Gourmet Meals versus Biryani

 Gourmet Meals are

Expensive

Hard to find

Not Filling- small portions

You may or may not like it- many variables

Looks good

Biryani

May not be as expensive

Is filling

Easier to find

I like it, mostly

Looks are not everything

My Likes and Dislikes

 I never tried making a list, but let me try. 

Likes

Food, friends (students included), Thumsup (sorry, not the last.. just came from their ad)

Travel (now, flights are not exactly a favourite.. they take too much time pre- and post)

Moderate temperatures, except the chai- I like that hot!

Puns

Single Malts, especially peaty, smoky ones

Music- Kishore Kumar, in particular. Radio, as a medium to listen to them..without ads, preferably.

Facebook

Dislikes

Politics..most kinds

Noise.. high decibel, even more.

Winter.. unless I can hibernate under a heavy quilt.

Government offices, Visa processes etc..

Phoney research

Instagram

Sahir Ludhianvi- His Life and Times

 He was known for some wonderful lyrics in Hindi films ranging from Abhi na jao chhod kar in Hum Dono to Kabhi Kabhie mere dil mein, and many more in between. His was a long struggle, supported by his mother and few others. How he tried hard to break in after participating in the freedom struggle pre 1947, and being labelled a commie and being persecuted, is a long and interesting story.

Brought to life by Danish Husain and his team at WOPA, who staged a musical play called 'Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon', after one of his songs. With a unique style of presentation, alternating between his songs being sung on stage, and he himself narrating pieces of autobiographical tidbits, it was a delight for the senses. 

The team, wih Vrinda, Sreejoni etc. singing and also narrating in third person, in a conversational style, the effect was magical. How he fought for the rights of lyricists to be acknowledged in credits on radio and paid well in films, is a part of the story.

Guru Dutt's film Pyaasa brought him his first recognition in films, and he went on to do some awesome song writing. My only regret is that the show left out two of my favourite films.. Humraaz and Gumraah, where I thought he wrote some brilliant songs. Chalo ek baar phir se is a favourite from Gumraah.

A bonus? Co-writer of the play, Mir Ali Husain, was a junior of mine at Osmania and IIMB.

Turkish Serial

 I happened to watch completely a serial with 164 episodes! Originally Turkish, with subtitles, though a few words seemed familiar as we have derivatives in Urdu/Hindi.

The actors were very good, so was the characterisation. That helped me when I thought of giving up. The plot was OK, but got a bit repetitive. The major themes were love and betrayal, with an Al Capone type villain who controls almost everything, killing people at will and corrupting everyone who is willing.

Love triumphs, of course, like in Indian movies, but after several tribulations, and ups and downs-even though the hero is a police officer in Istanbul.

Some good acting, and scenic views of the Bosphorus- the heroine is rich- also helped. Black Money Love is the serial, on Netflix, if you are wondering..

Winters and I

 I hate winters, in general. The worst ones I remember were at Delhi and Lucknow, during my stay there. I barely survived.

But good things can happen in winter too. You can snuggle under your quilt, endlessly drink cups of spiced tea, or brandy to keep the cold away, have New Year/Christmas parties, or sit and brood- not necessarily a good thing, depends on what you brood about.

You can always go to places that have no winters- like Chennai, Mumbai, or any coastal places. 

Snow is good from a distance, if you are warm and cozy. 

Meeting Old Friends

 This time, it was a colleague of my wife's, and her husband. They had taught in a school in Bangalore, many years ago. He worked at Bosch, and is retired. We went to their place for a delhicious lunch! It was actually in Gurgaon, but that's almost Delhi. We escaped from Delhi before the pollution levels hit the record levels that it is famous for.

Mr. Ramesh and Mrs. Madhu Mathur, who hosted us at home for lunch.

Meeting Annie and AJ

 There were a few good friends we had at Greenwood, South Carolina, USA. Annie and Samrendra Singh were a couple we grew fond of in the two years we spent there. Samren was a colleague at Lander College where I taught, though in a different department. We hung around with them and sons Eric and AJ quite a bit, enjoying a few drinks and the company.

We left in 1991, to return to India. Since then, Samren passed away a year ago or so, and the kids were grown up. It was thus great to see both Annie Singh and AJ at Delhi last week. Just like we had met yesterday! Here are some pics!

The last one is of our Greenwood days, with AJ being on the couch with his dad!

Peanuts

 A few years ago, I had an attack of Gout- used to be known as a Rich Man's disease at one time. Rich food with no exercise caused it, I assume. Anyway, I looked it up, and treated it for temporary relief. It lasts 3-4 days an is painful in the toes and makes it tough to walk.

The few things to do, included eating more nuts. I tried this, and worked well.. the humble peanut is good, so is akhrod. So I set about consciously eating peanuts. Easy to do if you also have a drink .. 

And also, drink a lot of water and eat citrus fruits. And avoid seafood, in my case.

I found a brand of salted peanuts at Indore, and became a loyal consumer. It was a local brand, just like another local brand I found in Bangalore's J.P. Nagar earlier. Found these better than Haldiram's, and fresher too.

The point is, I am nuts about some nuts..get it?