I follow 'Foodism'

A very common Sunday of mine starts with a nice warming cup of coffee followed by a good south Indian breakfast - either a simple home made uppittu (Upma as it's known) or dosa or most likely a visit to SB, Saravana Bhavan has been our new friend for Sunday breakfasts, one that's almost a brunch. 

We just returned having had our fill on this grey-is-the-colour-of-the-day kinda Sunday. I have made myself another cup of tea - well, the weak type where the tea bag goes in with loads of hot water and a dash of milk which I shamefully call tea but is a lazy substitute for it. 

Well, I am that person who thinks about what I'm having for lunch and plan for dinner while sipping my morning cup of coffee. I am quite a foodie and off late I see that this is getting into more of an obsession. 

Today will be slightly different, with a tummy that's so full and a nagging ache in the back, it will be a day when I would give my kitchen and myself a rest (at least for the first half a day) and try to re-live the foodie moments on this page.  

I believe in eating at least one freshly cooked meal every day and that constantly motivates me to try something different. 

And the more home sick I get, the better is the food - in my humble opinion.  

My mind automatically travels to those days we went to 4th Block Jayanagar for no rhyme or reason but definitely returned with a tasty palate. 

So while I was pondering over the thoughts and memories, I thought my home-sickness had reached it's highest best when I clicked this pic - the joy of filling up the little containers of the masala-dabba which I termed 'South India in a box' defines my upbringing and deepens my roots and connects me with the food I cook. 

Home-Made is the bigger yearning than anything else. So I tried giving a go at quite a few things - the itch to get it done was huge and in all this I have enjoyed the journey. 

The Iyengar bakery craving is something that might never stop - when the simple masala toast and congress kadlekai  which is ideal with the afternoon tea made my mouth water, my kitchen ended up witnessing it. 

It's weird how my mind switches from I-have-to-eat-healthy-NO-MATTER-WHAT and I-don't-care-about-the-calories-IT-HAS-TO-BE-TASTY!  So, I see myself in making strange concoctions of a kind to fill me up  - some work, some don't.

The healthy being a carrot-ginger-Orange juice drink which I picked from the 'Joe and the Juice' bar which names this drink aptly 'Go-away-Doc'.  This coupled with cherry-tomato bruschetta went down a treat.

The unhealthy being my 2-cheese Macaroni which was a random craving on another day which had to answered.  Tried the mascarpone cheese which was a good creamy add to the nutty cheddar. 

A home-made (yes! I go again) guacamole for the nachos one evening as having the nachos served at All-bar-one was what my taste-buds demanded this weekend. 

 Though I have seen myself giving a try at cooking different cuisine, I am probably better and most comfortable in cooking Indian.And I can say that in the past month or so that my kitchen has made it's way to the 'Paratewali galli'. I am pretty much stuffing my chapati dough with whatever I get my hands on. Can you see that just to give the authentic 'Gobi Parata' a twist, I mixed brocolli to it? 

One of other paratas being this which is a food-blog I follow and enjoy!  

Retail Therapy these days is heading straight to the 'home' sections of any store and I am so excited to have picked a couple of utensils, some kind of kitchenware and of course a stop over at the groceries which sums up my shopping trip almost every single time. 

My most favourite shops have now become the food and grocery outlets - going to Tesco or M&S food gives me unspeakable joy while I spent a couple of hours at a cloth store and got completely bored and irritated. 

Lastly, some of the food blogs have made me drop everything I had got my hands at reading and if you happen to be someone who enjoys browsing through ForestFeast is highly recommended as it beautifully combines food, photography, writing and painting with the most key ingredient 'Simplicity'. Having given more than a recipe a try, it is my hot favourite now. 

I have no patience in waiting for my food to be photographed -my food travels from my pan to the plate and into my mouth with not enough time for this step called 'presentation', though some may say it's important, it's not high on my list at the moment - so pardon the crappy photos on this blog. 

There's always a first time for everything

Sometimes, Only Sometimes I am in this state of mind where most things with respect to bitter-sweet life seems perfect. Hold on, I haven't got into the zen-mode yet, but in the past week or so I have noticed this calmness which I am so pleased and thankful about. I wanted to record this hoping that during those crazy turbulent times which by the way happens on the majority of the days in the year, I can read this note and remind myself that after every bad there will be good and after every storm, a calm. 

There is absolutely 'Nothing' happening in my life at the moment. The morning is taken over by mid-day and evening and night and it seems to be on a repeat mode without a shuffle. Well, I suppose you cannot shuffle night to day anyway. Things are 'Not' at it's best - work wise, personal life, plans in life and so on and so on. I have little or nothing to say about my previous day on my daily call to Amma. Days are rolling by at the speed of light and I dont seem to recollect what git me occupied in the past week. The uneventfulness of the situation is written all over and shouts a big 'absolutely nothing happened' to me when i try to remember the past weeks. Yet! There is a tranquility in me which is a rare rare thing. I always thought I just cannot sit quiet, stay calm, be at peace. I was convinced that I was born without the genes that makes one be that way. 

I am packing my days with little things that makes me happy and I am surprised to see these little things had never made it to my list of things that I enjoy. If I ever decide to spell them out, people would be sure that I have lost it and the signs I had shown before were true. Plain simple things are such joy and this has always been my takeaway from life. Who recollects a ponsy moment more than a down to earth one? Not me!

For the first time, I didn't panic for not having the flow to write. 3 weeks gone and not a word written didn't make me jump into writing for the sake of absence. I was perfectly at ease, I read many many blogs in this space of time and marvelled the way they were written. All the ones bookmarked are either simple personal blogs or food blogs. Some of them are amazing.....it's made me drop all the books I was reading trying to read. 

Looking forward to a good hindi movie is something I have done for ever. A couple of days after having watched the movie '2 states', the hubby brought it up all out of the blue in between a random conversation that the movie that we watched the past weekend was 'good'. His words ' I too had a lump in my throat in a couple of scenes ' just cracked it for me. I had a big grin...this was the moment when I could confirm that he is now a Hindi movie convert, from watching none at all to casually asking what's on the movies, to actually liking it and best of all looking forward to the next one. This is a huge success to the huge huge Bollywood buff in me.

Zumba! The latest thing that has gotten into me. Love the music, the dance, the attitude and most of all love the pain...you know the good sorta pain? That. I admit being a Miss.Two-Left-feet but have enjoyed these sessions immensely. I am also beginning to believe this is doing a better good to my body than just running which I am trying to sneak in at least 1-2 times a week. 

Beginning to care for the few pot plants that we have started to grow is another big surprise. I was sure that I must be some kind of an expert in killing plants, but these little ones have not only survived me for a couple of months, but are in full bloom. What joy!  Like I believed that the advert which said 'plants come to my home to die' was made just for me, beginning to believe I can change that. 

So...basically I am trying to collect Life's little moments and making it count. 4 days of leave now and for the first time again, I have plans...new ones, weird ones and it's all going to make this 'MeTime' completely worth it....Fingers Crossed. 

A trip to work

Many moons ago I had written about my daily ride to work from home and back. Something today made me go back and read the 'badly' written post about my everyday journey .Now, lying in bed I ponder what a huge difference it is to my daily journey from the past few years.

Well, first of all the drive to get up early in the morning is really not there. For the majority of the months being cold, grey, damp, all you want to do is cuddle up under the duvet, especially for the owl of a creature that I am! The reality however is that I do drag myself out of the warm zone just to be able to enjoy my morning cuppa coffee while chatting to my mom many miles away. 

The underground or simply the tube in London is one of the best in the world. No doubt. I don't have to give it 5 stars to confirm the fact. In the peak hours however, it's like getting into a tin of sardines which is already full up to the brim. There might not be an inch of space in the tube but what's worth noting is the fact that there is no one talking. The only noise you are left with is the growl of the iron tyres rubbing against the tracks and the announcements. 

It's amazing how so many people travel and there's no conversation what so ever. Being such a crowded city, I also don't recognise any one else travelling on the trains even if I happen to take the same one every day. I can say that in the past 5+ years of travel I have known less than 5 people like that. 

Just as a note to add, there are 2 routes to work and the first few years I took the district line (in other words the slowest line on the tube network). I stopped dong this route as soon as I had a choice as the pace of the train made me pull my hair out.

The other route which I take now is to take the baking hot bakerloo line to Waterloo and change to the main line train to Wimbledon.

Waterloo, where the 1st leg of my journey ends, where I get off to change trains is a circus in its own right. People of all kinds, with all sorts of things are walking in all sorts of directions humanly possible. Though there is an occasional brushing, tripping, dashing into each other it's quite orderly when you notice the movement. 

Just imagine each person inside a car, it would be a traffic jam from hell, but people on foot is a miracle, Perhaps the best traffic management system in the world.

After battling my way through the sea of people, I hit the far end of the platform to check for which train leaves the earliest of the 4 possible platforms and walk all the way to the first door of the first carriage to get on the 2nd leg of the journey.( that would take me right at the exit where I get off).

A short walk on either ends, 2 train rides and a circus in between pretty much sums my journey. 

I do find my humour in a few things - the robotic looks of the fellow passengers, some girls painting their faces to make themselves look prettier, the dosey characters trying to catch some lost minutes of sleep, the craziely sweaty corporates in their posh suits, the oversized headphones and some others like me who have decided to bury themselves in the book that they carry oblivious to the world around them. 

Conversations with fellow colleague(s) when we get a chance to travel together is the better thing about my everyday journey. Nothing beats the human connection which is above all else. 

A few years of being Myself

This forms my post-birthday blog post :) Typically, people write something on these lines when they hit a 'certain' special birthday, mine was no such number but the thought came across and hence it goes in here. 

My life seems to be driven by lists most of the time and I wish to list a few realizations that I think have dawned on me in the past few years. 

As I see myself add another year around the solar calendar I think about how I have silently been getting on a bit. As much as I think I am really young, to be honest I don't even feel I've crossed being 24 from within, there are some signs that I have collectively noticed that I might be getting on a little bit here and a lil there. 

OK, let me not try and make it up like I have totally lost it, coz I haven't. Irrespective of what's happening in my life and what isn't , what I have and what I don't the utmost thing I am looking at is to be happy.  

Some things DON'T Change:

-I don't feel my age and this is not just happened now, it's mostly been this way. As much as I think its a great thing for me, for those around you I am expected to behave, be more mature, more responsible and act in a certain way. As much as I would want to see this change in me I have come up resign to the fact that this is how I am going to be. Childish, Stupid or call me whatever. 

- I take one day at a time. Pretty much. 

-Being funny does not come to me naturally. Love for this to change but sigh! 

-Being a good writer, consistent blogger also does not come to me. Plan to keep reading, learning and writing nevertheless. Have started following more blogs and WOWing about how well they are written. Well...lets call it that's my latest hunger now. 

-I love watching the neighbour's little kitten walk all around our courtyard, but that does not bring me any closer to having them with me...was not a pet friendly person, may never be one.

- I think I can still be (quite) nice to someone/anyone who has not been pleasant with me (or my parents). I may not think too much about that person but would not let them know. 

- I can never give up on food of any kind. If I ever visit Kashi, dear Lord Vishwanatha, accept my apologies in advance, I really cannot give up any food. 

- Waking up in the evening after a long afternoon sleep (can't call a long one 'Nap') makes me feel all heavy eyed and irritable. 

- Vicks can cure (almost) anything. 

- When someone asked me what my hobbies were I used to give the 'rehearsed answer' - reading books, listening to music and travelling. Never had I realised that these would really become such an important thing to me. 

Changes & Something to think about:

- I could give up sugar. 

- I don't think anything or bother about my height or weight or colour of my skin, if you think about it.... too bad for you. 

- I have at least one good friend and I am extremely happy about it. I actually need to do this friend more justice than a few words here. 

- I would like to think of me as a fairly strong person. I know I can (almost) comfort me with most issues I have.

- I have come to be my best friend and I enjoy my company as much as being around close family & friends. 

I am definitely showing 'some' age here:

- The minute I walked out of a noisy (yeah!) night club, the first thing that I uttered was 'Thank God! It's over!'

- I am upset even before hitting the bed that I would only get 6 hours sleep that night when I hit the bed late and have an early(ish) start the next day. 

- A day long wedding has got me all tired and I need 3 days to get over it. 

- Too heavy a meal for dinner keeps me bloated and feeling sick all night. 

- I don't want to have too much to drink. (you know... alchohol) 

Keep the child-likeness in you alive or don't let the enthusiasm die: 

- I have always looked up at the sky to see the stars, something about it remains a fantasy 

- To always greet a person with a hi so bright that it lights up the other's day. Doesn't matter how long it has been that you have seen them, how close they are to you....it's the greeting that matters.

- When I see something new, a place, a thing,a sight I became a lil kid in one instance - look at it, ' alli nodu' is what I utter pointing at that whatever irrespective of where I am. 

Don't know what's in store for me for the year(s) to come, I wanted to record a few things that cross my mind most often and that's what you see up here. Some of you might also think.....what a whole lot of crap... but well....as the intelligent man once said.... 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” 

― Albert Einstein

On the Run

Living in one of the global cities such as London is quite synonymous to always being on the run.  A fast paced life that it is here one doesn't have a choice but to run.

Funny that a few years ago when I was home in India watching the Hollywood movies (with English subtitles) , the likes of Stepmom, Notting Hill, You've got Mail (now you know the trend here) I wondered how cool it is to be living in a huge city, getting ready to head to work (like you own the world), pretty much what the million other people around you are doing, grabbing a coffee from the local cafe and literally running with it. Phew! How stupid was I to think this was cool. God! this is the crazy routine that I have today and was 'blessed without' years ago when I started work back home. Well... to be honest there is a method in the madness, it's not all that bad you know.... it just has to be the right time in your life and not for too many years (tending towards moving on). 

Many times on my commute to and from work, I can't help but laugh at the little things I come across, the routine run of the people around me, the craziness of the transport system and the mundane emotionless faces that you see on your journeys. I can go on about this in another blog post (May be...) 

Well... It's a city on the move, a life on the move and all's actually good when things are moving,  isn't it. 

The other side to the 'run' is the actual habit of going for a run, though it comes across as something that is not forced onto you, the city you live in, the people around you, the lifestyle does influence you a lot. 

Athletics was never on my list of favourite sport. I don't remember enjoying the idea about running, sprinting, long jump, High jump  all that happened to be typical 'sports day' activities back in school, which of course were a far cry for me. I remember making stories of how unwell I was or how I just hurt myself just a couple of days before the event so I didn't have to take part. Some bad on my school's part too which seemed like they did a huge favour in giving you a tiny chance. (which I think I have mentioned earlier, but here I go again)

I had pretty much convinced myself that I only need to run when I am chased, of course by something which had a chance to hurt me. Yes!  Did that ever really happen in my life? Cannot recollect! 

I also had no sense of competition to run a race, beat someone, set a mark.  Wow, some points for being enthusiastic about aiming high. 

Why Bother! was my favourite statement. Little did I know that would change. 

I need to give credit to my husband who initially got me into this habit of running. I remember dreading the weekends as the morning ritual was to go out for a run, he having completed it 10-15 mins before and looking out for me trod along. 

I remember HIM telling me that he has never seen me sprint,  my answer being why I should I be doing anything like that.i.e. you would never see me doing anything like that. 

He commented that I don't seem to have the stance of a runner (someone in flight, LOL!), I used to just about manage, could barely breathe, each step being painful ..... I did call it running though!

Unfortunately, Fitness is not a destination, it's as much a journey as anything else and I cant help but repeat this to myself. I am keen to go out for my run and I actually look forward to it.  Just Imagine! 

Many factors that I think has helped me shape my attitude towards this regime to be on the run:

- My husband who thinks being fit and healthy is all there is to a human. 

- The Apps on the mobile - Nike + Running, Endomondo which got me started

- The City of London that I call home now, if not for the beautiful parks and locales I would not have had the drive. 

- The weather (mostly) being cold. Yes! God help those who run in 27+degC, I find it totally hard. 

- Little challenges that I set for myself. I'm not such a great person to not live by goals... they are what keep me going.

It still seems so funny yet weird to be saying and doing something that you never thought you would. How things change.....

Ok! That's it for now.. gotta run!