What to do in a boring lecture

Hi,

I am sitting in a boring lecture. I usually am a 100% attendance person and try my best to be attentive but this particular class is as torturous for the students as it is for the professor. I look at him…words flow like a rap, you can just feel the bass without making sense out of the song!

Since time is as judicious as the non renewable sources of energy, I thought why not spend this 1 hour doing something I like! Lets blog! So I began thinking what all can be done and in the process traveled from my school days to college, to office training sessions & MBA days. 

Today’s blog is dedicated to all the wonderful things you can do while stuck in a boring lecture. I call it captive creativity! Here’s a list of options - 

1. Surf net on your phone.
2. Update your friend about the latest gossips.
3. Finish off the Tiffin (did that so much in my 12^th standard physics lectures)
4. Play game on the phone (mute mode!)
5. Plan for the day ahead
6. Sit on the back bench and complete assignment of any other subject (pretending you are religiously taking notes)
7. Catch up on sleep
8. Plan for the blog (for a blogaholic like me!)
9. Watch cricket match live on your laptop
10. Draw a cartoon of the professor
11. Read newspaper (mostly applicable for MBA finance students)
12. Practice arithmetic – count no. of seconds left for the class to finish
13. Concentrate on professor (only if good looking, if guy. If lady professor, note the clothes, jewellery, makeup, hair and all that girlie stuff) and gossip about it
14. Organize eyes wide open sleeping tournaments
15. File nails
16. Practice maths - Calculate probability of good food in the mess (if a foodie like me)
17. Plan what to cook for evening and inventory situation inside refrigerator (if u r married…used to do that in my evening French classes)
18. Practice maths – count number of lectures to attend to qualify for minimum mandatory attendance requirement

This isn’t an exhaustive list. Please feel free to contribute for the benefit of anyone who in future may refer to this blog to explore options while stuck with a boring, buzzing professor.

Pic Courtesy : Google Search

Doggie@Amrita Shergill Marg

Delhiites love to take their canine companions with them wherever they go. The lush green spaces of central Delhi provides ample opportunities for dog lovers and u’ll see many people flocking to Lodhi Garden with their proud possessions.

While passing by Amrita Shergill Marg, I saw this dog at the traffic signal in an auto rickshaw. He looked well fed and taken care of. Being used to the comfort of air conditioner, he probably wasn’t enjoying the autorickshaw ride & so chose to look outside for timepass! He looked too cute & adorable & the shutterbug in me just couldn’t resist. Here’s a pic…isn’t he cute?

RIP Bal Thackerey

A leader is born, not made. And when they walk, millions walk behind them, trusting the path they follow. Such a leader was Bal Thackerey. I have never seen him nor been to Mumbai, but sitting in Delhi, I have always heard of his headline making comments in media. When he roared, the roar reached Delhi in no time. I was feeling not too optimistic about his state when I read 2 days ago that filmstars cancelled their events to visit him and when I read about his demise in the morning paper, it reminded me of my mother’s demise last year. Since I lost my mother, I have developed a kind of empathy with every departing soul. Whenever I come to know of someone’s demise or see a cremation mass, I pray for peace of the departed soul, strength for his family and happiness for my mother, wherever she is. Sometimes, when I see a corpse being taken to the cremation ground, I silently ask him/her to tell my ma how much I miss her. I know it sounds weird, but when u suddenly loose someone u love so much, u crave for even an atom of that soul.

As the last rites were being telecast on TV, I could see his son, trying to hold his emotions, following the directions of the priests. Celebs too are humans. There are moments when you feel like being alone and manage your grief. But when their happiness is public, so is their sorrow. And he looked alone among lakhs of people who joined him in his grief.

In this age when people are bound to gather for a common cause or have to be enticed to come for rallies or protests, it’s amazing that lakhs of people came to pay their respects to their leader. People who were unrelated to him, cried bitterly at the loss. In life, we all strive to cater to our desires,, ambitions etc. But there are people who look beyond and walk to make a change. And they are remembered not for who they are but for what they did and how they made a difference to the lives of people they worked for. Such was his leadership. RIP Bala Sahab Thackerey

Soya rolls on the street

I’m a born Brahmin, brought up in a house where garlic was a forbidden item; married in a family where eggs are considered something that destroys your dharma, or religion! So, u can well understand my exposure to carnivorous stuff. The sight of tandoori chicken or kebabs arranged on skewers fills my olfactory senses with all sorts of foul smells.

Lately, I have been spotting many outlets with the usual stuff (looks like chicken parts) hung on skewers. But wait! the signboard mentions 100% vegetarian! Wow! My friends tell me soya tastes almost like non veg. I decided to give these a try.

Mom in law was super skeptical. The sight of the usual things on skewers made her cover her nose in anticipation. I reassured her it’s just soya, the one we cook at home.

There were no chairs, no classy crockery, yet I was amazed to see the crowd which grew as dinnertime neared. Just six round tables with a pack off tissue papers on each. The waiters wore no uniforms but could be easily identified as the busiest lot, hopping between the tables, cash counter and kitchen, making a mental note of the order sans any order pad. There are no errors; the right dish goes to the right table, or the car.

There is something about street food. The outlet opens by 7 each evening and the daily footfalls might give any restaurant an inferiority complex. Delhiites can go to anywhere as long as the food suits their palate. Its futile waiting for table there, so people mostly enjoy their treats in their cars.

We managed to get a corner table, below a peepal tree and the waiter hurriedly kept a menu card and left. Mom in law and I felt like total amateurs. So many treats to offer out of the simple soya!

Hubby ordered Soya rolls while we went for the malai soya chaap with rumaalis.  Succulent soya wrapped around ice cream sticks, marinated in a blend of spices, immersed in creamy gravy, here was malai chaap. I told mom in law, “this is what you looked at covered your nose, I am sure you wouldn’t want to have this!” She smiled and pounced on the treat accompanied by unlimited onion rings and green chutney!

But I went gaga over their rolls! You see I’m a rolls afficionado. From the street side corner below my office to wah ji wah, soya express, I try ‘em all. But this was simple and yummy, no greasy sauce, no oil dripping out of the rolls. I enjoyed the chemistry between soya marinated and roasted to perfection, and soft, warm, thin layer of the wrap. I could actually concentrate on the original taste of soya without irritated by the oily, greasy sauce. To add to this, the onion rings and chutney kept me asking for more and the waiters obliged with a smile every time. At 120 bucks, the treat was just not bad! One of the best soya rolls I had so far!

We have become regulars now, though now, we too enjoy the rolls in the comfort of our car. The Amritsar chaap corner is definitely must a visit for those who love rolls sans the greasy sauce and oil! 

Hostel khichri

Till now my hostel cooking had been confined to preparing maggi (mostly cuppa mania) & boiling milk, thanks to the microwave in the pantry. But, the horrible mess food got the chef in me take charge of my lazy self. In my quest to lose weight & avoid the rich mess food, I had taken some khichri mixture, spices & desi ghee to the hostel. So, when the mess menu read poori & alu sabji, I knew it was time to do the shri ganesh of the ingredients. And so, with the blessings of ganeshjee in my hostel room, I prepared khichri in microwave…

1^st things first, the rice & moong dal mixture have to be soaked in water. But I was so hungry that I completely forgot about it. Anyway, I took some desi ghee in my new Borosil microwave safe bowl, put it in the microwave for 1 min, then put some laung & peppercorns that my mom in law had happily packed in the bowl. Once they cracked, I put the rice & dal mixture (washed 2-3 times with fresh water) along with spices (salt, red chilli powder, turmeric) & poured enough water to match up the height of index finger. Then, my khichri was off to the microwave at High for 15min.

These 15min transformed me literally to a hungry doggie! I knew it would take at least 10min or even more (since I hadn’t soaked the mixture) however, the intense hunger had me hovering around the microwave every 2 minutes.

As I waited for the khichri to get cooked, I remembered how my mother used to prepare the perfect khichri in pressure cooker, served with huge dollops of ghee & chopped onions. I used to hate it back then, but now I crave for even a single morsel of her dish. Wonder if mine would even have the right spices.

I wondered how good is it to have families, the best support system in whatever you do. I had just uttered that I wanted to cook on my own whenever the menu was bad at mess. My super caring husband had without delay, bought me the microwave bowls, desi ghee (so that my skin remains good in winters), the khichri mixture & a lot of other goodies. Mom in law had lovingly packed extra laung and spices & told me a 1000 times to put enough water & check with someone regarding Microwave cooking. Gosh! I was missing home.

Beep Beep Beep! The microwave signaled me the khichri was ready. Here it was, slightly watery, the dal not mashed as in cooker. But, the aroma of ghee, laung & peppercorns was amazing. Spicy & piping hot, it just made my day!

Piping Hot!

What do I like?

During Diwali cleaning, I found my school slam book.  As I flipped through my entries, I realized how diverse my interests were. The column “best friend” had a long list of friends in my group, “movies” included my favorites & probably the favorites of my sisters, friends…hehe. Same was the case music, books, colors and other things. And now, things are so different. Coffee means my hubby’s special whipped to perfection, tea means only ginger tea and I would rather stay hungry than eat pizza without corn.

Do we become selective with age? I wondered. True.  And to reinforce this, I probed my 13yr old niece & her friends. To my surprise, they all sounded like I did in my teens.  Every answer was carefully crafted with the most happening, chic and cool options. To them, more meant cool, and a way of showing how much they were aware of the “happening” things. I asked my niece “who’s your best friend?” “Alia, Neeti, Neha, Dhruv, Mayank…. She just went on and on.” They don’t teach good grammar at school, I thought. “Beta, best means one THE best, the one you like the most”, I said. “Oh masi, I love my entire group! We hang out a lot, look so cool together and are so happening. The entire school is so J (jealous) of our gang”. It is only when I asked her who would she confide in if she had a breakup that she came up with one name. Just like I had so many favorites mentioned in that slam book years ago, my niece had so many answers when it came to movies, books, hobbies and music.” I will ask these questions again after 10 years baby,” I told her as I left.

But why do we become so selective with time? When we are young, we want to show off how cool we are, want to be the best, and so whenever asked to make choices, rather than thinking what we like, we think what will make others think we're cool. As we get into the rut of life, we realize the most precious thing is our own happiness; our “ME” time and learn to value quality more than quantity.

The same me who loved to be seen with the biggest gang of friends in school, now prefer few but true friends, who I can trust. Instead of piling calories for the sake of others, I now prefer to focus on wholesome, well prepared, healthy food that will make me feel good. I would rather celebrate occasions with people I care for than with big group of people who don’t know the real me. If I have to spend 3 hrs on a movie, I would rather watch the genre I love rather than going for the most popular one. Instead of stocking my closet with anything and everything coming my way, I now shop for clothes I feel will really suit my persona & have learnt to discard the old ones. I have now realized the relevance of letting go of what no longer suits me, have learnt to focus on the things I really like, prioritize my time who I can count upon and the most sought after “me” time.

Most importantly, I have learnt to communicate my preferences without the fear of rejection. Maslow rightly placed affiliation needs at the top of his need hierarchy pyramid. And often we don’t communicate our choices fearing the reaction from others. If we learn to put our foot down, speak openly what we like and what we don’t, give our true opinions rather than being populist, believe me, it will give tremendous boost to our happiness quotient. It will also earn us true friends and well wishers who know and value the real us. Quality and not quantity is the key.

“Hmmm…wisdom”, I said to which my mother in law laughed and said “wait another 10 yrs & every choice by default will be tweaked to match that of your kids”.

Miles to go before I sleep...

Streetfood fest@ Sitaram Bazaar

I just love October…the soft chill in the air, festivity, colors, sparkle, joy, excitement, shopping and my favorite…food! Delhites need an excuse to satiate their taste buds with the yummiest treats the city has to offer. Since I am not much into fasting, navratras for me are nine days of sheer gastronomical paradise. I get to savor the best of vrat (hindi word for fasting) and non vrat food. From the bhog at Durga Puja pandals to the specially designed navratra thalis at restaurants, it’s my yearly ritual to have them all. 

One event I really look forward to every year is the baadaa at Sitaram Bazaar, Old Delhi. Sitaram bazaar is Old Delhi’s chaat capital and when they come up with something special, it’s a must have. I first went there 4 years ago and since then there has been no looking back.

Baadaa is a midnight food festival (mela) organized during navratras and goes on till Dussehra. Nine days of festivities, late night melas and lot of joy. Sitaram Bazar, during the day is swarming with people. However, for the baadaa, shops close early and makeshift food counters are setup. 

The moment I stepped out of the Chawri Bazzar, the glitter, lights and the aroma of delhi’s delicacies surrounded me. Wow! I couldn’t wait to get started!

Chawri Bazar Metro Station

In front of Sitaram Bazar

The lights!

Making our way through the crowded lane and the umpteen rickshaws, we first reached New Ashoka sweets. An otherwise famous shop of Sitaram Bazaar, they serve special delicaies for navratras. All shops serve 100% vegetarian food and most will also dole out dishes you can have while fasting. In fact, I was surprised to see every second counter serving vegetarian seekh kebabs.  The shop was crowded as if it was serving food for free. The 20 min wait for my order was a torture as I could see (and worse, smell the amazing aroma) the delicacies people enjoyed and my mouth watered and watered. But the wait was worth it. Kebabs made of cottage cheese, served in spicy gravy, served with onion lacchha (salad) and rumaali rotis, made to perfection. I was amazed how, despite the mad rush, the order taker made no mistakes in delivery while the rumali roti guy dished out roti after roti within minutes. 

People waiting for their order

Veg Kathi kebabs

The rumali roti expert

Rumali Roti

Veg Kathi Kebab with Rumali roti & onion lachha

Next in line was aloo paneer tikki…flattened balls of potato and cottage cheese, spiced up and shallow fried till crispy. Tikkis have to be cooked on the right flame for the right time else the result gets messed up. Maybe thats why, people didnt seem that patient to wait and the stall was relatively less crowded. But patience pays.The guy served the tikkis with generous helpings of tamarind and mint chutney and … My mouth still waters as I write. Crispy, hot, spiced up, with dash of chutneys, I loved the tikkis.

Aloo tikki and chaat

I had heard so much about Kanji vadas from my mother in law, so the moment I spotted the cart selling them; I was after my hubby to try them out. Kanji vadas are pakodas (fritters) served soaked in spicy water (kanji) and is a must try whenever u come to Delhi. The pakodas could have been softer and fresh but the spicy water made up up for them.

Kanji vada

Once a week, I have a date with Chhole Kulchey, but the ones I had here were very different than the others. In a hurry, the guy, just sprinkled lots of masala on the chholey and sprinkled lemon juice without bothering to mix it up. But, voila, what a treat it was! Every bite a super spicy affair! My eyes were watery (tears of gastronomical joy!) and I was loving it.

Chhole Kulche

I also tried the moong dal chilla, pancakes made of moong dal, stuffed with coriander, cottage cheese and served with chutney. Didn’t find much difference between them and the usual stuff I get to eat at every second wedding.

Moong dal chilla

People waiting for their chilla

Right next to the chilla counter stood Om prakash Kulfi waala. The ice creams at Sitaram Bazzar are prepared in unique manually operated ice cream makers in front of your eyes, from real fruits, no added flavors. You won’t get this stuff anywhere else. A must try. I tried the mango and pomegranate ice cream and they just melted in my mouth! One of the best ice creams I ever had.

Kulfi cart

Manual ice cream machine

Mango ice cream

Pomegranate ice cream

I was about to leave when I spotted this cart with nankhatai. At Rs 20 for 100g, I got the freshest, warmest and softest nankhatais that only Old delhi can offer. I quickly gobbled few and got some packed for my tid bit treats at home.

Nankhatais

It was time to leave. The crowd was growing every minute and I was told this would be so till 1-2 at night. The liveliness was infectious and I didn’t want to leave. I filled the aroma one last time and hurried to grab the metro…

Some more pics from the fest...

Balloon seller

Masks popular with kids during Dussehra

Masks, bow and arrows 

Servers in traditional attire

Rickshaw carrying water jugs back from shops

   

Chuski shop

The joy of eating

Outside New Delhi Railway Station