Yum Yum ! SluRp :P

I was once told that the food we eat influences our state of mind. I never thought it would turn out to be so damn true!

Stuck in a metro city life,with no close friends around, I find my days always monotonous and hmmm,, lifeless! Amidst all the work and running around here, things that enchant my senses once in a while, are very few. Aromas-- one of them! Few aromas tingle my senses and bring me back old memories, good or bad. Next thing in the list is food! And I am talking about spicy South Indian fooooooooood!

Though nothing can match my granny's preparations, this food at least reminds me of my hometown, gives me a feeling that my taste buds are still alive! [ Obviously, they will definitely be dormant other times cuz of that tasteless hostel food which we get to gulp in everyday, without much choice]

South Indian food makes me happy! and if it is with a person I like to be with, nothing like it! [ Miss my folks :( ]

Of late, I have started loving upma very much. Never did I like it so much when at home, for reasons every south Indian might know ;) Upma is considered to be an instant preparation suitable for those busy day mornings when nobody has enough patience to cook or relish the food. Ask any south Indian away from home about his opinion on upma! He would never say he hates it, though that would been the case if the fellow were at home :) It is such a state of mine here, where south Indian stale food might also taste good! [Haven't tried it for now, though ]

My other hard core favorite is the ever green [ or ever brown?] Masala Dosa! And of course, an assortment of Dosas!

Mysore masala dosa

Butter masala dosa

Onion masala dosa

Just yummy! Love to watch the butter go melting down on that crisp brown dosa as the waiter places it in front of me! Cant wait to relish the great taste. Just cant wait :P [ The butter would melt there otherwise. I gotta taste it with dosa soon you see. yum yum! slurp :P]
Udupi restaurant at Munirka, New Delhi is currently at the top of my high rating restaurants for dosas!

The thicker version of dosa from Kerala-- Utthappam, is my another favourite. Especially, Onion Utthappam from Adayar Anand Bhavan, Green Park, New Delhi.

And of course, who can forget our cute and soft Idlis :) Idli with Uddina Vada, Rava idli, Masala vada...all yum yum :P Adiga's at Bangalore is the best for idlis and akki rotti!

See you soon, yummy Bengalooru and Mysooru !

IT HaPPenED tO mE!! (AgAiN)!

My life has never been uneventful. Its either filled with excitement, if not total boredom to the point of driving me mad, so much that I act crazy, or either full of fights or rows with someone or the other. Well, if none of these exist, it can't be ME!!

At present, the weather's not so sunny.Dark clouds of anger are seen hovering in the sky, waiting to outburst in a heavy downpour of scowls and growls!! The cause, is a fellow put up in SP road, owning an #%$$%^ electronics shop, who sold me this micro controller development board, supposed to be worth Rs 1000, which I have realized of late, isn't worth even a penny. The cost was four times that in other shops, I found out late, and upon that, the emulator CD simply doesn't work! It looked rather old when I bought it, and my wonderful brain ignored the flaws and concentrated on its positive aspects, which now seem to be zero in number.

Worst part is that I cant tell this to Dad, as he warned me saying all good shops would be closed that holiday, before I went there. He will be mad at me for having wasted all that money ,including the bus fare, just because I wanted to go that day because mom said I shouldn't. Yeah! Now, I had to go because she told me not to! Thats how I have grown up to be, a rebel at home! It's fun usually, except situations like these which put me into embarrassment in front of dad and mom and anger on myself and that stupid fellow who assumed ( or understood?!) I was this bakra!

The shop's number is nowhere to be seen on the net.I have to wait a long week to do the needful! The Lord of mercy and honesty, deserves a praise and an abhisheka with his own wonderful board and the amazing cables which accompanied it.

And worst of it all, boo hoo ( and sob sob :( ) my project's on hold till I find another one :(.

A LoNg sO calleD 'HoLidAy' I eVeR hAd!

It's been a month since I landed in Bangalore. A long, boring month indeed. It takes an average 2 hours daily to reach my office here, where I have been undergoing this so-called 'summer training' for my Masters project. Well, I feel it isn't really so much fun out there to keep the same spirit alive in me, which I had in the initial few days, to get there early at dawn everyday. Yawn! For a lazy lass like me now, it's been really tough. I'm pushing it anyway, and it's almost done now, which has brought back the old spirit in me, as I eagerly wait for the session to end! gee :D

The most interesting part all this month here, were my trips in the city buses. You gotta try it to know it ;) Wake up at 6 A.M, rush to the shower, get ready, and pick up the heavy sack containing my beloved fatso laptop and a book on design, and rush to the bus stop with an empty tummy rumbling for food. This has been my daily routine since 3 weeks. Well, before going to the bus stop, I need to catch an auto to reach there on time! That means a minus INR 15 for me everyday :( And the same for return!

I get down at the bus stop and pay a 15 to the auto driver. In some unfortunate cases where the driver does not have a 5 rupee note to return me, it's a minus INR 20 ! :( Extremely unfortunate times are those when I hand him a hundred rupee note, for which I get curses in return, as its early morning, and no driver will have got so much money so early to pay me back! With the blessings of nearby shopkeepers, I finally get the change and I can board the bus to majestic now!

Buses are not so crowded early in the morning, and I tell you, these early mornings and late nights are the only good times to travel in city buses, unless you love swinging and swaying holding onto the supporting bars midway between the rows of seats, none of which is empty for your a** to rest upon!

'Some of the worst mistakes of my life, have been my hairstyles!'-- I read this somewhere sometime ago. How appropriate a sentence for my topic here! Let me tell you why ;)

As most of you might know, our BMTC buses have a separate set of seats in the front exclusively reserved for 'ladies'. Even the front half of the buses are usually occupied only by women. The bus conductors scowl at men who try to barge into that sacred portion of the bus where they are not allowed!

It was one of those lazy days when I woke up late and reached the bus stop a little late than usual. People crowded the big platform, all of them waiting for the same bus which would go to my destination. The bus entered, and within a wink, all the people waiting there a while ago, are gone! Already in, or hanging onto the doors or windows, pushing each other to get some space for themselves. I happened to enter the bus late and couldn't get a seat. I somehow managed to get myself some space at the front half, finally! I started my usual day dreaming, (the best time pass while travelling!) standing in the crowded bus, sandwiched between people, with my fatso bag being pushed to everyone's legs in turn like a football! All was well until an old lady on her way to a village nearby, boarded the bus and settled right behind me, standing. The bus had moved quite a long way by now, the conductor had finished giving tickets. So everyone was calm and peaceful in the front half, when the old lady standing behind me called me, patting on my back, saying something. I turned my ear towards her to hear what she was trying to tell me.

'You there, this portion is for ladies! Go back and stand there in the last half!' she said in a rather irritated way. Irritated she was, taking me for a boy with my short hairs, shirt and pants! Now, that was something really embarrassing for me, with everyone whosoever understood the fact, helplessly listening or either grinning at me! God! What would I tell her now! I dint know how I could answer her! So, I just pretended not to hear and tried to ignore her, hoping she would stop. But the lady wouldn't give up! It was her right to protest against this pervert trying to sneak into a crowd of women! How I hoped the conductor would come to my rescue, explaining her the fact! He hadn't said anything when I bought the ticket from him standing there, so I thought he understood I too was a lady, having all rights to stay where I was :) Somehow, he dint appear and even the people around were not not in a mood to help me out, so I had to bear it all the way, just praying inside that others don't join her in this, which would make it even worse for me! I could have been pushed out of the bus with all of them shouting at me, with me having nothing to explain them in a logical or sensible or whatsoever way!

Luckily, after a long while though, it ended when she heard the conductor address me as 'madam' , asking me to take my bag away from the walking space on the bus floor. Now, it was her turn to get embarrassed. I was relieved, and finally at peace with everyone silent now! I relaxed myself, swearing inside that I would never wear such a boyish dress again, complementing my hairstyle, in such places, that too!

Thanks to our salwar-kameez :) I could travel peacefully from the next day :)

To be continued