Places and Spaces

Like I already mentioned in my last post, that recently I moved in to a new place …yet again ..Now that I am arranging my new closet , kitchen , bedroom , livingroom – it just reminded me of all the places that I have stayed in over the past couple of years..

It was after my graduation that I first stepped out of my home and started living in spaces wherein I tried creating my temporary comfort zones – well never comfortable though ! Those were at times the corner of a room , a side of room , the centre of a room ..yes sharing it with others most of the time…
Year 2004 - It was with Maya , Prachiti , Pragati for the first time with whom I was staying with as a Paying Guest.So all of us in one room – the room that always stinked no matter what we did. Where we had these amazing rules …The rules were weird for me as a first timer. I have gone through this list of rules quite a number of times after that from Model Colony to Praire Shores.

Later, I moved in a 2 Bedroom apartment with 6 other girls the – my second time. Neha , Anjali, Kalyani, Jyolsna, Pratibha, Nitu . We had an amazing experience wd guys during our stay here. Yes, since we were a bunch of girls , that’s an obvious tale to follow. Somebody used to ring our bell at 3 AM early mornings, or just switch off the Mains.Two of us together used to take turns, torches and courage to get the keys from the boy's apartment ( we were not given the basement keys) , go to the basement and switch on the light… to resume our studies. Later on we also heard interesting stories of how the place was haunted since a girl who owned it had committed suicide and how it was abandoned forever after that only for us to start living there. One fine day because of some major tiffs between the landlord and university authorities (who had actually helped us find the place) we had to vacate the place on a one day notice and since we did not have any other place we stayed in some God forbade “khandar” types very old university quarters illegally for over a week until we found our next place … It was perfect except that we had to drink the water from the tap in the washroom (the only working tap ) …and shared it with a dog and a cat who used to once in a while pop in through some window which we did not know of.

Thriving on Vada pav , samosas and cut chais , we shifted to yet another place and then to a different place. Well years passed by … but this move continued. Over 12 places in almost 6 years. The only things that changed were the room mates and the cities… from Pune to Chicago and now finally to San Ramon .. yes but this time – theres this one more big difference .. a room mate for life :) .. so I guess I can bear this for a few more times ..

Yes, the nomad’s life is fun , you see so many places , people .. you take something from each of them and give something back ..you fight , you learn , you listen , you laugh , you connect.You explore so many things about yourself. And then the bad part ..the moment you begin to feel the comfort, you have to pack your bags and ready yourself for the next move.

I now long for a place that will be my own , always – a place which wont be yet another space to be filled in , but a home and stop living in the suitcases for once , keeping the fun and the thrill aside !!! I guess that is how you start feeling at 27 …okay almost 28 !! Maybe :)

Check All

Life’s been full of surprises for me over the past year. Series of unexpected things coming in all the unexpected ways..

I have been travelling , packing , unpacking , shifting , jet-lagged-ing, working - all of it for the past couple of months. All of it left me with exhaustion. I have actually become numb – to almost everything. I am not sure of how long this state of “trance” would last ?

It was since this last week that I am unpacking and settling in, in a new place yet again, I flipped through the pages of my diary only to see the “to-dos” for 2009. To my surprise , I could check all of them..mind you they were not all that simple and easy …but things just felt into place quite smoothly …

I mean , can you imagine? So far this has never ever happened to me … I could never even stick to a simple resolution of getting up early :) forget anything else…

Now that all the small and big tasks are done , I am all geared up to make a new list for this year… yes I don’t think you need a new year's eve or a birthday or any special day to make a resolution – you can do it just anytime around the year ….

This stupid but pleasant thing has given me a high for the day :)

Bhaakri

I made Bhaakri /Jowar roti for the first time !!

Duh... tough job !!!!

Herez for you all to see it :) served with "Paatichya Kandyachi Bhaaji/Spring onion Curry" and "Garlic chutney"

Stuffed Okra / Bharli Bhendi

Ingredients :

Okra/ladies finger
Groundnut powder
Coconut powder
Cumin seed powder
Coriander powder
Curry leaves powder
Garam Masala
Asafoetida (Hing)
Turmeric powder
Cumin Seeds
Lemon Juice
Salt

Procedure :

Wash Okra and wipe it until dry. Roast them slightly for 2 min on low flame.
Slit it vertically but make sure you don’t break it into two halves.

Mix coconut powder, groundnut powder , cumin seed and coriander powder, asafetida,Curry leaves powder, very little garam masala, salt to taste.

Stuff your cut Okra with the mix made above.

It will look like :








Take a pan , add a teaspoon full of oil , add cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
Add the stuffed Okra and let it cook for 10 min on medium flame.
Make sure you don’t keep the lid above throughtout. That might make it smudgy/watery.



Your yummy Stuffed Okra is ready .




Serve it with hot parantha , phulka or chapati with Curd /pickle /dash of lemon juice as per your taste.

Hiatus!!

It’s been a long hiatus on this space here…. Partly because of studies, submissions…well honestly these would be all lame reasons…probably it was the ennui ….of What? The routine? No coz u need to have one for that.. yes!! Here everyday welcomes new set of tasks that are waiting to be done..well more or less revolving around the “same” things though…!!

The ennui of running behind the goals that you set for yourself….wherein you reach a stage when u are really confused of why you started one at the first place?

Or probably, it’s just the cluttered thoughts that I wasn’t able to put clearly!! I must be kidding….how can I put “cluttered” thots “clearly”? Well true!!

There could be similar such reasons for this…but clearly it wasn’t because I dint have anything to write about…No never..!! I am never short of stories…things…observations.. thoughts…because I talk to myself often..Almost always…No no I am no nerd!! Of this, I realised lately while giving a small presentation…in those nerve wracking 10 minutes where I had so much to talk about , I had so much to think of something else simultaneously…yes I have a very efficient inbuilt “parallel processor” !

I guess….the hibernation time is over for this blog… and I would write more often now…about? Same ol’ things….

In the past couple of months, I have been running way too much…well unfortunately not on treadmill….:p Anyway, the project that I worked hard on managing my coursework ended well and we celebrated it on the 96th Floor of the Hancock… What was more intriguing for me was the way I mingled out comfortably with all the folks that I worked with…all of them from different countries…Friends n family who know me know that I get intimidated badly with a new group, I get instantly uncomfortable …..But, probably not anymore….

Probably I am changing…Can I say growing?

Just when...

There are so many things to do and just so little time ….I wish I had few more hours in my day or atleast some less sleep :) As far as I can go back in time, I always have had this “if only I get some free time, I would love to..” phases probably forever. And I keep wondering just when I am going to get it.

The answer is probably never. The beauty of life is that it always keeps you busy like an enthralling movie – keeping you at the edge of your seat.. never realising when it gets over…days just pass by, fast as always. Whats intriguing is , it applies to all the days, of rains and sunshine …

Well, I have reached a stage where my “to do someday” list is so lopsided that it burdens me sometimes. I get crazy over it…I think I should either stop adding any more items in that list or just start working on it right away!! Well, since the first one is highly impossible I am left with the relatively easier option. The time to do something is always “now” or “never” and I am close to believing it more with every passing day.

The wish list is so simple…simple because its more about the things that I would like to do for my personal peace and happiness ,when I get some leisure, and its so simple to be happy … but yet so difficult to start with. Why? Time again.

And then ,
I suddenly realize that I don’t remember anything that I studied in geography, history or sciences …forget that engineering too seems to be a bygone era.. Especially when you need to implement some concept of which you don’t remember anything at all..
I think , this is another issue that I have swiftly shifted on to now.. pause!

I know, take a deep breath!!!! And start with one thing at a time.

And as always , that one thing is studies and more studies…and more work in the lab…
And as far as other things, aah well I will do them when I get some free time.. yo!! Back to square one!!!

Womanhood

Woman’s Day was never this meaningful to me before..a day to take a moment out and thank all those wonderful souls out there who help me live all the bitter sweet moments in life with a pinch of salt… who have taught me small-big things and upon whom I look upto …not to become like them but atleast try to take one positive from each of them...