You – “My Mirror”

Credits: Mark Lewanski

These years that swept by,

Like a wave dissolving a sand castle,

The girl wrote poems and stories,

Of a life, perhaps worthy being a novel.

The words were her power,

The thoughts, the backbone, like an ink

A dip of the pen, pierced the memories,

With freshness, in which past had sunk.

Who knows it was true or false?

The readings she thought to have read,

Of the events that were overpowering,

This while she thought to have learnt,

From her every back step.

In a market full of treasures,

In a mirror, she saw a lady,

Behind whom a girl stood,

Longing to touch it, but a li’l wary!

The mirror brought her closer

Facade

How easy it is to fool someone,

In this world full of innocents,

And for every mask they wear and remove,

There are some to be happy,

And those who lament.

Shed a tear, wipe it away,

Clean your face; you’re the same again,

An experiment to test,

Will give you answers at best.

Those bonded intuitively,

Shall catch you in time,

And those far from you,

Will never ever rhyme.

The ‘real’ in this world,

Is hard to find,

For millions keep speaking,

But it appears a mime!

The social world which we made to live,

The fake smiles which we accept and give,

It’s the mind and the heart,

Which remain true to you,

‘Coz inside they reside,

Outside, they feel all blue.

And the irony of ironies,

Exists in this life,

We know we are being deceived,

Yet we wish to strive,

The false hopes and high expectations,

One day they’ll all crumble,

And go on a long vacation.

Then we’ll cry for not having accepted,

That this life is a mask,

With many facades,

One on your left, a million on the right,

You too a part,

But just not ‘in- sight’.

It’s a jungle of madness,

All sensible, yet crazy,

Its operations, so human,

But administrates mechanically.

Why all the flattery?

Why licking other’s shoes?

Can we not be ourselves?

And do what we wish to?

A cycle of façade,

Don’t know if it has a history,

It all seems so new,

With a mysterious kind of mystery!

The value of a GIFT

‘Gift giving’ as a process may be exciting for some people, yes I would like to emphasize on ‘SOME’. I think many people in this world, however, consider it burdensome, to get gifts and to give gifts.

There is no human on this planet earth who doesn’t likes wonderful and pleasant surprises (and as the percentage goes, even those who hate surprises, there are not of our concern at the moment). Gifts have an immense potential to convey the way we feel about someone. More special a person is to us, the more willing we are to expend our precious time and effort to pick a gift that aptly suits the person. And what better way to get a return gift than a wonderful smile, a warm hug and a ‘thank you’ said right from the heart.

When people think of gift giving and receiving as something very tedious, the whole pleasure and the fun of it disappears in the thoughts of giving gifts matching the cost of the gift we received, getting a gift which is way too cheeky or cheap according to our taste or in return give a gift which shows the person where you stand and where he/ she stands.

Do you see any joy in this? NO! While I agree, that social obligations make it ‘mandatory’ for us to give gifts in return which match up or at least nearly match the standards of the gifts we have received, but can we not forget all that at some times and reflect on the feelings of love which goes along when someone gives and receives a gift?

I have too many thoughts in my mind at present, at how to put them in an order is difficult for me!

I personally love making my special and dear friends feel ‘special’ and they simply love the surprises, no matter how small they might be. Many times I have been surprised to the extent when some have told me that they have never ever received a hand-made card by anyone, while I love making hand- made cards. Cards made by self, where you might even just write a ‘thank you’, ‘I love you’, or ‘You are special’ hold more significance than ready made cards. Just the way the freshness, aroma, the softness of an oven fresh cake lures you to come near it and have a biiig bite of it, similarly anything custom- made for the ‘special person’ means more than anything to him/ her.

I would like to share how I make my dear ones feel special:

1. By buying gifts they deserve: While it may seem calculative, I do think that every gift has a ‘person to be given to’ in mind. So best friends get the best of the lot, and good friends get the good stuff of the lot, and casual friends are not given casual stuff! Why? Coz perhaps we don’t wish to show them that we cannot gift! For them, we especially ‘think’ and gift.

2. Words of love: These words go directly either into a card or a letter, especially written for my friends! You can try it too, it’s not that hard telling them how much you love them and how much they mean to you!

3. Going gaga over my friends: ITS VERY very easy, All you gotta do is, tell them how much you love, adore them and are happy for them, on wall posts, through messages, by tagging them in beautiful pictures, dedicating a song or a staus to them, until they get tired!! Lol;)…

Often while exchanging gifts, we end us receiving some which we dislike so much yet we have to put up a fake smile and thank them as if that was the best ever gift someone gave to us! These situations become extremely awkward, for we cannot let them know how much we loathe what they gave to us. I really don’t know how we handle such situations! They become so uncomfortable. So next time, when it is our turn, do we gift them something of the same range, or a higher range to let them know how giving we are, regardless of what they gave us!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that continue to love and to be kind, continue to give no matter how much hatred you might get in return, a day will come when the person will realize and feel small for himself in front of all that he was given and then will make all the efforts to be more good to you than you were to him!. I even got to hear an interesting experience from an aunty on this one, and it was indeed astonishing.

I’ll end up on a happy note, coz I like happy endings.

Gift to show that you love,

Gift to show that you care,

Gift to bring a smile,

Gift to give a hug,

Gift sometimes, out of the blue,

Not always to those who mean to you,

Gift can be a simple thank you,

Or a smile that says ‘I love you’!

‘Grand’-Parents

A friend of mine happened to share with me of how her dadi would encourage her to pursue modeling as she is 5 ft 9 inches tall, how she would ask her sweetly if she has a boyfriend ( and when my friend answered ‘no’, her dadi told her that she would wait for the time to hear the good news, if my friend ever made a boyfriend). Her dadi also encouraged her to volunteer for CWG, saying “Don’t worry about the late night hours, who gets an opportunity to be a part of such historic events again and again?"

And all this while, my mouth was wide opened (not so wide that a fly would come into my mouth:P) and I was amazed! Surprised by the open –mindedness of her dadi, of how she was making herself flow with the currents of ‘today’s time.

Well I don’t know how many of you are aware of what it takes to be open-minded, liberal and graciously accepting and understanding other people’s opinions and views. And coming that from a woman who has seen the world changing, has lived in her ‘own’ times, and in the times of the present is some thing worth acknowledging for!

I myself have no clue of how harsh or nice I will be with my kids, if I’ll be able to bend my line of thought, to match theirs or I’ll be cynical of my children’s ‘ideas –of- having- fun’.Interestingly, my friends pointed out to me, that I’ll be a strict mom with a soft heart, hmmm!!

While these things are too far- fetched to think of, what I feel is having even one elder person in your life, who invites you, unknowingly, to share your story of life with them (every single thing) and understands it just the way you would want them to, at the same time in a polite manner conveys your mistakes and how to be able to correct them, would prove to be nothing less than a jewel found once in a lifetime!

And , I have yet not found that jewel, and perhaps even it if it is suffice to say that there are jewels around me, I somehow have grown up to be intimidated by them, to the extent of not exploring their sheen! Though our ‘best’ friends always form one of the most significant part of our lives, yet an advice of an elderly person, their wisdom which they bestow upon us, sometimes by scolding, and sometimes by gentling pushing us forward to lead the way can be easily compared to an angel in disguise.

This reminds me of my dadu( paternal grandfather) who lived such a simple life, and pampered us to an extent our parents cannot even think of. Every single day when he would come to pick us up from our bus stop, and on our way back to home, we would have ‘bunta’ ( aerated silver, black or orange colored drinks you get in a bottle sealed with the help of a marble). I repeat, Every Single Day. In those years, Coca Cola used to be a litlle expensive for the pocket, so one day he happened to take me and my brother to a shop, to have it, and we were elated and joyous. One thing which I felt guilty about after his demise was how we as kids would run to home, and he would carry our two heavy bags , not saying even a word.

With my dadu every single moment was a treat ( ‘jalsa’ what we call in Punjabi). In the evenings , when we would go to the park to play, he would treat us with orange or mango or raspberry ice lollies ( the very vendors from whom we had these lollies in our growing years, and now detest them for their quality of icecreams, simply coz they did not have a brand!). Sometimes he would make us eat ‘shakargandi’ ( sweet potatoes from the vendor). I hardly recall any request of ours being declined. And, surprisingly, I would not say that we have turned up to be spoilt kids.No, in no respect. And because of the precise reason, my dad too trusts me and my brother when we ask for money, or sometimes rather forget to ask for our pocket moneys. We know the value of money, have never spent extra money for useless stuff ( we have had our share of fun too, shopping, eating with friends or watching movies, but everything comes under a control limit, that we exercise on our own).

I happened to read sometime back, of how parents of today’s generation keep pin pointing their parents not to indulge the little kid in this or that, and on the contrary these grandparents have lived a fuller life in terms of experiences and what not, so they are more experienced in knowing what is right or not. No matter how old they might get, yet the instinct which makes them love, play and indulge their grand children in various activities can in no way be compared to what the parent’s instincts might say.While you might disagree with me on some things ( of course you can), there is still no denying the value which grand parents have in a growing kid’s life.

In praise of the love the grandparents shower on their grand children.

Love you dadu!

Yours

Kriti

foodie's DELIGHT;)

Dear All...

For quite sometime I 've been getting tempted, lured, and called for?Well, not that I'm in GREAT DEMAND, but it's the food bloggers and the way they write, the way they cook and the way they share their wonderful, scintillating recipes that makes me crave to take a bite into that soft delicious looking Tibetan momos, or dig into the sinful Pastry cake or chocolate cake, or for a change go to the kitchen and make myself a healthy salad!!!! wow!!What a feel do our taste buds get when they are pampered.They bless us even more than anyone could by asking for more heavenly bites of, be it kadhai chicken or kabab rolls!!

My love for food knows no bounds, and considering the way I have been feeling and thinking for quite some time, I have a feeling I might start a new food blog of mine! but that will be too much work!

I'm ready to do that bit if people are ready to be my fan even before I start;)

I, personally am not too great a cook, but loooooove to cook, to go through recipes, to imagine cooking such beautiful delicacies which people cannot stop raving about.

ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS "PANEER" or cheese as you call it.And I SIMPLY LOVE experimenting with paneer. Till now I HAVE COOKED paneer bhurji (which is quite easy to cook), kadhai paneer, creamy rich paneer, paneer-tikka-kind of paneer!

One evening, when guests had to come over at our place for dinner, and mom wasn't too well, I went ahead and somehow managed to make a complete dinner including my favorite creamy rich paneer. To my surprise, there was nothing left for me and my mom to have later:P...and considering the fact that I both love making and eating paneer, I was startled. But my happiness knew no bounds.

Anyone who loves to cook would agree with me, that the best ever compliment you can get without even a word being said to you is when there is actually "NOTHING" left for you!!haha:D

Another best spice which I love in the kitchen and consider it as a must have is OREGANO. This Italian herb is magical in itself. The way it transforms a boring recipe into something delicious and tasty is something I admire about.I have added oregano in pizzas, pastas, macaroni, omlettes,and sandwiches and TILL DATE, it has never ever disappointed my 'always-like-being-pampered taste buds'.

Before I end today let me share what all do I LOVE TO EAT:

1. PANEER;)

2. SUBS ( they are just so healthy, delicious and give you a refreshing feeling with every bite that you take:D)

3. GARLIC CHICKEN WITH NOODLES.

4. KADHAI CHICKEN WITH HOT, CRISP TANDOORI ROTIS

5. MIXED VEGETABLE KI SUBZI (I simply love the colorful looking veggies and the way they blend with each other to give you a beautiful taste, have it with curd and roti...yummm)

6. MOMOS (chicken momos, and QD'S (if u are in Delhi) CHICKEN TANDOORI MOMOS-makes you go to heaven even before u actually wish to;)

7.MY HAND COOKED PASTA:)

8. GOBHI KE PARANTHAS- the way my mom makes them.typical PUNJABI STYLE. big, huge and heavy. With the butter melting on top,I sit in the balcony on a nice sunny winter morning,AND VOILA!! what a breakfast!

9.HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI- This is one recipe to fall for, and what I have heard, if one really wants to make an authentic biryani, it takes not less than 2 hours.Someday I will achieve this feat too:)

10.Finally....nothing can beat the prashad we hindus make on the day of Ashtami, after the navratras- puri, chole and halwa!!- A treat in itself!!:)

If i do not stop right here I might even start writing a list of MY FAV desserts. Perhaps in the next post!!

till then

keep eating. keep living!!!

love

Aakriti

The sweetness of the taste buds

A scoop of vanilla ice cream, few nuts, raisins sprinkled over, a glassful of hot dripping liquid chocolate, some dark chocolate grated over it, and a whip of cream!! Here is how it looks. Next step, you look at it lovingly! You are so much in love with the way your hot chocolate fudge looks that you have no clue of the hustle bustle that goes around you. You then go ahead, take the spoon and dig into it, slowly as the spoon moves towards your hungry lips and fluttering heart that yearns for a splash of sweetness, you close your eyes, and gently the ice cream, the chocolate, the raisins and the nuts all start bathing in the sinful and the gorgeous taste of it, and you feel rested, as if you were getting a chocolate massage. Your heart slowly settles itself into the depths of the hot chocolate and the coolness of the vanilla ice cream. Your eyes don’t feel like opening, and if they do, all they yearn for is the sight of an extravagant looking dessert you just ordered!

I never thought I could write such a beautiful description. Well, as a matter of fact I just did! And perhaps what made me write this is the love for sweets, desserts. And no matter how guilty you feel at the end of the day for having subjected yourself to the lure of the colorful fruit truffle or the dark aberrant chocolate truffle cake or simply a delicious looking, topped with dry fruits, piping hot Moong dal ka halwa, no person can ever snatch from you the blissful state of yours when you gorged on and ‘lived’ that very moment of feeling content. Swimming in the dips of sugar, with saffron colored moong dal ka halwa melting in your mouth oh! So smoothly as if it just wanted to be tasted by someone who had always loved and appreciated every single thing about it-its texture, its taste, its color and lingering sweetness.

I also recall having Wenger’s butterscotch pastry, its chocolate truffle cake, but what I vividly wish to recall is its creamy fruit cake laden with fresh, bright and colorful kiwis, strawberries, pineapples and the crispness of little white chocolate. I happened to taste it on my friend’s birthday and immediately fell in love with the taste.

Blessed are the people who make such delightful and tempting desserts that people like me, even if on a diet, can easily cross the line-of- SELF CONTROL, go to the other side have all the pleasure in digging into the desserts one could have, come back and say to others-“Well, they look lovely, I wonder how they taste, but surely I can make out they are more than a worth having a BITE for!!”;)

Go ahead people, enjoy life and feel BLESSED!! And love the ‘foods which make your life worth “living” for’. I live to eat, do you eat to live or LIVE TO EAT too??

NOT A BED OF ROSES

Life is not a bed of roses always, there are some thorns too, which sooner or later we get to feel and be pricked by. The softness of the rose petals, its velvety touch, the fragrance and the color might invigorate you for few moments, but the fact is that, the petals, their freshness and the feel soon dies.

That is when the ‘reality’, that where we see roses, come ‘thorns’ too, hits us hard.

I often used to wonder, and now found an answer myself, that how long, how long could an optimist remain an optimist? Surely a day in life would come, when he/she like many others would too give up hope. Hope which has brought him this far, which has made him to cross many hurdles like a ‘swish’ of a wand, and hope that has led him to help others in return.

A day filled with sadness in his life where there seems no end to the constant disturbance that surrounds him, where the place he lives in seems like a ‘mad’ world, everyone ready to show their full-blown dis-ordered symptoms of theirs, an environment where even if willing there is no scope for patience, pause and rest, and if happiness does seems to creep in through a tiny hole, it goes back much more faster not allowing anyone to bask anyone in its beauty.

The hardest game a man can ever play in this ‘short’ lifespan of his is the ‘game of life’. And in case you are thinking I’m talking of the one designed by Funskool, well, NO!

This is a game which you, I, and many others keep playing day in and day out; it’s just that we don’t know what all that comes in our lives will add to the savings and what all will add to the losses. While some players play it smart, and others play it dumb, there are many others who having played all their lives still aren’t able to figure out the reason they were placed on this board of ‘life’ at the very first place. They have their cheerful days filled with the bright beautiful sun rays and laughter and smiles, and their darkness is way too dark. These people are then ready to give up all that they have earned so far in terms of trust, confidence, love, friends, and wish to travel far away where no single person they have ever known is in touch with them. The concern which they initially had about their loved ones, if they would ever ‘fail’ to play the game for them vanishes like liquid water which in no time evaporates.

These feelings come in no vain, for every throw of a dice leads to a number. The baggage that one carries in this ‘game of life’ is a result of millions of instances one has faced getting humiliated, thrashed, abandoned, or some times being left to play the game on your own with no one else to play. Then all that you do is stare hard at the board, the places where other players had reached and where you had reached, and the spot which you have always wanted to acquire (your dream). Those who are strong, even if crippled will go to any heights to reach their goal, and those who explore their weaknesses before they glance upon their strengths are happy to lose.

I have often thought of how only moments filled with desolation, loss, guilt, in short, all the ‘negative feelings’ only make us walk towards our ‘inner self’? Because in our moments of ecstasy, filled with joy and laughter, we become so lost, and why should we not be, that nothing else strikes us!

And while the waves may keep hitting the rock hard repetitively leading to its deformation, the rock continues to stand there, not worrying how the waves, which have often embraced it in its arms, been there with it through day and night, sometimes thrashing and sometimes being too gentle, have always loved the rock, and perhaps this is one way I could put the story of ‘our’ life too.

A Poem for every occasion

There lived a Poem,

In a world of her own,

Simple, ordinary, yet splendid,

The magic she created was with words,

Making some hearts cry with her beauty.

Her words touched the soul,

Of those who read,

Her words made them ponder and reflect,

To what they and the life is,

Questions she asked,

In the notes of music,

Secrets, which she never kept,

For how could she?

‘Coz she was a Poem,

Portraying every emotion of hers,

Yet not transparent, but translucent,

For understanding her, they needed depth.

And one fine day,

As she walked the path,

On which she did everyday,

She fell upon a Poem, a song,

The one which stole her heart away,

The way she felt,

Was never before,

A feeling, all pleasant and new,

Bewildered, surprised and amazed,

She wrote poems, enraptured with this view,

“Was this love or more” she thought,

“Or a streak of madness?”

“Many love me for the way I express”

“But no one to call my own”

“Now seems I can live my life”

“Holding on to this Poem I found!”

“And if the verses, and the stories,

Meet up for a gala event,

Let them know, I fell in love,

With that Poem, worth a million cents,

And that day, I will be “me” again,

Sharing my love for thee,

Who knows in the chaos?

As I look for you, you may find me!

The Re- bound Effect

A light talk, a little humour,

A warm smile, tossed with naughtiness,

A dash of care, with spoonfuls of share,

The unspoken sweetness,

Which makes you an addict.

For too much sweet is bad for health,

Haywires the whole system,

Later hard to mend,

Slowly the bitterness creeps in,

An unusual taste not easy to tell!

Then you wonder “what happened?”

Was it the chef, the sugar or the look?

That tempted you so badly,

No self- control, you got hooked!

Sweetness gets hurt when turned sour,

Creating an aversion, you walk afar,

Sad, if desserts no more tempt you,

Seemingly extravagant, they can’t woo you!

Perhaps in future you’d like to be aware,

Of the food you taste, plain or layered,

If by chance, you happen to like,

You may wish for more,

But back out ‘cause of fright.

The less the better for you and me,

If we wish to stay happy and healthy!