My Oldest Book and its Memories (My entry for BlogAdda and Friendsofbooks.com Contest)

Here am posting details about my favourite books since childhood.I am participating in the My Oldest Book and its Memories contest by BlogAdda and FriendsofBooks

The contest was to tell about one book you kept on your bookshelf for a very long time and for me ,there are two books which are in Malayalam and is with me till now

• Theryoshka (Russian folk tales by A Tolstoy ,About a kid named Theryoshka who used her intelligence to escape from witch)
• Blue Cup by Arkady Gaidar ( About father and daughter going for outing without the bossy mother and many explanations about life in Russia) 
•  

 Those days (1983~84) ,many Russian translations of children's books were available for the price of 1 Rs,3 Rs..It would be published by Prabhat Book House or by Progress Publishers who were very prominent those days.

As my mother was working as a professor in a Govt College , we had the privilege of coming across these good books.Many of these publishers used to go directly to colleges and sell off their books ,around the time when teachers get their salary. The publisher's were smart as they knew ,they can target teachers as teachers will value books more than anyone else. The books were also very colorful ,thick papers and print was also very good.Nowadays it's difficult to find such good print and good quality books at such a nominal rate.

Though the books were priced very low ( 1 Rs,2 Rs,3 Rs ) ,those days even 1 Rupee was very valuable.We used to get many things for 1 Rupee..As kids ,we could get 10 children's day stamps for 1 Rupee :) (Children's Day stamps were not real stamps but a small stamp shaped paper with Govt's logo and priced @10 Paisa each)

That was the story about the book and now how it got to my hands..My mother bought the two books so that she can give one to me and one for my brother.As i am elder ,i got the bigger one i.e Blue Cup and the other one for my brother..

The stories were very good and showed that good always wins over evil and the other one was about enjoying life..and it was very special as the book was gifted by my mother by sparing some amount from her daily expenditure and was one of the loveliest books ever found at that time with all those pictures ..

If at all i have to give it away ,i will pass on to my kid and i hope this passes on to the coming generations as well



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Ohhhh..These People.....

I was really in a good mood today but somehow the mood has turned little sour..and the culprit?? these people around me..

Different types,different mentalities ,some who keeps revenge and some who doesn't ,some who just want to utilize us ..we are just bridges on the way to their success path and some consider us as friends and no bargains on the way..Some who just add us as friends as for a moment ,they felt like they should be in touch with you and in the next moment they felt ,it's not really required..some who knows u from ur childhood and still remain friends and some who don't as they have more priority friendships to take care...some who just chats with you as u r a popular figure and leave u once ur stardom is over and other ones who chats with you as they considered you as friend and remains even if ur stardom is over..
Many more categories and which one do you fall into and which is the right friendship?

Of course ,the right one is the one who will consider you as a friend even if you are not a publicly well known personality ,even if you are not beautiful or handsome and hears off your complaints ,dreams and your thoughts with an open mind ..The right one is the one whom you can shout when you feel angry without using any sugar coating words as they understand you as who you are ..The right one is the one who lends her/his shoulders when u cry no matter what the reason is..The right one is the one who understands why you didn't send any mail/message or call for a long time and still talk as if u just met them minutes ago...

Quoting the following lines from PravsWorld.com
"A friend is someone you love. Not that you are "in love" with them, but you care about them and you think about them when they are not there. The people you are reminded of when you see something they might like, and you know this because you know them so well. They are the people whose pictures you have and whose faces are in your head regardless.

Friends are the people you feel safe around because you know they care about you. They call just to see how you are doing, because a friend doesn't need an excuse. They tell you the truth, the first time, and you do the same. You know that if you have a problem, they are there to listen."


How many of us has got such true friendships??

If you are not feeling good in a friendship ,don't just be there..just remove the person from your thoughts and move on..Yeah ,It is difficult and not so easy as removing one from your facebook friends list ..but it is good than just lingering around as you are any way going to feel bad later...

I am lucky to have countable such friends and i pray to god that they remain like that forever..I am also lucky to have come across all the above category of friends and i learned a lot on the go..but still when someone becomes my friend ,i forget all my past experiences and start with a fresh mind and ends up being sad or with a broken heart...

Finally i feel ,i am in an alien world where i am surrounded by aliens who doesn't understand me and i can't even understand them..Should i try to???

So concluding with another quote from PravsWorld

In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, age, caste or creed.
But in its bond.

So hold the hand of the person whom you love
rather than expecting them to hold yours.

Easy Pani Puri

One more easy recipe ..but this one is for Pani Puri  though Pani Puri from roadside vendors always taste better :) But try urluck to atleast simulate some part of it at home:)


Ingredients

1. Small Puri   25 Nos(U can get it from any grocery shop)
2. Carrot   1  Nos
3. Tomato 1  Nos
4. Onion    1 Nos
5. Potato   2  Nos (Boiled)
6. Garam Masala Powder   (as required)
7. Salt (as required)
8. Juice of 1 half lemon
9. MDH Jal Jeera Masala

 How to make

•  Cut the ingredients ( 2,3,4 & 8) into small pieces and mix it

 

 Now add boiled potato and mash it properly with spoon or you can use your hand as well.Add Garam masala and salt as required and stir

 Now take the puri's and break the front portion and fill it with the mixed ingredients.Make sure that the opening you make on puri should be small just enough to stuff the ingredients.Now your Puri's are ready.

 

Now for the pani ,add required powder from MDH Jal Jeera Masala and mix 2 teaspoons of sugar to it.It will be katta meeta taste now. Pani is also ready :)

Now for serving ,add 1 or 2 teaspoons of Pani to each Puri and serve immediately






It is easy to make and for fillings,use whatever you feel like beans,cauliflower,cabbage ..many options :) I didn't boil carrot and onion as i wanted to make it easy..but you can boil all the ingredients as it will taste good..

Easy Bhelpuri

Ingredients :

1. Big Onion - 2 
2. Tomato -1 
3. Carrot - 1
4. BhelPuri Chutney by Smith & Jones
5. Bhel - As required

Use quantities as per requirement..The quantity i mentioned here is suitable for 2 people.

Cut the onion,carrot & tomato into small pieces

 Mix all the ingredients together with 2 tsps of Bhelpuri Chutney from Smith & Jones and yummy yummy Belpuri Ready..Easy to make..Just takes 5 mts.. And the final product:

My 100th Post Over :) Celebration Time :)

How did i start blogging?
I wanted to capture my daily thoughts ,life ,everything around me in a diary..This was as part of my New Year resolution in 2008 .But when i thought of options to keep diary safe ,i couldn't find much ..As technology has advanced ,i thought of maintaining an online diary..So went and researched some sites and came across few blogs..I liked the way people wrote in their blogs..So started my first blog in WordPress as one of my friend's blog was in WordPress..But later found it difficult to add my blog entries..

I started researching much on blogs and came across blogger..I found a solution :)..Blogger was much easier to maintain my blog..As the blog was about my views ,named it as "My Views On Life".

This was my first post
What to write..i am just thinking abt how to start my blog..i donno whether i will be writing everyday..but will surely try to post some info or the other.Most probably this blog may talk about my views on life and my pleasures -hobbies /other interests
 
Now also i do agree that my blogging is still on my views on life and my pleasures..

Moreover blog has become like a friend whom i can write everything and still understands me well and doesn't bother to shout back :) So here by wishing you and me ..Our 100 days of coexistence...

Kerala Fish Curry (Easy One)

 Finally i am in a good mood to write something on cooking...I am not an expert in cooking but can cook tasty (my opinion :)) dishes once in a while.. I don't love cooking ..I am a person who just want to finish cooking and come out of kitchen as soon as i can..but i love to experiment when i am in a good mood..I love to call my friends and give big parties but yes only home cooked food :)

All my dishes will have few ingredients not mentioned in the recipe but added by my own..Sometimes it ends up in disaster but many times it just worked fine..After many years of marriage ,my cooking has improved a lot....It started from 0 to now its somewhere in middle..I remember a time when i used to cry only because when i prepare something it was not tasting good and when my hubby prepares something ,it was yummy..I used to cry a lot for these and now i improved a lot and lot and lot to a state where i can prepare many dishes in less time and with good taste...But all these are my opinion :) hahahaha lol:)

So here am trying to put a easy Kerala style Fish Curry..So please try it and see :)
(All the pictures here are taken by me during my own experiment)

 Ingredients:

1. Fish cut into pieces – 1/2 kg   (I am using Aiyla (Mackerel) )
   
2. Fenugreek (Uluva) - one small tsp
3. Ginger – 1 tbsp
   Garlic – 6 big cloves              (Put more if you are having bad cholesterol)
   Green Chillies – 2                  (Can add more if you need it spicy)
   Shallots (cheriya ulli) – 1 cup
4. Gamboge(Kodam puli ) – 4   (small)
5. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
   Kashmiri Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
6. Scrapped Coconut  – 1 cup   ( Made as smooth paste)
7. Curry leaves – 1 or 2 sprigs
8. Coconut Oil –  As required
9. Salt – to taste

Method :-
Cut the ingredients mentioned in  (3) into small pieces

Heat coconut oil in a  Manchatti (pan)..Add Fenugreek(uluva) and saute it for some time ..

 

 Add Ginger,Garlic,Shallots,Green Chillies and Curry Leaves and saute it for some time..Saute it till the shallots turn light brown


 




Now add 2 cups of water along with Gamboge (Kodam puli ) and salt..Let it start to boil..

 Add turmeric powder ,chilly powder (as mentioned in ingredient 5) and fish pieces. Let it boil.







 Add coconut paste and allow it to boil for sometime.You can boil it depending on your use..If you want thick gravy ,then boil it for a long time till masala sticks to the fish pieces otherwise if medium gravy ,then allow it to boil for some time

Coconut Miracle :)

 As i was born and bought up in Kerala where we had enough coconuts in our backyard , we were never surprised to see this phenomenon :) But Sandra was surprised..Growing up in Bangalore ,she is missing all these wonders of nature..

In our native,we used to have lots of coconuts and it will be kept in the utility room adjacent to Kitchen..Due to moisture ,most of the coconuts would have started to grow by the time we pick it up for cooking..
 
We all ,including my mother & father too loved to eat this white part (which is very sweet and like cotton candy .I donno wht it's called :)) and we all used to share though there were many like this..:) So everyday morning ,after brushing, we come to the kitchen in the morning just to check whether any of the coconuts are used :)

 Now too when we go to native ,we all fight for this :)Finally last month ,i got this coconut from market :) As it was a rare phenomena here in Bangalore ,i thought to take photos and update my blog for the kids who haven't seen this or haven't tasted the yummy yummy candy inside the coconut...

 

Rocket Singh -Salesman of the year

 

Watched Rocket Singh -Salesman of the year..One of the must see movies for entrepreneurs recommended by Entrepreneur Magazine.

 Harpreet Singh ,yeah it is Ranbir Kapoor :) just passed out from college and he dreams of an exciting career.He ends up with the job of salesman for a company and the movie surrounds the problems he face when he tries to follow his heart or the way he tries to balance both his professional front and what his heart says.

 

 Father-son relationship portrayed is worth commenting..Also the confusions in his mind whether to follow his heart or not..Rocket Singh's way of forming company - pick the best from the lot and make sure they do promise only what they deliver..Finally his company becoming one of the best :) I love this movie..

It stresses a great point -It isn't that tough to be successful and honest .Both of these factors doesn't come together or match properly in our jobs nowadays:) But yes we can surely hope for a ...place where both will fit perfectly ..Very inspiring movie..

Bombay Rains Bombay Girls by AnirBan Bose -My review

 

Just finished reading Bombay Rains and Bombay Girls.Simply Superb

 

It takes us through the life of a medical student- Adi and the entire plot surrounds his life in medical college and his friends.I went through all the emotions be it love, affection, hatred, happiness, anger, anxiety, stress .All in one but nicely put across.Really thought provoking answers,incidents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After reading each book ,i normally forget it but not this one..So this review is for myself to remember what i read in the past few days which made me think along with the story..

 

 

 So copying few excerpts  from book which are thought provoking and this is one book which had knowledge about medical profession ,thought provoking lines and yes the real story..Loved it in all sense and i can read this book any number of times

 

• As long as you are not seriously hurt ,you just learn to ignore.In a big city ,nobody knows or cares and you just learn to continue like nothing has happened..You have to be like Gandhiji's monkey's and learn to see no evil,hear no evil and speak no evil.That is the best way    

   

•  If eighteen years of our upbringing  cannot come to use now ,it never will

   

• Every Day,I walk with pride ,I feel comfortable in my skin ,and i sleep at night with a clear conscience.That is who i am ..my being,my soul.I cannot compromise on that 

   

•  Compromises are also part of life ,but they make you cross a line that starts to disappear the first time you cross it,until one day it disappears altogether.Then wrong becomes right and lies seem like the truth:everything becomes just a matter of interpretation because truth loses its best quality -its simplicity.Then when you should look in the mirror and see if you recognize yourself as the person you wanted to become.That is the day you'll know if you will sleep well or keep awake the rest of your nights ,talking to your conscience

   

• All that matters is how you feel ,not what you should feel or think i feel..You've got to decide based on your feelings ...

   

• We expect people to to do the right thing ,but we are so scared  of doing it ourselves.We look at their guilt to hide our own.All of us are running away..

   

• Don't indulge in minority-ism and blame every little problem you have on being a minority in India

   

• Twenty years of memories ,twenty years of hopes and expectations ,all just suddenly seem to mean so little in actual time.Every moment i so little and yet ,a lifetime in itself..(Toshi's father grieving over his son's loss )

   

• Today there is a rainbow in my heart ,the sun shines because you are going to become a doctor and it is raining because you leave me to become one (Toshi's Mother)Wearing that white coat and carrying a stethoscope around your neck means you provide relief.Soon you will realize how little we can actually do to cure diseases in patients ,but we can always bring relief by simply listening to them.I hope you will all remember this simple art of medicine : the art of listening
  

 

I love this book.It sounds real though author has mentioned only few incidents were real others are all his imagination.

 

Hearty Congrats to Anirban Bose..

Chinnu's World - Growing Up Days

Chinnu's growing up years was miserable only due to her father..Yes but how? Her father was a very strict military person who just felt life also happens in the order mentioned in a military timetable and in a strict way as how they used to do in military..He never understood the love and care to be displayed to her though he had so much of love and affection in his heart..But yes he just felt Military style works out best in those cases

For Chinnu ,yes her father was her enemy and yes that made her a rebel at home..For each and everything , she wanted to do differently than what others thought she should do...Yeah a rebel in all sense and yes in early stages ,this was not showing off as her life was just around a small place..school ,house and school..That's it..But it started showing off when she grew old ,day by day it started affecting her father and her mother..As she never used to disclose anything to her friends or anyone else ,no one ever came to know the struggles in her mind ..

Chinnu found happiness in whatever she can think off ,imagining her in a fantasy world and yes of course with a cute prince ,her saver and yes in few others who just took her heart for sometime as she had few infatuations too..All due to her growing up years.Girls of her age would have surely felt so ..but one difference with Chinnu is ,whatever she felt ,it remained in her or her eyes and nothing beyond that..She knew that whatever she likes to do will be making her parents sad..so she never attempted nything..But in her world of dreams ,she was lover to someone ,friend to someone else and yes magic fairy to someone...It was her world her lovely world ,her fantasy world which boosted her confidence to survive in this ugly world around her...

Chinnu was a beautiful girl ..yes not so but when when girls reach a good age ,they have a charming face and yes that will attract many..Chinnu was also not so different..Many prank calls at house , nasty or good comments from guys of her age or above..Chinnu was really scared of these as she was sure for each of these calls or comments her mother is going to be accused ..She didn't want that..She once had a idea of using acid or something to remove the beauty of her face if something is left so that she won't be getting any more prank calls or comments..She used to think about this for along time though she didn't have the guts to do anything..

Day by day these problems increased and it reached a state where one guy - Mahesh started following her on the way from school to house that too in bike.He was not studying in school but he was little older guy and a rowdy too...It would be a crowded road when the school closes for the day..filled up with students and teachers on their way back home ,it would be really bad to see some guy following you all the way home...Chinnu thought she will handle this herself in the same way how she handled others but no this was going to be a tough task..She reached a state where she dreaded to go to school just to avoid him..Finally she disclosed this to her elder brother Josh...Josh was of very good help as he always loved his sister more than anyone else ..Josh learned cycling so that he can pick her up from school  so that no one can scare her..and yes Chinnu was relieved ..not because that guy didn't come..but because someone understood her feelings..Josh tried many ways but nothing was working out..Finally he came up with a good solution - to be friends with Mahesh..That worked out very well and Mahesh couldn't go farther as Josh was his friend and Chinnu ,his sister..So one problem resolved...

In between this Chinnu's father came to know about this and he scolded Chinnu for putting bangles and bindi as he felt ,Chinnu attracted all these people just by putting on bindi or bangle....weird thoughts right..That's the problem with military guys..Due to their hectic training they start doubting everything on their way....But for Chinnu ,that was the time to show her rebel nature..She stopped putting bangles or chains or bindi's or kajal and even stopped seeing mirror..How does it affect? Anyways she was not so keen on life..So looking bad doesn't add any role in her life...But still none of the prank calls stopped so finally her father had to change his word..Might be he came to knew later that girls at that age looked even more beautiful than with bangles or bindi's...Natural beauty Queens :)

To Be Continued...

My Reviews

The Wake - Up Call (Saptharishi Suresh)  

Needs a lot of improvement...Though it was an easy read (you can finish the book in just 1/2 an hour) ,it was not worth buying it...The story has instances where the author tried to trigger the reader's interest by adding few masala bits (Reminded me of the book "Oh Shit Not Again" ) Before you could relate to the life of an IT Bachelor, the story moved in a different direction. Pandu's decision of quitting his job was a sudden one..But these lacked the reality touch. Overall it looked like the entire book was written in a few days time without much thought process. I wouldn't recommend this book. 

 Knocked Up by Shaiju Mathew

 Just completed reading Knocked up...The plot was good with friends and their mischief's and well written that i could imagine the characters in mind and move with the story..Some chapters are really humorous ..Overall ,It was an easy read and yeah it can be taken as a movie as it has friendship ,love,intimate moments,humour everything which is required for a movie..Did the Author's stint in movie direction influenced the plot??? Need to see the next book in the series..
Instead of making it as chapters , Author can plot it like a diary as the sequences were as if ,it's taken out of authors diary..

Felt a similarity to Chetan Bhagat style of writing as his books also turns around the similar stories and easy read but one time read as well..I should really appreciate the quality of the printing.Magic Moments Publications too rock..Good quality paper ,big letters and a cute small book with a catchy front cover...Loved the footer image of three friends in bike:)

 Where Girls Dare by Bhavna Chauhan

It's a real story of her life in Officers training Academy.Loved it.It was as if i was also training with them..I would give 5 stars..Donno how cum this didn't make any news..Looks like Penguin didn't advertise properly..Reminded me of my NCC days.It was fun.For the ones who r planning to read..check out whats the fun behind purple and peach make red :)

If you love adventures and kitty fights ,then this is the book for you

P.S.I Love You by Cecelia.

 

True love, how Holly miss her husband ,Gerry who in his death bed and made cute little commandments for Holly to come out of loneliness .Very emotional but yes funny incidents too.Find a nice place with hot Green Tea in your hand.just enjoy reading the book wth Don't disturb board.U will start seeing your life in different angle as you realize that you have all your loved ones around you.

 

 I too had a love story by Ravinder Singh

Narayana Murthy's comment in the front page and the Indian author's name made me buy this book.A real love story which happened in his own life.He has even used place names and the character names real..He could make the readers feel the happiness and the pain he was going through...True love story..Everyone should read this book .. I am really sad for Ravin..But don't have any words to console..Life has many surprises --good or bad..So gain strength to move on... 

 

Mom & Me ( Hachette India) 

Picked up the book as it had a free "World's Best Mom" badge :) Its an easy read but some stories were little dragging.. This book is about mothers ..10 different MOM stories..different types of mothers..the ones who r interested in taking photographs,the one who learns computer @ old age just to write letters to her son or grandchildren ,the one who dealt with a runaway son through email..Its funny but serious too ,the one who quit singing as she felt it won't be good as a family..All mothers are unique in their own way ..but mothers are the best The most i liked are the stories "Run Away" by Jyothi and "Cover Up" by Ranjith