Cooking Naan Breads and Pullas!

My Finnish friend Sirpa wanted us to teach her how to make Indian Naan Bread…so she organized a cooking evening at her place. She had invited another friend of hers – Pahvi and while Harsha was to teach them Naan Bread, they would teach us how to make traditional Finnish Pulla (sweet bread).

Equipped with our atta (wheat flour), rolling pin and pan, off we went to her place. While Harsha rolled out nice round chapatis, we 3 rolled interesting maps!

What I also found interesting was …Sirpa wanted to know how much water and how much flour to use to knead the flour? How much salt and how much oil was added to the flour? And like all Indian women…we didn't have any answer! Its like ‘Andazay sey’. I still think she is not convinced and thinks we are hiding it from her. I understand that she can’t figure how we just do approximations…coz i have the same problem when I am taking a recipe from someone. I want to know the amount of each ingredient including the salt and no one is ever able to tell me that!!

Sirapa made Saag Paneer – she used mozarella cheese - to go with the Chapatis. And it was good!!! I guess if someone had not seen her make it, they would have thought we only made it because she used most of the Indian Spices so that it tasted like proper Indian saag paneer, only not that spicy. And then we all – her family and us – ate the chapatis and saag paneer…finnish style - the saag is buttered on the chapati and then rolled up and eaten!!!

Now it was their turn. In contrast to us, proper measurements (its a different thing that Pahvi was chatting and forgot the count in the middle when measuring the flour) of each ingredient was used.

We made traditional Cinnamon Rolls and Berry Pulla, both of which came out very, very nice.

At times I felt like a small girl…its my turn now to roll the chapati, to cook it, to cut the roll, to fill the berries!!! It was a lot of fun!

At the end of it all, Sirpa wrote out the recipe for us coz she expects us to make it for our friends and family in India.

And that is the challenge – with my cooking skills how to make these in India!

Wandering around in Oulu.

I just can’t sit at home the whole weekend. So on my first weekend I just decided to take a walk and explore Oulu.

Packed myself literally – with muffler, gloves, woolen socks, cap, 2 sweaters, thermal and a jacket zipped right up my throat, noted down my address on a piece of paper, decided not to take the usual route that I take to the bus stop but start walking in a different direction, not necessarily sticking to the main road but taking the pathways for walkers and cyclists in the residential areas. Leaving my footprints in the snow I was so engrossed in enjoying the beauty of the snow filled landscape and trees that I soon forgot that the temperature was -6C!!!

I was walking in the general direction of the market square but after some time I kinda lost track of my direction so I decided to ask the passersby’s for some help. I could barely pronounce my street name - Rautatienkatu –then, so I decided to ask for the market square. Not that people could understand that! Then I had a bright idea. I’ll ask for Stockman, which is a big store in the market square. Voila…that worked. Everyone KNOWS Stockman!

That’s how I finally reached the market square. There is a bronze statue of the market policeman which is quite famous. In fact it’s the identifying mark of Oulu...much like the Eiffel tower, Big Ben, Status of Liberty, Taj Mahal. In Finnish it’s called Toripolliisi and this was going to be my first stop. When I reached there, 3 people where clicking some snaps. I realized that they spoke English so after their photo sessions and mine, I asked them for directions to the Cathedral. It seemed that they were going there too and asked me to just follow them. So yapper that I am I started talking to them and soon we were friends. I spent the rest of my day in their company and had an awesome time.

Basically one of them- Henrique is a medicine student from Germany who is doing one of his semesters here in Oulu as his mom is Finnish. He had 2 of his school friends – Elizabeth and Harden visiting him from Germany. So from there we walked to the Church on the way stopping by to enjoy a piece of MODERN ART where we all made guesses at what it could possibly represent, the final consensus being a human body cell!

Next stop was Ajan Kulku or the passage of time, which is a granite and bronze sculpture representing the passing of time. It depicts 32 people/characters that have lived in different centuries and contributed to the rise of the city. Leading the procession is King Charles IX, Sweden who was the founder of the city, followed by Serfs, Fur Hunters, Tar Barrel Rollers, Burghers, Sea Captains, Joiners and Traders. At the other end is a seated child who looks towards the future. I just loved the whole concept of this sculpture.

The Cathedral...well was different. It was simple, functional and not at all like the many churches that I have visited in other parts of Europe. Henrique explained to me that all Lutheran churches are like that. No sculptures staring down at all you from all corners, no gold and bold colours, instead just a few simple paintings. The columns looked like marble but on closer inspection we realized that they were all made of wood, with just a marble finish. The altar has THE most beautiful painting portraying the glorification of Jesus. There was a service going on so I decided to respect that and not click any snaps and go in front, but just sit at the back and watch. Soon a priestess came in followed by several children in white. Suddenly she started singing a hymn and even though it was in Finnish and I couldn’t understand a word, it had the most amazing calming effect. Again I was explained that it was a Confirmation ceremony for the children in white.

Played around in the snow for some time after which Henrique suggested we visit this café which has a very nice ambience and plays Beatles. As I was walking up the steps, strains of Brown Girl in the rain came to my ears. I just got sooooooooooooooo nostalgic…for the first time in Oulu I felt like I was home. The café itself was amazing….very traditionally Finnish wooden structure. I can’t explain in words what the deco was like but it included a big wooden boat hanging across the roof, wooden wheel of a ship, huge spoons and beer mugs all made of birch wood. The wooden tables and chairs seemed straight out of one of the classics. The blueberry pie, hot chocolate and the music…just made my day.

In gist, it was a day of New Friends, Lutheran Church and a café playing Beatles and Boney M.

Horse Riding Camp – Summer 2009

During an outing with Ruchi and Poorvi I mentioned that I wanted to learn horse riding...and what a coincidence – both were interested too. So Ruchi was given the task to find out some where we could get enrolled.

She did some amazing R & D and found out that Bangalore Amateur Riders Institute (BARI) which is under the guidance of Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) was organizing a ten day Horse Riding workshop for beginners to promote amateur riding in April-May 2009.
Each day there would be one hour of riding and on 2 days they would add half an hour of stable management where participants would learn how to handle horses and groom them and eventually develop a bond with the horses. A visit to the equine hospital in BTC was also included...sounded quite interesting, so we decided to join the camp.

First 2 days I had a horse called Soldier. There is a person (Srinivasa in case of Soldier) called a 'Side' who leads the horse and so all went well. Managed to get on and off Soldier, do a basic walk and some trotting AND importantly with no casualty. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Day 3 the sides were asked to let go off the horse but stay close by. I was a bit nervous but luckily again the day was uneventful.

The following day my horse was changed to Al Habib...a young fellow. I just couldn’t get my rhythm with him and unfortunately I developed a severe back ache :-(
Somehow rested for a day and went back on Day 6 after the pain got better but the pain started again and so with a lot of difficulty I decided to stop the classes :-((((

It was really a difficult decision since we all were enjoyiong ourselves so much - some of my friends at the camp even created a blog (Horse Riding Notes) specifically for learnings from the camp and other useful information using mind maps, videos and the works...

And because I was feeling really bad I didn’t even go for the show that was organized for the last day where all my friends participated...

However, what raised my spirits was that Anita organized VIP Race Passes for the 1st day of the Races at Turf Club for us. An SMS from her read – “Tomorrow’s dress code for the races – Men: Jacket and Tie. Women: smart- no jeans, though trousers are allowed”. Hats and summer dresses came out of the cupboard as we got ready for the races.

Loved the VIP treatment ...for people in the VIP lounge they arrange lunch and high tea too!

Great races and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as we got initiated to the world of horse race betting.

Human emotions are amazing – though we enjoyed the 1st race where we didn’t bet, the excitement levels were distinctly lower than in the following races where some of us decided to bet. At the beginning of the race we were seated but slowly rose from our seats and as the horses came closer to the fishing line we could be heard exhorting our favorite to run faster.

It was a different experience altogether...and one which made me understand how people get addicted to gambling. It takes a lot of will power not to bet in that kind of an environment.

Even though I found myself poorer by Rs 100 at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. But yes...I don’t want to be a regular at the races:-)

Calvin and Me!

Hobbes: "Shouldn't we read the instructions?"
Calvin: "Do I look like a sissy?"

As I read this Calvin snippet I couldn't help but smiling as I remembered some recent incidents.

Very sweetly I had asked a friend to help me set up my cuckoo clock...even as he read the instructions I had already ripped open the box and was several steps ahead of him.

As he said...now do this...I was like...ohhhhh already done that, what next? But before he could finish reading the next step, I had already experimented and completed some other steps...not necessarily all executed in the correct order.

A few days later we were setting up the Wii. Remembering the look I got when the cuckoo clock hadn't worked I decided to sit patiently and wait for his instructions...

Honestly I tried, but several steps later I realized...there I was on my own trip, not waiting for his instructions but optimistically just trying to plug all the wires and accessories and hoping it'll work!

Independence Day Celebrations @ London Office

The dress code was Ethnic. However, only 5 of us went in ethnic clothes. Of these 2 were British women – bless them!!! Dawn wasn’t in Indian clothes but she was very sporting and innovative – she wore the colours of the Indian Flag. What hurt me was the lack of enthusiasm among my Indian colleagues. These days I think they only want free food and free beer!

Funny Games & Silly Stuff we did as kids!!!

Sometimes, I think back and reminisce about my childhood. We are having a team building outing (Robin Hood Events) next month and that kinda got me thinking of all the stupid games we played and things we did as kids…

1. D.O.N.K.E.Y: A couple of us with a ball can be quite noisy…We would aim the ball at each other and every time someone would get hit she would get labelled with a ‘D’. This would be followed by all of us screaming the letter at the top of our lungs…Next time she got hit she get the next letter. First one to get DONKEY was the donkey for the day!!!
2. Elastic: Wonder if they still play this one in Welhams!!! Min no of girls required was 3 and max 5. All that was needed was some 5-6 feet of elastic knotted at the ends so that 4(or 2) girls could put it around their ankles to form a square. Then the 5th girl would need to jump on the four sides of the square, and then hop on the 4 sides of the square, keeping the elastic on that side under her feet/foot. If successful, she moves to the next level, which means the 4 girls roll the elastic to their knees. The last level is elastic goes all the way up to the hips. Hopping at the hip level was quite difficult.
3.Slam Books: not really a game…but this was a hot favourite. We had a list of questions that we would ask our friends … a sample
YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE...
SHAGORICA: To be a wek known interior decorator
HINNAH: Journalism
Ritu Singh: ?????
SAnskriti: To be an IAS or doctor
Amrita: Havent made any plans so far
Nik: To become a really good gymnast or athelete (hopefully)
P.Singh: Leave Welham first and foremost and then...
Meghna: A well known dress designer
Bindiya: A very well known surgeon
Ritu Lal: HAvent decided yet
Ashima Singhal: Computers
Shubhani: To take over my father's business and if failed then dress designing
Shweta: Havent decided yet, but maybe take over Papa's business
Aparajita: I plan to take up dress designing
Ramneet: Interpreter!
Jessica: To become a criminal lawyer
Aarti: Could you give me advise?
Sheenu: To keep flying all my life
Tara: Havent decided
Namrata: Eye Specialist
Vasudha: Psychiatrist

AN ABILITY YOU ARE PROUD OF...
Shagorica: My emotions
HinnaH: My 'fat' legs the way they carry me
Ritu Singh: Too many to jot down
Sanskriti: Have not found one in myself which I can really be proud of
Amrita: Making people believe me (ha ha ha)
Nik: Being a good athelete and gymnast
P. Singh: To go on and on and on
Meghna: My hair and my chinky eyes
Bindiya: Nothing
Ritu Lal: Dont really know
Ashima Singhal: My slow running
Shubhani: Long strides (not that long though)
Shweta: To make people believe in me
Aparajita: I can draw. And I can design clothes quite well (at least I think so)
Ramneet: Dont like boasting! ahem! I say!
Jessica: To carry on with life even though I may recieve a blow!
Aarti: None I suppose. Obviously I wont boast!
Sheenu: I'm no boaster
Tara: How am I supposed to know that?
Namrata: I dont know
Vasu: I dont blow my own trumpet
4. Mid Night Feasts: HT was the queen for this one. Before we left for the holidays we were given a list of stuff to get and then because the school rule was that the tuck had to be finished the day we returned for home that night we ate till we were sick!!! We would lie in bed giggling away as the food would get passed on from one to the next.
One time someone was going out during the term on a weekday for a wedding. She packed food for us and got it… that included ice cream. We had just about got to the melting ice cream when the ayah caught us. Someone tried to bribe her with chicken…stupid girls we didn’t know that she was vegetarian…and she reported us to the matron who confiscated the food and had her own MNF!
5.Bagsed: (I’m not sure I have spelt that one correctly…)
Basically for any school events, functions etc we would leave our hankies on the seat which meant that we had Bagsed that seat for our self or our friend. And the best was when we would drape our chunnies across the benches!!!

Facebook - My latest obsession…

I guess all networking sites are cool but I never really spent any time on them… Someone would send an invite, I would accept and that was the end of it…never used these sites actively to search for old friends or make new friends…
The first time I appreciated these was when one of my friends from BSF School, Jammu found a friend of ours on Batch Mates whom we had not been in touch with for 17 years.
Then a couple of weeks later I got a mail from a friend from Welhams…thatz like a friend from 19 years back…who found me on Facebook… since then I have got hooked to this site…we have our own group …the Welhams Batch of 91…and in one shot I have caught up with 35 odd friends from school…
Many posted recent snaps and as I looked at those snaps …I was like ….how some of us have changed over the years…To put things in perspective I loaded some snaps from our school days…I had them handy thanks to my blogging… In August 2007 I did one post on Hockey in Welhams (this pic is now the profile pic of our group) and then in September I did one on our social service activities.
I never thought I would meet anyone of these friends again…but recently B was in London and we caught up…next month S and A are going to be around…its wonderful meet up with such old friends…

Love & Friendship

True love - or true friendship? When the two are one and the same, we are blessed, indeed...

P & H - u two are blessed indeed....
and so is someone else I know!!!

Calvin time again!!!

Just like my sentiments these days!!!

Seven Windows of My Soul

This post is inspired by Seven Windows of My Soul by Marymurtz
Well...mine are not necessarily happy moments. They were turning points from my life, which have made me what I am today.

1) A day in the year 1979 - My brother went to a boarding school and I was studying in the local school in Jammu...someone teased me that Dad had sent the SON to the expensive school and me - a girl to a cheap one. I insisted that I be sent to a boarding school...I was all of 6 years then.
My parents agreed and off I went to Welham Girls High School, one of the most reputed schools in India.
Welhams made me the woman I am today...independent, confident, not afraid to speak my mind, and always ready to stand up for what is right and what I believe in.

2) A day in the year 1989 - I decided that I had had enuff of boarding school and wanted to go and stay with my parents in Jammu and study there. A funny decisions at an age when everyone wanted to move away from their homes...wanted to be on their own.
So I joined BSF School in Jammu...where I met some wonderful people, my best friends...who inspired this earlier post of mine - The Gift Of Friends.
I had remained in touch with one of them all these years...he's been a good friend through all my difficult times...my angel.... who incidentally looks like Brad Pitt (:-)))
With one I have been in touch on and off...but no contact for last 5 years...till one day in March she found me on Orkut. And hats off to her for also finding the absconding one from our group on Batchmates...whom we hadn't heard from for the last 17 years.
Thanks Param...for the efforts to get us all in touch again...and hope we keep it like this till we are doddering old fools!!!
I agree with her when she quotes Richard Bach "Can miles truly separate you from friends... If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there? "

3) A day in the year 1991 - I had been very restless since morning...around 4:00 PM Mom came home...looking totally zonked. She'd been in an accident. Her car had been hit by a truck and had gone turtle. Her words...witnesses to the accident hadn't expected her to survive...but she came out with out a scratch.
A little later I realised my dog Sausage was not around. He was known to be an Awaara (vagabond), so everyone just said he'll come back on his own, but I had this sinking feeling and by 7:00 I was hysterical. We went out searching for him and found him crushed to death close by...a small shop owner said a truck struck him around 4:00.
A coincidence???

4) 1994...Diagnosed with a medical problem, visits to the hospital became a routine. A child simply terrified of pricks and medicines was poked around the whole day, given some 18 pills to digest in a single day. What a fuss I made...I would howl and cry...till one day I saw my parents crying. That was it...I decided...no more crying :-)
Overnight I became this brave girl who was smiling and joking around the whole day...a girl with complete faith in God and the doctors who would help her pull through this difficult time...a girl loved and admired by all around her... the doctors, nurses, other patients, family and friends...
No matter what happens...I am now able to smile from behind the tears...I am always able to see the silver lining in the cloud. It wasn't nice being ill…but it made me a strong girl...and man...am I proud of myself...

5) 1995...I had been ill for nearly 6-7 months then...in and out of the hospital...another complication of my problem had caused my blood cell count to fall drastically...it was way, way below the danger mark...the treatment was not working...
I could hear the doctor tell my parents that this was it...they didn't expect me to survive the night and I could be taken home to ease the pain...
My whole life flashed before me...I thought of all the things I should have done, wanted to do...and all the things I should not have done...I decided...I AM NOT GOING TO DIE...
They say it was my will power only...well...I really don’t know...I just know that I made a pact with God...If he gave me a chance I would live a life with no regrets...
I do what I want to do, what I think is right, give my 100% to everything I do cause I don't know if I will get another chance or not!

6) 1996...I had had a successful life saving operation, health was picking up. Life was good as I was continuing my studies and doing well. One day I saw my mom was very sad. Someone had made a comment...that with my illness I was a liability to my parents... and she was so unlucky.
I don't know what made me say to her...You'll be proud of me Mom...and I will work so hard and earn loads of money...more than that ladies children earn...
Even though my interests lay elsewhere and I never wanted to have anything to do with computers, IT WAS the high paying industry and so I decided to do this computer diploma and pursue an IT career...no regrets now...considering I have a friend who says I am grossly overpaid!!!

7) 25th March 2008...the details of this day to follow...

You are welcome to join in this writing prompt. Simply add the links below to the bottom of your post and let Jessica know to add yours to the list!

jen with seven windows of my soul
Jessica with Eleven Windows
Tracy from Tiny Mantras
Defiant Muse from Musings...
LSM with Windows
Mrs. Prufrock
Sugarplum's Mom
jakelliesmom
Arwen
Faking It
Sophisticat
Magpie with windows
Katy with windows
Mary with seven windows of my soul
BA with come to my windows
Slouchy with there are places I remember
Ivy Brown's Stoop

The Gift Of Friends

Met a school friend after 17 years...but we just picked up the threads from where we left...it didn't seem that so many years had passed...changes and yet no change at all...

This poem by Karin Schaefer is dedicated to my friends...Param, Rahul and Rohit...

There are days when
bubbling from us comes
the innocent child within,
who giggles at the little things
and wears a silly grin.

There are days when
melancholy comes to
visit for a while;
the mind feels tired, the body weak;
we have no strength to smile.

There are days when
joy abundant
grabs a hold of you and me;
wraps us up in all it's splendor,
lifts us up and sets us free.

There are days when
sorrow wraps us
in its cloak of grief and fear,
'till our hearts ache to the breaking,
'till our eyes can't shed a tear.

There are days when
love bestows us
with its wonderment and light;
with its beauty and its mystery,
its power and its might.

And there are days when
life rewards us
and seems to make amends
by granting us a marvelous gift,
the precious gift of Friends.

ARE friends delight or pain?

~Emily Dickinson

ARE friends delight or pain?
Could bounty but remain
Riches were good.

But if they only stay
Bolder to fly away,
Riches are sad.

Best Friends....

"Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend,
as you will always find me yours."

I still remember my first day in MH hostel...Room no C9...Room mate ...Namrita Sharma...In 2-3 days only I realised (I think both of us realised) that we were poles apart...

I was Miss Organized...too spic and span...got up early...never missing even the 1st lecture of the day ...she was just the opposite...The hostlers went for classes in Tees & Salwars with rubber chappals...In contrast I was overdressed...jeans, tees and shoes n socks...

Sometimes she would be sitting in the room with some friends and I would enter...silence...I would always get this feeling that they were laughing at me...

She once was about to enter the room and heard me cribbing about her to one of my friends...she was hurt...but never showed it...

She would make it a point to get up early to go with me for breakfast...wait for me to attend my last lecture so that we could have lunch together...

Now when I think back...I can’t remember when and how the differences just melted away...when we became inseparable friends…it’s going to be 13 years now…and she remains my best friend till date…