Water woes

I stay in an area that is not a BDA layout. Result : No Cauvery water. For someone used to Cauvery water in Mysore, it came as a surprise initially. Am actually thankful to the apartment owner who gets the sump filled from a tanker so that we have uninterrupted water supply. But the water has a weird taste. And we end up buying big cans of packaged water for drinking and cooking.

But what about the scores of people who cannot afford packaged water for consumption? Let alone potable water, there are people waking up at ungodly hours to simply fill up water for their daily requirements. This is because they get water supply for a measly one hour a day. Furthermore, there are areas that do not get any water at all. Bangalore apparently needs 2000 million liters of water per day( MLD) but is supplied with only 900 MLD. Of which 40% is stolen or lost or goes waste! End result: there are taps running dry everywhere, there are people who do not get enough water or end up with water that is unsafe!


When I travel towards Bangalore it is painful to see mounds of plastic in the outskirts of the town and little kids playing in the filth, and animals feeding on it. This kind of plastic ultimately clogs our rivers and drains. Just imagine, the water polluted from this kind of waste is what ends up in our taps!
The least we can all do is reduce the usage of plastic, carry our own bags everywhere while shopping. And more importantly, realize the value of water that we get. BWSSB gives a set of directives for water conservation. They are simple steps which if followed can help in saving a lot of water. Rainwater Harvesting has been made mandatory for all the houses with area more than 2400 square feet. And in case you see water wastage while travelling in the city, make that call and lodge a complaint. They apparently have a 24 hour hotline at 22238888 which can be contacted or simpler still, an email can be sent to chairman@bwssb.org.
We pride ourselves in being the current generation and have big dreams that we chase. But besides all that, we also have some social responsibilities. Water is among the most basic of our requirements- it is the elixir of life. Being a part of the lot that has access to phones and the internet and are constantly traveling around the city, we can do our bit in reporting leakage or wastage of water. We ourselves can make a conscious effort in closing a leaking tap or reducing the usage of water or recycling it. The water that you save might just help quench someone else's thirst!

In search of that perfect brew!

I am a self confessed chai lover. Somehow, coffee has never been my thing. As a result, I have found it difficult to participate in conversations where coffee, its kinds, addiction are all discussed. Cafe visits invariably result in selection of some chocolate based beverage that simply adds to the calorie count of the day!
During the four years at college, I have seen people catch up over chota tea at the milk parlor. I don't think i have heard of chota coffee :P. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against coffee. Just haven't acquired the taste to appreciate it. Also, why should a lot only happen over a cup of coffee? Why not over a cup of tea? I am sure there are friendships, relationships that have been cemented over long drawn discussions over tea. I am also secretly hoping to find someone who is a chai ka shaukeen, who can appreciate a cup of well made ginger tea and sit and talk nineteen to the dozen with me over chai!

So well, now, the purpose of this post.
1. Been ages since i wrote something!
2. For lack of a better topic to write about.
3. Festive season. Am at home for a week. Have been making tea for myself at 10 am and 3 pm everyday- the time at which i have a break in the office! Pity is, there is no actual tea there. Only the tea bags which is not the real stuff. Have to travel three floors to get to the cafeteria for a nice cup of ginger tea. But he makes it very sweet! And drinking tea all by oneself is also not fun. So i resort to drinking boost when in office! Now you know the secret of my energy :P
4. I really want to know how many people i know out there consume tea, know to make a cup of tea and how they make it!

Here is my method. To make two cups of tea( Tea always turns out better when i make two cups!)

I boil a glass of water. Add to it two teaspoons( again, ever heard of coffee spoon?) of tea power ( i use a mix of taj mahal and red label natural care). Some crushed ginger and peppercorns. Allow it to boil. Simmer and add a glass of milk. Let the tea brew and then strain it into cups and add sugar to taste. I prefer one spoon a cup.
Then sit back, munch into some biscuits, unwind with a book and the cup of chai in hand. I am currently reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love- how she discovered life through her travels. Isnt that what everybody wants to do in life!!!


Coming back to tea, I am sure there are other things that can be added to it apart from the obvious ginger and pepper to spice it up- honey, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. Anything else you can think of?
There are other methods of making tea too- adding all ingredients at once and let them all boil together or make a decoction separately and adding milk to it. Do you make it any differently? And which brand of tea powder do you think is the best?
Do you even drink tea at all or have you all shifted inclination towards coffee? Let me know!
I'd be glad to try making my tea in different ways and discover the best way to make tea.
I also have a variety of flavors of green/black tea that i advocate to people- jasmine, peach, cherry, citrus. Will write about them some other time! Currently i am in the drinking a kadak cup of adrak ki chai phase as i usher in the festival! Happy Diwali!

Random ramblings

Four days at home. And i have had a smile on face pasted almost all through. I thought, why not just make a list of some of the random things that made me smile friday through today. Here goes:

1. This had to be number 1- the very fact that it was a long weekend.

2. Dishing up stuff for dad when Amma was away for a day. He couldn't stop raving about how much my culinary skills have improved.

3. A friend who left for the US a week ago sends me a picture of hers and asks me if she has lost weight from the last time we met! :P

4. Chatting with a friend and losing track of the time and wrapping it up when i heard birds chirping outside my window and realized it was about time for the rest of the world to wake up!

5. Getting caught by Police maama and the always and forever helmet wearing me trying in vain to explain that i had just washed my hair and hence no helmet. As an afterthought, the explanation wasn't necessary at all! Like the cop cared!

6. The fact that the early morning 4.30 express today to Bangalore was filled with techies- complete with the company T-Shirt, jacket, laptop bag and wednesday morning blues!

7. Waking up to the rain splashing on my window in the same train.

8. Sitting in the volvo, looking at the rain and falling asleep!

9. Coming to office in kinda high spirits to find an array of Onam sweets that my team mate has got! Guilt free eating day today! :)

I miss home!

For someone who travels home to family every weekend, this isn't the appropriate thing to say, but i truly miss home today! I dunno if this feeling is amplified due to the fact that i did not go to Mysore last weekend ( I went on a trip to Munnar, yay! Please feel free to be jealous :P ) but it sure is there and there is nothing i can do about it till Friday!

In this one year at Bangalore, i have come to call my apartment my home. I get a happy feeling when i am back here after an exhausting trip, have my favorite corner marked out where i sit and do my reading and spend hours with the laptop. Time is invested in doing up the place, in keeping it tidy and the works. On the whole, perfect home ka material. But try what you may, you surely cannot find the most important thing that makes it a home- Amma! I wasn't always too much of a "missing Amma" cribber simply because i meet her every week and monday morning to friday evening isn't too much of a time to start missing someone!

But having said that, one most important thing i have come to realise is that at the end of the day, the only person in the world who is going to selflessly do things for you would be her! I value her more than ever now for it and intend to tell her that first thing in the morning!

And putting an end to my woes is the fact that this weekend is a LONG weekend! Four days at home- bliss like no other! Even Munnar would pale in comparison :)

My forty winks

In Irrawati, at half past one

Premise :lunch just done

Settled in for a program introduction,

albeit with an uneasy sensation

When the TL kick started his presentation,

My mind started going into hibernation

Mind warned: Manager's sitting right here!!

Heart said: Swtich off, what's the fear?

Heart, as usual, conquered the mind

Blissfully in the dreams,myself i find.

Not until my head starts lolling

Do i realise i was sleeping.

Thank god, i do not snore

Else, I'd have been shown the door.

Shook myself up and went for a walk

Got back and did some talk-talk

When nothing helped, i started to write

Lo and behold, a poet has arrived! :P

(In)Dependent?

I have always stood for girl-power and independence of women. The independence could be financial, emotional or a simple thing like not being at the mercy of someone to get things done.

Today had a lesson in store for me which taught me otherwise. I was on the way back from my regular visit to Sapna Book store to check out the latest books and magazines. At a signal, my Activa, which contributes a big deal to my "independent" feeling, stopped right in the middle of the road! No amount of trying would get the self start to work! After some incessant honking and swearing from people behind me, i realized i was in their way. Forgetting the imminent worry at hand, i pushed the vehicle to a side. One of the things i cannot do is heave the 100 kilo vehicle to put it on the center stand. So kicking it up to get it started was out of question!

Tried to kick it without the stand on. When my attempts went futile, i gave the vehicle itself a kick or two and swore! It would have started off had it had some feelings! I have never treated it that badly! I thought i was doomed for the day, with nobody around to ask for help also.

That is when a good Samaritan, who worked at the petrol bunk near the place i was stranded, gave me a hand. After multiple kicks the vehicle revved back to life! Ah, the sound of the engine in full force! It was music to my ears then and put an end to my worries! The "tumba thanks ri" that i told him was definitely not enough to sum up the gratitude i was feeling towards him today.

It was good Karma at work or what i dunno! The person was godsend for me today.

And that i when i also realized that it is not possible to do everything by yourself. There might be girls out there capable at managing their vehicles by themselves. Please take a bow! I am not there yet! And i do have to depend on someone for it! So until i learn to do that, i will tone down the "i don't need anybody's help around" statements! :)

P.S. My vehicle is apparently due for a battery change. Poor thing, not its fault. Has not given hand in these four years. So next week, it will be all fit and i will be back on it humming baadal pe paon hai!

P.PS. On a totally unrelated note, at this point, i can't help but think of the people out there who go vroom vroom on their "bikes"! I have the feeling that you'll think how the Activa pales in comparison to your vehicles. Go ahead and amuse yourselves. I love my vehicle, say what you!

What's your Rashee?

I don't remember how this started off but i spent a good amount of time yesterday, along with my two friends at home, reading through characteristics of our own sun signs, characteristics of people(ahem..,read men ;)) of other sun signs, love compatibility and so on. I know it sounds really dumb but let me tell you, it is an awesome way to pass time.
It first started off with our own signs, nodding our heads in agreement to most of the things that were said there, laughing out loud at certain things, trying to relate to the quirks and traits listed under our respective sun signs.
That is when we realized that we could even check which sun sign was most compatible to ours. To our dismay, each of us got just two or three signs that were compatible out of the whole lot! Narrows down the options so much more if you believe in all of it! There were admonitory statements like "This is a doubtful connection" and "Friendship may be the best idea here." :P. What a laugh i have had when i read the latter statement! Adding to the bliss was the fact that I had one extra compatible sun sign compared to my friends' ;) How lucky, no? :P

To get a picture of what i am saying, you should read Linda Goodman's analysis of sun signs in a detailed manner- How to recognise an aries person, the aries man, the aries woman, the aries boss, child and so on for all sun signs. I remember reading it in college but revisiting it was nothing less than a re-revelation to me. It was but natural for me to start analyzing the people around me based on what was written under their sun sign. If you find it interesting, sit down and read through the whole thing. Then spend some time dwelling on it, you might even start thinking that all that is said in the book is true. Maybe, studying people on the basis of their sun sign will turn out to be a fun activity to pass your time at college or work.
But the flip side to believing in it would be that, like me, all of you will be left with too many fingers on a hand to count the signs compatible to yours. You may get cursed by your room mate that your future husband should turn out to be of a sign most incompatible with yours. And you will be guarded against giving your heart to someone who is of a dissonant sign( i know idu swalpa over aaithu ;)). But again, to be very sure, I won't miss asking the charming guy who comes along- What's your Rashee? first. After i have asked that, i might as well ask, What's your Gotra? And then only comes the cup of coffee ;)