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!!!

Some things should never end...

Sunset at the beach

The long drive

Happy memories...

The cup of hot steaming coffee

The box of dark chocolates

The urge to eat good food...

A good book

The funny sitcom

Quality entertainment...

The excitement before a journey

Travels to unknown destinations

Wanderlust...

Heart to heart chats with frenz

Long walks

Friendship...

India Pak cricket matches

English premier league

The will to excel...

The fav music track

Festive seasons

Celebrations of life...

Rainy days
Fragrance of flowers

The simple joys of life...

Gazing at moon-lit star studded skies

Lazy Sunny winter afternoons

The feeling of being content...

Pillow fights

Shopping sprees

Madness...

Family reunions

The comforting feeling of being with loved ones

Family Ties...

Candlelight dinners

Midnight seranades

Mushiness...

Laughing to one's hearts content

Playing pranks

Humour...

Optimism
Never-say-die attitude
Zest to live...

Prayers for a better tomorrow
Search for the silver lining in the dark cloud
Hope...

The transition of Bongs

Non bengalis kindly excuse... You might not understand the post completely.

You know you are a old generation Bong if...

(The younger generation might not associate with the following list)

• You are extremely proud of "Robi Thakur" (Rabindranath Tagore)...n Netaji.
• You will own/inherit a copy of the "Gitobitan"...maybe also a huge record player, where you can play the "Hemanta" records.


• For you, no meal is complete without "maach".
• You are proud of your fish buying skills.
• Your beverage of choice is tea (chaa)... n u will surely know wot "Makaibari" means.
• As soon as you are back from office, you crave for "Chaa" and "Muri".
• You can consume sweets as if there is no tomorrow... a bong wedding is sure to have atleast one "Rosogolla" eating competition.
  


• You refuse to believe in allopathy.
• You would have a family homeopathic doctor though.
  


• Your day is incomplete without the "adda" (more closer to idle gossip)... PNPC.. :)
• You will have a cute "daak-naam" like Khoka, Tukai, Mitthu, Babu, Pintu etc...
  
  (This one is for the Bhadrolok)
• You own atleast one monkey cap... the monstrosity which serves as a cap cum muffler when a bong leaves Kolkata for colder destinations.
• You have an eternal fixation for "Jholas"... and you will most definitely carry a "thole" while going shopping... (I think this should be promoted and we all should carry our own shopping bags - "Say no to plastic bags")

• You can talk about Football at the drop of the hat... and the team you support is more likely to be either Mohan Bagan or East Bengal n not Chelsea or Manchester United.
• You are an ardent fan and supporter of "Dada" (Saurav Ganguly).


• Your day starts with music lessons, practicing Rabindra Sangeet, after all the "Abritti" competition is just around the corner.
• You are just nuts about "jatras".
• You must definitely adore Uttam kumar and love watching Uttam-suchitra classics.


• For you, the Ambassador is a royal vehicle.


• You, most definitely, wear glasses.


• Your cosmetics include Cuticura talcum powder, Keo Karpin and Boroline.

Today's generation Bongs are a changed lot. But,

• We are still proud of Rabindranath Tagore... also Sushmita Sen.


• We still love the varities of fish/seafood... n we most definitely have a sweet tooth.


• We find Coffee to be a more stylish beverage.. thanks to the Baristas and Starbucks around.


• The first signs of cold are enough to make us rush to the nearest Allopathic doctor.


• The days of PNPC are alas gone.. now we have Facebook, Twitter n the likes.


• The "daak-naams" still exist...


• We won't be caught dead wearing a monkey cap, but we do don a layer of innerwear when subjected to colder climatic conditions.


• Jholas are passe...


• Its more cool to be a ManU fan and EPL is lot more exciting... :-)


• Bengali Rock bands rock!!!... seriously... have u heard Fossils, Bhumi, Cactus, Chondrobindu?


• We can still admire the Uttam Kumar movies... its sad that even with abundance of talent, bengali cinema is not getting its dues...


• We still have poor eyesights, thankfully no one knows coz of the contact lenses.


• The smell of Keo Karpin and Boroline still makes us nostalgic.

• We still wear Dhuti Panjabi / Taanter Sari on Ashtami...


• "Bijoya" still means "Pronaam" and "Sharodiya Shubeccha"...


• We still love Daab Chingri, Mochaar daalna, Shorshe Ilish n Kabiraaji Cutlet... (could go on and on...)

• We still love to travel.. Wanderlust...

No one can take away all the Bengali-ness from us, and that's something to be thankful for...We are proud of our heritage...
Keep the Bong Connection alive!!

P.S. This was posted by a "Probaashi" Bengali... The nuances of being the quintessential Bengali might be missing but I am a Bong at heart... :)