As It Comes To Mind

Yesterday, I described a visit to some friends' home that had left lingering memories in my mind. Well, it was not only the things that I saw that left an impact - there was one other thing that left me rather impressed, and it had to do with my taste buds! After our tour of the house and it's surroundings I had felt rather thirsty and had made my way to the kitchen along with the lady who helps out at our friends' place. As I quenched my thirst with some cool water, she showed me something that she was rather proud of. Earlier, in the garden, she had showed me the saplings of  various herbs that had been planted such as mint, parsley, coriander, thyme and so on. Now, she took off the lids from a couple of bowls and showed me their contents. In one I saw some green-colored rice and in the other there was white rice mixed with a yellow-looking substance. She explained that she had tried out two rice recipes and almost all the ingredients were sourced from their garden! Ge...

Some days back, we got lucky to visit the villa of some friends. Unlike the norm this house was neither a very large one nor an estate to be called a villa. That it was a large house was without doubt (small houses generally cannot afford the classification of a villa), but the name villa would be apt for this one because it was a house in a city with a yard and a garden - a definite luxury when it comes to a city like the one we live in! They had moved into it not long back and it was our first visit to the place. Tastefully done up with beautiful and creative artwork at strategically located places the place spoke of warmth and camaraderie that went well with the free-flowing conversation. Whether in the living room or in the open kitchen facing the invitingly green and refreshing courtyard, the talk centered on topics of general interest such as places of travel, cinema, gardening, cuisine etc. The thing I most appreciate about such hosts is that there is no clearly defined demarc...

As a creature of habit you get so used to something that when an alternative or a change of scenario presents itself, you take time to adjust to it. Only, the adjustment time period is different for each one of us. This morning as I sat down to work on this post, unconsciously I found myself trying to move the laptop a bit sideways just as if I were sitting with a pen and writing pad and used to tilt it sideways to write! (Although the fact that Dustin Hoffman was playing 'Tootsie' on my TV set could be construed as a distraction, but I know better!)  Just as suddenly reality dawned, and I realized how much I missed literally penning down my thoughts!  I have been using the computer to write or rather type for a number of years now, but never has the urge to use pen and paper ever really left me.  It almost seems like another era now when writing was an important medium of communication, be it letters, notes in a greeting card or for that matter posts as they have become...

Sometime back, I experimented with a vegetarian recipe. It was a  Gujarati  dish that I accidentally came across while in a small, nondescript-looking restaurant that we had stopped by while looking for some vegetarian fare. Living in a big city, I have discovered that you don't necessarily have to go to a big, pretentious place to get good food that sets your taste buds clamoring for more. So, more often than not whenever we decide to eat out, we find ourselves looking out for quaint little eateries that are unpretentious and humble enough to advertise their expertise through the medium of their food and service alone. And I am glad to say that we have not been disappointed too often. So, on this particular occasion when I found myself looking at a vegetarian menu that bespoke an impressive array of dishes, I decided to go for something that I had not tried out before. I ordered a dish that comprised spring onions and tomatoes as the main ingredients. Humble you might say, a...

Bhola was a gardener by profession and used to work in the big green lawns surrounding the office complex where Monu's father worked. There were other 'maalis' too, as they were called. After his official work during the daytime, Bhola would come in to work on the patch of garden in front of Monu's house to make some extra money. Almost all the other gardeners moonlighted too, as every house had a bit of garden patch to work on, and most households needed help on their green patches with weeding, sowing seeds for vegetables and flowers and watering and trimming the plants. So, every evening around 4:00 or 5:00 PM, depending on whether it was Summer or Winter, Bhola could be seen working away at the garden in front of Monu's house. In summers,  riding his rickety old bicycle,  Bhola would come  a bit late  as the light would still be good well past 7:30 in the evening. But in winters, he would arrive sometime after four and leave after five as the dusk would quick...

That it happens to be World Environment Day today was a mere fact until the time that the clock signaled afternoon. The day dawned just like any other Thursday, on any other week - giving a false sense of hope and gaiety that the approaching weekend would be a source of happiness and fun. Most unemployed mothers look forward to the weekend with an eagerness that is only matched by their children's own excitement at the prospect of the whole family getting together and spending some happy enjoyable time. Most employed fathers and mothers, however, tend to look upon the weekend with relief and as a source of having some really long hours of uninterrupted sleep. So it is in our home too. And as I sat folding the laundry and mulling over the prospect of yet another mirage-like weekend, my thoughts turned to the topic of lunch. There was some food in the fridge and I thought maybe I'd make a light meal. I remembered that some idlis had been left over from yesterday and I planned ...

My daughter stared mesmerized at the shiny new guitar her dad got for her one evening. It was a beautiful red color and had a bit of black on its neck towards the fingerboard. She was eager and excited and cradled it in her arms with all the fondness that children show for a brand-new toy. Gently, she would pluck at the strings and then would squeal with delight as an automated tune played, powered by batteries of course. After all, it was a play guitar meant for children and not really a proper one that adults used. So, she would go about imitating the way professional guitarists played with eyes twinkling away at her parents and an impish smile lighting up her face. And the red guitar would come alive in her hands, a bluish light lighting it up from within as tiny blue bulbs lit up every time a string was touched or the automated tune played.   On night however, something rather strange happened and the little red guitar was at the center of it all. We all had gone ...