Gajar ka halwa and my cravings!

I had been becoming a bit plumpy so I had joined a jim. But it was not being able to shed my extra plump. Because I was a diehard fan of phuchka and rosogullas.  My colleagues used to tease me that I will turn into a girl if I eat more phuchkas. But  no taunting ever dettered me from plunging into the scrumptious and mouth - watering  phuchkas.

And my cravings for sweet rosogullas had sent me on the borderline of being a diabetic. And now I had to think twice about putting my fingers on the spongy entities.

One day I was going through newspaper and saw an ad of sugar-free natura. Since I had to cut down on my rosogulla intake, I decided to make something sweet with the sugar-free natura. I looked around my kitchen and could find nothing interesting to cook. Then I moved to  my refrigerator to quench my thirst and here I got answer for my search:  carrots. I decided to make gajar ka halwa with them to satiate my craving of something sweet.

And when I had the first spoon of  steaming gajar ka halwa , it felt devine. Here I am sharing the recipe with you of the Gajar ka Halwa.

Ingrediants:

Grated Carrots -250g, sugar-free natura, Ghee-1 teaspoon,Milk-500g

Method:

First put one teaspoon ghee in kadahi  and  let it become hot and then put the grated carrots in it. Roast it for few minutes and then put sugar-free natura  2 teaspoons (or according to your taste)stir it for two times so that the sugar-free natura gets mingled into the gajar . Now pour the milk and stir till milk is soaked up by the gajar . When milk is soaked up by gajar the take it out in a bowl and garnish it with cashew and almonds.

Here are the pics of my effort.

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Kissan and my parents’ care!

I used to live in Mumbai,my parents ; in Pune. I was a successful banker in my career. My life was going on the full throttle. My girlfriend used to work in the same bank.

 Right from school days I had been out side of my house. For schooling I was sent to a boarding school. Then I went to different cities for doing my graduation and post graduation. I was a very good student since the beginning. But playing football was my passion. I was the part of the football team of the school. And three years on the trot I was the highest goal scorer.

When I was in boarding, I used to send my pictures to my parents and hand them over to them when they used to come to meet me. My mother is a superb cook. She used to send the ‘Gajar ka halwa’ when my father used to come to meet me. Whenever she used to come to meet me, she used to prepare different kinds of sandwiches drenched with redness of Kissan sauce that she used to bring with her. The lip-smacking taste is still fresh in my mouth.

One time, for a football match, I had invited my parents. That time she made the breakfast  including Kissan jam and sauce for the whole team. I still vividly remember, we had won that match and the evening the party was thrown by my parents.

Later, I got little chance to savour the delicacies of my mother. I became busy with my graduation and post graduation and was two years overseas for my job.  Until there is an emergency,I don’t get to meet my parents. Even on festivals I am busy and don’t find time to go and meet my parents. I had thought that once I get married, I will call them to Pune and we will live together. But since both of us ( me and my girlfriend) are busy ,the marriage is getting postponed.

Nowadays, I mostly get connected with my parents over smartphone . We chat over internet. It seems that it is eons that I have seen my parents in person. As I am talking to you about all these, I really feel like meeting my parents.

I have taken leave from my office and have come home.  Here when I meet my parents in person after so long time. I feel that age has shown effect on their bodies. I could have never understood the necessities of the old age had I not come home. But seeing me at home after so many years, my mom got agile again. She again prepared the lip-smacking   Kissan cuisines and while devouring all of them I decided in my heart that this time I will take my parents to Pune with me.

P.S: This is a creative account!

Airtel 4G and My favourite movie!

I have been a great fan of movies based on world wars. The Reader and The sound of Music are among my favorites. I still remember the hostel days when I used to wait for whole 24 hours for a movie to be downloaded. But now I don’t have that patience and now I don’t have that strength either to be awake in night to check the downloading speed. 

With the time passing by and new stresses of workload coming, the stamina of the college days has dwindled. Now I want things on the net to get downloaded quickly. Though it is not always possible but that is what I wish. Now I wish a whole movie to get downloaded in a fraction of a second.

During the weekends, I want to watch the movies sprawled in my bed. But many times, it is not possible. My girlfriend likes long drives. She being an interior designer has to go to the houses of her clients that are far from the cities. Many times she is away from the town in order to respect her professional obligations.

She had shown me the decorated homes. Some were in the serenity of nature and away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. I also had a long time cherished dream to dwell in such tranquil houses. But my salary didn’t allow me to realize my dream.

But as it is said that sometimes god listens to your wishes, my wish was also listened to by god. One time a client who had a Bungalow in the woods gave the job of decorating the house to my girlfriend and the best part was that the client had to be unavailable in India for fifteen days. In such situation my girlfriend invited me over to see how she works.

I landed up in the scenic beauty of nature with my girlfriend and her other colleagues. The mist had enveloped the bungalow and the sweet chirps of the birds were reverberating in the vicinity.   I was feeling really ecstatic. While my girlfriend was busy whole day in her decoration work, I used to take a tour in the woods. There was a lake nearby and it was an adobe for the foreign birds. It used to be quite an amazing scene with white feathered birds blanketing the banks of the lake. I wanted to share this marvelous moment with my friends on facebook. I took out my cell phone and clicked several pics and made many videos. I wanted to upload them instantly but my internet connection failed me. With a sigh I pocketed my cellphone back in my pocket.

After my return I complained about the problematic internet connection to my girlfriend, in the reply to my complain she handed me over her cellphone saying that she has the fastest Airtel 4G connection and it would not fail me. I tried and it was really working fast. I uploaded the pics and videos on my face book account in a jiffy. I wanted to test the speed of Airtel 4G further so I tried downloading a movie. Being a world war movie fan I typed the name : Europa Europa. And to my surprise it got downloaded in just few seconds. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was really happy that day, I completed the movie keeping awake late in the night. It was a great memory watching my favorite movie in my favorite ambiance. Though, it disturbed my girlfriend a bit but I persuaded her later.

P.S : This is a creative account!

Show Your Love on Rakhi with a Great Gift!

Raksha Bandhan is around the corner marking the beginning of celebrations in this land of festivals. Meant to celebrate the holy bond between a brother and a sister, Raksha Bandhan is one of the most popular festivals in India. Every brother and sister, no matter how far they are from each other, starts planning for the day in advance. Dresses, sweets, and tickets are booked so they can spend the day with each other. Giving special Rakhi gifts to each other is one of the traditions of this festival.

It should not be just any ordinary gift, but one of a kind through which you can show your love and care. Since Raksha Bandhan is not very far away, you better start looking for the special gift before they are out of stock. Being confused with a lot of options at hand can be pretty natural, especially for boys. They are clueless when it comes to shopping for Rakhi gifts online for their sisters.

You are lucky since I have compiled a few choices for you over here,

Beauty sets: Stay Fabulous!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Girls and beauty go hand in hand in every walk of life. No matter if, they apply makeup on daily basis or occasionally, every girl love to get beauty sets as gift. Maybelline, Revlon, L’Oreal have an amazing beauty combo sets having everything a gift can need as her daily beauty needs. The combo set contains kajal, liner, lipstick or lip gloss, nail polish and eye shadow. Your sister will love it.

Grooming kits: Take Care!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Personal grooming being an essential part of daily life makes a really amazing gifting option. From hair styling products to personal care products, you have a lot of options to dig in. Every time your sister will curl her hair, she will thank you for the hair styling kit. Roman beauty and Philips have an amazing range of hair styling products. If your sister love to use fragrant personal hygiene products like body wash, moisturizers, hand and body creams, body mists and lotions, Victoria’s Secret gift sets is right choice!

Nail art kits: Dress those nails!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Nail art has become a popular trend in India. Girls are becoming crazy about it. If your sister is one of those girls who love to dress up her nails, nail art kits will be a fabulous gift for her. Brands like Konad, L’Oreal, Blue Heaven and Street wear have cute nail art combos. You can choose the one in your budget for your sweet sister. 

Dresses: Be the Fashionista!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

When you are clueless about gifts, nothing can beat a cute dress. Show your love for your sister through a gorgeous gift. It can be a fabulous vintage classic with quirky prints or a marvelous flowy maxi dress, just make sure it is as per your sister’s fashion choices.

Perfumes: Spread your fragrance!

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Although buying perfumes for someone can be a tricky business, but if you know your sister well, it should not be very difficult for you. You can pick from floral, fruity, musky, woody, spicy or natural notes as per your sister’s preferences. Brands like Givenchy, Dior, Davidoff, Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret are some brands you can try!

Handbags: Perfect arm candy

Pic Courtesy: http://www.jabong.com

Nothing is as perfect as a handbag for girls. We all share this common love no matter how different we are from each other. If you are seeking Raksha Bandhan gifts for your sister, give her a cute handbag with quirky print or sequenced clutch bag, or you can gift her both.

Sisters are the cutest gift of God for every brother. Make your doting sister feel special on this Raksha Bandhan with the right gift. Spend some time with her, take her out and make this special day memorable!

P.S: This wonderful write up is creation of Minakshi Pharswal. She is a blogger working with one of India's leading online fashion destination. Being a crazy shopper and blogger,she keeps an eye on latest trends in shopping, fashion, and accessories and writes about them.

Till we meet the next time!

Today , a smile got etched on my lips; the reason behind the smile was a moment rinsed with your reminiscence.

It felt as if something got written on the blank pages of my soul again.

It has been eons since you have left me, but when I remember you, I feel the feeling of yesterday.

I cannot name a relationship with you but in this namelessness, I find a sense of one-ship with you.

I can’t define you but in this abstractness, I have many times refined you.

But still I can’t say that I know you.

For me happiness resides in every layer of your memories that I discover every time remembering you.

I wish you to be unfettered from my memories and appear into my reality.

But life is intertwined with destiny and it is known for its brutality.

Without you there is left nothing within me.

Without you there dies everything within me.

But your memory has resurrective power,

It resurrects every moment of every hour, when you were mine, when my destiny also had a shine.

I will try to preserve this smile till we meet the next time!

Honey Diet and My Honey!

I used to like Piyush a lot. We were studying MBA in the same college but he was in the different section. He was kind of a dude on whom any girl would swoon. I used to steal glance of him while passing the gangway after the class used to get over.

I am not that great cricket fan but I used to go to the lawn with my friends to watch him play during the inter college competitions. I had never overtly expressed my penchant for him but I think that my roommate had an inkling of my fondness for him. But she also never talked with me about this.

Days in the MBA College are hectic. Classes, presentations, seminars sap all the energy of a student. You have to be on your toes always. Surprise quizzes and exams are two demons that would never let you have a tight sleep in an MBA college but whatever sleep I used to manage, I used to dream about Piyush. Whenever I used to think about him, I had goosebumps. And a kind of intoxication used to enwrap me.

I used to feel good after thinking about him. I am kind of a dreamer. Amid the lectures, I used to get rapt in the dreams of how I am meeting Piyush and expressing my love for him. On my confession of love Piyush gets really ecstatic and tells me that he also used to think the same way about me. Then we go to the mall of the city and watch a romantic picture in the theater there. Then the evening ends with a candle light dinner. An utter satisfaction used to fill my heart and then amid the hullabaloo of question and answer session of the class, I would return from my dream trip.

One night my roommate offered to convey my feelings for Piyush to him. Somehow I also agreed. When my roommate went to him to tell him about my feelings, I was watching both of them from a distance. When their conversation ended my roommate came back to me but didn’t utter a word.

When I asked her thousand times only then she told me that he doesn’t like girls who are plumpy…ok fat. To be point blank he said that who would even think of linking an obese girl.

I was devastated. I never thought that he would talk in such rude measure about me. My all dreams were strewn in smithereens around me.

That day I resolved to shed my weight. I started exercising; taking 10 laps of running became a ritual for me. But even after these strenuous exercises I was not being able to shed my weight. Then one day my roommate suggested me to pot for honey diet and told me to choose the trusted Dabur brand of honey. Actually she had also felt bad that day when Piyush had rejected me badly so she used to do all the research for the weight management.

Amazingly, in the next fifteen day that I was on the Honey Diet, I shed my weight tremendously and after one and half month I was in a complete shape.  One day while I was having my breakfast Piyush came up to me and expressed his love for me before whole audience. I was taken aback for a moment. But then I realized that the honey diet of the Dabur Honey had really weaved its magic to make me seem fit in the eyes of Piyush. I was really happy that day to find my honey through honey diet.

P.S: This is a creative story!

UC Browser lets you see cricket just anywhere!

I was a professor of marketing in one of the reputed Business Schools of the city of Nagpur. My job entailed keeping myself engaged in activities related to pedagogy. From Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to Four P’s, my life revolved around delicate and difficult theories of marketing. Making students understand the difference between wants and needs and why selling is different from marketing but still constitutes an integral part of marketing was my every mental juggle. Sure I loved marketing as subject from my student days, but there was something else too that I had a great passion for in my life and that was cricket.

Cricket has been my first love. No I am not one of those fortunate enough guys who have seen greats like Don Bradman,Gary Sobers ,Lala Amarnath, or Gundappa Vishwanath play, but I have seen Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev play and have almost grown up watching Sachin Tendulkar  break all the records of the cricket book. I have seen Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an innings,Kapil Dev becoming the higest  test wicket taker , Sunil Gavaskar making 10,000 runs, I have also seen Sachin surpassing him. I have seen the southpaw god Brain Lara make his 400 runs, I have seen Glen McGrath, Shen Warne and Muthaih Murlitheran making the ball a magical lump. I have seen India getting thrashed in 1996 world cup semi -final and I have also seen India winning world cup in 2011.

Today there was a clash between India and Australia in the final of a trilateral series. India had started well but I had to take my classes. I went to the class to teach then the marketing, even cricket is a kind of marketing nowadays. After one and half of an hour,I finished my class and rushed to my car to go home. The distance between my home and the college was of just half an hour of drive. But that day there was a lot of traffic. Perhaps everyone was in a hurry to go to home and watch match. When the traffic didn’t budge for some ten minutes, my attention went to my smartphone, I tried surfing the web to know the score. But the speed was of a snail. It took a hell lot of time to open the website and by then the signal got to green so I had to move on.

After trudging through the traffic, I reached my apartment. Quickly I got off  the car and went to the lift of my apartment.  I was expecting to reach my home soon and imagining of watching the game of cricket ensconced in my sofa. As I was rapt in my imagination, I felt a jerk. The lights went off and I knew that my match was gone. Because last time the lift had stopped and it had stopped for a good two hours. I tried surfing the cricket on my smartphone but of now use. Among other persons in the lift, there was a boy with in the lift as well, he must have been around 20 years and he was busy with his smartphone. He had dreadlocks and weird beard. I never liked that kind of guys. But just out of curiosity, I leaned over to see what he was watching. Given his rapper like appearance, I had little hope that he would have any interest in cricket, but I was wrong, he was watching the match and that too with live real time activities.

I told him that my smartphone was not able to play cricket. He took my phone and downloaded the UC Browser into it. And to my surprise, the UC Browser got downloaded very fast. After that he directed me to UC Cricket, and golly! I was getting the live pictures of cricket in a closed space like the lift. I had to be in the lift for next half an hour and I enjoyed India winning in the lift.

 I thanked the dreadlock guy for his geeky help and to UCBrowser and UC Cricket. Had it not been for UC Browser and UC Cricket, I would have missed a glorious win of India.

A hug to my father!

In my childhood, I was a sheer brat. I never listened to anyone. The minute my father used to go out of house with some work and I didn’t have school then it was very necessary for me to go out as well. Even if I was warned of dire consequences by my mother, I used to go out to play leaving books to flutter in the cool air of fans.

Yes my father was a disciplinarian but I was also a rebellious in nature. The excitement of going out and play or get myself involved in the adventurous activity was a bigger lure to brave the thrashes from my father.

I, with the gang of my friends, used to wander aimlessly in the deserted places that were some one kilometers away from my home. Those days having a bicycle for kids of middle class was a luxury and we didn’t have that luxury but the absence of luxury was in no way any deterrent for me to venture out.

There was also one more thing that interested me the most apart from playing. I was fond of the toothsome churans,Golgapps and Ice Golas that used to be sold outside of the school. I was never allowed the pocket money that was out of proportions but these proportionate limit of pocket money was not enough for my salivating greed of tongue.

I wanted to stuff my mouth with every flavours of tangy churans, and Ice golas. But the scant pocket money of mine was a real handicap in attaining the Churanic nirvana. I had seen where my father used to keep the change after returning from the market. That was kind of a piggy bank of our house. The box in which the change coins used to be put was almost full. So, I decided to take some coins from that box. In the start, It was quite fun I was stealing the coins from the box and splurging them on my devil habits of churans and golas. The best part was that nobody in the house ever doubted that the money was  trickling away. Therefore, my audacity knew no bounds. With no one noticing the pilferage,now I become real rapacious and wanted more of the churan and gola dosage. And for that I wanted to steal more.

One day, I robbed the box of the more coins than of permissible limits of my larceny exercise. And that rang the alarm. My mother was the coroner- in- chief who unearthed the heist. She thrashed me and warned me to be ready for more physical exercises in the evening when my father would arrive. I was scared to death. When I got caught, I got ashamed of my deeds. I was feeling very embarrassed. Before getting caught I had never felt that kind of embarrassing feeling.   

I was praying to god seriously for an escape this time.

The evening came and my mother poisoned the ear of my father.  I was standing shuddering before them. My father listened and moved to bathroom to have his customary evening bath. I was thinking that he was making some other plans to teach me a lesson while bathing. But no, even after coming from bathroom he remained calm. He just said “never do it again!”

And that’s it. I moved forward and with my eyes welled up hugged him. My mom was really furious seeing me go scot free but I was happy. It was perhaps the last time that I had hugged my dad. Now I think that he deserves one more hug for being a great father during all these years.

“This father’s day, I am expressing my love towards my dad by participating in the #HugYourDad activity at BlogAdda in association with Vicks.”

An unforgettable kiss of VICCO Turmeric Cream!

I had a dream to open a play school. My mom was a teacher and she was my inspiration. However, I did not want to do the regular teaching. The playschool part was more close to my heart. My mom advised me several times to look for a govt. job and do whatever I like after I get married. For Indian moms the marriage of their daughters are their prime concern since the day a daughter is born, and my mother was no different.

So, an entrepreneurial mind was not that so welcomed in my home. My dad also tried to persuade me away from the playschool thing. But, when I didn’t budge, he asked me a very pertinent question, “Where are you going to get the money for that?”

I had thought that my parents would fund my dream but it wasn’t so. They said pointblank that since it was my dream, it was my responsibility to raise money for that. I also saw some logic in that. Yes, it was my dream, so I had to take care of all the monetary needs that were essential to transmute my dream into a reality.

“Look you don’t have any experience of running a playschool, so it would be better if you join a playschool first and this way you can raise some money also. If you raise half of the amount then I assure you that I would help you out with the other half of the amount, “advised and comforted my mother.

In the intoxication of my dream of opening the playschool, I had totally negated some rational needs to start a business. So, as advised by my mother, I gave interview to some of the play schools of my city and I got selected in one. Though, the salary was low to start with I was told that after observing my performance for six months, I would be given a raise. Anyways, I didn’t have any other way out to understand the nitty- gritty of a playschool.

I got myself totally merged in the rhymes and plays at the play school. On and off, I used to be assigned the administrative tasks of the play school as well. Therefore, I was kind of getting an all-around experience in the play school. I had made some new friends at the school; they were the fellow teachers at the school.

One day, I conducted a play in the school,and after the play I was giving the children chocolates as gift and in return of the chocolate I asked a kiss on my cheek. But the children spurned my request. I was embarrassed that day. With my eyes welled up, I went straight to the bathroom. There in the mirror, I noticed the reason of the kids’ refusal to kiss me. I had cluster of pimples on both sides of my cheek and I was gleefully oblivious to it. Later in the evening, I told my mother about this and then she handed over to me the tube of  VICCO Turmeric Cream. She said that it would reduce the elements that make my skin oily and consequently it will help my skin trounce the pimples.

I applied the cream for fifteen days and now I had a squeaky-clean skin. Now kids were vying with each other to kiss me. It was a great change in my life and I thanked VICCO Turmeric Cream to bring about a radical change in my life. A kiss of VICCO Turmeric Cream changed the destiny of my facial skin and invited the Kids’ kisses too. I really love VICCO Turmeric Cream.

Umm, about my playschool,I will surely launch one some day.

P.S: This is a creative account!

My first expert!

I never felt that engrossed in the studies at the school on my birthday. I used to eagerly wait for the school to get over on my birthday. Actually, I used to go to the hospital to meet my father on my birthdays. And on the 9^th of every month I used to celebrate my birthday. My mother had devised a plan to celebrate my birthday in every month so that my father who was in a coma would get to experience at least one happiness every month.

Doctors had told that doing so would help him recover quickly.

On my birthdays, I used to do make up and dress up like a fairy. I used to prepare a dance and a song on Sundays to perform before my father. My mother used to go to the hospital everyday after coming from the office. She used to be frazzled by the hectic day but she never skipped a day going to the hospital.

I used to go to the hospital with my mother in her car. She was a damn good driver. One time we were returning from the hospital and the car broke down. It was kind of a desolate place till one kilometer. There was no mechanic in the view. My mother tried calling to our mechanic but he said that it would take him at least two hours as he was busy with some other car at the end of the city which had also broken down.

I was really getting anxious but my mother remained calm. She reached to the rear of the car and brought some wrench. She opened the bonnet of the car and with the help of the wrench she pulled out all the three plugs. She cleaned the tip of the plugs with the finesse of a seasoned mechanic. She put the plugs back in their places and tried igniting the engine and the engine got ignited in a second. That was kind of a miracle for me. I was observing my mother all the while she was doing all the painstaking job of the repairing of the car. She didn’t seem fazed at all. She was unruffled and tranquil like the moon sleeping in the lap of the sky. 

After that incident I witnessed that she repaired the car on many occasions. I used to watch her very closely observe the car when it used to be dissected by the mechanic. Many a times she used to guide the mechanic as to the probable problems with the car.

Seeing my mother involved with the car so much, gradually I developed the inclination towards learning the niceties of automobile. That led me to doing automobile engineering. Now I work with a top automobile company in Germany. People call me that I am an expert of automobile engineering. But the first and the best expert that I ever knew was my mom.

I have brought my parents to Germany as well.  Doctors have said that my dad might never wake up again but my mom has not lost hope. I also believe in her belief because she is an expert and experts are seldom wrong!

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P.S: This is a creative account!

“My Airtel App”: The savior for my Daughter-in-law!

I am a typical Indian Saasu Maa. I always look for an instance to belittle my daughter-in-law. Yes, she is my only one daughter-in-law but this doesn’t deter me to find a moment to make her feel the heat of my domineering behavior. You might be thinking that I am a cantankerous old lady and let me inform you that you are right. I am very bad when it comes to make my daughter-in-law feel a wretched soul. 

I pick out even an iota of mistake in the jobs done by her. My finicky behavior about the cleanliness of utensils and cloths has always put my daughter-in-law on tenterhooks. When I see the lines of anxiety on her face after listening to my rebuking, I feel an inimitable sense of mirth in my heart. 

When my husband and my son are in the house, they do all what they can to let her go unscathed from my wicked machinations. And that is when I feel dejected as they thwart my entire plan rule over her.

One time, my husband and my son both were out of the city owing to their official jobs. And it gave me a wonderful opportunity to rule over my daughter-in-law. But I observed that she had also become preemptive in her behavior. 

Perhaps she was expecting my inroads in the days when her saviors were not at home, because, even after searching for a while I couldn’t find any mistakes in her jobs. Disappointed, I sat before the T.V set and started surfing different channels for my favorite saas-bahu serials. When I was fully engrossed in one of the shows, the T.V flashed a message to recharge the DTH. I felt really disappointed that I had to leave my serial at the crucial juncture but the next moment my disappointment vanished as I saw this as an opportunity to rule my daughter-in-law. I told her in a stern voice that why the recharge was not done in time, I knew that now she would sob and call to her husband. But she didn’t show any signs of tears in her eyes and said that I waited for a moment and the T.V channels would start again. And in exact 20 seconds the T.V became alive again. My head got a dosage of dizziness.   “How come this worthless fellow could do such a magic of recharging a DTH service in a few seconds?”  I asked myself.

One day, I was talking to my cousin after so long time but when our gossip was at its best my phone got cut. When I checked my phone it showed that it needed a recharge. Now again I had the opportunity to trouble my darling daughter-in-law. I knew that she would have to go to a recharging shop in the scorching heat of May to get my phone recharged. I was dead sure that now I would get to see a pensive face of my daughter in law. But again, I had to experience disappointment as my phone got recharged in just few seconds and my daughter-in-law didn’t even budge from her seat.

The other day,I was shopping with my daughter- in- law in a mall, there I saw Café Coffee Day, I went straight there and ordered a mouthwatering recipe of a cake. You see, I am a great glutton when it comes to cakes. When I was finished with my cake I asked my daughter in law in a chiding tone: “Couldn’t have you stopped me gorging on this expensive cake? And why would you, it is my son’s money that has been spent not your father’s!” She didn’t seem fazed by my irrational attack on her. She remained calm for some time and then said that the scrumptious and expensive cake that I just eat was completely free and my son lost a chance to become a pauper overnight.

Now she was talking back. I wanted to know what or who was behind her confidence. I called my cousin sister for the chugli session and explained her everything strange that was happening with me. Then, she told me about the savior of my daughter-in-law. It was the “My Airtel App” from airtel that was playing savior to my daughter-in-law on all the three occasions. She explained me the reasons behind the swift recharges and how one accumulates redeemable coupon on every recharge and that redeemable coupons had resulted into a free cake treat at Café Coffee Day.

The airtel app played a role in diminishing my bitterness towards my daughter-in-law, because I wanted free cakes again!

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P.S: This is a creative account!

An unexpected expert!

Image Courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22242261@N03/2143291713/

Sometimes, the journey of life seems so fast that its celerity usurps the precious beads of memories.  But when you happen to meet the memories in your life again, it imbues you with a pristine happiness. I also happened to meet one of such happiness after a fairly long time. 

I was visiting my ancestral home after three decades. My relatives had taken whatever care they could of my house. Despite all of their efforts the signs of dilapidation were starting to arrive on the several parts of the building.

I had gone to my village with a plan to stay there after my retirement. I had thought of devoting myself full time to agriculture after my retirement.

As I was indulged in the attempt to spruce up my house, I discovered a clay house in my courtyard covered with the tree leaves and other remnants of material existence of time. I removed all the debris around it and was astonished to find that the clay house was still in almost good condition.

All memories related to this clay house came unbidden.

I must have been 12 years then. And it was the time of Diwali. All the children of my age were busy making the ‘Gharonda’ for Diwali. I used to go to the house of my friends where their elder siblings used to make the ‘Gharonda’. Some clay houses were one story some were two stories. I used to get mesmerized by the enchanting world of ‘Gharondas’.  

One day I asked the elder sister of my friend to build one Gharonda in my house as well. But instead of answering my request she said ‘my brother’s Gharonda would be the best in the village.’ I knew that she had avoided me.

I went straight to my house and made the dough of the soil. But despite my several attempts I could not give any shape to the clay that would resemble a ‘Gharonda’.  My mother was observing all my painstaking endeavors from the kitchen of the house. She came to me and told me to bring some wooden planks and fresh volume of the clay. With all the finesse lurking in her deft fingers, she carved out a beautiful ‘Gharonda’. It was like a dream being transmuted into reality for me. She did not stop here; she painted the ‘Gharonda’ making amazing designs on it like an expert painter creating his/her chef d’oeuvre. 

I did not have the idea that there was lurking a great artist in my mother whom I considered a simple housewife.

On the night of Diwali, it was my ‘Gharonda’ that had stood out among other ‘Gharondas’ of the village and I was kind of hero of the village but I knew that real worthy of all the accolades for the imposing ‘Gharonda’ was my mother, but she unassumingly relished her son being praised.

Now still I could find the glory of that ‘Diwali’ night smeared on the façade of the ‘Gharonda’.

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