Quote of the Day

I swear to drunk I am not God!

My Icecream Sundaes

Here are two of my recommended desserts... very simple, but add hugely to that satisfying dinner of Chichen Chettinaad and Crispy Fried Mushrooms!

Lovely Lady in a Polka Dot Skirt: Simple really.. Black Currant Ice cream and a dash of Apple Juice, topped with black grapes, cut into two.

Brown Girl in the Ring: Capuccino Ice cream with Pepsi, add a dash of Lime Juice and sprinkle some ground chocolate for that extra something.

In general, ice creams go extremely well when combined with juice or Pepsi... so instead of that boring cup of ice cream, try out some of your own cool combinations!

Happy Sundaeing!

Resignation

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So . . . here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

(Recycled from a 7 year old mail...)

Dada - The King of Comebacks

First the test matches, then the one dayers - Dada has stamped his authority on both versions of the game and silenced his critics and everyone who wrote him off, letting his batting, his fielding and his bowling do the talking! The Man of the Series in the home series against Sri Lanka, the Prince of Calcutta has truly proved himself the King of Comebacks!

Way to go, Dada, let's go get the World Cup!

Crossing Paths...

Millions of people cross our paths every day... touching our lives... bumping into us... sharing a conversation... Most go their own way, never to come by again. And yet, there are those few, who come by and stay.. their lives intertwined with yours, for the rest of your life! Inexplicably, breaking the rules that the other millions live by!

Why?

Movie Review: Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is an interesting mix of the normal and the fantasy - Jesse and Leslie are two school kids, who create their own fantasy world across the creek behind their homes. As Leslie says, close your eyes and keep your mind open, and you can see and feel anything you want!

Life's beautiful, till disaster strikes. Leslie dies in an accident in the creek, and Jesse blames himself for her death. That's where the movie suddenly turns from a beautiful movie for the kids to an inexplicably serious one and loses it's charm on the way...

Annasophia Robb, as Leslie, is a Lindsay Lohan in the making - smart and beautiful, a la Kiera Knightley, this girl will be someone to watch out for!

Crispy Mushrooms in Olive Sauce

Here's another of my simple and absolutely tasty recipes... and takes hardly 5 mins!

First, heat some olive oil in a kadhai. While the oil heats up, grind some garlic with red chillis. Add the paste to the oil, and stir a little bit. Now, add some fresh oyster mushrooms (if you do not get them, button mushrooms are OK - but they do not crisp as much!). Stir a bit, then leave the dish to simmer on a low flame for 3-4 mins. Add a little salt or vinegar to taste. Add some oil to give that extra crispiness to the mushrooms. Finally, grind some fresh black pepper into the dish, and you are ready to go!

Tip: You can use butter instead of the olive oil. Also, try adding baby corn, sweet corn, jalepinos with olives, and other such ingredients for that extra zing!

Chicken Chettinaad

I love cooking - it's a guaranteed way of beating stress and getting back into the groove. I made some hot Chicken Chettinaad today - don't ask me why that name - I don't know, I just like it! Anyway, so you go and get some fresh chicken, clean it, and chop it into medium size pieces. (Siddhesh's Secret - dump the large chunks of meat, they add nothing to the dish except tasteless mass.) They add lots of curd, a spoon of vinegar, mirchi, haldi, a little salt, and some chicken masala, and let it marinate for a few minutes. While the chicken marinates, chop some onion and grind some lasoon. Now, heat some oil is a kadhai, add cummins seeds, a few large red dry chillis, and then fry the onions till a deep brown. Then add the chicken, and let it simmer for 10-15 mins. Adjust the masala and salt to your taste, add some more vinegar or tamarind water, as needed.

And there you have it - my secret Chicken Chettinaad recipe!

Tip: If you happen to add too much mirchi, serve curd with the chicken, and call it Chicken Chettinaad with Curd! :)

Movie Review: In Good Company

An old movie, caught it on TV for the nth time. A beautiful movie about the life of a "dinosaur" and his values as his company is transformed into today's aggressive, digital, flat-world company, his relationship with his young boss, and with his beautiful daughter played by my favourite Scarlett Johansson.

Check it out when you get the chance - one of my favorite movies.

Movie Review: Deja Vu

Have you ever got that feeling that you have been there before? That strange feeling when you feel like it's a part of your life coming back to you, and yet you cannot really remember? What if it was not just a feeling, what if it was for real?

Deja Vu promises a lot, but disappoints in the end. Denzel Washington is a cop out to solve the mystery of a ferry bombing and a connected murder, and goes back in time through a breakthrough technology that allows folding of time, allowing you to create a bridge to the past (sigh yes, bear with me for now, please) and actually transports himself back in time, changing the course of destiny and succeeding in rolling back events that have already happened, such that they no longer have happened?

Get it? Don't worry if you do not - life's still as simple as you and I know it!

Movie Review: The Holiday

A nice, no-tensions, goody goody movie about Cameron Diaz, a stressed out movie editor from LA and a lost-in-love reporter, Kate Winslet, who decide to exchange their homes for two weeks to run away from their problems and their guys (isn't it the same thing, anyway?). During the holiday, both realise the truth about their lives, find true love, and at the end, everything is fine and happy and rosy. Mushy, but makes you feel good at the end of a long, stressful week!

Watch out for Kate - she's absolutely fantastic as the girl who knows she can't have her guy, and yet, cannot say no to him, cannot stop loving him, cannot help but let her eyes tell him how much she loves him. And Cameron, as always, is beautiful! Ah, that smile...

Movie Review: Black Friday

It was worth the long wait. Black Friday is an absolute gem. Anurag Kashyap brings you the story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts in a way that leaves you touched, angry, ashamed, hopeful, proud, scared and happy all at the same time. The movie, in a serious documentary style, covers the reasons - the Babri demolition and the riots, the planning of the blasts, the blasts themselves, the arrests, the interrogations, the break throughs and the plight of the pawns and their families in the conspiracy. From the gallis and dance bars of Mumbai, to the gleaming skyscrapers of Dubai and the training camps of Pakistan, from the filth of Mumbai's slums to the dungeons of the interrogation rooms, Black Friday brings you an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Kaykay as Rakesh Maria, the officer who almost single-handedly cracked the case, is very inspirational in his role. The score by Indian Ocean is fantastic, and adds tremendously to the experience. The cinematography and screenplay is brilliant, and inspite of the complexity and depth of the conspiracy, keeps you in its grip.

Bear in mind, though... the movie is not for the weak hearted or the super-sensitive and can leave you feeling really shaken.

Quote for the Day

Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out!

MTV Roadies 4 - Bani loses to Anthony

I am not a big fan of reality TV shows, but I used to watch MTV Roadies.

Primarily because of Bani (Gurbani Judge, from Chandigarh) - who survived a lot of competition and games from her co-contestants until she lost in the final round to Calcutta's Anthony. Bani wasn't exactly good looking, but she had a lot of spunk, a lot of attitude, the I-care-a-damn confidence that made her a refreshing change from the other contestants who were only playing games behind the sscenes, trying to manipulate relationships to their advantage. Bani was direct. On the face. Explicit. I like such people. I wish she had won. I guess she did :)

Sachin versus Sourav :)

Two of India's most accomplished cricketers - Sachin and Sourav - played against each other for the first time in their lives today. The occasion was the final of the Ranji match between Mumbai and Bengal at the Wankhede today! Sachin faced 14 deliveries from Dada and scored 4 runs (including his century mark).

Will be interesting to see how Sachin fares when he bowls to Dada in the next 1-2 days!

Securing your Credit Cards

OK, you have all got those email chains, and you have passed some of them on... this is my chance at creating a chain myself, and you better help me in this :P)

More seriously, I wanted to share a real experience with you, and hope that this might save you from a lot of trouble later on - with your credit card.

A few days back, my card was illegally used to purchase airline tickets worth Rs 53000 on an Internet travel site. Thankfully, I got one of those confirmation SMSes, and immediately called the bank to cancel the transaction. Later it came to light that this was an organised gang, purchasing tickets online using other people's credit cards and then selling them at a huge discount - the gang has now been busted and the perpetrators caught after a raid in a cybercafe in Mumbai.

Whenever you swipe a card, your card number and other details are available on the charge slip. All that is needed to use this information on an Internet site is the authorization code - this is a 3 digit number found on the back of your card, usually on the signature strip (after your card number).

Hence, please take the following additional precautions when using your credit cards:

1) Do not give your card away as far as possible. Get it swiped in your presence.
2) Even if you do the above, it is very easy to glance and memorize the 3 digit number - hence scratch out the number from the back of the card. If you want to use the card for Internet transactions, keep the auth code in a separate secure place.
3) Use credit cards sparingly on the Internet - if you have to use it, try using one of the one-time-use-only Netsafe cards that are available online from banks like HDFC.

And yes, please share this information with as many people as you can! Contribute towards making the Internet a safer place :)