Any Excuse to Write....

Me too!! I'm off too!

2009-04-02T12:40:00.004+01:00

Inspired by Indyeah and Dhiren, I am taking the plunge too! Moving to wordpress! After lots of analyzing and hoping that Google will probably bring all the wordpress advantages to Blogger - I've decided - no more thinking! Time to move!

I can always import it all back if Google does improve blogger :)

I have no idea how it all works - its all a blank page as of now - but am I excited!!! Wordpress certainly does look like it has a lot of features.. Lets see how it all works out!

So please do add my new address to your blogrolls!

You can find me here at

http://wordsndreamz.wordpress.com/

and my feed at

http://wordsndreamz.wordpress.com/feed

See you all there!!!

Trip to India - Photo post

2009-04-01T16:10:00.000+01:00

This is a long overdue post.. that had been languishing in my drafts, incomplete, thanks to my to laziness and daughter's refusal to let me sit at the laptop...Anyways, finally, here it is..

I had to do a travelogue of my vacation.. Thought it would be fun to do a photo post, given the fact we actually travelled across India - even though we did not do too much of sightseeing - it was a very family affair :)

We started off from Mumbai. We had just a day there but we did manage to go around. One of the places we went to was the Powai Lake.. Some shots of Bombay's roads, no doubt, this deserted as it was a Sunday and the Powai Lake..

The next stop was Harda, MP. The day we reached was a special day - I forgot what exactly it was and there was a place on the banks of the River Narmada, where people came from all over for a dip. Here is the scene from there.. It was the first time that I had been to a place like this.. It was a totally different experience for me.. So many people, all excited at the just the thought having a dip in the holy river.. Though I found it very difficult to identify with, it was a revelation, to see how many people believe in these things so strongly.. There was also a very old and very beautiful temple on the banks of the river and people were going in there to pay their respects after bathing in the river.

The next place we went to was a village where another of my husband's Buaji lives..It was a little village an hour's drive from Harda. We went to a 'khet' there. It was very, very pretty.. The weather was wonderfully mild, not cold, not hot..just perfect for a picnic - if only we did not have to rush back. I had a tough time getting snaps without people! We all wanted to pose out there :)

The next stop was Bhopal where my in-laws live.. It was just some time to relax, after all the running around earlier...I really wanted to eat some chat.. which ever since my parents left Jamshedpur - I never seem to be able to get. We did have chat - but sadly fell short of my expectations :( Now I have decided to stick to homemade ones - I seem to enjoy them far more!

We did not get a chance to take too many snaps here.. Just a few snaps on our way to Bhopal and the last 2 are of the view from the terrace of my in-laws' place.

From Bhopal, off we went to Bangalore, with a hop at Mumbai.. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Mumbai Domestic Airport had been majorly revamped from the last time we had been there.. All swish and swanky.. especially in coomparison to the International Arrivals...

Bangalore, sweet Bangalore.. For some reason, Bangalore feels like home, even though we've lived in London, longer than we did in Bangalore.. Is it because we started off our married life here? Not sure, but I just love Bangalore.. We stayed at my Aunt's place, met a bunch of friends, including a newborn daughter of a dear friend and had a wonderful time.. The snap below is of the new road from the Bangalore International Airport - looked wonderful, until we reached the city :) And a pic from some tree-lined streets in Bangalore.. We always used to find the amount of colour on the streets amazing... There are always pink, orange, and red flowers blooming on the streets of Bangalore....

Final Stop - Wayanad.. My parent's place... A place where I can relax, hand over my daughter to her grandparents and be sure that I don't need to spare a thought for her:) My husband had just a week there - he still has a job :) So we did some marathon sightseeing, before he left..

The pictures are from a few places we went to in Wayanad.. I have been going to Wayanad every year, since I was little and we had never really done any sightseeing.. in the same way, that after living in London for 4years, we never went to St Paul's Cathedral... Now that we moved out of London - I wish we had...

And then, before we knew it, it was time for my husband to return, so we went to Kozhikode to see him off. Going to Kozhikode meant that he had to go to the beach, so off we went. So here's some snaps on our journey down the ghats and daddy and daughter enjoying on the beach.

After Husband dear left, it was more of a stay at home and relax kind of vacation, with the only place we went to being the Mookambika Temple in Karnataka for my daughter's vidyarambham (initiation of education). It was a 10 hour car drive, through some beautiful places, through Kannur, Mangalore and Udupi.. Very picturesque. I didnot click too many though, the 10 hour drive was enough to drain all my enery. The last snap is a pond at a temple, we visited on our way back.. There was something very amazing about it.. I could not capture the true beauty of it...

After all that fun, it still felt that the vacations were too short.. Guess it will always feel that way :) Now we're waiting for the Easter long weekend - when we are off to Wales!

Just in case anybody is in any doubt...

2009-03-30T13:51:00.002+01:00

This is what our future(possibly) MP has to say....

In an interview with the Hindustan Times... Sanjay Dutt had this to say...

Did your wife convince you to get into politics?

Manyataji takes the decisions in the kitchen.. aaj biryani banegi ya phir kabab or chicken. That’s where she rules. In other matters I decide what’s to be done. Yes, she’s my wife, so it’s obvious that I’ll always discuss everything with her.. like every other husband and wife.

Full Interview here.

I know a lot of you will probably ask me, why Sanjay Dutt again? Well, no reason, just saw this and felt like sharing, for a laugh! Ekta Kapoor must be clapping!

UP - A Haven for crooks?

2009-03-30T11:38:00.000+01:00

I have been following the election drama in the news channels and all possible online newspapers and am seeing a pattern here..

Every crook that is entering politics seems to be getting a ticket from UP! Thank about it, Sanjay Dutt, who has lived all his life in Mumbai, suddenly realizes that he has 'roots' in Lucknow, calls it his 'second home'????

Azharuddin, somebody who could not even play sports with honesty has jumped in the fray - originally from Hyderabad, is now going to contest from Moradabad, UP! Wonder what roots he found there? I am sure they will think up something!!

And not to mention, Varun Gandhi - he probably has more of 'roots' in Pilibhit, as that was his mother's constituency.. As for whether, there is any other reason, he could be allotted that constituency - is anybody's guess!!

So what is it about UP, that seems to be attract every crook in town? Is it because the masses have been kept mired in illiteracy, casteism and regressive traditions, to ensure that they are easily swayed by our 'leaders'?? While I am not denying that every region has it's share of crooked politicians, I just wonder if it would have been so easy for Sanjay Dutt to go and contest in a place like, say, Bengal?

Isn't it, also not more than a little ironic, that the 2 states that send the maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, seems to have the dirtiest politicians??

Blog Magic

2009-03-27T22:00:00.000Z

I keep telling my husband how I just do not seem to be able to catch up on my blog reading - my Google reader has 1000 + unread posts and that figure is just not changing! Not surprising is it, when I keep adding at least 5 new blogs to my reader everyday!

It just amazes me to see the amount of fantastic reading, out here in the blog world.. And this is all just Indian blogs(mainly)! What a huge amount of talent.. Some of the blogs simply blow my mind away, with their words, their simplicity and their ideas! I can read and read and never get enough of it. I wait for my favourite bloggers to do their next post. I check my reader, almost constantly, to see if there have been any new posts..

And to think, that for so many years, before blogs came about, these skills and those of previous generations were lying dormant or at least very private. The beauty, I think, is in the way that you can participate.. Unlike TV or movies, where we could vicariously enjoy another's creations, here we can join in, however good or bad you are!

Just wanted to say thank you - to whoever thought up the concept of blogs!!!

By the way, from the time I started this blog, I have managed to cross the magic 1000 mark, my unread posts now stand at 998 - I have been doing a lot of reading today :)

Inspired by Solilio, Ajit and many others...

2009-03-27T09:06:00.002Z

'Oh the post is here!! Hope its that 'little something', he had promised me', she thought as she ran down the stairs to pick up her post.

'Well, it's certainly isn't a dress, may be it's a voucher', she thought ,tearing open the little brown envelope only to burst into tears - a speeding ticket!

PS : My very first try and was even more difficult that I had thought!

Women bloggers face sexist atmosphere online

2009-03-25T10:16:00.005Z

Just came across this article.. Apparently, women bloggers face 'sexist atmosphere online' .

What do you think? Do you agree? Do you think that as a woman, the way fellow bloggers treat you, is different? Or is this just a western phenomenon?

From my perspective, to be honest, I have not really faced anything like this. But that might be because my blogging circle so far, has been full extremely polite, well behaved individuals..

I would love to hear from all of you... Have you had such experiences? Men, bloggers - would love to hear your perspective too...

Edited to add : I just found this online.. Looks like this is not so uncommon a problem...

This is what Vimmuuu had to say 'I have come across one blogger who was abused to the core. I had written a post on it last year, after another blogger Poonam had mentioned it. check it out, theres a link at the end of the post, you would be blown away reading all the abuses she had to go through : http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com/2008/06/incident-of-web-abuse.html'

It's that time of the year!!

2009-03-25T08:50:00.004Z

We had been planning to have over some of my husband's colleagues over for dinner. While I normally love having people over - I was adamant about today - no, not today - it's Wednesday!!!

Wednesday? So what?- you might be thinking.. Well, its Apprentice Wednesday! The UK version of the Apprentice is starting today! For the next 12 weeks, I am going to glued to the TV on Wednesday evenings from 9 to 10:30! This the probably, the only TV programme that I watch. I am sure a lot of you in the UK must be equally addicted to Sir Alan Sugar.. BBC has updated the latest candidate list and put up tasty snippets here..

So please don't be offended if I do not read/comment on your blogs tomorrow - I might be busy surfing apprentice blogs:)

Indian Politics - Will we ever change?

2009-03-24T14:06:00.005Z

Do any of our political parties stand for anything at all? Apart from trying their best to get to the PM's post - by hook or crook, of course?

Just as I was ranting about the fact that BJP is not even considering replacing Varun Gandhi as a candidate, I just came across this article about how Sikh groups 'have expressed displeasure over Congress' decision to nominate Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar for the Lok Sabha
elections from Delhi, alleging that they were yet to get a clean chit in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case'.

It is amazing to see the audacity with which our political parties select candidates.. Why? Why are they so unconcerned? Why are they so confidently fielding candidates who have offended/capability of offending so many sections of people? And this is just 2 examples.. I am sure that if we dig in, we will find lots more of these kinds of candidates.. Is it because they are 'that' sure of victory or is it because they want to appeal to the most extreme sections of the society?

I remember, in 2005 how David Blunkett, then a minister in the British Govt was forced to resign due to corruption charges against him. We found the charges against him so tame, we were sure that if he were in India - these small bits of corruption would not even have been noticed! It was huge case and the media had hounded him a lot. Finally, he was made to resign. I remember wondering, if would we see this happening in India? Corruption, criminal charges, hate speeches , religious inciting, caste based divisions- these have become the norm in India - I guess, I should say, a 'mandatory' requirement for a politician! When and how will all this change - or will it ever change?

Amid all this, one piece of good news is that Mallika Sarabhai is contesting as an Independent from Gandhinagar! This totally made my day. The fact that she has decided to contest as an independant, makes it all the more special and my respect for her has increased tremendously. Surely, any party would be delighted to have her, and that might have made it all the more easy for her to win - but she has taken the high road. She is in it, 'to win' , but is also making an important point about how each and every party in India today is not in politics for 'public service' but for 'self service'!

I certainly hope she wins and that seeing her - many more capable people enter Indian politics.. With campaing like Jaago Re - This time, hopefully the youth will awaken, the middle class will go out to vote and slowly but surely, the rot in the system will get rooted out!

Weather Report

2009-03-23T11:59:00.002Z

I have my very own weather reporter at home. Every morning, my daughter gives me an account of the day's weather - 'Amma, it's a sunny day' or 'Its a Windy Day!'.

When we went to India, she started it off there as well, but bored of it within a few days - after all it was always a 'Sunny Day' :( How Boring!! Now that we are back, she is back to weather reporting! Just a couple of days ago, I had posted on how Spring has come and we are enjoying lovely sunny weather - well, that's all gone today! It is all windy and grey again! No wonder, the British start their conversation with the weather - there is just so much to talk about!

Spring is here!

2009-03-20T22:00:00.001Z

You know what they say about, having to experience winter to really be able to appreciate spring? Well, when I was growing up and survived on Enid Blyton books, it always puzzled me to see how happy everybody was to see a 'Sunny Day'. In India, at that point in time, I used to love overcast, rainy days in those days.. I used to wait for rainy days - used to love monsoon those days...

Now having lived in the UK, I have come to appreciate 'sunny days' finally!

There is definitely something about seeing the garden awash in sunlight!

About seeing little yellow flowers pushing their way out of unruly hedges,

green grass starting to cover brown patches of land,

colourful flowers sprouting just about everywhere - they might be weeds - but they make me feel so, so good!

of seeing neighbours spring cleaning - and all their stuff out in the garden :)

waking up to that wonderful thing called sunlight, instead of dreary 'greyness',

and that wonderful feeling that winter is on its way out,

and summer is just around the corner!

Yes, now I know why....

Its all about me today :) 25 Things..

2009-03-19T15:22:00.010Z

Ever since I got back from vacation, I have been itching to write - but for some reason or the other - it seems to be evading me.. I seem to get a total writer's block as soon as I am able to sit at the laptop. Add to that the fact that my house is in a complete state of mess - I am hardly able to sit down and type.

So I decided to do a tag instead.. I had been tagged by IHM and Goofy Mumma to do the '25 Things about me' tag. As such, I find it difficult to write about myself - does this count as one point :) So here I go...

1. I love reading - I can read anything - I even read takeaway menus, cereal box cartons, etc for the want of reading material. And I read very very fast!

2. I do not know if I can call myself a foodie - but I dream of food :) Having said that - I am not too fond of cooking.

See - I'm struggling at 2 points... what else..

3. I love playing scrabble. There is an online Scrabble Club, where one can play scrabble 24*7 - I play whenever I get a chance. Before I started blogging - most of my free time used to be spent there:)

4. When I was in school, we used to get one book to take home to read - which was far too less for me. So I made a deal with all the boys who hated reading, to give me their books and I would simply tell them the story instead. We had to write a synopsis of the stories so that that the librarian could verify that we were reading the books. My parents caught on to that and started checking my bag, on the library day - so then I started taking the books home the next day. Can't believe I was so devious - but anything for books..

5. I really envy people who say that they have no regrets in life - there are so many things I would do differently if I had a chance..

6. I talk way too much and my daughter seems to have inherited that from me. Husband on the other hand, has a tough time, trying to get a word in :)

7. I am good at picking up languages - and am waiting to get back Bangalore to add Kannada to my list.

8. The only time, I ate totally healthy food was when I was pregnant - I used to check labels, fat content and eat only the healthiest fruit and veg! So I put on very little weight while I was pregnant - but ate so much afterwards that all that good work went down the drain :(

9. I was very laid back at school, while still managing good grades - I used to maintain a rank between 3 and 6 - with minimal effort. So my teachers and parents were always giving me grief about 'how much I could achieve if I put in just 25% more effort' :) All that changed as soon as I reached the 11th standard - when the fear of 'what would happen if I don't get into engg' took over me :)

10. My favourite subjects in school was Maths, Physics and English. Most people used to find it a weird combination.

Hey - I don't seem to be getting anywhere - could I just make up a few points :) No? ok - will try harder...

11. I try to be punctual. I hate it when other people do not turn up in time.. and not even bother to call and let you know that they are going to be late. The only time, that I got majorly late was when I read an invite wrong. It was an invite for 11:30 am which I misread as 1:30 :( That was so embarrassing.. but the best part was, that while we turned up at 1:30 - there were several others who turned up even later - despite being aware of the correct time...

12. I used to be a total workaholic.. I used to love my job. If somebody had told me 3 years back that I would be happy to be a stay-at-home mum - I would have probably laughed! Guess that's what they say about people changing - or is it priorities changing?

13. I am quite disorganised - I like to say that there is an order in my disorder :) My husband is totally organised - but he can never find things :) We have a standing joke if he keeps away something - 'sambhal ke' - we'll never find it again :)

14. I was a total tomboy when I was growing up - still am to an extent. I am extremely lazy things like changing earrings and other accessories - how I wish I were more girly. As my mother says, no 'soundarya bodham' in Malayalam. Thankfully, my daughter is more like my mother - nothing pleases her more than jewellery :)

15. I always wanted to get involved in politics....

16. I am not a very religious person - but I love hearing about legends associated with different temples and traditions. For some reason, that kind of information fascinates me.

17. For a very long time, for some weird reason, I just did not read Harry Potter books - I don't even remember why.. But one fine day - I started one, got hooked and then read all of them in one shot. I remember going to work, with bloodshot eyes as I had read through the night.

18. I am quite an emotional person.. I can cry at the drop of a hat. I cry while reading books, watching movies.. just about anything - This is one thing I wish I could change about me..

19. I once stood up to my teacher in 7th standard because he pulled my hair for talking in class. I found it extremely offensive and asked for an apology. He did apologize and thankfully, never held a grudge against me for that, and we went on to get along really well. I really respect him for that.

20. I thrive in company.. I love meeting up with people, having people over.. That's one of the things I miss most about being abroad... its much more fun in India.

21. I am extremely lazy when it comes to working out. I have been trying to lose my baby weight for over 2 years - with no success :(

22. The most precious moment for me, was when my daughter was born... It was worth everything.

23. I love ironing - stop smirking , you guys! I get that all the time! But, seriously, I just love ironing.. Love the feel of freshly ironed clothes - I always iron my clothes before wearing them :)

24. I am told that I get overly passionate about causes I really care about..

25. I never tell people my birthday - unless it's coerced out of me..

Thank god, its over... This is one of the most difficult posts that I have had to write.. It has taken me over 3 hours to do this tag - that's huge by my standards - sooo glad its done though :) Thankfully, I don't have to tag anyone - I think everyone I know has been tagged. In case any of you reading this has not been tagged - please do go ahead and do it!

A glimpse of my vacation..

2009-03-16T09:38:00.002Z

A little glimpse of Kerala - atleast my part of it - especially for Ajit :)

Vacations Over :(

2009-03-15T05:07:00.002Z

As far as I can remember, coming back from a vacation has always been a very sad, empty feeling for me. When we were all young, all my cousins used to gather in Kerala for every summer vacation - and what a time that was! Coming back to Jamshedpur after all that fun was so boring. After a point, board exams, college started for the elder ones, then for me .. so vacation time was time at home with Amma and Achan - and that was just as sad when it ended.

Now, being a mother, coming back from a vacation is much, much more heart-wrenching with my daughter's tears added to the mix. My daughter refused to let go of my parents, making me wish we did not have to go back. The only thing that made it all worth it was when she clung on to her dad and cried on seeing him when we reached here..

Anyways, as they say, life goes on, whether we like it or not, and here I am back after 7 weeks of vacation - which by the way, still felt too little - talk about greed! Jet lagged and awake at 4 in the morning - what is the only thing I can do without waking up everybody - blogging of course! If there was anything I missed during my break - it was blogging and all my blogging friends! I just did not have the time to sit at a computer, long enough to even check my mails.. So now I have 200 + unread mails and 1000+ unread posts in my reader - now that's some reading material :) And to top it all - I managed to miss out on the most blog worthy valentine's day ever! So I'm off to read all your posts - see you there!

Goodbye,Awards and the No Criminals Campaign

2009-01-21T22:43:00.015Z

I am off on my annual India vacation on Friday, so wanted to say a quick 'goodbye for now'. I am on holiday for 7 long weeks - Yippeeee!!! Can't tell you how wonderful that sounds to me! The only downside is that I am going to miss all of you - my blogging friends - a lot! I am definitely going to have blog withdrawal symptoms!

I have had such a wonderful time ever since last December - when I actually started interacting with other bloggers. Until then, I used to just post- not even bothering to see if anybody commented! It was only after I started reading other blogs and getting comments to my posts, that I discovered the true joy of blogging. Most of the time, I find the comments far, far more interesting than my posts. And now I am going to miss it all for the next 7 weeks :(

So just before leaving, I thought of passing on the awards as goodbye prezzies - doing an Akshay Kumar as Solilo calls it :)

First of all a huge THANK YOU to Indyeah for bestowing on me so many awards -can't tell you how delighted I am! Have been walking on air ever since - 'Aaj kal paaon zameen par nahin padte mere..' - the same feeling when I got my very first award from IHM :) Indyeah - I just do not know how to thank you .Indyeah passed me the Proximity, the Versatile blogger, Lovely blog and the I love your blog awards! Still can't believe it!

I am sure, most of you , would have received it many times -but please do accept it as a token of my appreciation and love.

The Proximity Award

These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I pass this award on to

IHM - IHM is probably the closest, one can find to a 'mentor', in the blogosphere. Most of us, newcomers, will testify that IHM was the first person to comment on our blogs! I find her warmth and the energy amazing. For someone who has such a high traffic on her blogs - not only does she moderate and respond to every comment, she also takes the time out to visit so many blogs -which is so so encouraging. And all this while churning out amazing posts on every possible topic! IHM, I am sure that you must have got these a zillion times - but one more time from me :)

Solilo - My new blogging friend. For some reason, I feel a real connection with her.. I love your posts and your enthusiam! I especially loved your Letters from a father.. post.

Ajit - The so-called ordinary guy - who comes up with these wonderful posts with lots of deeper meaning! All packaged with a wonderful package of humour! I wish I could write like that!

Vinod Sharma - I am always impressed by your posts and always encouraged by your comments, even if we do not always agree :)

Happy Kitten - Another new blogging friend - really value your comments and have found some of your posts, very profound and thoughtful!

Manju - Your posts are so thought provoking and relevant. I always wait for your comments to my posts!

And of course Indyeah - I have to give it back to you! Your blog is wonderful. Some of your posts , make me feel as if you have taken my memories and written about them! You have such a flair with words and have a real knack of making people feel special. I have especially loved your ode to your father.

The Versatile Blogger Award

I would like to pass this award on to

Goofy Mumma - I find it amazing how she manages to churn out equally quality posts on both her blogs! If that is not enough - she is now spearheading the 'Say 'NO' to criminals in politics' campaign!

Mavin - Your range of topics is very impressive. You write just as lucidly on current affairs as you do in financial matters!

Sahaja - She is extremely versatile, her posts ranging from photo posts , to wonderful ads and whats more she also has a foodie blog!

Kanagu - For his posts which are as diverse as movie reviews, politics and wonderful, touching short stories!

Vimmuuu - Here's a versatile blogger who not only sings 'bisexual songs' , he also directs scary movies:)

Nimmy - She blogs, she cooks, she gardens - and from the look of it - she's good at all of it!

Hitchwriter - I missed you out, when I first posted it. I love your blog! Especially those moving posts about your family!

IHM

Indyeah

These 2 awards , the Lovely Blogger Award and I love your Blog awards, I would like to give to

Indyeah - yes - everything comes back to you!, Solilo IHM ,Ajit ,Vinod Sharma ,Goofy Mumma ,IHM, Kanagu ,Sagarone, Manju, Trailblazer, Sahaja ,Mavin,Nimmy, Vimmuuu ,Hitchwriter and Bones.

And now , coming on to more important things - the 'Say No to Criminals in Politics' Campaign that is being spearheaded by Goofy Mumma . It now has a logo. Anybody who feels strongly about this, please pick it up and display it on your blogs, use it in your posts.. And for any questions, suggestions.. please get in touch with goofymumma@gmail.com.

Well, its 1:00 am , and I am no night owl, my sleep addled brain can hardly comprehend what my fingers are typing.. So please please ignore any horrible typos or grammatical errors - I am too tired to proof read :(. I am not sure if I will be able to log on tomorrow - or during my vacation.. so incase I do not - see you all, past the Ides of March! Bye for now.

Let's say NO to criminals in politics!

2009-01-21T09:46:00.008Z

Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States of America. I know, I know, you are all probably bored of Barack Obama posts - but I just had to say this....

For the past few months, we had been looking for Barack Obama in India and we have analysed all our current crop of politicians to try and find an Obama amongst us! What I feel is, instead of trying to find an Obama amongst us - we need to first get rid of criminals contesting our elections. Goofy Mumma is trying to start a campaign where in we try and ensure the likes of Sanjay Dutt and other convicted criminals are never be allowed to contest elections in India. If you believe in this, please join in, please read her article here. We can all make a difference, in our own little ways.

Leaving you with this to think about.. While, we do not have an Obama, let's, at the very least, try and get the criminals out of our political system.
- Do we want to be lead by an ex-drug addict who also happens convicted criminal?
- Do we want to be lead by people who's party MLA's kill people for party funds?
- Do we want to be lead by people who are accused of not taking action (and even supporting) in riots - be it 2002, 1984 or any other riots?
- Do we want to be lead by criminals?

While we do not have an Obama yet - who knows, if politcs stops being a 'dirty word', if politcs stops being a place for making easy money, if polititicians are made accountable - may be, just may be - we might get our own Obama.

Hope, is what Obama signifies , for me, and hope is what I have - when I say 'NO' to criminals in politics!

When it comes to holding political office - lets adopt the policy of 'Guilty until proven innocent'!

Edited to add : I am adding the link to Lok Satta - from Sagarone's comment - http://www.loksatta.org/.

Manju sent me this link - http://news.indiamart.com/news-analysis/indian-polity-crimin-10043.html
'In a blow to persons with criminal antecedents, the Election Commission has directed the Bihar Government to delete from the Electoral Rolls the names of persons against whom non-bailable arrest warrants have remained unexecuted for more than six months. About ten thousand people will lose the right to vote and the consequent right to stand for election as a result. The immediate impact of the Election Commission decision will be seen in the coming Bihar Assembly elections as many people with criminal records will not be able to take part in the polls.'

What's in a name?

2009-01-19T21:40:00.005Z

Sanjay Dutt's , by now infamous, interview, got me started on this post. He had a message 'to all girls who hang on to their parents’ surname'. I find it, very difficult to understand how people can give such statements - even more so when they are planning to stand for public office. Or may be it is all to show how deeply he and his 'homemaker' wife is steeped in 'Bharatiya Sanskriti'!

Anyways, this reminded me of one of my close friend's 6 year old daughter who came home from school one day and told her, 'Mamma, you are not part of my family!'. On further questioning, it came out, that she was taught, in school, that everybody in a family, shares a common surname! And since her mother had a different surname - she must not be part of the family :) I was a little surprised at that point in time, that in a London school, this was told to the kids and that no parent objected!

Either way, I feel this expectation of a woman having to change her surname to her husband's very unfair. Isn't is sad that a woman has to change her identity and assume a different one once she gets married? Then again, if the woman is working, there are so many documents involved, passports, email ids - why go through all that hassle? But again, there are communities, where even a girl's first name is changed after marriage! So a surname is probably still a better option.

Again, it is a global phenomenon, isn't it? Wasn't Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair given grief , because they held on to their maiden names?

I really do not know what to make of this whole issue - apart from one thing - I find it very objectionable when people condemn women for not changing their surnames or commend them for doing so. To me, it is a personal choice, and it should be a woman's decision whether or not to take up her husband's name. Beyond that - it's nobody's business!

Making Pooh!

2009-01-19T11:10:00.004Z

Before you guys get any funny ideas in your head - this is what I mean :)

This is what I am supposed to do - ' Amma, help me make Pooh!!' Now you know why I don't have any time to get any work done :)

Madness leading upto vacation - Part II

2009-01-18T20:01:00.004Z

Well, finally most of the shopping done, last weekend before flying home and not a bit of packing done yet! Loads of laundry left , loads of ironing left.

And what is it that I am doing - baking a cake. I am sure a lot of you must be wondering - why on earth is she doing, baking a cake, when she is so short on time? Well, I misjudged quantities, and have loads of butter and eggs leftover.. In London, I had friends close by, so all leftover, perishable provisions would go to them. Here, unfortunately, I do not have any close friends nearby, so have to use it all up :(

So anybody fancying a slice of pineapple upside down cake - please head this way :)

Edited to add - Here's whats left of the cake...not a pretty sight.. e-sending it to all of you :)

Madness leading upto vacation!

2009-01-16T12:45:00.005Z

I have just under a week before heading off on our annual India vacation - and as usual - nothing is done! There is something about me and last minute madness! Why, why do I leave everything to the last minute!!!

There is so much to do - that I can't think straight ! I actually miss those days, before my daughter was born , when packing was so incredibly simple! Just throw in everything into the suitcase! Its all changed now. Now, just as I was heaving a sigh of relief that my daughter is now completely toilet trained - I don't have to worry about diapers - a friend of mine reminded me that they could get a tummy upset - so back to square one!

And husband and I , being very smart , for some weird reason, did not shop for chocolates, during the Christmas season - when there was a whole load of variety - now when I scan the supermarket shelves - I get hardly anything.. All I get to see is Cadbury's of which we get better variety in India - unless I pick up Easter eggs- which by the way, are already on the shelves!

One of the biggest problems. I face is trying to figure out gifts.. I hardly find anything that we don't get in India these days... Clothes - check, toys - check, cosmetics - check.... Do you think, it would make better sense to just buy gifts in India - instead of carting along stuff from here?

This time, thankfully, daughter is over 2 yrs old - so she gets her own seat - I am so glad of that I plan to sleep my way through the flight.. I remember those days, before she was born, when I always carried books to read on the flight- these days - all the reading that I will be doing is 'goldibocks'(Goldilocks - to the rest of us).

In addition to all the packing,shopping - I have to somehow, get my daughter to forget the word 'Chicken'.. This has become her favourite food - though we don't cook it at home, she's had it just a couple of times, when we've been out.. BUT that's what she wants the whole time! So I have to trick her with soya chunks to get her to eat her food. Now, all that would have been fine - had it not been for the fact that my in-laws are very strict about not eating non-veg.. And madam, even if I ask her, what she wants for breakfast - pat comes the answer - 'Chicken' ! Someone please tell me , how, how do I get that word out of her head!!!

The only thing that keeps me going is the thought.. 'This time next week I'll be..., This time next to next week, I'll be.... ':) And by the way, I am having long, long vacation too - 7 weeks :) These are the good parts of not working and a child not yet in school :)

Bihar teachers get salary less than peons

2009-01-14T10:51:00.002Z

According to DNA, Bihar teachers get salary less than peons!

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1221382

Is it any surprise that Bihar continues to be one of the most under-developed states, when the people who mould young impressionable minds are treated with such indifference..

Autism

2009-01-13T12:08:00.006Z

I had first come across Autism, a long time back, when I had read an article in Reader's Digest about an Autistic girl, who had, with a lot of effort on her mother's part, had managed to overcome it to a great extent and live as much as a normal life as possible.

Since then, I remember reading a lot about it, but never really thought too much about it, until a colleague, told me that his 4 yr old son was diagnosed as Autistic and that he had come abroad simply because he was not able to get his son the necessary treatment in India. I had been pregnant at that time and to be honest, I had nightmares about it. Until then, I had just read about it, it was only after talking to him, that I realised how difficult it is to deal with it - for both the child and the parents. I have ever since, been reading quite a bit about autism.

Yesterday, I came across an article which was talking about the ethics of screening unborn babies for 'Autism'. Apparently according to the latest research, Autism is the result of an extremely 'male brain'. Autism is defined as a condition which brain development disorder ,characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. There was believed to be a link between immunization shots and Autism, which was later discredited, due to lack of information. Apparently, it was around the time of the MMR immunization, that children started exhibiting signs of autism, leading to the belief.

Children with autism often have extreme difficulty developing normal relationships with others. They tend not to share in the interests their peers have. In many cases these children are not able to interpret non-verbal cues of communication like facial expressions. Most people with autism have some impairment in language and many never speak at all. Children, with autism also tend to find change, very difficult to cope with. Autism is not a rare disorder, being the third most common developmental disorder, more common than Down’s Syndrome.

In India, I found this organisation - Action for Autism, which seems to be active in this field. Their website talks about how, until the 1980's there were hardly any children diagnosed with Autism in India.. Apparently, majority of children with autism routinely received a diagnosis of mental retardation. Their website also gives a lot of useful information for anybody with more questions on Autism.

Some of factors which complicate research and treatment of Autism in India is the lack of awareness. Social attitudes, political will and environment all contribute to lower early detection rates, which actually proves crucial in diagnosing and treating Autism.

The positive thing is , 'Autistic children can make significant progress if the intervention is appropriate and consistent. Depending on the child's individual skill profile and the appropriateness and intensity of intervention he or she receives, children with Autism can lead relatively independent lives.'

The more I read about autism, the more my heart goes out to every person who gets diagnosed with Autism and their brave parents who have to see their children through it all. I remember reading a mother's account, where she says, the only time it would really hurt, was when her daughter made no spontaneous gestures - like 'giving her mother a hug or a kiss or any such gestures of affection'! It just makes me thank god that we have been blessed with a healthy child! I just hope, that with the increased awareness and medical advancements, every child, gets to lead a happy and independent life

Other articles with information on Autism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/13/autism-health
http://www.autism-india.org/afa_aboutautism.html
http://www.astalavista.co.in/disability/autism-study.html
http://autismaspergerssyndrome.suite101.com/article.cfm/autism_in_india
http://www.autismsocietyofindia.org/

I also came across an online petition requesting the PM to take up measures to address the issues raised by families with autistic individuals..
http://www.petitiononline.com/ABPTNF01/petition.html

Edited to add : Just came across something else on the net today
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1116602/Why-face-truth-Having-autistic-child-wrecks-life-.html

Of Labels and Branding..

2009-01-09T11:11:00.006Z

Started to write a comment on IHM's latest post, when it turned into this post I just love to rant about the labels that get assigned to all of us - not just women. Our society has so many of those 'labels' and expectations that IHM talks about in her post.

When I was young, I used to be under a lot of pressure from my mother to behave like a 'lady'. Thankfully, my dad was wonderful - he just let me be. So I never learnt to cook(there is a big question mark on that even now) until much, much later, but that never really mattered. The only thing that my dad demanded of me was excellance in whatever I did and this is what I would want for my daughter as well. However, all around me, I used to see instances of girls being taught to cook, sew and knit - so that they do not face problems later - when they were married! Of course, even if you are a top performer at school, you need to learn how to be a 'good girl' too. And the rules were all different for boys - they 'need' to concentrate on studies - why should they be distracted by any household activity? After all, they would finally get a ready made maid in the form of a 'bride'??????

Even today, it absolutely gets my goat, when I hear women ask men to eat 'garam garam rotis', and what about us women? Well we will just eat after they have - so that they get to eat it hot!!! At our place, we always try to eat together - but I come across this all the time. One time, we had a get together with my husband's colleagues, all of whose wives were stay-at-home mums and I used to be working at that time. The women decided that the men should eat first because ' they must be tired after all their hard work'!!! Hello??? I am working too - and I was pregnant too at that time! Nobody even bothered - because as a women - I probably don't count! While, I am not saying that I wanted special treatment - why do we women try to treat men as extra-special!!!
And most importantly 'Why do they deride their own work, their own contribution? Isn't what they do hard work????'
All through that dinner, my poor husband did not know what to do - he knew that I was close to blowing up :) And these were all educated, well aware women, who did not think twice before re-inforcing such traditions. What will their daughters and sons learn? More and more as I see all this, I am convinced that women are women's worst enemies!

The most regressive family dramas on Indian Television has been the brain child of a woman - Ekta Kapoor!

One of our maids, did not feed her daughter for the first 2 weeks after her birth - because she wanted a boy!

Don't women play and equal and powerful role in dowry deaths and female foeticides?

And have you been to parties where the men, sit in one room, and the women in another? Why? Why can't we all socialise?

There used to be a senior of mine at school. Her family were also friends of mine. Now, this girl was brilliant, she was great at studies, she topped nearly every exam she took, but her father made her marry a guy who was far less educated, didnot even have a job that could take care of a family, not her equal in any way - just because he was worried that if she gets too old, it would be difficult to get her 'married'. Last I heard, she stays with her in-laws, and he works somewhere else. They can't live together , because he does not have a good enough job, to be able to support her and their child! Is this worth it? Could she, not have had, a chance of a better, more fulfilling life, if it had not been for her father's narrowminded views? And how, could a girl like her go along with it?

The other day, I read somewhere that women who love their husbands do the 'Karva Chauth Puja'! And this was a woman's words, mind you! I do not do fasts, of any kind! - does that mean that I love my husband any less? Here, again, I think, we have Ekta Kapoor to blame, who has glamourised every single regressive tradition!

And the labelling is not just limited to women. I know of parents who get upset if their little boy shows more interest in dolls than in cars. I had always believed that the toys we give the children make the difference to what the child takes to. Unfortunately, my daughter made me eat my words. I had always tried to give her a balanced mix of toys, until she got a little toy baby for her first birthday. The label said it was for children aged 3+ , so I was putting it away for later, when my daughter grabbed it and has never given it up since. She takes better care of her 'baby' than I suspect, I do of her :) Guess, that's her personality, and if that's what she is like, then that's what she should be ! I will not make her change one way or the other - she should be allowed to be 'her' - whatever that may be!

I've been ranting, but this is something that always got me going.. Also, on a last note - I just read that Russell Crowe knits!!! Now thats what we need :) As somebody said, 'When a men do something its an art and when women do the same, it gets relegated to a craft'

Teaching or Child Abuse?

2009-01-08T15:41:00.003Z

I was shocked to see this new here about a teacher who pricked a child in her eye with a pin for failing to answer a question! This child, has been blinded, thanks to a person, who should have been responsible for her intellectual growth!

I don't have words to express what I feel! Just the other day, NDTV reported of how a child was forced to drink urine because he passed urine in class! The more, I hear of these stories, I wonder about our education system in India! While, I am sure that these kinds of horrible instances of child abuse is not widespread, general apathy amongst teachers is definitely there.

Who are the teachers who are shaping young lives today? When I was in school , I remember we had dedicated teachers, who loved their subjects and some of the things that they have taught me - I remember and value, even today! I somehow, doubt if that holds true, today. With the huge salaries that MNCs pay and IT and ITES booming, why would anybody want to be doomed to a lifetime of teaching? While, there are some very dedicated teachers out there, who still make a difference to so many young people, I somehow get the feeling, that the vocation, that was teaching, is no longer that! Has teaching become the last option for a career?

Or maybe, while we were at school, we did not have such a strong media to report all such incidents? What do you think?

Baby beaten to death after mother objects to caste abuse

2009-01-08T11:07:00.004Z

I just came across this article. 'A dalit woman's three-month-old infant was beaten to death allegedly by some members of another community who objected to her wearing slippers while fetching water from a handpump in Pohari area here.'

It is difficult to believe that, we still have this kind of brutal, ruthless killing in the name of 'caste'!

Who gave them the right? Will these killers ever be brought to justice? Will any of us remember this after a couple of days?

Thank God for our Supreme Court!

2009-01-06T14:45:00.005Z

In the midst of all the charges of corruption that are levelled against our government machinery - our Supreme Court always seems to hold its ground..

SC pulls up CBI for flip-flop in Mulayam case

Apparently, the SC has pulled up the CBI for ' its flip flop over its decision to change its stand in the disproportionate assets case against former Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Supreme Court' on Monday said it would not like the agency to become an instrument of the government.'

I really feel proud that our country - despite all the corrupt politicians and bureaucracy, still has a supreme court which is so strong.

Thank You, Thank You

2009-01-05T12:12:00.008Z

A long overdue post - I had been a wee bit busy during the holiday season. Today, finally, its business as usual.

A BIG thanks to IHM for the shield.

Thank you Nita for the friendship band.

I would like to pass on the shield to

Bones - For coming up with the most 'interesting' tidbits' from all over the place!

Ajit - For being such an 'extraordinary blogger' for someone who claims to be just 'another ordinary guy'

Vinod Sharma - For his take on Indian Politics

Manju - For the most thought provoking posts

Vimmuuu - For some very creative posts!

Kislay - For his honest posts.

And finally IHM - Right back to you! You deserve all the awards you have got and more!

And I would like to pass on the friendship band to everyone on my blogroll! I can't tell you all how much I value your comments!

Credit crisis sparks surge of domestic violence in the home

2009-01-05T10:10:00.007Z

I just read an article about how the credit crisis has caused a surge in domestic violence. Apparently the National Centre for Domestic Violence(UK) saw a 40% increase in victims seeking support last month.

The statistics sounds very scary. 40% is after all a huge amount. This sudden increase is attributed to the credit crunch, which is making a lot of people stay at home in an effort to save money. The stress of the credit crunch, along with is being the holiday season, must also be taking a huge toll, for the figures to jump so much. One in four women, apparently, will experience domestic violence in their lifetime - and this may be more as a lot of cases are not disclosed.

That set me thinking about the statistics in India. If it is so bad in Britain - it must be much worse in India. In the UK - there has been a lot of campaign in an effort to reduce domestic violence. When I was pregnant - I was surprised on being asked by the midwife if I am being subjected to domestic violence. It was a routine question as apparently a lot of women report increased domestic violence when they are pregnant, so the government tries to take pro-active steps to curtail it.

Surprisingly, I could not find much updated data about statistics in India. Some of the information I found was surveys done in 2003! According to the UN , around two thirds of married women in India are subjected to domestic violence. The only countries with higher percentages are Egypt and Zambia. The UN report indicates that ' women with tangible economic assets were less likely to be victims of domestic violence than those who lack them, the report cited Kerala as an example.
"In Kerala, a survey found that 49 per cent women without property reported domestic violence compared with only seven per cent who owned property," it said '. So it does look like financial freedom has helped in reducing domestic violence - according to this survey. However, I did read other reports, which indicate that violence has increased with women's education! Alternatively, it might just mean that women are more aware, so they tend to report abuse than just accept it as their fate.

I was reading the other day about how, many women actually think they are to blame for the violence they are subject to and in India, especially where the a lot of women live with their in-laws, this is further compounded. Furthermore, they hardly have the freedom, to step outside their houses, leave alone report the abuse. I have even heard of instances where the police has refused to 'interfere' as it is a 'domestic matter' between the spouses..

According to studies done on the effect of domestic violence on children indicate that the damaging influences could lead to adjustment problems as well as undermining the mother-child relations. I had once read a true-life account of a woman who had been abused, she used to see her mother abused , so she grew up thinking that it was 'normal' and 'to be expected'! Her expectations were based on what she saw and experienced as a child, making her a prime target for marital abuse. It took her a long time, before she came to realise that she was being abused and that she could stand up against it!

In this post, I have just touched upon physical domestic violence, mental domestic violence is also equally prevalent and equally damaging - but far more difficult to report and address, especially in nations like ours where men culturally have the upper hand.

Backseat Driving!

2009-01-01T21:10:00.003Z

Today, while we waited in the car for traffic signal to turn green, my daughter said ' Daddy, push the car'! She is so used to travelling in her stroller where she is 'pushed' - she applied it directly to the car :)

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T11:46:00.003Z

When I was young, 31st Dec used to be that one day, when we were allowed to watch late night TV - the New Year Programme on Doordarshan! I actually used to feel sad that I would have to wait for a whole year for this day to come again! These days, a whole year seems to pass off in second!

Things have long changed from those young, innocent days! As 2008 ends, my day unfortunately has been quite the same for some time now, the same last minute rush to finish off stuff before starting the celebrations!

This year, we are off to a friend's place to welcome 2009. Just wanted to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! Hope the year brings happiness and peace! See you all next year.

The Tongue that I speak

2008-12-29T15:58:00.005Z

I was inspired to write this from one of Ajit's posts. I was first introduced to the origins of languages by my great-uncle who is a linguist. Ever since, I have always been on the lookout for words that are common, in seemingly different languages.. I am talking about the words which have been assimilated so well into various languages that we probably do not even realise that the origins are probably the same.

Here are some examples of words and their origins..

Rice - It has been speculated that the Indo-Iranian vrihi itself is borrowed from a Dravidian vari (< PDr. *warinci)[12] or even a Munda language term for rice, or the Tamil name arisi (அரிசி) from which the Arabic ar-ruzz, from which the Portuguese and Spanish word arroz originated.

Mango - The name mango is ultimately either from the Kodagu mange, the Malayalam manga, or the Tamil mangai, and was loaned into Portuguese in the early 16th century, and from Portuguese passed into English. The ending in -o appears in English and is of unclear origin.[2].

Day - The term comes from the Old English dæg, with similar terms common in all other Indo-European languages, such as Tag in German and dive in Sanskrit.

Orange - Orange derives from Indian, tamil naranthai to Sanskrit nāraṅgaḥ "orange tree", with borrowings through Persian nārang, Arabic nāranj, Spanish naranja, Late Latin arangia, Italian arancia or arancio, and Old French orenge, in chronological order. The first appearance in English dates from the 14th century. The name of the colour is largely derived from the fruit, first appearing in this sense in the 16th century.

These are some of the words that I can think of - off the top of my head.. I am sure a lot of you will be able to provide me with loads of other examples.. Just the other day, I learnt from my Spanish neighbour that the word for table in Spanish is 'mesa' which is pronounced almost exactly as the Malayalam word for table - 'mesha'!

If we all start looking at similarities between ourselves and realise that just like these words, we all have common origins, a lot of our problems are bound to disappear - what do you think?

A Vote for Democracy

2008-12-28T20:33:00.005Z

I had been watching the analysis of the Jammu and Kashmir election results on NDTV and for the first time, that I recall - I actually felt good while watching something about Kashmir.

The verdict, which has been hailed by the Prime Minister as ' A Vote for Democracy' definitely felt good. For the first time, polls in Jammu and Kashmir have been virtually violence-free and non-coercive. It was an election where people ignored the boycott called by the separatist movement and came out in decisive numbers to vote. And vote they did! A 60.5% voter turnout!
To add to everything, the National Conference emerged as the single largest party, with the pro-separatist PDP, not faring as well.

Though it would be very premature to call this an 'end to the separatists movement' in Kashmir, lets hope, that this is a kind of landmark, a turning point for the Jammu and Kashmir region. It has been hailed as a sign of trust by the J&K voters in the Indian democratic system.There are people argueing that the voters' have voted for governance and development, keeping autonomy out of the elections. Even if that maybe so - if the voter turnout was this high - surely, it is an indication that they felt that their vote would amount to something, that the democratic system in India, with all its problems - is still democratic, that people's voices will be heard. That, itself, if you ask me, is a huge triumph for India.

The true test would be for the newly elected government to show that they live up to the voters' expectations. I am hoping that this is the first step towards outing the separatist movement in Kashmir.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T10:40:00.002Z

The Christmas week has started! For the last few weeks(or was it months? - sometimes they start right after Easter:) the Christmas cheer has been in the air.

People are on leave, children are enjoying the holidays. Houses are decked in lights! Christmas trees lit up everywhere - much to my daughter's delight! We went for a walk today and she had a wonderful time 'finding Christmas trees'. 'Oh look Chismis Tree, I found it , I found it!' It was amazing to see her joy at the sighting of a Christmas Tree or a Santa!

How I wish, we could keep that ability of being able to be so deliriously happy at the smallest of things throughout our lives!

Merry Christmas!

To Convert or not to Convert?

2008-12-22T16:24:00.011Z

I was reading through the comments in one of IHM's posts when I started to comment and then realised that I wanted to do a post instead!

We have heard a lot of justification of the violence in Orissa by the VHP/Bajrang Dal activists on the basis of avenging 'proselytisation'. I cannot understand how we can do anything but condemn it wholeheartedly. There can be justification whatsoever.

Firstly, Conversion is no crime in India - despite the efforts of the Sangh Parivar to make forced conversion a crime. 'Forcible converison' , to me is a term which is hugely ambiguous. In a secular democracy like India - how can we even think of having a law like this? If our citizens do not have the right to convert to any religion, to live in any way that suits them - what is the meaning of the democracy we live in? If India becomes a state where we are told what religion to follow, or when I can or not convert - I would much rather emigrate.

Secondly, if the missionaries are successful in converting the lower caste Hindus to Christainity - there is a reason for it. My father used to recount to me , how badly the lower castes used to be treated. He tells me of how even the shadow of a lower caste to fall on one of the higher castes was considered defilement! So they had to move away when my dad and his family approached. And then, magically when they converted - they could come into our living rooms! How fair is that? And why would any person not prefer that?

The caste system had reached such levels that to convert must have been a huge relief. And yes, if the Christian missionaries gave them incentives - what was wrong? When we could not give them the dignity, the respect - is it any surprise that they went where they got a lot more? Can you blame them, if they found respect in the society, education subsidised for their children, after converting? All this without violence! Just by promising and delivering social upliftment.

Thirdly, for all the efforts spent in the carnage in Orissa - would it not have served everyone better if these groups had looked inwards and tried to make changes to the system, so that people are less likely to be tempted by conversion? How about starting good quality schools ? Hospitals? Trying to do what can be done to abolish the caste system? Obviously, the last point is not an easy one - but if every person tried - I am sure it could happen? My granddads - on both sides, believed in it strongly - so none of my parents and their siblings have the caste in their names.. Having said that - I am not so sure 'de-recognizing' castes will work in reality- with the reservation system that we have in place. We have to make people want to convert/or stay a Hindu - force is no way to go. But surely, we can try - instead of killing and raping innocent people!

Fourthly, how can VHP/Bajrang Dal consider themselves as the representatives of Hindus? I am proud to be a Hindu but these acts have really made me ashamed. It is sad that Hinduism , which is actually a way of life, is being defiled by these people. Since we are 'born' Hindus, we do not have any 'baptism' to make us Hindus - how can re-conversion mean anything? Surely, a true representative of Hinduism, should be above all this? As a Hindu, I do not go to temples, do not believe in most of the rituals, do not undertake any fasts, do not wear any symbols of my religion - does that make me any less Hindu? If this continues, very soon, I will be told that I am a 'non-believer' or maybe I would have to 're-convert'?

Forcibly stopping conversions or forcing people to 'reconvert' is just as bad(worse actually) than forced conversions. I just hope people rise above all this and all of us condemn such horrible, horrible acts of violence. As long as there are even a small segment of people who try to justify this - these fringe elements will continue to wreck havoc. We have to collectively show that these fringe elements who assume that they speak for us - have NO support from us.

Public helps protect the Police!

2008-12-20T15:14:00.007Z

I just read an article on the NDTV website, about how a bunch of young businesspeople have have raised Rs 30 Lakhs to buy bulletproof vests for the Mumbai Police..

Citizens fund bulletproof jackets for cops

It is indeed very noble of these young people to do something tangible, something to really contribute. It is fantastic that so many of us Indians are doing their 'bit' in so many ways. Ratan Tata has decided that the Tata group will create its own anti-terror mechanism. Surely, a lot of other corporate bodies will be doing so now. It is another matter that the common man cannot really have his own security, and of course a different matter that we should not need to do all this. The taxes we pay should be able to buy the bulletproof vests and security and protection should really be the government's responsibility. Nevertheless..

We have heard so many voices say that we all have to do our bit. For the first time in India, citizens are out on the street , silently protesting, signing up petitions and doing whatever they can to help. People's indignation and anger forced our government to take some steps in the aftermath of the attacks.

This just goes to show that every little matters. And to think, if ordinary citizens can do so much - how much would get done if our politicians get their act together and decide to serve the people - as they were elected to do , in the first place. Then maybe, just maybe, the 'roti, kapda aur makaan' will no longer be just an election promise..

Some more examples of people doing their bit.. Here is Manju's post.

Chanda Kochhar to succeed Kamath as ICICI Bank CEO!

2008-12-19T10:44:00.004Z

Some good news at last! Among all the terror-related stuff in the newspapers - this was one piece of wonderful news!

Chanda Kochar has been in the list of the most powerful women in business for some time now. There have been reports of how she has risen up from the ranks through her determination and hard work.

'Ms Kochhar was instrumental in setting up and scaling up the Retail business for ICICI Bank. In July 2000, under the leadership of Ms. Kochhar, ICICI Bank entered the Retail business and within a short span of around 5 years, the Bank emerged as the largest retail financer in India. Under her leadership, the Retail banking business of ICICI Bank grew many folds and the Bank has established itself as a clear “Leader” in Car Finance, Home Finance, Card business and Two Wheeler & Commercial Vehicle Loans.
In the process of transforming a small bank into the largest private sector bank in the country, within a decade of its inception, the various steps taken by Ms. Kochhar also shaped the retail finance industry in India. Few such path-breaking initiatives included launch of electronic channels in banking, developing a large network of Direct Sales Agents, setting up Bancassurance model of ICICI Bank and using the concept of cross sell by using various channels. In April 2001, she took over as Executive Director, heading the retail business in ICICI Bank.'

Having been in the corporate world myself, I know how difficult it is to balance both personal and professional life. Here's to more of her kind! Here's wishing her all the best and hoping to see more reports of many more dynamic successful women in business!

To read more about Chanda Kochar

Chanda Kochhar to succeed Kamath as ICICI Bank CEO & MD

Super' Kochhar makes journey from trainee to CEO

No defense for Ajmal?

2008-12-17T17:36:00.004Z

'Sena warns legal community against taking Ajmal's case' - Are these guys crazy? Do they forget that we live in a 'democracy'? We can't and should not just hang Ajmal without giving him a trail. That is what separates us from a banana republic!

I hang my head in shame that we have 'leaders' like this!

Baby P - Hope you rest in peace...

2008-12-17T09:36:00.004Z

A little over a month back, there was a lot of outrage in the media in the UK, about a story of a 17 month old toddler, who was tortured to death. It had broken my heart to read about him , but for some reason, I had not been able to write about it - until now..

The mother apparently, let her boyfriend and her lodger torture her son, and did nothing to protect him.. She just helped protect her boyfriend. The kind of things that were done to this defenseless , little toddler - was simply unthinkable.

Apparently this little boy had been in the radar of the child protection agencies and that he was seen 60 times by case workers and yet he could not be saved. It has become a huge issue here. Some heads have rolled in the children's services at that borough.. I can somehow , even overlook the fact that the child protection services had failed.. I simply cannot believe that any mother could let this happen to her child... Most of us, can't even bear to see a scratch on our babies.. Can't imagine what this mother must be like, to let this happen to her baby!

Praying that that little boy , has finally got some peace.. and that no other child has to go through this...

Some articles about this..
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5140511.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/baby-p-the-official-files-1023092.html

I got an award!!!

2008-12-16T10:37:00.007Z

I got an award - can't still believe it! Thank you, Indian Home Maker, for thinking me worth an award. Being so new to the blogging world - its an honour that you even read my posts, leave alone give an award! Thank you once again.

As per the rules, I am supposed to, pass it on to other bloggers. Most of the bloggers I am passing this to , might not even know me, but I just wanted to say that I have been following your blogs and am a big fan!

Vinod Sharma - For all those wonderfully analysed and researched posts.
Nimmy - I love the passion in your posts..
Manju - for those questions which were almost forgotten
Motherhood and all that Jazz - I have really enjoyed reading your posts.
Nita - for a 'wide angle view' on so many different subjects.
Indian Home Maker - I would love to give it back to you - you truly inspire me - but I am not sure it allowed as per rules...

Thanks to all of you for a whole lot of wonderful reading material. I have subscribed to all of you and it makes my day - to see a new post from any of you!

Fair and Lovely?

2008-12-13T14:08:00.011Z

Reading Indian Homemaker's post, reminded me of how much our Indian society is still hung up on 'fairness'!

The very term ' Fair and Lovely' indicates that fairness and loveliness goes hand in hand! I remember, reading matrimonial ads for fun, with friends(long, long time ago) and coming across loads of adverts which stated very clearly 'fair bride wanted'. And I do not recall any advertisement for a 'fair groom'. Obviously, fair grooms are not necessary, just the 'Y' chromosome is enough, when it comes to the groom!

Going back to the main topic - why this fascination with 'fairness'???? Is it as harmless as the fascination for 'tanned' skin abroad, as some people like to claim? I wish it were, but I would have to disagree.. Agreed, that a lot of people in the UK and the US( and I am sure in a lot of other countries), go for sunbeds and other tanning treatment to look good. So what is the difference with our people trying to be - 'fair and lovely'? The main difference I would think is that in there is no discrimination within a society against people who are not tanned(in UK, US etc). Tanning is simply a beauty treatment, however, in India, a whole lot more depends of one's skin colour! Brides are rejected based on 'fairness' of the skin! Some time back I remember seeing a 'We, the people' on NDTV, where a gentleman, very honestly said that, given a choice between 2 equally qualified people, he would select the fairer candidate, as that would be more beneficial to his business.. Unfortunately, this mindset remains! Somebody else, qualified the difference, saying that one would not mind having a dark girlfriend, but when it came to the woman, to take home to mummy - it would have to be a fair girl!

However, don't you think, that if a woman tried to reject a prospective groom, on the basis that he is 'not fair', would be told not to be 'frivolous'?

Even, in this age, people advise expectant mothers to eat certain foods to ensure that the unborn child is 'fair'! And this is not just among the uneducated, unaware society either!

The silver lining? Well , from the look of it, today we have a market for 'Fair and Handsome' as well.. Well, at least we can no longer complain of inequality, I guess!

What is he thinking??

2008-12-11T16:22:00.003Z

Just saw this article on Times of India,'Rahul Gandhi assails security focus on VIPs' .
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Rahul_Gandhi_assails_security_focus_on_VIPs/articleshow/3824194.cms

How lame is that? Is he actually supporting the fact that our 'VIPs' get so much of over-protection?? How can he justify saying this, especially when the figures clearly show that the budget for protecting the VIPs is more than for protecting the nation? How I wish I could ask him this!!!

Liberated?

2008-12-09T10:02:00.005Z

Nita's post 'Women at Work', made me ponder on women working in India - how equal are we?

Women have been working for ages in India - as domestic helps or doing manual labour. How do we classify this? Are these women not forced to work in order to earn a living? When we talk about feminism - where do these women figure? Are they liberated or are they being used?
I used to have a maid servant who had a husband who used to turn up just once in a while to beat her up and take any money that he could lay his hands on.. It used to make my heart break to listen to her. Despite all that, she was determind to try and get her daughter and son educated - so that at least they have a chance at a better life!

Even in case, of educated working women, how many of us have husbands who help us out at home? Even if they do - the main responsibility seems to lie on the women. Why is it, that true equality is just not happening? It is assumed that everything related to 'home' is the women's responsibility - so what if she has an equally , if not more challenging job outside! There was one time, when my own husband - who is extremely lazy, was lying in bed when I got back from work - and I had just sat down, to take a breather - when he said - ' You are sitting down? - can't you see, I am hungry!' That made me see RED!!! I was like, 'oh really? Well I am certainly not cooking anymore- If you are hungry make something yourself!' Anyways, that resulted in my husband getting hold of a cook the very next day- which certainly made our lives much easier - but the unfairness of it still irks me - and I have still not stopped reminding him:)

So is 'working women' in any form - a liberation? I would think so in a lot of ways , and again in a lot of ways, the true liberation is to be able to decide when you want to work and when you want to stay at home. To be fair to my husband - he has always been supportive of me in my decisions to work or not to work. When I was working - he was always supportive, and when after 8 yrs of working , when I wanted to be a stay at home mum to my 1.5 yr old - he was equally supportive. To think of it, I do feel liberated that I have the choice - unlike so many of our fellow women - who have to work, whether they like it or not.

The Girl Child

2008-12-05T16:09:00.010Z

One of the things, high on my to-do list when I get back to India is to join a charity or an NGO to help improve the condition of the girl child in India. This is something very, very close to my heart and I want to do what I can, to help.

It is a sad statement, that in a time where we have everyone talking of minorities - there is one minority which is essentially ignored and treated badly almost across religious barriers - the womenfolk. Even in today's modern world, where women contribute as much (if not more)- they are just not given their due place in society.

I have been brought up in a culture which values girls - we have a matrilineal society - so I have never felt this discrimination. The very first time, that I was aware of this distinction was when one of our neighbours in Jamshedpur, had a baby boy. Now, they had 4 daughters already and when the boy was born - they actually had a party which could rival any wedding! What was exceptionally shocking was, that for the 7 or 8 years that we lived there - never had we seen a single birthday being celebrated for those girls. I wonder what must have gone through those girls' minds to see such blatant discrimination.... It was also a very common practice for families to send their sons to English medium schools and daughters to Hindi medium schools. And all this was among educated families - so I shudder to think what must happen in the less educated ones...

It pains me that even today, female foeticide is common , and totally acceptable in several parts of India. I guess, it might be more shocking for them to hear someone say that they would prefer to have a girl. What is most shocking is that this happens even among the educated people . This was something I always knew, but what shocked me more was that it was even prevalent among Indians(Asians as a whole) in the UK. When I was pregnant( I was in London, where they tell you the sex of the baby), and was told by the ultrasound technician that I was expecting a girl - my joy knew no bounds. I was however stunned when he asked - ' Are you guys OK with it? Your community prefers boys, don't they?' I was surprised that he ( he was not Asian) knew about this. This prompted me to look it up on the Internet only to find out that in several areas in the UK where the Asian population was high -they actually avoid telling people the sex of the baby, for fear that they would abort it!

The sad thing in India is, that despite the fact that it is not allowed by law to find the sex of a foetus, it is still done and foetuses aborted without a second thought. This mainly happens because the society is still fixated on boys being the harbinger of all things joyful and girls being a burden. The main difference being that for a girl, you need to give dowry. I have heard of families who start saving up from the time that they had a girl. That reminds me of a maid, who used to stay at our outhouse. This lady, apparently, did not feed her baby girl for 2 weeks after she was born, because she just did not want a girl. At the point when my mother first met her, she used to treat her son and daughter very differently. Her daughter was always asked to give everything first to her brother and the boy was never, ever asked to share. Slowly, in the 3 years that they stayed there, my mother managed to make her understand that she needs to treat both her son and daughter equally and to try and give both of them equal opportunities. The best part was that the daughter was much, much smarter than the son - I do hope she has not forgotten everything my mother had managed to drill into her!

I guess, such examples abound in our society and things will never change until each of us do our bit to fight this menace. I do believe that we can all do our bit to help remove this stigma. I would like to sponsor the education of a girl - so that at least one girl gets a better chance at life.. I do hope that by the time my 2 yr old daughter grows up - she will never have to be shocked that these kind of things still exist in our society.

Security and the Indian Politician..

2008-12-04T09:22:00.003Z

My husband and I was discussing about how over-protected the Indian Politician is, when he mentioned reading the article in Times of India which actually gives the statistics..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3786239.cms

It was such a shocking read, that for a nation of 1 billion people, they actually have budgeted less than for the security for the political class. It is not just shocking but also disgusting! These heavily protected people - all with the money, that we pay as tax-payers, give little thought to the people who they supposedly represent. It is such a sad state of affairs that the corruption has reached such a point where it could actually cause physical harm to the people of India. I also read somewhere that Black Cat protection, for certain politicians, were actually negotiation points for providing support during confidence votes. It just shows the degree to which our political system has degenerated.
The only thing I hope for, is that, this is indeed, the turning point and the people's anger propels forward a new face to Indian politics.

We can do it!

2008-12-04T08:29:00.007Z

Almost everybody I speak to , or I read about, is talking about 'clean politics', 'new leadership' , 'change the system','clean up politics'...

As I was reading through various blogs, I remembered that a group of IITians had created a new political party. So I decided to google and find out what happened to it.

The website for this party is http://www.lok-paritran.org/. From the look of it, they certainly look like they really want to make a change. Seeing their qualifications and the fact that they have certainly abandoned highly lucrative careers - they probably mean it. For me, it is enough to see some faces that different, for haven't we been voting for the same bunch of politicians(or their families) for ages - isn't it time to try giving others a chance. I certainly hope, we get to see more of these types of political parties - full of young people with a vision... and who knows, we might even find our vey own Obama...

Links to this post - The Indian Homemaker

Addicted!

2008-12-03T11:51:00.002Z

Its official! I am totally addicted to blog surfing. I am avid reader - I can read anything and everything and I am always with a book in my hand. This has now changed. I still read non-stop but I have started reading blogs instead! I am hooked on the mobile phone, surfing blogs incessantly. And I am finding it extremely difficult to stop.

This is my tribute to all those wonderfully talented blogger who have made my blog surfing experience so very worth it! I am following some of my very favourite blogs
Doing Jalsa and Showing Jilpa - Krish Ashok's sense of humour is absolutely amazing.
Let's Put Da - Ramesh Srivats take on the current events is great.
The Life and Times of an Indian Home Maker - I love her posts - especially the ones on feminism - they are truly inspirational.

And life goes on...

2008-12-02T21:57:00.000Z

It is almost a week since the terror attacks on Mumbai..and I am ashamed to say that after 4 days of being glued to the television and almost non-stop discussions - now things are back to normal at my home.
Ofcourse, I am in faraway Leeds - faraway from Mumbai - so I guess it is probably normal. This just made me wonder if this is how our politicians feel - distant and cocooned from everything that the common man in India endures. Maybe with all the Z category security, they just donot feel the impact as much. That must be the reason why so many of them have come out with such callous statements. These statements, came from across the cross-section of parties - that just re-affirms my faith that every party in India is the same - full of the same kind of people.

The silver lining, this time, is that, thankfully, the Indian Government seems to have been forced to take some action - in both tackling the gaps within our security as well as putting the pressure on Pakistan. We also seem to be having the tacit support of the US - that hopefully will make some difference.
Most importantly, I do hope that this serves as the turning point that everybody is talking about. I hope that the Indian public anger results in
1. Rooting out the criminal elements in our political class.
2. Forcing the political class to be accountable,
3. Making the politicians realise that they cannot take the Indian public for granted,
4. Encouraging a new wave of fresh politicians who do not treat politics as their family business, instead, are really interested in trying to lead India to a glorious and safe tomorrow.

Mumbai Burning!

2008-11-27T20:13:00.002Z

I've spent the whole day in front of the television watching NDTV's coverage of the Mumbai terror attacks. It feels unreal and at the same time shockingly real. Also there is a distinct feeling of deja-vu.
India has been facing a terror attack with a frightenning regularity. Wasn't it Bangalore, Ahmedabad , Delhi just a few weeks/months back? Or have we forgotten all about it. Admittedly, this time the scale was different as were the targets. All that follows, is almost the same. There was this slight change in the script this time with both the opposition and the government standing together instead of starting the blame-game right away. Everything else remains same. The only person who seemed to make any sense to me was Shobhaa De who was outraged and asked that something be done instead of politicians just offering their usual statements. She was so right in saying that our Prime Minister's speech was totally insipid and uninspiring. It was difficult to believe anything he said as it was clear that he was reading out a speech which he himself probably did not believe in. If that was meant to reassure his countrymen - well, he sure is living in a fantasy. Or maybe, he just did not want to upstage 'Madam' by sounding too good.
I wonder, when will our politicians start thinking about the country and start doing things.. For instance, instead of trying to just pass another anti-terror law/bill in the name of fighting terror, why don't they try and imrpove our police force. I am sure our police force could do with a better pay structure and benefits for the risks they take as part of their jobs. That might also go a long way in reducing the corruption levels. If we compare our 'havaldar' with constables in other parts of the world - it almost makes me laugh. Here in the UK, constables wear bulletproof vests while our havaldar would be lucky to carry a lathi. I am also sure that our police force is also seriously under-staffed. Also, are we really using all the avenues for intelligence gathering? Is our intelligence agencies adequately staffed. It is astonishing that the terrorists entered Mumbai through the sea.. It is shocking that more was not done to secure our coastal border especially since we have victims of terror attacks so many times..
It is surprising that our politicians seem to do almost nothing to try and ensure that we donot have another attack on Indian soil. I am no supporter of George W. Bush and his government, but to give the devil his due, atleast there were no attacks on American soil after 9/11, which is much, much more than one can say for our Indian Governments!
As Shobhaa De said, the Indians have shown restraint and have been calm for too long. Maybe it is time that we held our politicians accountable for the job they were elected to do.

The Iggle-Piggle Invasion

2008-11-26T18:41:00.001Z

Anybody with a pre-schooler in the Uk will need no introduction to Iggle -Piggle. For the uninitiated, Iggle-Piggle is a character from a series called 'In the night garden'(INTG) in Cbeebies(BBC's channel for pre-school children).

My daughter, since the time this series began, has been a huge fan of Iggle-Piggle,Upsy-Daisy etc etc etc. There is definitely something about it that makes children go crazy about it. Most of the characters have such funny names(that might be part of the attraction) and is somehow very soothing. My husband claims that he feels sleepy watching it.

Anyway, the series has become so successful, that merchandise of all sorts with the INTG characters have sprouted up.
Literally,you name it and you can find it - last week I found Wellies with Upsy-Daisy on them. My daughter already has all the books and last weekend we bought her an Upsy Daisy slipper:) I have to admit, I am lured into picking up these things in a effort to subtly bribe her into doing things. For instance,she refuses to wear slippers at home, irrespective of how cold it is. Now that she has an Upsy Daisy slipper, she has started wearing them-happily.

If this continues, I am sure, we will end up with the whole house having an 'In the night garden' theme. In the meanwhile, I am going to sit back and enjoy the Cbeebies' bedtime hour with my daughter. Night Night!

'Skyless' existence

2008-11-25T21:42:00.000Z

Its been a month since we moved from London to Leeds and the worst thing possible has happenned! No broadband yet. Despite having called Sky way before shifting and then reconfirming - it seems one of their 'executives' forgot to book my broadband installation so I am going to be 'Skyless' for 'upto' another 10 working days.
Though I have to say that it is not as bad as it could have been. My husband magnanimously decided to part with his precious phone on which he is almost permanently hooked so that I could important things like browse the net :)
Like they say, every cloud has a silver lining - I have found a huge repository of fantastic blogs that I am quickly getting addicted to. I would have prob never read this many blogs had I been reading on the laptop. It is so convenient to have it on the phone to just read and read more. Admitedly, it is not really easy to do much else on the phone (including typing this blog) but it was all worth it to be able to read all that.
So if anyone happens to read my blog, pls forgive the lack of formatting/spellcheck - I am literally using this as my online journal.

What are you reading these days?

2008-11-17T16:01:00.000Z

I have just finished Gurucharan Das's colum in TOI - What are you reading these days? and I could relate to it so much.
He talks about libraries(or rather the lack of them) in India.
Having lived in the UK for the last 4 years, I am really looking forward to going back to India but there is one thing that I will really really miss. Libraries.. I literally cannot live without books. Living in the UK has been paradise in that regard. Access to books has never been easier. Here I can borrow upto 20 books at a time and reserve books online. At one point in time, I used to browse the NY Times bestsellers list and just reserve them on my library account online. Libraries here being part of the free services provided by the government.

I would love to be able to see this happenning in India - but I guess it would be too much expect when our government is finding it difficult to even provide primary education to every child. Still, I would like to hope that 'change' will one day come to India.

The Audacity of Hope

2008-09-30T13:39:00.008+01:00

Barack Obama's book The Audacity of Hope was a real revelation for me. His honesty and vision for America shone through. To me it felt like a remarkable honest book by someone who seems to genuinely want to do good.

This is Barack Obama's second book - I have not read his first one and after reading this one, am dying to read the first one. He comes through as very level headed and astute. The ideas and the policy positions that he has outlined in the book makes very interesting reading and gives an insight into the issues that Americans are facing now. The most interesting part is that the ideas that Obama has outlined could very well be applied to most countries. Education, health care and energy, for instance, are issues facing most countries in some measure.

After seeing the way our Indian politicians behave - Obama was very, very impressive and refreshing. He has analysed very sensibly what was done wrong during the Bush Administration and the measures that he thinks, could help change things. The best part is that he sounds very balanced , not resorting to any kind of negativism towards anyone and at the same time, coming up with sensible sounding solutions.

There are some interesting snippets from his meetings with various personalities like the US President George W. Bush and Warren Buffett, which add a lot of flavour.

One of the chapters in his book is Faith and to be honest - it was a huge revelation to me. I did not know the extent to which Faith is a factor in American politics. There are instances where he is made to look like a person of no 'faith' because he is pro-abortion. It is amazing that faith plays such an important role in American politics. For instance in India - religion has become part of politics but 'faith' as such, is not. We never hear of one politician accusing another of not being 'Hindu enough' or 'Muslim enough'. Although I guess, India has enough trouble with religion alone , without needing the extra element of faith.

All in all, I really enjoyed Barack Obama's writing style and a lot of things gave me an insight to American politics. I really look forward to seeing him elected President and then hopefully, we will get to see a new , responsible America as opposed to Big Bully America.

Scrabble Addiction

2008-09-24T22:35:00.008+01:00

I have to be honest - I have become a scrabble addict. An online scrabble playing addict. I know - most people swear by football or cricket -will prob think I must be crazy. I have been playing scrabble ever since I was introduced to the game by my grandfather - I think I was not more than 8 or 9 then. I have loved the game ever since. I remember playing with my grandfather and my uncles during every summer vacation. It used to be amazing and gave me a lifelong love of the game. I had lost touch with it for some time now as my husband just does not have any interest in it and I have not been able to take out the time to play with friends either.

It all changed ever since my cousin told me about the Internet Scrabble Club. Oh! It is this fantastic online scrabble club where you can play scrabble to your heart's content 24/7 :) What more can one ask for! I know, I know - I am sounding like an advert for ISC - but you have to understand how much I like the game. These days, thanks to my 2 yr old - I get the time only at unholy hours after she has gone to sleep, to play. Playing scrabble has become my night time routine to relax and unwind:) And during the weekends - when I need 'me time' this is what I do - play scrabble :) , and my husband keeps my daughter away from my laptop:)

Ever since I started playing scrabble - I have picked up the knack of playing really short, quick and competitive games. The game is so much fun and you can play loads of games in a short time. Of course - when I am on a huge winning streak - I hate to stop playing . And again when I am on a massive losing streak - I still hate to stop playing - in the hope that I will be able to regain my points :) I guess, its enough to say that I find it extremely difficult to stop playing.

Anyways , today I felt the need to thank the makers of ISC for making such a wonderful platform for this wonderful game and of course to my cousin for introducing me to it. And for any of you - who happens to want to play, just visit http://www.isc.ro/. Happy Scrabbling!

2008-09-03T10:13:00.000+01:00

Frustrated !!! That's how I am feeling at the ongoing tussle at Singur over the Tata Nano plant. I cannot believe the series of events that are happening around the Tata Nano plant. Tata Moors has finally officially declared that they will be pulling out of Singur. This just goes on to prove the truth about how China is progressing thanks to the Chinese government and India's progress is despite the Indian Government(politicians - in general).

The other day , on NDTV, there was this gentleman on 'We - The People' , I missed his name who said that a country where people can protest , discuss and resolve issues is a mature, democratic country and a country where people protest on the street , disrupt the factory work, terrorise people and refuse to sit and discuss - a banana republic! How true.. It is amazing how our democratic traditions are so misused by our politicians - the very people who are supposed to uphold it!

I think , our gifted politicians have hit upon that jackpot of an idea - Keep the mass of India poor, uneducated and unaware, so that they can come into power again and again and make enough money to last them generations - not that that should be an issue - after all where else can we see the wonders of dynastic politics :)

For instance, Mamta Banerjee has been steadfast on her claim on the 400 acres that she wants returned, and the West Bengal Govt has ruled it out. Nobody is really coming out with a viable solution. When the Tata Motors MD , wrote to Mamta Banerjee , inviting her to discuss and work towards the betterment of Singur - Mamta chose to ignore it , and used his words to further her cause. It really prompts us o wonder about her sincerity in improving the people's lots. For instance, if Tatas do move out of Bengal - how is it going to benefit the poor farmers? The land has a factory on it - and apparently it will take years before it can be cultivable again. So what purpose that the entire dharna and other dramatics serve? Well we clean forgot about Mamta's political mileage, didn't we? After all, she gets to make inroads into rural Bengal - after that's where the maximum political leverage remains ! At the end of the day - she get to be the saviour of the rural masses.. Although, I really hope that Bengal's rural mass catches on to her. As I write this - there seems to be a possibility of discussions between the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadev Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee in the presence of the Governor of West Bengal. One can only hope that they work out an amicable solution, because, at the end of the day, Tata Motors will definitely recover from this blow, but all those poor farmers both who have willingly given up the land as well as those who are not willing - will all be equally adversely affected if Tata Motors pulls out from Singur.

My Baking Days

2008-09-03T09:35:00.001+01:00

Blog Blog Blog… Everybody around me seems to be blogging and I have been thinking about joining the bandwagon , never really being able to decide what to write about. What with my extremely active 2 yr old, being extremely allergic to me sitting at the computer.. It just was not working out. So in the middle of trying to potty train her and getting her to eat something - I decided that enough was enough and I am going to write and here we go.
So ! As my little girl seems to be saying these days., what better to write about other than food.. Now , despite the fact that I am a full time , stay at home mum, I am not a great cook - but I love food - I actually dream about food and these days the only thing I watch on TV is UK TV food .. So what better to write about other than food.
Now , to give you an idea , of the kind of cook that I am. I end up cooking good stuff accidentally - I never seem to know how to replicate anything I cook well.. So to my husband constant disappointment - I can barely get his favorite dal-chawal right . Having said that my total passion is for baking. I love cakes - I can stand for hours at Morrisons Bakery section gazing at the cakes - embarrassing poor dear hubby to no end. And my favourite browsing sites are always food sites - baking of course. And there is something about the smell of baking that I just love! I always loved it since I was a little girl when Amma used to bake the most delicious cakes ever.
So when I took time off work to stay at home with my daughter , my most enthusiastic experiments were always the baking ones.

Here is the very first recipe that I tried out and amazingly came out really well.. It is an Annabel Karmel recipe - and is very very simple.

225g/8oz butter, room temperature
225g/8oz caster sugar
75g/3oz ground almonds
175g/6oz sifted self-raising flour
4 eggs
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp almond essence
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
75g/3oz plain chocolate, broken into pieces
1 tbsp cocoa powder
icing sugar (optional)

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Sieve the almonds and flour and add to the mixture.
2.Gradually beat in the eggs one at a time and add the milk.
3. Transfer half the cake mixture to another bowl and stir in the almond essence and orange rind.
4. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler, and stir the melted chocolate and sifted cocoa powder into the remaining cake mixture.
5. This looks best when baked in a 20cm/8in ring tin, fluted for the prettiest effect.
6. Grease and flour the tin first or use a non-stick baking spray.
7. Spoon alternate layers of the cake mixture into the tin and use a skewer or a knife to swirl through the mixture to give a marbled effect.
8. Level the surface and bake for about 1 hour at 170C/325F/Gas 3 or until the cake is well risen and golden.
9. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool. If you like, you can sieve a little icing sugar over the top.

It is absolutely delicious this way , but on my daughter's birthday, I baked 2 cakes, and filled and topped with Chocolate Buttercream topping - Yum!! Unfortunately , I do not have any photographs of the cake - next time I bake it - I will remember to take some snaps and add it on.

Happy Baking!

p.s. I have to really thank my friend Ramya - as I posted this right after having a conversation about blogging all the recipes that I tried out:)