Weight loss regimen

How in the world am i gonna stick to a plan. Well this should give you a hint that I am a little frustrated with myself.

Hence thought of seeking some help from a website to track my progress towards a goal.

To loose weight... ufffff.

Weight - 135 pounds

Height - 5 feet 3 inches

BMI - 24

Analysis  - Sounds healthy :P

Goal - To lose 10 pounds

Target - Feb 2, 2011

Treat for the child in me - My first short black dress in a cruise on hudson river to enjoy a dinner with my husband.

Started with shredding 312 calories today. Lets see how it goes. Wish me luck !!

Sunrise and the New York Factory

Though i detested to see the smoke in the sky, the view was very captivating. Here i go. Click click click.

Lousy afternoon, staring through the window, there i see the lil one quenching its thirst. Wish i had time to pull up the window and click.

Sunrise

I want the picture to speak for itself. This was the sight that greeted me when i opened my eyes from sleep.

Cast Iron it is !!

Here comes the most awaited kitchenware ( till date :P ), my first own 12" cast iron skillet. Certainly tags along the instruction manual, no-soap, just hot water and brush, wipe it dry after use etc etc. Heavy it is, as i wished for and i felt this special one needs something special to start with. Hence preparing Andhra special - spicy Gongura pickle, which is made with red sorrel leaves or Gongura (as it is called in my mother tongue Telugu). Shall blog the recipe sometime soon. For now, happy with my gift :)

Paoli

Thanksgiving season, malls with people running around for deals, turkey smell in every neighborhood. Certainly missed my dear friends Lylah and Michael. Their welcoming and sharing nature towards us as students, will always be a lesson for me to carry on till my end. Being married this year, we thought we shall spend our holiday in a quite suburb where we started our married life and had to leave the place owing to shift in projects. The 3 months in this suburb will be one of our most cherished memories. As the train landed, we felt as if we are not from NJ but we have just gone for some shopping and returning back to our townhouse in Paoli. Loved the moment, as the nostalgia gushed in, enjoyed the walk to the Paoli place apartments. It was not a very active vacation, we just lazed around enjoying the place with our friends. Surprisingly, our week has started with so much of positive energy. We are feeling ecstatic about our stay in New Jersey now, though its an extreme cntradiction to the Suburban life. Reminds me of n-number of trips i enjoyed with my TCS gang. Even though most of us are scattered to different places, something tells me all of us remember and miss our days of togetherness and relaxing walks in the wild. Happy about life and the holidays. Hope you had a good holiday too :)

Silence

hai charon taraf
pehli howi arzoo
dil main chupi
ankhon mian hi aaye kion

My first Cast Iron skillet

Cooking, a hobby, passion, habit whatever i call, its become a part of my life. It might sound funny yet a badly seasoned dish or shortage of herbs in my kitchen frustrate me more than 100 other goals in my life. So i went online to make use of a gift card given by a dear friend to buy something that gives a lifetime company in my kitchen and voila !! i found it, its cast-iron. Well seasoned cast iron releases supplements of  nutritional iron into our food and a must-have possession of every chef. Skillet is a necessity than luxury for now and hence there goes my shopping splurge. Its expected to be shipped around November end and i shall keep you posted on the delicacies that i want to try on this new guest. Signing off sipping the chamomile tea in the lousy afternoon.

Fall season

A fine morning, windy and sunny. Cam in hand, just took a stroll, hair wound up in a knot, in my pajamas, just a jacket to ward off cold, unkempt and lost. Fall and the trees shredding leaves, one of the best examples i could quote for "Change". A transition which accompanies distress and hope. The sadness that the colors are vanishing and the hope that someday its gonna be lush green again. Feeling good and trying to be content. Spoke to a dear friend, caught up on updates from india and was amazed at how lazy i have become. People travel for hours to reach their work place and here i am with so much of convenience. Am i getting used to unnecessary luxuries or am i managing my time diverting from the commute to useful stuff. Sometime i think more potential was tapped out of me while i was working in india as i was handling work, commute and yet had my lifestyle rocking on. Not sure.....thinking for now... Chao !!

God and Universe, the perception and fact

A beautiful friday morning, 70F in Paoli, Philadelphia. I sipped my cardamom tea sitting on the step gazing at the lawn in front of my home, relaxing and enjoying the breeze. Stepped into my routine with deccan herald and ndtv filling me up with the updates around the world. Some mishaps, some big fat greek weddings, some political  buzz and Voila !! there i see the picture of stephen hawking and in big bold letters "God didn't create Universe". My first response was "Not again". I read the article, was quite thought provoking. Here i am reading about Lokayata/Carvaka and some recent studies into the Indian materialistic thought system. It might take few years for me to pen down even a simple opinion on something so vast , but shall certainly provide my view on this book edited by Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya. The book gives an overview (quoting some source materials) on Carvaka, a redoubtable intellectual and doctrinal sect outside the vedic fold, which despite the intense persecution from orthodoxy, stood its ground unfailingly and left a powerful impression on the corpus of Indian literature from Vedas to Upanishads to later. To conquer your opposition, you need to know everything about it. Ignorance doesn't seem like a bliss today. Chao !!

Buzz

The stars can’t line up any straighter

Do it now and think about it later
 
Time's money but you knew
 
U saw the null, sometimes u flew
 
Gear up and learn, its easy to run
 
See-Saw is life, balance is fun

Subterfuge

I end up writing half my posts posing questions to my reader or to my self. Am here to ask if anyone does anything to flee away from things, just to keep yourself away from thoughts. I do. I cook, for hours sometimes just to keep myself occupied, most of the times escaping  from unnecessary thoughts. The observation here is that i don't get tired when i do that. Cooking is a physical activity which certainly requires some labor, skill and may be a little bit of conjecture which as per basic laws of common sense should result in exhaustion. May be its the duration of the activity that comes into picture and my count was 8 hours non-stop. This got me to think if people get involved in activities to evade from thoughts and would they choose healthier means to cater to their needs. I am interested to know. All this while i was under the impression that people get involved in tasks which enthrall them or satisfy some financial needs. Here comes a new category which might not bring the best out of you yet helps you have some stability. Let me know if you do anything like this or just pass onto a better read.

Canyon

Here am I, after almost 6 months penning down my views on the exponential rise of change with time. Married, bargained time to settle down on what i want, enjoying my day to day activities, life suddenly seamed to have taken a giant leap into a new world which looks beautiful. Or may be its a perception again. Balance is ruling on my charts and love is in the air. Someone pulls me in saying grab your strings before they cut. Do what  you crave for , know the passion within, enjoy your existence and play with the numbers around. Alive I sound, playful and chirpy, silence yet tells the slit is still felt. Great ones discuss ideas, cheap ones discuss people, mediocre discuss events. I think of togetherness, i long to be unified, people are different, but i want everyone to give life a chance. I am a learner and the life always holds a cane. Beat it or sing it, moral ends up deep within me. So are thoughts racing around in my brain, meeting new people, listening to their words, framing conceptions, still i term myself a lazboy. A toast, 2 clementia and a glass of skimmed milk, a healthy breakfast for an energetic day. Signing off to make some sense to myself.

Potential

Am amazed at the limits to which ppl could push themselves to and how truly circumstances bring out such unbelievable responses. This tells me somewhere within every human , there is just one simple mass of flesh which just needs some tuning to gear up and do things just like anyone else. Simple yet unexpected things have been happening around me since quite few days of my arrival in India.

Visited a temple and saw numerous devotees lighting lamps at a particular hour of a day to please the deity. Another mode of faith and i questioned is it true, are their efforts in the right direction. There are many and i mean a very huge number. I was intimidated to even ask, wondering if the answer is No, i would leave myself hurt that so many are in dark just waiting for something in return. I left the place quietly wishing their mode reaped the results.

Was watering the plants, which has become my daily routine and saw a cow in pain in front of the house. Even before anyone could react, it fell down on the street and there took place the most memorable street show i have ever seen. A baby calf was trying to put its step on the street with ten's of visitors watching the event.Wanted to be a vet in a split second and wished i could run to it to help. Hardly it could stand as the chord was connected and then the nature took hold of the scene. The chord broke and the mommy cow stood up and started licking the calf. Within minutes the calf was up and limping around. Wonderful was the moment and a smile spread on everyone's face. That showed me how simple things are designed by nature and how a human, being so sophisticated complains and cribs for 9 months. The entire process is made to look so complicated and few hardly realize that human race still grows in tribes where all the hyper medical facilities are not available. Are we getting used to luxuries unconsciously ? Or may be we are made to be over cautious about everything around. Yet our strength remains far beyond our estimations.

Thus thinking i have been spending the days and here comes a so called surprise which took away the happiness which lasted for a split second. How would people react if they know for sure something is going wrong and they are helpless and worse if it is affecting a dear one. You know there is no way out, expressing it out is not gonna yield anything, it is bound to happen and you know it is wrong for sure. I was faced with an unexpected scenario where i surprised myself by just being me and hopefully polite in being so. Its a pain to portray joy and suffocation to convince thyself, yet something calms me down saying everything is fleeting.

Hope to see more interesting scenes of play called "Life".

When i sleep late, weird thoughts flow through

There he lay in the vast dark sky

Is it a doze or just lil shy

Peeping through the curtain of cloud

To the smile of a child, there he bowed

Swayed the daffodils in the breeze

Proud and beautiful in the banks of Tees

Touches the child with grace and ease

Seizes the airs, posy falls to the knees

Charm is thou oh lil kid

ur smile will win whatever is the bid

Lost i am in this grid

wonders the child fluttering its eyelid

Pure is your soul within

Brings the joy to kith and kin

In the world of greed and thick skin

You certainly deserve to win

Bones: We got the suspects. Why do we need the motive
Sweets: Knowledge Bones, its why i do what i do..

Song of the Flower By Khalil Gibran and few photos by me in Longwood Gardens

I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.

At dawn I unite with the breeze
To announce the coming of light;
At eventide I join the birds
In bidding the light farewell.

The plains are decorated with
My beautiful colors, and the air
Is scented with my fragrance.

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of
Night watch over me, and as I
Awaken I stare at the sun, which is
The only eye of the day.

 I drink dew for wine, and hearken to
The voices of the birds, and dance
To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.

I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath;
I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

But I look up high to see only the light,
And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn.

Abyss of an unknown

A walk in a strange new place, sure of an unknown path, yet some confidence to keep moving with the faith to trace back. A very simple task for most, but not less than an exploration for a girl who can get lost in her university after studying for 2 1/2 years. Thus started my afternoon, with a camera in hand and a walk in Paoli to run with the click of the clock. I walked in the snow, on a pavement, into a school, on a bridge, stopped to look at the running train wondering like a kid shivering in cold. Smiled at strangers, baffled with thoughts, sipping a mocha and there i stopped. Saw a beautiful church, wanted to enter, something pulled me back and i resumed my walk. Touch of the wind blended with warmth of people, i am moving on to sync with my life's ripple.

Dil khush hua sunke

Aksar log Ghazal kehthe hain
Aur log bahuth maza lethe hain
Par Ghazal bhi kuch kehthi hain
Woh kehthi hain
Main Ghazal hoon
Mujhe ragon se sajaya jaye
Narm aawaz ke jadoo se jagaya jaye
Miro Ghalib ne sawara hain Ghazal ke phan ko
Mujhko nadhanonke haath se bachaya jaaye
Main Ghazal hoon, mujhe ragon se sajaya jaye

Waqt ki khaidh main zindagi hain magar
Rokhlo aaj ki raat ko
aaj jaane ki zidh na karo

Lost in Farida Khanum's voice.

Home

Home is the place where you can feel the person's energy. Very speculative statement. I wondered saying "oh !! is it " But true..it makes sense. It reflects a person's taste, his interest in tiny little stuff, the way he throws things around or arranges with evident passion. I like observing, a new surprise for me. Just a casual day, miles of walk, not tired to cook, dinner at home, capscicum bath, dal makhani , shared with roomie and a friend. A day more to count my blessings. signing off with a smile.

Sands of Time

    Lives of great men all remind us
        We can make our lives sublime,
    And, departing, leave behind us
        Footprints on the sands of time ;
    Footprints, that perhaps another, 
        Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
    A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
        Seeing, shall take heart again.
    Let us, then, be up and doing,
        With a heart for any fate ;
    Still achieving, still pursuing,
        Learn to labor and to wait.



A psalm of life by Longfellow recited by a dear friend of mine.
How simple and elegant. 
Few words made by day, some actions broke my heart, some artifacts made me smile, yet another day I sail.

Cause & Consequence

Few years back, well, about 8 years back, a mathematics teacher gifted me a book he purchased from Ramakrishna Ashram. Inspired by the wordings in this pocket book, i visited the place the same week. A very calm and serene location amidst the heavy traffic in Basavanagudi area in Blore. Shared the experience with a few of my dear friends and voila there comes my birthday gift, 6 books on different topics from the same publisher.Treasured the gift, as one of these books left an everlasting impression on my mind. Never imagined that a quote from this book gives me an answer to few questions which have been disturbing me since quite few months.

In short, i was affected by the understanding of a brain, as this brain has the highest probability of stimulating another brain which affects certain chemical and neural reactions in this little brain of mine. This situation had posed a strong question to me since quite sometime.

Whether we understand,pursue or ignore, clock still ticks on. Earth does not stop just because we don't understand the reason behind the rotation and revolution. The understanding gets nurtured from the way we are brought up, the amount of exposure to the world, to a certain extent our age and passion to find the answers. Few sects of human life seek protection under the shield of religious belief, give names to the super power and soothe themselves with this theory on the basis of extensive foundation laid by ancestors. This can be termed as blind belief or a smart choice. History is a strong armor to rely upon. Variety is the spice of life and here comes the next sect who do not believe in the religion, neither are sometimes old enough to comprehend, no history to back up (atleast not as strong as the one which is firm and deep-rooted). But again their understanding certainly seeks a reason for everything that happens around. If the first sect relies upon the ultimate for an answer, the other accepts that there is a cause behind every consequence. Here comes the unity in diversity.Sometimes this cause is known, sometimes this cause is still to be found yet exists.

This is what we term as "Faith", whether in superior power or the "reason and the result", this exists in every human being. This reassures me that " something is common in every understanding".

The title of the book - "Faith is Power".
Thanks to HNR sir.

Quiescence

A king by name Narcissus
Visited the lake everyday
A peek at his reflection
Made him jump in gay
Called himself the most handsome
Lying at the bay
A deeper look into the water
 In the abyss he lay
There came the forest fairy to remove all fears
Salt turns the lake filled with tears
Oh lake, don't you miss the favorite guest
Handsome was he, with his unquenched thirst
Wonders the lake and says Oh dear !!
Happy was i to have his eye as my mirror.

This was a short story told by Paulo Coelho as a fable in his own way.
I rewrote it with the words flowing in my mind today.

How surprisingly truthful is this. Ignore, Disagree, Contemplate, come what may, this is present in each and every human being. At one or the other point of life,  we try to see ourselves in others around us, sometimes we search, sometimes we complain, but truth lies in this story simple and plain.

Ehsaas

A bright sunny day, a 2 mile jog and a few min walk, my first home-made french toast and the pretty white frock, all set to have a relaxed day, ended up 15 hours working in the office. Thus, went along a memorable sunday. What am i looking for, why didn't i say No, for how many things didn't i say No ! Does everyone face that. Do they turn back and ask why didn't I ! I do, i do every moment and trying to make every moment not a source of this question.

Mood : Sleepy, Tired, Introspective.
Music : Ehsaas thoda bhi jagaaye, apne dilo mein hum, Vande mataram

Disjointed fragments of my thoughts

A historical day,a person to remember, a change to seek, a life to look foward to.
Something motivates, someone challenges, something says within wailing in silence, this is not me.

Nothing makes sense when all of us are fellow passengers to the grave.
Yet asks the world to move on and be brave.
Child in me doesn't want to grow
Challenges the lady luck twitching her brow

Waiting for a brighter tomorrow, where its just thee
Watering the plants and dancing with glee