Food for Thought

I have to admit it, albeit sheepishly that I am a total foodie. I may be cursed with a low appetite but that doesn't stop me from gorging on food. Now let me make it clear that there is a very fine line of difference between a foodie and a glutton and my small stomach ensures that I don't fall into the latter category.

Being a foodie doesn't imply you fine dine at high-end restaurants and leave with a hole in your pocket. For college students, it is all about finding the best masala tea and the best roadside stall for vada pav and it hasn't been any different for me. Most of my living time on this earth has been spent scouring areas for that ultimate street food and while at the same time turning a blind eye to the not-so-hygienic surroundings. Should you ever happen to mention it to the vendor, he will give you a what-so-you-expect-in-so-less-money expression. Better focus on the food and quietly gulp it.I call it strengthening-the-digestive-system exercise.

I am not that experienced to conjure up a list for foodies but my recommendations have been seconded by many. One of the reasons for my limited experience being the lack of a proper foodie companion. I don't want to end up with someone who wrinkles up his/ her nose looking at the surroundings or cheekily asks the pani-puri vendor if they use mineral water.

So here is my little list of places, in no particular order, which have been a part of my foodie adventure -

1. Vada pav near Terna Engineering College bang opposite Nerul(W) Railway station. The female owner whom we call Aunty,diligently served us with the Indian burger and we stuck to her with unwavering loyalty. A vada pav cost us three bucks in those golden days but now it has been hiked to a reasonable five. If you are lucky, you might get to lay your hands on bhajis.

2. Frankies at the sole bakery(I fail to recall the name) inside Nerul(E) station complex. It was love at first sight with franky for me. Right from vegeterian delights like manchurian franky(highly recommended), noodle franky, paneer franky to various chicken frankies for the non-veggies. And the best part? Not exorbitantly priced, prices start from Rs. 25.

3. This place is right next to the bakery mentioned above and serves the meanest South Indian fare. But the bread masala pakoda is something to die for because they add tomatoes, a rarity.

4. Pani-puri at Bikaner outlets is sumptuous especially since they skip the fattening ragda and opt for moong and boondi. A good consolation for the calorie-conscious people who binge on this treat.

5. Everything at Shri Krishna hotel inside the Vashi station complex is delicious. You can't miss this place if you step out through the main exit from the station. Don't forget to try the masala dosa and jumbo vada pav.

6. I am yet to taste pav bhaji more finger-licking than the one's at Waghe's outlet at Old Panvel. Let you be guided by the aroma of samosas and vada pavs and the buttery pav bhaji to this hole-in-the-wall shop. Should your sensory organs fail you, ask anyone around and they would guide you but not before giving a do-you-live-in-Mars kind of expression.

7. Cocktail juice outside Kurla station and as a side note let me know it is not alcoholic else the whole station area would be full of staggering drunkards. A combination of various fruit juices and flavoured ice-creams in a large glass tumbler makes for a pretty sight. When you have recovered from the cold headache thanks to the really cold contents, stand back(can't say sit back because you are lucky to get a foothold in the area near the stall) and relish the blast of various flavors. Don't even bother counting them- I lost count at five.

8. Biryani and all non-vegetarian fare at Tirupati Prasad opposite Nerul(E) Railway station(again :|) at absolutely affordable prices makes it my favourite spot when I am low on money(which is quite frequently). Don't miss out the chicken lollipops and chicken chilly .

9. I have taken a fancy for Mongnis outlets nowadays and waste no time taking home various pastries which make you go ooooooohhhhhh.... with the sheer amount of cream oozing out. Conizza(pizza in a cone) is a unique delicacy which you shouldn't miss.

10. Auberge(hope I spelt it right) on the Panvel-Matheran Road opposite New Panvel Petrol pump, though it has been a long time I visited it. Anything you pick up is lip-smacking and easy on the wallet. The last time I landed there, I enjoyed a medium sized pizza for thirty five buck flat. My friends recommend the non-vegetarian food there and I am waiting for an opportunity to attack the food there with a vengeance :D

I would love to add places to this list so put in your recommendations. Only two conditions apply- good food and fair pricing. Happy gorging till then!

Energy and more

Oh well, I have been hatching eggs at home since the past three months and while many would happily trade places, the point I am trying to make is I can't manage to stay still for a few minutes. So you can imagine how restless I have become over the past few months.


But what I find weird is that my feet are behaving as if they commute for hours and are really tired. One look at them and you will know something is wrong. I feel as if my entire (mental) exhaustion gets concentrated there and no one has been able to give me any satisfactory explanation for the same. Some help would be appreciated readers.


All this while, I have been doing a lot of reading to the point that my eyes are shooting off signals to slow down a bit while my mind gobbles books and later ruminates over the day to relish every word,every phrase and quote.


I have been following and while the blogger updates with less frequency, I couldn't be more fascinated with the entire concept of energy management. We all have our favorite spot in the room and most of the times we can't pinpoint a single reason for it. I believe it has got to do more with the fact that you are tuned to that place and hence likely to assimilate the energy. Observe a child for that instance. He seems to follow a particular path to a specific place in your home and that will help you draw up a picture of how energy flows. The kid is likely to avoid cluttered spots since it emanates negativity.

'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne(go drown yourself if you haven't heard of the book)concludes that the events in our life are the consequence of our thinking, whose power remains largely unacknowledged and untapped. To explain the book in a gist, it says that you can invite favorable events in life by occupying the mind with a steady stream of positivity. For example, make space in the house for a new person if you wish to have a life partner. Get clothes of the size you wish to fit in instead of cribbing over the ever-expanding waistline. Constantly imagine the offer letter in your mail and make up a list of things you want to purchase with your salary, if you are pining for a job. It is not without reason that cute pictures of cuter babies adore the home of an expecting woman.


Have you read Richard Bach's 'The Bridge across Forever'? I found it an average book but there is one section wherein the protagonist is trying to imagine himself taking flight(guy's a pro flyer) but somehow the vision is blurry. The reason, as it is later on revealed, is because he was not supposed to be taking flight. He gets a call from his friend/future lover and chucks going to airport. So what I do is, every time I am in a quandary over some action, I envision myself involved in that activity and if the picture is too grainy, I ditch the plan. Mind you, you don't want to spend every living moment like this to come to a conclusion. You got to decide without involving visions for petty things like if you should buy that oh-so-sexy dress. Leave the vision thing for the stickier phases of life.


So you get the basic idea? Now here is the truth. It is NOT EASY. To envisage a rosy future when your present is in dumps is taxing on the soul. When you feel wretched, all we can think of is curl up in a ball, draw the blinds and weep. I had a hard time to get into grips with a personal crisis and believe me, my imagination ground to a halt. But I was determined to bring the sunshine back into my life. Everyday before sleeping, I imagined clouds labelled 'grief', 'desolation' and other sad words moving out of my scope of vision and focussed on the beaming sun(complete with the smiley face we used to draw in our kiddie days).


So now you all know I had a happy ending only I wouldn't completely agree. The grief-causing agent didn't exactly vanish from my life, only I faced the situation with a resilience and a bulldog spirit to piece myself together.I now realize that tough times don't just evaporate, it is you who becomes valiant to face it.

Do you have stories to share about your brush with the mystical power of thoughts? Do share them with me, would love to hear them since I would like to relate to experiences apart from my own. Keep smiling :)

Being Patient With Patience

Patience is the bane of the needy. I have observed that our patience is tested and I mean really, really tested whenever we are in dire need of something. People say it a virtue, I say it is a necessary evil. You have to display patience not because it an indicator of your character but because you are left with absolutely no option.


There are so many instances to prove so. Take for example a queue at the railway station. I completely fail to understand why all the ticket windows cannot open at rush hour timings unless the railway authorities are a bunch of dung-heads to not realizes the obvious. So anyways, we are now forced to stand in the queue and while a few scheming individuals are conjuring up some plan to jump the queue, the remaining ones resign to their destiny and wait. No matter how much we crib, we HAVE TO shut up and be patient.


Mumbai University is famous for its inefficiency. I still don't understand why so much importance is attached to the MU stamp on mark sheet considering most of the pass-outs are complete baboons. According to the general rules, results must be declared within 45 days. It is preposterous to think they are going to stick to the deadline so now even after 45+45 days we stay patient and wait and wait and wait.


Job-seekers will agree with me that the company where you are begging for a job will treat you like dirt. If it would have been any other situation, our ego would have bubbled forth and heavy duty words like self-respect are dropped in the conversation. But in the above mentioned situation, we swallow our ego and put up with a smile. Patience anyone?


My conclusion from past experiences all point out to one fact- there is a sliver of difference between patience and tolerance and most of the times they are indistinguishable. The next time you mention patience as a virtue, think again. You might have little idea what you are talking about.

Season of Memories

Let us admit it, we Indians are absolutely in love with the monsoon. We treat the season Like a parent tracking it's baby's progress and gushing over it's every burp, barf and belch. And not to forget how we dutifully incorporate it in our every conversation. Whether it drizzles or pours,the news channels always have a hour hour special on it and with such huge publicity, it could put even Rakhi Sawant to shame.

I share a love-hate relationship with monsoon. As long as I am safe inside my house getting warm with a hot cuppa tea, I enjoy the rains pattering on the roof. But the moment I have to step out in the same rainfall I was enjoying a few moments back, my mood does a flip and all I do is grumble, complain ad rant. So here is a mixed bag of monsoon related memories in no specific order :

Memory #1
I remember once my school bus had got stuck in muck and tilted to one side but not in a precarious manner. All the kids were howling and someone's father appeared and I remember his dramatic entry too well wherein he yelled for his child and then scooped the girl and went off. Soon a few more parents appeared and the howling subsided as they took home the noisy sources. Only handful of us remained, each glancing hopefully outside only to be disappointed.

Memory #2
Once when I was at my native place, a woman was killed when the roof of a tank got swept away during heavy rains and came flying at her. For the next few months, I always scanned the skies warily during monsoons for a flying tank lid.

Memory #3
We used to create these mini tents with umbrella and play a new version of ghar-ghar.

Memory #4
I have learnt not to fall for all-season sandals because thanks to them I arrived home but only after the ritual of slipping every ten meters when it was raining badly.

Memory #5
Long back when waterproof bags were not a rage, the water managed to seep inside my bag and drown every book within. The happiness I felt knowing that I won't have textbooks to study for a while was out of this world.

Memory #6
I loved getting drenched in the rains. My building friends set a date and if it rained that day we would rush down and dance. Some aunty would get generous and serve us onion bhajiyas. Absolute bliss.

Memory #7
The 26/7 floods saw me shifting goods from the houses on ground floor to my place. The next morning, I was scrubbing utensils in the rain because we had no water supply. But the memory that sticks is having breakfast, lunch and dinner with the building folks all united by a disaster but sharing the common hope of sailing through it and rebuilding our lives.

Memory #8
The rains make you thoughtful. I have lost count of the times when I sit at the window and reminiscence over life. Sometimes they veer towards the negative aspects but the thoughts match the weather appropriately - dark,gloomy and moist.

Memory #9
Last year, we college people created a ruckus asking for a swine-flu holiday. The crowd was ready to bash up the cruel Princy but seeing the crowd, his expressions changed. That was the first time I was part of the demonstration and it would have been more fun if stone-throwing was on the agenda but I was sorely disappointed.

Memory #10
This is the best memory of all. Every time it rains heavily and if I am travelling by train, I scamper towards the door and stand there to let the rain patter on me. Such pleasures I tell you.

Girls jus wanna have fun

My life seems to have stuck in a rut and my daily routine is an endless cycle consisting on mainly two activities- eating and sleeping. While that might seem like a dream schedule for most folks but for me it was a hopeless situation to be in. A trip to Pune did refresh me and help me put on a few pounds, but then I was back to square one in terms of my schedule.

Now one of the few grouses I have about being a girl (or should I say women since I am now in my 20s) is that there are absolutely nil chances of a night out with friends. No amount of convincing works and the end result is that I end up sulking the day later after listening to all the fun other had. So was quite happy when I got an invitation for an all girls night out!

For a few minutes, it's hard to believe that the permission part was so easily handled all thanks to the spanking clean reputation of my friend. Her generous mom fed up chicken fried rice and manchurian which was absolutely finger-licking good and off we were to the privacy of the room.

Now the fun part of this all-gals extravaganza is that we didn't have to think up of any activity and settled for the one which comes easily to us - chatting. I don't even remember the topics now considering we chatted for around five hours. For a person who crashes to bed at ten, it was a miracle I stayed awake for so long.

After discussing about every single person we know, we had inadvertently started talking about marriage and it was with dread that I realised that such thoughts occupied so much time of our living moments. Like my friend rightly said "Now we are talking like twenty-two year old people". Oh did I add that all the talks were not without a generous sprinkling of giggles?

3 am seemed too early a time to sleep for a night out so we fished out Uno cards. Now the problem is I don't know how to play the game (don't you drop open you mouth in horror) so the two of them ganged up against me to the extent that I was finding it bloody hard to hold so many cards in my hand. Finally I learned the ropes of game and managed to beat them.Ha! After a few more games and having stuffed our mouth with chips and Pepsi (it's impossible to imagine life without these artery-choking and teeth-eroding stuff), we forced ourselves to sleep at 5 am. All the time I was hoping someone would walk the empty lane near our window and scare their wits out. hard luck though.

I realised that going out with gals is therapeutic. We are so much surrounded with male friends, that somehow I have to stop myself from blabbering about my latest shopping trip because the responses I get are usually nodding and if I am lucky they might even grunt a few indecipherable words. So I recommend a night out for all those female souls who feel all gagged up.And to help them I have put up a list of all the things which you should never miss on a girlie pajama get-together.

Things to do on a all-gal night out (in no order of importance whatsoever)
1. Chuck the damn diet and stuff yourself.
2. Talk about every thing you bought in the last few months, even if it includes a hairbrush.
3. Crib about at least one person who has been giving you a tough time.
4. Don't fall asleep before 5 am and if someone attempts to suggest hitting the sack before that, react with horrified expressions.
5. Talk like a feminist and conclude that women are way superior than men.
6. Confess to something which draws gasps and other extreme reactions.
7. Snatch each others cellphones and read all the private messages loudly with all the right expressions.
8. Give the night-care ritual of brushing, washing, cleansing, toning, moisturizing and what not a miss and should anyone attempt to do so, accuse them of being a traitor to womanhood.
9. Play cards with rules modified according to convenience.
10. Giggle, giggle and giggle.

All the best gals!

Torn Between Two Worlds

I think enough has been said about Indian woman's meteoric rise to a level where she has consolidated her position as an equal in our patriarchal society. India has come home to the idea of women empowerment and that is something to cheer about.

But along with this empowerment, comes the thorn of making difficult decisions in life. This whole concept of freedom hasn't yet managed to touch even the semi-urban areas, forget rural areas. The whole idea of educating a girl child for some people at least is to snatch off a suitable guy for their daughter. Educated girls are in vogue baby.

The girl, happy that her parents are so keen to educate her, puts in her best efforts and more often than not has a very bright academic future ahead of her. The girl with her new founded independence and flush with confidence gets a decent job and suddenly she is in this league of 'successful women'.

The parents proudly show off the latest additions in their house thanks to the extra money coming their way. 'Now only if we find a suitable groom for her' they think. The girl is now a woman who has managed to break from her cocoon now views the world with a fresh perspective and is now all starry-eyed and ambitious.

Time for some drama. Parents set off on groom-hunting with the educational qualifications and job earning them brownie points. The girl at the most will object weakly but then has to give up in face of their parent's blackmailing. She gets married and they live happily ever after. End of story? Hardly.

You see this woman wishes to keep her job but now is burdened with additional responsibilities towards her new household. Her typical schedule includes waking up at god-forsaken hours, cooking up a meal and dashing off to work. And all this time if she is lucky she might get some assistance from her husband or his family, but the chances are slim. She slogs at work, jostles for space in the oxygen-deprived train compartment and then cooks the dinner. I don't even need to mention her situation when she has kids.

This basically sums up the life of an average Indian women, the keyword being average. Of course most people would argue and might criticize about my regressive summation of our life, but take a honest look around and you will see what I mean. It is not about you or me, it's the story of the majority.

The problem with us is that we are revered like Devis and people expect us to have ten hands. While the typical Indian women wants to keep pace with the world, there are number of commitments which she can't ignore. For once, we are an emotional lot and most often than not we are torn between the two worlds and desperately try to strike a balance. The same woman who records an exponential growth at her company would still quit her job to take care of her family. All for love. What I do expect from the male lot is to respect her. While this all sounds so simple, trust me, most woman haven't yet managed to get the respect they deserve even in the urban environment.

I found this really profound e-mail being circulated during Woman's Day and I had an 'Aha' moment because it mirrors my feelings. In much beautiful words though.

Tomorrow you may get a working woman, but you should marry her with these facts as well.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as
you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements.

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as
much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family ,name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook
food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more,
and yet never ever expected to complain;
to be a servant, a cook, a mother,
a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as
to what you want from her;
and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply
because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important,
relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some
and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstained support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this......

Please appreciate "HER"

The Five Lessons of My Life

To be very frank, as a child I used to find it really hard to stay close to reality. For me, ‘seeing is believing’ and not once did I doubt the authenticity of what fascinated me. For once I was hugely influenced by Bollywood. I used to watch with huge, saucer-shaped eyes the scenic locations and the action scenes, not to forget the quintessential romance consisting of mainly song and dance sequences and running around the trees. But then, there was always something to pull me back to reality. For example, when I tried to float the dupatta in the air so that it would land softly on me but it had disastrous consequences. The dupatta, unfortunately was entangled in the fan and then I realized that Bollywood is not so real. So lesson#1 was to never ever believe Bollywood!

That was my ‘stop-acting-like-a-fool-and-get-real’ phase that I encountered quite early in life. I opened my eyes to the world but made sure that I kept my rose-tinted glasses aside. Unfortunately civilization takes strides while you manage to trundle along. It was tough to comprehend the world around you and you had to peel of the layers off people to see what actually lay underneath and more often than not, I was repulsed by the grim underbelly of someone’s personality. Lesson#2 was to never judge a person on the first meeting itself.

Okay, I got to admit it I suck at gossip. For half of the time I can’t comprehend why people seem to be so interested in the love life of some stranger. If that person is my friend then yes I would be curious to know the facts, but the truth will only come from the concerned person. So I don’t understand why people dissect other’s lives and at the risk of sounding sexist, I say it’s a female domain majorly. But the downside of showing disinterest is that you usually end up being alone and lose out on a major chance to socialize. The worst part is when you show undue enthusiasm to actively participate and when you end up saying something you shouldn’t have. Lesson#3 – Listen, nod, add a few over-the-top expressions but never speak in a way that might turn out against you. The real gossip mongers will always find out a way out of the mess anyway, so never enroll to be a scapegoat.

I find it hard to be a chamcha. I never make hasty judgments (thanks to lesson#2) and being the hopeless optimist that I am, I always try to look out for something good in the person instead of negative qualities. But nowadays I find it really hard to notice someone’s bright side for the simple reason they got no good left in them! And I reach this conclusion after being repeatedly hurt by that person. I give chances but after a limit you can’t take it. So such people move to my ‘evil’ list and after that I find it increasingly difficult to maintain a straight face while talking to such people. So I find it surprising that two people who still talk ill of each other but maintain to act as if nothing happened for the simple reason that they share a symbiotic relation. Give some, take some. So even if it was tough to me to accept, I realized I was losing out on a lot of things by giving the loser thunderous expressions. Lesson#4- Don’t be a chamcha, but at least be cordial with the villian.

Chocolate or butterscotch ice-cream? If you had asked me this question a few years ago I would be in a singular state of mind- confused. So my thoughts would be-I like chocolate but I had it a few days ago so should I try butterscotch? But what if it doesn’t turn out good enough? Is there a third flavor? So you see when the mind is clouded with silly questions, it was tough to take a decision. To top it all, there would be people advising you about what your next course of action should be. I am okay with advice, but I hate it when someone forces me. And I am not talking only about ice-cream, I am talking about life. If there is anything that I have learned in the twenty-two years of my existence is that the best decisions were the ones taken by me. Alone. Advice is great and you need to do a good deal of thinking on your options but you shouldn’t accept anyone’s advice just because they had a great track record. They are humans, baby and as vulnerable to fads and foibles as you. So my lesson#5 is to never drown out your inner voice because it’s the only asset you got.

So I sum up the major lessons of my life although I have learnt a few minor lessons too. Like never lie to mom that you didn’t steal cookies when you have crumbs on you face, never dream about Subway sandwiches because you wont be able to concentrate the whole day and to never run when not necessary because most of the time you end up on your face. Minor lessons but they are life altering. Trust me.