Today I am slightly annoyed,a little scared,totally and utterly bored and big time lonely . So far pregnancy was allright. It did not change the way I go about my life, except for the growing bump which by the way A has named as Bampu Singh and me and my friends allegedly started to refer to my yet-to-be-born baby by that name to A's utter disgust.
I am slightly annoyed because of late my tiny bump has suddenly become massive and it is getting in my way all the time. And the lodger in this bump, let me tell you,is not easy at all. I can not so far as put my arms on the bump nowadays. First there would be ripples of mild protest which if I do not pay heed to, would soon turn into rather strong and offensive jerks. My position has relegated to that of the old and wary landlords in Calcutta who are always trying to make peace with their Bharates.
I am scared as I see Calcutta burning up day by day. Has the climate change already started to take its toll on the planet? Otherwise when was the last time the temperature was over forty degree celcious in Calcutta during mid April? Almost never. Couple this with the following scenerios.
In Egypt, most of the fertile delta of Nile is gradually becoming barren as with the rising sea level of Mediterranean, more and more salt is mixing up with the soil of once fertile Nile delta and making it unsuitable for the agriculture. So in no time millions of people of Egypt would become environmental regugees and would have severe food crisis.
Dubai is all geared up to build floating islands to deal with the rising levels of the sea in the imminent future.
Forecasters of the Oil giant Shell have predicted of Scramble scenerio by 2050, when the supply of oil would flatten out, demand would go up manifolds than the present times and people in general would scramble for whatever energy source they could put their hands on, rather than thinking out the alternative energy sources.
And yet, with all these informations in the back of my mind, all I am thinking about is my baby. May be we are only programmed to protect the essence of life as far as possible. My constant thinking about my baby is triggered by that inbuilt programming which we call primitive instinct.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Mr Poxy
A(my husband) had Chicken pox from last Friday. He did not have Chicken Pox during his childhood. So finally there is sign that A is growing out of childhood. Letting apart the jokes, I was terribly stressed and depressed for the last 1 week. It is bad to have Chicken Pox yourself and it is ten times worse to see somebody else in your family having that. So much I wished I could take away his pain and irritation but could not help him either way. After 9 long days, A is much better now with most of the blisters are crusted over and I get a chance to take a breath of relief.
Things I learned unlearned and re-learned about Chicken Pox:-
It is the fluid from the blisters or sores which is really contagious and not the scabs or the dried out caps of the blisters. So Chicken Pox germs get mostly spread during the first 7-10 days of the infection when the blisters are full of fluid which is contrary to my earlier conception that it is mostly spread during 15-21 days of the disease, when the blisters are crusted over.
Chicken Pox blisters are nothing but chemical reaction of the excreta of the varicella-zoster virus on the skin. The chemical reaction of the Virus poop burns the skin and results in blisters. A is not very happy knowing that he has got virus poop all over his body.
Calamine lotion we are using now has a very runny texture ,it looks more like lime water. It is so very different from the thick gooey Lacto Calamine I had been applied to as a kid while having Chicken Pox myself. But gooey or runny Calamine is the best.
I learned that I could totally take care of Mr Poxy, a baby in my belly (yes you are right. I am pregnant with my first baby),the bereavement of someone closest to my heart, a job and home front all at the same time. I am finally growing up too. May be getting a bit stir crazy, but overall more confident to take on challenges life is throwing in my direction.
Finally good thing about the Chicken Pox episode. It surely has churned the creative juices in A. Being quarantined at home, he is getting all the time now to experiment with his photographic skills and having a blast with his camera. I have particularly found the following snap quite interesting and also being very aptly named as "Water Screw". This is a close-up shot of the water in our water filter.
Water Screw
Things I learned unlearned and re-learned about Chicken Pox:-
It is the fluid from the blisters or sores which is really contagious and not the scabs or the dried out caps of the blisters. So Chicken Pox germs get mostly spread during the first 7-10 days of the infection when the blisters are full of fluid which is contrary to my earlier conception that it is mostly spread during 15-21 days of the disease, when the blisters are crusted over.
Chicken Pox blisters are nothing but chemical reaction of the excreta of the varicella-zoster virus on the skin. The chemical reaction of the Virus poop burns the skin and results in blisters. A is not very happy knowing that he has got virus poop all over his body.
Calamine lotion we are using now has a very runny texture ,it looks more like lime water. It is so very different from the thick gooey Lacto Calamine I had been applied to as a kid while having Chicken Pox myself. But gooey or runny Calamine is the best.
I learned that I could totally take care of Mr Poxy, a baby in my belly (yes you are right. I am pregnant with my first baby),the bereavement of someone closest to my heart, a job and home front all at the same time. I am finally growing up too. May be getting a bit stir crazy, but overall more confident to take on challenges life is throwing in my direction.
Finally good thing about the Chicken Pox episode. It surely has churned the creative juices in A. Being quarantined at home, he is getting all the time now to experiment with his photographic skills and having a blast with his camera. I have particularly found the following snap quite interesting and also being very aptly named as "Water Screw". This is a close-up shot of the water in our water filter.
Water Screw
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Religion: Spiritual but not religious
This post was drafted almost two months back.
After spending three decades (plus a few more years, to be honest) on this planet, all of a sudden, a surge of religiousness caught the better of me. Suddenly I felt that it is not enough to be spiritual only,being a bit religious would not hurt anybody.
Though I know, this decision would not make my father very happy. He is all about being "Atma Dipo, Atma Sharana, Ananya Sharana" which in a nutshell means, "guide yourself with your inner light and you would be rightly directed". As you would notice, this philosophy is bereft of any kind of religious overtones. So guided by this philosophy, we (me and my sister) grew up very spiritual but at the same time very unschooled when it comes to "Puja upachars".
Only "Upachar" we (me and Didi) perfected over the years is offering secret Namaskars to every Thakur Bari we pass by, with silent patronage from Ma.
So what is different now? I believe, the "Sthan". Over the last few months, while introspecting, I realized we (me and A) are not making any conscious efforts to retain our Bangaliana while going about our daily lives.
Our home décor does not make any particular impression about our origin. If you go to any of our neighbour's home, I presume it may be decorated with the same kind of modern lights, same pretentious decorative items, same indoor plants in the corner, same furniture, same kind of curtains etc. We do not have a Bangali calendar with the photo of a Lakkhi Thakur sitting on a gigantic owl and gold coins springing out of her right palm, hung in any of our walls as it does not go with the décor.We do not have any of our grand parents' Chandan smeared photos right on top of our main door. Again the same logic, it does not go with the décor. So we are staying in a house, about the décor of which we are very proud but which is uncharacteristic of the origin we belong to.
On the same note, the movies we see are not predominantly Bangali nor the books we read which are again world literature not predominantly Bangali. Also the radio channel I listen to everyday (Sunrise radio) while driving to office does not have remotest Bong connection. The songs it plays are very recently released Hindi film songs with intermittent message from the sponsors like, Shan Company promoting ovenable-Punjabi samosa, Malik Law Chamber soliciting advice to illegal immigrants, Dimple glazing providing UK's number one glazing services and most recently Anand Paan Bhandar which usually sells paan but on the Subh Afsar of Diwali has begun their new endeavour of selling firecrackers.
Now, I would not have noticed all these insignificant things if the "Sthan" we are living would be any place in Bengal, or Bharat as a matter of fact.
Because, then no matter how modern and non-Bangali our home décor be, every now and then, we would certainly visit one of our innumerable Kakas or Mashis or Mamas and come across sepia coloured photos of our forefathers or would stop by the neighborhood sweet shop which would invariably hang on its wall at least one Bangali calendar with the photo of "Narugopal" holding "Narus" and various other mouth- watering "Mishtanno" strewn about, (very apt advertising of the proprietor's items, I should admit).
Or if we be based in Calcutta and even if you grow up sans any "Pujo Upachars" like me, still Birendra Krishna Bhadra would be a name very close to your heart.
My point here is that, being Bangali would be next to your nature while you are in Bharat, but unless the efforts are made consciously, the same situation does not hold true here.
So in my humble attempt to retain some Bangaliana, I go for an all-day fast (not Nirjala though) and then Anjali on Kali pujo this year. I only hope that my father could, by some happy miracle, figure out (as he does not know about this blog) the rationale behind my sudden religiousness and does not despair thinking all his teachings are in vain.
I even took all the trouble to wear a "Tassar sari" (over synthetic leggings as it was freezing cold outside)and A drove us to the nearest Kali pujo which was 25 mile away from home. But it was worth all the bother when we see our Bangali friends and Bangalis in general milling around, the typical "Khoshkhosh" of "natun sari", kids playing around, fabulous "bhog" distributed by "Sechcha Sevaks", even a stall in the corner selling "Puja Barshiki" and Bangla cds and dvds.
The best part was the bhog. It had "Bhat","Dal", "Panchmishali Tarkari", "Pantha aka Lamb er jhol", "lyangcha".
I felt very content on my way home. No silly, it not the Bhog I felt content about. Though it was partly the reason of being content. I was content that I felt very much rooted to my origin in this Parobaas even though for a lone evening.
PS:
Two mildly funny incidents that happened on Kali pujo :
The gentleman who was performing the Puja adopted a very funny, ostentatious accent while saying the Mantras. As for the mantra "Kali, Kali, Maha Kali……" he was saying "Khali, Kwali, Maha Kwali….." I heard some of the ladies (who do not look like they are born and brought up in UK)also repeating after him "Khali, Kwali, Maha Kwali…..".
On the day of Kali Pujo, I came back from Office and lounged on the sofa for a while before getting up to get dressed for the Pujo and I caught a quick nap and dreamt that I am having a plate full of heavenly smelling Chicken Biriyani and Mutton ChNap. Not at all fit for fasting. Am I?
After spending three decades (plus a few more years, to be honest) on this planet, all of a sudden, a surge of religiousness caught the better of me. Suddenly I felt that it is not enough to be spiritual only,being a bit religious would not hurt anybody.
Though I know, this decision would not make my father very happy. He is all about being "Atma Dipo, Atma Sharana, Ananya Sharana" which in a nutshell means, "guide yourself with your inner light and you would be rightly directed". As you would notice, this philosophy is bereft of any kind of religious overtones. So guided by this philosophy, we (me and my sister) grew up very spiritual but at the same time very unschooled when it comes to "Puja upachars".
Only "Upachar" we (me and Didi) perfected over the years is offering secret Namaskars to every Thakur Bari we pass by, with silent patronage from Ma.
So what is different now? I believe, the "Sthan". Over the last few months, while introspecting, I realized we (me and A) are not making any conscious efforts to retain our Bangaliana while going about our daily lives.
Our home décor does not make any particular impression about our origin. If you go to any of our neighbour's home, I presume it may be decorated with the same kind of modern lights, same pretentious decorative items, same indoor plants in the corner, same furniture, same kind of curtains etc. We do not have a Bangali calendar with the photo of a Lakkhi Thakur sitting on a gigantic owl and gold coins springing out of her right palm, hung in any of our walls as it does not go with the décor.We do not have any of our grand parents' Chandan smeared photos right on top of our main door. Again the same logic, it does not go with the décor. So we are staying in a house, about the décor of which we are very proud but which is uncharacteristic of the origin we belong to.
On the same note, the movies we see are not predominantly Bangali nor the books we read which are again world literature not predominantly Bangali. Also the radio channel I listen to everyday (Sunrise radio) while driving to office does not have remotest Bong connection. The songs it plays are very recently released Hindi film songs with intermittent message from the sponsors like, Shan Company promoting ovenable-Punjabi samosa, Malik Law Chamber soliciting advice to illegal immigrants, Dimple glazing providing UK's number one glazing services and most recently Anand Paan Bhandar which usually sells paan but on the Subh Afsar of Diwali has begun their new endeavour of selling firecrackers.
Now, I would not have noticed all these insignificant things if the "Sthan" we are living would be any place in Bengal, or Bharat as a matter of fact.
Because, then no matter how modern and non-Bangali our home décor be, every now and then, we would certainly visit one of our innumerable Kakas or Mashis or Mamas and come across sepia coloured photos of our forefathers or would stop by the neighborhood sweet shop which would invariably hang on its wall at least one Bangali calendar with the photo of "Narugopal" holding "Narus" and various other mouth- watering "Mishtanno" strewn about, (very apt advertising of the proprietor's items, I should admit).
Or if we be based in Calcutta and even if you grow up sans any "Pujo Upachars" like me, still Birendra Krishna Bhadra would be a name very close to your heart.
My point here is that, being Bangali would be next to your nature while you are in Bharat, but unless the efforts are made consciously, the same situation does not hold true here.
So in my humble attempt to retain some Bangaliana, I go for an all-day fast (not Nirjala though) and then Anjali on Kali pujo this year. I only hope that my father could, by some happy miracle, figure out (as he does not know about this blog) the rationale behind my sudden religiousness and does not despair thinking all his teachings are in vain.
I even took all the trouble to wear a "Tassar sari" (over synthetic leggings as it was freezing cold outside)and A drove us to the nearest Kali pujo which was 25 mile away from home. But it was worth all the bother when we see our Bangali friends and Bangalis in general milling around, the typical "Khoshkhosh" of "natun sari", kids playing around, fabulous "bhog" distributed by "Sechcha Sevaks", even a stall in the corner selling "Puja Barshiki" and Bangla cds and dvds.
The best part was the bhog. It had "Bhat","Dal", "Panchmishali Tarkari", "Pantha aka Lamb er jhol", "lyangcha".
I felt very content on my way home. No silly, it not the Bhog I felt content about. Though it was partly the reason of being content. I was content that I felt very much rooted to my origin in this Parobaas even though for a lone evening.
PS:
Two mildly funny incidents that happened on Kali pujo :
The gentleman who was performing the Puja adopted a very funny, ostentatious accent while saying the Mantras. As for the mantra "Kali, Kali, Maha Kali……" he was saying "Khali, Kwali, Maha Kwali….." I heard some of the ladies (who do not look like they are born and brought up in UK)also repeating after him "Khali, Kwali, Maha Kwali…..".
On the day of Kali Pujo, I came back from Office and lounged on the sofa for a while before getting up to get dressed for the Pujo and I caught a quick nap and dreamt that I am having a plate full of heavenly smelling Chicken Biriyani and Mutton ChNap. Not at all fit for fasting. Am I?
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Amusing thing in bland office toilet
Funny thing that repeteadly amuses me in our very bland and dreary office bathroom.
Check out Photo No 1 below, it is the snapshot of the Paper towel dispenser in our office toilet.
Photo No 1
One of our good friends once translated Paper towel in Bangla as "Hagoj" (Hagur kagoj= Hagoj).
Now look closely @ the next photo, Photo No 2. It is the same Hagoj Dispenser in close-up. And it has got the name on it "Hagleitner".
Photo No 2
Is not it a burning proof of the fact that German and Bangla both have same roots?
Check out Photo No 1 below, it is the snapshot of the Paper towel dispenser in our office toilet.
Photo No 1
One of our good friends once translated Paper towel in Bangla as "Hagoj" (Hagur kagoj= Hagoj).
Now look closely @ the next photo, Photo No 2. It is the same Hagoj Dispenser in close-up. And it has got the name on it "Hagleitner".
Photo No 2
Is not it a burning proof of the fact that German and Bangla both have same roots?
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
My designer "Dust Brush and Pan"
How shamelessly could you brag over your "Dust Brush and Pan" !!!
To my defence, I am totally won over by the arty side of this functional object as much as the functionality of this artistic brush.
Seriously, bristles of a 'Dust Brush' as the evening gown of a lady- how much pumped up could one get on creativity juice to come up with something as elegant as this.
So here is what I shopped for in my Paris trip.
Designer "Dust Brush and Pan".
Wait! before you start judging my shopping prefernces,please be informed that it took tremedous self-control on my part to stay away from snapping up another equally attractive Toilet Brush along with this Dust Brush.
The Toilet Brush was in the shape of a burly gentleman with bushy hair (the hair doubles for the bristles of the toilet brush).
Now,looking back, I reckon that it was indeed a good decision that I stayed away from the Toilet Brush.
Because,everytime I do the dusting these days with my new Designer Dust Brush, I actually factor in extra 15 minutes to finish the job.
The reason being that, once the dusting is done, I have to groom the Designer Brush carefully with my other non-designer brush, so that Ms Brush's gown could regain the original glory of its showroom days.
(This act of grooming prompted A [my husband] saying something under his breath which I wonder what).
Now,scraping dust from Ms Brush's gown is one thing but imagine how shitty the business would have been if I have to take out genuine shit from Mr Toilet Brush's hair.
Thank god,I did not get carried away and bring home Mr Toilet Brush too.
NB: Do you know Ms D Brush is accompanied by Mr D Pan? And have you noticed that if I take Ms D Brush away from Mr D Pan, it leaves a big hole in his heart. How cute is that?
And last but not the least, this is my non-designer brush, which has kinda lost its glory nowadays.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Korma Kalia!!!
Easy peasy Recipes for Rui Macher Korma aarRui Macher Kalia!
Weekend er extra kaaj
Aansh Charanor-Rui mach
Rui Macher Korma
Ja Ja Lagbe:
Boro Rui Macher tukro :8-9
Holud : andaj moto
Nun: andaj moto
Doi: 100 gm
Pneaj Bata: 2to boro
Ada bata: andaj moto
Kismis bata: 2 tea spoon
Jire bata : andaj moto
Cooking oil: andaj moto
Cream (preferably fresh): 100 gm
Ghee: 2-3 tea spoon
Garam Masala : 1 tea spoon
Sugar : andaj moto
Mouri bata: 2-3 tea spoon
Lanka bata: andaj moto
Procedure:
Step 1: Mach nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 2: Oil e Pneaj bata+ada bata+kismish bata+jire bata+mouri bata+Lanka bata+ holud+nun diye koshte hobe.
Step 3: Bhalo kore masla kosha hole, doi fetiye kosha masla te dite hobe.
Step 4: Erpor er modhye bhaja mach gulo diye jol dite hobe. Aanch komiye dheke rekhe ranna korle sobtheke bhalo.
Step 5: Jol jokhon sukiye asbe aanch theke soriye ghee+gorom masla+cream dilei "Rui Macher Korma" ready.
Rui Macher Kalia
Ja Ja Lagbe:
Rui macher boro tukro
Lanka bata
Pneaj bata
Jire bata
Ada bata
Rosun bata
Gorom Masla
Tejpata
Tomato
Cooking oi
Tok Doi
Sugar
Alu
Procedure:
Step 1: Mach nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 2: Alu ektu boro size e kete nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 3: Tel e jire, tejpata phoron diye pneaj bata+ada bata+rosun bata+garam masla+lanka bata+ tomato diye bhalo kore koshte hobe.
Step 4: Bhalo kore masla kosha hole, doi fetiye kosha masla te dite hobe.
Step 5: Erpor er modhye bhaja mach gulo ar bhaja alu diye jol dite hobe ar andaj moto nun ar olpo ektu mishti dite hobe.
Step 6: Jhol ghono hoye ele namiye nite hobe
Weekend er extra kaaj
Aansh Charanor-Rui mach
Rui Macher Korma
Ja Ja Lagbe:
Boro Rui Macher tukro :8-9
Holud : andaj moto
Nun: andaj moto
Doi: 100 gm
Pneaj Bata: 2to boro
Ada bata: andaj moto
Kismis bata: 2 tea spoon
Jire bata : andaj moto
Cooking oil: andaj moto
Cream (preferably fresh): 100 gm
Ghee: 2-3 tea spoon
Garam Masala : 1 tea spoon
Sugar : andaj moto
Mouri bata: 2-3 tea spoon
Lanka bata: andaj moto
Procedure:
Step 1: Mach nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 2: Oil e Pneaj bata+ada bata+kismish bata+jire bata+mouri bata+Lanka bata+ holud+nun diye koshte hobe.
Step 3: Bhalo kore masla kosha hole, doi fetiye kosha masla te dite hobe.
Step 4: Erpor er modhye bhaja mach gulo diye jol dite hobe. Aanch komiye dheke rekhe ranna korle sobtheke bhalo.
Step 5: Jol jokhon sukiye asbe aanch theke soriye ghee+gorom masla+cream dilei "Rui Macher Korma" ready.
Rui Macher Kalia
Ja Ja Lagbe:
Rui macher boro tukro
Lanka bata
Pneaj bata
Jire bata
Ada bata
Rosun bata
Gorom Masla
Tejpata
Tomato
Cooking oi
Tok Doi
Sugar
Alu
Procedure:
Step 1: Mach nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 2: Alu ektu boro size e kete nun holud diye bheje nite hobe.
Step 3: Tel e jire, tejpata phoron diye pneaj bata+ada bata+rosun bata+garam masla+lanka bata+ tomato diye bhalo kore koshte hobe.
Step 4: Bhalo kore masla kosha hole, doi fetiye kosha masla te dite hobe.
Step 5: Erpor er modhye bhaja mach gulo ar bhaja alu diye jol dite hobe ar andaj moto nun ar olpo ektu mishti dite hobe.
Step 6: Jhol ghono hoye ele namiye nite hobe
Friday, July 20, 2007
Photo blog Paris
In some way there is a striking resemblance between Paris and Kolkata. North Kolkata to be precise. May be it is the similarity of the architecture of the buildings of the two cities that prompted me saying that, or it may be something else (is it the eccentricity of common people ???), which I have felt through but am not articulate enough to put together here in words.
As for instance, take a look at this building below,would you or would you not put this building from some place in Northern Kolkata, unless you are tipped off in advance of its postcode.
We set off for Paris on a busy Friday morning from London Waterloo. It was a typical Friday morning in London with people running around with a cup of coffee in one hand and bagel/sandwich in the other, newspaper tucked under their chins, slightly off-balanced owing to the laptop hanging from the shoulder and also when the mouth is not busy eating, it is holding either the Oyster Card (monthly ticket for Tube rail) or one of the innumerable plastic cards which are swiped countless number of times everyday to collect equally countless number of points for God-only-knows-what purposes.
The Eurostar ride (This is the rail service which shuttles between London and Paris under the English Channel and is said to be one of the twentieth century's engineering marvels)was quite uneventful, except that my mother half expected fishes would swim around the train and the waves would touch the bottom of the train as we would pass through the Euro tunnel. And it is needless to mention here that she was utterly disappointed with Eurostar. I witnessed how hard her hopes shattered.
We got down at Gare Du Nord station in Central Paris and as we came out of the station, suddenly it felt so wonderful. I fell instantly in love with the city. It was a very relaxed Friday afternoon here, so different from the city across the channel. People are spilling out from the restaurants and cafes, young and old alike hogging roadside tables of the cafés with their friends and family, merrily speaking with their companions and occasionally slurping their wine or coffee; heavenly smell of freshly baked croissants wafting from brassieres as we went past them. All in all,it's a very happy afternoon.
(it may or may not be contd.......)
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