Brush strokes

What is it that these salons do to one's hair that for the rest of the day, one walks as if in a trance, among the clouds, feeling on top of the world , elated at having the most luxurious(that includes silky, curly, soft, rough, flowing, glowing, voluminous, colored, tinted- any and all combinations that one wants and craves for) tresses in the entire world!!!??

Every time I visit my stylist at the salon, the minute she seats me in the magic swivel chair of hers, I demand "Can you do what it takes so I have voluminous, soft, silky hair with a new style? I am bored with what I have now!". She smiles unfailingly(I am sure she smirks inwards and adds x=x+1 to her count of customers who've wished for the same)and chirps "Sure, lets get your hair washed first."

And off we go, for the next 30 minutes or so, she treats my hair to some kind of royal ritual. Giggling like a kid, I sit in eager anticipation of the outcome.

"There, you're all done now!" she announces and Voila! she swivels my chair after some 10 mins of continued whirring with the blow dryer and brush. In the mirror, while for one instant my eyes espy a hair fairy replete with the dryer taking the place of a wand. I also see a familiar face but with a freshly minted hair-do. The hair has been brushed until it shines, the shampoo and conditioner have done wonders to the texture, the additional sprays and gels and mousse and the rest of the concoction coterie that have been loaded make the hair sparkle and set in an obedient position.

As I twirl my head in a myriad different angles so I can catch a glimpse of how it all looks, the hair fairy glows with pride and purpose. When I am finally done and she rests the mirror that she has been holding up for the past few minutes, I ask her innocently "Hm, so this is gonna last till I wash next. Can I visit you every 2-3 days after washing my hair, so you can set and style my hair for me?". Her grin widens and then she chortles gleefully and says "Yea, right! Why don't you learn to blow dry your hair well?". But I do blowdry, and with my kind of attention span, its not too long before I thrust hairbrush and dryer down with impatience and proclaim "Style be damned, I am done!". There ends my enthusiasm to achieve hairdo perfection.

These short lived glories are so disappointing. One minute you are up in the clouds, the next minute you are down in the dumps with a succession of bad hair days. I guess thats part of the strategy to make these salon visits a makeover dream. I'm convinced mine was a very tempting(irresistible?) offer wherein the said stylist could have a regular guaranteed source of income , but would she really like to be styling the same head of hair every 2-3 days? Maybe monotony isn't a foible in the hairstyling world.
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Babies haven't any hair:
Old men's heads are just as bare;
From the cradle to the grave
Lies a haircut and a shave.
~Samuel Goodman Hoffenstein

Twinkle toes

Happy Feet
First, let me say whats already been said and be done with. Yes, its got music, its got infectious toe-tapping, the penguins are cute and endearing, its "supposed" to be a kids movie with a message(or several, as was in this case).

Phew, that said, a couple of things that didnt quite work for me. For one, the movie was unable to keep the central theme (or message) intact and kept wandering into a million byways by way of conveying embedded messages in each, which was for one, distracting and quite threaded for children. Let me even go as far as to say, this isnt truly a kids movie, in the real sense of the word. Secondly, because of the various sub-threads, the movie was much longer than the official time frame of 1 hr 40 mins.

All said and done, it is a movie about penguins and there is enough music and song and dance to provide timely lightheartedness and break from the monotony.
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Foot note(s) : One long weekend of the year over. Twas a time to sit back and relax.
Time to organize, time for lazy shopping, time to put your feet up on the mall benches with a cinnamon roll, time for long-overdue recipes and then a time to binge.
Got a lot of reading done, Christmas decorations are up.
With the days getting shorter, sure is cheery with holiday lights.

It is now time to go back to the grind.

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work. ~Robert Orben

Go Dutch?

For some reason, Holland has always been on my list of must-see places. Ok, its not what you think it is- you dirty minds!!! I have had this fascination for windmills- be it in pictures or poetry. I also happen to love tulips. What better place than Holland to experience both?

Imagine a sprawling Dutch countryside strewn with windmills and tulip beds? Now is that picture perfect or what? Wouldnt that qualify to be a scenic route to eternal bliss?



Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds He all.
-Retribution. (Sinngedichte.)

Against the grain

"When I grow up, I really dont want to wilt and droop"
Cried aloud the budding shoot,
"I'd like to seed and shine, forever in a loop
To match the stars and the moon astute".
"Why, oh why, do I have to shrivel?
To shed my petals of color and swivel?"

"Well my dear" said the wise old tree,
"I've been around since you've been wee
All I can say is you dont just wither to root.
Voila! you become a juicy fruit.
Just as the sun sets for the moon fest,
As leaves shed for winter rest;
So shall you live your time the very best.
When time's ripe, thou too shall reap in the melee
For what are we, but a tiny game for nature's play."

Dor- a message thread

This movie thread left me speechless. I am not sure if I can add any more to the praise thats already been heaped on the movie. Wonderful storyline, some strong and touching dialogues, superb acting, great cast- all in all a package with a punch. I cant find anything to add about Shreyas Talpade or Ayesha Takia or Gul Panag that which has not already been said or without sounding redundant/cliched.


Some scenes that stay with me :
- Meera, upon receiving her husbands personal effects and the scene with the grandmother-in-law. One of the powerful lines "We women dont stand by each other most times, what else can we expect from men?"

- Such simple and moving scenes like where Meera goes atop a raised platform to talk on the cell phone or when Zeenat visits her inlaws monthly.

- Again another grandmother-in-law scene where she says "You are only doing what human beings can do, angels cant be this fortunate."

All in all, a very well-made movie that has a powerful message, evokes a lot of strong emotion and feeling, and the end-product doesnt turn it into a traditional artsy movie with dark and badly lit scenes. The Behroopiya characterization delivers the lightheartedness thats a welcome break.

Thumbs up for this thread.

All about B's- Bangalore bakeries

For many Bangaloreans(Bengalureans?) the word "bakery"- predominantly associated with Iyengars- will invariably propel them into nostalgic journeys where the baggage claim conveyor belt delivers myriad varieties of puffs, buns, biscuits, masala toasts and so on and so forth. If one lived in South Bangalore in the vicinity of any of these locally famous bakeries like VB Bakery and Butter Sponge, like I did, one can only wax poetic about the aroma of freshly baked bread and buns and puffs that emanates from these baking havens around 2 in the afternoon- right when college or school is out. It would be a superhuman feat to not stop at one of these bakeries and gobble a quick snack like an onion puff or a masala bun. I have spent hours in front of the cash counter trying to decide what to eat.

And yes, this is what scrimping and saving is for. There have been many afternoons where a group of buddies have pooled in their meagre financial resources to be able to indulge in such simple pleasures. I guess the term "venture capital" made its humble beginnings right here.

Recently, having stumbled upon a spate of such passengers like this blog or even this one, I was reminded of an old recipe that a friend of mine had given me. One of making j-e-e-r-a biscuits akin to those that these wonderful bakeries dish out. After making multiple batches of these jeera delicacies(yours truly not being a big fan of this spice), I tried a variation which produced amazing results.

Edited to add : As of March 2008, the number of people googling for this term(k-h-a-r-a biscuit) is roughly two per day. Its amazing to know how many people get nostalgic about this great bakery item and google for the recipe. Hence all references to this item and its recipe have been removed. While it helps my ego to see so many hits for this post, I do not see any feedback on whether anyone has used this recipe or how it turned out. So if you need the recipe for this bakery item, please do email me at the address provided in the profile and I will send the recipe out or leave a comment with your email id. Thanks for understanding.

Bean balance

  

Brunch brouhaha

Lazy saturday fare

- Besan dosa with red bell-pepper chutney
- Curd rice
- Shira(also called Rava Kesari or Kesaribath- Recipe mastered thanks to Minu)

The business of buyouts

When I first came to the US, right across from where I rented a studio apartment, was a gigantic mall. Well, at least to me, it was. While window shopping in this sea of consumerism, there was one dept store that I would invariably stop at and always find something at a throwaway price. This store, while it wasnt the most popular, it was a place that worked for me. I'd find the right sizes and the designs- all the time. A year later, when I'd since moved out of the area, I learnt that Macy's had bought it out and converted it into a regular "Macy's" store.

Since I've been in VA, I had found a similar haven in Hechts again at a mall right across from where I live. While all and sundry would rave about the JCP's and the Sears and the Nordstroms, Hechts it was for me. I would always find the cutest, the most beautiful, cheapest deals each time, every time. And that in itself was incentive to be mall-bound. Added to the fact, I believed I was getting my dose of exercise along with the excitment of finding those monetarily and girlishly satisfying deals to ensure that a trip was not an exercise in futility. Hechts(for those that are donning a deer-upon-headlights look upon hearing the name), is a local dept store chain much like JCP or Sears but predominantly in the DC/VA/MD areas.

Recently, Macy's acquired Hechts(here we go again.) and as is customary, all Hechts stores have now been renovated to the standard Macy's format. While claims were/are made that Macy's will continue to support Hechts' legacy brands, I find little solace or comfort to pledge my continued patronage. Shopping in the store isnt the same any more, its another Macy's. While this article explains(in financial terms) the reason for a buyout becoming inevitable, I dont feel assured. While the concept of "tried and tested" works from a business standpoint, as a consumer, sometimes I crave for the exclusivity- an affordable one at that. While small mom-and-pop stores are quaint and charming in themselves, I find one craves for a "department store" that, while it offers myriad choices, is also exclusive to some extent.

Ah, well, in an utopian world, I am sure one can take customization and personal choices to any length and not reach the end of it, one's entitled to such benefits in such a world. For now, retailers appear to have acquired the magic mantra to flourish. I am also sure that I would be amongst a minority that pledges allegiance to Hechts or to one dept store. But a number I am and I've heard every number counts :).