शायद ज़िन्दगी बदल रही है...

I got this wonderful forward... Quite soul-stirring...

जब मैं छोटा था, शायद दुनिया बहुत बड़ी हुआ करती थी...
मुझे याद है मेरे घर से "स्कूल" तक का वोह रास्ता, क्या क्या नहीं था वहां, चाट के ठेले, जलेबी की दूकान, बर्फ केगोले, सब कुछ,
अब वहां "मोबाइल शॉप", "विडियो पार्लर" है, फिर भी सब सूना है...
शायद अब दुनिया सिमट रही है...

जब मैं छोटा था, शायद शामे बहुत लम्बी हुआ करती थी...
मैं हाथ में पतंग की डोर पकडे, घंटो उड़ा करता था , वो लम्बी "साइकिल रेस", वो बचपन के खेल, वो हर शाम थकके चूर हो जाना,
अब शाम नहीं होती, दिन ढलता है और सीधे रात हो जाती है...
शायद वक्त सिमट रहा है...


जब मैं छोटा था, शायद दोस्ती बहुत गहरी हुआ करती थी...
दिन भर वो हुज़ोम बनाकर खेलना, वो दोस्तों के घर का खाना, लड़कियों की बातें, वो साथ रोना, अब भी मेरे कईदोस्त है,
पर दोस्ती जाने कहाँ है, जब भी "त्रफ्फिक सिग्नल" पे मिलते है "हाई" करते है, और अपने अपने रस्ते चल देते है,
होली, दिवाली, जन्मदिन, नए साल पर बस SMS आ जाते है...
शायद अब रिश्ते बदल रहे है...

जब मैं छोटा था, तब खेल भी अजीब हुआ करते थे,
छुपन छुपाई, लंगड़ी टांग, पोषम पा, कट थे केक, टिपि टिपि टाप,
अब इन्टरनेट, ऑफिस, फिल्म्स से फुरसत हई नहीं मिलती...
शायद ज़िन्दगी बदल रही है...

ज़िन्दगी का सबसे बड़ा सच यही है... जो अक्सर कबरिस्तान के बहार बोर्ड पर लिखा होता है,
"मंजिल तो यही थी, बस ज़िन्दगी गुज़र गयी मेरे यहाँ आते आते"...

ज़िन्दगी का लम्हा बहुत छोटा सा है,
कल की कोई बुनियाद नहीं है...
और आने वाला कल सिर्फ सपने में ही है...
अब बच गए इस पल में...
तमन्नाओं से भरी इस ज़िन्दगी में हम सिर्फ भाग रहे है...
इस ज़िन्दगी तो जीयो ना की काटो...

Don't just spend your life... Live it!!!

For all my Frenz... Thanks for being there...

Oh what joy it is
to have a friend like you,
For giving me strength
the way you do...

For lifting me up
when I am feeling down,
And putting a smile on my face
when I am wearing a frown...

Thanks for being there
and helping me grow,
Your friendship mean a lot
this I'd like you to know...

Thanks for being such a wonderful friend...

If...

Saw this interesting post here...
So taking it up... :)

If I were a month, I’d be May...

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Monday...

If I were a time of day, I’d be 10 PM...

If I were a season, I’d be spring...

If I were a planet, I’d be Venus...

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin...

If I were a direction, I’d be East...

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a beanbag... :)

If I were a liquid, I’d be iced tea...

If I were a tree, I’d be a Gulmohar tree...

If I were a tool, I’d be a knife...

If I were an element, I’d be gold...

If I were a gemstone, I’d be diamond...

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a guitar...

If I were a color, i’d be pink...

If I were an emotion, I’d be happiness...

If I were a fruit, I’d be an Mango...

If I were a sound, I’d be the sound of falling raindrops...

If I were a car, I’d be an Ferrari...

If I were food, I’d be a chocolate...

If I were a taste, I’d be tangy...

If I were a scent, I’d be citrus...

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be stiletto...

If I were a bird, I’d be a cuckoo...

And last but not the least, if I were you, I’d take it up too!

The year that was...

This is a really overdue post.. Had thought of posting this around Christmas, but the unexpected end to last year and a busy start to this year has delayed this.. Anyways better late than never...

2009 has been a good year...

Started on a wonderful note with frenz in Singapore... India vacation in cold January... Shifting... new frenz... the night outs...the movie going experiences... the numerous trips to Malaysia... the amazing b'day bash... Mom dad's Singapore visit... relocating back to India... teary adieus... hearty welcomes... celebrating Durga Puja @ home after a long time... barely settling in Noida before moving to Chennai... feeling alienated in India... spending Diwali alone... more frenz... learning (more like trying to learn) Tamil... trip to Pondy... meeting an old friend in Hyderabad... Missing winters (again)... and ended wonderfully with me spending Christmas/New Year at home in Chandigarh in freezing conditions...

Has been quite a roller coaster year.. felt as if I have been living out of a suitcase... Hoping the new year is as exciting as the last... :) .. or even better... :))

Trivia for 2009

• Got hooked big time to Facebook...
• Crappiest year ever for bollywood... 3 idiots was the saving grace... maybe it felt more crappy as I went to the theatres so much...
• Learnt to play tennis...
• Tried to learn a new language... (m still struggling)...
• Made lots of friends... some life time types... :D
• Reignited my love for sea beaches...
• Did snorkelling for the first time...n second...
• Realised one should shop in moderation... not actually put this into practice yet... :)
• Honed up my culinary skills...
• Took out more time to read... best read this year was "Eat, pray, love" by Elizabeth Gilbert... hope the upcoming movie does justice to the book...

All in all a good year...

Since I could not do justice to my resolutions, so not making any this year... :P

Aim for 2010 - to be Happy... :) .. Amen!!

Wishing everyone life's best this new year... Have a wonderful year ahead!!

Reminiscences of a foodie...

Picked up this interesting tag from here

The rules:
So one has to basically list five memorable meals ever eaten: It could be anything that makes the meal memorable – the food, the place, the place you were in your life when you ate, the company, the weather, the ambience – heck, the guy who served the food!”.

Well I do have loads of food memories for sure.... So here goes...

I am sure every home has the tradition of the special sunday lunch. At our place it was usually a special non veg meal, like butter chicken or "Kosha mangsho" or maybe chicken/mutton biriyani ususally cooked by Dad, with moi as his helper (I guess that's how I developed the love for cooking!!)... This meal was more special in the winters, when we had the meal outside in the courtyard on the picnic table, basking in the sun. We also had the option of sitting under the huge beach umbrella, specially installed for the sunday Lunches.. :-D

Winter n basking in the sun also reminds me of the delicious "Sarson ka saag" n "Makki di roti"... I don't know how much saag I have devoured in my lifetime, but I am always craving for more....

Ma ke haath ka khana - Well everyone loves wot their mom makes, so I am no exception. But one of the dish I cant have enough of is "baingan ka bharta". Infact every time I used to go back home from the hostel, there were prior instructions n reminders, that there should be "baingan ka bharta" on the dinner table. That stands true even today... :-) ... Btw, my mom makes the most amazing Channa, that can put many of her Punjabi frenz to shame... OMG, my mouth is already watering!!

This is my earliest food memory n I really miss it now... My dida (nani i.e mom's mom) used to make this amazing "tetuler achaar" (Tamarind pickle) I still have images of her sitting and mixing it with her hands... Sadly neither my mom nor maasi(s) can replicate the same taste.

This one is like a food marathon. A bunch of frenz landed in Indore, to attend a friend's wedding. Indore is like a food haven. Since 3 ppl in the group were true Indoris, we got a guided tour of this fantabulous place called "Chappan", where u can taste an array of mouth watering delectables... we ate n ate n ate, till we could eat no more... all from infamous joshi ji ke dahi bhalle, poha, dahi poori, kachori, shikanjwi, bhutte ka kees, malpua... the list is too long... Highly recommended to anyone visiting Indore.

Then of course there are the memories of midnight maggi in the hostel..."to-die-for" Hot Chocolate fudge by Nirula's... the countless Iced peach tea @ Barista... the numerous cups of Cappuccino @ Starbucks... the yummy momos @ Chanakyapuri... the chinese lunches with the office gang... the late night binges @ Comesum, Nizammudin (its hard to find a 24 hr eatery)... the walk to Sahni bakery n Gopal's @ 22 no Phatak, Patiala... the gol gappas @ Krishna Chat shop... and now I am drooling!!!

I should not be going on and on... I guess I'll go and have a quick pre-midnight snack... :-D

If you happen to read this and you happen to be a food lover, go ahead and take the tag!!!