Mega Serials - Hell with them!

I was working on my computer this afternoon in the living room, while the TV was on and there was a Tamil serial going on. Though I wasn't concentrating on what was happening there, a little of it did hit my brain. Nothing else can annoy anyone so much. If the channel is changed during an ad break, the same kind of a different serial is telecast in another channel.

What annoyed me so much about the whole serial concept is that a simple situation is exaggerated to a level that you can never imagine - and that simple situation is usually a family problem or a relationship problem. I would appreciate them, if they were suggesting solutions to these problems, but I don't think that ever happens. All they do is blow up the whole situation, have dialogues that boosts the ego of all the characters involved and not only make it emotional, but also magnify each person's emotions. It's comparatively fine if a lighter moment is exaggerated, but you can never tolerate the way a bad situation is portrayed - everybody crying, complimented by heavy, loud and sad music. Intolerable is the so-called romantic scenes they have - you would literally feel like puking on seeing them. To top it all, rarely an actor acts naturally. They would have a look of surprise or shock throughout.

Since everything is prolonged and dragging, the people who watch it, literally go into it and start identifying themselves with one of the characters, without analyzing if that character's actions are sane or not. And the worst part is, they don't have even a slightest idea that the serials have influenced them so much that all their thoughts, words and actions are connected to one serial or the other.

Movies also influence people, but since they have only a couple of hours to tell you a whole story, things are rarely as intense and you would know the climax in a  couple of hours, and not a couple of years.

I don't even support anyone who argues saying these serials generate huge employment opportunities. The whole serial concept thrives on using the weakness of the people, and any employment opportunity generated hence, is surely not healthy.

You try telling these heavy mega serial watchers to stop watching, all you get in return is one of those serial dialogues.

Please, please, please, stop watching these things. If you are bored, spend your time usefully by sleeping.

Charity begins at home - really???

If this means that without satisfying the wants of the people at your own house/family, there is no point in helping others outside, I wouldn’t really support it.

Whose wants are limited? They are always never-ending.

Consider this situation. I work five days a week, 9 hours a day(plus 3 hours for commuting to work). By the time I’m back home, I’m all exhausted and I have the time only to eat and sleep. Weekends are all that I have to do whatever I feel like doing - from shopping to hanging out with friends, from cooking elaborate meals at home to spending quality time with the family, and its obvious that 2 days per week isn’t enough for all this. So when do I have the time for outside charity, when 2 days per week isn’t enough to satisfy me, my own family and friends?

I can never think beyond my home, if I go with “Charity begins at home”.

There should always be a balance between the time you spend for charity at home, and outside. I would say irrespective of whether you can satisfy the people at home or not, dedicate at-least half a day out of the 2 days for outside charity, thereby balancing both.

So, make sure that charity begins at home, but doesn’t end there!

Learning music

Finally, enrolled in Carnatic music lessons today. I was forced to learn from mom when young. I did learn the basics, but wasn't patient enough to go through each step of proper learning. I used to hear my friends at school sing something, and I would want my mom to teach me the same stuff. As the academic stress increased, I had to give up on learning music, of-course, I wasn't much interested too.

A couple of months ago, I suddenly developed interest in learning music. I thought that since I already knew the basics, I'd straight away learn some songs, so its eay that way.

I had my first class this morning and met my Guru. As I started talking to her, I knew that there was more than music that I had to learn from her.

She wakes up at 4am, does her exercise, after bath, recites slogams and cooks. She also has a very healty diet. She's done with everything by 8.30am, leaves home between 9-10am, and its almost 8pm by the time she returns. She says, music is her passion and stress-buster and hence, despite working throughout the day for several years doing the same work, she has never felt bored or tired. She loves what she does and looks forward to everyday. When I was still wondering how old she might be, she herself said she was 68, after my wrong guess that she was 60. Wow! I can't even imagine being like her when I am that old.

When she can be so active and enthusiastic for her age, I thought how much more active should I be.

She told me, that I'd better learn the basics again, so I can sing anything with ease. She also said, nothing comes easy. If you want to be a good singer, you have to go the hard way.

Well, I did buy her idea.

Self-motivation....

....is exactly what I need right now.

Reading inspirational books/quotes, listening to motivational speeches or a friend's pep-talk do help, but unless I take some time to motivate myself, nothing works, because its me who best knows what I want.

I think, spending some time alone everyday towards self-development is essential. That's when we have to talk to ourselves, watch the unwanted thoughts that crop up and try to kill them. I'm still in the process of understanding what I really like doing, so that I can proceed towards that.

Atleast now I know what I don't like doing. I don't like doing what I was doing for 5 years now. Its not worth it to do something just because it fetches you money. You should look forward to doing it and doing it for a long time should not stress you out. You should not be in a position where you keep checking your watch to see how long it is before you have to leave your work-place. Happiness is the key.

Now is the real challenge of figuring out what to do and how to do it. The first step is to make sure that I'm not distracted at all, which I become very easily. Its good not to heed to others' opinions about you. You cannot please everybody. And, by trying to please someone else, you are only going to feel miserable, because it would amount to you doing certain things that you don't personally like doing.

Its not all about feeling secured in getting a guaranteed salary at the beginning of the month. I have known of some engineers, who after a career in the software industry, chose to quit and work in the media field. It really takes a lot of guts to take a decision like this, when they don't even know if the change of their career path would pay them anything. These guys are real motivators for me.

Writing all this out now helps me understand how very confused I am at this point in time, but I'm gonna hit it and see what happens.

Motivating myself and staying focussed is the need of the hour.

Happy Diwali to you guys!

Chennai today!!!

Landing in Chennai after a year, meeting loved ones at the airport and above all, not having to think about the return date - unexplainable happiness. There is indeed the fear-factor in terms of career, exploring opportunities and wanting to do something useful for yourselves and others, but this is going to be there, irrespective of in which part of the world you are. Infact, in one way it is better to be in India, atleast you have the freedom to do what you want to(not knowing what to do is my own problem), as opposed to some other countries, where you are not allowed to.

After a year in US with just the two of you at home, being with the whole family is heavenly. Their love and affection, sharing of responsibilities, someone cooking for you, etc, is real bliss, of-course all this comes with its own share of misunderstandings, conflicts and more, but yea, what is life, if not for these mixed feelings.

Friends around you, make you feel wanted. Its so damn nice to be back with good old friends and the genuine happiness they show to have you back, makes you think you have taken the right decision of coming back home.

Its been 15 days days in Chennai. and last night before going to bed, I was thinking if I missed the US or the kind of life there - without a second thought, it was a straight NO. Why not? What about the pleasant weather, the less crowded buses and streets, frozen vegetables, juices and ice-creams and all the luxury? Somehow, they don't seem to be a matter of concern at all. Life is more than comfortable with all that is available here. 

Feeling more blessed than ever! Cannot ask for more!

India calling....

I love it when there are changes in life, but when "the time" really comes close, I start thinking about how my past has been and anxious about what the future holds for me. It is one of those times now. Its been a year since I came to the US, and there have been no major changes till then. Well, then its time that something changes - moving back home in a couple of days.

This is the second time I'm getting back to India after spending a year in the US. The US soil has treated me well and I would really miss this place and the family and friends that I would be leaving behind.

Those driving tests at the DMV, the goof-ups while just starting to drive, the not-so-hot weather, the grocery-shopping evenings, those pointless walks down the streets, the peaceful sleep at the library, thinking hard on what to blog about, the yummy Chipotle and Thai food, the bagels, those no-cooking days, the bus-rides, playing indoor ping-pong,ice-hockey and basket ball, the jogs at the park, the evening tennis, the late nights and late mornings, and many more wonderful times would always be cherished. The past year has been a very good break, and its time to get back to work. Here comes an end to all the laziness and lethargy, and am so looking forward to those busy times.

There are going to be a lot of changes and am going to make sure that I blog every bit of them.

India....... Here I come......

Bisibela bath

Bisibela bath(made by my mom) with potato fry - my second favorite dish.

My mom is a specialist in this dish, and all of my friends and family who have tasted hers, say that hers is unbeatable. So, here I am, to prove that I can make it too, as tasty as hers and assure you that its not a big deal.

Those were the days when I thought making bisibela bath was an ordeal, when I got the paste that they sell in stores, which you have to mix with cooked rice, dhal and vegetables. I wasn't quite happy with the taste. Thats when I read some recipes and tried doing it, and came out exactly like what my mom makes, and took the same time it took with the ready-made paste.

This is how I make it....

(Ingredients highlighted in blue)

Rice, toor dhal in the ratio 1:1/2 - Rice and dhal can either be cooked separately or mixed together. I have tried both, and both works. I prefer cooking them together, as the final mixing becomes easier. Cook it in such a way that its neither too flaky(like briyani) nor over-cooked.

Tamarind(lemon sized) - Extract it using water.

Roast and grind the following - In 1tsp of oil, roast 2-3Tbsp corriander seeds, 5-6 red chilis, 1Tbsp channa dhal, 1Tbsp Urad dhal, 1/2tsp fenugreek, cinnamon(1 inch piece), 3-6 cloves and grind these with a little coconut. You can also avoid the coconut if you prefer to, it doesn't hamper the taste.

Small onions(20 approx) - Peel them and fry them in 1tsp of oil till golden brown.

Vegetables - Bell-peppers, beans, double-beans, carrots, peas, potato, cauliflower, zucchini, ash gourd and anything else that you want.

I generally take a pressure pan or pressure cooker bottom depending upon the quantity. Take the tamarind extract, add the ground paste and salt and when it starts boiling, add the cut vegetables in order depending upon the time it takes for each one to cook. For example, I would start with potato, followed by cauliflower, beans, carrot, then bell-pepper, zucchini, peas and onions will come in the end. Cook covered, making sure they are not over-cooked.

Once cooked, add dhal in case you cooked it separately, if not, add the cooked rice-dhal slowly and mix well. Mixing some ghee with the rice enhances the taste, so if you can afford, please do. If you can't, never mind, the dish is still going to taste real good. Garnish with cilantro and cashew-nuts roasted in ghee. Serve with potato fry, raita, papad or chips.

Tips:

1. Make sure the tamarind extract in which you boil the vegetables is not too watery and that the rice isn't over-cooked. I once ended up doing it and it screwed the entire dish.

2. Cinnamon, cloves and small onions are the major taste giving ingredients, the rest of the vegetables you can use whatever is available.

Happy eating :)