Saturday, September 26, 2009

It Is Time

Of the 24 hours in a day, if I am not working... if I am not sleeping... then either I am watching TV or listening to Music. And, I love watching the TV advertisements. These days, I am a fan of the Hindustan Times ads. Hilarious, but with a message in all the flicks. Most of these sequences of ads truly reflect today's India.

  • A Man trying to cross a railway crossing even when the stop signal is active. A common sight in most of the railway crossings. It is time to use your head... it is time.
  • A roadside tea vendor rebuking a young child who works in his tea stall... It is time to stop child labour... it is time.
  • A political party worker trying to touch the feet of the leader of his party, another common thing in India. People touching the feet of Amma .. Jayalalitha. Holy Shit... It is time to stop stooping so low... it is time.
  • A man trying to peep into another person's newspaper while traveling in bus. It is time to get your own copy... it is time.
  • Four friends looking at the Bandra-Worli sea link, and one of them comments that similar structure but double in size was made in China in just 3 years. It is time to stop being cynical... it is time
  • A TV news channel reporter asking the wife of a man, how is she feeling on the death of her husband who died of spurious medicine. A reflection of the sorry state of Indian media. It is time for better journalism... it is time.
  • Three man inside a lift. One of them felt like sneezing, and seeing that another among them wore a mask immediately. I was myself witness to such non sense some weeks back when swine flu was very active. It is time to stop panicking... it is time.
  • Two friends in a restaurant. One of them kept on staring at a couple infront of them, who were romantically enjoying their conversation over food. Now, I felt ashamed at this, because I myself sometimes stare at couples doing PDA (Public Display of Affection), or at gorgeous females in malls, multiplexes, pubs. So I will say, It is time to open my mind... it is time.
Videos can be watched at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/hindustantimes?v=app_2392950137

Saturday, September 19, 2009

iRock - XXIV

Went for the Independence Rock - XXIV, Pune finals. It was a real kick ass gig. 4 bands performed in the finals... Khiladi, Workshop, Abraxas and Pitch Black Symphony. Abraxas swayed away the crowd with their melodic heavy metal. Khiladi was good, Workshop was okay type. I personally supported Pitch Black Symphony, but Abraxas was the winner. After a long time, got to see such a nice gig. The chicks around added to the mood of the evening. It was a very soothing feeling to see the rock and metal scene of Pune.

Friday, September 11, 2009

A Winy Indian Curry ...

Chicken or Mutton... I try this recipe quite often and so thought I'll share it in my blog for any readers to try it. I call it Winy Indian Curry...

Ingredients:

  • 500 Gms. Chicken or Mutton.
  • 2 Tablespoon Red Wine
  • 1 Teaspoon of yogurt or curd.
  • 2 Tomatoes
  • 2 medium size onions.
  • 4-5 green chillies
  • 10-12 pieces of peeled garlic
  • Fresh Coriander Leaves
  • Bay leaves, Indian Garam Masala, Indian chicken/mutton masala
Procedure:
  1. Mix 1 onion, half of a tomato, 2-3 green chillies, 5-6 peeled garlic and coriander leaves in a grinder and grid it till it forms a fine paste.
  2. Take 500 Gms of properly cleaned chicken or mutton, put it in the pressure cooker with one or two cups of water (depends how much curry you want). Add a teaspoon oil, little salt, little turmeric powder to the water. Cook it till the meat is almost tender. Don't over cook.
  3. Once the meat is cooked, extract the pieces in a flat plate and preserve the water in a bowl.
  4. Now add 2 table spoons of red wine to the meat, marinate well with chicken/mutton masala. Put the wine marinated meat in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  5. Take one tablespoon oil in a kadai or a deep frying pan; fry a few bay leaves, mustard seeds. Put finely cut onion, chillies, and the peeled garlics and fry till it turns brown.
  6. Add the mix from step 1 till the mixture forms a fine paste.
  7. Now put the marinated meat into the kadai/frying pan and mix well. Add one teaspoon yogurt/curd and fry till the meat turns brownish. Add garam masala
  8. Add the water (from step 3), and cook for 10 mins in low flame.
  9. Check if the meat is tender else continue with step 8.
  10. Yummy, winy chicken/mutton curry is ready with a little tangy taste. Serve with rice.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

A Brand New Himesh

I remember someone telling that, our own Himesh, the Nasal or Oooooo Khajoor singer has done some surgical modification to his vocal cord. Now, his latest song ... Man Ka Radio has actually made me believe it. Got to hear it in TV and actually I found the song different from his earlier offerings. There is almost zero nasal part in this song. See it here ...

Friday, September 4, 2009

@ Jakarta

I came to Jakarta (Indonesia) for an official task. Except for the hectic work schedules, I loved the place, and the overall feeling of being here. Two things which made me kept wondering are Indonesia's currency and the sky-scrappers. Here everything you pay in terms of thousands. 6,000 as the minimum taxi fare... 35,000 for a juice and so on. Downtown Jakarta is full of high rises and are in the shape of 50 - 60 floors. Jakarta is clean, but traffic is as congested as back home. Food is too yummy. I tried English, Chinese, Maxican and even Indian food here and liked the food too much. Roads are ruled by Toyota. Many cars of Indian roads like swift, estilo, innova are also seen here. Local people are very polite and hospitable. Cute pretty ladies are an extra charm of the places. Even though Indonesia is an Islamic nation, but frequency of working girls at restaurant, offices and hotels will be far more than India. It was nice to be in here for my overseas assignment. I experienced Mercedes Benz for the 1st time in life and also got the experience of getting evacuated from a high rise for earthquake.