Ting tong...must be Jabong!

'Online' & 'shopping' were words that did not come together for me very often. The whole "shopping" experience began and ended at the malls and the internet was a place for social networking! At best, the thought of combining the two came when I had to buy books from Flipkart or tickets from Makemytrip.

I have always been skeptical about shopping online and buying things without the whole "touch & feel" experience. But this issue was taken care of by various online shopping portals, where one could order, open and check the product & try the garments at home and then make the payment. How convenient! Plus I realised that my teenage cousins were already shopping online for clothes and accessories and the most favoured destination was www.jabong.com ...I had to take the plunge!

Around the same time I was offered a Rs 500/- voucher from none other than Jabong! what luck!

Once you visit the website, you discover its simplicity and quickly realise that it is neatly organised making browsing and searching easy and hassle free. The website has a neat and clutter free look. Not to mention that the home page is teeming with offers...enough temptation to shop!

Given my fetish for skin care products, I was pleasantly surprised by the entire range on offer...totally spoilt for choice!

I chose Iraya body lotion and Soultree shower gel. Both the products reached me within 3-4 days. Also notice a sticker on the parcel; which said that I could check the contents before accepting the parcel. Good idea!

While regular shopping is great, don't forget to look out for discount coupons and other mouth watering offers on the website!

Also remember to pick up a thoughtful gift for your mother for mother's day. Jabong seems to have thought of some wonderful ideas...do check it out!

Happy shopping!

                                                                                                                                                            

Stay Connected

Stay Connected...

 

Now-a-days every time we hear the word "connected" the only thing that comes to mind is the Internet! Everyone seems to be connected online...obviously nothing wrong in that. What better way than to keep in touch and rediscover friends than on Facebook. I have met many long lost friends online...I don't think I would ever have met them had it not been for Facebook's helping hand. But that's not the kind of "connection" I am talking about. Is there another kind? you wonder. I think so. Let me explain.

 

We live in a world that is constantly on over-drive mode. Everyone is in a hurry. To get somewhere. To get something done. There is always a rush for meetings, appointments, sales targets, client meetings. Where is the time to pause and think? We all seem to be stuck in a rut, but how many of us want to get out of this rut? Get out of the rat race and connect with our 'self'. Not many of us can give it all up and become farmers and artists and turn our backs on peer pressure. But every once in a while, wont it be better to reconnect with your 'self'? Take time out to rethink your priorities, goals and ambitions? Go for a walk with yourself. Spend a few more "doing-nothing" moments. Stay connected with yourself', before you lose yourself.

 

In a mad rush to succeed we not only lose connection with ourselves but also with our near & dear ones. People who should matter to us the most...our family. We work crazy hours, impossible deadlines to earn a better living for our families. Sure money is important for all our needs and wants, but so is being emotionally connected. A sick person does not get cured by medicine alone, but also due to the nurturing by loved ones. People with families live longer...so why just settle for a weekend marriage? or weekend parenting? If family is the the corner stone of civilization, make sure you give it due priority. Stay connected with family; before its too late.

 

Hundreds of friends on Facebook, hundreds of "likes" on inane status updates and photos. And most importantly hundreds of birthday wishes. And how many phone calls for birthday wishes and heart to heart conversations? Not all friends on Facebook expect a phone call, but everyone has a few special friends who deserve a call every once in a while, especially on their birthdays and special occasions. Take time out to make that phone call, attend weddings, birthday parties, get-togethers. Stay connected with friends..and I am talking Facebook here.

 

In school, everything seems possible, no dream is too outrageous, everything is fun...a child-like delight & enthusiasm that seems to conquer all. In school we also have "hobbies" which we seem to drop as we collect other baggage. Everyone in school looks forward to the sports/games period. Aah, finally time to leave behind the confinement of the classroom! Until its time to prepare for the board exams...sports is the first to be left behind. Annual day functions meant everyone was busy preparing a skit, a musical or a dance performance, but the pursuit of a career means all such 'frivolous' activities took a back seat. Its understandable that not every one can make career in theatre, music, dance or sports, but we can still pursue them as recreational activities. Take a break from the rig-ma-role of daily life. Rediscover a hobby or pick up a new one. Stay connected with your passion. There is little else that gives more joy.

 

Stay connected. With everything that makes you 'you'

Nana nani ka ghar.

During our school-days, my sister and I, like all school going children, would eagerly look forward to our summer-vacations. Not only did this mean freedom to get up late but also meant that the annual trip to Saharanpur was finally around the corner. This was our nani ka ghar; and nothing could bring us more joy than this trip. I am talking about time way back in the 80s. Much before the advent of internet & TV even; so there were no makemytrip.com or yatra.com to entice with vacation deals. Add to this the fact that my father was posted in places like Dhule & Jalgaon …far far away from Saharanpur. So such trips happened only once a year.

The preparation for the trip would start weeks in advance. My mother would start collecting stuff. Poha, chakli, sabudana, chivda…all would be part of our luggage. At that time all these ingredients were not available up north. Add to these individual gifts for all family members. Now all the ladies of the extended family are proud owners of the paithani saree! We kids would have our own packing to do. Apart from the clothes, we would select some toys to accompany us along with our school books; that we never get around to studying is quite another matter! And let’s not forget the excitement of packing for the train journey itself. The day of travel saw frantic activity in the kitchen…mom would get up early morning to prepare the quintessential sookhe aloo ki subzi and fry enough pooris. Oh and let’s not forget the aam ka achar; along with this my sister and I would pack chocolates and toffees, which we had been collecting for days! As the time approached to board the train, we could barely contain our excitement. Once we had boarded, settled in, we wanted to eat…once done we would finally calm down and eagerly await our arrival at New Delhi railway station. We would alight here and continue the rest of the journey by road.

Finally, after a restless travel of more than 24 hrs we arrive at Saharanpur. And what a resounding welcome we would receive. My grandmother would have prepared our favourite meal, and immediately we would become the centre of attention. Of course another ritual was opening of the luggage; which everyone eagerly looked forward to!! My mom has two brothers and a sister; all younger to her. We as kids were quite a novelty to them and their college friends! We had a wonderful time going out with them and would be treated to all kinds of yummy street food.

Another high point of visiting Saharanpur was that we could watch TV (TV transmission began in Dhule only in 1984). I remember patiently waiting for 6:00 pm; the time transmission began. We would religiously watch all the programs, including Krishi Darshan, and would only sleep after wishing the presenter "shubhratri".

Looking back, even without Internet or 24 hour TV channels, we were never bored, nor did the power cuts bother us despite the scorching heat of May. The afternoons were spent waiting for the  ice cream wala...the taste of the orange chuski still fresh in my mind.

The fondest memory of Saharanpur is of spending time with our grandfather. A stickler for routine, he was much feared by all in the family, but we girls could get away with almost anything! The best time was when he was having his meals. We would sit on either side and listen to his stories. He has migrated from Pakistan after the partition, and would talk fondly of his childhood and boyhood days. He would eat rotis laden with ghee and urged us to do the same…much to our dismay. Most evenings, if we were not going out with our aunt & uncles, grandpa took us out for a walk; where we would meet his friends…some from the pre-partition era! These walks inevitably ended with a glass of sugarcane juice. Spending time with him was also fun; not only did he regale us with stories and anecdotes, but also with nuggets of wisdom and practical advice.

We also had a no. of friends in Saharanpur, usually neighbours or the kids of our mother’s childhood friends. We eagerly looked forward to meeting them too. They would be quite amused by our hindi, sprinkled with Marathi words!

And before we knew it, it seemed that our vacation had gotten over far too soon. Hadn’t we just arrived? And now we were packing to go back! Not fair! Going back our luggage would be equally heavy…garam masala (from all the things, this is one thing I remember distinctly), pickles that my grandmother had made, all the knick knacks that my uncles & aunts had collected for us, the sweater that my granny had knitted for papa and various other tiny things would fill up our bags. My uncles would come to drop us at New Delhi railway station; of course goodbyes were never easy.

Once back home it took the longest to get back to routine…having been spoilt rotten for the entire vacation. Since there was no internet or phone, we would desperately wait for letters from Saharanpur, and if any had news of visiting relatives; our joy would know no bounds.

It’s been years since we went back to Saharanpur. My aunt and uncles got married and shifted away from home. After my grandfather passed away, the house was sold, and the last connection to Saharanpur was lost. I don’t know if we would ever go back, but looking back no other vacation has brought me more joy and happiness. Probably it was so special because it was my nana-nani ka ghar!

My DD Memories...

Long before our lives were ruled by the cablewala, set top boxes, DTH, HD and blah blah blah, Doordarshan was the only TV channel, and for people of my generation a huge part of our lives. We could not wait for the evening to come when a huge ball of orange slowly truned into the Doordarshan logo, I clearly remember as kids my sister and I would eagerly look forward to our summer vacations to our nani's home in Saharanpur. Ofcourse there was the joy of going to nana, nani ke ghar, this was doubled by the fact that we could watch TV there. You see at the time all the places my father was posted (Jalgaon, Dhule), had no TV transmission. TV only came to Dhule in 1984. Until we had to contend with the B/W TV of my grandparents! We would religiously watch krishi darshan, the hindi samachar, I love lucy and only go to bed after bidding the anchor shubhratri!

Our world changed with the TV coming to Dhule, 1984, around the time the first hindi serial (that is what we called soaps then!) "Hum Log" came on air. Hosted by the veteran actor Ashok Kumar, "Hum Log", with its middle class ethos, became a part of our daily lives. It was a story about a middle class family, in Delhi, trying to make ends meet. It had the eldest and the most pampered child (laloo), the responsible elder daughter (badki), the ambitious majhli, the intelligent chutki, and light-eyed cutie-pie nanhe played by Abhinav Chaturvedi, the grandparents, drunkard father with his long suffering wife! Till today Vinod Nagpal is known as Basesar Ram and Sushma Seth as dadi! Coming to think of it almost of the actors of Hum Log are till today known by their screen names. A testament to the love and affection showered on them by the whole country.

Of course there was no looking back after Hum Log. Manohar Shyam Joshi, who wrote Hum Log, created magic again with Buniyaad; directed by Ramesh “sholay” Sippy. Another mega-serial; this time about a family dealing with the repercussion of the partition. Many serials have been made with the parition theme, but unfortunately none managed to create the magic of Buniyaad. How can we ever forget Master Haveliram (Alok Nath), the khadi-clad-idealistic eldest son of a wealthy businessman who is interested in the freedom struggle? And then there is the chirpy Lajjoji (Anita Kanwar), her friend and masterji's sister veerawali (Kiran Juneja). The serial deals with Haveliram's struggle to hold on to his ideologies and his duty towards his family. After the partition the family moves to Delhi and new characters are added, Masterji & Lajjoji's sons played by Dalip Tahil, Mazhar Khan and Kanwaljeet. Mazhar Khan will always be remembered for his character to a happy-go-luckly fellow, who is always eager to make a quick buck! While Alok Nath went on to become the lovable father of hindi serials and Rajshree films, unfortunately Anita Kanwar disappeared into oblivion, and Kiran Juneja, famously went on to marry the producer of the serial, the much older Ramesh "sholey" Sippy.

While talking about partition, the one name the immediately comes to mind is the hard-hitting Tamas, written by Padma Bhushan Bhisham Sahani (the younger brother of veteran actor Balraj Sahani). A very serious look at the partition, this serial attracted the who's who of the acting fraternity. Bhisham Sahani himself acted in the serial along with Dina Pathak, Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Surekha Sekri, Uttara Baokar, Deepa Sahi. This epic serial was directed by Govind Nihalani.

At the time Doordarshan serials were weekly, running into 13, 26 or 52 episodes, this trend was changed by the mega serials Ramayan & Mahabharat. Once they were on air Sundays were never the same again. Ramayan was produced by Sagar Arts and starred Arun Govil and Deepika Chiklia as Ram & Seeta and the indomitable Daara Singh as Hanuman (can't think of anyone else as Hanuman, can we now?!). Cities wore a deserted look on Sunday mornings when Ramayan was aired, as if a curfew has been imposed, and there dare not be a power-cut for the half hour! Recently Imagine TV also produced Ramayan, but could not capture the audience's attention as the earlier one. An original is an original, after all!

The mega-serial was soon followed by another epic, of truly gigantic proportions...Mahabharat, produced by B R Films. Producing this serial must have truly been a herculean task, for Mahabharat has no. of stories woven into one. Very soon Mahabharat commanded the same attention as Ramayan and soon on every Sunday, Suresh Wadekar echoed from every television. Harish Bhimani was the voice of "time", who acted as the narrator of the tale. People waited with bated breaths, wondering who will play the "pandavas", initially disappointed but soon warmed upto them. Nitish Bahardwaj played "Krishna" and till today finds himself bound by the image.

This was the time of weekly episodes, not daily soaps and "maha episodes". Everyone waited eagerly for their favourite ones. Much before ACP Pradyumna and his "daya darwaza tod do" CID gang came to investigate crime, Karamchand jasoos had already made his mark. Along with his scatter-brained secretary Kitty, he solved many-a-complex murders. Pankaj Kapur & Sushmita Kitty Mukherjee made an unlikely crime-fighting team, which endeared themselves to the audiences.

DD also supported a whole genre of comedy. Good clean family entertainment unlike the comedy shows of today, which rely heavily on slapstick and double meaning dialogues. The top-of-the mind recall goes to Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi. Who can rival this iconic serial? The serial written by comedy writer Sharad Joshi starred Shafi Inamdar and Swaroop Sampat as the husband wife duo Ranjit and Renu Verma. The serial also starred Rajesh Bedi as Renu’s unmarried unemployed brother, while Satish Shah played a different part in each serial…and enthralled everyone with his comic timing!

While talking about the comedy genre, it would be sacrilegious not to talk about Nukkad…a serial about a street corner; which could have been anywhere in an Indian metro. The daily trials and tribulations of the residents of this street corner managed to make a place in every DD watching Indian’s heart. The serial co-directed by Kundan Shan and Saeed Mirza, starred Dilip Dhawan (the heart of gold “Guru”), Rama Vij (lovable teacherji), Avtar Gill and Pavan Malhotra amongst many other memorable characters.

And then there was “Wagle Ki Duniya” ; a satirical take on the struggle of the common man. Starring Anjan Srivastave and Bharati Achrekar, this serial soon became a mass favourite.

I remember serials on DD such as Ek Kahani, Darpan, Kathasagar; which featured adaptions of stories by award winning writers of Hindi and other regional languages. In today’s world of daily soaps and saas-bahu dramas, which cannot distinguish themselves from each other; one feels the need of powerful writing. There is no dearth of writers only experimental production houses. Maybe if they look beyond the “K” fascination! I wonder who would take the time and the effort that Govind Nihalani took to televise Jawahar Lal Nehru’s Discovery of India?

Talking about diversity in serials, I can’t help but remember Gul, Gulshan, Gulfam; which portrayed the life of a Kashmiri family making a living with their 3 house boats. The patriarch of the family was played by the very talented Parikshit Sahani and Radha Seth as his wife. The serial shot in Srinagar also starred Pankaj Berry, Neena Gupta and Kunal Khemu.

Looking back there are so many wonderful memories of DD; Many serials that became a part of our lives, conversations, heated debates and now our memories. Serials that gave us the badshah of Bollywood; Shah Rukh Khan (fauji, doosra Kewal). The quiz shows that everyone watched with rapt attention, the half an hour of cartoons on Sunday; that any day beat the 24 hr cartoon channels. Not to forget the Sunday movie, the chitrahaar…who needed MTV and channel V?! This was the time when DD ruled and the TV had not turned into the idiot box. The television actors of the time were not one-soap wonders, but were a talented group of actors who made their presence felt by strong characters. Today we may never see an actor again, nor remember their real names, but we will always remember Sudhir Pandey, Neena Gupta, Pavan Malhotra, Shafi Inamdar amongst many many other talented actors. DD might have lost its sheen in the glossy world of HD TV and 24 hr channel, but in my mind DD is a special memory which always puts a smile on my face. I might have missed so many serials which u might remember, do share ur special memories!

So sweet...

There is nothing more welcoming than coming back home to the aroma of baking!



Isn't it amazing how a simple flour, eggs & sugar batter can turn into something so divine...



A perfect picture...!



More from the kitchen later...!!

Happy Sunday

Bored of the usual Sunday routine of window shopping followed by movie at Phoenix Mills (altho' I love the place and have many happy memories of it, what say Meghs?!, off-late I've become bored of it!)today, Shashank & I, thought of doing the touristy thing of visiting Gateway of India. We had initially planned to go there early morning following by breakfast at one of the quaint little cafes of Colaba. Now, people who know me well...know very well that I am not a morning person! Never-the-less, the only change was that the planned breakfast became lunch!



The Gateway thronging with tourists!



I half wished I had made the effort to get up early to avoid the crowd and the sun!



The beautiful lattice work. It's a pity, the condition they are in.



The Taj, beautifully restored to its former glory



Time for lunch, and we walk to this quaint little place called Woodside Inn, opposite Regal. It's a must visit for anyone coming to Mumbai. It a smallish place with a nice bar. I loved all the framed photograps of Colaba buildings. Very nice touch.



Let the good times begin!



Onion rings & mushrooms in beer batter. It does not get better than this!



Give me a crunchy fresh salad and pasta in a simple red sauce, and my world is perfect!



Blueberry cheese cake. Perfect end to a beautiful afternoon. Day well spent, indeed! I had grand ideas of walking up to Flora Fountain and VT thereafter, to click some pictures. But can u blame me for wanting to go home and catch a nap, after eating so much. But don't worry, will bring u more from my Colaba sojourns. Cheers!

Pillars of strength...

How many of us can get through life alone? Can we make it alone? Survive, let alone succeed? Distressing just thinking about it, isn't it? As humans, we need company, support, a helping hand from time to time, a kind word, a gentle nudge of persuasion, reassurance, a source of inspiration and strength. And we find these sources both within us and outside. Over a period of time, we come to recognise this strength and learn to harness it. More often than not these sources are closer than we think...

Family: a family of birth or of pro-creation, it remains a permanent fixture in our lives. Of course no one and nothing is perfect, and the same goes with families! Imperfection is a truth of life and probably that's what makes it unique. Every one's family is unique with its own imperfections, but it is something we go back to everyday. Turn to in times of distress and happiness. It is very reassuring to know, we have people who would reprimand, correct and support when needed. No one deserves to be loved unconditionally except a small kid unable to take care of him/herself, hence we must learn to value our families and cherish & nurture the relationships within it. Family gives us wings and a platform to take-off from, it deserves to be treated with love, care and oodles of respect.

The better half, the significant other, the person u go to bed with, the first person u want to see when u wake up, the person u want to grow old with...ur partner. This person grows the closest to u; safe to say even more than ur parents, sibling & closest friend. The person u set up home with, u want to come home to. But alas, how many times do we take them for granted, in our pursuit of individual goals. Our spouses make us better people, we grow-up with them, should we not celebrate our love for them everyday? Take care of this reservoir of strength.

Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. We might have hundreds of friends in our FB friend list, but there are only a handful of them who are allowed into the inner world of our fears and insecurities, who become the custodians of our deepest / darkest secrets, the friends who partake in our happiness, who support us and, when need be, show us the mirror! Friends are taken for granted, forgotten but we can never do without them, after all who would share our most outrageous dreams!

Education never goes waste. Unfortunately we have an education system, where all we are concerned about, is the exams. All energies are focused on clearing the examination, that we don't even pause and look at education in practical terms, how will it help me in life? Well since we are not whiners and cribbers, lets endeavour to make the most of what we've got! Education of any kind, always helps. Sometimes in obscure ways. So lets have a "holistic" approach towards education, where everything matters...not just selective studying for the exams. There is no age to learn. There is no age to start. Lets keep the grey cells in top shape.

Self belief / self confidence: if there are people in ur life who will support u and push u to do ur best, then there will be equal no. of people who will pull u down! So decide who matter and whom u will listen to. No one has the power to call u a winner or a loser, for no one knows u better than u! All of us are responsible for the choices we make, so make sure the choice u have made is ur own. Our mind is a wonderful apparatus, it can take us to euphoric happiness and the next moment plummet to deep, dark depths of depression. And in times like these self belief & confidence comes handy, they get us thru' many a difficult situations. If we are only defined by people's perception of us, we are denying ourselves the chance to discover ourselves. If we believe in our ability we can achieve whatever we set our mind to. Unless we push ourselves, we won't know our true strength. No one achieved anything sitting comfortable in the comfort zone & whining about the unfairness of life! Get out, reignite the fire, discover ur destiny! Have faith in urself.

Attitude is everything. Period! No one likes a cribber, a whiner! Look around and we notice that we intentionally or unintentionally distance ourselves from people who are always cribbing or complaining. Everyone has a share of "unfair circumstances", but that does not give one the reason to vent it all on the world! Everyone likes a person with a "can do" attitude. We win some and we lose some. But why to lose without even trying? why drop an idea without even giving it a fair shot? Remember it is attitude and not aptitude that determines the altitude in life! Have a positive attitude and negate the negativity. Banish all negativity from life. If u can smile in the face of crisis, u can face anything (well, almost, I think!!)

However much people might like to believe that they are self-made and need no one, the truth is they could not be further from the truth. We cannot be what we are or what we become, without the influences in our life. It can be the formative influences by our family and then later, by friends & teachers, followed by our own instincts and our lessons. And this cycle never stops. But then neither does life.

Always remember, if u want to draw strength, u must also learn to provide it.