Creativity has no limits

Hello, my dear cyber friends. In case you were wondering where I was, I was suffering form a very bad headache. I could not tax my mind anymore than necessary, so stayed away from this space. I just recovered, enough to write a small paragraph. And to add to that these damn strong perfumes! I was in the elevator with this lady, who I could smell from the parking lot! I should have known not to get into the elevator with her. I love perfumes, but they have to be subtle. I am yet to find one that I absolutely love. Clinque happy comes close to being the perfect one for me. Yep, saw the boring Grammy awards. I guess enough has been said and written about J.Lo's leg (thigh) and Katy Perry's boobs. Hey, at least they made Grammy 2013 memorable.
Joke of the day: John Abraham's statement that he is a one man woman. Did he mean one woman at a time? he he or is he getting ready for his new movie release: I, Me aur Mein? He went on to say that he would marry a simple woman as simplicity is the beauty of any relation. Hmmmm.
Folks, I came across this Punjabi girl from Canada, who uploads vblogs on YouTube. She is so funny. Calls herself superwoman. She is so energetic and lively. Check her out here and here . Creativity has no limits. My friend Anu and I also have come up with yet another video. Find ht evideo on YouTube under the title, Modern Day Bapama.

Here we are dressed like old grandmas who are modern and enjoy life to the fullest. If you liked it, please leave a comment. Feedback of any sort is always welcome. Helps us decide if we should continue our work.

Alright folks, today's Song of the day is from the movie Barsaat. OMG! Raj Kapoor and Nargis had awesome chemistry! People used to say that I looked like Nargis during my younger days. I wish! Fine rendition by Lata didi. Enjoy! Till next time, Shub ratri.

 

Thoughts

Vanakkam friends! Since Monday, my right eye has been twitching. In India, this is considered bad luck. I know, I should believe in all these blind faiths. But I can't help it. So, I have not been myself this week. Nothing bad has happened so far. I really hope it stays that way. I bring some good news folks. I have lost a pound in weight. I wish there was a shot or something that would remove the fat from arms. I am just not able to change the shape of my arms, however much I try. One of the many advantages of taking a dance class is, you get to listen to new energetic songs. Today, in my Zumba class, I heard 2 such songs. One is "Limbo" by Daddy Y Yankee and the other is "Girl is on fire" by Alicia Keys. Check it out here and here.  Today, for some reason I was humming this song Saagar Kinare dil ye pukaare. Oh boy! Dimple Kapadia is any man's dream!  Her lustrous hair, her hazel eyes, her perfect figure in that blue dress, katilana looks. So, no points for guessing my Song of the day is ....

Why don't they makes movies and music like this anymore. Oh, I miss my youth. So, bollywood these days is celebrating all the award shows. Somehow I have not kept abreast of this news this year. Watch out for Google tomorrow folks. On Friday, Google is celebrating late ghazal king Jagjit Singh's 72nd birthday with a doodle on its India homepage. Cannot wait to see what it looks like. ________________________________________________________________________
Folks, our mind has so many thoughts per day. All through the day and till we go to bed our mind is so active. It jumps from one topic to the other. Sometimes even when we sleep our subconscious is working overtime and we get dreams. It is believed by many that an average person gets 70,000 thoughts per day. Wow!

I often see pople at work, or at the mall or someplace that are so lost in thoughts, that they just look through you, even if you are right in front of them. There are days when my mind won't stop thinking. It's on those days that I cannot fall asleep and I keep looking at the time only to find that just 5 minutes have passed since I last checked the time. Sigh! Those are some bad nights. Thoughts are countless, innumerable. Thoughts change so fast. Hence, we have limited control over our thoughts. But we can decide which thoughts to entertain. Psychiatrists often say think of happy thoughts. This will make us stay positive. I know it is easier said than done. We can try at least. All right friends. Good night and happy thoughts!

 

The art of making Kajal

Hello friends! Learnt a new word today "fatwa". Kashmir lost its only all-girls rock band as its three teenage members decided to call it quits, a day after the Grand Mufti issued a fatwa terming singing as un-Islamic and asked them to abandon it. Ok. We are in the 21st century now. How is India going to progress at this rate? It was nice of Salman Khan and Rekha to show support to Kamal Hassan by having a special screening of the the movie Vishwaroop. It was for a good cause and the film fraternity stood by each other. I like it. I love the gorgeous Beyonce. Don't you? Electrifying performance by her last night. Enjoyed. Nice game. Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens.
Tip of the day:  I had made masala dosa over the weekend. I used some white potatoes for the baji. The baji turned out all mushy. After testing almost all varieties of potatoes available here in the US, I found out that red potatoes are the best for cooking.
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I am so used to applying Kohl (Kajal) to my eyes to the extent that I cannot leave home without it. It has become an essential necessity of my life. It brightens my otherwise dull eyes. So, when I visited my parents, I asked my Mom to make kajal the traditional way. My dear Mom obliged. It's a recipe passed on to various generations. Please see below pics for step by step directions on how to make Kajal.

 Take water in a bronze thali (Note: The thali has to be made of bronze or iron for cooling effects)

 Keep a ghee diya (lamp) ready

 Make a makeshift  chula (stove) with 3 coconut shells

 Now burn the lamp and place it in the middle of the 3 coconut shells

 Place the water filled thali on the 3 shells

 Let the lamp create some kari (ash) under the thali

 Now overturn the Thali

 Scrape and collect all the ash using a sharp knife

Mix a few drops of asli (real) ghee to the ash (now the kajal is ready)

 

Fill a dabba (box) with the kajal.

With time the kajal gets better in texture and quality. When I say time, it can be several years. Home made kajal is safe for the eyes and has cooling effects. This kajal can also be used on hair as a temporary dye. Home made Kajal also acts as a moisturizer to the hair. Hope all of you benefited by this. My Mom would be happy to know if you tried it. Let me know.

 It's Kishoreda today folks. Song of the day is from the movie College girl. Wah! beautifully penned. Just try to get in zone of the hero when he sings these lines. Must be in so much in love. Intense! Love it. A mood setter. Enjoy! Shub Ratri.