A stone a day- Stone #15

For today, what would say it best would be these pictures, saves me a thousand words each.

A stone a day- Stone #14

For today, I decided to revisit the definition of a small stone which I've been throwing for about 2 weeks now and so it goes : "A small stone is a polished moment of paying proper attention."

Today I plan to pay proper attention to my readers - so here's something for the select few who read me - what brings you to my blog and what makes you come back(if at all you do)?

A stone a day- Stone #13

Stone for today would be this video, a song I've been hooked onto for the past couple of days. I read somewhere that this is the new anthem for Star Plus as part of their rebranding efforts called an 'ode to the woman'.



PS : This music has been composed by Vishal Bharadwaj

A stone a day- Stone #12

Music, movies, books and 'angry birds' on the iPhone help tide through
The oober cold spell that has enveloped the north-east coast(brrrrrrrrrrr!)

PS : Its really really really cold outside.

A stone a day- Stone #11

'What's your favorite food?' was the cue and set just the right mood
Vada Pav and Bhel Puri, just can't go wrong with Mumbai street food!

A stone a day- Stone #10

Dhobi Ghat(movie): defn:
Artsy; real, hence raw;
Juxtaposition of Mumbai vignettes against four characters spread across different class barriers
You'll either love the movie or hate it; either way you'll definitely have an opinion of it.
Don't go expecting a cliched and definitive storyline.
Prateik Babbar is brilliant and is the shining star in the movie, he's done his mother proud!

A stone a day- Stone #9

Ever been at the crossroads of a weekend around the corner
And having a stacked reading cart, knowing not what to start with?
Yes, that's where you can find me this weekend.

A stone a day- Stone #8

As I went to bed last night, a bright big full moon bade me goodnight
Peeping through my bedroom window with a cheery wave and a brilliant smile!

A stone a day- Stone #7

On my work table, idly lies an easel, varying sizes of canvas, tubes of brilliant hues
They playfully beckon me to join them in a game, a game of color splash!

A stone a day- Stone #6

The King's Speech : Brilliantly made with crisp dialogues, a very British sensibility played by master craftsmen
Based on speech therapy and certainly a must-watch!

A stone a day- Stone #5

Shoebox(n) - brimming with postcards, greetings, souvenir photos from travels,
Hand-written notes from friend's children...a treasure trove of love and sweet memories.

A stone a day- Stone #4

Sunday, the midpoint of a long weekend flexes its muscles
Empty but filled with limitless possibilities, what an oxymoron- this!

A stone a day - Stone#3

My favorite time of the week- Saturday mornings; the rhythm of a routine
Coffee, music, some lazy reading enveloped in the silence that pervades within and around

A stone a day- Stone #2

Ah, the comforting feel of cool crisp pages of an engrossing book
While inside the warmth of a comforter, one dark winter night.

A stone a day- Stone #1

Oh the joy and possibilities in a bag of fresh, green, luscious avocados...this week this mint is coated with avocado overdose.

Footnote : Many thanks to NM for giving me this little nudge with her latest post and link to the small stone concept...learn more about it here and here.

PS : Happy New Year All and here's to a river, a sea, an ocean full of small stones.

Movie marathon

So between last weekend and this, its been quite the marathon

- Eat, Pray Love
How could I not watch this movie? I mean, seriously. Ever since I read this book, thanks to her reco- I was bowled over and this was exactly a year ago. The book still lingers in my memory...word to word...like a silent echo. Wonderfully, hauntingly sublime! So when we heard this was being made into a movie...we decided we'd watch it together and what could be better than having Julia Roberts playing the lead role? Nothing really.

So a whole year went by and it just so happened that we couldn't be together to watch the movie when it released. But watch it I did. I loved it. This must be one of the best book-to-movie renditions I've ever witnessed. I won't say more...read the book, watch the movie and of course- eat, pray, love!

- Inception
Ok, before I proceed I'll have you know- I haven't watched Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight or the other Batman movie. The ones I really enjoyed earlier have been Memento and Prestige. Usually I tend to do some homework before I go watch his movies...cos...well cos I can be quite dense at times.

So all the legwork helped, I enjoyed the movie and was suitably entertained.

- Peepli (Live)
So, where shall I start? Small budget movie, a rural setting, a very real and raw depiction of India's underbelly. But what a movie! The characters are saddeningly(yea, urbandictionary says this is a valid word) funny, the story and the portrayal of the squalor and destitution is haunting. Anusha Rizvi, who claims has no formal training in movie direction has come out with a product that compares with the best of Shyam Benegal and Ketan Mehta and who better to produce than the very best- Aamir Khan?

If you haven't already, watch it! You won't regret it.

- Lafangey Parindey
Well if you're as big a fan of Neil Nitin Mukesh as I am(don't ask me why, cos I can't explain it), you'd watch this movie. Otherwise, you're better off missing this, cos I don't want you throwing rotten tomatoes at my pretty blog page.

Excuse me, while I get rid of this popcorn overdose.

Hope y'all are having a good weekend. Shabba Khair and advance Onam wishes to all...oh and Ramadaan and all other wishes in between.

Rain-dance

One hot humid morn
Another summer day doeth dawn
And as the hours tick by
A sudden cloud dots the sky
Before long there's more and plenty
The clouds have gathered for a party
Out of the blue descends a downpour
Thunder and lightning O' wait! There's more!
Now who would not enjoy
A rain-dance, boy-o-boy!

So that's exactly what this mint did
This hot summer 'noon she bid
At work a half-day nip
Out in the rain, she did skip!

Summer of 2010

And so here were are, inching slowly towards the end of a few intense summer weeks and months. I finally managed to get rid of the old patio furniture, stain the deck a dark oak and got myself this cheery deck swing. You like?

To say that I have overused it and abused it would be an exaggeration. That would be because it gets real warm very early in the morning and get humid towards midday. The only time I get to enjoy a somewhat cool breeze and lounge on this swing with a book is late in the evening- when the sun has set. Sometimes there is nary a breeze, its warm air stationed heavily in one place like stagnant water.

Bursts of colorful blooms and indulging in that ice-cream sorbet right the container just epitomizes summer like none other. Weekend trips to the trail for hikes, cool fruit juices(watermelon juice rocks btw), salads, ice-cream(I can't have enough of it, as you can tell), shorts and flip-flops, shopping, shopping and more shopping...that's what's been keeping me busy.

Aside of all of that...anyone watched 'Tere Bin Laden' yet? No? Well check it out. I rofl'ed all the way till the end. Also in the movie scene, I am looking forward to 'Eat Pray Love' and 'Peepli Live' and 'Lafangey Parindey'(with my two fave actors-Neil Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone).

Book scene is pretty dismal actually. I haven't read any good/great ones.

So yea, that's about it for now. I'll leave y'all with a song....my current favorite.

Cuatro

Sigh! Late last night I realized my blog turned four and I had to scramble to come up with a celebration. As you can tell, last year wasn't my best blog year. This place was neglected and I wasn't even making an attempt to take good care of it.

Perhaps a birthday is the right season and the right reason to make amends.

So here goes. Many many happy returns of the day my dear blog, and I start the fifth year with a song dedication.

The perfect squeeze

All you sleazeballs, STOP right now and go wash your minds. This is a clean and simple post about making juices at home.

Yes, that is my latest passion, thanks to Amma. For some months now Amma has taken to making fresh juice at home, primarily beet juice for herself. 'I used to hate beetroot as a kid, you know' she tells me with elan. Well, apparently she has hated almost the entire vegetable family, as does my dad- just as vehemently with the fruit family thrown in for good measure. Now, there are two conclusions that can be drawn here. One, Hallelujah, we've finally found the one bonding factor in the union of the two poles! Two, is it a shocker that their off springs have such a hard time taking to fruits and vegetables?

Anyhoo, Amma has concluded the best way to get beetroot into her system is by making a juice of it. Seren has procured a small and cute juicer for this purpose and with utmost dedication and diligence, Amma makes beetroot and pomegranate juice with a dash of brown sugar(for fiber or protein or some such nutritious value, she would like to insist). Ever since she made the first glass of this concoction for me(this happens in the evening btw), I've been hooked.

So one morning, on our vegetable market trip, Seren and I decided to mix it up a bit. We got some oranges, kiwi and chickoo along with the standard fare beet and pomegranate. When we declared our wares, Amma's face didn't exactly gleam. Come 6pm, I was handed a glass of a brown-hued drink- your sapota juice she declared wanly.

'What about you?' I ask. 'I'll make my beet+pomegranate juice' she said in sotto voice and slid away. 'Hmmm, daal mein kuchch kaala hai' signals go off in my head. Within minutes she is back with her glass and as we clink and drink, she looks at my glass and goes 'How could you like sapota juice? I've never taken to the fruit, you know!'. Sigh.

So, when I got back to the US of A, I ordered myself a good decent juicer after reading 100s of reviews on Amazon and finally landing on one whose bad reviews didn't far outnumber the good ones(that's the way to pick an appliance on Amazon by the way. If one were to read all the reviews of all the appliances, one could never get to buying anything).

As I unpacked the contraption, I realized the piece looked bigger than I expected and had more parts than my mixie. It took me a few days to understand how to piece the parts together and operate. Then it took me another week to finally 'plan' my juice mix. The recipe booklet that came along with the appliance said my first launch should be of orange, beetroot and carrot. Awesome! That'd make Amma proud, I figured.

Day 1 : It took me 10 minutes to bring the parts to one piece. Another 10 minutes later it was whirring convincingly. Then came the master stroke. I added the ingredients and in the jar was a mixture of purple and orange with a grand total of purple fluid. The beet had won. I whipped in a tablespoon of brown sugar, and finally it purred to a halt.

In my excitement to indulge in the freshness of my creation, the latch on the appliance was hastily taken off. With a light thud, the pieces had come apart and I had purple spots on my favorite Gap jeans and on the hardwood floor. Sigh!

Day 2 : Rinse, lather repeat. Follow the same steps as day 1 till you get to the 'purred to a halt'.

Again, in my excitement, [no it wasn't the latch this time, I'd learnt THAT lesson], I ejected the juice jug and as I poured the purple concoction into a tall glass- I tilted the jug too far. The lid came out and I had purple juice all over my counter and dripping over the cabinet doors and right to the floor. Here we go again!

Day 3 and onwards: Well, by now I had realized that this thing is not exactly one can take lightly. Its not like throwing something into your microwave and walking away. It needed TLC, it was like one of those high-maintenance fashionistas. I lovingly followed the procedure and patted it often and used it gently. All was good. I've been producing glass after glass with relatively few mishaps.

My next mix is going to be apple, peach and grapefuit, wish me luck!

Unfortunately I don't find chickoo that often in our farmer's market. But you know I'll be having that soon enough, much to Amma's chagrin, don't you?