The Archivist. (a tribute)

My father was a man of few words, but also a man who knew many words. He could read, write and speak Urdu, his English was impeccable, his Hindi fluent and he taught Chinese. His diction was flawless; all those tricky 'k', 'kh' 'z' and 'gh' sounds which are typical to Urdu, he uttered with … Continue reading The Archivist. (a tribute)

Eat to live, but live a little!

Ok, so- how does this sound? Lightly toasted and buttered muffins, with a thick slice of spicy harissa grilled chicken in between, accompanied by the token lettuce leaves and dollops of sour cream and mustard to go with it. On the side, there's a plate of golden potato wedges, fried to perfection and sprinkled with … Continue reading Eat to live, but live a little!

Rain, rain, come again; come again and stay all day. Little Janu wants to play in the rain.

In 1986, following my father's retirement, my parents and I moved out of our comfortable 'sarkari' bungalow into a housing colony being constructed on the stony, dusty and barren slopes of a hill on the outskirts of town. Being an upcoming neighbourhood, the infrastructure was poor at best. The water supply was erratic, we were … Continue reading Rain, rain, come again; come again and stay all day. Little Janu wants to play in the rain.

Making ‘khichdi’ out of a ‘khichdi’

'Sabudana khichdi' is a popular fast-food where I live. And by fast-food, I don't mean whatever comes under the category of junk food, I mean food that can be had when one is fasting. Luckily, it's not restricted to only those fasting times, it can be relished at any time, any day. Which is why … Continue reading Making ‘khichdi’ out of a ‘khichdi’

Food and some -isms.

Watching food videos is a highly-satisfying, guilt-free way of indulging in some scrumptious treats without having to spend a penny or put on an inch around the waistline. Unless one considers the ounces gained from being glued to the screen for hours. As a foodie, I take this particular activity very seriously. The other day … Continue reading Food and some -isms.

Here we go again…Mahabaleshwar revisited.

"SEX!" the letters in big, bold green yelled at me from the back of a tempo. We were driving in the 'ghats', on our way to Mahabaleshwar; a little town high up in the Sahyadris. These letters caught my attention (as they were meant to) and as we neared the tempo, we saw; perched on … Continue reading Here we go again…Mahabaleshwar revisited.