My Tryst with Onam Sadya

Nothing less than a weavers creation, Onam Sadya gets you a grand spread of vegetable and fruit dishes traditionally served on banana leaf.

It is impossible not to fall in love with the vivid array of its colors and textures...taste of which is further enhanced  by the simplicity it is served with. 

While I was waiting for my friends to join in for Onam feast at Malabar taste buds restaurant, this interesting conversation got me smiles

xox: nice to have you here. which part of Kerala you have been born and brought up

me: sorry, i have been born and brought up in the jat land. indeed have never visited kerela.

xox: you definitely have some connection with our part of south 

me: definitely yes!! some dear friends have roots in your part of south

xox: oh, still anyone can mistake you to be a south indian. nice to have you here!!

me: thanks. since my malayali friends have never invited me on Onam, i am here to explore and experience Sadya.

xox: you are most welcome. what do you do for living

me: i travel..i read, i explore,i click...i love, i laugh

xox: i meant how do you earn your living

me: oh, i work. that's not living!

My tryst with Sadya was quite interesting and the taste of payasam is still alive.

For the malayali friends and not so malayali friends, here's wishing you a happy Onam. May your life be full of colors and rich with simplicity

Burma Burma # food # experience # resturant # Gurgaon

If I meet you over a meal next time in Gurgaon, it has to be at Burma Burma.

Tonight's dinner was a wow experience savoring food, which seems to be close to authentic. The humongous wooden bells hung overhead are impressive and added to the aesthetics. Yes, Mayanmar is on the "soon to be visited" destination now :-)
The courteous staff had patience to decode some of the confusing names given to the less complicated dishes.

Khow Suey - on the menu it reads "Burma Burma Oh No Khow Suey" and is difficult to refuse.

Khow Suey

Trust me on the Pauske (steamed buns).We opted for steamed buns with mushroom filling - delicately sliced with a spicy tangy flavor which just melts before you get to realize its there.

Tohu Mok Palata- tofu cooked with onion, tomato and spices had a hint of coconut and appearance of chana dal(lentil). Served with small portions of paranthas (baked bread) is compelling to go for a repeat.

I missed taking pictures of the above two dishes to show you how interesting they are as in the description !!

Oh Na Na Nat Thi

Coco Piana on the desert menu figures out as Oh Na Na Nat Thi. Believe me, chocolate brownie is an old fashioned, the caramelized pineapples served with chilled coconut custard is surely the in thing.

Each dish had a local name on the menu, which sounds Greek would surely have some meaning.

Time spent wasn't enough to indulge on the other local delicacies and bubble teas - may be next visit will deliberately be on the empty stomach !!
   

A Taste of Hummus !!

 Tossed by the waves, but does not sink – goes apt  for Israel, the land of Jews and many contradictions!!!Incredibly beautiful, undoubtedly daring, complex and conflicted is what makes it more fascinating and was also the reason to mark it as my next destination of travel

Tel Aviv, standing tall by the side of Mediterranean Sea

Part of me gallivanting the South Israel included a trip to Eilat, a port resort town on the red sea surrounded by the Negev Desert. It was easy to explore the entire city in few hours on a bicycle. Experienced the desert wilderness on a 4X4 jeep . It roved us through the dramatic mountains carved in colorful red stone- breathtakingly beautiful with each dip and turn.

The country boasts on impressive art work by some of the world famous Graffiti  artists. It was indeed a very unique experience to walk through the streets of Florentin, a hipster area in the modern city of Tel Aviv, surrounded by colorful and artistic walls. The walls were illicitly scribbled and sprayed showcasing the underlying social and political messages- some controversial and some humorous

The Golden Dome of the Rock 

Jerusalem- my favorite of all the destinations in Israel !!

The ancientness of the city is not just in its centuries old holy sites but in the complex histories of war, religion and politics which also makes the place feel timeless.
The city of impossible contradictions is the origin of 3 prominent religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and during its long history has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times and destroyed twice.
You can lose yourself for hours in the lanes of Old City (just 0.9 square kilometer of walled area with four uneven quarters - Armenian, Islamic, Christian and Jews) which has holy sites, significant to each religion.

The Western Wall

The Temple Mount compound in the walled city is a paradox of multiple beliefs. In the compound is The Dome of the Rock, an Islamic Shrine, from where Muhammad ascended to Heaven. The Jews believe this to be the site of their First Temple, from where the world was created. Surrounding the Temple Mount is The Western Wall, holiest site of Jews. Significantly known as the Wailing Wall with close proximity to the Heaven and the First Temple. The compound is under the surveillance with strong presence of the army. Tourists are allowed to wander around the compound post scrutiny at the security check point, however the entrance to the Shrine is prohibited.

In the Christian quarter is the Church of Holy Sepulcher. It is one of the major Christian Pilgrimage and is believed that the Jesus was crucified and resurrected here.

It is compelling to stop every few steps and absorb the stories of religious conflicts fermenting over the centuries in this tiny little space of the walled city.   

The West Bank Tour

West Bank is a disputed territory, earlier designated as part of State of Arab, captured by Israel in a six day war in 1967 along with eastern Jerusalem. It has strong military presence and entry for Israelis is forbidden in the West Bank, also known as Palestine

The Jewish tour guide got down the bus at the border and the narrative tour was further led by a Palestinian guide once we crossed the border. Conversations with him were interesting  as we got the  insight on the Palestine view of the territorial conflicts. Palestinian public opposes Israeli military and settler presence and  views as a violation of their right to statehood and sovereignty.

    

It was a day long tour with visits to the town of Ramallah, Jericho- the oldest city in the world and also the lowest place on earth 1300 feet below sea level and Bethlehem- the city of David as per Hebrew Bible and biblical birth place of Jesus as per Christians.  

The mosaics in these sites were intricate and incredibly old.
The harshness of the never ending conflicts in no way has dampened the warmth and hospitable nature of the people whom we met in the streets and restaurants here.

Beyond Jerusalem- Masada and The Dead Sea

Looking forward was the climb to ancient fortress, Masada, to watch the sun rising over the Jordanian Mountains and emerge over the Dead Sea. This is where thousand  Jewish Rebels committed suicide instead of  accepting defeat at the hands of the Romans in a war in 73AD.

After the  most spectacular sunrise, was awaited another adventure - the Dead Sea. Nothing amusing than floating on the Dead Sea, the lowest possible level on the planet, soaking the afternoon sun

Sun Rise View from Masada & The Dead Sea

Haifa
Up North has some of the most iconic sites. It was fascinating to visit the immaculately landscaped terraces of the Bahai Gardens in the city of Haifa. Halfway along the coast, between Haifa and Tel Aviv, is Caesarea which is home to ancient structures overlooking the beach with calm water.

My travel experience in Israel has proved that “Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see”. Ten days of back to back travel was undoubtedly the most exhilarating experience in the country which exhibits multifaceted faiths and ethos in its long history. I met some incredible people  and drooled on the appetizing hummus with warm pita breads, taste of which still stands fresh.

Where can I find a Mother for you, Bosco !!

From the archives of 2012 or earlier....

Bosco is not deaf as he swings his body at the beats of the music when played loud in the car- he is hearing impaired. Bosco says his name with a thrust, as Burfi says it in the movie. He understands the sign language, so he is not dumb. Its been more than a year now since i have known 15 years old Bosco. He is not an orphan as Father and brothers of the missionary are his parents and more than 20 mentally challenged kids are his siblings.

But the biggest miss in his life is - he doesn't have a mother

His recent medical examination says that his hearing ability is negligible, though can be cured. There was some hope when i met Dr Ameet Kishore along with Bosco and his medical reports.

He came straight- medical science could have helped him with hearing and speech ability, if he was an infant. At his age, his mind cannot co-relate to the various sounds, words, languages, music, even if heard by his ears. Someone has to dedicate her life to make him understand what he hears and to speak. His mind is 15 years behind and its not going to be easy, he said.

Can you find a mother for him? asked the doctor. Only mothers can do this job out of selfless love, as it involves a lot of dedication. Father, Brothers, volunteers of the missionary, cannot replace a mother and i would not recommend implant which will frustrate a happy child.

The best bet is to support him finish his education.

Bosco has a beautiful handwriting, he is a bright student, arithmetic is his favourite subject, he loves to draw, he is appearing for Grade VI examination, his notebooks reflects he is a bright child. He can surely do much better, if exposed to good education. Bosco dislikes going to this special school as teachers are not helping him learn appropriately. Children picks up fight and he does not have friends here.

Top schools in Delhi / NCR do preach a lot about inclusive education, but do not practice in spirit. There is a huge gap to support this disability, i realised this after exchanging couple of e mails, phone calls, interactions and personal interview with some of the renowned educationists.
There is a lack of special educators in our country, at least the speech therapists for his kind of special needs

I wish and also believe, he will shine and do well for himself

Dare to Dream- Tusi Das

Tusi is a passionate climber with 14 years of artificial and wall naturals and has grabbed couple of national and international accolades in climbing expeditions. She scaled Mt Thaley Sagar (6904 Mtrs) in July'12 and is the first woman in the world to conquer this highly technical peak. No doubts on her caliber and passion (having scaled over 6 peaks since 2006), Tusi is now aspiring to climb Mt Everest this April

I remember meeting Tusi last June on my climbing expedition to Mt Shitidhar. A CRUSADER, with a strong belief, criss crossed mountain passes comfortably while humming  Ekla Chalo Re  - Jodi Tor Dak Shune Keu Na Ase Tobe Ekla Chalo Re ( If no one response to your call, then go your own way alone).

Her aspirations are bigger than her pocket. She, being the sole earner in the family of 5 and monthly income of Rs 8000, had appealed to the Government of India to sponsor her expedition cost of 14 Lac. As she would be the 1st women from West Bengal to dream this big, Youth Service Department , Govt of WB has sanctioned her an amount of 5 Lac. SBI and family / friends have added another 5 Lac to her kitty.

The expedition starts in the 1st week of April and now she is short of 4 Lac.

Knowing her affairs with the mountains and her Belief, which is much stronger than Hope, i am compelled to spread the word to help her raise funds/sponsorship for something which many of us would not even dare to think.

More than the above, if she takes this expedition, she will have an exposure to a larger platform. Confident & Expert, as she is in her field, she can explore career opportunities in the mountaineering field and be self reliant and independent. She can be a catalyst to change and motive youth, especially women, to come forward and participate in the overall sports arena.

The challenge for her is to overpower the hurdle of arranging 4 lac in a short span of 10 days from now. She is willing is to promote the need on brand management / fund raising for a specific cause against the sponsorships as raised by the individuals / corporates

Small contributions by one and all can make a difference...
And she is on a look out for Angelic investors :-)

What do you have to say??

The Revolution Will Happen on Less than $2/day

 
Going the unconventional way is normally considered to be away from reality, but this video is quite insightful and talks a lot of sense on reclaiming the gift culture, by way of promoting community living and adopting sustainable way of living and earning.
By and large, we all strongly believe that humans are created with an instinct of care and generosity and reciprocity

Video shared by the Swapthgami Network / www.shikshantar.in

Trail Encounters - Riding in the Aravalli Range

Anubhav suddenly slowed down on the rough trail, whispering softly indicating the sight of Neel Gian and the Deers, just ahead of him. I haven't seen the wild goat, standing tall and handsome, so closely earlier in these trails, as i pulled the breaks to my cycle. It was there for quite some time, and then suddenly disappeared in the wilderness of the Aravalli's.

Just before this rare sight, we had fixed punctures in both the tyre tubes of my bike, curtesy the wide spread of Kikar on the undulating terrain. Thanks to Ram and Anubhav for the help and we were done with the job in just 10 minutes.

Further ahead, towards the lost lake, was a ramp with the steep incline. On a combination of 1 & 1, pedalling uphill was quite a test for the lungs and also the muscles. Overlooking the forest, enveloped by the small mountain ranges from the three sides, we stayed for a while on the top of the ramp.

We soaked in the fresh air as we pedalled hard to ascent another ramp, about a mile ahead. it was time to fix another 2 punctures- one each for Ram and Anubhav's bike. It was a good opportunity for me to deliver on what i learnt a few minutes back and we quickly fixed another set of spoiled wheel.

Yesterday i poured my hear out in scribbling what i fantasise about cycling in the mountains. I guess, its impression lasted till today morning and i was out with my bike and helmet as soon as the fog showed some sign of clearance. The breeze was cold and the sun trying to peep out of the foggy clouds.


Dhuddhu and Jaskaran gave a pleasant surprise as i met Sunil at Ghata T point. It was Sunil's  first official ride and his face was radiating with enthusiasm. Nandini and Dippy were to join as we climbed the Ghata Hill point and raced on the GFR. We scattered at the chotey lal tea stall and i headed towards CRPF.

The sun was out and smiling by now and the ride was completely absorbing.

Met Ram and Anubhav on the way back, who were heading for an off road ride. I got lured and dropped the thought of heading back home and joined them.There were patches, with rumble and stones, where we escaped the fall while descending with the speed. Fixing the punctured tubes added fun to the unplanned adventure. After more than an hour and a half of off roading, full of excitement, the bikes were back to kiss the tarred road.

Five hours of a todays unplanned ride was a wonderful getaway, just like a fresh breath of air.