One Life To Live: 2011

Monday, December 12, 2011

Right from the platter!

If you are passionate about one thing in your life, and there’s no other thing that you can even think of, then definitely destiny will play its way to shape it for you. But it’s you who has to smoothen it further and work for it with all the passion. That is, if you have a dream and you work to achieve it, you will definitely achieve it.

Pick up any example. I mean example of any personality who made it large. By the way, I got the recipe for this article from a recent reality show for chefs called “Master Chef India 2”. Being a food lover, I love watching reality cook shows. I have followed (though not all episodes) Master Chef Australia, Master Chef USA, and Hell’s Kitchen, to name a few. I was not a very regular viewer of Master Chef India-2 though, for which I can blame a bad internet connection and absence of a TV. However, my vacations started, I got access to the TV (thank God for that) and I loved watching the show. That was the 10^th day of December, Saturday. The participants (8) were assigned a task to cook the dish of a 2 Michelin Star Chef of Hong Kong. They were supposed to work in pairs. At a point of time when nervousness comes naturally, I saw Jyoti ji consoling Joseph (who were both a team) just like a mother would do when her child loses confidence or/and is nervous. She was asking him to just relax and….. Wow….This happens only in India…..The following day was the elimination round.

11^th Day of December. That team was in the elimination round. Finally Jyoti ji got eliminated. But, once her name was called upon for elimination, I saw Chef Vikas Khanna saying some very humble words to Jyoti ji and even touching her feet. He said that he wants to touch the feet of a mother who is of no comparison to any chef in the world. He said that this is the reason why no food cooked by any of the world’s greatest chefs could match the essence of a food cooked by a mother. And believe me I was watching the show spellbound and this part of the show was the “wow factor” for me. I mean a Michelin star chef himself praising the dish cooked by a participant, who is a mother, was just something… You will never experience such things on a Gordon Ramsay Show, never ever.

Chef Vikas Khanna who hails from Amritsar, Punjab is now one of the most prestigious hospitality group owners in the US. His success story might not be so dramatically discussed by some. It might be just another story. But, he is a personality who can easily be taken as a source of inspiration. From cooking in ‘langars’ to being an executive Michelin star chef of the Junoon Hospitality Group cannot be just another story. It takes the exact temperature, the right amount of spices, the perfect condiments and precisely chosen ingredients to make a good dish. But the precise garnishing and the specific attitude makes it perfect.

What I mean to tell is that, he had a passion for food from his childhood. He wanted this to be his life. He worked for his passion and he achieved it. Sounds simple, does it? But believe me, it is not. Having a clearly defined and distinguishing passion is not that easy. It even takes half a lifetime to discover your passion. But if you have it, just work to make it happen. And that is not easy as well, but not trying is worse than failing.

Like I always say, keep dreaming and make them real.

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Update (December, 2016): I have been following Chef Vikas Khanna's shows because he inspires me. His interaction with people in his 'Twist of Taste' episodes are so humble and motivating. Truly, a gem of a person!
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

For Heaven's Sake..... I am

NOT A MACHINE

A lot has been going on these days. Vostok has stopped thinking about all this. She doesn’t even know how to react to these issues. Well… it’s actually not an issue but the way it’s going on these days it seems to be so. The environment, the surroundings, everything seems to be moving in a very fast pace and the poise that Vostok has been maintaining till now seems to lose its ground. It seems as if something is there that she is trying to figure out but just can’t. She can feel it very close to her heart but she just doesn’t know how to seek it. Well… wait a moment….. very close to her heart…!! It seems ridiculous. Yeah, I mean she has a heart, right? If yes, why do others do not feel it. I mean, if she has got a “Real” heart, one should feel it. The ones living in her proximity has never ever felt that she too has a heart. Is it a problem with them or is it true that she doesn’t have a heart at all?

Well, that question is still left unanswered. Vostok, from her birth till date was blessed with a beautiful gift of poise and patience. She never knew what it felt like to live life without poise. Her surroundings were always like she imagined it to be. Life was cheerful, always. If ever anything came her way that she has not planned for or has never imagined it that way, it had to change…may be she tried and changed or else nature did it for her. Life was like wearing rose colored glasses. Everything was so calm and eternal. But…..

(to be continued…..)

Friday, August 12, 2011

And the moon got lost.....

And the moon got lost

When there was the silence of the words

Walking alone to the old birch tree

The rats were still racing on

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The clouds were on a marathon

Yet the stars twinkled with

Light and cheery, zest and merry

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The birds chirped, the bees hummed

The sun was wide awake

The leaves dried and the flowers withered

And the moon got lost…

And the moon got lost

The sandy breeze with the fragrance within

Whipped and circled and told some tale

The tides mystified and roared with laughter

And still the moon got lost!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

TIMES CHANGE !!

Change. It’s the nature’s nature. Whether we welcome it or are just ignorant about it, change does happen. It, I believe, is the fundamental law of nature and the sustenance of life. Well, just to explain my point a bit more, just imagine…..what we all are doing in this world!! Of course we are living our lives. But, to ‘live a life’ we need some basic requirements. Roti, kapda aur makaan, it might sound clichéd, but it is. And the entire world just revolves around this. I came across a beautiful concept of life on the website of a snack brand. It goes like this: Every crime that is done on this earth is just because of hunger. So pacify hunger and stop crime. Unusual, but true to the core. Just think, we are always striving to get better- getting better education, better living condition, better ethics… Doing in a better manner means changing the way it existed before. For example, History lessons in our education system-teach us how the world changed in due course. Science-teaches us the conditions that existed before and how these were changed by some new inventions, discoveries, technologies, whatever. Every aspect…..you just pick up one…..is a study of changes that happened and changes that are yet to be made. So, as I said earlier, Change IS the fundamental law of nature. It’s the basic property. And hence, we have no choice but to accept it.

Well, I always believe in the fourth dimension and very much agree with the dynamism associated with it. Now, a question might arise that nothing is static (as everything changes), so why do I have to agree with the dynamism? Whether I agree or not, the dynamism will still be there. Why do I have to state it loud? The reason is, the dynamism I am referring to is just not ‘change’. It’s the dynamism of the change. That is, the rate at which the change occurs. And that is why I believe in the dynamism of the 4^th dimension. This dynamism has been a sort of obsession for me since my childhood. I mean, I keep on wandering what exactly keeps on happening. How would we be able to find out correctly the quantities associated with it? And if ever we find out a way, a method, to calculate the numbers associated or the calculations that are to be done will it be 100% correct? I mean, we may feel that the way we are approaching is correct, but still there might be something, hidden or unraveled, that actually will be leading us in a wrong direction even without our knowledge. Well, thoughts like this always kept me puzzled. Genesis is believed to be the greatest puzzle till date. But what concerns me is the puzzle that existed before genesis. Genesis was just a change made.

For getting some diet for my odd inquisitiveness, I relied upon books. But gradually the puzzles increased in numbers. Some got solved but the solutions were over ruled by the number of questions. So I decided to take a break…..to just live my life…..and forget about the oddities for a span of time. But, life is all about oddities. The beautifulness of life is the oddities wrapped. Life teaches more than books. Actually to state otherwise, books are the portrayal of life itself. Hence, reading bountiful books would be a feast for my inquisitive mind (odd inquisitiveness- as stated by some)…..I thought so. But, I tell you, books are a real epidemic…..once you fall in for them, you just can’t get out. It spreads and spreads and spreads. It happened with me too. I just fell in for them and they became an addiction. Well, don’t think I am talking about my textbooks only….. I am referring to the solution corner of the puzzles. Book is just a synonymic term which encompasses everything, textbooks, media, any source of knowledge….. The more I wanted to know about the dynamic nature of the 4^th dimension, the more mysterious it became. But that’s the way it is expected to be. Despite of knowing all these, our heart never stops trying. It’s the basic human nature after all. Our brain wants more. It just wants to know more and more…..actually it wants to know everything about everything in this universe and beyond…..This never stops. You feed the mind with a new stuff, it will desire for knowing even more. It wants to know the dynamism of its own self because it loves change…..And Times Change.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Life, happiness and dreams

"Happiness is not something that happens. It is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but rather how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy."

--Mihaly Csikszentmihayli

Yeah,its completely true to the tee. I have seen people measuring the level of happiness they are feeling. But I wonder, can happiness be quantitative!? I mean if you are happy, you are just happy and nothing. No other issue, stands between you and your happiness. If you are happy now, forget everything and just be happy. Why mix feelings? Just live the moment. I may seem preachy, but I am telling it out of my own experience.....whenever I am happy and I just stay happy, I feel really happy and everything turns happy and the moment turns out only for me. But, if I try to just give a thought that now I am happy.....as times change....will the moment change for me in the near future.....and guess what? It actually changes.....not because it was destined to, but I made the moment change just because of my thoughts. You see, thoughts really change your life. It makes you happy if you want yourself to be. Oh, I have been blabbering about being happy, happy moments and all happy things. I can't stop myself because the occasion is itself very happy for me. And to add on it has been made precious by my both my parents and friends, people who care for me and are really precious for me. Life is full of such short and sweet moments. We just need to find them and live them to the full. What happens next will be taken care when the appropriate time comes.

Dreams sometimes may make you happy and sometimes may not. But, as I have said before, it all depends on you how you perceive things. Life without a dream is not life at all. We should hold fast to dreams,for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow. Dreams are eternal, dreams are divine. Live your dreams because life is all about living, short and sweet moments.. of your dreams and celebrating every good thing, however small it may be. After all, its just one life to live....and we must live fully!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Feel privileged!!!

Sometimes things seem so beautiful and so astounding that we tend to forget the real object.I mean, how the real object must be feeling to be a piece of such adoration. Sometimes, though it may sound rather peculiar and surprising, the admiration that they get is not what they desire. It's sometimes painful for them but their painful situation becomes so breathtaking for us that they can hardly complain and we can hardly realize. Just take for example, the images given here.It's of the Niagara Falls when it froze. It's so wonderful that we forget the woe of the water which is dead frozen....which is inhibited of the flow!

But, despite all this life is for living such moments. If your woes and sorrows seem good to others, then you must feel desired and privileged. After all, life is a mixture of good and bad. If everything we desire gets fulfilled, then it's not a life worth living!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Words So True.....

What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.

# Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.
- Audre Lorde

# No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.
- Barbara de Angelis

# Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
- Anais Nin

# We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.
- Talmud

# Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life.
- Buddha

# We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving. And we all have some power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.
- Louisa May Alcott

# Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
- Ralph Ellison

Sunday, April 3, 2011

After 28 years

Saturday morning. It started like every normal Saturday morning usually starts. We had our end-sem lab quiz scheduled that day, it sounds important but could it be more important than the event that was scheduled for that day! Well the answer might be subjective but it is unquestionable at the same time. So, just like each lab class we ‘calmly’ went inside and almost all of us were trying to have premonitions, not about the quiz questions of course!!So, the lab ended at 12:30 for the 1st batch (I was in it) quiz takers and at 1:00 for the 2nd batch. And after the lab, we didn't have any classes, not by time table. It was because the day was more of a festival for the citizens of a country where cricket is an unequivocal religion. So, we all fastened our seat belts and got ready for the war to begin. I was getting flashbacks, or rather, flashes of the Ramayana.

The match began. Many boarders were enjoying the match in the dining hall of our hostel and it felt like a stadium but, I preferred watching it online. Whatever! The match went on and on and on. India’s innings started and started rather at a low note. Sachin’s wicket came as a heart choking situation and many were disheartened. Well, the match was full of nail biting moments. Sachin and Gambhir’s wickets were like ‘Nooooo…..that can’t be…..!’ moments. I started disliking the bowler. Anyways, I was watching the match alone in my room, so it was a bit of pressure to witness some worrisome situations. The last 6 overs to go! It was expected that Malinga was going to bowl the 48th and 50th overs-the 2 crucial overs for India. I was feeling that it was kind of a live or die moment. At last, at the end of 47th over, I thought, I can’t handle the pressure alone and went to a friend’s room (who was also witnessing the match online) for the last 3 overs. And, as expected Malinga bowled the 48th over but…..tchtchtch….what great strokes! My heart elated with each stroke. That was just wonderful, awesome! Starting of 49th over…..5 runs,12 balls and a great performance awaited. We were praying for a six but the first ball contributed for a single run. Next, 11 balls, 4 runs…..Dhoni on strike. The ball was bowled, Dhoni hit the ball…..and buffering stopped. We were sure that it must be a six or at least a four but for 5 seconds could not judge what it was exactly! I patted the laptop heavily as if it would listen to me and would show the consequence. That was funny but at that moment it was not! Finally, after 5 seconds we saw that it was a huge six and……..INDIA WON THE WORLD CUP 2011! I was spellbound. I did not know for a minute how am I supposed to react. I was just left in that moment. I did not want to come out of that. I was seeing my friends screaming and dancing with joy and I was just asking them,”Is it for real? ” Then, we saw Yuvraj and Harbhajan crying and then I realized, 'Yes. We actually have the cup now. We are the champions now!' A lot of thoughts and lots of feelings were streaming in but I was just confused what to do. Should I scream, should I laugh or should I cry. Anyways, we enjoyed the last moments of the world cup in the dining hall. Sachin being carried on the shoulders and India’s victory walk round the stadium was heart-elating. Sachin’s last ODI world cup in his hometown, in his ground with a victory, world cup victory, and his cherished dream of holding a world cup in his 21 years of carrier, that was one of the most glorious moments. But that was also sad. I was feeling as if this is the last world cup match for me. Anyway, we are the champions now and that’s the best thing. When the team was posing for a photo with the World Cup in their hands and a banner reading ‘Champions’ in front of them, I bet most Indians would have witnessed a ‘goose bumps moment’. Oh, that is just so good, it’s hard to come out of it.

All this glory, all this pomp is worth the win, a win after 28 years. But, what disturbs me is the amount of money. Yes. Many organizations-govt. and private have already announced and some are yet to announce huge prize money for the team members for their win. I agree that they are worth it and deserving. But, just think, gifting each player 1-2 crore rupees on one side and people of the same nation dying of hunger, committing suicides out of hunger on the other, where does this issue fit in? If one crore rupees have truly been invested for such a cause, how many lives could have been saved? How many people could have been benefited?

Think of 2007 world cup. We, residents of a civilized nation turned into terrorists when Indian team failed miserably. We were in the verge of demolishing their houses; we burned down their dummies and what not. Let us forget the past. It was bitter. But shouldn’t we give it a thought? We are healthy minded people and have got the capacity to think and ponder over an issue. We are happy now as our team won the world cup. They are happy too. It’s our win, our country’s win. But, when the team lost in 2007, was it only their loss?! Were they feeling happy about it? We were feeling bad; but, at the same time we should have thought, what they were feeling at that moment. They were also depressed and we added on to it by burning down their dummies, by attacking their homes and by bad mouthing them. Is this what independence should look like? Definitely not. Now, we are raining gold on them. If a small, just a trifle amount could have been used otherwise, a lot of deaths could possibly have been done away with.

Anyways, it was Team India! The men in blue! And, tomorrow is Blue Day. Just hope, the glory remains with us forever.