Life and ME!: 2010

Sevai Upma

Sevai Upma is a south Indian breakfast delicacy and quite a yummy one at that…

Ideally it has this rich white colour and a nice soft texture which ain't too dry nor too sticky such that you can actually separate each vermicelli… and it has a beautiful ginger garlic flavour...

It is one of my favourites and therefore I have been trying to learn to make it myself.

They say south Indian food requires more skill to get it right.

It is much more technically intricate than north Indian food where a little deviation from the recipe doesn’t necessarily create a disaster.

...And I learnt this the Sevai Upma way.

Today was my 4th attempt at it. I usually manage to get recipes right in 1-2 attempts (I know - I am good :) but this one just keeps eluding me!!!

The first time I made it, I grossly underestimated the dish… and therefore the Sevai Upma became all gooey like normal upma.

The next time I showed some respect and consulted the internet regarding the recipe… but still no luck…

I was so paranoid about overcooking it that the upma remained a little uncooked!

The third time it was cooked alright but still the right smoothness and the absolutely beautiful texture was missing… and I realized I used the wrong vermicelli… :P

So today, I entered the kitchen armed with the right vermicelli, right recipe, right ingredients - including an attitude which said "Do not think - just religiously follow the instructions"…

But yet again… I messed up!! And this time I really do not know what went wrong!

And I have no energy left to find out.

I therefore officially give up on this one :(

There is something about this festival that makes me so very happy...

Diwali means going home at any cost
It also means lights, colors, flowers, lanterns and rangoli...

Diwali means a trip to main road in super crowded, brightly lit streets...
and it also means waking up very early to the sound of crackers!

It means early morning abhyang snaan and dad's tape of Gayatri Mantra...

Diwali means so many things... right since i was a kid...

Back then it also meant new clothes and showing them off...
It meant holidays and playing the whole day!

Diwali was about - whose rangoli is better and who has more interesting crackers...
It also meant going to everybody's house for 'faral'...

But never ever ever did it mean... rains!

It is Diwali night and it is pouring crazy... my Akash Kandil is all ruined and the weather outside is anything but festive...

There is of course no continuous deafening cracker noise either... just pitter patter rain drops
and there are no 'lights and more lights'...

This diwali has been unconventional in so many ways...

For one... the entire family is not at home... Miss you monster.
It simply doesnt feel like Diwali this year...

Well... Ek diwali aisi bhi :D
Hope the coming year is as unconventional (but good) as was this Diwali...
Enjoy and Happy Diwali :)

Blood Soup!

It is an interesting concoction of beetroot and carrot and is my mom's signature soup recipe...

And it tastes surprisingly yummy despite its 'bloody' unappetizing looks…

I would always call it "raktacha soup" and my mom would always scold me for calling it that.

To further irritate her, I and the hairy monster would suggest to her that she should serve it in

'human skull bowls' with spoons made of bones for the right effect :)

"We are all draculas tonight"

And that would always get us the usual "vajvayla pahije changla tumhala" from her… :)

Well, today I tried making the blood soup and nostalgia hit me.

This is the 50th post on my blog - and it is dedicated to the Hairy monster - who, as I realised, has received surprisingly low footage on this blog.

This one's for all the fights we've had, the jokes we've shared, the endless leg pulling and everything :)

Cheers to us (touchwood)…

Awww...

The post was to be about things that make me go awww…And I realised that lately I have been awwwing a lot… thanks to mr. Offsid.

He is the latest addition to the list of important people in my life. He is important coz he is marrying neha mordia. And he is called offsid coz he met her in office and there is a long story etc - lets cut it… I mean the story. The prefix shall remain :)

There aint many men who can make not just their girl but also her friends go awww

He is one of those.

He writes poems for her on her birthday… mails her friends to ask her what would make her happy…writes a beautiful (mushy… not eeeuuu mushy but beautiful mushy) speech for her and reads it out before getting down on one knee to propose her on their engagement…

Knows exactly which flowers she loves and never misses an opportunity to give them to her…

Awwww I mean seriously awww…

I always thought such men did not exist.. Or even if they did, they would mostly fall into the cookie cutter mold category…

But he surprisingly doesn't...

Which is perfect… simply perfect.

And since it is customary to warn you of a few things… here you go Mr offsid,

1. Never stop awwwing us. Seriously. You, by doing all the above things, have raised the standards for yourself… which I am sure you will only keep raising… and we will look forward to loads of more awwwing :)

2. I know you already know this mordia bitch quite well, but it is my duty to let you know a few important things…

The girl you are marrying is crazy… to say the least… :)

She will be your best pal or worst enemy… she doesn't understand much bout the rest of the spectrum…

And since you are on the extreme of the better part of this spectrum, your life is going to be super crazy, and you shall love it...

Though she appears to be a tough nut and tries to show that she is one of those I-give-a-damn people… she is not. She does give more than a damn bout many things :)

3. We (I and raji) would obviously keep being an important part of neha's life - so you have no option but to like us :)

And you might as well start right away… to know us more, please arrange for a nice trip to Goa soon!! :)

4. For any advice on how to solve any issues related to this lady, feel free to get in touch with us any day any time…

Last but not the least,

Cheers and have an awesome life ahead…

May neha make cloud 99 her permanent residence and needless to say, we shall always be there for you :)

(Awww to myself…)

Loads of luv, wishes and prayers to both of you.

Selling cancer medicine

I rarely ever bring work to the blog but that is cause work has hardly ever before been something that touched something in me...

Have been handling cancer drug sales since a few days... People/doctor assistants keep telling me that i don't appear to be an MR... may be i don't... But then i like to surprise people :)

The latest stint of mine however has disturbed me to some extent. Seeing people in excruciating pain is not the best job indeed...

And when you know you are unable to do much for the poor farmer who has sold his land to treat his cancer... Which is anyways going to kill him in another year...

It feels sick... it really does.

But i am doing this. I am really really surprised at myself cause i am being fine at it.

It feels good. Really.

Cancer is a horrible disease - to say the least - and u feel like doing something... Anything... to make that little leukemic kid feel good...or to make the last few days of the old lady easier...And i guess that partly motivates me to do my job well with the doctor!

There is so much that this industry needs. So much that can be done...

Done better.

May be some companies are doing it already... And some have tried and failed.

I certainly must not be the first one to feel that things can change here and i can be the change agent!

To list a few things wrong here

Compassion: People work for their target and not the patient
Doctor works for the patient but cant help but get a little selfish at times - cant help it he too... Struggle and competition is killing there too!!

But they are all not the same. And its a relief

Sincere people will be valued. Easily... coz they are oh-so-rare!
The doctor and the patient - especially while fighting wid cancer require so much more than just cheap medication...

Why cant the pharma cos grow out of their roles and do something more!

Being profit centric is right... But lets go beyond...

It doesn't cost a bomb... Really... And if you have to think business - it comes around only to add goodwill to you - doesn't it?

All in all - realised that there are very many need gaps - gaps that can filled... And filled profitably!

The Indian pharma industry is at its inflection point they say - It is growing...In terms of medicines... In terms of acquisitions and mergers...

But is anyone doing something bout the very fundamental thing - bout what is the requirement at the ground level???

What does the patient really really want??

Sensitisation of the work force... Important...

An MR sits in doctors waiting room - not giving seat to an elderly patient...

Saddening.

Hospital waiting rooms are depressing enough already... And these things only make you feel worse...

Happy Birthday to me!

The day before THE DAY! :)

Not that it is ritualistic for me to introspect, but this year I will, coz it has been one helluva year in terms of the distance I have travelled…

geographically, emotionally, financially and intellectually..

1. Jan-feb-march 2009

The year started with placements.

Learnings:

- Don’t procrastinate when you are trying to figure out what you really want. Opportunities and time don’t wait forever.

- If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will…

- God ultimately does good when he doesn’t answer some prayers...

if u are being a jerk, he doesn’t accompany you :)

2. Jan-feb-march 2009

Fell in love with the marine drive...with the sea and the sunset.. Its beautiful hues and the ships on the horizon… the cool breeze blowing in my face… and the tiny stars in the sky…

This place will always hold a special place in my life… one of the 2 most peaceful places I have known (other being BC at night)

3. March-april-may 2009

Around this same time discovered a new freedom in life! Breathed free after ages! Felt oh-so-good. Rediscovered Pallavi.

Cleaned a few cupboards. moved on.

Also experienced ecstasy…!!! had crazy fun… :)

4. Jan 09 - Jan 10

Cleared my thought process… or rather developed one!

Learnt how to think - truly.

I understood how to face my own demons…

Saw the hypocrite in me... thanks to the 'paralysis of analysis' friend :)

5. June 09 - jan '10

This was the phase when I became tough.

Experienced loneliness. Learnt to enjoy my own company...

Truly understood myself… loved myself :)

I learnt not to take anything at face value. I learnt negotiation…

I learnt to turnaround disadvantages to your advantage… I learnt perfection.

I learnt the business of business.

I learnt to believe in myself. I learnt that I am good :)

The year to come promises to take me farther from here…

And I hope the journey is as enjoyable as this one was… in terms of beauty, learning, happiness and fun… :)

Amen...

Happy Birthday to me :)

10 things that bug me!

1. Belly Tyre! (I have become soooo pocrescophobic!!)

2. People sulking without explaining…. Oh God… how it gets onto my nerves!!

3. Mess (I know ppl shall b surprised - but it indeed bugs me!) :)
but then - y do I not do anything bout it??? Refer point no 10.

4. Acceptance of beliefs or norms without questioning them and then worse, getting judgmental based on those Oh how could I forget -

5. lizards !!! *shudder* even the thought has the effects!

6. Incompetency or worse, kaam chor pana…

7. Untidy loos … yuck!

8. My boss in bad mood

9. Acidity!!!

10. My habit of procrastination :P (That is not the reason why this post got delayed though… it was a combination of 8 and murphy and his stupid law!)
The reason for this random post though is that me and 2 of my friends decided to write a post on a common topic…
Just to see how similarly we are different…
After around 20 mails exchanged in office debating on the topic for the same, we zeroed down on this non-controversial, non-philosophical one!
Just in case u r interested, the links to the other 2 blogs are
Thought-for-the-blog.blogspot.com
Nehamordia.blogspot.com