The Day Bangalore Lockdown Made Me a Chef

I never realized how serious Dominoes' Pizza's "Hungry Kya" campaign is, till Monday 5 th of July,2010. This day has no real importance( its a day after USA celebrates its Independence Day). Yet, it will remain etched in my "Stomach" forever.

A few days before this memorable day, the Indian central government decided that the Indian common man's honeymoon period was over. It was payback time. And amid much hue and cry, the fuel prices were increased. The common man had hardly understood the full comport of it,when a lockdown(Bandh) was ordered by certain "Highly" intelligent individuals of the political circle. And......Bangalore came to a standstill.

I had heard a lot about such Bandhs, but the real experience happened only now. As I strolled out for a walk in the busy hours of the morning, every shop was closed. And the ones that mattered the most....the Food Joints, were shut down. Feeling terribly hungry, I measured the length and breadth of Marathalli(area where I live) to descry if possible, any signs of food. But, as fate would have it, not a single shop, even the shanty one that springs up in the nooks and recesses of residential areas, was open. With a heavy heart and empty growling stomach, I headed back home. It was time to dig deep into my supplies.

My "SUPPLIES" as you would call them, consisted of only 3 packets of biscuits, 3 slices of cheese and 1 sachet of tomato sauce. It was impossible to think, at first, how I was going to conjure up a breakfast menu and a delicious lunch out of this.I managed to take care of the breakfast, munching a few pieces from each of the 3 biscuit packets available at my disposal. Little did I realize then that my lunch was going to inspire the Chef within me.

As time for lunch approached, I realized that I could not survive on a plain diet of biscuits. Insufficient as it was, an insipid lunch would only make matters worse. I decided....it was time to innovate.

Picking up two biscuit pieces, I filled Tomato sauce in between to bring some variety into my starters for lunch. The first bite on this new preparation(Sauc-e-Monaco) was enough to indicate that I had started on the right foot. It gave me the impetus to proceed forward with my experiments. The next on menu was the Cheesi-la-Exotica. Prepared by sandwiching cheese spread or cheese slice in between a couple of biscuits and topped with ample tomato sauce, it was a real delicacy. I was now experimenting at will, using all my supplies to the best effect.

At the end of lunch, though not full satiated in terms of hunger, I was absolutely bowled over by the taste. In the EXTREME crisis, I managed to prepare my first independent and innovative line of snack recipes. The Bangalore Bandh turned me into a CHEF.

You are falling in love all the way

When the heart pines for someone,
When the pain and happiness become one,
When time ceases to exist for one.
And still you live in self denial,
To not hear the truth,
To not stand the trial.
To stay away from something so pure,
To resist the pull, to resist the lure.
You know you’re gonna fail at the end of day,
You are falling in love all the way.


A smile tore across the heart today,
Sent you dreaming on another way.
Eyes clouded and thoughts on hold,
But to accept it,
Oh! You’re not so bold.
It means nothing to you,
Nothing indeed.
Its just a pest, its just a weed.
And when the heart lurches again,
You know the pain’s gonna come again.
You know you’re gonna fail at the end of day,
You are falling in love all the way.

The storm rises and abates

Its sometimes so difficult to just keep on doing things that don't please you. There are times you may shut your mind to thoughts that agitate you or make you indignant. But that is not possible all the time. Its strange sometimes to understand people as well. While they may root for a cause and a show a holistic approach to things in open, a hypocrisy underlies each one of them. For small little things, people are ready to forget the larger purpose, the larger scheme of things. Personal small gains overshadow the bigger achievement.

It is times like these that play on a free mind that accepts not, the social bondage and the bourgeois thinking that abides the common thought. Such ideas seem so foreign and alien to me that when people bring them up, it agitates me. It is strange to think that people are caged within such small perceptions that they refuse to think beyond. And when it is not possible to change ideas, the mind heats up. It becomes restless and then things happen that shouldn't.

Anger takes the better of rationality and this is not a good thing. At these times, there is a need to calm the mind and let it empty itself of all thoughts. Cleanse it thoroughly and make it afresh. Its like emptying a pitcher of all its contents and letting it fill again, a little more carefully now, so that the contents do not spill over. Its essential to siphon the contents at regular intervals into the sink so that the pitcher remains relatively empty to take in more. That probably is the right way to manage the anger, when it takes hold. That probably is the solution.

As I finish this blog, the storm seems to have abated for now. The mind is calm and equanimity prevails. The pitcher has been emptied. I will remain calm for some time now. I have found a sink in expression of thoughts through the means of words. This will hopefully keep me calm and free. Thoughts closed......

Dreams vs Fantasies

Its strange isn't it ! To compare dreams and fantasies. They seem alike and yet so different.

Dreams are the beacons that light our path and show us what we can do if we only.... believe. They show us the good times that are to come ahead. And they motivate us to toil further, just that little bit more, to reach the light at the end of the tunnel ! And more importantly, dreams are what can be fulfilled. They can and shall materialize, only you have to believe......

Fantasies are a little different. They are those grand figments of our imagination that do not sprout in the world of reality. They shall make that rosy picture dance before our eyes, ever so beautiful and yet not real. They cloud the sense of judgement and rationality, rendering us directionless. They lead us to a tunnel so well lit that it dazzles before our eyes. We get so pre-occupied with what we are made to see, that we forget that ahead is a dead end. We forget that it is not a dream that will fulfill, but a quagmire that has no escape, if we do not act fast.

It is so essential to understand and identify what we believe in. Is it a dream or is it a fantasy? If it is a dream, there will be a way to make it real. It may seem difficult at first, but the way will show itself. More importantly, what you can do to realize a dream will always be within your grasp. It will be within your calibre to do it, to get it.

If what you see is a fantasy, be aware. It will show ahead an easy way to follow. Think before you walk that path. Think, if it will lead you to the right end. Think, if what you believe in is something that you can do. See past the glittering walls of the tunnel, and you will find your answer.

That is what is the difference between dreaming and fantasizing. So dream, believe in it and realize. And you will see yourself as you want to be, as you can be ....