Weeds!

Every nation gets the government it deserves!

"Every nation gets the government it deserves," said Joseph de Maistre.

And it makes me introspect to see the current crop at the helm of affairs.

Rahul Gandhi, the prince in waiting, makes gaffe after hilarious gaffe in his public speeches. At least he can brush up his public speaking skills for his own sake and for the sanctity of the position he holds currently and the one he aspires to in future.

At a recent meeting in Gujarat, he kept exhorting confidently, "Iss Jawaab ka Sawaal dena hi padega." (BJP will have to give the question to this answer).

But we know Rahul Gandhi's limitations. Perhaps that is why the country has lower expectations of him.

On the other hand, we had the Prime Minister using that "slip of tongue" (and it was a mere slip of the tongue and nothing more, that the best of orators can make) to badmouth and undermine both Rahul and the Congress Party.

Does this kind of stance behoove a leader of a Country? Is this not petty and childish and completely un-Statesman like to milk a slip for a public discourse which could instead be used for wiser thought and image propagation and for furthering a country-benefitting agenda?

That too with such histrionics.

We don't deserve to see such frivolity and smallness in our leaders. 

Sigh!!!

Cartoons courtesy - Google Images

Dropping in for Chai, anyone?

The Tea Tales at Ibaadat are the most exquisite kind!

It is served in the Patio Garden, out of a Santorinian blue Kettle and in divine looking cups that nurture the greens in their wombs.

There was never a more picturesque setting! 

Put the kettle on
Put the kettle on
It is the British answer
to Armageddon.

Never mind taxes rise
Never mind trains are late
One thing you can be sure of
and that’s the kettle, mate.

It’s not whether you lose
It’s not whether you win
It’s whether or not
you’ve plugged the kettle in.

May the kettle ever hiss
May the kettle ever steam
It is the engine
that drives our nation’s dream.

Long live the kettle
that rules over us
May it be limescale free
and may it never rust.

Sing it on the beaches
Sing it from the housetops
The sun may set on empire
but the kettle never stops.” 

― Alternative Anthem by John Agard

Always ask the right question!

L'Affaire with Tomatoes, the sun-kissed ones!

Ever since I was a toddler and Ma would feed me half a chapati with raw tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper, my love affair with the red, plum fruit started.

You can serve me tomatoes in any form - sliced raw and paired with mozzarella in Caprese Salad, stuffed tomatoes with a filling of cheese or potatoes or Paneer or just a heavenly plate of grilled tomatoes, I find them all decadent and divine.

And now, I have developed a strong fondness for the Sun-dried ones. Though we have local produce available too and we have tried making them at home but the bottled, lush beauties imported from Italy are the best.

First God planted tomatoes in our heart's garden. Then he started our love affair with sun-dried tomatoes.

Addicted to Sun-kissed tomatoes!

Picture courtesy - Google Images

Tears in Heaven!

A Seasoned Professional!

Alone but not lonely!

Feel happy for others!

Don't leave the heart alone!

Temperament controls outcomes!

We are easily the most impatient, arrogant, abrasive generation of all times that also misunderstands things with such abysmal ease.

We get our hackles raised by almost anything and we get our knickers in a twist about nothing.

But then, on a day filled with some virtual heat and dust, there come along some people who leave lasting lessons with their niceness and good behaviour and positivism.

Here's a personal example from an exchange some days back -

I had shared pictures of my figurine pottery in a Gardening Group.

One of the co-members - Sonia - loved the pots and wrote instinctively - "Beautiful! Do you sell them?"

I got offended and shot back - "Thank you for appreciating my garden. But do you sell beautiful things from your home?"

Here follows rest of the exchange, which could have gone in an entirely different, unpalatable direction. 

But it didn't because Sonia made that big difference to it -

Sonia - I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry for that. It’s just that I saw too many beauties at a glance.

L Aruna - Oh! No worries then. And thank you for appreciating. I love them too. God bless

Sonia Puri Dhillon - Thanks! A very happy Diwali to you and your dear ones

L Aruna - And to you and yours too, Love. Thank you for being so lovely and positive about the whole thing.

Sonia Puri Dhillon - It was my fault. 💕💕

L Aruna - A fault that you beautifully rectified and left a lasting lesson for me too.

Sonia Puri Dhillon - Something very nice has come out of it. We are friends now. 😘

L Aruna - :-) :-)

Many a time, it takes little thoughts, shorn of all ego and anger, to turn things in our favour.

Think about it. 

Picture courtesy - Google Images

Diwali Greetings!

May we be the light of someone else's lamp,

May we be the reason that brings cheer to the lives of those around us,

May we learn to stand by causes and people
and the silent nature and differently speaking animals too,

May we rejoice in the simple things that life gives us, 

May we make big, meaningful differences to all that resonates with us,

May we be calm on the outside but turbulent inside for things that truly matter,

May we respect the finiteness of time and stop squandering it away in silly little ways,

May we remain innocent and simple and joyful like children,
yet earn wisdom of a sage,

May we truly do unto others what we wish them to do to us,

May we, in all that we do and in how we think and lead our lives

bring all the niceness and positivity we can, even when we have reasons not to be.

Here's wishing you all and your families and your pet children a very Happy Diwali!

Love! Light! Life!

When the words write themselves!

Good Sins Hunting!

Your Winter as spirited as your Spring!

INSOMNIA!!!!

Hubris!

Serendipity!

Since I am off bread and cheese these days, I had to put more thought and effort into planning my hors-d'oeuvres for a recent get together at home.

Both Bread and Cheese form an integral part of several of my creations or even those I like to copy from recipe books.

So, one had to look elsewhere for inspiration, which was not too far away. If you keep your creativity levels high, then you can do wonders even with the most banal, the most commonplace. The humble cucumber and the omnipresent tomato came to my rescue.

So here's presenting Ibaadat syle crudites, Sushi, and snacks on picks.

In case of the first, since I don't like being a copycat or following a practice replicated the nth number of times, I broke away from the style of presenting Crudites as strips of vegetables. Instead, I cut moderate-sized roundels of cucumber and tomatoes and topped them with a delish Hung Curd Dip.

For the snacks on picks, I strung golden toasted, home-made Paneer tikkas along with Green Olives. I use tikkas because, being partially dairy intolerant, I cannot consume raw cottage cheese. So we began using grilled Paneer instead!

What do I say! It was almost like a divine intervention. The taste of sultry olives with the lush Paneer tikkas marinated in Mint-coriander chutney and roasted in Olive oil is a marriage made in heaven. The combination tastes like manna on one's palate and leaves a rather nice, lingering after-taste.

But the crowning glory this time was the Ibaadat style Sushi wraps. Ours is a vegetarian household so one had to substitute fish with what we can happily eat.

And I love inventing things - even if they are something that bring everyday pleasure and may not be of national or international significance.

Our take on Sushi is Cucumber strips, evenly laid over with Mint-Coriander chutney and then rolled over a cube of home-made Paneer tikka. Secure the wraps with a toothpick and they are good to go.

My platters just have to look pretty and aesthetically rich. I hate lumping things onto a plate. I have to dress them up and present them in all their regalia. The proof is in the pictures.

The bonus - all these hors-d'oeuvres are vegetarian, all healthy, mostly gluten-free as a foodie friend pointed out and all are delectably delightful!