The moon is our constant companion,
as we trudge along a lonely, straight road;
Eyes enveloped in the silhouette shadows of the teaks and the palashs,
tall and barren as they stand,
I am captivated by the unrealised beauty in their barrenness;
As if whispering in my ears "shorn of all splendour, I still stand in full glory and splendour"
and making me feel at that particular moment,
a complete sense of contentment and peace.
Seems like yesterday when I set foot at the Delhi tarmac on a chilly grey morning in January and almost by the blink of an eyelid, its one month now...And no, I have neither visited Agra nor done the usual touristy things in full measure, though definitely I can be held guilty of visiting Dilli Haat couple of times and hogging momos, dhabeli and misal pav at the food stalls there.
Huh! I could n't resist, after all!
To think I started writing with the noble intention of penning down my experiences in Delhi and not speak of food, but hey, hold on a second...How can one be in Delhi and not speak, think, wonder, talk, smell, listen to or (finally!) eat the food in Delhi? Not unless one is totally indifferent to food in the overall plate of life!
Delhi is truly not just our national capital but our street food capital as well. Life of the common man revolves around food. There is potato and panneer in almost everything. Sample this: Morning starts off with aalu parantha for breakfast, and typically it is served with some dal/gravy which has some pieces of boiled potatoes floating in it. For lunch, the menu is for your asking - rotis (made of wheat flour with a drop of ghee, thankfully!) And along with that is always one of the above in the combination as below :
A) aalu gobi/ aalu capsicum/ aalu matar/methi aalu/aalu jeera ...or
B) matar panneer/ panneer capsicum/ panneer butter masala/ palak panneer...
On some lucky days, I get vegetable korma which is sinfully rich, being made in cashew paste and having a generous portion of aalu and panneer besides carrots, beans and cauliflower.
I got frustrated by this overdose of aalu and panneer and ordered chana bathura one afternoon only to stunningly discover that the bathura had some small pieces of panneer stuffed in it and the yummy chana masala had couple of big pieces of boiled potatoes in it (which of course got the cold shoulder treatment from me)!
Oh, by the way, if you do get bored with aalu and panneer, there is always chole masala, dal makhani and rajma masala. And over and above all this, there is the delectable world of chaat! Samosa, Papdi chat (ok, that also has boiled potatoes in it), bhel puri, sev puri, dahi bhalla, kachori....
Having not one sweet tooth but many, how can I not bring up the gala array of desserts available - the hot moong dal halwa or the gaajar ka halwa, the hot, juicy and succulent gulab jamun or the crisp jalebis, just out of the kadai! My tongue just swirls around the malai and milk based sweets (I can't even recollect their names any more, just their taste lingers in me). Not to even utter a word about the creamy kulfis and the rabri falooda....
If a way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, Dilli sure has captured my heart!
With temptations galore and my succumbing to them with full gusto, am on the fast track to becoming an aalu or a shapeless block of panneer!
Ce n'est pas juste, mais c'est la vie! :(
- 1st March 2009
Watched a wonderful french movie called "The Bears" on NDTV Lumiere on sunday evening.
Its about a bear cub who is orphaned and how he befriends another adult bear and they try to face the wilderness hazards - which come in the form of hunters (men), their pack of dogs and lastly a puma attack.
The film was full of understated yet poignant moments - my personal favourite of course was the young cub looking at the reflection of the full moon in the water body at night and jumping into the reflection in the water as if trying to scare the moon away! There was absolutely no dialogue here and yet the scene lingers on in my mind ...
The way he emulates the adult bear he meets, his forlorn look when he finds the two adult bears mating, his sloppy manner of unsuccessfully chasing a frog, his quivering in fear when the hunters are nearby and how he forms an attachment to its captors, the hunters is all brought out in a beautiful manner.
While at one level, it was a movie about this bear cub and how it outwits the hunters in the company of an adult bear, I could feel another sub-text running through the movie. This was not just the usual wildlife movie or a movie on animals speaking to each other (like in the animated versions) but at a level relatable to human beings, subtly. Of untouched beauty and innocence of the young. Of dignity and compassion which each one of us has within.
The movie ends on a peaceful note with the young bear cuddling up to his friend/saviour - the adult bear as it snows outside the cave....
And then the quote appears : " The greatest thrill is not to kill but to let live."
A winter's sunday evening could not have been spent more perfectly!
PS: of course, Saucy Sardonix could n't 'bear' it at all! Talk of pauvre tastes in life! Huh!
Shailesh Rao, Google India's MD, in an interview to Outlook Business (January 24, 2009 - Print edition) articulates it well when he says:
"I have a lot of nervous energy. Throughout my life, I've found it tough going to bed. It means I have to stop doing things. Its a real struggle."
Amen to that!
I can only add to that by saying as the clock nears/strikes/moves past the midnight hour, my indiscipline only manifests multi-splendoured hues! :(
Stand stand stand - they say.
Take a stand!
Either this or that.
Pro life.
Anti life sentence.
Pro marriage.
Anti live in.
Pro abortion.
Anti birth.
Pro welfare state.
Anti gun rights.
Pro renewable energy.
Anti oil drilling.
Pro left.
Anti right.
Pro peace.
Anti national.
One extreme or the other ?
Which one to choose and take a stand- which shall not be attacked, criticised, ridiculed or derided?
Choose, baby, choose!
Choose, huh, yippee, I made my choice!
Pro choice?
Ughh, what kind of a choice is that?
You have squandered all your choices now!
So let me be.
Pro choice I am … after all, is n’t this the right choice, baby?
A – HA! :)
So it all began on a chat. A friend of mine requested me to meet him on Sunday. “Sure! Sunday evening date, done deal – okay ?”, I happily chirped. “Great. I wanted a pick up a diamond ring for my girlfriend for our engagement and wanted your help with that”, he responded. Oops! What ? Hey, hang on, buddy, Diamond shopping and moi! Ce n'est pas possible. I am not a gold/diamond jewellery person, even by average or below average standards- with neither interest nor inclination goading me to know about them. Huh! The innocent fellow does not even figure out what he has gotten into.
But the deal is done and it’s too late for me to back out and so in all earnestness, I ask my grandmom and dad the things to look out for while purchasing a diamond. My grandmom goes on a nostalgic route, quite impressed that I am suddenly getting an interest in these things and her eyes glitter, in tune with the diamond earrings she wears. My dad gives an amused laugh, shakes his head, “Oh my god, he has called you to help in buying diamonds? Maybe you should take me along to help you!” I realize this is taking me nowhere. [So much for putting my nose up in the air even at diamond ads!]
So off I go on Sunday evening, meeting him at the Sri Krishna Jewellery showroom on Commercial Street. We enter the shop and I look around like a novice, quite like a fish out of water, but my friend just leads me confidently into a lift, which I did not even observe as existing in the first place!
We go to the diamonds section and he heads straight to the counter where the sales lady pulls out a box with two rings. He looks at both the rings which he has ordered and a confounded look creeps up his face. He is not sure which one to take. I suddenly realize, this is the moment…..
I lean forward to take a closer look at the two diamond rings. Both are quite different and equally striking and for a moment, I can empathise with him, almost. Both rings represent two different styles. One is a seven diamond traditional floral design – quite solid looking. The other is an elegant 5 diamond design and perhaps what one could wear on an evening out or even on a daily basis if one is fond of such stuff, I neatly surmise.
Soon, my stubby fingers model the beautiful rings, which sort of look like an eye sore to me, I mean, the combination is somewhat pathetic to my eyes, but of course, my friend is lost in his girlfriend’s memories and imagining which one would look better in her fingers. So I patiently do the finger-modelling job, strategically placing my fingers, over the table, a bend to the right, for closer examination, the left angle and other positions for observation, with the hidden agenda to induce a quick purchase. We ask the sales lady which one is her choice and she points to the 7 diamond one and lets out a shy smile! I smile, sans comprehension.
Suddenly, my friend enquires about “Hearts and Arrows” collection and if the rings I was modeling belong to that collection. I begin to think perhaps the jewellery stores have started selling Valentine’s day merchandise from October, but realize I could not be more wrong. Apparently, “Hearts and Arrows” is a class of brilliant-cut diamonds, quite in a superior league of its own. So another round of discussion follows on the Hearts and Arrows, while I am fidgeting around, struggling to control my boredom, my friend finishes his discussion with the sales lady and makes his choice.
The 7-diamond ring is billed and packed in one of those cute blue velvet boxes and of course, it occurs to me that if at all I ever remotely intend(!) to buy a diamond ring, then I should call this friend, who has taken the effort to google and learn all about diamond cuts and of course, the hearts and arrows (besides listening to his heart as well!)
By the way, Wikipedia says this about De Beers and Marketing:
"Over the last century, De Beers has been highly successful in increasing consumer demand for diamonds. One of the most effective marketing strategies has been the marketing of diamonds as a symbol of love and commitment.
A young copywriter, Frances Gerety coined the famous advertising line "A Diamond is Forever" in 1947, allegedly while she was dreaming.
In the year 2000, Advertising Age magazine named "A Diamond Is Forever" the best advertising slogan of the twentieth century.
Other successful campaigns started by De Beers include the "eternity ring" (as a symbol of continuing affection and appreciation), the "trilogy" ring (representing the past, present and future of a relationship) and the "right hand ring" (bought and worn by women as a symbol of independence.)"
On a parting note, all I can say is the marketing guys still need to work harder to convert the ever-diminishing club of folks like YT, to sell more diamonds! Good luck, guys! ;)
