Do you need Inspiration???? Here it is!!!

Hello Readers!!!!

This is absolutely sudden post that I started typing after reading the below link..

Inspirational Stories!!!

It might be a long post with almost 54 Inspirational Stories but I am sure you will not feel bored reading those..

Get Inspired…

Bye for now..

Anjali

xoxoxo

 

I am back !!!!!!

Hello Dear Ones,

You might be wondering where this lady went off without blogging..Am I guessing right?

I have gone to India all of sudden and I was not able to blog anything.. But I enjoyed my two months trip to India a lot and I am back to Malaysia now(Not exactly now..It was last week but I was busy with my house work and office work.. 😦 )

Ooh..I forgot to tell..Belated Happy Christmas and Happy New Year..Have loads of loads of fun in 2014 (My bad ..I am saying all belated wishes)…  Lastly Happy Chinese New Year 2014.

Here in Malaysia, Chinese New Year will be celebrated for two days and it is 31/1 and 1/2 of 2014..I think you have guessed it by now..Tomorrow is a HOLIDAY… 🙂

So I end this post here and will come back very soon as I have lots of things to share.

Take Care..Bye.. 🙂 🙂

P.S:  Thank you for all the ones who visited my blog even when there is no updates and I am really sorry for all the posts that mentioned about my blog as I was not able to thank you for the same.  For sure I will visit all your blogs.

 

The Cultural Capital of India…Brightness and Darkness

Dear Readers,

Today I am here to show you the Brightness and Darkness of a third most populous metropolitan in India locating on the banks of Hooghly river…

Kolkata – Formerly known as Calcutta, capital of West Bengal State and also capital of British India…

It was found in 1690 by East India company and then ruled by Nawab of Bengal. From 1833 to 1912 Calcutta is the capital of British India.

Calcutta has a very prominent history in Incredible India. Right from freedom fighters to Arts , Social service, Science ,Philosophy, Literature , Politics and also ( Will let you know the last one down the line)… what not each and every aspect has an association with Calcutta.

It immersed all the darkness and brightness in to it and resting for many decades in the history of India. It is the home to India’s oldest and largest stock exchange and a financial hub of east India once upon a time but on the other side it is the only metropolitan city in India with hand pulled rickshaws still existing.

When Britishers left India, Some of them left their impressions in the hearts of Indian people like Sir Arthur Cotton but it was faded as time passed by. But this city with deep emotions still holds some of the memories with in it and shows the world that India will never forget the good things.

Victoria Memorial Hall – A  monument in the memory of Queen Victoria

It is the only city in South Asia with trams still existing.

Trams built by Britishers in Kolkata

The strength of Calcutta (Kolkata) comes from the Field of the Goddess – Kali who destroys the evil and protects the city. The major and important festivals in India- Durga Pooja which is most awaited festival for Bengali’s.

Goddess Durga

If I need to name the personalties from Calcutta, I am sure that I have to write this blog for days and days to mention all of them but I am taking this opportunity to show the most and prominent ones among them . Here they are

C.V Raman – Nobel Prize winner for Physics and Known for Raman Effect

Rabindranath Tagore – Nobel prize winner for literature and composer of India National Anthem.

Swami Vivekananda – Indian Monk who introduced vedanta and yoga to western world and founder of Ramakrishna Math

Mother Teressa – Blessed Teressa of Calcutta – Nobel Peace prize Award winner and the founder of Missionaries of Charity.

Rajendra Prasad – First President of Republic India

Amartya Sen – Indian economist and Nobel prize – Economics Winner. Currenlty working in Harvard University

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay – Indian Bengali writer and composer of Indian National Song – Vandemataram

Raja Ram Mohan Roy – Known as Father of Modern India – A social and educational Reformer

Sir Ronald Ross – Indian Born British doctor – Nobel prize winner for Medicine for his work on Malaria in Calcutta

J.C. Bose – Bengali Physict – Known for Invention of crescograph and Millimeter waves

By  this  time  you would have known the history of Calcutta with most prominent persons in Indian and World history. But isn’t it contradicting to my title Brightness and Darkness as I am showing you only one side which is the brightness. All these famous persons tried their best to develop Calcutta in all the aspects…

But as  we all know everything in the world has ups and downs similar to a coin with head and tail , Day and Night, Black and white, Good and Bad..Even Calcutta is not an exception for the same..

With many historical figures from Calcutta , this city stood up ahead in the history of India but not able to vanish out the darkness of it..It’s nothing but Prostitution..Yes readers, you read it right..( No Photos for showing the same because I don’t want to..)

Prostitution happens in many forms. But it is mostly in the form of brothels in Calcutta and Sonagachi district which is the largest red light district in Calcutta.

Note : I am just trying to show the Brightness and Darkness of Calcutta and some little efforts which brightened the dark future of some children who are “BORN INTO BROTHELS”.

“Born in to Brothels “

Born in to Brothels is a documentary film about the children of Calcutta’s red light district written and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman

I don’t even know about this short film till I read this news in Oct,2013. Initially I was very irritated with the title “Born in Kolkata brothel, now asst director in Hollywood” thinking why the hell do they need to mention that he was born in brothel in the headlines when he achieved something good. Then I started reading the news and came to know that he was shown in some documentary film related to brothels and to my anxiety I watched the whole film to see what the film is about. I was totally fascinated about the pictures that were taken by the children and the future they are imagining.

Initially I started this post to tell at least some people about this film who are not aware about this like me but somehow my heart disagreed to mention only about this short film. Because if I project about this film it is indirectly projecting the Calcutta in negative way to all the readers. That is why the reason I started with  the bright side and hope everyone will understand this.

Zana Briski , a Photographer, film maker came to India to make a  documentary about the prostitutes in red light area of Calcutta. Initially no one allowed her to take their photographs or to listen their stories. That is when “Born in Brothels” born. She thought of learning photography to the kids so that their parents trust her and also thinking that at least children will be out of brothels. I must say that she succeeded. Two of the kids from “Born in to Brothels” studying photography in New York with the funds raised from selling the photographs they took in Calcutta. To raise more funds for the children from brothels, Kids With Cameras organization has been started where they sell the photographs taken by children.

As I already said, This short film has got many academy awards and criticises too. But still it helped a lot for the kids to make up their future.

Hats Off!!! A little help saved their lives…

You can watch the film here and it has sub-titles in English.

I hope you liked reading this post.

Please let me know your comments as I love to hear from you!!! Don’t forget to follow my blog..

I just want to end this with a disclaimer – All images are from Google. As this is very sensitive topic, harsh and vulgar comments will not be approved. No offence meant to anyone.

Bye for now..

P.S:  Kids With Cameras  has everything about the kids in the short film and their whereabouts if someone is interested to know about them.

 

My problem with traditional desi marriage

Portrayed beautifully about arranged marriages and the perception of bride’s parents..

Love, InshAllah

Eds. Note: This is a response to yesterday’s guest post, How I met my son’s mother. Have a perspective to share on love and relationships? Read our guidelines, here.

Update 11/26/13: Congratulations to writer Aisha Saeed on this post being chosen by the editors of WordPress for Freshly Pressed, highlighting the best posts on WordPress. In an email to LoveinshAllah.com, WordPress said: “Aisha Saeed’s response to your guest post about arranged marriages was a really powerful and articulate call for fairness and equality. She delivers her points with a great balance of passion and reason, which makes this piece engaging even for those who aren’t intimate with the debate surrounding marriage in south Asian communities. It’s a great post that deserves a wider audience.”

 

There’s a befuddling conundrum afoot in the desi (South Asian) community. You must first understand a few things:

a) For whatever reason…

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Smile… :D

Hello everyone!!!!

Do you need a reason to smile?????? Then smile it’s a Friday.. 😀

“Don’t just THANK GOD every Friday..THANK GOD because it’s another great day!!!!”

Time to be extra awesome as it’s a Friday..Here is my latest quilled work…

Where do you think this work can fit in to? As a Pendant…Deco hanging in car..Any other ideas?

Please let me know your suggestions/feedback in comments section as I love to hear from you..

Enjoy your weekend.. 🙂

Don’t forget to follow my blog…

Will be back very soon after my weekend..Till then keep blogging

Bye for now….

DIY – Handmade Greeting card… :)

Hello Dear Ones,

Finally, we are out of Sachin’s Mania and started believing “No more Number 10 in Indian Cricket”… 😦 :)..Full of mixed emotions(Feeling sad as Sachin fan and Happy for Sachin)..

OMS(Oh My Sachin)!!! I forgot about my new post for which I am super excited…

“Handmade presents are awesome because it reveals that recipient is so special to you..”

Many people used to tell that they made some handmade greeting cards or gifts in their childhood for their friends or family..My bad 😦 I never did something like that, I always used to prefer some printed greeting cards… Now I am feeling very bad that I missed a lot about this in my life..

So, I planned to make a greeting card and to my luck, one of my friend’s birthday was very nearby. How lucky na?..:D

I started buying supplies one by one as I don’t have any of them except scissors.. Sorry for not posting the photos of all the supplies I used. I was fully concentrated on making the card and forgot to take snaps. Mentioning the items below:

1. Card stock – For greeting card – A4 size
2. Colour papers  – To make a birthday cake and embellishments –  A4 size
3. Sketch Pencils and Pens – To draw and write
4. Scissors and Glues – To Cut and Paste
5. Ribbon and Toothpick – To tie and quill
6. Circle compass cutter – Optional ( Don’t have one – No worries, I will show you how to)

Here is my plan –

• I want to make a birthday cake with paper to paste it on the greeting card and make it simple inside with just some balloons and message.

Birthday Cake – Do you like just one level or 3 levels of cake??? I go for 3 levels.. 🙂

• For 3 levels cake, you need 2 semi circles of 7cm diameter, 1 semicircle of 5.5cm diameter, 1 semicircle of 4 cm diameter..Worrying about the measurements…Don’t worry I am here to help you… 🙂

Click here to draw circles with required measurements and screenshot(Press fn+Prnt Scrn in your keyboard) them. Print the screen shot page and cut the circles. Hurray!!! got the circles.. 🙂

                                      Caution : Please print it with ‘No Scaling’ option else printer will try to print the screen shot to fit the page.

• Now, we are going to start the layers of the cake. I chosen pink colour paper for my cake. For layering take the same colour A4 size paper and cut  a strip of paper by measuring 5-6 cm width. Sorry, No snaps but I know you are smart and you can do this by looking in to the below pictures.
• Measure 1 cm to left and right of the strip and cut it like fringes as below. Make sure that you do only 1 cm to left and right leaving 2-3 cm in the middle which makes the height of the cake level.

Picture from google for illustration

• Start gluing the cut paper to the big semicircle that we have on the rounded edges.

Caution : Leave one inch on both sides while you are gluing which is very important.

• Gluing the other semi-circle on top will look like 3d semi-circle as shown below

• Repeat the same with the other two semicircles but the only difference is they will not have bottom because the first level will act as bottom for the second and the second for third. Once you complete, your cake will be the same as  below.

Backside of the cake..observe one inch paper on left and right

Front view of the cake..

• Don’t forget to leave one inch on both sides while gluing as it is very important if you need to glue this cake on card. Cake is ready just left out with decorations… 😀

Greeting Card – Do you like a normal greeting card or something special? I go with something special..:)

• To make the base of the greeting card, I used a red colour light card stock but not too heavy one as it becomes heavier after adding birthday cake. If not, you can use cardboard you have in house and cover it with a paper.

• Now comes something special, I just want the card to have a feminine look. So I cut the front cover as below. As I am not in to these kind of things before, I have drawn an outline with a pencil before I cut. You can directly cut if you are enough confident.
  

  After Cut

           Doesn’t it look like a fairy girl with a big gown… :)..If not may be I need to show you the waist line..

• As I have too many specials outside, I want it to be very simple outside. I took a lavender paper with the length and width smaller than the greeting card so that it can fit inside. I have drawn some balloons and Happy Birthday Message on the paper and glued it inside the card.

• Now it’s time to glue the cake and decorate it..Ooh..I don’t have any embellishments to decorate.. 😦 ..No Problem, I quilled some paper to form basic shapes and glued it on the bottom two layers. To make it more special, I quilled some paper roses and glued it on the first layer.. Finally it looks like this… 🙂

Wow….

Now can you see the waist line..Just slit the card along the crease where you have the cut in the card and bow a ribbon through that..That’s it..A card with feminine look.. 😀

I was on cloud 9 when I gifted this to my friend for all the comments I got!!!!

I hope you also liked this post and please let me know your feedback on comments section as those are so much to me…

Tip : What to tell *-) ..Ok got it..As we are in to crafts today, here is the tip to work with hot glue gun

• If your hot glue gun is leaving spider webs on your works while you are using it to glue, it means you are in a place where humidity is high..So Before using, keep the wax sticks in refrigerator for 10 to 15 mins and use it..Spider webs from hot glue gun are gone… <:o)

Enjoy your handmade cards and crafts..See you soon… 🙂

Don’t forget to follow my blog.. 

Bye for now…

P.S: Sorry for the pictures clarity.. My camera ran out of battery and I managed to take them with my mobile and poor light.. 😦

Number 10 !!!!

Hey, it’s a long time that I posted something from inside..

I thought of posting about some of my craft projects last weekend but I was not able to do because of HIM..

I woke up at 8 AM on Saturday and completed my weekend house hold chores and started thinking about my new post ,framing what to put but not able to write as MANIA of him was in peaks in my home..

Since Nov 14-2013, my husband is keep on watching him , listening to him, speaking about him, dreaming about him , posting about him on Facebook and finally broken out for him.

Wondering who is that.. I think many of you might have guessed HIM already.

Number 10

A 40 years guy wearing Indian Jersey with ‘Number 10’ but placed Indian Cricket in world’s first position..None other than Sachin Sachin !!!!!

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Uff what can I say about him, With growing interest and passion towards Cricket for Indians, Sachin means everything. Famous Quote that we can see in stadium when Sachin is Playing

If Cricket is Religion, Sachin is GOD !!!

Sachin, Little Master or Master Blaster was born on Apr 24, 1973. Initially he was interested in Tennis idolising John McEnroe . It was his brother Ajit who introduced him to Ramakant Achrekar a coach at the age of 11. He then moved to Sharadashram Vidyamandir (English) High School as per coach advise. This is the turning point for Sachin a right hand batsmen but a left hand writer.

Ballboy to Badshah– Sachin served as a ball boy in 1987 Cricket world cup when India played against England in Mumbai ,and in 2013, He is GOD of cricket !!!He had an unbroken partner ship of 664 runs with Vinod Kambli in an inter-school competition in 1988. He scored 326 (not out) in the innings and you know he scored zero runs in his first two ODI’s. Do you believe it?

Note : Badshah is just used for rhyming and it has meaning like emperor…NOM..:)

Sachin with Vinod Kambli after an unbeaten partnership

The most important thing about Sachin ,he has never shown his emotions in the field , It may be a century or a duck. He always respected Cricket. He always played it for INDIA not for centuries or records. As it means everything to him.

• 463 ODI matches scoring 18,426 runs with 49 Centuries and a highest score of 200. OMG!!!
• 200 Test matches scoring 15,921 runs with 51 Centuries and a highest score of 248..OMS!!!( Oh My Sachin)

Sachin Debut’s and Last’s :

• ODI debut  Vs   at  Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala, Pakistan
• Last ODI Vs   at  Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh
• Test debut Vs   at  National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan at the age of 16
• Last Test Vs   at  Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India at the age of 40
• Twenty20 debut Vs   at  New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Last Twenty20 Vs   at  New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa

Sachin with two Indian Cricket team captains Kapil Dev and Azharuddin

Sachin’s records :

• Involved in India’s highest run-scoring ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid as the pair put on 339 against New Zealand
• First player to score over 15,000 ODI runs.
• Becomes the highest run scorer in Test cricket, passing Lara’s previous mark of 11,953.
• Scores the first double century in one-day international history, hitting an unbeaten 200 against South Africa.
• Becomes first batsman to hit 50 Test centuries.
• Becomes the first man to score 15,000 Test runs during Test series against West Indies.
• Scores his 100th international century in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh, the first player ever to do so – This was much hyped century.
• Sachin stayed as highest runs in the world cup and stayed in first position following by Ricky Ponting. He is the highest centuries scorer in world cup. Dhoni’s team fulfilled Sachin’s dream of world cup in 2011 and dedicated this victory to Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar!!!
• India won 200th test match of Sachin against West Indies but India lost Sachin..

I am tired of mentioning Sachin’s records.. 🙂 and the list continues…

Sachin’s Awards:

• 1994: Arjuna Award Recipient for achievements in cricket
  
• 1997/98: India’s highest sporting honour – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
• 1999: Padma Shri – India’s fourth highest civilian award
  
• 2008: Padma Vibhushan – India’s second highest civilian award
  
• 2014: Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian honour – A perfect Icing on the cake – Indian Government anounced this after Sachin’s Retirement from Cricket and this is the first time Bharat Ratna is awarded to a sports person.

Apart from being a great player, he is very down to earth and never had any disputes with fellow cricketers..Most of current Indian players are very happy as they shared dressing room with little master. He is also very good inspirer for the team during critical times by motivating the team.

Most of the things mentioned above were told by my husband to me.. 🙂

Finally the moment came, when Sachin is saying Good Bye to Cricket after a long 24 years of journey and people are not willing to accept cricket without Sachin!!! Final match from Sachin Tendulkar , If India Wins, India loses…

Here is the final speech from Sachin in Wankhede Stadium on Nov 16,2013 before retiring from Cricket. And you know, In his 24 years of cricket life, for the first time he touched the crease before he start playing his last test match as a symbol of saying thanks for giving him a wonderful life..

He started his speech saying “My life, between 22 yards for 24 years” and tears rolled out of my husband’s eyes but he somehow managed to cover before me..You can read the text of his speech here

Note : Let me know if tears are not rolling in your eyes when you are listening to his speech..I don’t think anyone will tell me that

One among the best things in the speech , “The memories you have left with me will always be with me forever and ever, especially “Sachin, Sachin” which will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing”

Never ever happened in Cricket history – Have you ever seen or heard of a standing ovation for an opponent team player  . Here it is

People are still in Sachin’s MANIA and think about his retirement but it was all over and we have to come over it. Come on Sachin fans, Sachin started his new life and here is the first interview from Sachin after retirement. Wish HIM a good luck!!!

Sachin with Anjali(wife), Sara(Daughter) and Arjun(Son) .. Beautiful Family.. 🙂 …Sachin is all for you now… 🙂 😦

That’s it guys..An End of an era in Cricket History!!!!!

I like to dedicate this post to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar for his wonderful contribution to India for 24 years and also for each and every sachin fan. I am very happy that I was in same generation of Tendulkar and watched him playing live!!! Long Live Sachin!!!

OMS(Oh My Sachin)!!! How can I miss him when I am talking about sachin’s great fans. Here he is

Sachin with his fan carrying world cup

Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary a great fan of Sachin and Indian Cricket team who will be seen in all home ground matches of India wearing Indian Flag colours on his body and waving an Indian National flag. Sachin requested BCCI to provide tickets to him for all the home ground matches and he himself provided him entrance tickets for many matches..How great he is..That is why we are proud to say that we are Sachin fans..

At the end, I just want to put some famous quotes by/about SACHIN!!!

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives.”
-British broadcasting corporation (BBC)

“I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play”.
-Anjali Tendulkar, Sachin’s wife

“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal.”
-Brian Lara, West Indies batsman who holds record of highest score in cricket.

“I’ll see god when I die but till then I’ll see Sachin.”
-A banner during a match in Sharjah.

“I have seen god. he bats at no.4 for India.”
-Mathew Hayden, former Australia cricketer.

“Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the lord is watching!”
-A banner in UK.

“There are two kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”
-Andy Flower, former Zimbabwe cricketer.

“We have started calling him grandfather.”
-Yuvraj Singh, Sachin’s team mate for over a decade.

“If you try to hit a six, I will hit you on the bum.”
-Sachin Tendulkar warned Virender Sehwag when he was on 295 at Multan against Pakistan.. Sehwag hit a six to reach first triple century by an Indian!

“I have sometimes worn a baseball cap, a beard, spectacles and a wig not to be noticed.”
-Sachin, on how he dodges fans in India.

“I am glad it does not breathe.”
-Sachin, on his wax statue at Madame Tussauds in London.

“I would go to bed having nightmares of sachin dancing down the ground and hitting me for sixes.”
– Shane Warne – Australian Cricketer

Sachin with his Wax Statue

P.S : All the images are from Google and the information is from different sources.

Versatile Blogger Award!!!!

talesalongtheway.com has nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award..Thanks Anne for nominating me and I accept your kind nomination. Anne(talesalongtheway blog) wants everyone to experience the beautiful and ancient INDIA..As an Indian, I am very thankful to Anne for describing INDIA and it’s cultures in a spectacular way. Please go through her blog and enjoy the beauty of INDIA in Anne’s words and experiences.. Namaste…

RULES of Versatile Blogger Award  to be followed, if you accept: 

1. Display the award image on your blog.

2. Mention/link-back to the blogger who nominated you .

3. Nominate another 15 bloggers you think deserve the award.

4. Inform your nominees that you have honored them with nominations.

5. Write 7 facts about yourself.

Seven facts about me .

1. I love games & sports!!! I played Indian national game (Hockey) at state level when I was studying my 10th class(Secondary Education) but discontinued to continue my Intermediate.

2. I always wanted to become a lawyer like my father but my father wanted me to become an enginneer but not lawyer. I completed my B.E in Computer Science in 2008 and joined as a Software Engineer in one of the top most MNC’s in India.

3. I love reading fantasy novels like Harry Potter , Twilight , Narnia and all Dan Brown novels. When ever I see a small stick I feel like spelling ‘Avada Kedavra’  on the men who are sexually abusing women or child in India. I always dreamt of studying in Hogwarts!!!Wish it to be real..

4. I love watching movies..It can be English, Hindi or Telugu..It is not just new movies, it can be old too. My recent movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith(English) and Sarkar Raj(Hindi). I really enjoyed both the movies.

5. I started loving writing inspired from nazninazeez. I never thought that I love writing but now I’m loving it..

6. Recently I started liking arts & crafts. I am working on Papier Mâché with starting letters of mine and my dear husband. Will post it very soon.

7. Lastly, I have a beautiful family with my parents and younger brother. After marriage it became more beautiful with my husband and in-laws. I must thank GOD for gifting me a beautiful and happy family.

Here are my versatile nominees. Visit their blogs!!!

1. nazninazeez.wordpress.com

2.honeysquilling.wordpress.com

3.shopgirlsdiary.wordpress.com

4.smallkitchenchronicles.com

5.onesmallpot.com

6.roshrulez.wordpress.com

7.preetk.wordpress.com

8.acefoodnews.com

9.notthehardestpart.com

10.shivaaydelights.wordpress.com

11.peninkandpage.wordpress.com

12.anchoritdown.wordpress.com

13.waitin4qtpie.wordpress.com non-imitation.com

14.alternatekev.me

15.ohlalasandra.wordpress.com

Update : Updated the nomination list as waiting4qtpie.wordpress.com has been moved to new site.

An Ode to the Gol Gappa

Mouth Watering Blog on Pani Puri – Indian Street Food!!!

Malaysian Residents who are craving for Pani puri can visit WTF – What Tasty Food in Bangsar, KualaLampur.

You can find the information about WTF on their facebook page Facebook .

I visit here almost every week especially for panipuri.. I am sharing WTF details here for my fellow gol gappa lovers residing in KL,Malaysia.

Enjoy!!! 🙂

Preet Reads.

I sing a thousand praises in your name, O Inventor of Gol Gappa*. Were you aware that with this one humble recipe from your Benarasi kitchen, you had changed the innocent landscape of India’s street food scene forever? That long after your death, children would be pestering their mothers for a round of gol gappay from their favourite panipuri wallah**? That after leaving for greener pastures, Indians in every corner of the world would fondly recall this unassuming, humble snack and pine for it the way a lover pines for his beloved? And somehow, even Indians who never knew that motherland would discover a recessive gene that mysteriously craves for an explosive combination of sweet and sour? After all, what is a gol gappa? A hollowed out shell of a mini puri punctured at its crown, stuffed with a tangy mix of potatoes, meethi^ chutney and shudderingly sour tamarind…

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Diwali or Deepavali

Diwali..Full of Colors and Lights!!!
Thanks Anne for a wonderful blog on Diwali – Festival of India.

TalesAlongTheWay

Look at these glorious images with all the Indian colors. In a few hours, my Indian friends will begin their celebration !  Happy Diwali! 

 

Celebration of Light with candles twinkling in the winter night! Welcome to the biggest Indian festival, lasting for five days, and filled with  color and joy. . .  .Diwali.  The candles make me think of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, White Dog Festival ( Iroquois Native American Festival)  and Christmas…..light in the winter darkness. Diwali began as a religious festival  to celebrate good overcoming evil, but today it is celebrated by most Indians regardless of religion as a beginning of the New Year.  It is the beginning of the Hindu calendar year and is the celebration of blessings, life, and family.  It is as important in India as Christmas is in the United States.

Preparations begin with shopping: Ah , the vibrant Indian colors. . . . .

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