Antara Echoes

The other day I was pondering over the vagaries of life, as my lil son snuggled next to me for his morning nap. My trail of thoughts (its usually a long trail) took me on a self-discovery trip and I realized that I am quite quirky by nature. Now, now every man has his own share of quirks & twists, its just that the sudden realization of them made me quite unnerved. Is it like am afflicted with something or are there more like me out there? Well here am adventourously compiling a few - #1 I Count - I mean, when I am in a room I sub-consciously count. It could be the number of rings on the curtain rod or the number of door panels or the squares in the carpet design. I don't know why I do it but I simply like to keep a count. #2 Creaseless Bedspread - I necessarily require the bedspread stretched and lengthend to its limit. Always. I hate to see a crumpled bedsheet or a bunch of dirty clothes on them. Hubby dearest by now knows the twitching of my eyebrow and would never le...

Most tambrams will need no introduction to what I'm saying out here, but to the others "Bhagavat Sevai" is a very special annual puja conducted for Goddess Bhagavati, seeking her blessings for the health, wealth and prosperity for the entire family. Though it is one among the numerous puja's that are conducted annually, the bhagavat sevai has its own routines and elaborate rituals. The house gets cleaned, loads and loads of flowers of all variety are bought. The 'Aravana Payasam' or "Nei Payasam" gets prepared in the "uruli" and there is generally a festive atmosphere. Evening the vadhyar comes home, bathes and chastely draws a special kolam (rangoli) and the traditional kerala lamp is decorated with flowers. Then the prayers, melodious incantations and chants begin. The elaborate pooja ends with the priest chanting mantra's & naming each family member along with his or her Rasi & Nakshatram and seeking the Devi blessings. The ...

Am not a well-versed cook as I have hardly spent any time in the kitchen. Yet here is a snack that I am quite adept at making and would like to share it with all out there. Crispy Bread Rolls is the ideal snack for a raining evening as its quite easy to make and most of the ingredients are usually available at home. Crispy Bread Rolls Ingredients - Sandwich Bread - 6 slices Baked Potato - 2 Chopped Onion - 1 Green chilli's - 2 Oil & Seasonings Method of Preparation - Add a teaspoon of oil into a frying pan and then slowly add the chopped onions. When it turns golden, mash the baked potato's and add them along with the finely cut green chilli's. Add seasonings like finely chopped curry leaves, appropriate quantity of salt, turmeric and mix it well for a medium flame. The filling that goes into the bread pakoda is ready. Cut the sides of the bread slice. Slightly damp the bread with a little water but ensure it does not turn soggy or to...

Recently I saw a couple of Tinkle comics on a coffee table that caught my attention and brought back lots of happy childhood memories. Shikari Shambu, Suppandi and the rest used to be our favourite characters. I still remember how mom used to hold up the comics with a condition to finish our evening tiffin and homework. She could have blackmailed us to jump of the roof and we would have easily done that too. This reminded me how my parents had inculcated the habit of reading in us. I clearly remember the newspaperwala supplying us with a regular dose of tamil magazines, comics & other general magazines along with the newspaper. My dad used to always encourage us to spend at least 10 minutes sifting through the morning paper and that has become such a habit that my morning cuppa coffee is not completely enjoyed without the newspaper. As we grew the comics gave way CSR (Competition Success Reviews) and then slowly to Readers Digest, which I yet enjoy immensely. Am not sure how many ...