Painful transformation!

I think it was not very long ago when I used to say "Amma pakkinti aunty vacharu (Mom, neighbour aunty has come for you) " whenever Mom's friend's used to visit us.
Today when I tried out a new dish and thought that my experiment was a success, I wanted my friend who lives next door to also approve of my new experiment. Their calling bell was answered by my friend's 6 year old daughter. Before I could spot where my friend was, this lil one caled out for her mom. "Amma pakkinti aunty vacharu". It hit me so hard.. it was like all those sudden shock scenes in the movies.. everything coming to standstill, going black and white from colour, ocean waves crashing on to the shore, temple bells ringing vehemently.. and then I slowly came in to the present.. the reality!
There was absolutely nothing wrong in the lil one calling me aunty but may be I was not prepared for it or rather not expecting the same line that I used to say for someone else.. someone much more older :)
Now when am writing this post, I truly feel like an aunty.. I am doing everything that "Aunties" are supposed to do . Gossipping and talking for hours with friends was always there, but now the topics which we discuss have changed. Now its all about new dishes, TV serial stories, kids, home making, husbands, money, Maid servant.. .. movies .may be, TV Serials dfinitely! Exchanging dishes, lending maid servant, lending and borrowing veggies or last minute groceries, potluck lunches .. everything so so so auntyish!
I never realised when I successfully transformed in to this "aunty" phase of life from a girl who always discussed the new shade of nail polish, new restaurant down the lane, new movie that's yet to be released, hunks, other's boyfriends, shopping , fashion, new rage songs, Hrithik, Mihir virani and yeah much treasured pocket money!
But may be the best part it I loved and enjoyed my life thoroughly then and am loving it even now (Except for the aunty word) ! So how does it matter.. just till I get used to being called "Jyo Aunty" .

Beach Road delicacy

The other day when I was casually browsing through the grocery store racks (seems like my fave pass time option these days), I came across the puffed rice packet and good old beach road delicacy "Muree Mixture" flashed on my mind. Its been a long long time since I have been to beach road along with friends, whiling time away with muree mixture, cool breeze and simply sitting watching the waves come and go. Nothing can beat that!
I promptly picked that packet and also picked up other stuff that I could think of which goes in it .. groundnuts.. lemon, tomatoes, onions.. what else???
This time around I didn't google for the recipe but preferred to go by my memory.. tried to recollect what that old man had on his lil stall while he mixed that tangy tasty dish.
I mixed everything, sliced onions, diced tomatoes, squeezed lemon, pinch of salt, tossed chilly powder and added corriander bunch and puffed rice! It was tangy, tasty, yummy.. it was everything but it lacked something.. may be the sand from the beach :)

Disorganized organizer!

Organized, Planned, ordered, structured .. All seem such good traits to have in oneself but so tough to achieve! These have ben an illusion for me since my childhood how much ever hard I try. I still cant comprehend why was it so tough to follow the everyday timetable and neatly stack my schoolbag! I used to feel good when I saw other friends school bags, textbok all neatly stacked one after other, and then the long note books and then the short ones all with short names written on the sides so that its easy to pick the notebook they want instead of emptying all its contents and searching frantically for the one you want! Mine was a mess with all books in bag everyday and most of the times out of the class because i got every other book but the one on timetable that day.
Now am managing a home, no better at it though! My mom got her shock of her life when she visited us last time and it took her an entire 2 days to bring just the kitchen in order! Am awaiting her next visit already :)
Cloth shelves are another mystery! If one day I take the pain of stacking everything and put the related stuff together, somehow magically the next day it would be the bottom most pair that I would want to wear and once I pull that off everything else falls over me and I just somehow stuff the clothes back and close the doors ASAP! done! So now a days Ive stopped taking the pain of ordering the shelves (only mine.. my husband doesnt let me touch his shelves)
Handbags... can't live without them, neither with them!
Multi compartment handbag.. you will always find the thing you were searching for in the very last compartment!
Single compartment handbag.. no chance for organization and you will be always searching for everything! Last time I decided to give up on a single compartment handbag was when I had put a ripe banana in the bag and forgot about it till the banana mash was on every damn thing.. Mobile, ipod, wallet, comb(yuck)...
God bless me with talent to bring in more structure to my life, now that I will need it all the more!! Amen!

My idea of an ideal day of my life...

It has to be a friday and salary day when the bank account shows am so much more richer!
Wake up on my own after good night's sleep(Maid has somehow entered the house and finished all her work)
Bathroom scale shows 1 or 2 kgs lesser!!
Have a new dress to wear to office. Look slimmer and beautiful in it. No new grey hairs spotted.
Steaming hot white idly with peanut chutney and sambhar , peeled and cut mango pieces with chocolate milk ready on table.
Not much traffic on road and I reach office in 25 mins! (WOW!)
Not many work mails to be cleared. A big appreciation Mail from my manager and a reward bonus of 10K (more doesnt hurt) as shopping vouchers valid at any shop in Bangalore.
Medium load work and I somehow know how to do the assigned work(No blank stares at reqmnt doc)!!The code I write executes without any hitch in the first run! Easy Peasy, I finish my work before lunch.
I get a call from reception desk saying I have a courier. I go and see it's lunch sent by Mom :)
5 box stacked lunch box. I open the first box and find hot crispy Vada in it, second has mutton curry with cashews gravy, third has muddha pappu neyya avakay annam (Dal, ghee and mango pickle rice), fourth has umm.. ok white rice for the mutton curry, fifth has creamy ras malai, and another compartment in it has gulab jamuns.
After the nice yummy lunch, I go back to my desk and see some loads of gossip mails from all old friends. Then after an hour, Manager informs govt has declared half day holiday for some reason and all companies have to follow it. So I leave office , yes no traffic again, pick up my husband at his office (remember all companies got half day holiday), then we go to PVR and get 2 gold class tickets free in some lucky draw for a Chiru/Pawan Kalyan/ shah rukh's latest movie). We finally decide on Shah Rukh's movie and the movie would obviously be awssum as it would have Shah rukh in it, plus watching it in Lazboy recliner cushioned seats with pepsi and popcorn ahaa. heaven on earth!
Then after the movie, some shopping(yeah my reward bonus vouchers) and then dinner at Afghani restaurant which serves reshmi malai kababs, paneer tikki, yummy biryani and kubhani ka meetha with vanilla icecream and cherry topping :)
Go home (of course no traffic) and .. ok not home already.. no traffic, about to rain kind of romantic weather and a long drive on smooth roads with nice music.. walk by the moonlit lake side, cool breeze (seashore wouldve been better, but Bangalore is not on coast).
Finally time to go home(Bangalore has a night life deadline). and sleep on a freshly made bed with crisp white bedsheets, plush cushions, spring mattresses, ac on a 23 deg...
and then....
A calling bell ringing somewhere distant and I wake up and come tumbling down the stairs to find its the maid servant at 6:30 am on a Monday morning....... Ohh my dream shattered!!!!

Do you like being a girl?

I want all the girls out there to honestly answer if they are really happy being a girl! I dont want to sound outrageous or hurt anyone's sentiments.. just a simple question to be taken just that way!
Till date I've never really taken pride or enjoyed being a girl. I always felt life would've been so much more fun if I was a boy! Boys have these subtle natual advantages over girls.. the way they enjoy their time at beach, bike drives with frens, late nights and to put it in one word.. a much more independent secure life! With the natural disadvantages physically girls as I see can never be that independent and given the society we live in (yeah they say its changing.. but when?) they make it all the more difficult. There are this outrageous expectations that are forced on girls not to forget the restrictions too!
One of my friends father was looking for an alliance for her. They came across this guy's profile and like all details and decided to set up a family meet and the boy meet girl drama.
The whole thing went fairly smoothly and the guy's family left. My friends father asked her if she liked the guy and she said am ok with it, but am not sure they will come back. And as she expectd, the guy's family came back saying, the guy found the girl too fast and they would not go ahead with the proposal. Her dad was obviously not very happy and came back and asked her what she spoke with the guy that he felt she was fast. Then she told this.. "The guy had said that he drinks occassionally.. not vey often. only during office parties. And I said same with me.. "
It's just not about that particular guys family.. its with every other family.. they want a girl who is beautiful (read fair) , highly educated, earning well, rich by default, has no brothers, good family background, well mannered, soft spoken, homely, being a cook and a good home maker come by default and yeah mingle completely with guy's family.. what all bull shit! Another outrageous addition to this list.. should continue working even after having a baby!!
and a girl who has all these qualities should'nt mind even if the guy is dark, short, baldy, drinks/ smokes occassionally and god knows from which Goddamn college he got his degree certificate!
When will people actually practise the equality between boys and girls. Why does a guy's family suddenly get all horns on their heads by the time they start looking for a girl for him? Why dont they understand that marriage is a mutual understanding and guy needs girl as much as the girl needs the guy for support and companionship for life.
I think the guys and girls of this generation should try and bring in the much required attitude and change in the way of thinking of our previous generation. As long as we are ready to become the bakras and witness the melodrama happening around us.. God save this country!

Ammamma nerpina koora :)

Ok here comes the recipe of the Andhra traditional curry cooked the traditional way.
Prawn Tamarind leaves curry ( Royyalu chintha chiguru iguru)
Ingredients :
Prawns 500 gms( de-shelled and de-viened)
Fresh tamarind leaves - a bunch
onions- 2 medium (sliced big)
4 green chillies
salt and chilly powder to taste
lil tamarind pulp

Procedure:
Clean the prawns and marinate in salt and red chilly powder for 2 hours.
Cleaning the tamarind leaves has a technique, you have to dry them first and rub those tiny stems between palms so that you have just the leaves separated. Throw that lil stem away.

Fry the big sliced onions and greenchillies and keep aside.
Now fry the marinated prawn and keep aside.
Now take the leaves and put the 2 tsp tamarind pulp, lil water and lil salt and chilly powder and boil the leaves till they become soft and well boilt.
Now mix everything, fried onions, prawns and boiled leaves, add ample water and keep on low flame and close the lid. after 5 minutes, add salt and chilly powder to taste and let the curry cook on low flame. Then after 10 minutes, the curry starts giving a delicious aroma.. your mouth starts dripping .. open the lid and stir gently wihtout hurting the prawns and let the remaining water evaporate.
Your dish is ready to gorge on!!! Go on.. Be a tiger!

Ammamma Day

Till date, I've never had anybody standing by me and formally teaching me how to cook step by step. I never bothered to venture in to the kitchen till the time I was with mom and even she didnt bother to drag and drop me there. And once I was on my own, it was always those last minute instructions on phone by mom, "do this.. then do that. ohh you've already done something else.. then god help your curry Bye"! Most of the recipe sharing conversations end that way!
All thanks to google, now a days if someone asks me if I know how to cook a particular dish xxx, I always say Yes even if I've no idea how to even start with it.
But today's experience was different and something I enjoyed thoroughly. May be the first time I enjoyed cooking and also the end result. You may ask What made the difference? and the answer would be "Ammamma" .. umm actually ammamma in law.. but how does it matter?
She tought me how to cook the traditional dish, prawns with fresh green tamarind leaves curry. (Recipe to be posted separately). Stood by me and explained the significance of following a procedure in cooking anything. I never gave much importance to the order of putting the ingredients but today I understood how it really really matters! She also made me thoroughly enjoy the whole process by telling old stories of her learning to cook days.
Being a mom and giving unconditional love to their children is a thing in itself but grannies are completly on a different level. They are cute, adorable, loving, and always huggable!
It's my ammamma day today!!