Mummy.... Its so Yummy... !!!

Context: Mum asks me to cook a new Dish today...

Hmmm .... here i go again... Mum is screaming at the top of her voice.... ( actually speaking , she's a just a li'l louder than normal conversation.... poor dear is having wheezing frm a few days :(  .. )... she is asking me to get up...

Ma :Its 10:00 am ,Maya.. Get up....
Me:Oh mom, I have no work to do... 10 more minutes..... (it drags to 30 more minutes)

 Before i go back to that so called 10 minutes of sleep, she asks me to cook this dish "AVIAL"... mixed veggies, A Yummy dish..  N i agree,  " ya.. sure thing". (all in my sleep.. yawn...:O..)

Its almost 10:30.. I get up, Have my bath n breakfast till 11:30... n then .. go to my comp to chk my mail n play a few games..... 30 more minutes....

hmm.... Granny starts calling... "Maya... Go, to the kitchen... "
Me: Why the heck??...
 I seem to have completely forgotten what Ma  told me to do...
n the funny part.. I'm playing Cafe world ... Virtual kitchen on Fb..... when theres actual cooking to be done...I say that i'll be right there in a few minutes...  just when m about to save n shut down the comp... The power switches off.... The UPS beeping all its way.. ( These powercuts n getting damn irritating these days..)

Now what??
In the kitchen,  I get all thats necessary to prepare the dish.. veggies , beans , alasande, pumpkin, suvarna gadde, carrot, batata, Coconut.. Now, i'll have to chop , dice n dessicate the stuff.... No dessicated coconut?? i have to start scrapping it?? No power...??? How m i gonna finish it off before 1:00pm.. ??

First n foremost thing , i dessicate a whole coconut.... whew, that was really fast..
then i chop n dice all the veggies..... 10 more minutes , n m' done with the veg cutting.
Now cooking all those vegetables??? N i shud hurry.. The recipe book says to boil in water until cooked...But  i haven't got that much time. time for some quick thinking...

I come up with this brilliant idea, i put all the vegetables in a pressure cooker.. :P.. smart huh?? not for my Ma though.. :D

while the veggies get pressure cooked, i'm supposed to grind the coconut n green chillies together... n the main thing No power... n i come up with another brilliant idea... I connect my mixer to the Home UPS( not advised ) .... grind the stuff on low speed as a precaution.... finally 'm done with the grinding part.... The Job is half done.... Its almost 12:30pm when i'm done with all these ....

Now the final steps.. Mixing the stuff... i  take out all the cooked veggies... add the ground coconut mixture.. bring to a boil..... i add the salt... main thing not to be forgotten.... finally add the seasoning with cumin seeds....  Now, i take a l'il bit of the dish in a spoon to check if it tastes good...  n down it goes into my palate...

Note: Granny has been observing me all along... she observes my expressionless face as i taste it...
" Enaaythu?? uppu jaasthi haakda??
:D
nope.. i m relishing the flavour... :P

N just on time , as my grandfather sits down at the dining table for his lunch, I'm ready with the dish..
He tastes the dish n gives me a smile.... "good, nimma ajji maadodakkintha chennagi maadiddya... ajji stares at ajja .. :D....

After about 15 more mintues, Ma come home for lunch... the much awaited moment.. to get her approval....

hmm.. Yummm... thumba chennagi aagide ..... but gravy consistency thick irli next tym..

Come on Mummy.... its soooo Yummy.....!!!

And there goes one more day...

"Know Ye not that ye are Gods??"

"Know ye not that ye are Gods?" ... " The kingdom of Gods resides within you".....

Reminds me of my school days , when we used to listen to the quotes from the Holy scriptures each day after our prayers. As kids, never have we knew what it actually meant. In simple terms it says, " We are God"... But How can it be true? Our kiddish thoughts asked us," if we really are God, why pray everyday to some other God?".. we could never make the head or tail of that quote.So, we would leave it at that saying , " We'll have to be old enough to understand all these stuff ".

These two lines which happen to be the essence of Dan Brown's new Novel,"The Lost Symbol", kept me pondering over my childhood dilemma.

The above two lines, pops up not only in Bible ,but in all holy scriptures..Following are some evidence I could relate to:

Doesn't Shankaracharya advocate, "Aham Brahmasmi"??.He says the world is just an illusion that humans have woven with their minds and Brahman is not differentiated from You. It is said in the Vedas that , God created us very much like him. Even the old testament of the Bible says," We were created in the image of God".All these thoughts have been swirling in my head many days now.The book stated our body as the temple of God, where the mind is considered the sanctum sanatorium ( Garbha gudi as we say it ) , and when i read it the immediate thought that came to my mind was the line from the Vachanas which says ,"Enna kaale kambhagalu dehave degula, shirave honna kalashavayya".

It might be all a mere coincidence but sometimes all these things link up making us think like the conspiracy theorists who search a clue in each and everything that comes across their line of sight.And like one of them i can keep babbling about all those things that comes to my mind when i go through this topic.

Coming to the main essence of the topic, i.e, "Are Ye Gods?" Here is a saying which is not uncommon. "God pervades in everything around us". Remember , when we were kids , our elders used to say to , Revere the God in Everyone. Thats the purpose of greeting everyone with the Namaskar folding both our hands together. If God pervades in everything ,then, What is God? Thats why I said if we put some thought into it , we realize that, what we say to be God is Energy .Energy is all pervading in all beings in the universe.Its energy that created matter. Thats why ,Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed.And because we have energy within us we are considered God(which is a plural word)...On a different note, This mental energy capable of doing wonders must be harnessed with utmost care.Maybe its the reason behind why the enlightened sages and yogis observed meditation to preserve and handle the energy within them.. Coming to think of it now, This happens to be a very vast topic and cannot be contained in a single blog entry. :)

So,As a final note, I would say, All existance has a memory and a point at which it evolves.The point at which it evolves is Gods consciousness!The memory is where humans are, constantly trying to keep up.The more faith and knowledge someone has, the more positive they are on the existance scale therefore the closer they are to Gods consciousness (knowing). In life: That which lives in the most positive state is of the closet relative to a living God.

P.S : This entry is just a viewpoint i am willing to share with others, any other viewpoints are very much welcome..

Is silence really Golden??? or is it Olden??

Silence is Golden.... how many times haven't we heard this adage of ancient times..even in different lingos... But is it really as golden at all times?? possibly not....

Certainly "silence is golden" at times. There are times when silence pays rich dividends. Solomon said: "The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin". Surely the kind of silence here advised, the control of one's tongue, is "golden" indeed. Silence is certainly "golden" when compared to speaking evil. How wonderfully "golden" the "silence" would be if all whispering, gossip, backbiting, lying, slander and such like could be forever stopped. Perhaps all of us need to give more attention to our speech...

"Silence is golden" also when one is restrained and careful in her speech. There are times when one can say more by being silent. Too many times we may be guilty of saying too much. The multiplicity of words is much in evidence today. No doubt Solomon had reference to such when he wrote "He who restrains his words has knowledge... (and) even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is counted prudent." It must be agreed that there are times when "silence is golden"........

well, lets try a paradoxical view too......something everyone experiences..do we really talk to our neighbors..? Is silence so much more important than being social? Or is silence much more worth than exchange of knowledge... Is staying silent any good when you are with your loved ones...with your family , with your friends? ... Is that why god made humans the most verbose creature on the planet... ? Probably not :D

The main purpose speech serves is interaction between individuals to exchange information which boosts your knowledge. The knowledge may be good or bad, worthy or worthless, and is left to the individual.Information becomes worthy to a person depending on what concerns him the most. I believe one learns more through a conversation with their acquaintances than anywhere else.. when your mind is at ease , not under any pressure, it grasps information much better.. its only a matter of what part of the conversation is one interested in. You are interested in it,you take it, not your slice of pie, you forget it. Its as simple as that. n thats the only place you ought to remain silent these days... when you are not interested :D... n like King Solomon said " Look Wise".. :P So, Speech is a very important element in expressing ideas and feelings. If you want to make people understand you , speak out.

Here's a poem , i really like:

Silence is not golden

When something should be said.

The truth should always be spoken

Even when we would rather suppress it,

Because we fear someone would be hurt.

There is a way to say whatever should be heard,

Especially when the loud voice of lies

Is quickly spreading its words.

Speak up! Tell the truth!

Humbly, calmly share what you know.

Then watch, listen, as the loud voice of lies

Retreats into silence.

To put in simple words,when u want to say some thing , to share something,do it. Silence no longer remains golden.. when u want to tell people u care for, u do care for them.. or when there is truth to be told..... LIES shud be silenced n nothing else..... :D

No raY oF sUnshINE ....

Ever imagined a day in ur childhood or even now, where u hav never stepped out in the sunshine for the whole day??? u may say what a dumb question ..no way !!wudn't stay indoors even if it meant having a tantrum with your parents , right? .... hmm, even i'd do the same.... but , what if staying inside is inevitable.... confused,huh? .. well, i'll explain..... here's a story i heard , dat deeply moved me n kinda changed me as a person ,to be more stronger in character.

I'll tell u this story about a li'l gal. she comes out to the grass to dance just as the setting sun turns the red bluffs surrounding her home to cool shades of purple and lavender-grey. As she leaps thru the shadows in her bare feet, 11 year old PARIS,watches for the stars to appear and the moon to rise. When asked , she explains " when the moon is out its safe for me to come out...". she hasn't seen the beauty of a sunrise or felt the warmth of sunshine on her face for a real long tym now..In short, Paris isn't like other children, She is a child of the night.This 11 year old sweet heart has got 'X.P'.... not windows-XP guys.... Its short for Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare genetic condition that prevents sun-damaged skin cells from repairing themselves..if steps haven't been taken to avoid UV light , this cud even lead to skin cancer.

This is a cruel disease.... really .. requiring those who hav it to spend most of their lives behind shuttered windows that have been sheilded from sunlight entering them.

Paris, " the city of lights", but that shudn't have meant that this gal shud see only lights at night... the young kid..deprived of all the fun n frolic in her life of playing outdoors... going to the beaches....she's just left to watch the other kids play in the frontyard through the shutters of her windows...

Even then she leads a happy life at night , to say, in moonlight... she knows whats good for her and she must do whatever is needed of her.She knows that in the years to come , she shud attend a night school or hav a personal tutor, her profession whatever that may be should be at night shifts and she is ready to live with it at this very tender age.

Well,doesn't that ring a bell in your head ?? ...Just look at the optimism and courage she's got so early in life..most ppl lack it even if they are twice or thrice her age... we definitely have to learn a most important lesson of life from Paris... To go on however difficult the path may be...to try again however difficult the task may be... to hav a backup of courage n strength that never gets depleted ... To see light even in the dark night , as she is doing now ....

wHen at PeAce wiTH NaTUre!!!

My birthday's approaching in two days tym.... n here i'm having my afternoon siesta lying on a mat on the terrace of my home , playing with my pet dog..... My birthday.... this day is everyones day of fantasy... but a fantasy that serves no purpose is of as little use as a comb to a totally bald person... frankly speaking, i hav no such fantasies in mind for this special day of mine as of now..... all dat i hav ever done was , do a good deed or two on this spl day, and enjoyy my day with my frnz n chums ( exceptions hav occurred during engg exam season :P) but otherwise it was a day of fun n frolic with my family , frndz , accompanied even by surprise visits frm my cuzins sometyms....  But today as i sat wondering about it, i realised what i shud have done long back...... the answer came to me as a mynah chirping on the pomegranate tree.... it said,"nature has itself bestowed on u a beautiful gift, its time u realised it and put it in action",.....  

     The gift i felt was being one with nature, being in peace with nature..... or else how cud i make out what the mynah is saying to me?..... the gift was that i cud hear nature speakin to me in different forms n providing me with pieces of enlightenment ... that r making me a better person as i grow both with age n knowledge...... i did wonder for a moment before realising... this gift of hearing bits of knowledge from nature , what was the purpose of it ???

One thing that i cud make out was it was asking me to save it.....  we never realise , but its true  that we don't give a damn bout  preserving our natural surroundings as it is... it is not enuf that we do emphasise the fact on a day or two.. for publicity purpose or stuff... the true purpose still remains unattended .... i, myself, being born on world environment day , do no more than plant a sapling or two to remember this day apart from saying that its my birthday...... people say that its high time we get serious about the environment stuff..... but this seriousness fades away in public gradually as the days pass.... its as though somebody needs to keep reminding them about it.....

people shud take a step forward in this direction, n before pointing to others , i shud take my step forward..... On my birthday, I pledge to make all my efforts in preserving nature , if i can't reverse the effects, i shudn' add to the effects either...... all of those who read this blog , please think bout it seriously...... and also act....

mY cuPPa tEa!!!

This happens  to hav happened just yesterday when i sat in front o' my PC , checking out some blogs , holding a cuppa tea in my hand.......  Amazing isn't it ? How one Cup o' tea adds the something xtra to an activity as simple as reading..... honestly, for a person lik me who drinks plain milk at the other tyms of the day ..... drinking the evening cuppa' tea is heavenly bliss... i mean truly ... just imagine yourself holding a cup in hand, sipping hot  tea from the brim of the cup while ur doin' nothing......  the solitude it takes u to is just fabulous...may it be the effect of the antioxidants it contains o' whatever :) ..... i Feel something amazing...... 

Leaving all things aside, i sat sipping my tea which contains a bit of ginger essence , my favourite flavour that goes with it....   smacking my lips to the flavour... it's just so wow...... at this point i looked down at my cup... half-empty, relished by its so called "drinker" (As i call it)..ha ha ha.. observing the flecks of the tea leaves that lined the cup... i realized many things at that point of time... The so called "Cuppa TEA" signifies many things.....  as said above in one way it signifies the eternal bliss of solitude when enjoyed rather lavishly n loafingly... but,it has a different side when presented in front of people in a conference, appointment o' watever ... it signifies the serious side of a person... meaningly the "responsible" nature of a person when compared to one who prefers coffee... tea in such places acts lik a business stimulant..... n for people workin at the consoles its a thought stimulant n stress buster.... tea n biscuits in breaks with colleagues along ur side... wonderful way to chat ur way of many topics (lik sports for guys, n gossips n fashion for gals) ,along the break,hmmm, the thought does feel nice, ain't it? ;).... n think of the tea parties that the ladies arrange for themselves....( never heard of a coffee party though ;)  ) .... ha ha ha.....

i guess, tea is a stimulant in many ways...... Stimulate ... Such a wonderful word..... n a wonderful deed too... to arouse someone to do what he thinks is right, provokin him in a healthy way, building up his confidence...... provide excitement in a boring situation... all positive things "A single cuppa tea" does....u wonder if Tea does all that,huh???... For me, it does all those things....  right now, it STIMULATED me to write this blog.... ;) .... 

My conversation with the Sun

Hmmm.... this was way back b4 my teens....

 though i was a complete mischef manager at my school,always vid ppl around me who were also a part of the mischief team :) .... there was a completely a diff side of me when i got home in the evening... i preferred playing the quiet, soft natured the gal nextdoor n ma parents beloved daughter role..(when i say roles it doesn't mean as though i was acting it..). well, now i think of it... it looks as if that was when my dual natured part of being a gemini comes out to the max extent... he he he... anyways, i loved spendin my tym alone on the terrace watchin the settin sun as it was a beatiful sight to watch.... i used to practise it as the most wonderful part of daily routine...i felt bliss when i saw it everyday.... it was lik  a source to rejuvenate my energy levels(so that i can perform n plan more mischevious things the next day.. ha ha ha..)... 

 One day i felt as though the sun spoke out to me.... "hey Maya, i hav been watching u frm many days now..... why is dat u spend so much tym lookin at me??? " ..... startled as i was with this, i fumbled out.."hmm..huh..uh... i donno...". I wasn' ready with an answer to it... i hadn' thot of this at all... why spend so much tym lookin at the sun... " Even as i was thinkin it , i knew i had the answer to it waiting to blurt out all along...the next day this was what i replied to the sun.."we've always known u as the source of heat n light ... but very few ppl can truly understand what it means... it means u r the source n support to God's creativity...all the evolution on the planet wudn' hav happend if not for u... u hav been spectator to all the civilizations that hav flourished on  n also which hav perished... which means that the light which comes frm u is not just the photons as we call it... its something called the Light of Knowledge.... I happen to always wonder how you can always give out this heat n light which humans use to fulfill their phsyiological needs  but not for their psychological needs most of the tym... but still u continue to do the same routine , thinkin dat some day man will finally discover this piece of knowledge.... kudos , i hav to say, u havn'  got tired of doin the same routine just for the sake of others all along for millons of years..."....  Sun smiled n said," I m glad i m one number down of my target today ...".... :)

SwEeT mEMoRieS

I treasure sweet old

 memoriesAs time goes swiftly by.
A few bring smiles of happiness
And some tears to the eye.

They all are precious in their way,
Reopening doors of old
That have been shut these many years--
What pictures they unfold!

These dear old, sweet old memories
All play their special part
In bringing joy and opening up
The latch strings of the heart.