Friday, October 30, 2009

To Eat... (part-3) - comments

I donno wats the prob with the comment posting for - to eat (part-2).  So if u r interested to post a comment, please do it under this post. Im sorry for the inconvenience provided.

To Eat... (part-3) - comments

I donno wats the prob with the comment posting for - to eat (part-2).  So if u r interested to post a comment, please do it under this post. Im sorry for the inconvenience provided.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Mission abort

There are sometimes when u feel that the whole world is wrecking into pieces and everything is not the way it is supposed to be. Im in one such situation. My mom has gone to her native leaving me incharge of the house. Every time when i get to be the housekeeper, i feel like having a constant ping in the stomach from that moment till she arrives back. The very thought that its me who has to answer the next call or open the door when someone knocks makes me totally restless.
Yet, there are many hilarious occasions during this "incharge" work. In the morning, i had to go to the terrace to take some dry clothes. When i first opened the terrace grill gate, felt there was something wrong in the atmosphere. I just took a few steps & a couple of crows appeared & started to caw unusually loud. As i just waited for a few minutes to observe, many crows started appearing. I got a bit scared to walk across the terrace, so returned back. Then i asked my bro to fetch the clothes for me narrating what happened there. After listening, he ridiculed me on being afraid of crows (muttering it should be the other way round) & went to the terrace. After some time i heard a lot of noices (probably he was trying to throw something at the crow to frighten it off) & returned empty handed with a grim on his face (There goes his heroism act, flying in the air. Its my time to ridicule him now. Aha!). Then, we both decided to go together & accomplish the task. We tried to shoo it off by making sounds which didnt prove effective. So we decided to throw something near the bird such that it wont hit it, but would frighten it. We started with small things like plant's twigs, clibs, etc., & nothing seemed to work. In a haste, my bro took an empty deodrant bottle & threw aiming at it, which passed very nearer to the crow & landed at the hospital present at the back of my house. We both rushed downstairs, hearing someone yelling at the backyard of the hospital.
After half an hour we went to the terrace & found that the crow was still in the same place with its peers flying above the terrace. Also, we found something else too - the deodrant bottle which we threw along with a couple of empty platic drip bottles. Then, we realised the best thing to do for that time is - "Mission abort".

Monday, October 19, 2009

To Eat... (part-2)

(Continued from To Eat... (part-1) )        
After mixing the best combination possible with the dishes, i have to intake them. This is another big work being done.
         The process of digestion is quite a tedious one. After putting the food in my mouth, i've gotta chew & chew & chew using as much saliva secretion as possible to make it to a sticky state. Then swallow it through the long wind pipe & push it into the stomach, where all sorts of gastric juices are secreted & the acidic reaction of the semi-soluble food starts.
          After this process, all the energy & fat that can be used by the body are taken & the rest are excreted after many treatments of filtration (which i think would become too much if described)
          Although, i always have some doubts regarding this digestion process... Hoping that u would try to resolve my incertitudes, i enlist them as follows...
  • The chewing we do in our mouth can be considered as the priliminary stage of digestion. How do we realise that the food we are chewing has reached its state to be swallowed before swallowing?
  • How did we learn to chew for the first time when we were young?
  • Is it possible that people have different chewing time? ie., does some chew the same quantity of food for a long time compared to others?
  • Sometimes when we swallow the food (like curd rice) without chewing, it wouldnt upset the stomach. Still the normal digestion & excretion process takes place. In that case, what kinds of food would be suitable to swallow without chewing (excluding fluids ie.,)?
  • Energy crisis is prevailing in this world. If our body can convert the food into energy, cant we find some ways to tap the energy & use it for compensating the energy crisis?
  • Since eating involves such elaborate process, cant we just have some pills which would give energy & subdue hunger? By this process a lot of energy for food processing can be conserved & there wont be any need to grow vegetables or livestocks...
          This sounds a bit crazy right? i know.. The thought of having to take pills thrice a day is quite nauseating. But im pushed to think of all these things because, i find the whole eating process to be more complicated. Wish it is more simple & easy!            

To Eat... (part-2)

          After mixing the best combination possible with the dishes, i have to intake them. This is another big work being done.
         The process of digestion is quite a tedious one. After putting the food in my mouth, i've gotta chew & chew & chew using as much saliva secretion as possible to make it to a sticky state. Then swallow it through the long wind pipe & push it into the stomach, where all sorts of gastric juices are secreted & the acidic reaction of the semi-soluble food starts.
          After this process, all the energy & fat that can be used by the body are taken & the rest are excreted after many treatments of filtration (which i think would become too much if described)
          Although, i always have some doubts regarding this digestion process... Hoping that u would try to resolve my incertitudes, i enlist them as follows...
  • The chewing we do in our mouth can be considered as the priliminary stage of digestion. How do we realise that the food we are chewing has reached its state to be swallowed before swallowing?
  • How did we learn to chew for the first time when we were young?
  • Is it possible that people have different chewing time? ie., does some chew the same quantity of food for a long time compared to others?
  • Sometimes when we swallow the food (like curd rice) without chewing, it wouldnt upset the stomach. Still the normal digestion & excretion process takes place. In that case, what kinds of food would be suitable to swallow without chewing (excluding fluids ie.,)?
  • Energy crisis is prevailing in this world. If our body can convert the food into energy, cant we find some ways to tap the energy & use it for compensating the energy crisis?
  • Since eating involves such elaborate process, cant we just have some pills which would give energy & subdue hunger? By this process a lot of energy for food processing can be conserved & there wont be any need to grow vegetables or livestocks...
          This sounds a bit crazy right? i know.. The thought of having to take pills thrice a day is quite nauseating. But im pushed to think of all these things because, i find the whole eating process to be more complicated. Wish it is more simple & easy!            

Friday, October 16, 2009

To Eat... (part-1)

           Eating is vital for the sustenance of human life on earth. People love to eat regardless of its necessity. But somehow, i dont like to eat. Let me describe the aversion i have towards it and the reason for my aversion.
           I find the whole process of eating to be a complicated one. First, the processing of food- watching mom being in the kitchen for nearly half of the day, toiling hard to prepare & pack food for each member of the family as per their requirements. Each day, my mom would come and ask "What to prepare?" and everytime i would give the same response - "Anything ma. Its ur wish". After a long time of controversies created by the amount of ingredients & vegetables available and the previous inferences given by the family members on the dishes made, my mom comes to a conclusion of making some boring south indian dish.
           After all these manoeuvers by my mom, when she serves the food on the table and calls upon to eat, the thought of washing hands & walking towards the table to initiate the process of eating, makes me feel utterly lazy. Hence, i wait for an hour or so to get rid of the laziness which is the time by which, she would be in the peak of her anger and call my name with a high pitch adequate for the neighbours to hear as well.
            Once i reach the part of sitting in front of the plate, here comes the role of strategical analysis. First, i have to go through all the dishes available & differentiate whichever i like & i dont like. If the dishes i like are more in number comparatively, i may have to plan the quantity of each dish to have, such that it doesnt exceed the maximum i could possibly eat.
            Next come the fragile part of serving the food to my plate. Somehow, the invention of a spoon seems inadequate for me to serve effectively. Each time i lift a spoon, i spill some dish on the table or into other dishes. The worst thing is when it spills into my cup of water (makes me reluctant to drink water for the rest of the eating time). But when it spills into someone else's cup, there lies the fun part. I know it, but they dont and they end up drinking the mixture of food & water and realise it only after a while, when the cup is becoming empty. I would happily notice their irritated face on seeing some rice at the bottom of the cup from which they've been drinking all along. So, ends the serving phase with some mischievous smiles.
           The main process of eating begins now. Generally, Indians like to mix the dishes and eat. I am a true Indian & a good innovator as well. Hence, i try to make all possible combinations of the food available & enjoy my talent. Some of my famous such innovations are - Kesari with Chutney, Saambhar with banana, Payaasam with curry rice, Curd rice with smashed boiled egg... (Dont look like that.. I dont do this very often.. Just like, once in a week or so only... I am quite considerate of others who eat along with me too..)

Since i feel this post is going to be lengthy, i thought i shall post it by part....
To Eat - will continue...        

Diwali - happiness

Diwali is nearing. Could feel the heat of Diwali celebrations everywhere. Crackers bursting all the time. Roads being blocked due to traffic created by people purchasing for diwali. Sweets in abundance at home. The smell of heated ghee & sugar, indicating the ongoing process of Diwali sweets preparation.
Its really heart warming to see everyone being merriful.
Yesterday, i had to wait nearly for an hour at the bus stop waiting for my bus (such long time coz of the traffic). While i was waiting, i watched a couple of vehicles slowing down near the bus stop, which i found out was bcoz of the cracker shop nearby the bus stand. The shop was quite busy. Children who came with their parents to the shop were looking happy, staring at the variety of guns with wide eyes, amused. It was a nice thing to observe many people becoming happy at the very sight of the shop. This made me realise how festivals like Diwali, Pongal, Christmas, Ramzan, etc., makes many people live their life with joy & expectations. Small things which we do together with our family & friends on a festival day becomes a sweet memory to be remembered forever. So, please do not avoid these moments and enjoy to the fullest possible.
                                   - By one such happy person trying to yield all the happiness of Diwali...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Life is strange...

Life is strange.

U meet a new person today & find that the person has become close to u within a couple of days. Likewise, u have acquaintance of a person for bout past 3-4 years, yet u dont have anything to speak to them more than a "Hi!" or "Bye!".
U wish u could have something for a long time. But once u see that ur wish is going to become true, u feel that something is not right about it & just walk away from it.
U buy something and adore it like u cant survive without it. Days passby and u feel it has become an unwanted distraction for u.
Nothing in this world is permanent, stationary or fixed for urself to enjoy. Change is needed to bring balance. Change makes things keep going. Change inspires everyone. Change makes u live. Change is inevitable.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Gifts

          The very thought of gifts yields a pleasant smile on our face because of its surprise and the feeling of getting something for free. I used to love gifts. Infact, i used to await my b'days with alacrity because of 3 main reasons - gifts, cake & the new dress, i'll get on that day. But then, after some time i started hating the custom of presenting gifts to each other. Reason being, firstly of the gifts i got & secondly of the gifts i gave.
          Let me address the first reason - gifts i got. Im not much of a celebrating kinda person & hence haven't received a much of gifts. I recall once when i got a gift which my bro bought for me when he went on an All India tour. It was a frog- show piece. I could say it was interesting... but disgusting. People say that gifts are given to portray what they feel about the person. By buying me a frog, what is he trying to say here? That im as ugly as a frog or that im a frog in the well (கிணற்று தவளை), who knows nothing about the outside world. Someday i would like to present him with an equally disgusting gift (Awaiting eagerly for his upcoming birthday with all my heart.. Oh Yeah!!). My parents... they dont really buy me anything. I mean, they do buy whatever i ask for, but nothing other than that, which comes with a little amount of surprise quotient in it.
          I had a childhood friend, Pooja. She used to present me lots of gifts (perfumes, earings, bracelets...). Guess what i did? I got a bit carried away by the morals taught at school & by parents & had it in my mind that we should always give something in return for what we got. So, i bought her something of equal value or sometimes even insistently gave her the money for the article which she gave. That should have hurt her a lot & as a consequence we had a lot of fight & separated on our own ways (Nothing big really, she took commerce & i took science in our Hr. Sec.). Thats when i decided that i shouldn't accept any gifts.
          The second reason - gifts i gave. Already being in the confounded state of how to approach a presented gift, i didn't present a much of gifts either. Sometimes, the gifts which i presented also seemed inappropriate for the person. I gifted my cousin, who used go crazy for games, a latest model video game on his b'day. But on the very same day he broke it, coz the game was meant for kids above age 15, whereas my cousin was 7 yrs old on that day (I know, Stupid of me). There is another cousin of mine, whom i gifted with a beautiful girl doll on her 3rd b'day (cautiously!). She received it. Had a look at it. Threw it off to the couch. Went to play with the train set (God! please help me... Where am i going wrong? I can't deal with it anymore).
          And the most contradicting thing is, i dont buy gifts that shows the concern i have on them. I tend to forget their b'day & at the last minute on the day before the b'day, i rush up to a nearby store which wouldn't have seen any living beings the whole day, except for a couple of flies & get an article which is the least dirty looking present there, wrap it up to make sure, that the person whom i going to gift to, dont get to see the article & get upset, while first laying the eyes on it. Finally, after giving it to them, i would feel guilty to have given something completely worthless compared to what they gave me.
          Analyzing all the complexities involved in either presenting someone a gift or receiving a gift from someone, i came to a conclusion that its best to avoid both of them - giving or getting. That made me await my b'day & end my b'day with the same level of happiness throughout. Also, made me look up for my friend's & peer's b'day with no sense of burden or guilt.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

My bucketlist..

Things i would like to do & haven't done yet...

Ride on a scooter for long distance on a lonely road, while it is raining.

Lie down at the grass patch on a hill and do star gazing.

Pluck an apple by myself from the tree and eat it.

Play in the snow and make a snow man.

Adopt an orphan baby & raise on my own after i have started earning.

Do fishing at an unbeknown lake and immerse in the peaceful long hours.

Free a wild animal from a zoo to a forest.

Watch the rising sun from Vivekananda memorial at Kanyakumari.

Do bungee jumping from the Verzasca dam at switzerland.

Naturally after bungee jumping, its the free fall that i would wanna try next.

Go for roller coaster rides at six flags - new england (has the record setting roller coasters of the world).

Learn salsa dance.

Grow a long hair like Rapunzel.

Go to a superhit movie on the first day - first show.

Create fire using wood and rock as the caveman did.

Catch a dragon fly (தும்பி) with my own hands.

Have a room with world's richest literature books for my own (Would be the most priceless possession i could ever have).

Have a pet snake.

Climb on a huge tree and reach the top.

Write an interesting novel.

See all the wonders of the world atleast once.

Change the world to a better place for everyone to live in.