i came across this article on my email and thought it was worth sharing with you all !!

Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai:

Last Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different. As we set off, my eyes fell on a few
magazines(kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver’s back rest. I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel.

My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines. This was enough for me to realize that I was in a special vehicle. Then I
looked round again, and discovered more – there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths – from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and
Unnikrishnan. I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.
I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer’s plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going
children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. “Sahab, ghar mein baith ke TV dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega.”
We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: “25 per cent discount on metered fare for the
handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50.”
My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect. Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshiping Mumbai, my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.

I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.

“There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won’t, and that’s a wife who can’t cook and will.”

I could easily be categorized as one of those few people who have the Golden Touch when it comes to the “Art of Cooking”. Anything I touch while preparing has to simply turn inedible!!! My only loyal fan who happily eats anything I dish out is my 3 year old daughter..God Bless her!! For friends who know me, can vouch for my culinary abilities. For our Fourth Anniversary I baked a simple sponge cake with all my love for the evening get together for the extended family, it turned out so awesome that we had to use a pestle to actually break..Oops “Cut” it and once “Cut” they resembled pebble stones!! That day and the next couple of years the kitchen and I had a diplomatic relationship, we didn’t mess around in each others territories. Though one thing I m pretty good at is the knowledge of cuisines and dishes and can easily fit into the shoes of being a food critic.

This was until the summer of 2009, when my reliable help just had to take his abrupt vacation to his “gaon” and without giving us a substitute, he vanished for a good two months!!! Imagine my helplessness, without any choices there; I ventured into the kitchen and Surprise Surprise…. The first day I dished out a simple dish and it turned out edible that everyone appreciated!!! I had some motivation for the second day and day by day it would turning out to be easier and I started experimenting and the experiments too turned out delectable!!!

So now I can proudly say that I m a decent cook and weather I have a helping hand, my family wouldn’t go hungry.

One of my favorite, easiest and nutritious recopies of all times.

Veg. Kathi Roll

250 gms Nutrela or Soya Granules soaked on hot water for 15 mins.
A handful of veggies like carrot & peas
3-4 onions
4 tomatoes
5 garlic pods
½ teaspoon garam masala
Salt as per taste

For the Roll
Normal flour dough
You can also make dough of maida and atta mix in the ration of 2:1

Recipe:
• Heat some a tablespoon of oil in a thick bottomed pan, once hot add the garlic and sauté until golden brown. Then add the onions and sauté until pink. Add tomatoes, salt, and the dry masalas. You can also add some ketchup for the tangy taste. Once this is cooked. Add the soya and let it cook on slow fire and cover it. Once done you can garnish with fresh green coriander and keep aside.
• Roll out the dough like a normal roti and cook it on a flat pan. You can also make them into bite sized rotis or make one large roti and then cut into in two or three halves as per your preference. This also makes for a filling evening snack.
• Once the roti is prepared, stuff it with the soya prepared and add some green chutney and think sliced onions. Roll it and eat it hot!! A filling accompaniment is a chilled ice tea or a hot soup!!! Enjoy your meal

A quaint little town nestled in the Uttaranchal. A place perfect to do just nothing…absolutely just Nothing!!!

We visited Lansdowne in February and it was freezing cold !!! Its just a perfect weekend destination if you want a break from technology, No Laptops & Most importantly NO Mobiles and best of all its one of the closest hill stations from Delhi !!!

It’s best to drive down; the drive is about 5-6 hours. The total distance is 260kms. Plan to leave early morning so that you can cross Morinagar – Meerut road and avoid the horrible traffic zone on that belt, don’t tell us, We didn’t warn you !! Once you have crossed that it’s a pleasant drive ahead. The route that you would follow would be Delhi – Ghaziabad – Meerut – Mawana – Bijnor – Kotdwar – Lansdowne.

Lansdowne is essentially a cantonment area and it’s clearly evident as soon as you enter. The town has superior road quality, is clean and has and has a law and order which can only be found in cantonment towns. Lansdowne is primarily a non commercial hill station which has great weather, excellent views of the mountains, a lake and good pakodas J

There is a bit of sightseeing which combines the Tip N Top, which is a small point with fantabulous views of the Himalayan ranges on a clear day, but the area is quite deserted so you can’t really spend a lot of time there because there’s actually nothing to do apart from having a good view. There is also a small lake which has boating and a few ducks as well. Adjacent to the lake is also a small kiddies park and a café for some basic coffee or tomato soup and chips J a good way to break the monotony of doing nothing at all.  You can also explore the entire town on foot and get a local feel of the area which is very charismatic.

There are just about 2 hotels there which operate without much complaints, any other hotel if you come across your sure to run away from there!! The GMVN Tourist Bungalow and Fairydale Resort. We stayed at the latter and it’s definitely worth recommending ( not that there’s a wide choice, but nevertheless). It’s a simple resort with basic facilities.  The hotel is approximately half a km from the main market.

The main market itself is nothing great a long stretch of a small road with shops on either side selling all the local clothes, food and vegetables. So don’t expect to really find anything there in terms of shopping. There are a couple of decent restaurants in the main market as well which dish out some delectable fresh stuff.

The Fairydale is actually an old residential bungalow. Tariff ranges between 1000 -1700, depending on the room category; they also have a family room which has 2 bedrooms shared with one bathroom. A total of 6-7 rooms are available. The rooms are generally sold out on weekends round the year, so it’s a good idea to actually plan well in advance to avoid disappointment. The hotel has a small log hut type of a restaurant called “The Pines” which is a few steps down from the reception area and it’s actually a good idea to eat there so that the food doesn’t get cold by the time it actually arrives in the sitting area outside your room.

The rooms are basic but comfortable. All the rooms are refurbished a few years back. The rooms  have large beds, a couple of chairs, a table, wooden cupboards, floor to floor carpeting and a TV. Electricity tends to come and go but breaks are not longer than 10 -15 minutes.

The bathrooms are big too and they have no geysers, so we actually froze in the winter chill!!! They provide hot water buckets in the bathroom upon request, within minutes. Each room has a private sit out too, which is good so that you can sit out and enjoy the warm sunshine, while you read, chit chat or the kids play and enjoy the outdoors.

The food available is this region basic, nothing extraordinary. The menus offer plenty of options but its best to stick with the basic dishes and not experiment too much. You can comfortably ask what fresh for the day and they would be happy to assist you on the same. Anything particular that you want to be prepared has to be informed well in advance.

There is no provision for alcohol whatsoever (so people please carry your own stuff…same goes for cigarettes too).  The army area has a liquor shop but it’s strictly available to only those having an army id card and no localite favors you on this!!

To summarize the whole thing it’s a gratifying place to visit and you’ll surely come back a calmer person wanting to escape to this composed haven at the next available opportunity!!

There’s something about Saturday that sets you into a great mood !!! You want to dress up to work in your chic casuals after a week long of formals and set into a flirtatious mood and enjoy the day !! If your the lucky ones who don’t work on a Saturday then ideally one catches up with friends for lunch or check out the latest bargains available in the market or just have a fun day out with friends.

Well for me Saturday is one day I really look forward to, I try not to work but invariably land up working at least for half a day which is still okie……..

Saturday nights are fun nights, catching up with friends and outings…….something I really really look forward to !!

Temme what do you like about Saturdays that gets you going ??

Its surely sad to know about the icon passing away…. Micheal Jackson !!

People around the world are mourning the loss of the music maestro but is there really a need to go over the top about it. News channels, Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, left right and center people are expressing their views but does anyone really care or even think for a minute of all the poor & innocent people who suffer around the world and depart at the blink of an eye.

Its really not fair to give so much importance to a celebrity, the value of the human being is the same, it doesn’t change in the eyes of the Supreme, but we as individuals mark our respect to the celebrities and leave the faultless alone !!

There are millions of people around the world who die every minute, why cant we treat this as just another one, so whats the big deal if hes a celebrity and shares a “special” status !!!

I know most of you might not even agree with me, but this this is what i honestly feel !!

Cheerio !!!

Yipppeeeeee !!!

My first blog ever….. Okie I am not a professional writer, but my best half Siddharth insists that I could be a good one ( he thinks I can write well… Me think’s he just loves me too much ),  And my Dear friend Priti seconds that !!! So here I m with their encouragement and my snoopiness starting off on a roll !!

oh yeah….. and I simply cannot forget my darling Ankit whose head i ate and ate to get this whole thing organised for me and he rapidly (which was again a massive surprise!!)…formulated for me, what a Sweetheart !!

Wish me luck and hope to see you all in here time and again with your expert comments !!!!

Till the next post…… take good care of yourself !!!