdal, coconut and jaggery.

Since this was my 1^st food event, I was pretty excited… But two days before event, my BP dropped and I decided to give the event a miss…  But then, previous day I told myself, “Being a foodie how can you miss a food event?” So next day I got up and made the dish and took it to school hoping the kids will love it (fingers crossed)…

When I reached the school, the place was abuzz with excitement of kids, staff and parents alike. We were given a table which had to be shared by 2 kids. My table mate was Yash and his mom who being a Sindhi had made “Dal pakwan”. 

Me n Peru with our dish

Junior MasterChefs

Welcoming Judges

Finally the judges came. The judges, 3 ladies worked for an NGO “Inner Wheel Club of Borivali” who with help of Rotary Club work for betterment of mentally retarded people, kids in orphanage and slums. The Judges were Ms. Meena Kaku (present secretary), Ms. Harsha Desai and Ms. Smitha Parekh (both ex-presidents).

They went on tasting all 15 dishes prepared by kid’s mothers asking how is it prepared, what are ingredients etc etc… 

They did like my dish and were surprised when I told it’s made from rice and moongdal …

Me presenting my dish

Dishes By Teachers

Finally when the time came to announce the winner, they told they were confused as all dishes looked and tasted good… So finally based on best dressed kid, best presented dish and best tastes dish they gave 1^st prize to Ajit who was dressed as a Tamilian and made Idli and chutney, 2^nd prize went to Harshal whose mother had made patholi and chattambado ( dal wada) and 3^rd to Rushikesh whose mom had made Misal pav…

Confused!!!

Declaring Winners

1st Prize

2nd Prize

3rd Prize

They also gave other kids consolation prizes …

Well I was happy as all kids, their parents, teachers and judges liked my dish… My hardwork paid off (phew)… Only regret was, I was not able to give 100% attention to that event, as my dear daughter who always plays spoilsport in functions kept crying and demanding my attention… but still I was a happy mom… couldn’t stop smiling, recollecting people’s reactions when told about ingredients of my dish…

Waiting for many more events to attend and participate…

Thank you Sol’s ARC.

Tommy- Our Watch dog...

Pets, when they enter your life, they occupy a large space in your heart…

            No matter how strong you are, how stubborn you are, they keep you twisted around their curly tails and around their small paws …

            Since  I was a child I always longed to have a pet, cat or dog… but living in city like Mumbai (Bombay, at that time), and with both parents working, my Mom made strict rule “NO PETS” at home… Also because she hated cats for leaving their fur and dirtying house…

            Then we shifted to our native place where we had an independent house with huge garden area… After 6 months of my marriage when I went to my parents’ house, I was bit surprised to be greeted by a cute black puppy, barking ferociously at me… I was surprised, as I knew my Mom’s aversion towards pets…

            Papa told he is “Tommy” their new companion…

When one of our relative came to know that my parents are on lookout for a dog, (obviously for security and time pass reasons), he handed them a 10 day old black puppy, whose mother was killed in a road accident immediately after giving birth to her litter and his siblings had died due to lack of milk… he was the lone survivor…

My dad bought him home… he was too sick and weak. He was so weak that he could hardly open his eyes or walk or drink milk… they used to feed him milk with spoons… slowly he started to feed on his own…he was taken care by  them as a small kid is taken care…

Their efforts did pay… after nearly 15-20 days he tried to get on to his feet and move around… he used to follow my Dad around the garden… Even he bought a change in my Mom’s dislike for pets…

His bonding with my Dad grew… wherever my dad went; he used to follow him… If he went to terrace Tommy would follow him. When dad used to go to market he would whimper and beg to be taken along… He used to wait near the gate till my dad returned… Tommy could hear my Dad’s Kinetic coming from ½ km distance… he used to inform my mom, about his arrival long before Dad reached the gate 

Whenever I went home along with hubby, he played with him… but whenever it was our time to leave, he would come to us and stretch his legs in front of us and lay down…Not allowing us to pass… 

When I went for my delivery, he would come and sit beside me in garden watching my tummy… he used to walk alongside while I used to do my evening walk… but all hell broke loose for him after arrival of my daughter…

My Dad who got his first grandchild and was busy, so Tommy didn’t take this distraction or division of my dad’s attention or love mutely… He used to keep on whimpering or barking below my window at night, giving all sleepless nights…

Whenever Dad used to carry Prerna in his arms, in garden he used to bark intensely and try to jump on him… poor thing got scolded and beaten for 1^st time by my dad…

But as days passed, he got to know that Prerna is also a family member. His insecurity faded and he became normal… he used to look at her with those deep brown eyes, smell her…

But as days of my departure neared he grew restless… Mom told the day I left for in-laws place he sat near gate whole night hoping for our return…

Dad had bought a big black basket for him. He grew so attached to that basket that no matter what, he never slept outside that basket…

His companion in his initial months was a black cat, whose mother used to come in our backyard for her delivery every 4-5 months… My parents used to have a very tough time, because these kittens used to play and destroy their plants in garden…

Tired of this kitten menace Mom and Dad decided to take and leave the kittens and their mother far far away from their place… But in that litter there was a cute black kitten. They decided to keep it.

When Tommy arrived, the kitten used to play with Tommy it was a scene to watch, pulling each other’s tails, running behind each other…

Slowly as Tommy grew, he started to hate the idea of sharing food with the cat… So when parents started to put his food in front yard and cat’s in backyard, he would finish his food at lightning speed and dash to drive the cat and eat her share... Until, finally the cat left the house for good…

Tommy became an inseparable part of our house… Whenever Dad went out of town, inspite of serving his favorite food, fish, he would go on hunger strike for a day or two… He was a child in a dog’s body…

He barked at every person who passed by our gate, killed any neighbor’s poultry, or wild monkeys or garden snakes…

He was our security, watch dog…

The saddest day came, when my parents decided to sell the house and move back to Mumbai… When a family from our vicinity decided to take him, no matter what they did, he didn’t leave dad… With a heavy heart Dad then picked him with his basket and left him in their car…

Even after a year when Dad visited that person, Tommy first ignored him in anger… but when Dad went near him and patted him he forgot his anger and jumped on Dad……

That’s Tommy, our one and only Favorite pet.

Humanity and Police callousness…

A real life incident which took place yesterday in our vicinity, made me believe that humanity does exist even today.

          My hubby has a routine of going for a walk in evening. Yesterday evening, while on his routine walk, just few meters away from our house, there is a bus stop. Few people had gathered around a young girl. He thought, maybe she has met with an accident or had fainted… she looked like an average, college going girl from a decent family.

          Further enquiry revealed that, the girl was under influence of drugs… a college boy from the group told he saw the girl chatting with some boy, who then walked away & she consumed some powder… she was asking the passers-by to give her 10rs…

          She was also acting weird… so the gathered people started asking her “who are you?”, “what happened?”, “do you need any help??” etc. etc… But she screamed “leave me alone …”

          Then suddenly she got up and she started to walk, briskly…

          So all the people who had gathered there, of them, there was a couple with a kid on their bike, their main concerns were that anyone might take advantage of her in this state. So few exchanged their cell numbers and they formed two groups. One group started to follow that girl while others started to call up police or went to look up for them…

          On calling Kashmira police station, they told it falls under Shrushti Police chowky and vice versa… On calling again and again they were told to look up for police patrol van. Finally when they succeeded on finding one, the police told to hold on the girl till they come…

          Meanwhile the girl here was trying to give the people following her, a slip and finally she did manage…

          Still all the people tried to find her…The entire incident took nearly 30-45 minutes… but still in this busy life people looked into this matter… Why??? Just because for them their main concern was nobody takes her undue advantage of the girl in this inebriated stage…

          But Police “the law” as usual showed their callousness by passing their responsibility here and there. They were least bothered to what was happening or to the fact that a girl’s life (maybe) was at risk…

          But at least this incident reinstated my belief that humanity does exist… In recent years my experiences off life had made me lose my belief in humanity…

          And to all parents, please keep an eye on your kids…Only giving them money or buying in their demands is not enough… All they need is your time, attention and lots of LOVE…

Royal Princess...

         On arrival of Royal Prince George, Indiblogeshwaris decided to blog about “why you'd deserve to be Royal Baby”…

        Well…does being born in a royal family decides whether you are royal or acting like one decides you are royal or being treated like one decides you are royal???

       The last two options apply to my daughter, who behaves and is treated like a Royal princess by her Father and her maternal grandparents…

     Her Father likes to dress his princess only in branded clothes, whereas her grandparents being their only grandchild treat her like a rare Gem…According to them she shouldn't be scolded, she shouldn’t be spoken in higher tone/ voice, before she asks for she should be fed etc etc…

     And well, she behaves like one Princess…She doesn’t want to take in any effort, she likes to eat cheese, muesli, burgers and pasta, rather than our regular Indian healthy food…When we try to feed her something, first she’ll smell it, then will decide to eat or not… After first bite if she doesn’t like the flavor and smell, no matter what we do you just can’t make her eat it…

    We should be there at her beck and call, but when we call her she’ll reply at her own leisure…When we tell her to do something she’ll give us that look “how dare you talk to me like that???”

    Even in therapy sessions when her therapist asks her to pick up something or point out a card, she’ll look at me and my hands, and expect, me to lift her hands and assist her…

   But her smile is the killer one…According to her grandfather “it’s a million dollar smile” J

    Yes that’s my daughter Prerna, “Peru” as she is loving called by all, darling of all, does belong to a Royal family due to her behavior and who was by mistake born in a common man’s house…

The Perfect Road Trip...

         When IndiBlogger and Ambipur told to blog about our road trip it set me thinking… Where it will be and with whom???

        My Husband replied “I know it would be your favorite hero Hrithik Roshan”…

        Yes my dream road trip, with my dream travel companion, my favorite hero Hrithik Roshan, with his to die for looks and smile, I would love to go with him to any corner of the world…

        Next part was where??? Hmmm…May be to some exotic location abroad or (since he is a busy man and now he is recuperating from a surgery) maybe some place in and around Mumbai, which has nice, breathtaking views while travelling by road…

        Like roads to Pune, Lonavala, Khandala are the best roads, to travel in this monsoon season… Curvy hill roads, with green lush trees and grass on both sides of the roads, monsoon water spring flowing in between the hills, springing from the rocks…

       

        And the cherry on top would be slight drizzle outside, with soft romantic music playing on car stereo and sweet, mild flowery Lavender fragrance of Ambipur lingering in the car…

        What more can I dream of??? Which car??? Doesn’t matter as long as there is good company…

        On second thoughts, maybe (Since Suzanne won’t allow Hrithik) my companion on this road trip will be my husband…with all the same planning and background music and fragrance… Since Ambipur’s Lavender Mist is our Favorite…

Lavender is used in medicine and aromatherapy, as it’s widely known to sooth mind and induces relaxation. So it is widely used in room and car fresheners.

On way, we may stop at roadside teastall and enjoy hot piping pakoras with aromatic ginger elachi tea enjoying the drizzle on our face, in this romantic weather…

        Going on a long drive, enjoying scenic beauty, with soft music playing on stereo, rain falling on windshield, soothing fragrance and your favorite companion, away from all tensions and hectic lifestyle, getting some time to spend with each other is always the perfect road trip one can always wish and experience for…

What more you can ask for now-a-days in one’s hectic life…  

P.S. If you don't believe, google for images and information about hilly roads, I am sure you'll love it...

Ode to Papa...

‘I am writing ‘10 life lessons I learnt from my father’ at Parentous.com‘

Papa, first male in our life…Papa, dad, baba, so many versions for one single important person in our life… Every little girl’s dream of having a husband like her dad… Every boy’s dream of stepping in his Dad’s shoes…Every child’s role model is their Father…

I would say 10 is very less… today what I am is only because of my dad… he taught me some of the important lessons in my life…he has been my pillar of support…He always encouraged me never to give up, always fight & keep your chin up…

Though I was never his favorite child, but after my brother’s sudden demise, a bond was formed. He was dependent on me and I on him…

He was very hot tempered when I was a kid, though a small mistake would trigger his anger, but then he would make it up by explaining to me why he lost it & ask for forgiveness… Though now he has mellowed down now with age…

Even though we have and had our fights & arguments, he still is the 1^st person I turn to for help & advice, whenever I have any problem or trouble & vice versa.

When I told that I have started to blog, he gave me lots of ideas on topics to write. When I started to write about food blog he told me to blog about typical manglorean recipe…

Whenever I feel low & defeated due to my daughter, he is always the one to pep me up, saying “you have come so far, now don’t give up…we are here for you.”

Some of the important life lessons I learn from him are:-

ü 1^st main lesson of life is never spoil your present & future brooding over past…

This he used to advice me after I came from my school/college exams… when my exam paper went badly and I used to cry, he used say, “What has been written you can’t change it now, so start preparing for tomorrow’s exam…”

ü Never say “No”…

Never say no to any challenge…atleast give it a try…

üIf you have done anything wrong accept it, there is no shame in doing so…

If you have committed any mistake have the guts to accept it… there is no shame in doing so…

ü If you are right, come what may, never say sorry…

If you have done nothing wrong, then, even if someone blames you don’t accept it…stick to what is right…

ü Keep doing good things; you’ll always get its reward in future…(but don’t do good only for its rewards)

ü God will never do us wrong, if we have never done wrong to anyone…

ü Always plan & save for future…

ü Learn the value of saving money for future…

ü Never hurt others feelings…But, also never let others hurt you & take advantage of you…

ü Take care of others but in that process never neglect yourself…

ü If someone is doing wrong to you, raise your voice against it…

ü Never defend anyone who is wrong in front of that person…

If anyone is complaining about your child or any other family member many people tend to say “our child is innocent” without verifying the facts, which is wrong & it gives that child more encouragement… so always tell to the person making complains, I will have a look into facts & punish him/her…

ü When you visit anyone, adjust to their schedule & never expect them to adjust to ours.

Many times it happens that whenever we visit anyone’s place, we tend to expect from them to adjust to our schedule & timings…but that’s not correct…Infact we, the visitors should adjust to host’s schedule & timing as its their place we are to…for example, water takes the shape of the vessel it is put into… similarly we should adjust to our host’s surroundings & not the other way round because, the host always goes out of way & try to make the visitors comfortable…Lets not make our visit miserable to them…

ü Always put 100% effort to whatever work you do.

Be it work, cooking , learning whatever put your 100% effort…

ü Aim for top, but don’t get upset on not reaching top…try & try till you succeed…

ü In any relationship, there should always be a give and take relation…

One of the most important lesson he taught me is that in any relation, be it husband-wife, friends or siblings or parent-child, there should always be a two way traffic…if you expect respect from others learn to treat others with respect…

These are some of life learning lessons he taught me…whenever I felt low he always encouraged me to never give up…

He is really “my Daddy strongest”….

Happy Father’s day Papa … love you…

Connected Hum Tum Experience...

On Wednesday evening, I attended my 2^nd Indiblogger meet at The Leela, sponsored by Zee TV.

The meet was specifically organized by Zee TV to promote their new show, Connected Hum Tum premiering on 3^rd June. This show is about 6 women from different walks of life, recording their lives, themselves on a camera & showcasing it on television…

Braving the evening traffic my hubby dropped me off at the venue of the meet on time…After everyone arrived & settled down, the meet started 1 hour late…

After the usual, No. of meets attended, Youngest & oldest blogger & longest distance traveler for the meet getting gifts & some games, came wherein randomly bloggers name were displayed on the screen where they have to introduce themselves & their blogs, my name did sprung up J…

After   intro, followed a game wherein the winner is one who clicks all 6 participants sitting amongst us…Then started the introduction of the program by the director Paromita Vohra, followed by the 6 women coming on stage & telling their experiences whiling shooting for the show.

Then came the question to the audiences “whether anyone will be able to record themselves, their day to day happenings & play it on national television?” No one raised their hands. Initially I too didn’t like the idea of disclosing my life, which is private to be put on display to millions of viewers… it’s like washing dirty linen in public…But then I thought maybe …Just to prove to some people that my life isn’t as easy & simple or lucky as it seems to others… Or just to show them how difficult, how taxing it is to bring up a special needs child…

Then by the time question answer session started, people had started to get bored & hungry as it was past 9 pm & many had come either from their office or collages. Finally when they announced the dinner everyone left the room as if they had to catch the last Virar local…

In all, my experiences of this meet & show “Connected Hum Tum” was how comfortable or uncomfortable I am to put on display our private lives on a national television???

Special Days...

           Mother’s day is always celebrated on 2^nd Sunday in month of May…

Valentine’s Day on 14^th Feb, women’s day 8^th march etc etc…

But whenever these days like mother’s day, father’s day, valentine’s day, daughter’s day, rose day, women’s day, friendship day, grandparents day etc etc comes a thought always crosses my mind…”why do we need these days?”

          Previously we didn't have all these specific days, but still we loved our parents, grandparents, lovers & spouse… then why only on these specific days do we need to  tell them that we love  them or care for them… Children’s day is celebrated to mark birthday of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Teacher’s day for Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan’s birthday. These days are celebrated as a respect to these great men…

          Why only on these specific days should we make them feel that they are special… why not all 365 days can we make them feel we love them & we care for them??

          Making them feel special doesn't mean spending money & buying expensive gifts… we can make them feel special by just finding some time from our busy life, & spending with them…

          Or just giving them a hug, or cooking for them or just spending some time with them or by just telling them that how much we love them… aren’t these small things which we miss doing it for them…

          Previously when we didn’t have these all specific days, & the idiot box demanding our attention, nor the workload or stress, these small things were normally done… But with this advanced technology in our life, work load & stress sometime we tend to neglect our families & feelings…

          These days were made popular by western countries wherein kids are made to leave house & earn as soon as they become 18 & on these days the family comes together… But in India wherein we live in a close knit family, do we need specific days (except birthdays & anniversaries) to make them feel special???

          Only people who are benefited are Cards Company, chocolate company & florist who makes a profit business on these days…

          Whole year we treat them as if they are not important, & on that specific day treat them as a VIP, again to be forgotten till next year…

          Can’t we treat our people, people whom we love, people we care about, as special all year round…If not year round at least once a month, week or day…

          Come on, we all love our parents, spouse, kids, grandparents & friends…then why only on a specific day we should express our love…

          I feel each day as special day for one we love J

 I know many of them are going to hate me for this post!!!

Mangoes ...

“MANGOES”, those golden words & everyone, from toddler to teenagers to old people go weak in their knees….

          Yes, today’s blog is about king of fruits, fruit of summer Mango…

We wait for an entire year, for summer only for arrival of this fruit…And once it arrives all hell breaks loose…the sight of it in those neatly arranged rows, tempt you, the aroma, drives you crazy & when you bite into its sweet golden juicy flesh…ohhh… you go mad…

 

Housewives think of all the recipes that can be made, aamras, ice creams, milk shakes, smoothies, aam papad, jams, juice, sweets you name it… their brains work overtime so that she & her family can savour the fruit till the season ends.

Kids go crazy by just seeing their parents bring the fruit home.

I don’t remember when exactly I feel in love with this fruit, maybe when I was a kid…

My Aayi, made an unspoken rule, that on each one’s birthday, their favorite will be cooked… so on my birthday (I am born in month of May) its “Aamras poori”…hmmm I can imagine many drooling…J

Maybe that’s when I feel in love with this magical fruit… no wonder mango is called king of fruits… its colour yellowish with orange tinge, the sweet aroma, the sweet tingling taste…

With so many varieties available, the king of them Alphonso rules the no 1 position. You can’t match the taste of this naturally ripened fruit with anything in world…

But due to its high sugar content people with diabetics can’t eat it… Also excess eating of mangoes results in outbreak of acne…L. One way of reducing its heat is that before eating a mango its better if you soak it in cold water for ½ hour & then relish the fruit. Soaking reduces its heat…Also some say drinking in form of milkshakes reduces its heat.

I remember when we were kids, every summer we used to go to our native place Udupi, at my cousin’s place, who had many mango & cashew trees. The sweet aroma of the blooming mango & cashew flowers, small tender mangoes hanging on the overloaded branches, threatening to fall off, if wind blows… Competing with cousins, who climbs the tree first to get to those ripe cashew or mango, who collects maximum number of mangoes, who’s stone hits the target… Those were our childhood memories which sadly kids of this generation miss.

Mango can be used either raw or ripe. Raw mango or kairi when cut into wedges, sprinkled with salt & red chilli powder…hmmm…mouth starts watering just by thinking about it… it is also used in making of chats, chutneys, salads, curries & subjis… 

 

Mango leaves are considered to be auspicious. Any functions or any pooja ritual is incomplete without its leaves…

Really, mango, be it fruit or leaves has such vast use…

So am off to relish my aamras made by my Aayi & enjoy the ice cream I made…

Enjoy the King of fruits till it returns next year J