Thoughts and books :).

Hello! After all these days, months (and may be almost a year), it occured to me that i haven't written anything here for a long, long time. So, this is just an attempt to dust the cob-webs. For starters, i discovered some really refreshing debut books, and i am clearly looking forward to reading more works from the authors of these books. Two of these books are short story collections, vignettes mostly from the everyday world around us and sometimes from a hypnotic and very surreal world of imagination. The third one is a debut novel, which i liked purely because it broke quite a few stereotypes associated with "desi-lit". You do have the beautifully ornate sari picture on the cover and you do have quite a few of the standard things associated with what lies beneath such ornate covers, what you also get is a refreshing story of an ordinary citizen trying to make sense o the world around him.

And here they are, three very interesting and gripping works :

If it is sweet by Mridula Koshy
`Etudes by Aseem Kaul
The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa

And then, besides my standard fix of Murakami and Abe, I have also enjoyed reading the works of Banana Yoshimoto. I recently read "Kitchen" and "Hardboiled and Hard Luck" and was impressed by how simple words can sometimes convey very powerful emotions.

What's on your reading list these days?

Oh, and meanwhile I also visited Boston, along with my dear friend MD, in late summer this year, lots of fun, as always :).
Besides doing a highly touristy thing like taking a duck tour, the other highlight was going to Brookline Booksmith, the best bookstore ever! Meeting my friends Ms. Doll and Ms. E. and just walking around in my old neighborhood , besides eating in our favorite places, awesome! You know what i mean :).

On blue skies and sunshine :).

There are times, when we just go on about our lives like a machine. Oftentimes, for me, this has included spinning a cocoon around myself, albeit involuntarily. Those times, when we just offer ourselves to the day to take us through it. And for what it's worth, i love those days :). But in the midst of it all, there are moments that make you sit up and take notice, of the world and people around you.

The moments when you suddenly notice the blue skies and the splash of gold around you, when the warmth of the sun comforts you like never before. When an ordinary cup of chai tastes like elixir, because it had that extra ingredient of love. When someone calling you "silly" actually feels great, because it's your lil' niece who spouted this wisdom :). Those are the moments when i love being the butterfly, fresh from the warmth of my cocoon.....

Having spent several deliriously joyful days in my cocoon, i took a lil' time to step out and soak in the warmth of the glowing sun and just walking under the gorgeously beautiful blue skies.
And just being mesmerized by the vastness of the ocean.
It was a bliss to feel the raindrops, to see a gigantic full moon waving at me from up there, to just laugh on silly things and all the goodness that comes with it. To watch fireworks while it was raining. To giggle like a kid, with a kid, while watching the dolphin show at the Baltimore aquarium. To have mad, mad fun on a dragon boat at Inner harbor, and then proceed to have an ice-cream, even as we shivered. To take a walk through the fog on the Golden Gate bridge and feel surreal every moment of it.
To stand in the line for more than half and hour, just to ride the cable car-even though you could have taken the Muni and saved much time. Just because it felt just the most appropriate thing to do. To shop silly and to know that its OK to sometimes do things for yourself. To sit in the sun and have masala chai after a really fun day. If only it were possible to say it all in words.....For now, i will just leave you with few pictures. They are the reflections of those fun moments, the moments of just being.....

The best part-doing it all with your friends :). Golden girl and MD, yay !!!!!!!! we did it!

Thoughts.....

Surprised? I am :-D.


Wanted to write a lil' something today. Its been a long, long time since i made an appearance here. Sometimes, words appear and then disappear, before you can string them together.....The silent scribbles in the diary of the mind. Sometimes, thoughts flash like a firefly in a corner and then fly away. Other times, you do end up finding words and then shaping them into a definitive something. The something, that will tell it like it is.



This just happens to be one such moment, and i am making sure that i catch the thoughts before they dissolve :).

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Few days back, i had a lil' trip back in time, with this beautiful piece of poetry and music. Its a musical rendition of a poem by Faiz (The video link is from a TV drama called Dhoop Kinare, which was popular even in India). I am not attempting to translate the poem, because no words can accurately translate its depth and the beauty.

It is one of the most beautiful combinations of poetry and music, ever! I first listened to this when i was really young, barely a teen-ager. The melody grew on me and so did the lyrics. The lyrics beautifully and poignantly describe the soothing effect that long-forgotten pleasant memories have. And few days ago, when i listened to this song, i felt soothed, blessed by the beautiful, long-forgotten memories.....
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I've recently caught up with my reading, and have been reading Murakami like an addict :-D. Besides some of his novels and short stories, i have also enjoyed reading some really inetersting books about mind and music, neuroplasticity, paranoia and the concept of self. Which means (or atleast there is a lil' bit of likelihood) that i would write about them at some point :).

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Oh, and the pictures that you see here, are from Santa Monica (where else?). Love the Santa Monica pier and the promenade.

These pictures were taken when MD was here in winter.



The ferris wheel in the picture is the old one. The new, solar-powered ferris wheel was inaugurated this week.

So, i did manage to capture some thoughts, didn't i :).

Chai and pakode :-D.

Oh, don't go, yet. You haven't reached my food blog, you are doing fine, still on my diary. Its so happens that old habits have prompted me into chirping about something gastronomical (and by the same token, emotional?) :-D.

I have gotten back from having some "chai" and "pakode". This is a combo, that i lighten up my weekend evenings (when not at home) with, quite frequently. Before you decide to feel jealous, let me dash those hopes. In the interest of full disclousre, that "chai" is from Starbucks! and the "pakode", well they are a close cousin, the falafel :-D. . By all means, feel jealous about the latter, because what i just had, are the best falafels ever (and they are served along with the best hummus and very-very hot saunce). And like i said, i get to enjoy those on a rather regular basis. The "chai" however, is a tricky/sticky note here ;).

I know i am making myself available for some criticism here for "enjoying" the Strabucks kinda' chai. Even though i have it quite often, the "chai-tea latte" at Starbucks (or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or Pete's Coffee, or at any one of their cousins), isn't remotely like what i know as chai, with or without the masala. A hundred million people have said that before me, and an equal number is more than likely to say so after me. The name "chai-tea" itself creates confusion, exemplified by the following conversation that i had with my ex-colleague and friend AK, who hails from Russia:

Scene: AK and me standing in the line at Starbucks at workplace, waiting to order.

AK: "Musical, i have to ask you something-What is chai?"

That question drew him a strange look from me. Knowing that chai means the same in Russian as it does in Hindi, it sounded a strange question.

Me: Chai means tea in Hindi, and i guess its the same in Russian.

AK: (Big grin on his face) Yeah, true. But then, why do they (Starbucks) list chai separately and not with tea? So may be it is different indeed.

Me: They are trying to use the term chai for their version of the Indian style chai with spices, milk and sugar. Since in India we call it chai, i guess they just have been using that term. But their version is very different from homestyle masala chai.

And AK was happy, having freshly illuminated himself with the difference between "this" chai and "that" chai :-D.

This debate, whether the chai-tea or whatever is worth your $$ and attention or not, will go on. For me, i have a couple of choices, either to go to the local desi restaurant and order a beverage (many a time after waiting atleast for 15 or so minutes) which might match the taste, but may be served at a temperature totally not acceptable :-D or to go to Starbucks, and get some beverage which is not the same taste, but i can get it boiling hot! I choose both, depending on my mood and time :-D. Oh, and while i am at it, i must tell you that i recently discovered some tea bags for "Indian Chai: Classic Indian Chai with exotic sweet spices". Its black tea with spices, which suit my palate perfectly. For once, i don't reall feel the need to add any milk or sugar to this. The aroma is perfect! I wish they would make something similar with green tea as well, and then we can enjoy kahwa too :).

What can i say, i am shameless. I like that name, chai-and while i continue to treat myself to my home made REAL CHAI every weeekend and some weeknights (along with the delish goodness like upma, paranthas and what not), some weekends when i am not at home, and missing my buddies, i let the emotional appeal of that word get the better of me. I miss chirping with MD and Golden Girl over a cup of hot chai, i miss how Ms. Moon demands that her chai should not have any spice in it. And to think of it, i never even had much chai or coffee till i got into Graduate School. Like i have said before, chai and pakodas are the best combo, especially when friends are around :-D. And having a less than optimal "chai", with what i will again describe as the best falafels ever, sounds pretty good on such evenings :-D.

My lil' vacation :)

Here i am, after a long hiatus (or whatever else you may choose to call it) :-D. And its not that i've suddenly come up with a brilliant idea for a post that i am typing something here ;). Still wondering what to write! And while i do that, i will share some tid-bits about my lil' vacation :).

The typical winter time scenary :-D

It cudn't have been any other place, except Golden Girl's, this time. After she moved to the East Coast, our almost daily chai/coffee etc. sessions, where we would share our day-to-day stories came to a halt. So, i just wanted to be with my friend.....and off i went to.....

The Liberty Bell

Philadelphia :).

There's something about the winter skies :)

Besides, its always fun to enjoy a lil' "real" winter ;).

It's sunny, but very cold ;)

And there i was, right there, with my dear friend, again :).

In Philadephia

It always feels like home at her place. It is like a home for me. You know, the place where i can do anything that i can do at my place, including making some chai at my own will, without anyone having to offer me, as in "Please have some chai" etc. :-D. I am not the least bit hesitant at her place. It feels good, when everyone there asks me to make tea for them :). So yes, in more than one ways, i was home for this vacation :).


Besides her Aayi feeding us all the best of goodies, and her daughter playing naughty tricks on me like we had never been away from each other, besides her hubby requesting another cup of tea with all the affection that he could, i got the sheer comfort of being with Golden Girl, the sheer comfort of being with my folks :). We didn't go out much, there really was no need too. Sometimes, you just need to be at home and enjoy.

We did see around a bit in the city of Philadelphia and also took a lil' trip to Pittsburgh.

A view of downtwon Pittsburgh

And on the way back from Pittsburgh,

Ooh, totally lit up :)

we encountered a lil' flurry, which was the only snow i saw.

Pittsburgh is a lovely city, in more than one ways.

Another pretty view of the city

Lovely architecture, so many universities, a decent public transport system-i really liked the place. There's a lil' vista point from where you can have a pretty view of the Pittsburgh downtown and also take a cable car ride on the incline :). And certain things about the city, including the really sharp inclines on the roads (or free roller-coaster rides, according to Golden Girl), reminded everyone of San Francisco :).

You won't believe it, but the only touristy stuff i did in Philly was a cpl. of hours before going to the Airport :-D.

A pretty buggy/carriage

So, Happy New Year everyone (yes, i am wishing everyone after Republic Day!). Will be back with more stories :).

Give me my sourdough :)

Yeah, yeah, as if i could do without talking about food here for long ;). Well, there is no recipe here, and there's a lot more to tell before i get to the "food rant", which makes it suitable for my diary. If you want to snark on the inappropriate title, so be it :-D. So, last week i was away for cpl. of days for a conference near San Francisco. The conference was near a tourist spot, Point Reyes, about one and half hours away from the city. We drove to Point Reyes from San Francisco late in the evening, which meant that we would encounter fog and low visibility. That would only add to the already difficult, serpentine route on highway one :-D.

The Bay Bridge was closed that day, because of the oil spill that everyone has heard about now. We had to make it to the conference by 7:30, because a colleague had her presentation the same day!! After crossing the Golden Gate, we were on our way! While driving through the foggy, dark and very serpentine route, we didn't even realize that we were driving sooooooo close to the ocean!! That realization would set in after a cpl. of day on our ways back, when we would be driving during the day time. This part of highway one is really scenic and gorgeous during the day time, but in a very dizzy way! The many twists and turns can leave one car-sick!

Highway one, on the way back

The conference venue was kinda' obscure.....we missed it, went ahead a cpl. of miles, only to realize that we needed to turn around :-D. This place, as a colleague intutively remarked (which turned out to be an accurate hunch)-was an ex-rehab place!! The place was around a bay, very dark and foggy, just like everywhere else around there, in the night. But we were thrilled to have reached in time, and safely at that! What with a cpl. of deer and a coyote sightings during the drive!


The next morning revealed the true beauty of the place! Lush with pines and wildflowers, it was refreshing! The place is near the sea-shore and has cute lil' trails to explore and enjoy the natural beauty and fresh air! Whatever tiredness (and bitterness) we had gathered from our drive the day before, all melted away!

A big plus about this place was their kitchen! They surely took good care of the vegetarians :-D. I have written here before about how conference usually reserve pasta and salad for vegetarians. Why complain, i will agree with you that conference food in gereal isn't anything good. But here, they had a huge number of choices for breakfast, one vegetarian soup and great bread for lunch and dinner everyday, besides some really well done salads, pastas, vegetables and desserts (except the first day when people felt if the cake was doused, no, make it soaked, in marsala, instead of a gentle drizzle!). I was kinda' thrilled :).


It was nice being San Francisco after a long time, even if that meant mostly driving through the city. I love the city, and i don't mean just the tourist attractions. I love the fact that they have a reasonable public transport system there and a lot of other such things :). No plastic bags, for instance :). And it has something like seasons (compared to Los Angeles) :-D. There's a lot more thats nice and lovely about this city. I just like the place, i love it, actually!

So, on our way back, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf for lunch-we went to Boudin's. They are known for their sourdough. and i am known for my love for sourdough. i was really hoping something yummy, having had their bread a number of times. All my hopes were dashed when the only vegetarian sandwich on their take-out menu was NOT ON SOURDOUGH! Now you know what made me sour enough to entitle my post thus!! I am not a big fan of cold sandwiches, and the "No sourdough for you" didn't make it anymore pleasant for me :). What made it more painful was the sight of everyone enjoying their breadbowl (well, clam chowder in breadbowl) :-D. My experience during the conference had spolied me into expecting something great :-D. But seriously, was i expecting them to have a fake corn chowder, sans bacon, on their menu, just for people like me ;). Not quite, its Fisherman's Wharf, so naturally the emphasis would be on sea-food. But a sandwich with sourdough wouldn't hurt, though may be, for those (including vegetarians) who visit Fisherman's Wharf for reasons other than having sea-food (which many say isn't great), may be its a decent idea to have some vegetarian soup that can be served in bread bowls :-D. I have to tell you this though, i made myself a nice breadbowl with fake corn chowder soon after i got back home!! ok, not that soon, the next day :-D.

And, to those, who love a breadbowl: please think before ordering one, especially if you don't intend to finish the breadbowl! There's a lot of food wasted, why would you want to contribute to that! Or may be we can have smaller bowls? I told ya, i was gonna' rant ;).

Mind and music :)

Its late in the night. I am waiting for my bus at the bus stop, tired, completely jaded, may be even a bit frustrated.....I reach my bag for the music player. The music begins to flow, into my ears, into my nerves, into my soul.....the same three songs spin again and again, as they have many a time before, soothing my soul, comforting my nerves. As the music plays on, i feel the warmth and brightness of sun, the flakes of snow melting on my skin, the pampering of the breeze.....in my thoughts, i walk with familiar faces in familiar places. i smile, i cry.....i think the thoughts. i walk with a spring in my step, almost dancing. i am in a different place, i am in different places.....these virtual trips to wherever are sponsored courtesy these few songs.....yet again, i travel through time and space: the music, my wings.....

Snap! the music player is off-i am "myself" again, back in the real world.....much soothed and ready to go!
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Music does it, to me, to everyone. Very true to my name, eh ;). It has got the power to touch the innermost core of human mind. Remember this story, about music? There are many more such stories. Dr. Oliver Sacks has narrated many more stories Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain.

I am really looking forward to reading this one. Dr. Sacks' writings are about human mind and hope, and this one blends a favorite along, music. Check out the following video: Dr. Sacks talks about Music and Parkinsonism:



and this one: "A bolt from the blue", a story about his friend, who developed a passion for music after being struck by lightening!




There are more videos on Musicophilia.com.

And i know, i love me some floating on the cloud of music :).