May Photo A Day : Day 18 : Want

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 17 : Season

It's the Mango Season, here!!

Summer in India is synonymous with the mango season.

Come summers and all we see are the different varieties of mangoes in the market.

Don't we all love mangoes! I am yet to meet somebody who doesn't like mangoes.

That feeling when the teeth sink into the soft, sweet, juicy fruit can be described only as sheer bliss.

Tantalizing all the taste buds, luscious, succulent and sinfully delicious, mango is rightfully hailed as the king of fruits. I believe, a mango is best enjoyed when one is oblivious to the dripping juice or the mess!

Mangoes are not only available in several varieties but it can be consumed in various forms too. Kairi Paana from raw mangoes, the sweet or sweet/sour Jam and Chutney, Mango Shake, Flavoured Curd, Aam Ras, Mango Lassi, Salad, Pickles, Ice-creams, Tarts… the choices are endless. I have heard some people make a mango vegetable curry too.

Here are the mangoes and the its various forms  (Kairi Paana, Sweet Jam, Sweet / Sour Chutney) from my kitchen today…

Which is your favorite mango variety / form / dish?

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 16 : Mailbox

What seemed like an easy prompt for the major part of the day, the evening cup of tea refreshed me enough to think in different directions. So, with confusion written all over me, in the evening, I…

• Asked Vinita Kherdekar’s opinion on WhatsApp
• Spoke to Smita Beohar over the the phone
• Discussed with KG in the car (He had a business meeting with somebody and I tagged along with a plan to click some pictures!)

Finally, with clarity dawning over me after intense discussions on a mailbox, we spotted one in the city but with a mother and a child standing in front of it.

KG told me to hurry up and click while sitting in the car itself.

I requested the lady to move a bit, as I needed to click a pic. She asked, “Are you clicking us?”

I told her I would have loved to capture her and the smart sonny boy but today I needed to click a subject which would give me perfect wooden expressions at all times. ;)

She obliged and here is the perfect shot with perfect wooden expressions of the Mailbox…



This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 15 : 7 O’Clock

I scanned my photo archives and there was nothing that could mark 7 o’clock. I thought of capturing something on TV at 7 pm and that moment passed as some guests dropped in at that time.

A mild panic attack struck me at around 7.30 pm but then I took some deep breaths and remembered Jyothi Nair’s comment during our chat on Facebook earlier in the day when we were brainstorming for today’s prompt.

Immediately, I went out to a shop in the neighborhood and asked for my object of desire.

So, here I am with my 7 o’clock picture which is courtesy Jyothi’s idea. Thanks for rescuing me today, Jyothi :)


This is the 7 o’clock razor blade which found its way in our home for the first time. KG has never used this type of blade for shaving thus there was never a need to buy it. But, my father still uses these blades and incidentally 7 o’clock is the brand he favours.

I remember, as kids (my sisters and I), these blades were kept away from our reach. We were never allowed to even touch them. Yes, we have over-protective parents!

But we used to enjoy sharpening our pencils with these blades as there were a couple of girls in class who always carried them in their pencil boxes.

Then in one of our art class we were taught about blade painting. In this, an art work is created by using razor blades instead of regular brushes. It was an innovative form of painting for us then and we enjoyed it thoroughly. I believe now-a-days, some special knives are used for the then blade paintings.

As we grew a bit older, we were allowed to use these razor blades to cut thermocol for art and craft things. Today’s push-lock cutters or thermocol cutting knives had not made an entry then in the stationary shops.

I remember, a school mate had made an artwork of some super man kind of character by pasting small strips of razor blades all over it.

So many memories attached with a razor blade!! LOL :D

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 14 : Need

There’s nothing like a cool glass of water to beat the heat of the summers in Rajasthan.
It is the most important need of one and all, here. Usually, I have to remind myself to drink water but not any more. The heat compels me to drink water every few minutes.



In fact, drinking water is not only an important need but it is healthy to do so too. Here are 10 reasons why drinking water is healthy…

• Look younger with healthier skin: When the skin is properly hydrated, it looks young. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity.
• Lose weight: Drinking water helps to lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water reduces hunger, it’s an effective appetite suppressant. Also, water has zero calories.
• Relieves fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If our body lacks water, our heart needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, and the pressure on rest of the vital organs increases, which results in tiredness and lethargy.
• Cushions and lubes joints and muscles :Proper hydration helps keep the joints and muscles lubricated, so there are less likelihood of cramps and sprains.
• Energizes and helps to stay alert : Our brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps us to think better and be more alert.
• Better at exercise: Drinking water regulates the body temperature. That means we’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises. Water also helps to fuel our muscle.
• Helps in digestion : Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps in digestion. Fibre and water goes hand in hand so that we can have our daily bowel movement, easily
• Natural remedy for headache: Water helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although many reasons contribute to headache, dehydration is the common one.
• Reduce the risk of cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.
• Good mood: Water is great mood enhancer. Drinking water makes our body feels very good and that’s why we feel happy.

Water is truly the elixir of life. So go on and have that glass of water NOW!!

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

Dark Secret

Grief engulfed her again, today. Another month became the bearer of the bad news. This was a ritual since the last 2 years. With each passing day, her yearning increased.
He had accepted the grim reality. But her longing for a child swallowed up the joy in their lives.
They decided to see the new specialist in town. The doctor ordered for all the tests to evaluate the case better and to cover all bases.
The report says, 'Damage to the tubes due to infection or surgery'.
'A botched up abortion?' he asked.
The colour drained from her face.

May Photo A Day : Day 13 : Sunrise/Sunset

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. B Williams

Sunrise, one fine day at Jammu…

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

The Secrets of the Dark

Title : The Secrets of the Dark
Author : Arka Chakrabarti
Publisher : Srishti Publishers Distributors
ISBN : 978-93-80349-90-9
Number of Pages : 342
Price [INR] : 195
Genre: Fantasy Fiction

The blurb of the book reads like this… Is one born with his destiny or does he forge it?

In the mystical land of Gaya, two prophecies bind the fate of men and empires alike. The Destroyer born from the royal seed on the Land of the Setting Sun shall bring the empires down, or so has been foretold.
In between the Destroyer and the world stand the Seven Guardians of Gaya, guarding the realm of man. A king, a father, defies the Seven and fate itself to save the last drop of his blood and prince Agni grows in the Land of the Rising Sun, exiled from his own people, unaware of his past.

Losing the woman he loved most to the shadows in the dark, Agni is thrown into a whirlpool of events that he neither knows, nor understands. His quest for vengeance brings him to the doorstep of a secret that will shatter the very foundation of beliefs of a world.

Can Agni avert his destiny? Can he uncover the truth about the Seven and the prophecies, now hidden behind a veil of ignorance?

The secrets of the dark are sometimes so terrible that they are better left unsaid.

The Secret of the Dark is author’s debut novel and at no point it looks like one. This being a historical fiction, Arka has done a lot of research to share the various facts, concepts, mythological characters and all about the period they lived in, which is truly fascinating. The style of writing is very vivid such that the entire scene comes live in front of you and this speaks a lot about the writing skill of the author. This is not the genre that I read regularly, still I was hooked to this book right from the very beginning. The credit for this goes to the author and his remarkable story telling abilities

The story has two sub-plots, one is from the Land of Rising Sun and the second one is from the Land of Setting Sun. The story about the Land of Setting Sun starts pretty late, I wish it had started much earlier for better justice from a reader’s perspective. 

The detailed map of Gaya in the beginning and the details of the fictional land of Gaya and the list of characters in the end is good.

A minor aberration... the author’s bio is shared in third person while connecting with him on Facebook or by email is written in first person.

Overall, the Secret of the Dark makes for a very engaging and an engrossing read. Go for it for the book will keep you entertained as well as keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rating : 4/5

May Photo A Day : Day 12 : Mother

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. -Sophia Loren

Clicked at a village near Alwar, Rajasthan.

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 11: Smile

Year 2011, Father’s Day...

Aaryan wanted to give his father a surprise, a breakfast by him, for him, which he truly loves… a Half Fry! And the father was truly surprised and more than surprised, he was beaming with pride, to see his son share the same passion for cooking.

Here’s a creative, sweet, lovely, awesome, simply cool breakfast from the Junior Chef for the Senior Chef, with a bit of help from the mother who is just a cook


The layout design is courtesy the lil’ Chef.

No points for guessing, it was not only the plate that had a smile, but there were smiles all around in the family too :)

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 10 : Stars

So many stars on a cloudless night…

Very lame, I know! :D

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Day A Photo : Day 9 : A Snack

It was December of 2010.

We had a late night party one Friday.

The after effect of that was I woke up at 8 am with a start, the next day, as it suddenly dawned that it was the Parent Teacher Meet at the Aaryan’s school.

Got ready in a jiffy and then woke the kid and pestered him to get ready too. In the meanwhile, lined up the work for the maids and a glass of milk for the kid and by 8.45 am, the kid and I were out of the home.

Fortunately we were very early at the school, so could meet the teacher and discuss/share all the queries and progress at length.

After finishing the meeting at school, as soon as I sat in the car in peace, my tummy gave a big loud growl. It was its way of telling that I had not even had my ‘bed’ tea and was starving!

Immediately, I called up hubby who was enjoying the highlights of some very old cricket match at home and told him to prepare something to eat for us. Now, these are the perks of having a partner who is passionate about cooking, who can create magic in the kitchen at a moment’s notice, any time. Of course, you need to excuse the mess that’s created along with the magic!

When we reached home, the first sight that hit my eyes was the beautifully laid plates for us on the dining table.



This is the Double Decker 3C Sandwich Pakora!

It is innovated by hubby!

And here’s the secret recipe for that...

Ingredients:
For Batter
· Gram Flour (Besan) : 1 cup
· Aniseed (Ajwain) : 1/2 tsp
· Cumin Seeds (Jeera) : 1/2 tsp
· Fennel Seeds (Saunf) : 1/2 tsp
· Turmeric Powder : 1/4th tsp
· Red Chilli Powder to taste
· Salt to taste
· Water

For Filling
· Cheese Spread : 3 Tbsp
· Chive (onion) : 1 finely chopped
· Chilli (green) : 2 finely chopped.

Other Ingredients
· Bread : 6 slices cut into triangles
· Oil for frying

Preparation

1. Mix all the ingredients of the batter to form a batter of thick consistency.
2. Whisk all the 3 Cs of the filling too.
3. Apply a layer of the filling in between the 2 bread slices.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Dip bread sandwich in the batter and fry till crisp on medium flame.
6. Serve the Double Decker 3C Sandwich Pakora hot with green chutney or tomato sauce.

No points for guessing, the Double Decker 3C Sandwich Pakora tasted YUM which we gobbled up in minutes!

Emergency Nightmares

A few years ago, a friend had an incident to share. Her husband needed medical assistance in the middle of the night. Despite two cars at home but no person to drive them, she had to take her hubby in an auto-rickshaw and went through some harrowing time, as finding an auto at that ungodly hour was tough. The incident was a big life’s lesson and the friend learnt driving thereafter.

This sufficiently scared me.

So, I learnt driving for the third time. Yes, I had taken driving lessons twice earlier as well.

Picture Courtesy: Morguefile

Even after learning from a professional driving school, the third time, my driving skills before and after the course were just the same.

Since then, I have made peace with the fact that driving is not my cup of tea.

But what really haunts me still is that what if there is an emergency in the middle of the night.

What would I do then? Which neighbour’s door would I knock then?

Family and friends might take a while to reach…

The cab service or even the ambulance may not be prompt in their services…

We recently moved to a new flat. Our car parking is in the basement and taking the car out from the parking spot is a bit tedious. So would I ask the neighbour to take his car instead so that the precious time is not wasted? Will I remember all this at that precarious time?

I have no clarity of thought on this imaginary situation.
Should I let the sleeping dogs lie or take the bull by it’s horn or bury my head in the sand like an ostrich…

But the fact is that whenever I see the the Emergency of a hospital, it scares the living daylights out of me.

 

This post is in response to #WriteTribe Prompt 1 
Write Tribe is an initiative that motivates and supports Writers and Bloggers

The Harlot : Saskia Walker

Title : The Harlot
Author : Saskia Walker
Publisher : Harlequin
ISBN : 978-0-373-77736-5
Number of Pages : 329
Price [USD] : 14.95
Genre: Historical Romance

The blurb of the book reads like this… It is a dark era, and a lusty lass will do what she must to survive. Even if it means bartering flesh for a palmful of coins…

Forced to watch her mother burn at the stake as a witch, Jessie Taskill was separated from her siblings in the aftermath. Jessie is similarly gifted, ripe with a powerful magic that must stay hidden. When she's accused by a rival of witchcraft, Jessie finds herself behind prison walls, awaiting certain death with a roguish priest unlike any man of the cloth she has known.

In reality, Gregor Ramsay is as far from holy as the devil himself, but his promise of freedom in return for her services may be her salvation. Locked into a dubious agreement, Jessie resents his plan to have her seduce and ruin his lifelong enemy. Especially when Gregor's lust for her is so compelling. She may agree to be his pawn…even as she plots to use him just as he is using her.

The Harlot is an paranormal historical erotic romance. Okay, it is predominantly an erotic romance centered around sex and a revenge scheme. I have read 50 Shades of Grey and 50 Shades Darker to understand the hullabaloo  around these books, so reading The Harlot to me was just okay. This genre is not for the faint hearted, though. The first 100 or so pages had a lot of erotic scenes and the story moved at a very slow pace and the revenge plot started only after half the book was over.

The erotic scenes are simply hot! And way it is written is classy and compelling, a bit elaborative but not at all dirty. The tenderness and fierceness of the love scenes is very vivid and you can almost feel the passion between the 2 protagonists. It has all the erotic practices… light kinky stuff bondage and discipline with sadism and masochism, m/m and f/f along with m/f couplings.

The magic part was a bit lame. I think the book would had been just great without it too.

The book is hard to put down, despite the fact that the it has a lot of explicit stuff. And that’s because it is an erotic novel. So, beyond a doubt there's going to be an emphasis on the eroticism  and which is the selling point of the genre.

Rating : 4/5

May Photo A Day : Day 8 : Shape

No words from me today… as it is a Wednesday and Wednesdays are usually Wordless on this blog! :D

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 7 : Something Beginning With F

Goldie and Ginnie, our pet gold fishes, have been with us since 2006.

No, the gold fishes don’t live that long and given the feng shui belief that whenever a fish dies, it takes a part of your bad luck or misfortune. And you know, how life is!! So, many of our gold fishes have died since 2006, but they have been always replaced with new ones. So, though many fishes have given us company for the last 7 years, their name remains just the same, that is Goldie and Ginnie!! And since they don’t respond to their names like a pet dog or a cat would, anyone of them can be called by either of the names, as neither do they mind, nor do we!!

Goldie and Ginnie are wonderful pets. It’s so refreshing and relaxing to see them dance around in their bowl. Watching them is always a pleasure. And the bestest thing about them is that they are so low on maintenance. Just a feed in the morning and a weekly water change of their bowl, that’s it!!

No waking up at ungodly hours or even in rains or harsh winters to take them out for sussu-potty, and they never chew your favourite slipper or bark unreasonably.

You don’t have to take them to the vet for vaccinations or buy accessories and special food that costs a bomb.

Your home is free from tufts of hair and they are certainly not messy while eating food!!
They never attack or scare anyone and none of the neighbors complain about them.

I can go on and on talking about our Goldie and Ginnie, but to sum it up, they are the most beautiful friends we have at home… silently adding joy happiness and peace in our lives.


This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 6 : Broken

After I had vetoed a lot of ideas for broken things (a broken toy, a broken Jenga tower, a broken handle of the Grinder jar, a cracked glass…), I remembered once reading about Broken Cookie Syndrome and it had fascinated me then.

Do you remember that you did something small, for example broke a glass, and you burst into tears. Your family or friends told you, “It is only a glass!” But your tears just didn't stop. They kept gushing out like the water from a dam. Of course, it was not about that broken glass. It was the reservoir of pent up emotions inside you, the back log of stored emotions that found its release through the broken glass. And after a good cry, you felt better. Ever experienced that? Well, that was the Broken Cookie Syndrome you felt!

So, I immediately broke a cookie and clicked it.


This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 5 : Paper

These are papers alright, but not for us!

These are the precious, priceless possessions of ours which are dearly cherished.

These have

• Sterling stories : My ball went out of the school. A passer-by threw it back inside. I thanked him. Bhanu is my new friend. He is very creative and is from Mizoram.
• Tiny tidbits : Someone threw my toothbrush. I have ordered for a new one.
• Information and intimation: I got 74 in Maths, 46 in Hindi… I am eating well. Don't worry about me.
• Small successes : I have ‘qualied’ for the marathon. (‘qualied’ is the slang for qualified!)
• Failings and flaws: Today we had artificial wall climbing. I was able to climb only till the division. I lost my football.
• Appealing appeals: Can you send me a Beyblade metal fusion? My tuck is nearly over…
• Fun with friends : At night we play hide and seek in the dormitory.

These notes have a lot of spelling mistakes and a lot is crossed-out and written again.

These have graduated from a 5-6 liners to a full page now.

These are the messages that we look forward to see with our eyes, read between the lines and feel the expressions shared.

These are the little notes that Aaryan writes to us from his Boarding School...


This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

100 Words On Saturday : Quiet Conversations

I was busy. She came unannounced and said in a sombre voice , “I broke up with him”. I was tempted to say something  in a I-told-you-so-look. But checked myself and asked instead, “How are you feeling?”.

That one question changed our relationship.

Listening to her with attention, alertness and an attitude of acceptance as she talked about her insecurities, vulnerabilities, gave a deeper sense of connect. This quiet conversation moved our relationship to a more meaningful one.

I learnt that day, the therapeutic and healing power of empathy in a conversation, the power of looking from someone else's perspective…
Image Courtesy : Google Images

May Photo A Day : Day 4 : In My Cup

In my cup is Kashmiri Kahwah

Kahwah (Also spelled qehwa, kehwa or kahwa) is a traditional green tea consumed in Jammu and Kashmir.

During our 2 year stay in Jammu, our neighbors introduced us to this tea.

The tea is made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark and cardamom pods and cloves.

Generally, it is served with sugar or honey, and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. I like it without the nuts.







This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

May Photo A Day : Day 3 : This is Really Good!

Aaryan loves swimming. Last year, when his school introduced scuba diving as an adventure sport to its curriculum, he was thrilled.

The coach gave him the lessons in the water. With all the gear in place, he dived into the water…

 

And when he came to the surface, after a while, he said, “This is Really Good!”

This post is a part of May Photo A Day.

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

Title : Salvation of a Saint
Author : Keigo Higashino
Publisher : Hachette India
ISBN : 978-0-3491-3934-0
Number of Pages : 377
Price [INR] : 350
Genre: Crime Fiction

Overview: When a man is discovered dead by poisoning in his empty home his beautiful wife, Ayane, immediately falls under suspicion. All clues point to Ayane being the logical suspect, but how could she have committed the crime when she was hundreds of miles away? As Tokyo police detective Kusanagi tries to unpick a seemingly unrelated sequence of events he finds himself falling for Ayane. When his judgement becomes dangerously clouded his assistant must call on an old friend for help; it will take a genius to unravel the most spectacular web of deceit they have ever faced.

Review : I have read the author’s first book The Devotion of Suspect X which was a fast paced murder mystery and was simply unputdownable. When I got an opportunity to read and review Keigo Higashino’s second book, Salvation of a Saint, I was thrilled.

With high expectations, I started reading Salvation of a Saint and I was hooked after the first few pages. There are some similarities between the two books. Both the books have the quirky physics professor Manabu Yukawa, the “Detective Galileo”  who reviews all the evidence the cops have gathered and keeps proposing theories till one of them works out. However, in the second book, Detective Kusanagi and Kishitani are supported by a new lady detective Utsumi who relies a lot on her female intuition.

Just like The Devotion of Suspect X, in the very first chapter of Salvation of a Saint, the motive of the killer is known and in the second chapter a man is dead.

The book is like a jig-saw puzzle, where the reader knows the larger picture but has to arrange the smaller pieces so as to form the picture. Essentially it means that while you know who the killer is but you are trying to decipher clues and figure out how this perfect crime was committed. And you keep turning page after page to solve the mystery which unravels itself towards the very end.

The story line is novel and the characterization is good. The language is crisp and the narration flows easily.

A few things that really intrigued me in this story and it makes you wonder about the deceit and the dark thoughts that can be harbored in a human mind without anybody knowing about it for so long.

Overall a book which will compel you to keep reading till the mystery is solved.

Rating : 4/5

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

May Photo A Day : Day 2 : Morning Ritual

It is Day 2 of the May Photo A Day Challenge : A challenge that will change your life…

May Photo A Day : Day 1 : I Bought This

When Monika Manchanda shared about May Photo A Day Challenge : A challenge that will change your life… I thought about it for a while and a decision was taken. And since then, Coco Cola’s new advertisement Haan Haan Main CRAZY Hoon is ringing in my ears.

Just yesterday, I finished a month long A to Z Challenge and I was feeling so tired and really wanted a break. And here I am today, planning to do yet another challenge.

The fabulous and unique photo themes for every day attracted me towards this challenge.

Today’s prompt is…. I Bought This These

As if the 20 books that I bought in March were not enough that I bought 3 more last week!

Haan Haan Main Crazy Hoon!

The Homing Pigeons

Title: The Homing Pigeons
Author: Sid Bahri
Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors
ISBN: 978-93-80349-91-6
Number of Pages: 318
Price [INR] : 150
Genre: Fiction

The blurb of the book reads like this… Not all love stories are perfect, but then, neither are people.

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar. Little does he know that his life will change forever.

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it.

They say homing pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. The Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

When you read the debut novels of first-time authors, you are filled with anticipation and curiosity. The story in the novel is the labour of love of the author and must have stayed in his thoughts and mind for long enough to push him to convert it into words. Though, that is not true always as I have come across many debut novels which made the grey cells grimace with pain for they had to suffer incorrect English or poor/average story line. Of course, you never know about the pain or the gain until you read it.

I am glad that I picked up Sid Bahri’s The Homing Pigeons which made for an interesting and a riveting read.
The author uses the voice of Aditya and Radhika, the two protagonists, to share the story. Through them the story keeps flitting between the present and the past, traversing years and places. And despite this, the author has a grip on the narrative. The 2 lead characters have their flaws and fail and rise like any one of us. And that makes them very easy to relate to and empathize with.

In The Homing Pigeons, the characterization is good, the story line is refreshingly new, the narrative is  crisp and compelling and the pace is smooth. All this is a treat for the reader as you keep turning one page after the other, to know more.

The building up of the predicament, anger, resentment, confusion, longing, desire, love in the two characters’ lives is very promising.

But when it finally reaches the climax, I am reminded of a dialogue from the movie Apocalypse Now where the photojournalist says, ‘this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper!’ I wish the story didn't end so abruptly though.

Overall, The Homing Pigeons is a delightful read. Pick it up and go for it, and you’ll certainly enjoy it.

Rating : 3.75/5

"This review is a part of the Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books visit thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

4th Blog Anniversary Today!

4 years and 562 posts later, with relentless support of the friends, readers and well wishers, the journey continues…

Heartfelt Thanks to All of YOU!!

Z is from …. Zeal to Zzzz….

Y is for … You!!

This post is all about YOU!
YOU, the participants of this fabulous A to Z April Challenge and YOU the readers of this blog.

We are inching towards the end of this challenge. The interactions which spanned nearly a month have given us some interesting insights about all of YOU!

1. The Super Leader : Corinne Rodrigues, you have been a motivator par excellence  and the life line for all of us. Pushing us to realize our potential to go and reach that extra mile, this challenge has been a fun-filled journey only because of you!!
2. The Specialists :
1. Poetry : Though your poetry burnt a lot of my grey cells, Laxmi, Preetilata, Sridevi, you have some awesome talent in sharing a story or an emotion or a thought in beautifully flowing words.
2. Parenting: With Cynthia sharing the lessons of the life from A to Z with her children and Roshni writing the anecdotes from her parenting journey, you two ladies have created a legacy for your children which they will cherish forever.
3. Story Teller : Writing a story which has chapters from A to Z, and changing the story line on noting the reactions of the readers, Bhav.Zz you are a master story teller. You have the power to keep us hooked and riveted as Milan and Asha met and embarked on life’s journey together.
4. Haiku : Pheno Menon, you have been phenomenal in saying so much with a few words and an amazing picture, always.
3. The Collaborators: Sridevi and Meena, you taught us that in union there is strength. Collaborating with family and friends and making them a part of this challenge too was a novel idea.
4. The Satirist : Blogwati Gee, you used wit and humour as your weapon to share your thoughts and that never failed to bring a smile or a laugh at the other end.
5. Jack of All Trades : From poetry to stories, pictures and random musings, travel tales to memoirs, Priya, Janaki, Sulekha, Afshan, you believe in looking far and wide as there are worlds to conquer.
6. The Photographers : Dhiren and Shail, you  showed us that it takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. And that photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. You showed us that it is truly a creative art.
7. The Brainiac :  Clarissa Draper, you proved that codes and puzzles are cool and you also made us think hard and long in creative ways until we either figured it out or begged for the answer.
8. Randomness is Epic : The world is governed by chance. Randomness stalks us every day of our live and this randomness was so easily captured by you Ruchira, Naina, Privy Trifles, Nandana, Sharmila, Nibedita, Pallavi, Diana, Suzy, Kajal, Genevive, Meera, in your posts which were so varied in nature.
9. Inspiring and Informative : Vidya, you with your posts told us that knowledge is power and that information is liberating. You believe that an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest and that is so very true.
10. Regular Readers : You’ve heard the saying, “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really happen?” Well, if a blog doesn’t have any readers, does it really exist? Without readers, a blog is lifeless. Asha, Rachna, Smita, Vinita, Mrs Usha Menon, Mr BK Chowla, Reshma, The Little Princess, Megan, Dee, Nana, Gwen Gardner, Found in Folsom, Rajesh, Rama, Priyaa Arora, Seena, Contemplatingme, Indrani, Obsessive Mom, Anu, Dishit, Jayashree, Deeps, Anil Kurup, evanescentthoughts,  Reema Sahay, Malini, Mr Rahul Bhatia, Shilpa Sharma, Damyanti, Swaram… you have given a sheen and shine to this blog.

YOU all are Rockstars!  A BIG THANK YOU to all of YOU!!

X is for… X-Mas Gifts

Despite studying in a convent school for a good 14 years and being exposed to the Christian culture, prayers, carols, chapels…  Christmas was never celebrated at our home.

When our little one started going to his play-school, things changed. Christmas was celebrated in his school, 2-3 days before the D-day and he got to know about the concept of Santa Claus and gifts, among other things. Commercialization of festivals by the advertisers and marketers added to his knowledge of Christmas.

Not to dampen his enthusiasm, we got a small Christmas tree home and decorated it too. A gift was duly bought and the regular story that Santa got it for him, was sold to the child. His face lit up in a huge smile and we smiled to see his happy face.

Every year after that ‘Santa Claus’ visited our home on Christmas eve and delighted Aaryan by presenting him gifts of his liking and choice.

This continued for a few years and one fine day Aaryan announced, “I'd like to have a PlayStation 2 CD this time as a Christmas gift” .

He had finally figured out the real ‘Santa Claus’.

W is for… Weight of a Wait

Scene 1

Doctor ABC
A prominent busy specialist of the city.
OPD Timings : 5 pm to 8 pm

We reach the hospital at 4.10 pm, to get ourselves registered in the patient’s list.
Why, so early? Well, the unwritten rule is “first come first served”!
So, we wait and wait…5 pm turn to 5.30 pm and to even 6 pm and no sign of the doctor!! On questioning the attendant, it is known that 5 pm is the time for the patients but the doctor comes at 6 pm!!

Were we exasperated??

Fuming…we wait for some more time and finally the doc arrives at 6.20 pm!!
Though, we were the first patients in the list, we get to meet the doctor only at 6.35 pm!! Why?? Because, first the doc spends some time on the phone (a lot of smiles and some laughs were visible from the door, so certainly there was not an emergency patient at the other end!!) and then some more minutes with a colleague!!

Waiting for a total of 2 hours and 25 minutes!! (Or 1 hour and 35 minutes, if you think that we should have been there by 5 pm!!)


Scene 2

Doctor XYZ
The leading specialist of the town.
OPD Timings : 4 pm to 8 pm

I reach the clinic at 3.15 pm…to follow the rule of “FCFS”!
The attendant, mentioned No. 1 on my prescription and added “NP” against it.
I had visited the doctor, a day ago and had to meet him with the laboratory reports so that he could initiate the treatment.

The Doc arrived at 3.55 pm.  “Punctual”!! I smiled with satisfaction.

And the very next moment, visibly in pain and discomfort a patient arrived and went into the doctor’s room. I empathized with the patient and thought that she is right to go in first as her condition was grave.

When she came out, the attendant sent another patient who had come much after me.
I showed him my prescription which clearly stated my turn to see the doc as No. 1.
Coolly, he showed me the letters NP.
NP?? I asked. And in a patronizing tone, he explained, NP means Non-Payment patient. Since, I had paid the consultation fee a day before and this fee was valid for 5 days, hence, I was not to pay the doc that day and thus I was a NP!!
Which means that NPs are also NON-IMPORTANT PATIENTS for that day and they would be sent in a queue after every 2 Payment patients irrespective of the time they come in.

With frustration written boldly over my face, I fume at their management system.
Is it done??

How does it feel to be treated this shabbily by the doctors??
How do the patients with physical illness cope up with this long wait in the clinic?
Does this anxiety and stress in the waiting room worsen/deteriorate the condition, considering the fact that most of us go to a doctor when our illness is acute?

A friend’s mother refuses to go to her psychiatrist, because the disturbed behavior/condition of other patients in the waiting area upsets her immensely, thereby making her more vulnerable emotionally.

Why do doctors practice such practices??
Is it because they have an uncaring attitude….as long as the patients keep coming, why change?  Or is it because they distrust patients to respect the time of the appointment?

Why can’t we have better appointment system,  which would be beneficial for both the doctors and the patients. Or why can’t there be more value for the patient’s time too?

And both these suggestions do not need some hi-tech gadgets/equipment or money to implement.
I believe, the doctor is offering a service for which we are paying, hence the indifference to towards the patients should not be endured.

And patients are paying to the doctors to take care of their problems, and not to aggravate the same.
I guess, the weight of the wait in a waiting room, weighs downs the patient, which is truly weary !!

Have you experienced the pain of the wait in a doctor's clinic?

Image courtesy: Google Images

V is for… Virtual Friend = Real Friend?

Virtual friends are those people whom you have met online. Many people believe that virtual friends are not real friends. And that’s because you have not met in real life so you cannot be truly connected to be categorized as real friends. I would have agreed to the above some time ago but not anymore.

Given the times that we live in, we are no longer surrounded by family, extended family and friends.

But with technology in our hands, we have built a big network of online friends. These could be through our Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Online Communities… These are our virtual friends with whom we connect more frequently and more deeply.

Though, we may not have met them in person but we feel more closer and connected with each other than some of our real life friendships. Their messages of support and encouragement, affection and smiles, truly warms our hearts.

It does not matter whether our friend is sitting next to us or is thousands of miles away. Friendship is all about connecting with someone with whom we can share our life, thoughts, feelings, frustrations, insecurities…

Through our words and pictures we get to know more about each other. Of course, like any other relationship, we need to build and put in efforts, stay connected and have commitment in our virtual friendship too.

Whatever interactions I have had with virtual friends in real life reiterates one thing for me that I am glad that our paths crossed. I cherish my virtual friends and would love to meet them in real life too.

Do you believe that virtual friends can be real friends?

Would you like to take your virtual friendships to the next level by meeting in real life?

Image Courtesy : Google Images

U is for… Us

This is the most Unimaginative post of this challenge.
And the reason for this is some Unexpected demands at home, which needed Urgent attention and Untiring efforts.
The brain and body have declared themselves Unfit and that’s quite Understandable. Hopefully by tomorrow they both feel less Unburdened.
Until then have a look at the family portrait of three of US!!

That's KG, Aaryan and Me!

The story behind this picture is blogged here.

T is for… Twitter

I have a series on my blog which is called Ten on Tuesdays. What a coincidence this is that the alphabet T for this A to Z Challenge is scheduled for a Tuesday!! So, this gives me a perfect opportunity to do my Ten on Tuesdays, today for alphabet T!!

Ten Things I See on Twitter

1. I am a very active Twitter user. No, I don't tweet much but I simply read. I hardly tweet. In fact, whatever tweets that can be seen on my Twitter profile are all my new blog post links. No, I don't tweet them manually, but a setting on the blog allows the link to be posted on Twitter as soon as a new post comes up. Whenever and wherever I get a few free minutes, I am reading Tweets. Whether, it is while waiting for the doctor in his clinic or travelling or waiting for a friend somewhere and even before sleep takes over, I am reading Tweets on my phone. All this gazing the phone for Tweets tells me about some patterns the tweeters follow...
2. Ask anything… Yes, you can ask anything on Twitter and the twitterati  will come out in full support and give you the advice, suggestions, tips… All you have do is just ask. So go ahead and ask for the directions to a club or the location of a post office in Bandra or a skin specialist in Lucknow. Hell, you can even tweet ‘Hunger has struck again, what to eat?’ And even this, “Extremely low BP and I am shivering and sweating like hell....what to do?”
3. Have a craving for something? Satisfy it on Twitter : No, you need not go into the kitchen or step out of your home to buy that thing… just tweet…’Koi Jalebi khilayega’, ‘Coffee de do koi’, ‘Koi Chennai mein Beer pila do’. You can even tweet “Feel like smoking. Anybody near Barakhamba Rd?’
4. Random or trivial things… Believe it or not even the most random or silly thing or something which would not be relevant to anybody else but you can be shared on Twitter. So you may tweet, ‘just met someone who was carrying a rainbow colored polka dotted plastic bag’ or that you are on page 239 of Maximum City or that you are going for a haircut or that you murdered a mosquito or simply tweet, ‘Yaawwnnnnn’.
5. Tell the world what you are eating/drinking… I just had a glass of the Fratelli Shiraz Cabernet Franc, says one. Bournvitaaaa says another. Fried fish. Rice. Chicken Pepper salami..onion and cheese chicken sausage.. Lassi.. 2 Pieces of Bournville and 2 Rasgullas tweets somebody. Post the pictures of the food you are eating as a picture is certainly worth a thousand words.
6. Crib or complain about anything and everything : May be cribbing about something gives that inner peace. So one can crib, crib, crib on twitter till the cows come home… ‘Dear Monday, behave.’  ‘What a facepalmworthy piece of shit is the new Lays Ad.’ ‘Bloody global warming’, ‘Congratulations! Petrol prices have increased’.
7. Social Service :  You help yourself by helping others, and Twitter helps you in reaching out to someone who needs help. ‘A friend is in the hospital and needs blood immediately in Delhi... If you have an O positive blood group…’ or ‘An AC bus has broken down on Matunga Flyover. Caused a major jam. Please avoid that route’ And of course you can also tweet, “I have made dinner for 2, anybody cares to join me?’
8. Live Tweets : You are watching a cricket match or at a conference or at a meet… just create a live newsfeed with your Tweets of course with your expert comments. ‘Dhoni in pain..he's out..CSK still in!! RR great catch!!’ ‘CSK while stranded on a rooftop, was waiting for Dhoni's helicopter to rescue, it crashed. Haar ka Shubhaarambh’
9. No Tweets just conversations : Yes, there are people who believe in the power of a conversation. The Phone, WhatsApp, BBM, Gtalk, FB Chat are passé and Twitter is the place to have long conversations.
10. Narcissism: You love yourself and people love you too or that’s what you believe, so promote yourself on Twitter ‘Andheri folks, I'm here at Shopper’s Stop. Drop by and say hello’. ‘Yayy, I now have 1000 followers’. ‘Kisi ke paas Dominos ke online coupons hain to de do please’ or simply keep changing your profile pictures every few hours!

Which is your favorite way to use Twitter?

Images Courtesy : Google Images

S is for… Spine Poetry

The concept of book spine poetry appeared in 1993 with Nina Katchadourian’s Sorted Books project. Katchadourian began collecting interesting titles and arranging them in clusters so the spines could be read like a sentence(s) or poem.

I Never Thought I Could Fall in Love…

Two Fates… Twists and Turns

Those Small Lil Things

Table for Two… Love Over Coffee

Vivek and I

Absolutely Nuts

Unexpected Blessings

The Great Indian Love Story

Just Married. Please Excuse… 3’s a Crowd!