Vegetable Biryani

I am a Bengali and that information is known to a lot and as a race typically we are fish consuming people. So when my friend from Coimbatore asked me as to how we consume fish for lunch and dinner, day in and day out, well sort of literally....I exclaimed back...just like you have rasam and sambar and rice and pickles every day. But that did not deter him and he kept nodding his head like I was from Mars. I tend to think that this concept of eating meat or fish really puts the vegetarian's mind into a jiffy. They just cannot seem to accept and sometimes cannot perhaps even tolerate.

In my younger years I used to retort back with logical or contrived arguments. Then came a phase where I was like Buddha. I started ignoring any overture the vegetarian made. In an office canteen somebody would make that hiss hiss sound and stay away from you. Others would twitch their nose and look the other side. I could not care less.

But these days I have planned to give it back. Next time you get some Mashed Brinjal Indian style I might just get up and leave your table. Or say you get Indian Bread with Lentil Curry and some stuffed Bitter Gourd I might make some funny noise emanating from the stomach and then spit out some nasty exclamations.

But then I have discovered a problem. There are some vegetarians who would eat eggs. Some would not touch onions and garlic. Some proudly mention that they are vegetarians at home but can eat ''whatever'' outside. The pride to me is misplaced since my dear friend is fooling none other than himself. Then there are these pure vegetarians. What the hell is that supposed to be? On the contrary I am an impure Non Vegetarian since I don't shun vegetables.

The battle goes on.... while I order my Seekh Kabab from Daily I am in no envy of the Biryani being consumed in Kamat. But then what a shame for the Biryani since it turned a vegetable there!!!

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Lulu Hypermarket, Tomatoes and Others!

Going to the supermarket is a weekly affair for me if not more. There is always something to be bought for home and while the family does a trip in the weekend, I do some random stops while coming back from office. Actual field research (I am the sole researcher) shows that Friday morning is the best time to go. The same research also mentions that – that’s not the time we land up being there!! You would rather be in bed and extend your Friday well deserved holiday morning.

Now I have these interesting observations/feelings in the supermarket that come to me at different counters. We do these quality assurance checks while say buying vegetables. At the tomato counter, the first check would be to ensure that the piece fits into my palm. Then I squeeze it slightly to check for how firm and juicy it is. This selection process goes for a while, notwithstanding the stares that I get from my fellow customers. But a bad tomato is very similar to a bad potato, if you know what I mean.

The lady’s finger is another unique area where I manage to irritate others where painstakingly I select each piece and now see that it’s not too hard. The texture should be smooth and the squeeze ritual applies here too. The long green beans also are time consuming efforts where I have to select the right measurement in terms of length and the tubular circumference. The potatoes are easy. They are either good or bad. I love potatoes without any growths or black pressure marks.

The coconut buying in Lulu is interesting especially if you want them grated (free service). You carefully select a coconut where the quality of the coconut is dependent on the weight, spherical volume and the tonal quality of the music emanated from the sound the water makes when the coconut is shaken vigorously near your ears. All this done and off you go the counter and deposit YOUR piece. After 10 minutes what you would get back is grated coconut off some other piece selected by somebody else!! What a waste of time. These days I straightaway ask for the grated stuff, assuming that somebody else would anyway get the coconuts to the grating counter. Sphere: Related Content

My tryst with DIY

The concept of DIY always intrigued me but being a resident of India most often than not you always get help at a very economical price. The outcome is that you never get to practice it. Have stayed in Korea and Japan and now Dubai has changed my mind set. The wallet also is no longer considerate in these cities for spending on help for stupid things.

Since one of the important tasks in hand was to fix nails on the wall I ventured and found out that the local carpenter would charge a bomb and getting one was not easy either. Tinni however insisted that we need to get these done quickly without which the décor of the house was rather incomplete. I could not agree more.

So there I was visiting ACE a big DIY supermarket in Dubai and was frankly quite overwhelmed. Being an amateur in the subject matter I quickly summoned for help since the agenda was to invest in a drill. I had done my profitability calculations and discovered that I rather have a capital investment done instead of spending on mundane operating cost alone. So there I was trying to imbibe the knowledge that the salesperson was giving me on drills. It was basic but I found the same enough for my need of the hour. I bought a Bosch drill and along came a free ratchet screwdriver with 32 free bits enabling me to screw anything(AHEM!!).

So there I was back home, Tinni ready with all the paintings and masks and one by one I went creating holes and then putting in screws. Then came the hanging the painting and the balancing act. By the way, there were some calculations to be done on hole placement too.

Since now I am an expert you could call me if you are interested, what would you say…Come for a screw up….that does not sound correct for sure!! Sphere: Related Content

Causes : Dubai Accidents

There is not a single day here in Dubai when I have not seen an accident. This is irrespective of the route I take to office and back. Lately, the type of accidents that I have been noticing are between fellow motorists where one bangs behind the other, and there could be more who keep coming up and join the mess. While I try to figure out the reasons, I am also scared that something might happen to me too. Anyway the most likely reasons for such incidents are as follows:

1. While driving people DO NOT maintain minimum distances between their and the car ahead. The distance would vary depending the speed you are driving at.
2. Most people do not signal while changing lanes and worse they forget to look at the blind spot.
3. Most drivers are not relaxed while driving. The pressure to reach on time I understand that but perhaps better late than never.
4. There is no remorse for causing an accident since the insurance company is there to bear the cost!!
5. The testing methodology and passing techniques by RTA are not as per process but rather on whims and fancies and mood swings of the examiner.
6. Dubai road signage is still not upto the mark considering the high speed driving that occurs here. Frequently I have seen people changing lanes because of poor signage or none at the appropriate points.
7. A lot of trailer trucks while coming out from an inner road and joining the main road do not fathom the space their tail needs to turn.
8. Peer pressure for driving fast is a social phenomena and this is applicable to mostly younger drivers.
9. Mobiles are one of the worst causes of distraction. I don't talk on phone while driving. I don't care what you think of me.
10. People are a lot of times not careful about their lanes!!
11. People get agitated if a fellow driver makes a mistake. Don't aggravate the situation making him more angry. YOU go on your way and leave him alone.
12. If you have reached your speed limit and there is this driver who wants to go ahead of you, give him the space. Let him disappear from your life!!

Thats all I can think of now and there could be more. Drive safely, relax and enjoy the music if not the jam!! Sphere: Related Content

Why I love going to IKEA, Dubai!!!

I have visited IKEA with Tinni and Tisha about thrice so far and our experience has been wonderfully mixed!! The furniture is of course there but because of the DIY concept perhaps the beds and stuff are not so sturdy when they finally reach shape. I may be wrong, but its the misc items in that store that really makes your mind to think and then BUY the stuff. There are lots of useful nick nacks and you would realise their utility or value only when you see them. The store is quite well spread out but the staff are of mixed quality in terms of responsiveness. In fact, the meeters greeters at the entrance are quite ''not willing to help'', answering in monosyllables and stuff. Maybe I met the wrong ones!!!!

As usual most of the items are made in that beloved country of ours...what else...CHINA!!! It seeems that the rest of the world has stopped producing anything. I am sure Air Arabia is waiting for the day when China starts producing Air Planes.

By the way, did you know why I love going to IKEA. Not for its furniture, rather for the Grilled Salmon at the Cafe. That's a must and I discovered that its no point churning that up at home. Visit Ikea and have your fill of your recommended Omega 3!! Sphere: Related Content

A Letter of LOVE

GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ, a famous writer from Colombia, and Nobel Prize winner for literature, has retired from public life for reasons of health. He has a form of cancer, which is terminal. He has sent a farewell letter to his friends. It is moving to see how one of the best and most brilliant of writers expresses himself & with sorrow. (even as I'm sure this would have sounded twice as good in Spanish, enjoy the English version nonetheless. ===========================

A GENIUS SAYS GOODBYE FOR GOOD, he says:If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.
I wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say. I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express.

I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light.

I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.
If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves.
To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness.
I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul.

If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I love you'.There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you. Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish. Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me','please', 'thank you', and all those loving words you know. Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them.

Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you.Send this letter to those you love. If you don't do it today...tomorrow will be like yesterday, and if you never do it, it doesn't matter either, the moment to do it is now. For you,With much love,Your Friend,

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Sphere: Related Content

Last Month

Last month has been hectic. First we needed to shift to a new rented house. That means a lot. Buying new furniture, getting the nitty gritties of the house organised, and things like that. It has been almost a year that I have been in a studio apartment and family joining in once in a while. Now everybody is here lock stock and barrel and thats a good thing. The studio of course goes.

I am now behind NMC Hospital, Al Nahda and thats the Dubai one. Ravi Restaurant is another landmark since it faces the main road and we are in the same building. However my apologies to die hard fans, the food is nothing great. I know I am a tough customer, but thats that. In fact there was this Tunde Restaurant in Sharjah that produced fantastic food and I hear that the same has closed down. The good news is that they are opening an outlet in Qusais.

Last month also has been a clearing month. Bank Account Clearance!! if you know what I mean. I have to make up...hmmmm.

I plan to keep in touch with this blog once again and I know that I have been neglecting. Thats my fault and not your problem!! Sphere: Related Content