Ramzaan!

Today as the fine line of moon is sighted; all over the world there is excitement to celebrate Eid tomorrow. In Arabic Eid means festivity. It’s believed that the Holy book “Quran” was revealed during this month to Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). Today it also marks the end of fasting that Muslims observe over a month during this period… Throughout the day from dawn they refrain from food and water & break it only at dusk. It allows, Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice and most importantly empathy for those who are less fortunate. It further enables more endurance & spirituality over human mind, body & soul. Although it is customary, but during this month Muslims devote to God completely and seek absolution by means of offering special prayers, reading the holy book & giving alms to the poor and needy ones. Each festival is sanctified in its own sweet way and so is Eid. It’s even sweeter with the meethi siwai (a sweet dish) that’s so popular across all religions during this festive season !!!

God bless one and all as they celebrate Eid with their family and loved ones!!

World Food Programme – Micronurients for children in need

I have always supported any cause that works towards children or women’s development. Healthy children develop a strong and stable mind while women nurture a healthy family …all this directly/indirectly leads to a super social development and a bright & promising future ahead!

The reason I am discussing this here is I have realised that I have a few silent visitors of my blog, who may not spare time to leave comments but my humble request to them would be to click on the socialvibe tab in the left hand of the page…! At the click of a button, L’Oréal Paris would donate money to help World Food Programme that provides 30 hungry children with the nutrients they need for an entire year.

“Let us do our bit in whatever small ways we can “– My sincere urge!!

-Thank you all!

Rose

How exotic it looks, how divine it smells,
the beautiful rose & its intoxicating spells!
When coated with dew, it’s fresh & pearly;
as it blossoms its fragrance spreads!!

A fantasy!

I dont’ yearn for more, but a simple life…
a life that’s full of sweetness, warmth and love,
a place where it’s resplendent & soothing!
While each day is dreamy, naive & glee;
we rest with no worries & aches… but cheery!
Is there a place as such…at any distance, visionary?
A life that’s absolute euphoric and carefree?

–Me

Hyderabad’s Heritage

 Dusk at Mecca Masjid

           Mecca Masjid

             Charminar – The four minarets!

I adore monuments, mosques, ancient primitive temples, forts etc …Somehow I find them immensely soothing & soul-stirring!!! I would surely not mind spending endless time there simply gazing at the intricate structured piece of art. Truly they are priceless!!

Four Women and their personal lives

Mrs. Joshi – She worked with a bank and sought retirement to spend rest of her life with her husband at peace. Life is all topsy-turvy when her husband’s extra marital relationship comes into light, she moves out of the house disheartened and feeling deceived after 30 yrs long married life. Her husband makes every attempt to reconcile things but it’s too late and he passes away. Trouble lies, when later she digs into facts that the business has faced tremendous loss and there’s a daughter too out of his other wife, who after his death claims share in the property. Mrs. Joshi makes an effort to deal with the situation pretty gracefully.

Pooja – Faced a severe domestic violence in her newly wedded life. Has a husband who is a psychopath and loves to see the fear on his wife’s face. He waits for an opportunity to abuse her at the slightest fault. Once, the things go awry & Pooja is beaten up black and blue by her husband, she ends up lodging a police complaint. This results in her husband’s overnight jail trip, where he gets smacked by the officer too. Male ego, as they say decides to avenge his sufferings and he cheats her and her mother & confiscates their only ancestral property leaving Pooja and her mother helpless and at his mercy.  

Nanda Shinde – A simple middle class family, but Nanda is overtly concerned about her teenage daughter Geethi’s safety in this exceedingly wild environment. Once while commuting she encounters a young retarded orphan teenager who gets impregnated by a fraud. This leaves her extremely disturbed & concerned towards her own daughter. She tries every possible means to keep her daughter distant from any sort of trouble, but sadly she isn’t spared. Her innocent daughter is conspired against a plot by her college friends where she gets arrested by the policemen in a drugs affair. Looking at her family background she is set free but the guy who got her into this trouble is reprimanded by Geethi’s mom, Nanda also pursues her daughter to give a statement in the court against the college fellow. He gets sentenced, but because of his father’s strong connections he gets freed easily. He then targets Nanda by attacking Geethi, who is her weakness by all probability. He molests her and in turn dies accidently. Geethi is again in Police custody, as they think its she who killed him. Her family is struggling against all odds to prove their daughter’s innocence.

Bubbly Chadha – A happy go lucky girl, who is brave enough and has a solution for each problem. She is stuck in her middle-class life by availing all the possible luxuries through EMI’s. Has a loving husband though who tries his best to see his wife happy at whatever cost…

All the above four women commute by a local train, Ladies Special to their respective workplaces in Mumbai.  They chuckle; they bond and support each other in their own ways to combat life’s struggles.  I am not too much of a television person, and especially hate saas-bahu or crappy TV shows…! This is one soap that I kinda like it probably because it has bites of reality…! It somehow motivates me and reminds me of what Mahatma Gandhi  had quoted once, “ I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet”!!!

Life’s melancholy!

Life is undoubtedly not trouble-free, comfortable and all hunky-dory! There are numerous such moments when we encounter severe disappointments and setbacks during life’s voyage but does that mean we sit and cry over the spilt milk OR choose to stand up, shrug off the filth and move ahead. There are times when nothing seems to be going right, there are times when all the roads appear to be blocked and we stand there vulnerable & dejected. We complain, we writhe in pain, develop self-pity & keep searching for answers…”why me?”…  

Well…perhaps … it’s God’s own way to run us through testing times and make us stronger to deal with life’s entangling complexities. We still don’t give up because tough times do not last but tough people do….!

It was sunnyday today :)

  

 Stuffed samosas…. with evening chai

  

Chingri macher malai curry(A bengali delicacy – Prawns cooked in a rich and creamy coconut milk). Goes very well with steamed rice

Sometimes prayers do get answered

Until wednesday evening I was like..Oh God phllllz..how good it would have been if the Ganesh immersion ceremony was observed on a Friday(4th Sep) instead of Thursday(3rd Sep), this way it would mark a loooong loooong happpppy weekend. Little did I know that this would result to a major tragedy in the form of our honorable CM’s death in a chopper-crash followed by state-wide bandh on Friday..and obviously me earning  4 days holiday…eventually! Life outside home was jeopardised for obvious reasons..!

During these days however, I have learnt and mastered the art of making perfect..fluffy honey pancakes served with maple syrup and blueberries!!! It was yummmm I think I went crazy and overboard so was passionately pursuing my culinary skills during this inevitably…. wretchedly desired holiday & ended up cooking some almond firni, mutton kolhapuri(sanjeev kapoor style), and panch mishali(a bengali vegetarian dish) :p!! Tomorrow ..the last day am planning to make roshogullas and samosas

ooops while publishing i realised it’s already sunday!!

A toast on their birthday!

It’s a twist of fate that I have two very close friends who are; very similar persona-wise, holds a prime place in my heart, and has played an imperative role in balancing my life! One I have known for a very very long time now and the other very recently, but I guess the camaraderie clicked instantly & effortlessly as they share the same birth date

I would certainly take this opportunity to thank them for everything, for having them in my life, for being such wonderful human beings and adding every drop of essence in their and their loved ones life! May God shower choicest of blessings upon you and may you have all that you want in life!!

With much love,

Dew