Five New Projects

Yes. I must be mad. Or an over enthusiastic fool. I have started five different writing projects in the past two years and am nowhere close to completing even one of them.

I created a new folder on my computer and dumped all the incomplete stuff there and was shocked to see that there are five projects which I need to focus on. Some of that focus has gone apparently, or I would have written some more.

I suppose the best thing about all these five is that they’re all different in theme. One is a book of short stories for children (school stories), another is a romantic story, yet another is a cookbook, and the other two are something which I don’t want to talk about yet.

But putting them altogether has given me a new perspective. Its a little too late to make a new year resolution but I sincerely hope I finish writing all these within the next two years at least!

Wish me luck!

Mango Lassi…so thick you have to eat it with a spoon!

So I guess the title says it all.

I had a few mangoes with me which I had got from Reliance Fresh.

I had a tub of Amul Masti Dahi which I had also got from Reliance without any clear idea of what I was going to do with it.

And this morning when I cut the mangoes, they were neither sweet nor sour. A disappointing bland. That’s when it all clicked in my head.

I had the basic idea but I wasn’t sure if there was any particular recipe for it so I googled for mango lassi, found something similar to what I had in mind. And I went ahead with it.

Here’s the recipe:

3 mangoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
1 big tub dahi (Amul or Nestle)
Sugar – to taste
Milk – I cup
Ice cubes

Puree the mango pieces and then mix everything else and whip in a blender until thick and foamy.

I tried pouring it out into glasses but it wouldn’t budge! So I added a little more milk and whipped a little more. Now the lassi was very thick. The best way to have it was to eat it with a spoon!

I realised that if I modified a few things, I had a good recipe for mango sorbet on hand. Just increase the number of ice cubes and reduce the milk. Spoon into a piping bag and fix the star nozzle. Pipe out into smaller bowls and sprinkle finely chopped pistachio over it.

Yes! Next time, I have the craving for ice cream I’m going to do this. Not only is it healthier, you can make it in a snap! And if you feel sugar is too fattening, then use honey. Ditto for dahi. There are slim variants available in the market too.

Let me know how it goes if any of you out there decide to make this!

Galli Galli Mountain

Azhaan loves mountains. He goes into raptures when he sees them on the highway and we all have to relegate ourselves to listen to his shout of ‘mon-tain’, ‘mon-tain’.

Last week when we went to Vellore by car, Azhaan sat with Ammi and each time a mountain popped up, he would get all excited. We reached Vellore and tried to relegate ourselves to the blast of heat and the moment we entered chacha’s house in Anjuman Galli, we switched on the AC and sat there as if in a stupor.

A little while later MIL, me and mom thought of visiting the house of an aunt who passed away just two days before. We came out of the house, the galli and stood on the road trying to hail an auto when Azhaan looked at the mountain in the distance and started shouting joyfully, ‘mon-tain’!

And then he said, ‘galli galli mon-tain’..meaning there’s a mountain in even the gallis here! We all laughed when he said that. I suppose we’re so used to seeing the mountains every time we visit Vellore that they never really strike us as being anything unusual. I remember when I was small, I would look at them and wish why they couldn’t be snow covered. Imagine snow in Vellore? Absurd!

Then in the evening around five or so, we went up to the terrace so Azhaan could look at more mountains. He was quite thrilled, but I was disappointed with the construction that a few of my relatives had undertaken, dividing the terrace in two.

This terrace was what I always imagined when I wrote the terrace scenes for Kite Strings. Its sad how so many things change in our lives and what sometimes really gets me is that there’s no going back.

I took pics but for some reason they’re not getting uploaded here. As usual, I’m also running short on time so I can’t fix it. Maybe sometime soon!

Skating Again

I don’t know why I never got around to doing this last year when we shifted from BTM to Koramangala. Although I had the address and everything with me, I guess I just didn’t bother to continue Saboor’s skating classes here in Koramangala. I suppose it had something to do with how accessible things are here compared to BTM. There I was used to walking everywhere and here I had to take an auto if I had to go somewhere.

That was why I just didn’t bother to go to NGV (National Games Village) because there was some sort of mental block in my head that it was not very accessible to me.

I finally took the initiative last week when I realised that if I continued my lazy streak, Saboor would be getting obese beyond belief. Yes, obese. The same Saboor who was stick thin a few years ago has put on quite some weight and its making me uncomfortable to see him now. And it wasn’t the case last year.

Anyway, I hope its not too late to get his weight under control now and that was another reason which spurred me to take him to the skating classes.

He started yesterday and he was SO thrilled because right away after the first trial lap, the instructor put him in the skilled group of kids because he already knows how to skate.

Yesterday, he was looking flushed and red and he was sweating, but he was happy. And I’m glad I managed to make this decision now at least!

It was a good outing for Azhaan too as he met another child there of his age, with whom he became quite friendly over a packet of chips and toy cars. It was another matter that when Anamika dropped by with her twins, he didn’t even LOOK at them( I finally met her yesterday after a year of being in Koramangala!) He was totally preoccupied with the other boy. Maybe next time I’ll take him to the park and he can meet Mrini and Tara there and get to know them better.

I also think that taking the kids out everyday is good for me too, because it helps me meet other people, moms and its good for clearing the cobwebs in my mind too.

Saboor – In fifth Standard now!!

Thank God! Allah ka lakh shukr, that Saboor passed his exams. I even had a bad dream the other night that all the kids in his class had passed but he had been detained. His marks are pretty ok, even a little below average but I’m going to work with him this year to improve that. The good thing is that he passed.

March was very stressful this year because we had applied in St. Josephs also for Saboor to do his fifth standard. The entrance exam was held on March 14th and there were about 400 children there from which only 120 were selected.

I was very disappointed when we got the letter that he did not make it, but then there’s not much you can do. Maybe next year inshallah.

For now, I’m just happy that he passed his fourth standard exams and has moved on to fifth. His marks in Kannada were quite poor and we’ve got quite a lot of work cut out for him. But for now, its summer vacations!