Masala for the Soul

As we walked in, the hizz sound of dosas getting crisper and the aroma of madras coffee made us feel very much at home and hungry. Sangeeta, this is where my family usually frequented for tasty, cheap wholesome Indian vegetarian food. My family was particualar when they ate from out, my mom wud b more than happy if she cud get peak view to the kitchen and check if the cook washed his hands before he began the chooping and frying!
As mom was fasting the whole day, we walked in around late evening, right in time to break her fast and start the possible feasting. As she settled in for a mini tiffin (an appeatizing combo with a masala dosa, mini idlis, vada, upma, rava halwa and of course a nice steaming filter madras cofee) and a poori bhaji, rava dosa for dad, I decided to go for a paratha and Mango lassi. Something about Sangeetha wat I always liked was the people who came to eat here. You could find young moms relaxing with hot masala milk teas with their little ones trying hard choosing which color chutney shud they dip their idli next in; families with big shopping bags marvelling on their latest bargains over long glasses of watermelon juices ; young lovers conscious of the open places and people watching them, still struggling to enjoy the syrupy gulab jamoons; tired hungry laborers asking in to get watever is ready fast as they cool themselves under the full speed fan! The crowd just fascinates me. Its such a thrill to hear indians speaking in Hindi, Tamil, Telgu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujrati and so many other indian languages with the hotel staff as they walk in. It is absolutely fine to speak loudly, laugh heartily and feel Indian here!
Like any other day today was no different. The same type of crowd, the familiar faces, the appetising aromas, the very much Sangeeta feel which I was enjoying while i sipping the cool mango lassi. As I try to get a peice of the juicy mango from the lassi, my eyes see a difference in the crowd and begin hearing something which i am not used to hear in this place. it was not the usual 'vanakams' or the 'kemo nachos' my ears were accustomed to but this sounded like a dozen of ducks quacking. It was not those with the red round bindis or brown skin but with paper white pale complexions. Maybe China, Japan or Fillipines they came from!
Everything around me became blurred as my focus shifted to this school of people who occupied 3 tables all together and trying to decipher whats written on the yellow plastic menu card. as the energetic waiter comes with his white notepad in hand to take the order from this special group, the guests struggled to pronounce uttapa (oodapa? or was it odhapas?) to puliyogre (pooligaras something like that), doubts regarding the difference between paper dosa and neer dosa ; is mini idli a kids combo meal (maybe they had HappyMeal from Mcdonalds in mind) and many such queries which the waiter tried to answer with his broken English with lots of Tamil backing! After an unsuccessful whole 2 minute struggle between our continental guests and the periye waiter anna, a smart kid from them points to the plate at the next table and says "Get me that!". "Masala Dosaaa" exclaims the relieved the tamil waiter as he happily scribbles in his notepad and begins to look around at many plates around and taking the orders as many of them decides to point around to others' plate.
As i walk out behind my parents I enjoy the sight of the gleam in the eyes of the 'Chinkis' (popularly people with oriental looks are referred to in the southern states of india) as plates of dosas and vadas arrive with small steel bowls of sambar and an array of green-red-white coconut chutneys!

A Guest!

I love some days, maybe a day like today.
Hmm i woke up fresh after a nice peaceful 9 hr sleep. Had hot masala dosa and a vada with a big cup of steaming hot milk tea. well the newspaper 2 didnt hav anything disturbing today for me 2 read but also had a heart touching story on the reunion of a reporter with her family who was in jail on spying charges. I really dont know this gurl but i felt so happy for her. wat more can u ask in life other than being united with ur family. just like i am at home rite now.
it has been over 5 years since i have peacefully been at home. 5 years it has been since i 1st left home 2 attend college in bangalore. i still remember that evening when mom dad had cum 2 see me off in my new hostel. thier flight was scheduled at night. they wud say bye 2 me, check out from the hotel and fly back home. fly back without me. i was so scared that moment. how cud i b alone without my dad? how would i cross the road? whose arms shud i hold on when i walk on the road? mom will nt b there again.
they told me every 6 months when college closed after the exams they will take me home. and from then every 6 months i was at home. a guest for not more than a month usualy. but every time i was home, i had tis yearning 2 get back. coz tat was were all the fun was!
i didnt notice that i kept cribbing of getting back 2 my friends at the comfort of my marooned and gold lined cushioned sofas with the cool air blowing from the air conditioner behind me and the wafting aromas of the tuna cutlets being fried specially for me.
2day when i just cannt get enuf of it- by viwill be visa call will be answered anytime and i will have 2 leave. to a new place, to new people..again a new journey would begin. like always leaving behind those 2 people of mine who is so precious! just to be a guest again but maybe this time every year or maybe once every 2 years

Strange Obessions!

Like the title says, it indeed is strange to have obessions and especially if you obessions are stange.
It was lately that I had seen this movie on India- Pakistan conflicts and such. The movie moving in its usual way of pleasing the Indian audience also did a good job of portraying the way human emotions were tortured. It was a scene of where a group of militants forcefully dashes into a house and tries to physically assault and torture women and use religion as an excuse.
The scene if taken from a professionally media person's angle, it is extremely well shot using a lot of symbolism to signify to the audience as to what is happening. where as from a comman man's point of view- the scene just hits the chord rite. and tis is wat has gt me thinking.
though that was an integral part of the movie and changed the way the story goes, i was wondering all these things would be happening in real life as shown in tis reel life.
The discomfort of being brushed aside by a person whom you dislike is sometimes untolerable so what will it be having to give in to the force of a man without choice?
I have wondered so many times what is all these wars and terrorism leading us to? What is the rationale of those people involved in all tis? i dont see them as any different from me or any one i know. i understand the basic need of any man is to have a plate of delicious dinner and a peaceful sleep.
What peace can u gather after all tis?
how can u even look at urself straight in2 the mirror?
a physical wound will heal but the inflicted mental state will remain!
I dont know how to put it further.
It is disturbing to think of how silly strange obessions can be!

Looking back...

After a sumptous curd rice lunch and lots of butter milk to wash it down, i wanted 2 catch on sum sleep. I swithc on the air conditioner and curl inside my warm and always loyal quilt, my cell (still on with my airtel number for the ease of my friends 2 text me at times) beeps and i hope it is from sum1 from the land of my beloveds. only to be disaapointed that yahoo reminds me that i am currently signed out from the messenger..
however that has set the train of thoughts to run...
i miss the mornings when i had to wake up listening to that boring alarm tone and still find anisha (my favourite room mate) still sleeping as if its just night. after fooling myself and the alarm with several snoozes i make it up sleepy to the kitchen to boil milk for tea. well tea was one of the motivating factors for me and rani 2 wake up in the mornings. as my tea is hot i catch up with the newspaper and i see my lovely rani make her way from the bed.
as we catch up over tea and the newspaper, i again have my alarm setting off reminding us of leaving 2 college. and the its a mess, a mad mad rush. fights for the washrooms, banging of the doors, crowding for mirrors to apply layers of kohl before leaving for collg.
well collgs was anything but fun. backbitching, peals of laughtes, gossips, coffes, samosas and wat nt.
well after collg again i rani wud catch up over cups of tea and strolls on the terrace. wat life!
after nt so nice and sumtimes fantastic dinner- i miss my gossiping sessions with ani in our small bedroom. i used 2 love it when she used 2 switch on the music frm her cell phone so that nobody could hear us bitching...
God wat a life!
I miss my friends, I miss home, I miss life

My come back

Hmm... Maybe after suparna maam's blog assignment tis is the 1st time i am logging back 2 my blog. When maam had her 2 hours of lecture on blog as a new media tool adn after a special guest lecture, i was still nt sure why people wanted 2 blog...

All those things about blog being a digitalised diary and wat not! but my million dollar question was a diary that 2 on the internet so that people can know your deepest dark secrets.. technology sumtimes amuses me. it either makes people stupid or God alone knows...

But to come to think of it now...then wat am i doing here? well i think all the bloggers out there just me like me (right here now!) it is the thrill of speaking out loud in the cyberspace and the uncertainity of being noticed or nt migh b giving a high!

yet to discover it