Mental Excursions

  Making a mountain out of a molehill Most of my week was taken up by rai (brown mustard) and anything that takes up so much energy and ruins (or even boosts) my peace of mind, to me, is worth sharing. Who knows how many of us are in the same boat! It all began with someone dear and close asking for Punjabi style gobhi ka achar (cauliflower pickle). I enjoy making it, so naturally it became my immediate mission. The easy way for me is to procure dry spices first and then get fresh vegetables which are perishable. And those of you who are keen on natural preservation or are as finicky about spices as I am, would support me when I say the spices have to be clean and fragrant.   I had everything at home for the recipe-mustard oil, turmeric, Kashmiri mirch (Chilly), garam masala, rai, vinegar, and of course, salt. I collected them to check their condition and aroma. In the process, I opened the rai packet and spread the contents on a plate, taking it out in the sunlight to...

  Y our nose is in my business! Vandana Pandey’s comment on last week’s post that the person asking me how I keep myself busy should have been given a retort, set me thinking. To clarify, at that moment I was too happy enjoying golgappe to have even bothered about or think of anything. Yet, sadly, even a week later I have neither a satisfying answer to the lady’s question, nor any retort for such enquirers for future use. But it made me think of hundreds of questions that I am asked. These have generally been personal in nature and as a rule, unless the receiver has an answer ready or is happy to be asked, they should be counted as rude, offensive or at least irritating. Please take note, people asking such questions mostly have been outside the circle of family, friends, relations or even colleagues (although some things even these categories should not be asking). Being near strangers or nodding acquaintances, I have no reason to believe that they have my welfare in mind or ...

  Looking for minority status? Articles 14, 15 and 16 of our Constitution talk of Equality before law i.e. equal protection of the law, and forbid discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. What a layperson like me understands from this is whatever be my religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, I am equal to the 1.3 billion (minus me) Indians and that the state would treat me as it does the others on the basis of the above factors. Does that also mean that since we all are equal, there is no question of any majority or minority in any respect? No, no, this is not going to be a political essay nor is it going to be a commentary on our laws. Everyone guns for the underdog so I am only trying to measure the horizon of my own chances of being included in a minority , any kind at all. According to   https://www.britannica.com/topic/minority minority is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is s...

  Aal izz well As I sit here drumming the keyboard, I want to share with you this feeling of immense satisfaction that things have begun to move more or less smoothly and we can now go on with our lives as usual. If you are raising your eyebrows or scrunching your nose at this, please be patient for the next three minutes and go through my explanation. It has been two days since Diwali. The dense smog generated due to explosion of tons of paper-wrapped gunpowder into piles of garbage in just a couple of hours by husbands and sons of women who claim to be unable to sleep without air purifiers on normal days, is beginning to clear. The animals and birds s*** scared of this war on their sensory organs are beginning to come out of their hiding places. We have duly worshipped the brightly painted small clay figures of Lord Ganesh and goddess Lakshmi , pleaded with them to grant us the boons which the other gods ignored or forgot to bestow on us during the rest of the year, and d...