blogathon/Thoughts/Travel

The story of hand prints

Posted on by Archana K B / 3 Comments

When you are doing a daily post challenge there is an invisible pressure to churn out new blog posts. The background thread in your mind has to be running full time to generate new ideas, or view  the day to day happenings with a blogger point of view, just like a photographer views a real picture with his photographic eye. There are some days when I write two posts together and schedule them over the days, while this post was written with a blank mind. And that’s when some of the lingering thoughts from your mind, pours out of its cocoon to fill the blog post.

One of the key takeaway from the Rajasthan trip we had in December was the Mehrangarh Fort. It was the most impressive fort for me. The entire Jodhpur view, huge walls, the intricate carvings on the stone with the bugle music and drums echoing through the corridors, and the winds blowing right on your face. The guide was helpful in showing only the main art museums and galleries and was rambling many names of the kings and wars happened at the fort. He left us on the way back when we declined his offer for visiting shops and he missed out some interesting points which I had found online.

While I was searching for reviews and travelogues for planning this trip, I had stumbled across many blogs. One of them had a post on this Jodhpur fort. It was a photo showing the handprints of the queens who performed sati ritual. And as we walked down out of the fort, I did notice them on one of the gates. Unfortunately, the camera was with RK who was already few steps ahead and hence I could not take the photo myself. Though some forum say they are symbolic, the mere fact that women like you and me underwent that ritual sent shivers down my spine. Our next stop was the Jaswant Thada which was the cremation ground in the olden days. The combined effect of the handprints and the logs of wood lying scattered around the rocky hills has left an imprint in my mind thinking how the grand lives led by the queens and kings came to an end.

Though I could not find that exact post which triggered this series of thoughts, I found another post describing the visit to Mehrangarh Fort which shares similar view on the old ritual.

Bangalore life/blogathon/mommy

Mac and eggs – Indian style

Posted on by Archana K B / 5 Comments
Most kids love mac and cheese. N is no different. She loves macaroni. I had started it so that she can survive hotel food, whenever we travel and stay in resorts. From the time she learned of “Yanke Doodle” rhyme song, and found the word “macaroni” in it, her demand for macaroni has increased exponentially. I too love Italian food like pizza and pasta but not on all days! Its like you dine at Barbeque Nation. Before visiting the restaurant, you feel you haven’t been there in ages, and you start yearning for the fried starters. But once you come out of the restaurant, you feel so full that you pledge that you would never visit this restaurant again. Its the same with me for pasta. Though I order it first, the creaminess of the sauce makes me feel so full and awful till the rim of the neck and I end up passing rest of the meal towards my faithful, loyal and loving husband to finish off the rest.

So after being pampered by the grandparents who had come to Bangalore for our Rajasthan trip, N wanted macaroni to waive off her ‘loneliness’. I did not feel like having the cream sauce and was wondering what twist to bring into it, when I saw the recipe in the MTR macaroni back cover. It asked for red chilli powder and garam masala, but N did not liked spicy food. So the below is my twisted recipe I did at the end.


Ingredients:
200ml(1 glass) pasta boiled and drained as per the instructions on the packet
1 small onion
1 small tomato
1 small carrot
2 eggs
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 Amul cheese slice.
For adults, I would have added generous amount of pepper, red chilli flakes and oregano instead of the cheese slice. N love eggs, so I added two to give it more flavour.


Steps:
1. Boil and drain 200ml (1 glass) of pasta as per the instructions on the packet. I do add salt and a bit of olive oil while boiling pasta.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan, and add chopped onions to it .
3. After 1-2 mins, add the chopped tomato and grated carrot and saute till it cooks.
4. Add some ginger garlic paste, sprinkle some salt on it and give it a toss.
5. Crack two eggs into the pan and stir occasionally till scrambled eggs are formed.
6. Add the drained pasta into the pan. Toss and serve with grated cheese on top.
Do try the same or go “Fearless” and experiment with ingredients to give it your own twist.
blogathon/Stories

The tea break..

Posted on by Archana K B / 0 Comment

She woke up her obedient daughter. It was getting late to school. The school van would be arriving within an hour. She went back to kitchen to complete preparing the breakfast. Time ticked on. She was so engrossed in her morning household work, that she was startled when the little one came behind her asking for her dose of milk and cornflakes. The warmth of motherhood flowed into the household environment, till the school van honked to announce its arrival to pick the daughter up. As she waved her good bye smilingly, the light from the aura of excitement and love, went down slowly. She walked back to the kitchen, had her breakfast and prepared herself a cup of tea. She sipped it slowly, standing in the balcony of her apartment, as she does daily. This was the special short break time, before she immersed herself back to the chores…Far across the road, in a small hut, the workshop was already opened early in the morning. Maybe he had got more workload today…

With unknown eyes watching from the distance, the blacksmith had started doing his job. He had got a great offer yesterday to complete an assignment within one day. He had arrived at his workshop much early that day. Before the sun started getting hot, he immersed himself in melting and beating the hot iron rod, with great energy and precision. The process of moulding and shaping was very hard but the reward had always been minimal. The boy from the nearby tea vendor shop arrived with his cup of tea in a mini glass. He kept his weapon down, and started sipping it slowly watching the increasing traffic on the road, as he does daily. This was his short break before he immersed back into his back breaking work…The tall apartment buildings with beautiful balconies and tall windows, across the road reminded him of his small dreams of owning a piece of land..

Bangalore life/blogathon/books

Little Reader’s Nook

Posted on by Archana K B / 1 Comment

I got my reading habit from my father. I remember reading “Far from the madding crowd” by Thomas Hardy, owned by him when I was very young. When I read the book in high school, I did not understood a single word. Though my sister too was interested in books, the children’s membership was entitled to me, and so I enjoyed a major share of Nancy Drew, Enid Blyton, Secret Seven, and Famous Five. Though I did not understand the political part, I was so influenced by the diary writing from “The diary of young girl” by  Anne Frank , that I started writing a diary and hiding it from my parents and locking in my wardrobe in between my clothes. But at the same time, I am not so in love with the hard core book addicts like the little ones immersed in heavy Harry Potter books at the airport, who should be actually making ruckus and running around and like real little children.

I had read on internet, about mommies who want to instill reading habit in their children, by reading to them everyday. Though I do read occasionally, I am not a voracious reader, neither do I have patience to read out and tell stories to others. As like any mother, I also want my child to read, and hence I enrolled for Little Reader’s Nook By Devaki. Initially I was apprehensive, whether it was worth the money, since N is not interested in books, and the few books she already have, has got tears and pages pulled out by now, due to her fiddling. But the books I received were really age-appropriate(compared to another reader kit I had subscribed to), and N had atleast one book, which she considers her favourite from the lot of books we receive every month. Now the onus is onto me, to cultivate the patience in me, to sit and read for few minutes with her, bearing her antics, while I read my lungs out, even if I know she is least interested in the English I speak, and more excited to pull out the folded papers. And the customer service was also very good. Devaki was very prompt and responsive to all the queries, intimidating every details of the shipment and books each month, and in reminding to renew the subscription. The personal touch and involvement makes you feel its not a company based service, but rather a friendly next-door neighbour service for your child.

Now that I am settled with the book reading subscription, I am thinking of starting the art and craft based subscription kits in preparation for the summers. Which one do you reckon in Bangalore, or from India?

blogathon/Relationship/Thoughts

Analogy of solar system

Posted on by Archana K B / 1 Comment
Few years ago, while I worked in Chennai, I remember having a discussion with my colleague on friendships. Yeah, you guessed it. I love thinking on such topics. The most used tag in this blog is obviously relationships and thoughts.


It came naturally for me to reply with an analogy of circles. I replied that gangs of friends can be considered like the orbits in a solar system, where in every person you meet in real life is a gravitational connection you make like the sun to the planets. They circle around you either closer or farther in an orbit with a gravitational force proportional to the wavelength of moral principles or values followed by the both you and them. But unlike the force from the sun, this wavelength is not static and therefore the orbit is also not exactly circular or elliptical but in similar closed shape. More like an amoeba circumference. It does not differentiate between family or friends or spouse. There maybe orbits close to each other or seems to overlap, which confuses your relationships, but there are subtle differences which differentiates them, and places them in their own orbit. And to complicate more, You or the sun can themselves act as planets revolving around some other Sun or person.


This can explain to a satisfactory extent on love, attraction, breakups, death, and not keeping in touch, etc. We keep in touch by not reducing the gravitational force towards the people we want to be close with. If there is a clash in the wavelength of thoughts there arises repulsive forces which may weaken the gravitational force allowing them to break off from the orbit. Love has more magnitude in the force than attraction. And hence even if you can be attracted to many, very few can be in your immediate circles including family or any other relative whom you are very close to. And the people who are in your memory or have died are still revolving around you, but with less force since you haven’t broken away from them, even if they have broke away from you.


I am still thinking on moulding other bits and pieces of this theory, for instance, the emphasis of time and lifespan in this unique complicated world. Do you have any inputs to help me out?


Linking the post at Ultimate blog challenge and Nablopomo.