Mango treat

This is about fond memories of summer holidays during my childhood. There were many mango trees of different varieties  in the neighbouring  locality – Priyur, Moovandan and chadrakaaran varieties. So yummy it used to be. Those trees used to bear mangoes only during the hot month of summer  season. My brothers used to take me with them to help them to collect the mangoes,which they somehow manage to pluck down. They were experts in climbing the trees like monkeys and used to pluck it down. We used to collect the fallen mangoes.

The chandrakaaran

The moovandan

I particularly want to write about the chandrakaaran variety. It has a very yummy juicy flesh inside it. My mouth is watering now at the thought of it. This mango harvest was so excess  at one particular year.I really don’t know the harvesting pattern of this mango variety. However I observed this tree never bear mango like it had that particular year. The chandrakaaran tree used to be very big for one to be impossible to climb. However my brothers used to still manage to climb this tree. However, mangoes used to fall at the blow of wind. As and when the wind blows, mangoes will fall down with a thump. We used to have a close watch of these sounds and   used to run to collect the fallen mangoes preventing  our neighbours collecting it, as it was a  common tree to the locality.There was a huge competition for collecting these mangoes.

The annual exam were going on and we used to get up early at 4 o clock to study our lessons.We heard noise near the mango trees at this early hour and were scared to see who it is near the tree. People near this tree was very odd at this odd time. It went on for few days until we told to our father regarding it. Robbers are to be bewared of. My father lit the torch at the direction of the mango tree and found it none other than our neighbours who had gotten up so early to collect the mangoes which fell at night. They were so clever that they got up so early to have the chance of getting more mangoes at this early hour of the day.

When the summer holidays started, we had a very big gang of boys who came to the ground to play cricket. They also had a large share of mangoes to fill their stomach. We had our part of so much of this chandrakaaran mango. Our neighbors too had their share. The chandrakaaran gave a very good treat for everyone’s stomach that year.

My mom makes a very tasty dish with mango which I would like to post one day. We call it “ambya ambat” and I love it.

A tribute to my Maths teacher

It’s  our routine to walk in our office( dnata) premises post lunch and chat about some random topics ... Today  It was nice to recall some fond memories about our school days.

I remembered one of my favorite teacher  Sr.Marcelena who taught me Math, while I was doing schooling in a convent run by nuns. Math became my favourite subject  in my high school beacause of her wonderful teaching skills.

She is not only a teacher but also an Social activist. She had spent her earlier days in Nigeria generally in poverty stricken regions. Not only Sr.Marcelena, other teaching staffs also have been active in social activities in and around Africa.

Talking about Sr. Marcelena, she keeps things simple and understandable. Makes us to work out problems taken from various text books and also makes us to work as a team.

She has a great command over English, and very kind and impartial towards all the students.

As I am writing the blog, I am missing my teacher very much, don’t know where she is now.

The concept of gifting a hero pen and bril ink to all who got promoted to 10^th Standard was a usual thing during those times. Talking about pen, I generally have liking for black ink, Also, it was worth the wait to get a camlin geometry box as a prize.

Nevertheless, I am not sure why we were taught to draw a perpendicular line for a line - http://www.mathopenref.com/constperplinepoint.html   :)  the whole class was expert in drawing figures using compass.. The famous one was the rangoli design. I was fun to create images from spread ink by folding the  paper.

Sr.Marcelena taught me the complex Congruency, without her I wouldn’t have grasped it easily. Math was a piece of cake for me because of her. She shared her African experiences with us, which was joyful.

I remember the sentence which she often says “ Africans are black, but their heart is white”, they are very good.

Today’s walk became a very memorable one.

This blog is written in fond memories of my math teacher- Sr.Marcelena.

Ishq Sufiyana

I heard the female version of this song [Ishq sufiyana from Dirty Picture] in radio recently and love it. Here is the lyrics :

Rab ki qawali hai ishq koi
Dil ki diwali hai ishq koi
Mehki si pyaali hai ishq koi
Subah ki laali hai ishq

Girta sa jharna hai ishq koi
Uthta sa kalma hai ishq koi
Saanson mein lipta hai ishq koi
Aankhon mein dikhta hai ishq

Mere dil ko tu jaan se juda kar de
Yun bas tu, mujhko fanaa kar de
Mera haal tu, meri chaal tu
Bas kar de aashiqana

Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana
Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana

( Rab ki qawali hai ishq koi
Dil ki diwali hai ishq koi
Mehki si pyaali hai ishq koi
Subah ki laali hai ishq )

Sochun tujhe toh hai subah
Sochun tujhe toh shaam hai

Haan manzilon pe ab toh meri,
ek hi tera naam hai
Teri aag meri jalti,
koyle se meera banki
Khwaabon se aagey chal ke
hai tujhe bataana

Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana
Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana

Saath-saath chalte-chalte
haath chhoot jaayenge
Aisi raahon mein milo naa
Baatein-baatein karte-karte
raat katt jaayegi
Aisi raaton mein milo naa

Kya hum hain, kya rab hai
Jahan tu hai, wahin sab hai
Tere lab mile mere lab khile
Ab door kya hai jaana

Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana
Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana

( Rab ki qawali hai ishq koi
Dil ki diwali hai ishq koi
Mehki si pyaali hai ishq koi
Subah ki laali hai ishq )

Mere dil ko tu jaan se juda kar de
Yun bas tu, mujhko fanaa kar de
Mera haal tu, meri chaal tu
Bas kar de aashiqana

Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana
Tere vaaste mera ishq sufiyana
Mera ishq sufiyana,
mera ishq sufiyana

 

SOAP ya SOP

I was asked to speak about SOAP in one of the interview.I answered SOAP is nothing but System dot out dot println(SOP). the interviewer had a hearty laugh at my answer. Still controlling his laughter , he continued asking "ok tell what is this system dot out dot println? " I gave my answer with a big smile  :)  . I could see the interviewer face changing expressions. He couldnt control his laughter.Its only after the post interview analysys that I understood actually the interviewer meant SOAP not SOP  After the interview I told my friend about this who had come along with me for the interview and she laughed till tears rolled from her eyes. But fortunately or unfortunately I was selected for the company for immediate joining. The interviewer must have liked the humour in the answer.

Reethigoula

This is one of the beautiful raagas and my favourite raaga...The first song which I learnt in this raaga was "Paripalayamaam Sri Padmanabha muraare" .I was in 3rd standard at my school when I learnt my first song in this raaga..Then onwards it has been my favourite song and fav raaga.There are many famous film songs from this raaga..To cite a few :
1. Kangalirundhaal from the movie Subramaniapuram
2. Sudum Nilavu from movie Thambi
3. Pranathosmi Guruvayoor puresham - Sindoorarekha
4. Kandu njaan mizhigalil -Abhimanyu
5. Onaam raagam paadi -
And also I remmeber a bit of a song which we sung during Youth festival for the category "Eastern Group song" - Its something like this:
nee  nee sa sa dha dha ma ma
nee nee saa nee dha ma ga ma pa ma ga ri sa
ni ni sa paa nisa
sa ga ri ga ma ni dha ma ni ni sa
..............
sa ga ri gaa ma ni dha ma ni ni sa.
sa ri ga ma ma dha ma ga ni sa
parasuramanorikal mazhu veeshi erinjappol
paavam sindhu vazhi maari keralamaayi
bhagyamoru bhoothalamaayee bhavanathan swargamaayi bhangiyerum bhargavande kshethram ithaayii..
Naanathvathil ekathvathil ...sarvaloka paavanamee keralabhumi..
Such a lovely raaga..I would say reethigowla is the best raaga

Yellow Bikes

We had covered almost anything we can cover in our Nedherlands trip.Everyone expects to have a view of atleast the Sex museum,red light street and the city main square. We had already covered that and were astonished of the fact that prostitution is legal in that part of the world.those whoever go for it consider it as a part time job or just a fun.

Anyways we dint have any option left as to where we have to go next. Once you are in Nedherlands you should not miss its beautiful lakes,the big windmills,poultry farm,and the green fields -said one of my friend.There was this yellow bikes which my friend wanted to try. We should ride our bicycle for a stretch of 8 hours continously through the Northern part of Nedherlands.We would be headed by a  guide who will give us lecture on the various things which we will see during our ride.We had a group of visitors who wanted to bike and it was a multinational crowd which had gathered to try the tour.
It was fun when we started the tour. The crowd rode through the green fields and narrow lanes in the fields - through steep curves and  elevations ,we rode our bicycles and got wondered at the beauty of Nedherlands.Nedherlands like other European countries is so rich with its greenery and big Jersey cows. Milk products are very famous here,infact all European countries are very famous for its milk products.I love cheese,especially the kind of pungent smell it has. I had added a few extra pounds and had such lovely chubby cheeks at that time.I miss those chubby cheeks now.
By the way , the ride was very funny at the beginning. We were racing with each other . There was  Canadian family of four.There was this shaitan kid who was racing with us. Really he is a shaitan beacuse though he is so puny this little kid had good stamina and he stood first. The Canadian family were riding the bicycle with such enthusiasm. The guide took us to a countryside restaurant where they served traditional Holland food. We had something which looked like our South Indian dosa. The Nedherlands dosa was a sweet to be eaten with icecream and strawberry.It was yummy.
Hours went on and on.Among the team I was the only person who was very tired and was devoid of any stamina to ride further.I was not able to pedal my bike any further. On the top of it,the whole team speeded up and I was left far behind. The guide started getting frustrated about me. One of my friend also started getting exhausted of the ride and started shouting- "arey kyaa re..mar gayi mei" ...but the guide was getting frustrated about our Hindi.. On the top of everythign ,cold wind started blowing pushing us further behind the team. Now I know why Nedherlands is famous for its huge windmills. We both couldnt pedal any further as the wind was pushing us more behind.. Atlast we reached a junction where without considering the traffic signal I simply crossed the road  with full speed..P-my friend shouted at biggest of her voice.Its the first time I am getting abuses from her. I was so tired I dint have patience to check for traffic signals..I would have got hit by a car whihc was coming in my direction with full speed..
On and on we went and the guide told us that now we are returning back.I felt a sigh of relief. On the way I sawa bridge whihc we had crossed when we started the trekking. I got so happy ,only by seeing this bridge. Because now I know we are ultimately going to wind up this tiresome trip.I speeded my bike and there I fall in the middle of the road. I got scratches all over my hands and knees..All who were on the road came for my help and told me "Be careful"... "Arey i will be careful from now on not to try these kind of adventures - arey mar gayi mein" - it was fun.It was a pathetic situation he he ..
Atlast we winded up the bike tour. the next day my roommate complained that she couldnt sleep that night because I was snoring loudly.. I was very tired of the bike tour.How will I not snore?

The Aloo Tikki

I recently happened to eat  few alooo tikkis from a nearby chaat store.You will enjoy the taste only when you get a feel of the noise in the street,smell of the oil, and greetings from mosquito with their stingy  bites. Just recalled an aloo tikki incident  when I was at Denmark ,so thought would immediately pen it down  J. During my stay there ,I was staying with a Punjabi family as paying guest for some time. We were served Punjabi cuisine every day and I was learning to cook few Punjabi dishes.You should make use of the money you are paying for the paying guest accomodation - atleast get to learn few Punjabi dishes This particular post is not for the  recipe, but a funny incident which happened while we were experimenting our recipes.

India has different states, each state has an authentic dish of  its own. My PG-mates hailed from different Indian states and so Punjabi aunty wanted us to cook some dish from our state.  I would say I was a very bad cook then and whatever I know to cook now are those which I learnt while I was in Denamrk where I was away from my home.I missed my mom’s food very much. But  if you are away from home ,believe me you will learn to do anything and everything.As  Will Smith would call it in the movie Pursuit of Happiness , this phase of my life is to live independent and learn cooking J

One of my PG-mate who is from UP as I rememeber wanted to teach Aloo tikki to all of us. He said whatever he does he does it with perfection.He wore an apron and started to make the allo tikki dough  with potatoes,onions,and spices. The tikki is supposed to be fried in oil and made balls out of the tikki dough  and placed in the hot oil for frying... But sadly , the balls separated into pieces and started forming bubbles in the oil. At the end of frying few tikki balls it was realised that the dough  was prepared very watery whereas it should have been made little dry. I should have taken snaps of him really loved is facial expression at that time. A mixed feeling of sadness ,anger and embarrassment.The fried tikki formed a debris which went straight into the trash bin. He dint give up. Now its turn to try dry-fry it on a non stick pan. The dough was made into balls and later spread on the pan for frying.But the patties could not come out of the pan separately. It was a big mess out there. His face turned black and blue.He confirmed its all due to the dough  not been set properly  and so needed to be placed in the freezer for setting it. God knows what is the logic behind placing it in the freezer. But that is the only option we have.We had to believe in him. Our stomach started rumbling due To hunger . Still we waited for 2 hrs for the aloo tikki to set in the freezer.

After 2 hrs he tried to make tikki but it dint work out as the dough got frozen. Punjabi aunty came shouting and made some curry out of the dough as she dint want to throw it. Nearly 2-3 potatoes and few onions had gone into the preparation. I had a great relief after I had the food as I was starving for 2 hrs. That was the end of Indian state cookery sessions J

Manjupoloru Penkutty – A girl like snow !!!

A girl like snow!!! Whats that ? Snowgirl :) Nevertheless thats not what I am about to write here .. I used to sing when I was in college.The song “ Ithile nee ende vanilla” from this movie is one of my favourite song . I used to sing for duet. I still remember the  day when I performed on the stage. My classmates sang along with me as chorus from the audience seat for the part - "Woh ho woh hu woh  noooru kinavugal " 

Have a look at this lovely song :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhmpbxz_2Jc&feature=related

Snails shells from Oman

I just recalled when we went to Oman during Bakrid holidays- we went to  Qurm beach. Awwwesome  beach  We have a habit of picking things from places we visit. These things that we pick ends up as showcase items at my house. Last time when we went to Turkey we collected some pine cones.[image below]

When we went to one of the Oman beach- the pretty Musandam beach,  we collected stalactites and stalagmites. As usual we started picking stones and shells from the shores of the beach .It was fun because ,as we pick each shell ,we compete with each other fighting at picking the best shell as possible.

I  saw a bunch of snail shells which attracted my curiosity..The snail shells looked so pretty with its cute  designs and  I started picking up handful of snail shells..I had a plastic kit in my bag luckily so I started collecting the shells into the kit.I asked my husband whether the shells have life bcos I don’t want the shells to move inside my hand bag. He assured it dint have life and confirmed it was washed ashore since the creatures inside it were dead. We stuffed handful of pretty snail shells into my bag..

When we reached back to dubai we immersed the shells and conch and stones in a bucket of water. We were so tired so we slept off .The following day  we went to office and reached back home after office in the evening..felt very odd tat the water we had kept the shells and conch and stone started developing  stinking  smell like sea water.It had developed a flesh smell in it. I assumed it is due to the conch as It had spent it life among the sea creatures.I emptied the water carefully and poured fresh water in it in order to clean it . I changed water many times each time throwing washed water. I kept a cloth on the slab and started keeping snails one by one to let it dry. So tat we can start making some decoration stuff with these shells.. I had finally finished my job cleaning the shells and let the shells dry and  I continued with my daily chores.

After some time when I went to have a glance of the shells , I felt the snail shells were moving. To my amazement tat was true the shells were really moving indeed. It had a kind of slimy yellow creatures inside the shells. And it was moving slowly on the cloth tat I had laid. EEeeeeeee…. I dint waste time I packed the snails in the cloth and decided  to throw it away somewhere as soon as possible.The shells were thrown  in the garbage chut. So the funny part in the Oman trip remained here tat  the shells who were enjoying the nice beach shore ended up in dubai garbage chut !!

It gives me creeps when I think these shells were moving inside my bag. :) he he ..Pity the shells  they would get burned into ashes in the garbage chute We could have let them in some of the dubai beach..But during that time we dint have other choice than to throw them away in the chute!