Day 1: I Pledge to Blog….
I love to write. Yes I do. Of course if you look at my blogging history, I would just go behind that chair and hide….
So I began this blog in September 2008 in a bid to overcome the boredom at my workplace (no you gossip mongers, I am not telling you the name…). I realized I was wasting a lot of time on Facebook and not doing anything constructive with my brain. I brushed the dust off my Writer’s side of the brain and started this little world of mine!
Of course for the next 2 years I was super regular. And then I changed jobs and with that went away my “free time” to write! (RIP, my friend, RIP) Work got crazy.. I got crazier.. and life as I knew it, had changed. No, don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining. Professionally, life only got better. Personally, it got busier. But somewhere, deep inside that Writer’s side of brain, something was not right! I missed writing. I missed expressing through words. I missed going on thesaurus and searching for the right word for “Great“. I missed the word play. That is all I did. Missed. Believe me, I am not making excuses when I use the most cliched line known to mankind… “I did not get the time…“. Oh! And I also, occasionally, suffered from “Writer’s Block“.
And then, *drumroll* Writer’s God sent Blog-o-holics United to my rescue!!! The beautifully talented team of 8 got together from different part of India (and World too, I think…) to Blog for An Entire Month! YaY.. I predict, this shall be the end of my hiatus from writing.
It is interesting to see how the Enigmatic Eight (coz no other adjective with an ‘E’ fitted with Eight… yes! I roll like that!) with different points of views, ideas, writing styles and minimal connection with each other – got to one common platform for the good of the humanity…alright not really ‘humanity‘ but at least for the good of the Writer in them.
Lets meet the Enigmatic Eight then, shall we? And you.. yes You.. make sure you are subscribed to each of these amazing personalities. You really dont wanna miss the writing action for the next month! We are going to take over the Blogging World (trust me!) with our wit, charm, words and topics of discussion.
The TEAM:
- Meghna
- Monica
- Shweta
- Supriya
- Purvesh
- Nikhil
- Anirudh
- And lastly… Me – You don’t need my link… coz you are already on my blog.. Duh! 😛
Courtesy:Â http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com
Impressions.
She was 16. The age of attention, boys, budding friendships, blossoming love. She got off the school bus and ran home. Her mom opening the door, said, “How was your day Tina? Did you eat your lunch properly?” Tina barely heard her mom and went straight to her room, shutting the door behind her. She took off her bag and threw it on the floor. She stripped off the belt and the shoes. She walked up to the full-length mirror staring at herself, pulling her hair back, stretching her full cheeks hoping they would disappear. She grabbed her slight paunch and wished it would melt. Tears welled up in her kohl-lined eyes and she started sobbing. “Why am I so ugly? Dear God, why am I so ugly? Why Why WHY?” With each question, her voice trembled until she broke down completely. Tina stayed in her room for the rest of the day. Her mother’s many efforts to bring her out, failed. “Tina beta, come have some milk? Why don’t you eat some parathas I made?” Tina thought to herself, as she rocked herself back and forth on the bed, “That is what makes me fat Mom!!”
Courtesy: http://www.captainpoetryblog.com
Tina thought of her day at school today and sobbed. She went to an upper-class private school filled with kids from very affluent families. Kids with much higher exposure to fashion, lifestyle, make up than her middle-class knowledge. Tina had recently moved to the big city from a small town in the western part of India as her parents wanted her and her younger sister to have a “Life“. “Some life this is!“, Tina thought to herself as she wiped the nth tear off her kohl-streaked face. She continued to sit in front of the mirror and stare at her face. “OH SO UGLY!“, she told herself.
School was a punishment for Tina and she could feel her grades fall. She knew she was better than this but it was so damn hard to not let these things affect her. Tina was at an age where ‘everything‘ affected her. She was at an age where she craved for attention…but unfortunately got none! She was at an age where “What boys said.. mattered!”
Or maybe, it only mattered to her.
So coming back to what happened at school today. It was a usual day. A usual day when her friends made fun of Tina’s physical shortfalls. A usual day when her friends called her names…”Fatty!“. “Yo Tina! Why are you so short ya? Haha” A usual day, indeed! Tina had always been the nothing-affects-me-so-I-will-smile kinda girl. She was accustomed to hearing a lot of comments about her physical appearance since she was 10 and this did not affect her. She would go through the day with a big smile on her face. Her mantra was — Make fun of yourself before others do. It really saved her a lot of hurt and pain. She was the typical happy-go-lucky 16-year old with a large group of friends. But she has never got pampered.. of course barring the pampering of her lovely parents. She never got that attention that she saw girls in her school get. Oh the girls in her school! Tall, beautiful, some drop-dead gorgeous, fair… and they knew they were all these things. The boys would come to Tina and tell her all about the latest crush they had. They would crave.. cry… yearn for these girls and Tina always heard them. She was always that shoulder.
I am digressing again, ain’t I? Well, coming back to today.
Today was different! Lunch got over and Tina along with another girl and 3 boys was sitting near the swimming pool. The usual banter was on. A smile here, a tinkle of laugh there. Suddenly, one of the guys, sizing up the 2 girls – Tina and her friend Sia, said “You are both so short!” Tina rolled her eyes and knew the insult that was coming her way. She braced herself for it. He continued, “But you know what? If Sia becomes slightly taller she will be hotter and more beautiful than what she is right now!” Sia blushed and said, “Guys…..Stop it!” The boys had a hearty laugh. they were not done yet. Looking over Tina, one of them said, “But Tina, even if you get taller… what is the point? You will still be the same..UGLY! Ha Ha Ha” Sia looked over at Tina and mumbled something apologetic which Tina could not hear. Tina was in shock. She could feel her heart drop and tears cloud her eyes. “Control yourself Tina..control yourself. Don’t make a scene“, she told herself over and over again. Tina excused herself and walked back to her class. She knew this was the worst that was ever thrown at her. She could not believe she called these boys her ‘Friends’. “Are they that heartless? Am I that ugly?“, the questions circled her mind as she made her way back to the classroom, absentmindedly.
It was not over yet. No.. it was far from over. As Tina walked back, she looked up and there he was. The School Bully. Tina always avoided him, Aman, one year her junior and probably the most obscene of the lot. He always managed to upset Tina. Aman was walking towards her with a purpose in his stride. He had a wicked smile on his face. He stopped Tina and mocked, “Oye fatty! Where are you off to? Can’t you look and walk?“. Tina started to walk away. But Aman was not done yet. He continued in the insulting tone, “You know what Tina? Mark my words.. You are Short. Fat. Ugly. And trust me.. the unfortunate man you marry will be just that. Short. Fat. and Oh-So-Ugly.” With that Aman let out a guffaw and sauntered away to his classroom. Tina stood there, in the verandah, all by herself suddenly feeling very lonely. She held herself together. She knew if she broke down, it would create a scene.
It was a full moon and Tina sat by the window looking out of the window, as she reran the day’s happenings in her head and thought to herself, “I wish I was pretty. I wish I was thin. I wish… I wish.. I could change.”
Note: All characters in this post are fictional. There is no resemblance to anyone living or dead.
Also Note: Sometimes people are of the impression that such comments are of trivial nature and should be forgotten or brushed under the carpet. “Whats the big deal? Why are thinking so much about it?” What some fail to realize is adolescence is that period in a person’s life, that has the biggest impact on what the person turns out to be. Such things are almost never forgotten.
The Wait.
5AM. She fumbled across her bedroom and pulled open the wardrobe. Rummaging through the silk blouses, the linen tees and the many Couture dresses, she pulled out the tangerine polka-dot dress from the back. A deep back, a full skirt with a small bow at the waist, the dress was of perfect elegance, except, it had not been worn in years.
“He loves the bright colors on me…”, she thought to herself as she straightened out the soft textures of the bright summer dress.
“Oh the Shoes!” She opened her shoe cupboard, loaded with every possible heel you could imagine. Ankle boots, stilettos, wedges, boots, patent leather… they were all lined perfectly. She reached at the back and pulled out a tattered shoe box. As she opened it, a strange feeling crept up to her. “What if…“ Pushing the thought out of her mind, she pulled out the beige kitten-heels. “They would go perfectly with the dress“, she thought to herself and smiled.
She found herself moving swiftly towards the process of dressing up. She did not want to be late, not this time. She wore the tangerine dress and put on the beige heels. A touch of lip gloss and kohl in her eyes, she took one final look in the mirror, smiled and walked out of the room.
He hadn’t gotten much sleep all night. He woke up several times with thoughts racing through his mind like a speeding car. At 5AM he finally sprung out of bed and headed for a cold shower. Drying himself, he cleared a small section of the fogged up mirror and stared at himself. After a quick silent conversation with himself, he turned away and went straight to his wardrobe to pull out the crisp powder blue shirt and the beige pants. “She loves beige“, he thought to himself as he stood in front of the mirror and combed his hair for the nth time. He had to look perfect.
As she stepped out of her apartment, the sun was just peeking out of the horizon. The air was slightly warm with a slight breeze. She walked down the steps and hurried down the road towards the woods, a short distance from her house. She could not be late, not this time.
He hurried out of his house and stood for a minute to take in the smell of freshly cut grass that hung in the air. At an impulse, he picked out a bunch wild purple flowers, her favorite. He went to his parked car and drove down the road towards the woods.
As she entered the woods, she could feel her heart racing. The time has come. The cobbled path was wettish. She could not stop herself from thinking about the past as she walked down the path.
20 years is a long time. She did not even get a chance to say goodbye. They knew it was not meant to be, then. But now, now she can’t wait. She was finally coming close to reality. Yes, reality. She felt like she had been living a dream, a bad dream. 20 years is a long time and its finally time to let go of the loneliness.
She wondered how he looked now. He was a handsome man back then…thick black hair, slightly curled at the top, light brown eyes which related a story by themselves, straight nose and a small mole on the left of his full mouth.. yes, he was handsome. “I bet he is as handsome as ever, even today.” She had reached the clearing and could see the rusty bench at the corner of the path. The fog was clearing up and the sunlight sneaked through the shadowy clouds to shine on the dewy leaves by the bench. It was mystical, almost perfect. She sat down on the bench, feeling it by her hands, as if it were a long-lost possession. Â She waited for him to come….
He reached the woods, climbed out of his car and shivered a little. Not because it was cold, but because he was anxious.. nervous. He walked purposefully towards the woods on the cobbled path. His thoughts returned while he hugged himself tight as he walked. Her dazzling smile was the first image that came into his mind. “The smile that lit up a thousand lamps“, he used to tell her. Her black eyes sparkled every time she smiled. He caught his breath at the thought of it. “I want to watch you sleep every night. I want to wake up every morning to see you smile”, he used to say.
20 years. They used to  walk hand in hand in these very woods. They were so young, so naïve.
And then.. it happened. Well, it had to happen. They knew it. They felt it inside their hearts even when they chased each other down this very path, 20 years ago. His mood clouded over when he thought of that fateful night, 20 years ago, when his father had packed him off to Army camp, just because his father did not want her around him. He fought, groveled, prayed..but nothing worked. He had to go.
He had no time to promise, but he hoped she would know. She would know what to do. She would know where to come. And now here he was, walking down the path towards reality. Yes, reality.
The sun was now shining through the slight mist giving the forest a very enchanted look. The flower buds shone like diamonds and rubies. He came to the clearing and there it was. The rusty bench. It gleamed in the sunlight beckoning him to come forward. He sat on it, feeling its warmth and reliving the time spent on it with her. Hours they would talk about the future. And now, he waited, for her to come…
She waited….July 17, 2020…He waited… July 17, 2030…
………….      Â
Give me a bad day and I like to make it awesome by cooking up a storm in the kitchen. After a tough day at work today, I decided to make a healthy, yummy dinner instead of the usual take-out. Of all the things I cook, making variations of Pasta is definitely my idea of ‘Experimenting with Food’!
I have experimented with the Pasta for a while now. Bored with the usual Pasta Primavera, i decided to try my hand with the sauces and ingredients. I came across a new variety of Tomato Sauce (again, bored with Ragu) –Â Loyd Grossman‘s Tomato and Basil Pasta sauce. So I decided to whip up something fun, delicious and healthy to eat using that and a few more ingredients from my kitchen. Â So here is my rendition of
Pasta with Cannellini Beans and Pepper Sausages in Tomato&Basil sauce
Ingredients:
- Whole-wheat Fussilli pasta (or you can use Spaghetti) – 250 gms
- Onion – 1 medium size
- Green Pepper – 1 medium size
- Black olives – 1/4th cup
- Jalapeños – a few cut pieces
- Sausage – 1 roll, cut into round pieces
- Garlic – 2 cloves, cut into small pieces
- Loyd Grossman’s Tomato&Basil sauce – 1 Cup
- Cannellini Beans (I use the tinned ones, these are the White kidney beans) – 1 Cup
- Pepper
- Salt to taste
- Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
- Oregano – 1 tbsp
- Olive oil to cook
- Grated cheese – to serve
- Boil the pasta in salt water, al dente for about 7-9 minutes and drain it into a sieve.
- Put a fork in the Green pepper and place it on the Gas Stove for 5 minutes, turning it around on all sides, till the skin blackens. Take it off the gas and put into a bowl of cold water. Peel off the skin with the blunt side of the knife and cut into thin strips.
- Cut the Onion Julienne.
- Cut the Sausages into round pieces. Put 2 tsp Olive oil in a pan and sauté the Sausages till slightly brown.
- Put 1 tbsp Olive oil in a pan and add the garlic
- Once the garlic turns slightly brown, add the onion and sauté for about 4-5 minutes
- Add the green pepper and stir for about 2 minutes
- Add the Cannellini beans and let the mix simmer in its own juice for about 2 minutes, till the juice starts drying up
- Add the sautéed sausages, olives and jalapeños and cook for another 4 minutes
- Add 5 tbsp of warm water into the Loyd Grossman Pasta Sauce and then add it into the pan
- Add Chilli flakes, Oregano, salt and pepper and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes
Plate up!
- Take a plate and place the boiled pasta
- Drizzle 1 tsp of Olive oil on top of the pasta
- Pour the Pasta sauce over the pasta
- Add some grated cheese and some pepper on the top
- Serve with Garlic bread
Ramblings of a Feisty Spirit 