Speechless!

Aaro aaro Probhu aaro aaro....

Music Director - Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
Lyricists - Kumaar, Vishal Dadlani
Singers - Mohit Chauhan, Shekhar Ravjiani, Shruti Pathak

Naina laggeyan baarashan
Tu sukke sukke sapne vi pijj gaye
Naina laggeyan baarishan
Rove palkan de kone vich neend meri

Naina laggeyan baarishan
Hanju digde ne chot lage dil te
Naina laggeyan baarishan
Rut birha de badlan di chhaa gayi

Kaali kaali khaali raaton se
Hone lagi hai dosti
Khoya khoya in raahon mein
Ab mera.. kuch bhi nahi
Har pal har lamha
Main kaise sehta hoon
Har pal har lamha
Main khud se yeh kehta rehta hoon

Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Phir kyun teri yaadon ne
Mujhe rula diya.. oo
Mujhe rula diya .

Teri yaadon mein likhe jo
Lafz dete hai sunaai
Beete lamhe poochhte hain
Kyun hue aise juda.. khuda
Khuda mila jo yeh faasla hain
Khuda tera hi yeh faisla hain
Khuda hona tha woh ho gaya
Jo tune tha likha

Kaali kaali khaali raaton se
Hone lagi hai dosti
Khoya khoya in raahon mein
Ab mera.. kuch bhi nahi
Har pal har lamha
Main kaise sehta hoon
Har pal har lamha
Main khud se yeh kehta rehta hoon

Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Phir kyun teri yaadon ne
Mujhe rula diya.. oo
Mujhe rula diya .

Naina laggeyan baarishan
Tu sukke sukke sapne vi pijj gaye
Naina laggeyan baarishan
Rut birha de badlan di chhaa gay

Dol pal tujh se juda thha,
Aise phir rasta muda thha,
Tujh se main khone laga,
Juda jaise hone laga,
Mujh se kuch mera

Tu hi mere liye abb kar dua,
Tu hi is dard se kar de juda,
Tera hoke tera jo main na raha,
Main yeh khud se kehta hoon,

Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Tujhe bhula diya oo
Phir kyun teri yaadon ne
Mujhe rula diya.. oo
Mujhe rula diya .

As if I have never said this to myself, but, each time you say this, you know that this time it is different. It is either better or worse than all the other previous experiences.
The strangest part is that I cannot compartmentalize it into any one category.
Quite Happy, Very Sad, Extremely Confused.
My platter now is full.

It always helps talking to the 'person' who never talks back, He who is the Best listener...
I hope You are listening...

Diwali breaks and I am back home. With all the festivities around, this time I have to cook up something really special. So here you go ladies and gentlemen - Nargisi Kofta ..only for you.

For this you will need:

Minced Chicken
Boiled eggs
Chopped onions
Chopped tomato
Salt
Turmeric powder
Almonds
Curd
Coriander leaves
Coriander powder
Cumin powder
Chopped green chillies
Whole garam masala
Red chilli powder
Cumin seeds
Ginger garlic paste

Recipe:
To the minced meat add little chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Use your hands to mix it thoroughly. This mixture has to form a layer around the boiled eggs. This paste can get real sticky and you may find it difficult to handle, hence smear your hands with some water and spread a plastic sheet on the kitchen counter. Take the meat mixture equal to the size of a boiled egg and spread it evenly on the plastic sheet like a usual Papad mixture. Now take an egg and place it in the center of the meat spread and wrap the plastic around the egg.
If you find this cumbersome, you can use your own method to coat the egg with this meat mixture. Once all the aggs are covered, heat oil in a pan and deep fry these eggs. Fry them for about 3 minutes.

Make a paste in your Grinder:
Chopped tomatoes and fried almonds(fried almonds do not stick to the bottom of the pan)

For the gravy:
Heat some oil, add whole garam masala, cumin seeds, chopped onions, salt, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder. Once this is well cooked, pour into this the tomato and almond paste. Cook it in a low flame but keep stirring. Add green chillies and curd once the oil starts to come out. Then add water.

Once the gravy comes to a boil and you are happy with its consistency, add in the koftas.

Garnish it with chopped coariander leaves and you are done.

Note: The snap above has been taken from sangamny.com

Like any other normal day, I set out from my home to office. My office cab was always on-time, it took me thirty minutes to reach Saltlake, where my office is situated. As I disembarked in front of the gates and lighted a cigarette, I walked past a group of girls. I heard them chirping behind me -
Shruti: "Hey check out that new guy on the block; isn't he handsome?"
Angela: "He sure is, must be in his mid twenties".
"Stop flirting girls", chipped in the more serious Bhavna, "No chance for you, 'heard, he's already engaged and going steady with this pretty girl called Savi".
Angela: "How do you manage to get these informations Bhavna, you idiot".
Bhavna: "Yeah, yeah...call me what you want to, but the bottom line is that you've got 'no chance. I also managed to see Savi's snaps on his mobile, by God, she is good looking. Oh and by the way, your handsome hunk is called Tatya".

I reached the lift, pressed the button, still slightly tensed from the conversation I had last evening with my new Lines Manager. After a three-month training period, I finally managed to clear it all and today was going to be my first day at floor.

"Hi Tatya!! Everybody here, meet your new colleague Tatya", introduced my Lines manager, Gora. I shook hands with Riddhi, Kaushik, Vivek, Rohan, Sampriti, Sagnik and Briti.

It wasn't like this always. Things had gone drastically wrong several months ago and I was completely broken down when Savi rebelled to my atrocities one day and said that she was tired of my not being able to commit to her for my a, b, c, d reasons and that she wanted to call the affair off. I realized my mistakes and tried my level best to make it up to her, but by then, she had lost faith.

Today, as I look back to the torments our relationship has gone through, I only look up to heaven and thank God that Savi and I are finally getting married in another two weeks time. Briti di was right, Savi is mine and will always remain so in this birth and in all the rest to come.

When you get just a couple of hours to sleep in a day
When you see your blog rank going up and down once every two months and you still can't force your brains to produce any creative juice
When you wake up each morning only to forget what day of the week it is
When the piled up clothes and you look each other in the eye, the former yells out "Please... we need a wash, you know it right?"
When you learn to look at things from a different perspective and soon after get lost in the same
When you wake up in the morning (each day) before your alarm goes off
When you have fever and you don't get the time to visit a doctor and the fever and you take care of each other

You know you are .........................

(Can you guess and fill up the blank?)

It rains...it rains cats and dogs...the streets, the trees, the beings, especially the peacocks, dance with joy. Young and old purposefully get drenched and look here and there with a sense of "happy guilt" when stared upon. The trees which dried up (read died up) during the summers, get back a new life and shine bright green (of various shades) in their newly found plumage. They look like they have just taken a much needed bath and that too after a very long time. Miles and miles of stark barren, 'depressed' land, which for an entire year kept staring and gaping at the sky now get to quench their thirst

Rejuvenation!! Everywhere!!

A place lost in time...Alwar district in Rajasthan has a lot many stories to tell. Either through the dilapidated palaces or through the chhatris or the forts or even through its wildlife. One such city lost in time is the city of Bhangarh, rated as one of the most haunted places by the Government of India (Archeological Survey). Entry into the premises before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited. All that remains of the city is the palace, a few temples, some havelis and the main market.

If the last 8-9 months saw me complaining about the incessant heat and the unbearable cold, cribbing about the nonavailability of non-veg food at the hostel, making faces at the "lauki" or the plain "masoor ki daal" and roti, the last two months was a complete opposite. I had the best of foods at the best of restaurants in my favorite city.
Try and stay away from home atleast once in your lifetime. The love and affection you get upon returning home for that short period is a heavenly experience. You don't have to ask for your favorite food, you get it naturally not just at your home but at relatives' places as well. If you cannot manage time to visit them, they come down to see how much you have changed (in my case how much weight I have lost/gained...etc)...of course along with your favorite dish cooked and handed over in a tiffin box :).
Well I have seen and done the same for friends and relatives and have heard stories before but it is the first time for me, hence I would confess, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

Flame and grill,
6 Ballygunge Place
Machaan
Magnolia
Flavours of China
Trincas
Pepper Chino
Silver Oak
Arsalan
Bedwin
Food court (South City, Highland Park)
China Town
Haldiram's
Grub Club
Many more...

Got to attend a wedding in the family, a house warming of Wrik's new flat and a ride (to one of those "many more" food joints) in my Dada's brand new car. All this, along with 6 weeks of hectic internship schedule. My visit to Calcutta was choc-a-bloc.
Now that it is time for me to start packing my bags again, I feel the pace slowing down a bit. The two months re-playing itself in slow-motion. The smiling-faces, the loving hugs, the delicious dishes (slurp), the hustle-bustle of the metropolis all receding in the background.
The countdown has begun and the battlefield awaits me.
But this time Jaipur, I am thoroughly reloaded and refueled. I am ready to devour all the "lauki's" you have in store. "Shonar Kella", we will surely meet this year.

Oh, by the way, I have finally seen the end of Finance and thank God, seen it off in style :) . So, am happy with myself for more than a couple of reasons.

Jaipur!! here I come...

Thanks to my project I got to meet so many people I had lost contacts with. Thanks to my project, my friends got in touch with so many of their contacts they had not been in touch with.

Thanks to my Speechless, I can tell the whole world that I have a lovely bunch of friends and relatives.
Babua (I got to meet one of his "Mankus"), Papu, Roshni-Babua, Bulta dada and ofcourse Tamaghna (met one of his best friends and his wife - Prashant and Kusumika).

I want you all and the world to know that I am real glad I got to know you, either by birth or by chance and am honoured you don't forget me when I time and again decide to go on hibernation-mode/absconding-mode.

Love you all...
Please do not change...

Movie: Ishqiya
Music Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Lyricist: Gulzar
Singer: Rekha Bharadwaj
Link to the song

My cousin Bro says :

One of the several reasons for the terrible performance of KKR -

"The love Sourav Ganguly has for Ajit Agarkar is a lot more, when compared to the combined love Ajit's friends, relatives and loved ones have for him..."

Ingredients :

Mustard Oil
Onions - grated or chopped
Ginger-Garlic paste
1 Cup curd mixed well along with Turmeric powder, red chilly powder, dhania powder, salt and sugar.
Lemon juice

Whole spices:

Cloves (Lobongo),
Green cardamoms (Elach),
Black cumin (Kalo jeera),
Methi (Fenugreek seeds)
Mustard seeds (Shorshe)
A pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
Dry whole red chillies

Procedure:

Heat mustard oil in a pan, add to it all the whole spices and fry till Methi turns golden brown.
Add to this the onions and fry till it starts changing colour, then add in the ginger-garlic paste. Fry for about 5 minutes.

The chicken goes into the pan next. Once the chicken starts giving out the juices and changes colour wait till the juices dry up. Now add the curd, well beaten along with the turmeric, red chilly, dhania powders and salt and sugar.

Cook for another 15 minutes and add water if you want (this dish would be better off without any gravy. The above picture shows a lot of it though, but that was because I was forced to stop cooking. The people around had suddenly gotten very hungry).

The secret to the taste lies in the addition of lemon juice saved for the end.
Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve hot.

Try it, it is really yummy.

Lyrics - Swanand Kirkire
Composed by - Shantanu Moitro
Film - Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi
Painting - Sunrita Dutta



Banvra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna
Banvra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna...

Banvre Se Mann, Ki Dekho Banvri Hain Baatein
Banvre Se Mann, Ki Dekho Banvri Hain Baatein
Banvri Si Dhadkane Hain, Banvri Hain Saansen
Banvri Si Karvaton Se, Nindiya Door Bhaage
Banvre Se Nain Chaahe, Banvre Jharokhon Se, Banvre Nazaron Ko Takna.
Banvra Mann Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna...


Banvre Se Is Jahan Main Banvra Ek Saath Ho
Is Sayani Bheed Main Bas Haathon Mein Tera Haath Ho
Banvri Si Dhun Ho Koi, Banvra Ek Raag Ho
Banvri Si Dhun Ho Koi, Banvra Ek Raag Ho
Banvre Se Pair Chahen, Banvre Tarano Ke, Banvre Se Bol Pe Thirakna.
Banvra Mann, Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna...


Banvra Sa Ho Andhera, Banvri Khamoshiyan
Banvra Sa Ho Andhera, Banvri Khamoshiyan
Thartharati Low Ho Maddham, Banvri Madhoshiyan
Banvra Ek Ghooghta Chahe, Haule Haule Bin Bataye, Banvre Se Mukhde Se Sarakna,
Banvra Mann, Dekhne Chala Ek Sapna...

Calcutta, as I have have seen it in the last two days, has changed a lot.

6 months, it took for me to come back home. The excitement, the last minute packing, the PNR status, the screwed up last Macro Economics exam, all kind of seems to justify what I am feeling now.

The city still has the same impatient crowd, the increasing tendency to storm South City mall on Sundays, the same disgusting food in the food court South City, a lot more variety available now than before though, the same faces telling me "Tui ki aaro roga hoye gechhish?" or "Oma!! tor chul ta koto boro hoye gachhe".
The fact that you get to understand the expletivess used by passersby and you smile "Hey, I am home".
The heat here in Calcutta suddenly gets so likeable for the very first time (when compared to the one back in Jaipur). I was surprised to see a cactus planted in one of the pots at the hostel (in Jaipur) terrace all burnt up due to the heat and I thought cactus was suited for the deserts.
The best part is that I would not have to care about gender differences for the next month and a half while conversing in Hindi.

Coming back home also gives me the access to one of my favorite places, the kitchen, Stay tuned for some yummy recipes on Speechless.

A realization - ever since I have been able to understand the world around me, i have noticed that everything around seems to change and if watched closely, actually has never been with you. The only constant factor is the self and its faith. It's all an illusion and a very colourful one too. The sooner you understand that, the better for you. But we will always remain silly because we love to cry, laugh, get angry and love the colours of the changing surroundings and then get affected by it.

The only time when the independant variables change due to the dependant ones.

I am not very fond of Accounts (although, I am pretty decent with numbers) and I have a question for the ones who are a little better in it than myself. Please tell me something - What kind of asset is the Sentimental Value and Faith? Does it ever depreciate? (You're not allowed to tell me "Silly girl, it is not an asset").

44 words

Typing Test

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Can I get a Hug (GOD)? I think I used up the last one...

Jan 14th 6:53pm

Winter in Jaipur. Temperatures touch a degree centigrade here. Brrrrr. That’s like -15 degrees for this particular person, whose blog you are currently reading.

Two full sweaters, one jacket, two socks are my daily wear during these months.
One of the worst things to do in hostel life is ‘washing clothes’. I have given up on the hope of ever being successful in cleaning towels. I have tried all possible and feasible combinations – washing powder, soap cake, warm water, boiling hot water, but I am yet to achieve the first visible victory. Henceforth, all my towels will be either washed by others/ machines or I will change my towels once every three months.

Feeling homesick…Okay, I know that was abrupt, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. Not that I keep dreaming of places in Calcutta but I really miss a few things. I badly miss my singing classes, my wardrobe, my terrace, maachher jjhol, my cooking sprees, my tiny little bed and the window next to it.

These posts will be outdated when I finally post them. I do not get the time or opportunity to publish my posts, but I make sure I write as many as I can (offline).

P.S – You will always find my posts containing Calcutta instead of Kolkata. The reason being simple – I like Calcutta more. One city which has three forms of names, English – Calcutta, Hindi – Culcuttah and Bengali – Kolkata. I prefer and will always prefer the English name.
I’d also like to add one more thing here – I have heard Kolkata being pronounced peculiarly all over (even on national news channels), just want to help you pronounce it right – it is “Coal-Kaata”.