Uma ... Shakti

Recently I have been watching quite a many women oriented films...films depicting the fight of women for individuality. And time and again these thoughts keep popping in my mind........After so much of development and education, "WOMAN" still remains the acronym for "Sacrifice" in our society. One thing I really appreciate about the western society is its equality for the fairer sex. Here She drives buses, runs companies, is a homemaker, dons the Miss Universe crown, is the CEO, visits the unknown space , in a nutshell does everything which a man can do.

We hail from a country and culture where in ancient days woman was at a more higher status. She was the source of Power : "Shakti". Only in Hinduism do we have a female aspect of GOD. In our vedas and scriptures women are worshiped. Ancient India saw a woman no different from a man. She was well versed and educated, she had property rights,she could choose her husband . Our Upanishads tell us that women once had the right to perform rituals, wear the scared thread , they were gurus in gurukuls. In ancient India the woman was respected for her virtues , her education, her qualities, not just for her physical beauty, purity and chastity. Then why this discrimination today ?

I was brought up in a family where a woman is respected and honored .My parents always wanted me to be independent with a strong ground under my feet. And even after my marriage , I am lucky enough to pursue all my dreams , aspirations and stargazes, thanks to the tremendous unconditional support of my husband. But how many women are half as lucky as me and likes?

I have seen daughters being brought up with the notion that they are "Paraya dhan", bound to get married and leave their maiden family for good(?? who knows for good or bad ?? ) . In some educated and so called modern families she is given the best of education with the purpose of fetching a good husband. And there are intellectuals who despite of competing with women in academics and profession want a beautiful ("convent educated" at times) wife, who will be waiting for him back home in a pretty saare with the steaming dinner on the table when he is back from a hectic day at office. Even if she is working , she should be back before him , all geared up for the second phase of work. And sometimes she has to sacrifice her booming carrier for her family...... no dont think I am against this. On the contrary I somehow feel (despite of being a hardcore feminist) that for a woman Family comes first because if she neglects the family, no one can revert the loss done. But then choosing between carrier and family is entirely her own decision. She should not be forced to do so nor should she is the only one responsible for her family.

Why again chastity is one virtue which every woman should have , while a man can go about having any number and any type of relationships? Even in today's educated society a single mother is ridiculed and humiliated. Why is an unmarried mother out-casted from the society.. why is only she blamed ... is not the other person equally if not more responsible? Rather should she not get all the support,care and applaud for bringing into this world a baby on her own?

I dont think any of us (women) want any reservation of any kind at any place at any time. What today's woman really wants is an equal status , she is capable of doing everything , from fathoming the deepest to conquering the highest..from raising a child to managing a company.. to leading a nation. Let her take the world in her stride and wonders she can do..

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Chicken fingers do pyaza

This one is from my hubby. When it comes to cooking non-veg(primarily poultry: egg or chicken ) he is the most creative person I have seen. He loves egg the most and has hundreds of ideas to cook it. With chicken he tries all unconventional styles. And his cooking is super duper fast, very tasty and with a bit of more oil.

So one fine evening (fine as I was little tired to cook), my hubby offered that he would try out something. We had some frozen chicken fingers(ready to eat with 15 mins of oven heating). The other necessities were: onion, garlic , chillies, tomato and chicken masala (salt ofcourse). He first suated the chicken fingers(since they were frozen), then added the onions , chillies and garlic. Once the onion was translucent, tomato, salt(very little as the chicken strips already has) and chicken masala was added and kept on flame for 5 more minutes. And wow we had a wonderful dish ready in no time. It was too tasty and when I ate it I got the notion that instant chicken manchurian can be made of this with some slight variations(you will need cornflour and soya sauce though). So next time when I try the Instant Chicken Manchurian I will let you know of how it tastes..

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Rice cutlets!!

For those who know me from near, I am a big foody.... (oh! please dont laugh, I know my physique doesnt say so). I love to devour on anything thats tasty and I love to try out anything and everything. Ironically my first tryst with cooking came very late in my life, after 2 decades on the planet. When almost all my college friends knew how to cook, I only knew how to boil egg. My baba's strict instruction "No cooking while you are into studies". Since Ma was a school teacher Baba helped her with cooking. But I was never allowed to do so. Once in high school, I was having a holiday. That day before leaving for school Ma had taught me orally(no practical class) how I can prepare rice in cooker. I was asked to keep the rice ready before Baba came for lunch. She (Ma ) had measured the water and rice and kept aside for me in a seperater utensil(of the cooker). Due time came and I kept the cooker with the rice utensil in it........but with no water inside the cooker...and the cooker lid on......... and I waited and waited and waited for the whistle to blow. But poor me , I had no idea why the cooker was slowly turning black.. After half and hour with no desired outcome I switched off the gas oven and waited for Ma. Ma came.. asked me if the rice was done.. I had no clue of it.. She was aghast to see my deed.. So I was kept away from the kitchen for many yrs to come.. Finally when I got my appointment letter from Infosys, I started trying some recipes under Ma's supervision. When at Blore and Pune, I used to call her and ask the details of some recipe. Even today sometimes when I try my hand at some authentic bengali dish, I give her a call for the details.

Enough of boring with old stories.. Now coming to the recipe. It was first tried at Pune with leftover rice (courtesy my roommates). Everyone liked it, and even at Arlington.. Indians and Americans..

All you need is :

Left over rice ,

2-3 bread slices,

Chopped onion, green chillies , coriander

Salt to taste

little chaat masala

Mash the rice well. Cut off the edges of the bread. Soak them in water, take out and squeeze. Add to the mashed rice. Now add the chopped onion, green chillies , coriander. Shape the mix into cutlets. Shallow fry the cutlets.

The rice gives a wonderful crispiness. We can add grated carrots and little of nutrila(soyabean) granules to make it a healthier snack. If you are adding nutrila granules, soak the granules in boiling water for 2 mins and then squeeze out the water.

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My India

After a long time I am back..meantime I had started writing a few blogs but never came to the ending.. Hopefully this blog of mine sees its ending..

Staying abroad for a year, I miss my country very much. I miss everything of India, the hot summers, the monsoon, the festivals, the food, the people, the roads, the traffic .. oh this is an infinite list.. above all I miss the Indian soil..(is it just a figure of speech.. nah.. I really cant smell the aroma of soil after the first rains here..). And when ever someone asks about my country, I proudly say that I am an Indian, and with that I start boasting about my country, all her virtues, her culture, her people , everything. But then when I read of accidents, any terrorist or naxal attack , any scams, or simply the everyday tales of red-tap ism and bureaucracy happening all over India , I feel sad for my country.

This 15 Aug, India celebrates its 62nd Independence Day. But are we independent in true sense? Where are we on the world map after 62 years of independence? Here I am citing some facts and figures.

The Human developing Index prepared by our very own economists Amartya Sen says India stands 134 in the list of Medium Developing countries beaten by all the Latin American countries, some of the African Countries, and of course our neighbors China , Srilanka(here I am not considering the continents of Europe, North America and Australia ) . And despite being the fourth largest economy of the world, India stands 57th in the race for countries below poverty line,with 42% of our population below the poverty line. In US, the farmers are equipped with the latest technology for agriculture, the are educated and very well-off. Our farmers either die or suicide because of debts, natural calamities.

We stand at 149 position with just 66% literacy rate, being the 2nd highest populated country of the world. Congratulations to us we will be surpassing China by 2025.

India's bureaucracy is the worst in Asia and we have a fourth of our parliament members who have criminal charges. One can find corruption every where from commonwealth games to every walks of day to day life.

Its not safe for a girl to walk on the roads of the Capital of the country at night. Neither is it safe to travel on rails for fear of a sabotage or merely a wrong signal. There's adulteration in grains , cereals, oil, medicines and everything. There's politics on nothing and everything. We are represented by mostly octogenarians and nonagenarians in the parliament. The judiciary takes decades to execute a criminal in-spite of all the evidences. The rapists and murders remain at large and finally join politics.

So here we are ..many feathers to our cap. But who is to be blamed, politicians, bureaucrats, civil servants or is it just us. Yes, its our country and we are responsible for it. But what do we do? I really don't know. Change the government, bring a reform .. but how? Whom should I elect.. they are all the same... and I keep pondering on this..I do not dream for a Utopian society but I do dream for a better India, greener safer beautiful India. The India of my Dreams......

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