Shahensha

Hi everyone. Had a good Easter weekend, although, nothing to do with Easter. I am going to start this post with the Song of the day, from the 1988 movie Shahenshah, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Meenakshi Seshadri.

I spent most of the weekend watching youtube videos. Most of them were interviews with the Bachchan family. Believe it or not, I did not think much about Amitabh Bachchan, till recently. Now, remember I was not introduced to Hindi movies till I was around 18 years of age. By that time, the Amitabh era was over, and the Khans were ruling the industry. When I got married and came to the US, I made a friend who is a die hard fan of Amitabh, like most Indians are. The minute, my friend and I had some free time, to talk about "nothing" she would start talking about "Big B" as Amitabh is fondly called today. She said that she would have pleasant dreams about this great personality called Amitabh Bachchan.  She would endlessly talk about his affair with the gorgeous actress Rekha. She told me if there is an text book example of "chemistry' between two individuals, then it was that of Amitabh and Rekha. At that time, the stories she told me was all that I had to go by. I had never read or heard about it before. I had never watched a Hindi movie starring Amitabh. (and I claim I am an Indian! ha, ha). My friend told me to watch Silsila for starters. I did. Then a whole new world of Hindi cinema opened up for me. Like , every other Indian, today, I am in awe of this tall, entertainer called Amitabh Bhachchan. His trademark deep baritone voice, tall, brooding persona and intense eyes, made him the ideal “Angry Young Man”, setting him apart from the cluster of Bollywood’s lover boys.After watching an interview of his today, with his family on this show called Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. I was convinced that he is the real shahenshah of Bollywood. When he speaks, he makes you wish that you had a father just like him. I was so moved by this interview, I cried so much. He sounds genuine to me. An intelligent, strong, brave and humble man. He is not just an actor, he is an institution by himself. He was born on 11 October, 1942, which makes him 70 years old. Long live Big B ! I have posted the interview, for those of you who are interested. Enjoy!

 

Chand phir nikla

Happy Holi friends! I hope people in India enjoyed "dry" holi this year. Yeah, water conservation is a huge responsibility. Just to drill this point further, I have to share a hard hitting cartoon that I came across on Facebook today.

When I came home this evening after work, I had a voicemail on my machine from the dermatologist's office, reminding me of Rohit's appointment tomorrow. Now, they have this rule that we have call within 24 hrs to cancel this appt. if we cannot make it or else we have to pay the Co-pay anyway. This appt. had completely skipped my mind. I understand that time is money and the doctor has other patients in line. However, my complaint is that the doctor's office closes at 5 PM and we cannot leave messages for them as confirmation to cancel our appointment. How in the world am I supposed to communicate this to them? There is no email confirmation either. In today's day and age they are not computer savvy and they expect us to cancel the appt. one day earlier. I wish they were a little more flexible. I know, you are thinking, I could have put a reminder in  my phone. ZZZZZZ! Hello! the appt. was scheduled some 3 months ago. I have changed my phone since then. Really! Anyway, had a constructive day at work today and good news is that I purchased some well needed makeup today. Makeup makes me happy.:)
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I wish I had a good camera and some photography skills. I saw the most beautiful moon this evening. It was the first full moon of this Spring season. Even with an ordinary camera and my shaky hands, I managed to take a good picture. Please see below for the pics. You can see the craters too. I took this pic from quiet a distance. The golden moon looked gorgeous. A song that I learnt as a kid comes to mind.

O, look at the moon,
She is shining up there;
O mother, she looks
Like a lamp in the air.

Last week she was smaller,
And shaped like a bow,
But now she's grown bigger,
And round like an O.

 This was a week ago when the moon was a waning Gibbous (clicked by me from our backyard)

 This was today. Gorgeous is the word! (clicked by me from our front yard)

 

Arre, a moonlight dinner would have been perfect today. Such a shame that we had to eat indoors at home. It's at times like these, I wish, I were single and had not responsibilities. I could then drop everything and do what I really wanted to do at any given time. There are so many "Chand" songs that I like. However for the sake of this post, the Song of the day is from the 1957 movie 'Paying Guest'. Enjoy and Shub Ratri.

 

 

Pick me ups

Happy Monday folks! Had a very, very quiet weekend. Sanil was sick since Friday, with very high fever. Finally. took him to urgent care on Sunday morning. It turns out he has an ear infection. Poor child is on antibiotics now. I hope he recovers quickly. I hate when people get sick. The whole household is so quiet. All negative thoughts come to my mind. We managed to watch the movie 'Life of Pi". That movie was sad too. I  also watched the movie Rockstar. What a tear jerker that movie was. It was have been a good choice for a better day. I like Imtiaz Ali as a director. Good love stories from him so far. "Jab we met", "Love Aaj Kal" and "Rockstar".  Do you all think Sanjay Dutt deserved 5 years of jail? I know, he has already finished 18 months of it. Personally, I think the punishment is a little harsh. Over the last 20 years he has proved himself to be a good citizen. "Woh kehte hain na?  Subah ka bhula agar sham ko ghar aa jaye tou Bhula nahi Kahte". I am overall, feeling very low today.  I know that there are several "pick me ups'' when in a low mood. These are some of mine:

1. Music - Oh, I can listen to music this ALL day. Instantly, elevates my mood. However, today I was in the mood for only emotional, slow songs.
2. Dancing - Not only this makes me happy, it's a form o f exercise too! It's an over all help. However, I did not even try it today.
3. Coffee - Just the smell of coffee is enough to make me happy. I did drink 2 cups of coffee today, I felt good then.
4. Talk to a friend - This is always fun, to catch up and share information. I tried calling a friend today, but she was not available. :(
5. Giving someone a hug - The feeling of hugging someone dear to you is so therapeutic. I was giving hugs to all my family members today. Thank god for family, I felt reassured that there is someone who cares about me and I am not alone in this world. Sometimes, I get that feeling you know.
6. Smiling at a stranger - This is something I have noticed recently. It's extremely important to start a day with a smile. When the other person acknowledges by smiling back, it convinces you , that you are liked. (I have so many insecurities I tell you).
7. Cook something fun - Although I am not a great cook, it does help to kill some time when there is a low feeling. When someone enjoys the food I cooked, it makes me feel better.
8. Change of scene - Going for a walk outside always helps. Today, it was very cold here. I went grocery shopping for an hour and felt a tiny bit better, breathing some fresh air.
9. Chocolate - Eating some sugar elevates my mood. The sugar rush is what they call it. Sugar mixed with cocoa is heavenly.
10. Smelling a good scent - Believe it or not, I like smelling perfumes, lemon, ginger, paint, Gas, nail polish etc. It a wonderful feeling.

I tried most of these today, yet was not able to be my normal self. Tomorrow being a Monday is not a big help. The Song of the day is this song from the 1976 movie Fakira, that I listened to today. Wonder if Lataji thinks that she could have sung this better. Does she ever make mistakes? Feels like she sings so effortlessly. Ok folks, leaving you now. Shub Ratri.

 

The "dirty" food

Namaste friends. Chirp! Chirp! Cheer up folks! It's the first day of Spring for us here in the US. Steven Spielberg, Hollywood's highest-grossing director was in India for the first time in 30 years, exploring the possibility of a collaboration with Indian cinema. This is huge for India folks. The world of Cinema is reaching new heights. Amidst headlines like, Sunny Leone replaces Bipasha Basu, versatile actor Irfan Khan finally got his due. He won the best actor award at the 60th National Award for his stupendous performance in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s ‘Paan Singh Tomar’. I haven't watched the movie, so I cannot comment. I like Irfan Khan as a character actor. I liked his movie, "The Namesake". I am planning to watch "Life of Pi" this weekend.  Last week, Sonia Gandhi completed 15 years as president of the Congress. Her reign is no mean achievement: she is the longest serving chief of the 128-year-old party.
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Come Sunday, and the experience of indulging in Street food comes to mind. Street food is one of the most common and moderate ways of outdoor snacking. Even though people complain of the lack of clean, running water, coupled with pollution and insect infestation on the streets, the scene at the street corners is highly populated with hungry, drooling families. Despite having so many fast food joints like McDonalds, KFC, Subway, etc. in India these days, Street food is still popular. A hungry man sees it as being cheaper and faster than fast food joints. Street food ranges from 'Chaat', 'Idli', 'Dosa', 'Vada', 'Puris', 'Parantas' to the foods like 'Biryani', 'Chicken Kabos', 'Chinese food', etc., that sometime ago was considered the food for the rich. Deciding on what to eat, is not an easy task. The aroma tantalizes your taste buds to try all flavors in your mouth with that one heavenly bite. My favorite Street food is 'Pani Poori' and 'Chai'. And oh, not to forget the 'Paanwala'. 'Meeta Paan' completes the street food experience for me. Some days ago, a good friend at work packed me some 'Dabelis' for lunch. See pics. below.

Leaving you with the Song of the day from the 1976 movie Nagin. Lovely tune. Enjoy! Shub Ratri!

What is Psychography

Hello friends. How is everybody? I have been attending to a sick child at home. Rohit had the stomach bug for the last 3 days. He is much better today and went to school. Poor child was suffering a lot. This is his 3rd or 4th bout of the season for him. He was asking me "why me Mom?" You can imagine how I would have felt. One positive thing is that I have been good on my diet and exercise routine in the past few days. Hope I have some good results soon.
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Today, I read an interesting article. Remember Sandhya Singh? She was murdered recently. She was the sister of the "Love Story" actress Vijetha Pandit.  It seems that, around 15 days after she went missing on December 13 last year, a London-based spiritual medium sent her family a message, which they say was from her spirit, which turned out to be eerily in sync with her fate. The message said that she had been killed and was lying in a pond. This is exactly how she died. Now, my thought was, is such a thing possible? A dead person's spirit can send a text message. Really? After doing some research, I found that it is called Pshychography. So, what is Pshychography? Automatic writing, also known as psychography, is a concept where the writer produces writing supposedly from a spiritual source without awareness of the content. Think of it like an electric charge. Even after the electric charge dies, it still has some life left. Till the soul finds another body to imbibe in, it continues to live. I don't think this has been scientifically proved, so I can't believe it. But then, some things are beyond science.
Song of the day is from the movie Dabangg 2. I must have posted this song already. To me it is worth posting a second time, Sonu Nigam, and the Salman make this song so romantic, that you wish you were so lucky in real life with romance. OMG, I am such a huge fan of Sonu Nigam. I hope he never stops singing. Enjoy and Shub Ratri.

 

How to make Ubatti Video

Hello doston! Spent the whole weekend making a Konkani cookery video with my friend Anu. We noticed that there were no Konkani cuisine videos on You Tube. So, we thought it would be a good idea to start one. Had a good time doing it. Hope you have a good time watching it and will benefit from it. Please let me know by leaving a comment. Check this video on You Tube by typing in the title of this post. Don't forget to leave a comment.
I came across this wonderful song, that has a tune that is so melodious, that I have fallen in love with it. And that is the Song of the day. Enjoy! Shub Ratri.

 

Pajama days

Hello friends. The last of the winter storms for this year (hopefully) marched into Virginia today, dumping nearly three inches to 5 inches of snow. Meteorologists fore casted  much worse, around 12 inches of snow. Luckily, the snow did not stick to the ground that much and will melt soon as the temperatures for the next few days shows a rise. Phew! Normally, I don't enjoy snow days. But today was such a relaxing day. I worked from home. I could wake up a little later, and have my breakfast leisurely.  I don't eat anything for breakfast everyday, but today, I took the time to make Upma. Rohit and his friends spent time making snow mans that you see below.

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For me, today was extra relaxing, because I could be in my comfortable Pajamas the whole day. In fact, I think, just like casual jeans Friday at work, they should have comfortable Pajama days every Wednesday.  That would be swell! Doesn't the name Pajama or Pyjama sound unusual to you? Ever wonder where it comes from? The name probably comes from an Indian word paejamah, which means "leg clothing" pae=leg and jamah=clothing. I read this today. Intriguing. Isn't it? It seems Pyjamas were introduced in England. So, why are Pajamas so comfortable?  I think it has got to do with the loose fitting and the soft texture. With Pajama parties being so popular in this part of the world, the Pajamas look so chic and trendy these days. It is fit to wear as outdoor outfits too! I had never heard of the concept of the Pajama party before. I like the idea very much. A bunch of teenage girlfriends spending the night together, giggling away. I wish I could have had such parties when I was growing up. Talking about this, one song comes to mind. Check it out! Did you guess correctly? Shub Ratri folks. Feels like A Sunday evening today. I am having the Monday blues.

 

Made an attemprt alright!

Hello friends. I have been away for so long. Actually my Uncle and Aunt were visiting me from India. Kept me a little busy. Had a good weekend with them. It's fun to sit together and talk about old times and family. We always land up talking about different cousins and how we used to play together and how our children these days do not have that same opportunity today. I felt a little sad when they left. Will I meet them again? I guess staying in touch is upto me. Read about the demise of Sonu Nigam's Mom. I am sure his singing will be epitomical from now on.  Song of the day is from the movie Chalte Chalte. Nazeen looks beautiful here and the hero, I was told, is Dev Anand's brother.

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Today is one of those days when my mind is not alert. I think all my energy was spent in entertaining my guests. I have spent an hour on this page already and I just cannot think of anything to write. So, instead of wasting my time, I think I will go to bed now for the much needed rest. I get points for making an attempt right? Shub Ratri folks.