Dalits, Dynasty and SHE- A brutal political satire.....!!!!!

An honest portrayal of the down-in-the-mud political system of the country where the faces are not genuine and conscience of the leaders has hit the rock bottom pit of oblivion. The book begins with the political tyranny of the Dalit leader who has proved her mettle in the vote battle and now rules over the most populous State of the country.  The true colors resurface with each chapter and the characters of the book bring with them perplexing attitudes and social disharmony. The character of Shanti Devi is splashed with oodles of confidence, manipulative antics, and hideous intentions. This is in complete contrast with the naïve, but sharp-minded Rama Chandra who upholds his backward values and condemns the ways of the political tyrant. Amidst all this chaos, there are other prominent players in the political corridors that help in maintaining the grip of the plot. Such a blatant portrayal of the dirty politics that actually acts as a page turner.

Talking about the book, the characters are subtly penned down giving them a realistic touch. The political satire that it is, it truly justifies the random twists and turns in the book that maintains the pace throughout. At couple of places, the grip tends to loosen as the characters add little confusion to the political drama already in full vigor. But, the highs and lows of the human characters are shown in the white light.

A crisp read that engages your mood and makes you ponder over the naivety of the citizens who trust their political leaders blindly. The strong command over the language is actually the USP of the book and reflects the pensive approach of the author. Kudos to the concept, the grim satire, and the superlative characterization.

I would rate this book as 4.5/ 5.

A MUST read!!!!

Food-O-mania...!!!! An NRI's food woes

Someone has rightly said, “Food is your body’s fuel, without fuel your body wants to shut down”. And the  protagonist personally believes that all great minds are set to work and love after a lavish feast. 

Wink wink. :)
So the protagonist has this ‘Breakup friendly’ food theory that’s quite amusing.  It says Yummy and fatty food is the only way to heel a broken heart. Who wants to mourn over heartaches when you are served a divine platter!!!!  But you can never predict what life has in store for you or so was the case with him.

Food-O-mania

Hailing from North India, where an evening tea sans ‘samosa’ /’kachori’ is a sin, he is a big time foodie.
Life slaps a 'pita bread' on his face and he ends up in Doha only to wake up to aroma of sulemani tea. From ginger tea to red tea. ..life has been too hard on him. PMS Indeed. .....Poor metabolic Syndrome.  Savour your thoughts. ..!!!!

The five food woes of the protagonist :

1. From 'harry's' to Harees life has taken a mouthful of twists. When hummus replaces 'Chana masala' and 'Majboos' replaces Biryani. ...taste buds go on a strike.

2. Ķeratin shoots up only to escalate the libido. ....The lifeguards are required and they come pricey.  Oooops!!

3. It's only Doha and no DOSA. ....aarrgghhhhh

4. A temporary breakup with street food takes him in the pit or 'pita' of despair.

5. Shawarma se na sharma meri jaan. 

Read on to know more about the protagonist in the upcoming book, "Doha! Diary of a Delhi-O-holic".

https://m.facebook.com/Doha-Diary-of-a-Delhi-O-holic-1710720389168925/

The genetic bandhan

To have a baby is always a joint decision but the difficult part (the painful part), is always in the stride of the woman.Guess we are capable of handling the internal and external pressures at the same time....lol. So, when me and my man decided to let our heart walk outside our bodies and dance on our heads..literally...I was pretty sure that the God is in the process of creating a magnificent small wonder for me. As the first trimester went by and took along its partner in crime, the much despised morning sickness and acidity aunt reduced its frequent visits to my would-be-penguin body, I could actually get hold of my thoughts and dwell in the imagination of THE LITTLE MIRACLE who was to be downloaded in next few months.
The man of the house had much to worry, namely the due date so that he can plan his leaves and the  awesome killing looks of the baby that he thought would automatically be transferred to him by some instant pen drive. AHHH....that was indeed quite a contribution in the entire process.
 After all this, I was pretty much sure that God would be very kind and generous in taking cues from me while sculpting my miracle.NO NO NO........i am not a feminist at all before you jump on any conclusions. I DESPISE silly feminism for the sake of haunting the poor men. So, as much I wanted my miracle to be  replica of me in looks, I wanted the baby to inherit his fathers brain and other many such traits that I am proud of......don't ask me to count those now..have to think..;);)
So you see, life was pretty much sorted until my penguin body finally gave in and was in the mood to let go off the miracle in this awesome world. The emergency c-section software was run on and after few hitches the miracle was downloaded.
Day 5- hospital
Visitors - " The baby is completely on his father...bilkul baap pe"
Inlaws- "pulkit jaisa hai ekdum.....muahhh"
My mom- "Sirf eyes teri hain"

Month 5
 The sonny boy sleeps like his dad.
Month 12
The lil dude tries combing his hairs like his father....the side partition
After 2 years
mommy daddy in argument mode....boy says " noooo mama" and hugs his father

I sit there scratching my head...!!

At this moment
The sonny boy staring at me with his father like eyes and telling me to fetch him a glass of "pann" .
Yes boss....sure i will....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S.
I am extremely proud of both the rock stars in my life.....:)

Death by selfie

Blame it up on the era of smartphones or instagram, the pouty selfie obsession is rising at a unprecedented rate. And that's perfectly alright as long you are able to flaunt your newly done eyebrows and that coral lip color. I myself had a huge selfie obsession long back and trust me I never used mirror during that time as my cell phone was duly trained to act as the witched mirror and answer my whims; "Mirror mirror who is the prettiest of all?. More  than the intolerance debate,  what worries me is the rate at which the selfie deaths are increasing and that tells me something is creepy about this selfie obsession. Though being a  saggi, I got over it long back but am still amused at the on-your-face expressions of the people while clicking selfie.The other day I was literally horrified at the sight of the lady clicking a selfie with her puppy inside the lift and flaunting a  puppy face.I swear i feel pity for the puppy who had to endure the tight cuddle  and bear with the obsession. Talking about the puppy face, i still doubt who flaunted the better puppy expression(winks). BTW, she forgot to step out on her turn.

The recent death of a boy while clicking a selfie on a  rail track is worrying. Time to rethink over the value of your life to your loved ones. That pout can wait surely but death carrier wont.
Use those pout at some better places...obviously not on a deadly spot. Flaunt yourself, express yourself,love yourself...but please please please don't invite the sexy looking death carrier by any chance.
Keep dreaming
CHEERS....!!!!

The Odd even homeconomics

Hope you guys are having a  stupendous start of the year and all your resolutions, have at least been posted on the social media, if not been implemented. After all, that is what resolutions are meant to be..nah!!! After the historical odd even formula being implemented for a fortnight, I am intrigued by the economics of it.The intellectual brains put to work to design it, must have had a nasty fight at home and the end result was this epic and ill- logical scheme. Before I am convicted for speaking my weirdo mind out or before some political Sabu (remember the muscular alien from Chacha chaudhri) sits on a hunger strike after reading my non-cooperation post, I would like to ponder on the odd even homeconomics , if it were to be applicable in my domestic territory. What if the household chores were divided on  this basis and women get a alternate day off from the internal affairs. AHH...SOUNDS LIKE SOME SUGAR COATED MELODY to me .I mean imagine one day the man does the laundry and the other day the woman takes the car to the service center.(Role  reversal...ahaan). 

It would be really difficult to predict the success of this scheme in any domestic territory, but yeah..this would definitely bring back some fun in the monotonous life.So, our Sabu can be really happy that his scheme is quite a inspiring one.

The success of the marriage is anyways in this odd even scheme which is not very often realized. One day the man of the house goes out and have fun with his friends and the other day, the wife goes out and celebrate...of course with HER friends.......no jokes please..!!!

P.S. The quality of the household chores performed by the husbands is a not a matter of litigation...!!!!

CHEERS...

Finding a perfect match

It is said “You fall in love not by finding a perfect person, but by seeing a imperfect person perfectly”.  To a certain extent, it is true also, after all nobody is perfect in this world. But what is important here is to find someone who is well deserving of his imperfectness being ignored. When it comes to our loved ones we often get irrational, don’t we? So we are back to square one, how to find someone who is just the right one for you or should I say, “The perfect match”.

We lead such a hectic and fast paced life that very often we don’t realize the value of people in our lives when they are there. The chances of a broken relationship increases when there is a difference in what we aspire for and what we land up with.  Globally, the rate of failed marriages is increasing which is a area of concern.

One of the most prominent reasons for a failed marriage is a “imperfect marriage”. It’s kind of weird but many a times the reasons for falling apart are the same that brought you together. Blame it on adrenaline rush or whatever, people get so pumped up while dating that they end up getting married , in the heat of the moment. A typical “Happy ever after” tale where there is nothing happy ever after…!!! Life initially is pink and flowery but once you get over your fantasies, that you realize may be it was too early to take the plunge. The problem here is not a imperfect partner but definitely a incompatible partner, who doesn’t fit your set of priorities and needs.

So the BIG question is what are the do’s and don’ts , that one must have in his/her mind when it comes to finding your soul mate.  Finding your perfect someone is not that difficult but to hang on to him is definitely not so easy…J

Here are few tit bits that will surely help you find your soul mate:

1.       Know what you want

We all are unique for we have different needs and aspirations and before getting into any relationship, be sure of what you want out of it. Don’t go with the flow but follow your  heart because unless you are sure of what you want in your life, nobody would know.

2.       Ready , Steady and go

Don’t fall for someone just because all your friends have their dates to accompany them to the ball rooms or clubs. This is one thing you need to ask yourself whether you are ready for it or not. Don’t rush yourself  and take your time. Get prepared up there in your mind and just go for it..!!!

3.       Talk, talk, talk and more talk

That’s the key my dear. One thing that can piss off any relationship is lack of communication.  I understand we all lead busy lives but lil effort pays you in long run. Infact we are lucky in terms of technology here. Page, sms, blackberry ping, call, mail or do what you can but the banter should not end. There’s nothing better than a starbucks coffee and a chit chat with your someone special. Trust me , it will do wonders. Follow your heart and speak your mind and you are right there man.

4.       Explore

We all are different human beings with varied taste, desires, hobbies, mindset and temperament. Explore what all you can do together and its real fun. You both will have different opinions but variety is the spice of life, isn’t it. Stretch your comfort zone and open up yourself.

5.       Setting the priorities

While you look out for your perfect someone, its very important to set your priorities . Your priorities should decide your partner and not vice versa. Similarly you have to accept your partner with their set of values . People come with their baggage and should not be burdened with a “ to do list”. Accept them the way they are because u fell in love with the person and rest all is a package deal :)

6.       Oblivious to the obvious

Yes, there are times we need to ignore what seems to be very obvious. You cannot hold on to grudges and letting them go is the key to a blissful association.  Let go of your Ego and bend a little, afterall that’s better than to break down.

All of the tit bits do not work in all real time situations but they do act as a catalyst. There is only key to a perfect match. Either you fall in love or get loved.  And if you find that difficult , there is a long list of matrimonial websites willing to help you. And who knows, you might end up finding your soulmate. The medium is not important but the end result is.  Trust your partner, and believe in love, and you will find your soulmate in him.

CHEERS..!!!

For the "food" of my life...!!!

Someone has rightly said, “Food is your body’s fuel, without fuel your body wants to shut down”. And I personally believe, all great minds are set to work after a scrumptious meal. In fact I indulge myself completely when I am low because a zestful meal takes me higher and higher. Blame it on my ‘kitchen friendly’ upbringing; I am addictive to anything and everything about food. In fact I have this ‘Breakup friendly’ food theory that’s quite amusing.  It says Yummy and fatty food is the only way to heel a broken heart. Who wants to mourn over heartaches when you are served a divine platter!!!!  But you can never predict what life has in store for you or so was the case with me.

Hailing from North India, where an evening tea sans ‘samosa’ /’kachori’ is a sin, both me and my hubby are big time foodie. Without elaborating my hubby’s sweet tooth saga, will move on to the turning point of my flavorful life. In 2011, I moved to USA with my hubby, with dreamy eyes as that of a new bride. Spending initial days in a hotel, Indeed life was all flowery and I felt like some Yash Chopra heroin singing my heart out to the magnificence of life until the villain made its entry. And in this case the tormentor came well placed on a tray with all its accompaniments and we made eye contact for the first time. I kept staring at those sausages, bagels and oatmeal and not to forget, peanut butter and mourning over the loss of my regular ‘Aloo paratha’ and ‘poha’. ‘Golgappas’ and ‘jalebi’ kept haunting me for so many nights. Life is so tough sometimes…!!!!

After my first encounter with self-assumed tasteless meal, the next thing on to-do-list was to visit the first- seen Indian grocery store and stock my cupboards with all that I can manage to dump into it. I was equally happy to see Indian restaurants, which meant duty free weekends!!  Life was back on track with my taste buds taken full care of. Then during one of the summer evenings we happened to go out to dine in this Mexican joint with our friends and I kept my fingers crossed. And to my surprise I developed a taste for it. “Chipotle “is a Mexican version of Rajma rice with salad, if put in simple words. I was amazed at its presentation and soon it was on my favorites list. Basically the problem with foodies is we cannot stay away from food and love to explore different cuisines (as long it is better looking than better tasting, we can try anything).  Next on our list was “Maggiano’s Little Italy” known for their authentic flavors. And their Cheese ravioli will leave you craving for more. They use very subtle flavors to give it a typical Italian touch.  It’s interesting to see the variety of cuisines that every region has to offer. The high-point came when while waiting for my order to come in an Indian restaurant, I saw a group of Non-Indians relishing our very own Shahi Paneer and Naan, in a pita style though but being an Indian I felt so proud.

From ‘parathe wali gali’ to ‘Greek Kitchen’, the journey has been very fulfilling and enriching. What amazes me is the fact that Food is one   divine creation that binds us all globally. At the same time, someone back there in India is gorging on ‘Chicken gyros’ and ‘falafel’, and just a continent across someone is devouring  ‘Mysore Masala Dosa’. !!!  If you look at it closely, you will realize spices have no nationality. They may have different origins but they emit same aroma across the globe without any discrimination. Little things in life have a lot to teach, if only we could learn.

Raising a toast to all the food lovers….

Cheers