Tu jiye hazaaron saal... janamdin mubarak Mama

Christmas is always a joyous day at our home. We start the week before by setting up a Christmas Tree and then on the morning of Christmas have a long winding treasure hunt for the kids which they enjoy like hell. And then to top it all it is Mum and Apajis birthday.

Apaji would always love gifts and flowers so invariably we would cut a cake buy her something special and get her some flowers which she would carefully decorate in all the vases of the house. I miss her loads and often as after her and Daddy going away there is nobody in Carter Road who really cares truly about me. May God bless her soul and I pray that I have the opportunity someday to do her proud :)

And then it is also Mumnis birthday. Papli was really excited when we went shopping for Ma. In fact he took her shopping over the entire of last week looking for sneekers that she was comfortable with. But Ma will be Ma and she is still to find the right pair after doing the rounds of all the Reebok, Nike and Adidas stores... she still wants the Stitcher brand which clearly is not availbale in India ... In any case last weekend we went shopping for Ma at Westside and got her some really nice SK's and kurtis + a pair of really comfy slip ons... she was happy.

On the day of her birthday Papli was excited as hell -- he called at about 9 in the morning to get us to wish Ma ... We'd just about got up as we had gone to see the late night show of Tare Zameen Par and slept at about 2AM in the night. He then organised a Cake and Card and had ordered a huge bouquet of flowers for Ma and above all himself made some Phirnee and organised the Menu which was coke and PIZZA. We arrived in the evening at about 7.30 and then we ordered the Pizza from Pizza Hut ... yummy plain cheese and Four seasons family size, arabic chicken (medium) and paneer (medium) with some yummy garlic bread too. Ma cut the cake like an excited baby and we all sang and all and after 10 minutes realised that she had forgotten to blow the candle... It was a lovely evening of love, yummy food, great company and some great discussions on how "TEMPER is VERY COSTLY"

Recipes I love ... you will too

Simply LIP SMACKING, FINGER LICKING YUMMILICIOUS RECIPIES …ENJOY!!!!

I will keep updating this post with more and more :)))


MAHIM KÉ ALOO
Boil mini potatoes – peel when cooled and keep aside
Lightly brown zeera seeds, dhaniya seeds and kashmiri red chillies and then grind to a powder
Soak kokum leaves and then grind to a paste
Oil - Rai – Hing - Kari patta - Green chillies – finely chopped onions
Once the onions turn light pink add the powdered dry masala and the kokum paste and sauté till the oil leaves the sides
Add mini boiled potatoes to the masala and sauté for a few more minutes with salt to taste
Garnish with coriander

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KARNANI AUNTY’S PANEER
Soak paneer in warm water to make tender
Chop into thick pieces of 1.5 inch length and one inch in breadth
Make a puree of tomatoes
Grind kaju kanni, garlic, kashmiri mirch, coconut powder to a paste
Put some oil and a spoonful of butter into a kadhai and add half a tea-spoon of kasturi methi to it
Add the ground masala, tomato puree and some chopped tomatoes to the oil and butter
Once the masala leaves the sides add the chopped paneer to it and let it sauté well in the masala. Add salt to taste
Garnish with fresh coriander

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ALIYA’S CHICKEN ANGARE

Wash the chicken pieces well (preferably use boneless chicken)
Marinate for an hour with the following – 2tbsp of ginger garlic, 1tbsp of browned and powdered kasturi methi, 2tbsp of curd and a pinch of colour.
Grind 4 tomatoes, two onions and a fistful of cashew nuts separately.
Heat oil in a pan and add to it the ground tomatoes, onions and nuts and let it cook covered for an hour.
Add the marinated chicken to the masala and let it cook till it is well done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Throw in a piece of burning coal into the curry and cover till the steam of the coal stops

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ALIYA’S MUTTON BIRYANI

Wash ½ kg of mutton pieces well and put them in the cooker. To this add 2tbsp of ginger garlic paste, 3-4 chopped tomatoes, 2 big chopped onions, 1tbsp of oil, red chillies, garam masala and salt to taste and cook under pressure for two whistles on a full flame. When the cooker cools open the cooker and cook the meat well till the masala leaves the sides.
Take two cups of basmati rice and to this add excess water, salt, cloves and cardamom and let it come to a boil. Switch off the gas and strain the rice in a colander.
Layer the bottom of the vessel with the rice and then put a layer of the meat. Continue the alternate layers till the meat and rice are over.
To garnish add to the top crisp fried onions, coriander, a few drops of colour added in some milk and lastly saffron.
Now place the biryani over a tawa for it to cook till the rice is completely done.

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BAJI KA DABBA GOSHT

Wash 1kg of fresh mutton pieces well and place in the cooker.
To this raw meat, add salt to taste, red chillies, two chopped onions, three tomatoes, 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, one tsp of garam masala and one tbsp of oil.
Close the cooker and cook the meat for at least three whistles.
Open the cooker once the steam is gone and cook the meat again on a high flame for 5 minutes and then on a slow flame with the cooker open till the gravy is thick and almost dry (but not dry).
Once well done, add a tsp of ghee and coriander leaves.

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ARCHIE’S MASALA MUSHROOMS

Marinate mushrooms with 1tbsp of curd, 1tsp of garam masala, sald and chillies to taste, 1tbsp of ginger garlic paste and 1tbsp of brown vinegar for an hour
Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan and add the marinated mushrooms to it.
Cook in the open pan on a high flame till well done.
Garnish with coriander

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ARCHIE’S BABY POTATOES

Boil 10-12 baby potatoes in a cooker
Once done drain the water
Do not de-skin the potatoes
Add 1tbsp of salad oil in a pan and add to this 1/2 tsp of basil and 1/2 tsp of oregano and 1/2tsp of freshly ground pepper and salt to taste
Saute for 5mins and serve with coriander garnish

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VANITA ki MAA KI DAAL

Ingredients
Black Dal 1 cup
Rajma fist-full
Onion 1 large
Ginger 1 inch
Green chillies 2
Tomatoes 2
Ghee 2 tbsp
Laung 3-4
Tej Patta 1
Milk 1 glass

Method
1. Wash a one cup black whole dal + a fist full of rajma (this is optional) well
2. Soak the washed dals over night ideally or at least for 3 hours, in about 2 glasses of water
3. Next morning you will see that the dals have grown in size and the water has got a red/blackish color. Remember to retain the soaked water to cook along with the dal
4. Grind 1 onion, 1 inch piece of ginger and 2 green chilies to a fine paste
5. Grind or grate 2 tomatoes to a paste
6. Take 2 tbsp of pure ghee in a cooker and add to it a 3-4 laungs, 1 Tej Patta and the onion, chilly, ginger paste to sauté
7. Once the paste is slightly brown add the tomato paste and the soaked dal and rajma with its water
8. Let the dal come to a boil and close the cooker with the whistle on. Let it cook till it blows at least 5 whistles. Turn the cooker to a slow fire and let the dal cook for at least 20 mins.
9. Once the cookers’ whistle has settled, you may open the cooker, light the fire again and let the dal cook with half a glass of milk for at least another half hour on a slow flame.
Also take a mathani and dough the dal well so that it has a smooth consistency

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MY VERY OWN PASTA

Chop small and boil vegetables / meat of your choice – peas, potatoes, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, mushrooms etc or chicken, mince meat or boiled eggs.
Take one tbsp of butter, one tbsp of maida and brown in an open pan. Once done turn off the flame and slowly add a cup full of milk to the mixture while continuously stirring. In case nuggets form whip the paste in the mixie for a few minutes. Once the thick paste is formed add a slice of cheese, salt and pepper to taste. This is your white sauce – the base of your baked dish.
Now add one finely chopped onion to a tbsp of butter in a fresh pan and to this add finely chopped tomatoes and a big clove of garlic finely chopped with a little bit of salt. Saute until tender. Add the white sauce and vegetables to this mixture and sauté for a few minutes. Add some grated cheese into it and then garnish with coriander after serving in a dish.

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VANITA ke BATATE VADE

Ingredients

Garlic 4
Green Chilly 4
Dhania 1 tbsp
Rai ½ tsp
Kari Patta 5 leaves
Turmeric ½ tsp
Boiled grated potatoes 6
Salt To taste
Lime 1 squeezed
Besan paste 3 tbsp besan and 1 cup of water
Pav 10-12
Red Chutney
Green Chutney

Method
1. Grind big garlic cloves and green chillies.
2. Grind dry dhaniya seeds coarsely.
3. Add rai and kari patta to hot oil in a kadhai along with haldi.
4. Add to this the ground garlic, chillies and dhaniya.
5. Then add the grated boiled potatoes and salt and lime to taste.
Make balls and dip in thin mix of besan, salt and water and deep fry in medium hot oil.
7. Serve with fresh pavs and red and green chutneys.
8. Red chutney – Lasan, salt, kashmiri chillies, amchur
9. Green chutney – green chillies, coriander, salt, lime and a small piece of coconut.

GREEN CHUTNEY
1. Take 2 green chilies, a bunch of cleaned and chopped coriander, two large pieces of garlic and put them all into your grinder
2. Before turning the grinder on squeeze one lime onto the ingredients and then close and turn on the grinder (The squeezed lime helps retain the green color of the chutney)
3. Add salt and black salt to paste
4. Preserve in an air tight jar

RED CHUTNEY
1. Soak 100 gms of kashmiri red chillies in a cup of water for about 2-3 hours.
2. Grind the soaked chillies in their water along with a cup full of garlic
3. Add white vinegar and salt to taste and preserve in an airtight jar

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MY VERY OWN EGG CURRY

Ingredients
Eggs 6
Potatoes 3
Large Onion 1
Tomatoes 4
Green Chiilies 2
Oil 2 tbsp
Hing 1 pinch
Jeera 1 pinch
Garam Masala 2 cloves, 1 inch of dalchini, 1 tejpatta leaf, 4-5 pepper balls, 1-2 cardamoms, a little jaiphal, a little javitri
Ginger paste 1 tbsp
Garlic paste 1 tbsp
Dhania powder 1 tbsp
Lime juice 1 lime squeezed
Coriander 1 handful chopped

Method
Boil six eggs, shell them and keep them whole
Peel 3 potatoes and cut into half
Chop one large onion fine
Grind 4 tomatoes and 2 green chillies to a fine paste
In a kadhai add 2 tbsp of oil, add garam masala, a pinch of hing and jeera. Allow to splutter. (At this point if you wish you could take out the garam masala from the oil except for the taj patta
Add the onions and let them brown then add the tomato and chilli puree and saute
Add 1 tbsp of ginger paste and 1 tbsp of garlic paste to the masala along with ¼ tsp of turmeric and 1 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder and let them cook till they leave the sides of the kadhai
Add half a cup of water and cook till the masala becomes a thick curry
Add a tbsp of dhania powder to thicken the gravy. Now add the half cut potatoes and salt to taste and sauté for a while. Cover to cook till potatoes are done (approx 20 mins)
Add the boiled eggs and a glass of water to make the gravy. Bring to a boil and add the lime and coriander to garnish

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MY VERY OWN BUTTER CHICKEN

Ingredients

Kajus 15
Boneless Chicken ½ kg
Tomatoes 4
Pepper 2
Tej Patta 1
Big Cardamom 2
Red Chilli 1 tsp
Sugar ½ tsp
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Fresh cream 2 tbsp
Ground pepper ½ tsp

Method
Put the kaju, whole tomatoes, pepper, cardamom and Tej Patta in a cooker with half a cup of water and let it cook for 3 whistles
Remove the puree from the cooker and take out the garam masala we added. Grind the puree
In a kadhai add a tbsp of butter and the puree, red chilli and sugar and allow simmering till the masala leaves the sides. Then cook for 10 mins on a low fire.
While the masala is cooking prick the chicken with a fork and add vinegar and leave to cook in the microwave for 15 mins. Once done cut into small cubes or triangles
Put the pieces in the gravy and add fresh ground pepper and fresh cream on top

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BIMA ke KEBAB

Ingredients
Mutton Kheema ½ kg
Channa Dal 1 cup
Red Chilli 7
Ginger 2 inch piece
Onions 2 sliced long
Khus Khus 1 tsp
Chironji 1 tsp
Salt To taste
Egg 1
Corriander 1 bunch chopped fine
Onion 1 chopped fine
Pudina 1 bunch chopped fine
Green Chiili 4 chopped fine
Garam Masala 1 flat tbsp


Method
Cook the washed Kheema, Salt, Dal, sliced onion, khus khus, ginger, red chilli and chironji till dal is well done, in a pateela with a cover.
Dry the water of the kheema
Grind to a paste
Add Egg, coriander, pudina, green chillies, garam masal, finely chopped onion (and a lime if desired) to form a soft dough
Make flat small cutlets and shallow fry on a slow flame

MOVIE REVIEW - Taare Zameen Par *****

Aamir Khan' latest contribution to Indian cinema -- Taare Zameen Par, in one word -- EXCELLENT. Every aspect of the film including the fascinating clay animated titles done by Dhimant Vyas was treated in a no nonsense beautiful way.

The film is the journey of an 8 year old, Ishaan Awasthi, called Inu by his family; from a life filled with escapism due to his inability to keep pace with the society' high expectations to a distraught state in hostel and finally to a hand holding phase that transforms him and the society around him.

Little Inu' life revolves around colors and nature and happiness in his imaginative world ... where the morning rush hour is unnecessary - he sleeps on the pot, takes forever to brush and plays with the soap while having a bath, wears his uniform in a dream and has yet not figured out how to knot his tie or his laces; cleanliness is not a concern and hence he is invariably punished during assembly; homework is a bore and hence never done; test papers are never shown to his mum and are instead given to street dogs to play with; his room and things are always in a mess; and above all his interest in studies is as much as his interest in his morning routine so his handwriting is as if like a baby learning to write, his spelling of the simplest of words are wrong again and again and again, his test papers always have marks like 2/25, 3/25 and FAIL written in bold acroos, he has already repeated a year, he says the letters and numbers keep dancing in front of him; and because of his inability to read or understand the complex instructions in class he is always bearing the brunt of his teacher' anger, insults and punishment ... SIGH life is soooooo tiresome .... that he choses to live life on his own terms and in what gives him happiness ... Art is amazing and he thrives on his own imagination while painting and creates some fantastic pieces of work when he is allowed to do so ... nature is fun and interesting to him and hence bunking school is so much better than dealing with a teacher who will yell at him yet again for not completing his math homework and not getting his test papers signed! Litlle Inu finds each of his routines to be a dicomfort to him and hence gives little importance to them and yet finds the time to love and de-tick street dogs, fish with a net in the school gutter and collect fish in his water bottle for his fish bowl at home.

In contrast is his hardworking and successful older brother Yohaan who he calls Dada -- they have a great relationship and love each other loads but his brother' accomplishments make his inadequacies seem even more starkly unaccepable. His super efficient top executive dad too is a stickler for perfection and success and will accept nothing less ... so he has little patience with Inu and is always letting go of his temper with violence or insults or worse still comparisons with Yohaan "how can my son be such a duffer... why are there so many complaints against him???". In the middle of all this is Inus sensitive yet confused mother who loves him dearly but is playing the balancing act between trying to get Inu to live up to his Dads high expectations, taking Yohaans help to convince Inu to get stuff done, help him thru his daily routines and above all cover up for him when he gets into trouble -- she keeps believing that it cant get worse than what it is and when Inu slips yet again she is torn between anger and "kya baat hai Inu... please beta hum padh lete hain na nahin to aaapke friends phir se aagey nikal jayengey"

The problem is that Inu is dyslexic and nobody in his family or school knows so and believe that he is the way he is because he is lazy and over time has become defiant and indisciplined. After getting a warning from the principal about Inu being probably kept back yet again and getting a hint that maybe he has a problem his father decides that he needs to be sent to hostel. Here is where his life becomes and ordeal, as he is away from his family, his street dogs and his fish; his freedom to do as he pleases has come to an end and above all he is not allowed to paint the way he wishes and gets scaled by his art teacher on his closed knuckles several times ... to the effect that he completely loses interest in the only thing that he loved doing ... i.e. Painting! He shuns all except a paralysed classmate, he stops communicating and is punished all the time, continues to do poorly in class, does not talk when his family calls him, has no reaction when they come to meet him on the weekend and slowly but surely becomes a lifeless recluse ...

The movie takes on a new pace after the interval as that is when Aamir (Ram) comes into the film as a temporary ART teacher at his school -- he notices Inu' blank art sheet and gets curious as to why he is so quiet and non-communicative, and unaffected by the fantastic display of dance and music that Ram brings into the class with "Bum bum bole..." Ram, goes thru his class books and dicovers the pattern of his errors, he visits Inu' parents to find that they are clueless and undenying of Inu' problem and discovers during his visit what a fantastic artist Inu is -- this entire sequence of his visit to his parents is delivered to Unbelievable Aamir Perfection and brought buckets of tears to my eyes ... he takes it upon him to bring about the much needed change into Inus life by harshly and assertively sensitising Inu' parents and the school principal about Inus problem, coaching Inu privately on his studies and handwriting and above all holding an art competition ... because he is so sure that Inu will excel and believes that this success will be the turning point in his life ... and he is right!! Inu wins and his painting becomes the cover page of the school annual book giving Inu a reason to smile and look at life anew :)

The casting of each of the characters, the screenplay, the interspersed animation, the music and the cinematography are all superb! My description and review of the film cannot match the excellence of the film and hence to get the complete impact of Inu's journey from darkenss to light watching the film is a MUST TO DO ... The film has some of the most amazing scenes that each of us can identify with in our own lives. This film has acquired a special place in my heart ... like Robin Sharma has said that good books are to be read again and again ... Taare Zameen Par is a film that needs to be watched again and again and again... Kudos to Aamir and his team for creating a film that will create a fresher outlook from parents, elders and teachers towards a new world so that each child from now is nothing less than a STAR or TAARA on this zameen :)

MOVIE REVIEW - Aaja Nachle ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CCJTez-yI

This morning being a Saturday meant no BMR, so I rose at 8.30 as opposed to the usual 6.30 and after the morning chai and methi routine went in to wake up the kids. Roshni mumbled bleary eyed, "Mama, I want to see Aaja Nachle" "Yo lets go darling but for that you have to get up and check the timings of the show ... you never know with all the bad publicity the film has got ... I wonder if it is still running ki pit ke utar gayi hai!?" I said. Breakfast shekfast was happening while Roshni was trying to find out the timings of the show ... there was no listing in the papers, the automated pre-recorded answering machine at Fame Adlabs kept droning on and on and on ... "Papa, you will be walking past Fame on your way to office will you please check the timings and call us?" While the kids gorged on paranthas and chocolate horlicks milk the phone rang, it was Fruki saying that the only show is at 10.30 in the morning... It was 9.45 already!!! "Roshni Raunaq please finish your breakfast WE'LL BE LATE!!!" Raunaq looked up puzzled, "Why am I being chased Mama ... I'm not going - lets go for Air Buddies instead" Roshni and I looked at him, "Raunaq its a family plan and Roshni suggested first that we go for Aaja Nachle so we are going for it and youre coming along ... besides we would like you to come along" I said -- Raunaq reluctantly gave in :) Breakfast was gobbled and we raced around the house getting ready, left the keys with the neighbours as the great Jayshree had not yet arrived and rushed out excited about the film!

It was 10.20, so Rosh raced ahead to the theatre to buy the tickets, while Rock and I briskly followed... Screen 5 Fame Adlabs -- UNBELIEVABLE it was a private screening -- Well ... not really ... it just seemd like it because when we walked in there were precisely 4 people scattered in the hall ... 5 others walked in just as the film certificate of Aaja Nachale was on the screen and that is it ... an 11 people audience!!

Well what can I say, we gripped our seats with positive anticipation as the titles began and and there she was in all her glory -- Madhuri tapped onto the screen as a dance instructor teaching adult students in the US to dance to the tunes of "Dance with me"... so fitting after being away for so many years!

Id like to first start with Anil Mehta, cinematographer of several films like Veer Zara and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, who turned Director for the first time with Aaja Nachale and all I'd like to say is WHAT A WONDERFUL JOB he has done!! Kudos to you Anil and the depiction of your dream idea ... the film actually did flow like silk from start to finish :)

Ajanta Theatre was where her Dada introduced her to music, dance and life ... and now he was dead and the marriage she ran away for was finished ... Diya (Madhuri) and her phirang accent daughter Radha arrive in the fictional small town of Shamli to resurrect a lost dream that she had lived 11 years before she ran away... from Ajanta, her parents and home, her best pal and dance mate Najma (Divya Dutta) and the pining tea stall owner Mohan (Ranvir Shorey) with a cup and plate in his hand; to be the wife of Steve the attractive looking national geographic photographer in New York. On her return the ruins of Ajanta and her gurus recorded dying message on a projection screen make her decide to convince the people of Shamli, who have ever since her being a run-away bride written her off, to save Ajanta from the perils of commercialisation and consumerism! She fights her daughters persistent pleas of going back to their air-conditioned mosquito free confortable home in the US and the abuse, outcry, aggression and timelines of the people of Shamli to conserve the beautiful music and dance heritage of their town which is being threatened to being raised to the ground to build a MALL -- she makes a challenging deal with the unasuming suave, pizza making MP Raja Sahib (Akshaye Khanna) to do a show of Laila Majnu with the people of Ajanta within 2 months!

The herculean task of auditioning commences for all the key characters of Laila Majnu ... the musical. Each of the characters have done a wonderful job -- From Daaktar Sahib (Raghubir Yadav) the caretaker of Ajanta cycle rickshawing down the streets of Shamli making announcements on a loud speaker about the return of Diya and being her undying support thru start to finish; to Mrs. Chojar (Sushmita Mukherji) who is the eager to act land-lady disillussioned because her husband believes that if she acts "meri izzat ghategi"; She goes into an amazing outburt of how she feels like another FILE that is opened and closed as per her husbands desire and says that there are 2 people who live in their house -- "Ek Mr.Chojar aur doosra unki izzat". She finds her Govt servant husband Mr. Chojar (Vinay Pathak) "Boring" -- He, in turn is shocked at the outburst of emotion by his wife and the stigma of being a BORE in her eyes haunts him enough to pucker up the courage to apply for a "post" in the theatrical Laila Majnu only to win back the love of his wife. Mr & Mrs Chojar now live in the same house that Madhuri' parents owned and rent out a room to her daughter and her on the condition that she signs an affidavit that she will make no claims on their house on a Rs.20 stamp paper. Yashpal Sharma in his protrayal of the SHO Singh is fantastic in the drunken scenes where he calls Ranvir Shorey "oye yaar tu to jalebi hai" and how by the end of the film hugs him saying he is a true Majnu because Mohan forgets his broken pride and decides to work with Diya only because she is fighting for the heritage of Shamli and serves chai to the crew and cast while also enacting the husband of Laila. On the other hand is the scheming Farooque (Irfan Khan) who is Najmas husband and whose portrayal of his love for none other than his business of building Malls comes through very convincingly when he connives and gets his wife to talk about the bad character of Diya before marraige so that people stay away from Laila Majnu ALL because he wants to raise Ajanta and build yet another Mall. He also convinces the local politician Choudhary Om Singh (Akhilendra Singh) to pull back his support from Laila Majnu with a kickback of Rs.50 Lakh. Originally Diya had convinced him to give his support to preserving the heritage of Ajanta as a strong election "Mudda" without which it is very likely that he will lose against the suave Akshaye Khanna. He agrees and also gets Irfan (the heartbreaker -- Kunal Kapoor) who was one of his touts to portray Majnu and lends his expertiese(!?) in portraying Laila' father! Initially the reluctant Irfan participates in the act only because of Choudhrys insistence and is constantly irritated with his role as he hates dancing and even more irritated with the perpetual nose cleaning Anokhi (Konkana Sen) who is chosen to play Laila and is all over him pledging undying love for him in her jhalla-looking clothes and hair ... the way their hatred for each other turns into love is beautiful with the old trick that Madhuri teaches her ... "spruce up and make an effort to look good, and dont run after Irfan so much... instead keep away from him for a while and he will eventually follow you" ... the way the whole change is shown in their relationship is so beautiful! When Choudhary decides to withdraw support and wants Kunal too to quit Kunal decides not to ditch Diya as it was unfair to do this with the show just a few days away, he too gets beaten up by Choudharys men and when Anokhi jumps in to save him and gets very badly hurt Irfan realises how much she loves him... the highlight is when Ranvir Shorey says to him while serving him a cup of tea ... "Bol de yaar nahin to tu bhi cup plate haath mein dhare reh jayega" Irfan gawkily declares his love for Anokhi by saying "yaar agli baar na tu Laila nahin banegi ... kyonki main tujhe baar baar marte nahin dekh sakta" Sigh so darned cute!! With the chaos thanks to Choudhary, Najma (without her husband knowing) aplogises for the damage done and volunteers to play Lailas mother and Yashpal is pulled in to play Lailas father. In the middle of all this is an eager LIC agent wanting ti insure Irfan as he is going to die playing Majnu; being played by none other than Jugal Hansraj (looking really good) who renders the role of Tabrez ... Lailas brother!

All in all a totally mixed bag of left feet that eventually end up creatring a fantastic rendition of the old saga of Laila Majnu in the finale showing the childhood friendship of Laila and Majnu in a Madrassa that dvelops into undying love as they grow up and how Tabrez finds out and is killed bu Majnu in a sword fight and is condemned to death by stoning as per the law of the land and how Laila vows to marry another provided they let Majnu go ... they do let him go but her husband can never have her sould and as she is taken by Majnu ... he swears to take Majnus life and when he does take Majnus life Laila dies too ... they are united ... but in heaven ... the climax had all the people of Shamli broken to tears and all 3 of us including Raunaq totally transfixed ... "Mom did this really happen?" said Rock

Unlike popular comment that the film was only centered on Madhuri and that every body else got sidelined ... I would like to submit that each of the characters I have mentioned above came thru very convincingly and each of them had an important role in building the film.

The pace of the film too unlike popular critic comment is perfect... the music is finger tapping and peppy ... each of the dances have been protrayed with amazing color and finesse and finally the sets are unbelievable and beautiful ... Diya wins and Raja Sahib gives up the idea of a Mall forever ... Diya fulfills her role of making Shamli realise the importance of Ajanta in their lives and goes back to being an instructor in the US leaving behind a trail of love, dance and music at Shamli... and all of us (including Raunaq) wondering WHY such a lovely film was a so called FLOP!?

Chak Dey Phattey Papa!!

Papa being felicitated by Neeta Ambani, Chairperson of Dhirubhai Ambani International School, with a shawl.

Papa and Neeta Ambani saluting the flag while the sunset bugle plays in the background!!

This weekend was special for my darling Papli and the entire family :) The Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) had their Annual Day and were also celebrating the 60th year of Indian independence -- their show was titled "Celebrate India ... a musical".

On this special day of DAIS they wished to share the glory of some very important and forgotten heros of our country... war heros, freedom fighters and sportsmen. Their function was held on 2 days i.e. 14 and 15 Dec.

My darling Papa was one of the special invitees on 15 Dec 07 alongwith Mrs Boyce (who was the daughter of Col Tarapore, who had got the Param Vir Chakra for fighting the war of 1965 - he died in the action and was awarded posthumously), Manju Malkani (wife of Squadron Leader Malkani who flew his fighter plane over enemy territory during the 1971 war and was again awarded Vir Chakra). The 3 of them, Mum and I (I wangled an invite as I didnt want to miss the ocassion) were treated so warmly by the administrative staff of DAIS ... we were given tea and some yum snacks while the executive assistant of Neeta Ambani, Nandeeta sat with us and chatted about our lives. Mrs. Boyce was such a lady with all etiquette and all (she teaches ettiquette to large corporate houses in Pune) and a real chatter box -- I simply loved listening to her endless tales and experiences. Mrs. Manju Malkani is the HR gead at HDFC Ltd. and we talked of some of the really cool people that I admire at HDFC like Deepak Satwalekar, Milind Barve, Keki Mistry etc. They were quite amused about the fact that I work with a toy company and asked me which one is my most favorite toy ... Finger Football -- here you have 2 pairs of shoes that have holes in them so that you can wear them on your fingers and you kick around with your fingers playing finger football ... they were really amused!!

At around 6.30 we were taken down to the grounds where the stage was set ... it was a huge stage twice the size of a basket ball, elaborately decorated and having several levels ... it was really GRANDE and looked nothing less than a filmfare set!! Once we were seated we were in the front row, Mukesh Ambani (the rishest man in the world) sauntered in wearing a black safari ... it felt unreal that he was away from us by about a meter or so -- somehow whatever people may say about how Reliance has become so big, it is impressive that he has achieved this feat!!

The ceremonies began with a prayer foloowed by Neeta Ambani giving a speech of which the following lines made an impression in my mind"...DAIS wishes to Celebrate India ... India has more than a billion opportunities ..." She then felicitated Col Tarapore, Sqd Ldr. Malkani and Cmde Inderjit Sharma with a shall each and a token of appreciation.

Mrs Boyce daughter of Col Tarapore who received the Param Vir Charkra for the action in 1965 war

Mrs Manju Malkani wife of Squadron Leader Malkani who received the Vir Chakra for the action in 1971 war

Then Papa came on stage and she felicitated papa with a shawl ... I really got eems at this point and treed all the way to my toes ... this was the first time I had heard in my concious state of papas heroic action during the war of 1971 and when the lady announced "... and for this heroic display of courage Cmde Inderjit Sharma was awarded the Vir Chakra", it felt as if he was getting the award just then. To think, I was just six then and my Malee was a lil baby at 5 - I have very faint memories of papa coming home after the war and having a hurt on his leg and his sword was with him for some reason -- I remember asking him "Papa did the pakistanis attack you on your leg and did you fight them with your sword?" At that time I guess papa must have not wanted to disturb me with details of the bombing and said "yes beta" ... for a long long time I believed that papa got the award for a aword fight with a pakistani who had landed on his ship!! Sigh ... so much for my childish imagination!! Papa received his felicitation amidst loud applause. Neeta then asked everyone to rise while they played the evening bugle that is so familiar in any armed forces base at sunset and a film that showed the Indian flag being brought down for the day ... it all felt so nostalgic and surreal and for a long time loads of navy memories flooded my mind and heart... revati, MBlock, INS Sindhudurg and its dome, the officers, dhruv bhandari, chilka, bakshi and his maths and science tutorial so that I could pass the medical examination, learning .22 gun firing and boating, ramchandran and his puffy milk glasses, INS Shakti, walks with juba and lama in the nights, durga puja, SODA shows, the shiv temple, the swimming pool, amar' library, US club, Dattu, sea pool, st josephs, ashivini, peru-wala near school, 103/123 busses, bus-tickets, Defence Theatre, nalini bamba, aparna, reena and rohin chand, ritu mridhu, nilli puddi, jyoti and diggy, cycling all the way to marine drive - what a beautiful life it was ... SIGH ... the life in the navy seems like a lifetime away ... I really miss it...

Enough of nostalgia ... The musical had a theme of a Baiscopewala showing the kids a new India and telling them tales of the great achievements of our country -- all of this was displayed in a burst of color with the fantastic colors of India coming thru in the costumes and sets, dances by over 900 kids to the tune of some amazing patriotic and folk songs that were all recorded in the children' voices like - aao bacho tumhe sunayen, nanna munna rahi hoon, mera joota hai japani, ae vatan ae vatan humko teri kasam, kar chale hum fida jaano tan saathiyo, wallao rey nakwa ho wallao hey rama (marathi song), Aekla cholo rey (bengali song), vande mataram (new Lata version), Buri nazar na hum pe dalo hum hain hindustani and to top it all all the kids came and congregated on stage with Chak De India and Neeta Ambani joined them in the centre -- all of them were jumping and dancing to the beats of Chak De Chak de India ... everyone in the audience was on their feet, dancing and waving flags and clapping together!! OH MY GOD ... What a resounding celebration of INDIA -- it was just too AWESOME a climax!!!!!!

After the program Ma and Pa went to thank Neeta Ambani personally I went along and clicked some pics of them and then I too shook hands with her to congratulate her on her pet project of DAIS (she being the chairperson of DAIS controls every function of the school) -- Guys her hands felt like warm melting butter or rather as soft as a babys skin. I must say she is one lucky woman in India. I am so glad that she being the wife of the richest man of the world sets a great example for other men and women to follow... the amount of respect and love she has got from her family shows in the beautiful glow on her face. Tha fact that she has been given this project to be run entirely on her own and that Mukesh was present despite his busy as hell schedule - he really need not have been there but he was there for both the days from start of the function to finish and also enjoyed the eateries at the MELA thereafter; all this shows the respect he has for her and the importance she is to his life -- that is what truly impressed me the most! She was dressed in a bridal red sari with some amazing gold embroidery and had diamonds all over her - we were discussing that during the evening she if one is to value her dress she was worth several crores.

The musical was followed by a MELA - there were so many stalls ... ma and pa hogged on some yummy kachori and rasey wale aloo, gajar ka halwa (to die for) and rasmalai from an Ajmer Mithaiwala stall... they also bought a candle from a Blind man called Bhavesh' stall and on the way out we had the best treat ... AAMIR KHAN in person was calling out the raffle draw!!! At this point I clearly went mad with excitement and started yelling out to him ... I would like to believe that he spotted me and smiled :))

I missed both Anj and Mallee tooooooooo much as it was such a super evening in every way ... and yeah I am so glad that at least I could enjoy these special moments with Ma and Pa.

Mainu Viral Shiral Ho Gaya!!

Hai hai main bechari ... am unwell and down with the flu or viral or cold or the bug or whatever and am in bed for the past two days -- all I have been able to get out of me during this time has been my BLOG :)

Fruki got up this morning and took on the BMR with full gusto (devoid the lunch preparation - the kids took money for Shettys insufferable school lunch) Fruki was playing his role to the hilt and gave ME a large cup of milk with honey and haldi -- I think he overdid the haldi - I had instructed him to add 1 tsp of honey and 1/2 tsp of haldi ... I am sure he mixed up the proportions because the milk tasted like hell!!

I also started reading a book which is an autobiography of R.K.Narayan of "Malgudi Days - Swami & friends" fame titled My Days ... its really well written. Might just become one of my favourite books!

Roshni just asked me if I want coke ... how insensitive!! :( For 2 large reasons I CANNOT have coke 1. Im on a very concious diet that has a target of reaching 60kgs (this is the first milestone and the second being 55kgs) and I am on a virtually NO sugar diet + am aching at all the possible parts of my body thanks to the weights I am inflicted to suffer by my instructor at the gym and 2. I have the flu shlu ... SIGH... WAAAAAH

I love coke specially when its chilled and poured into a glass of loads of ice-cubes like the one in the picture... Rosh is further tempting me with a glass of coke ...SO RUDE!!!!!

Jay Shree

"Mama what does Jay Shree mean?" asked Roshni. Well ... er ...um... its hailing the lord I guess darling. I also read later in a blog that it means a "Lady who is victorious"... Knowing Jayshree that seems more like it!!

Jayshree ... my beloved house maid is about 35 years in age. She is the only daughter of her parents and hails from a town called Sholapur in Maharashtra, India. She was brought up by her uneducated mother as her father passed away at a very young age. She was a good student and studied all the way till the 10th grade and was a favorite amongst friends. She is quite a nice looking woman although she has a shrill voice. Her mother got paranoid of the possibility of her going astray, so she cut short her studies and married her off to a Tailor from Sholapur called Bharat Mungshe. Bharat was 4 years older to Jayshree. They have three children and live in a slum at Adarsh Nagar, Goregaon. Her oldest son is Nilesh who is 19, followed by 18 year old Shailesh who is the brat in her life and last but not the least is her daughter Neelam who is 16 and an ardent student in the 10th grade. Jayshree wants her daughter to complete her studies.

Jayshree is an ideal Househelp for us. She comes in to work every morning just as I am leaving for work. She does the morning dishes, cleans up the house (jhadoo-katka-dusting-bathroom routine), washes the clothes, gives the kids a hot snack when they return from school and cleans their tiffins and finally also cooks the evening meal [including salad and rotis:))] -- in brief she is a blessing in disguise!! The good thing about her is that she is intelligent and can read and write. So each time I teach her a new recipe she writes it down to the last detail and uses it for future reference :) The kids and she have a mutual feeling of love for each other and generally have a grand time together. So, she is here virtually the whole day and has lunched tea with us, does all the work and yet she is not in our face like a full time maid at the end of the day. The only inconvenience is the dishes in the night and the BMR ... but frankly all of it has now settled into a routine that we have gotten comfortable with.

On the 10th of Nov 07, it was the New year of the Hindu calender and a day after Diwali, she shrilled at me "Bhabi mobile kitne mein milega?" So I started off with well depends Jayshree ... on your budget, purpose and who its for!? "Mobile kisko chahiye?" It appeared that her all time brat Shailesh had not eaten any food for the past three days and was sulking around the house asking for a mobile!!? The older one does not have one, the sister hasn't asked for one but this baby of the family was voicing his desires vociferously to the effect that he had brought the whole house down. Bharat and she had been fighting like cats and generally there was misery at home. So as soon as I had given her salary of the month she wanted me to buy her son the mobile.

I told her that the cheapest one could start at about Rs.2000 and could of course go upto Rs.40000. He I believe wanted a Motorola which had a camera, FM radio and of course have the other basic functions! So I said why does he want such a fancy mobile to which she had no answer. Then she said, "Bhabi wo gaon ja raha hai aur usko gaon mein sabko dikhana hai!" I got really irritated with him for being so insensitive towards his parents. Jayshree barely earned Rs.4500 a month (she gets 3500 from us + another 1000 from another flat in our block) and her hubby earns another 7K -- they find it really difficult to get through the month with the mounting living expenses!

Anyway after being unable to convince her against the unnecessary expense she called for him to come to our place. I took them to a mobile store that sells mobiles and pre-paid cards near our place. He kept eyeing a 4K fancy looking flap-type Motorola with a camera and I kept bringing him back to the userfriendly and economical Nokia which cost 2.5K which had all the features except a camera. I got the shop keeper to convince him that the camera of the Motorola clicked worthless pictures and that the mobile too was fragile. Nokia is generally a proven mobile!!! Anyway after 45mins of really stressfull convincing he gave in to buy the Nokia alongwith a lifetime prepaid card which cost another 500 bucks ... All Jayshree was concerned was if it had FM radio? So I said "Haan Jayshree FM bhi hai aur Nokia ka achcha mobile hai" Sigh it really hurt to see poor Jayshree give away 3K for this heap of plastic ... so much for consumerism and India Shining and our economy growing!!

On the same day Jayshree also took our gas cylinder and the regulator with her on the promise that she will return it in a weeks time. She said that the kerosene gets very expensive during this time of the year and so requested that I lend her my cylinder. We discussed it and decided to give it to her as we now have the pipe gas that connects the whole building and have no need for the cylinders unless something happens to the pipe gas (God forbid!?). In any case, its been over a month since she took the cylinder and has been saying that she will return it soon as her own cylinder is awarded to her.

Today she tells me she fought with the gas suppliers as they are asking for her new ration card and only then will they give her a gas connection. She has already spent 700 bucks and gone to their office several times to follow up on the connection. Her current card is rendered useless as the place she is now renting to live in at Adarsh Nagar is not the address shown in her ration card. This so called card holds the address of her previuos home which she sold a few years ago. So now she's got to get a new card made and only then can she be allotted her own gas connection. This process could take another 2 months!? This means she will not return my cylinder for another 2 months and it also means she is indebted to us for the favour. The things that our system makes us suffer.

And to think that our dear Jayshree has to deal with all of this and get no support from her sons and husband to help her in making the situation any better. Time passed and sure enough Jayshree did get her own gas cylinder and finally returned ours with a big "Thank you Bhabhi". 

Now you can imagine why I believe that the meaning victorious lady suits her!!

Happy Birthday Nu

My Nu' birthday happened on 01 Dec 07. He turned 48 - he of course keeps saying that there was an error in the date and that he feels and looks much younger :)

It was a lovely morning and for a change I awoke before day break to quietly write out his card and pluck 2 flowers from our plant, make two cups of tea and land up on him singing a soft "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU". We had a great time chatting and drinking chai (this was Frukis first ever BED-TEA!!) I gave him the 2 flowers Id plucked from his parents which he promptly put above his ears where he left them till he went in for his bath ... check out the pic :))

Once the kids got up we gave him the rest of his gifts - a Levis sweatshirt and Cannon Camera from me and a Levis T-shirt from Rosh n Rock - and of course cards from each of us. He also got a huge bouquet of flowers from PAMA at 12 in the night :) They also got him 2 pairs of formal trousers tailored at Raymonds. He is yet to receive them.

In the evening we got together with pals for a lovely dinner at a nearby restaurant called Tian... Fruki wore his new T-shirt gifted by the kiddos and I was all dolled up in a tunic and slacks... I looked good but would have looked better if I didnt have so many oodles of weight... hopefully my morning exercise routine will work some wonders soon!!?

We all had some yum food and I downed a happy Margherita :) and was thereafter feeling very happy Hic Hic ... Apart from our kids there was Sanchi as well and Rosh and she gabbed about this and that while Raunaq was sort of trying to be a part of the conversation but eventually by about 11PM got really crabby -- he was bored stiff and sleepy as hell and in his drowsiness almost hurt himself very badly by jamming his lil finger in the doorway of Cafe Coffee Day (we had dropped by there for some delicious dessert steaming brownies and icecream). So it was this dramatic moment when his hand was in the doorway and the door shut -- we were all watching it happen and were too away from him to do anything so we all screemed "Raunaq watch it, EEEEEKS, Oh God, Hey Bhagwan etc." Raunaq was of course too sleepy and irritated with all of us and and so his hand stayed put and the door swung towards his hand while we shouted ... He got more scared than hurt as the distance between the door and its frame was about a centimeter away to allow for a free swing ... PHEW!!?

Shortly after we quickly lapped up our dessert and zomed off home -- Rock reached his paw for me to kiss while we walked back from the car to the lift. Kiss given and arm in arm we talked of the unnecessary fuss and the seriousness of the narrow escape from the swinging door. He said sorry and we kissed and huggied and made up.

Fruki gets a lil disturbed when incidents like this happen and is uncertain as to how to react - YELL, ignore or just give a sarcastic comment like "Priya kuch bolo yaar nahin to hum problem mein aa jayenge" This is the usual situation but when there too many friends around he sort of has this very stressful expression on his brow and an artificial smile on his face, sort of holding up - Well he held up well and so the evening ended well!!

All in all I believe Frukicat had a happy beginning on the first day of his 49th year :)

Sports Day at Vibgyor High

Fire team going berserk and making a sweeping surprise victory at the end of Vibgyor High Sports Day 2007

The balloons flying away into the sky

Asjad taking the official sports oath

Rock wins 100M Silver - look at him waving out to us :)

Rock on the victory stand for 200M - Silver again!!

Rock doing a back roll for Gymnastics display - Silver yet again!

This is Roshni getting her bronze for 200M

Rosh getting her Gymnastics bronze medal

Rock n Rosh ROCK the day :)

Last Friday 07 Dec 07 was a day of pride for the Shaikhs ... apne chunnu munnu won some serious metal on sports day and Farrukh and my collars were UP, UP and UP :))

The day started with Roshni and some friends yelling gimme a V giime an I gimme a B gimme a G gimme a Y gimme an O gimme an R VIBGYOR. This was followed by the sports torch being led around the field by 4 kids. Then came the cool march-past led by the Head Girl / Boy and Sports Minister (Asjad) and the other ministers (captains) and all the 4 houses (Water, Earth, Air, Fire) with "eyes right check turn" and all (I got some serious goosies when Fire passed by as I was in Red house as a kid :)). 

This was followed by the oath which was taken by the Sports Minister followed by the letting lose of a huge bunch of air balloons carrying a large banner with Vibgyor High painted on it. By this time I was emotional as hell!!!

Roshni is in Fire or red house while Raunaq is in Earth or green house. At the beginning of the sprorts day Earth was leading with a HUGE margin while Fire was far behind at 3rd. However, as the morning progressed Fire caught up and emerged the unbelievable winner. The entire Fire team went berserk with excitement and were running around the ground furling their flag -- it was quite an emotional moment. 

Roshni won 4 medals - Gold in the relay, Silver in Obstacle Race (where she had to wear a cap, had to skip rope and ended the last lap by jumping in a sack - she come first actually but unfortunately the judges decision is final), Bronze in Gymnastics and Bronze in 200M.

Raunaq won 3 medals - Silvers for Basketball, 100M and 200 M. His obstacle race was a disaster - they had a wheelbarrow race. His partner Naman was the wheel barrow and he kept going all over the place instead of straight in their track. They barely made it halfway :( Poor Rock hates losing, and was miserable.

Subah ho gayi mami!!

My mornings begin with a reluctant hauling myself out of bed with expected difficulty and mindlessly heading bleary eyed to the loo only to sleep some more on the pot while my inners awake to natures call; and it is only after about thirty minutes of this blissful mid-sleep awakening that I actually awaken to my calling duties of THE RESPONSIBLE WOMAN OF THE HOUSE' BIG MORNING ROUTINE!!

The BMR begins with me downing a glass of Methi water with soaked bitter Methi seeds floating into my mouth and me ruminating over them while trying hard to hold back throwing up instead (Methi seeds are bitter even after being soaked overnight and take forever to chew into a state that can be swallowed -- sigh but they are so called HEALTHY and hence the endurance of misery), downing some more water to wash away the after taste; fixing chai for my husband in the annoying steel Dekchi, which has survived my daily vows of throwing it out every morning thanks to the messy sputtering of millions of chai droplets around the cup while pouring the hot chai out; cutting and making a sabzi in the everlasting Kadhai and making rotis for the kids; fixing breakfast for the kids, which is either of the following - paranthas for which I get awarded a slurp/beam, boiled eggs for which I get an ugly face as if I am the worst mother on earth, crisp butter sada dosas which are appreciated with a smile, chocos which they love the most more because they lovingly chuck them at each other while eating -- several pieces of chocos lie victim on the floor after they have left for school and lastly a scrambled egg for Roshni and an omelete for Raunaq combo - so the kids have either of the above as the main breakfast + an Elchi Banana + a Large Mug of Milk with Chocolate Horlicks -- I love playing Mommy and my poor kids have now suffered this forced big breakfast eating too long to complain any more :); packing their lunch boxes with rotis in foil, sabzi in a separate container, spoon and a paper napkin; filling their bottles; packing Raunaq' snack box with some nick-nacks; meanwhile in the middle of all this flurry the beds are made, the milk is boiled, some frantic instructions are given, some signs are done on important yet perpetually ignored till the last minute documents, some irritation is expressed and last but not the least quick hugs and kisses are exchanged before the kid's exit happens for the day at 7.45AM. Once the kids have left, I get into my sexy (I would like to believe) fitness gear and leave the house for the next one hour during which I either go the Gym where I work on my upper / lower body / abs with weights or just go for a long walk in the Garden followed up with some yoga like Alom Vilom, Kapal Bharati, breathing, eye exercises in the sun. This is truly the best part of my day -- I enjoy it the most as it is the only time that I dedicate to myself unconditionally. 

After I return, I fix breakfast for Farrukh and me. I usually read the papers while eating breakfast and then get ready for office. Once our great Househelp, Jayshree arrives; we depend on her completely for ALL the rest of the endless work that happens in a home; as I leave for office.

Well today was not like the usual mornings as our friendly neighbourhood milkman got delayed and so did not arrive before Farrukh left for his morning walk which is at 6.15 AM. My morning alarm is set for 6.30AM and even these extra 15mins are much desired bliss and I hate trading them for anything. However, this morning just after Farrukh left, our SHRILLING LOUD doorbell rang. I ignored it knowing it was Azad (he's the milkman) and praying that he will leave the milk packets on the mat outside. But the bell rang again. I hauled myself out of bed and staggered with closed eyes to open the door. "Kya karte ho Azad, Double Ghanti kyon mara tumne? Bola hai na ki disturb hota hai". He said, "Madam, watchman ne bola hai ki doodh chori hota hai to jab tak aap khologey nahin tab tak ghanti marney ka" I grumbled and stretched out my hand for the milk and I receive in my hand only one small packet of milk. I tried to open my eyes to the bright light in the corridor and said "Arrey yeh kya sirf 1/2 litre?? What about the balance 1 litre?" "Sorry Madam aaj doodh kam hai kyonki doosra building mein chori ho gaya to mujhe doodh unko dena pada"

Drat ... when a morning begins like this everything goes for a tizzy as my blissful half an hour on the pot ends up being hurried and nervous thinking of - what will I give the kids, how will Farrukh have his chai??? Today I was worried as I had set curd last night with the balance milk and it was clearly not possible to have the kids share less than half a litre of milk!!

I went through my BMR with a frown on my face, growled at the kids and Farrukh for something totally unimportant, gave the kids their boiled eggs for which I promtly got ugly faces in return "Mom I hate boiled eggs" said Raunaq at which I further growled between clenched teeth "HAVE IT -- its the healthiest part of your breakfast" and then added while hurrying back for the kitchen - "Sorry there's no milk for you guys today". There was a unanimous YEEEAY ... Hey no problem at all Mom... its okay really!! Their hugs were warmer and their kisses were with a smile on their faces when they left for school... SIGH I love being loved by my babies ... I obviously have Azad to thank for this mornings display of affection from them. 

Like they say in the larger picture of life everything fits in well!!