Yaad hai tumhein woh waqt?
art galleriyaan, starbeans ki coffee,
aur woh cocktail regent blues mein -
woh lambe din aur usse bhi lambi raatein jab sirf phone pe kartey thay baat,
aur shuru mein toh receiving mein bhi hota tha charge.
aur unn lambe din aur lambi raat’on ke beech,
woh lamhe bhar ki shaam
jab hote thay ek saath
hum dono.

kitney saal lage, kitne ghante,
kitne phone call, aur kitni baar hum miley,
aur dheere dheere jaan’ne lagey ek doosre ko itna,
ke vishwaas ho gaya ki yehi toh chahiye tha
zindagi ka jigsaw poora hone ke liye,
aur bas, kar liya tay ke tumse kabhi nahin bhi miley hotey,
phir bhi tumse na milney ka hota pachhtaava -
maaloom hota meri zindagi ko, ke ismein jis zindagi ko milna tha,
woh abhi tak mili nahin.

Tab se abb tak,
kaise aa gaye hum?
Humaare kal ne pauhunchaaya humein
humaare aaj tak.
aur ye aaj raasta bana raha hai
humaare aane waale kal ke liye.
Ye padh kar soch rahe hoge tum – ke kal hoga toh kaisa hoga?
Bas, aisa hi hoga, meri jaan – tum aur main, hum dono, ek saath,
aur humaari banaayi hui ye zindagi.

jaise alfaaz ruk se jaatey hain,

kal-parson ki kavitaa’ein jaise

mit si gayi ho’n, aur kho gayi ho’n kahiin

dimaag ke kisi koney mein.

.

kal raat tak jaise ek baadh si thi,

aur lafz ruktey nahin thay,

dimaag daud raha tha typing speed se tez,

aur chhooth bhi jaatey thay kuchh shabd

likhey jaaney se pehle hi.

.

aur abb ye haal hai

ki aas-paas dekh kar bhi,

kuchh aisa dihkta nahin, kuchh bhi soojhta nahin,

jispe likhi jaa sakey koi kavita,

ya sirf kuchh hi shabd bhi.

.

theek bhi hai,

office mein office ka kaam hona chahiye

lekin emails ko reply aur forward kar-karke

thak gaye haath, dimaag par chhaa gayi hai susti,

aur kuchh likhney ki chaah toh hai, saamarthya nahin.

.

.

[Cross posted on the new blog.]

baahar tez dhoop,

meri khidki mein kabootar yahaan-wahaan dekhta hua,

shaayad paani dhoond raha hai woh.

.

baarish chaar dino’n se hui nahin,

shaayad theek hi hai,

baadh ka keher kar chuka hai beghar kayi’on ko,

nadi ka ye roop magar kitna apna sa lagta hai.

.

main andar, computer par kavitaa’ein likhte hu’e,

nazar uthaa, ungliyo’n ko keyboard par rok kar,

dekh rahi hoon baahar ki duniya,

aur mehsoos kar rahi hoon apney astitva ko.

.

ghar ke andar ki thandak,

aur balcony ke ghaney paudh’on ke beech,

khidki ke neele parde mein se

andar jhaankti dhoop ki kirnein.

.

mere aas-paas, thandey farsh par,

so rahe hain do aise jo kabhi rehtey thay sadko’n par,

aur abb hain iss ghar ke mujh jaise hi hissedaar,

bol nahin saktey, lekin aankho’n mein hai duniya bhar ka pyaar.

.

ghar iss waqt khaali hai,

aur koi nahin hai insaan.

akele toh hoon, lekin akelapan kahaan,

kaafi hain tanhaayi aur ye shabd kahiin andar se nikaltey hu’e.

.

.

[Cross posted on the new blog.]

rakhi rehti hain,

aaj mein jeene ki zaroorat,

inhein kuchh bhula sa deti hain.

.

kabhi-kabhi padh jaati hai nazar inpe,

aur phir bebas hoke,

haath ruktey nahin,

albums khul hi jaati hain.

.

bachpan ke pal, diwaali, holi,

basant panchami, garmi ki chhuttiyaan,

kabhi aise hi baraamdey mein baithe hue -

tasveer’on se yaad aate hain woh saare din.

.

birthday parties, apni aur dost’on ki,

jinmein thay gubbarey aur streamers,

passing the parcel, musical chairs,

mummy ka banaaya hua cake, chowmein aur ribbon sandwiches.

.

garmi ki chhutiyaan,

dehradun mein naani ka ghar,

kabhi nainital, ek baar shimla,

papa ka birthday june ki garmi mein.

.

mera bachpan, mummy aur papa -

tasveerein puraani lagti hain,

par yaadein taaza hain abb tak,

aur rishta bhi rahega bilkul waisa hi.

.

ek tasveer hai jismein mummy ka hara dupatta hai mere sar par,

aur godi mein hai gaurav, abb saahil -

mummy ki nakal kartey-kartey,

tab se, abb tak aa gaye, aur kuchh badla nahin.

.

mere bachpan ka aadha hissa,

jiskey bina zindagi ka jigsaw adhoora hai.

aur phir hum dono ke bachpan mein ek aur ka judna,

jo abb lagti hai jaisey kabhi alag thi hi nahin.

.

dono door, apney sapno’n ko sach kartey hue,

aagey ki zindagi ki dehleez par khadhey,

phone par rakhtey hue hum sab ko saath,

dikhaatey hue apni nayi duniyaa’ein humein bhi apney saath.

.

meri zindagi ke jigsaw mein ek aur juda,

jo nahin bhi milta, toh zindagi ko hamesha lagta

ke kuchh hai adhoora, jis zindagi ko iss safar mein milna tha,

woh abhi tak mili nahin.

.

unn bhooli hui albums mein,

jud rahi hain humaari nayi yaadein,

digital camera ne kar diya aur bhi aasaan,

chhote-chhote pal, surakshit hain computer mein.

.

facebook par hum sab duniya se baant’tey -

apna rishta, dosti aur beshart pyaar,

humaari khushiyaan, aur ye bejod paagalpan,

albums dikh jaati hain, toh ye saare pal phir se jee lete hain hum.

.

.

[Cross posted on the new blog.]

hain toh sahi.

Log kehtey hain sirf naukri kaafi nahin,

career hona chahiye,

passion zaroori hai,

aagey badhne ki hodh zaroori hai.

Aisa kyun hai lekin?

.

Kyun hai zaroori aage badhna?

Kyun nahin bas zindagi ke saath behtey chalo,

nadi ki taraah.

.

Raastey mein kuchh gaaon milenge,

jo basey hain iss nadi ke liye -

wahaan se shaant ho kar behtey chalo.

.

Milenge kuchh vaadiyaan aur pahaad,

zindagi ke utaar-chadhaav -

wahaan se apna raasta khud banaate hue nikalte chalo.

.

Saath mein hoga waqt khud ko aage badhaane ka,

career mein nahin,

zindagi mein.

.

Ghoomna kitaab’on mein basi duniyaa’on mein,

aur asli duniya ke koney-koney tak.

Rehna kareeb asli zindagi ke,

aur rakhna paas unn logo’n ko jo dilaatey hain yaad ke zindagi kya hai.

.

taraazu mein tola jaaye,

ek taraf career -

museebat’on se joojhta, stress badhaata hua;

aur doosre palrey par zindagi -

jo bula rahi hai hum sab ko,

iss nadi ki har boond ko choos-choos ke peene ke liye -

aur taraazu ke theek beech mein,

naukri se aane waali tankha,

jo deti hai saadhan ye zindagi jeene ke liye,

lekin ijaazat nahin hai isey jeene ke liye.

.

.

[Cross-posted on the new blog.]

zaroorat hai aaraam ki,

theek usee taraah jaise ek khaali canvas

jo hota hai ekdum kora

usey zaroorat hoti hai rang’on mein lath-path hone ki.

.

Rang – kabhi surkh laal, toh kabhi shaant neela,

sooraj se bhi peela, ya phir naani ke baageechey sa hara -

ya shaayad satrangi.

.

Haftey bhar office ka kaam,

aur kaam hi nahin, politics bhi.

Jo raajneeti chalaati hai desh ko,

office mein aa jaaye toh kar deti waisa hi bawaal,

jaisa hota hai jab gir jaata hai raaton-raat bana foot-bridge.

.

Kaam ka phal, miley ya na mile,

tankha toh mil hi jaayegi -

yeh keh kar apne aap ko saantvana do bhi toh kab tak?

.

Shaayad theek hi hai -

paanch din ka kaam, robot ki taraah,

aur robot bhi rajnikant waaala nahin -

woh toh hero hai, hum kahaan.

.

Paanch din ka kaam, aur phir do din ki zindagi -

Khud ke liye ye do din, bina salary ke

kitney zyaada achhe hain unn paanch dino’n se.

.

“Choose a job you love, and you won’t have to work a day in your life” -

yehi kiya tha, lekin phir kya hua?

.

.

[Cross-posted on the new blog.]

So, what is it about hair-dressers all over that makes them want to do stuff to your hair which you most definitely don’t want done.

I’ve had the same conversation with almost every woman or man who has cut my hair in the last few years. And, it goes a little like this…

Me: (Getting hair cut in silence. Maybe browsing through a magazine. Mostly suppressing the crazy urge to make faces at the mirror.)
Hair Dresser: Why don’t you get your hair coloured?
Me: No, thanks.
HD: No, it’ll look nice.
Me: No, it’s okay. I like it all black.
HD: It’s dark brown, actually.
Me: Haan, and I like it the way it is.
HD: Just a few streaks. It’ll look nice.
Me: !!!!! No! I’m okay with it the way it is!
HD: Deep red streaks. Or maybe golden.
Me:: Listen, I don’t want any streaks, okay? Nothing. No colour, thankyouverymuch.
HD: But why, madam?
Me: Because-I-don’t-want-it-and-I-like-my-hair-the-way-it-is!!!!!!

And, no – I don’t have a single gray strand of hair. At least, that might’ve maybe slightly warranted such a conversation. I have straight, reasonably thick, shiny, healthy dark-brown hair. And, I swear – I still need to have this conversation each and every time I go for a haircut. Why, I ask?!

The other thing that has to happen is for the hair-dresser to ask -
HD: Which shampoo-conditioner do you use, madam?
Me: [Insert name of products currently in use]
HD: Hmmm…okay….

And, that’s it. Nothing else – no, good-product, bad-product, don’t-use-this-one, use-that-one-instead advice. Is this some sort of a conversation starter they’re trying out? Are they collecting data for some research? I’d really like to know.

Also, speaking of hair dressers, here’s a nice post about scenes from a beauty parlour.

So, I figured it might help if I move to someplace else.

Of course, the rest of this blog will be there as well, but it’ll be a new address, a new home, with a new look.

I might move back here again, who knows – but for now, I think I need a change.

See you all there!

Dedicated to Gabriel and Brandy.

A cat has grace that is envied by all,

Dogs, though, are “man’s best friends” by far.

We know dogs from feline grace do but fall,

Because cats do believe in being the czar.

We know a cat as dainty, proud and sly,

And also, as curiosity exemplified.

Dogs are playful, happy and the best ally,

And to stop wagging their tail, can’t decide.

But, to earn the trust of a cat is hard,

And, when done, is a feat well accomplished.

A happy dog is not tho’ such a reward,

But that doesn’t stop it from being cherished.

Never the twain shall meet, is often said-

Still, both of mine, each-other do sure dread.

© Aanchal Tyagi, 2010

Hot and sweaty -

Moving furniture.

Link courtesy: The technologically-challenged workaholic who maintains her diary here. (Must read for everyone who accepts that they are workaholics, and for those who are still in denial!)

And then, she tells me that she’s been published (here – and I really need to find this book in Delhi somewhere), and then I tell her that I’m very jealous of her, and I’m very very jealous of her.

She says that I get published too.

I tell her that hitting the publish button is very different from “getting published”. Also that, my everlasting problem, which is the answer to everything I don’t get done in life, is laziness. Plus, I have a feeling that the fact that my job requires me to write might also be the reason for not feeling like writing after I get done with work.

Meh. :-/

I really should write more.

And, I’ve noticed that there really is no point in making that one of my new year resolutions. Too lazy to keep most of them.

…

In other news, two of my friends have had babies in the last week-ten days. The first one, a friend from childhood who I used to pretend being Nancy Drew with and solve make-believe mysteries, has had a lovely, lovely daughter.

The second, a friend from college, wanted a daughter, and has had a son – but is very happy (and exhausted). This little baby I’m going to see tomorrow.

…

This writing thing is actually quite nice – no?

Makes me feel nice to write. Should do it more.

Now, some of these songs I may be embarrassed about, but some others I still quite like. And, I won’t tell you which ones – I know I’ll be judged!

So, the No.1 romantic Hindi movie of the Nineties – Dil, and Mujhe neend na aaye, chain na aaye… from this movie. I really, really wanted that black satin outfit that Madhuri’s wearing in a part of the song, with a red flower behind her ear – and yes, I am (quite!) ashamed of that.

This song, and the next one, from the same movie.

There was something so nice about building a home out of nothing.

“Chhat pyaar ki,

dil ki zameen,

khwaabon ki hain ye deewaarein…” …or something like that.

This song I remember dancing to – a lot!

And, this song from another Aamir-Madhuri movie. And, can I just say that I thought Aamir looked quite cute in his specy-avatar.

And then, this song from another movie from 1990 – Baaghi, with Salman Khan and Nagma. Used to love the red and white striped sweater that he’s wearing in this song.

And, this one from another Salman Khan movie, this time with Revathi.

And this song – I still really like, by the way.

And – the ultimate Salman Khan movie from the 90s – Maine Pyaar Kiya, the movie that created Prem and Suman.

A little bit of film trivia. In Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, the next Rajshri movie with second avatar of “Prem”, there’s a scene during Pooja’s wedding, when Prem gets a crank call, and the girl on the other end says that her name is Suman, with the soundtrack of Maine Pyaar Kiya playing in the background. See, now would you have known that if it wasn’t for this post?

I also liked this next song, which was a copy of this song.

The original antakshari that we all tried to memorise, so that playing antakshari became so much easier. Yes, cheating wasn’t a big deal for us, obviously.

And then, this and this too, from the same movie.

And, then – hold your breath – this next song, from the movie that had the long-haired poet and his long-haired friend, both in love with the same girl.

And, then this song from Vishwatma, and I love the music that this song starts with.

And, how can you have a list of songs from the 90s, without having Govinda in them, so here’s one with him and Divya Bharti.

Oh, and this murder mystery from the Nineties – Khiladi. The frilly frocks, bright colours, coed-colleges, singing and dancing – how much more Nineties can you get?

…

And, there are so many more of these absolute classic gems, that I find myself ODing on 90s music, and not doing enough work. (I am supposed to be working from home, you remember?)

So, more of these another time. No, no – don’t worry – there are loads more where these came from!

Without further ado – even though I find myself detesting clichés more and more in my writing, here’s Recipe #1.

Today being a chhutti and all, I decided to try out this Zero Oil cookbook I have (which I’ve never tried before). I had kamal kakdi (also known as Lotus Stem, or the horrible sounding bhein) at home, which I normally cook in a completely different way – but having read this recipe, I’m glad I tried it out.

It’s interesting and different, healthy, tasty and quite quick to make.

—

Krispy Kamal Kakdi, or Kurkure Bhein (as the book calls it)

(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 gm. Kamal Kakdi, cut into diagonal slices
• 2 medium sized onions, cut into four pieces each
• 4 tbsp. dry wheat flour, or sookha aata
• 5 green chillies
• 1/2 cup dhaniya or coriander leaves, chopped finely
• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2” piece of ginger
• 4-5 pods of garlic
• 1.5 tbsp. fresh yoghurt
• 1 tbsp. tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp. soya sauce
• 1/2 tsp. amchoor or dry mango powder
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala, or a mixture of five Indian whole spices, dried and ground together.
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ajwain, or carom seeds
• 1 tsp. red chilli powder

METHOD:

1. Cut the kamal kakdi into thin, diagonal slices, and wash it nicely. It normally has a lot of dirt inside it, unless the ones you buy are closed from both sides.
2. Put this into a pressure cooker with about 1.5 cups of water and a tsp. of salt, and let the cooker give 2-3 whistles.
3. Pour out the water, and let the boiled kamal kakdi dry and cool off on a kitchen towel.
4. Take 2-3 green chillies and the ginger and garlic and grind them into a fine paste. Once the paste is ready, add the ajwain, yoghurt, and a tsp. each of salt, red chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix it well with the paste.
5. Pour this paste mixture over your now-dry kamal kakdi, and mix it nicely with your hands so that you’re sure that all the pieces of the kamal kakdi are completely covered with this paste. Leave this to marinate for an hour, and go read a book or something. (The one I’m reading is the first book from this series.)
6. Once you’ve read a chapters, and the 1-hour of marination (of the kamal kakdi and your brain) is up, go back to the kitchen and take a non-stick pan and heat it up. Now, take the sookha aata and roast it well in the pan, for about 4-5 minutes on a medium flame, until it turns a nice golden-brown. Keep stirring it to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and getting burnt.
7. Once this is roasted, sprinkle it generously over the marinated kamal kakdi. Again, make sure that the roasted aata nicely covers all the pieces.
8. Now, take a kadhaai (or a wok), heat it up, and put your eight pieces of onion in it. Now, the book says that you just need to roast the onions till they turn brown, but I saw that I needed to use just a little bit of oil – about 1/5 a teaspoon of refined oil, just to help the onions brown evenly.
9. Once the onions have turned a deep pinkish-brown, add the kamal kakdi pieces to this, and roast again till all of it turns browner. The paste that you’d covered the kamal kakdi with is still raw, so keep the flame low, and let this cook nicely. Keep stirring and moving it around to avoid the roasted paste from sticking to the bottom.
10. Once you think that it’s nicely roasted and brown, sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of amchoor and 1/2 tsp. of garam masala. Mix well, and then add the soya sauce and the tomato ketchup. Fry this well till the kamal kakdi becomes dry and slightly crisp.
11. While this is frying (and don’t forget to keep stirring it), cut your remaining 2 green chillies into thin diagonal slices, and chop your dhaniya leaves. After you’re done frying, add both of these, along with 1 tsp. of lemon juice to the kamal kakdi, and mix together well. Let it roast along with the kamal kakdi for a minute or two for the subzi to get a slight flavour of all of these.
12. And, serve! We had it with arhar ki daal and hot rotis.

—

This is it. Please do leave comments and let me know how it turned out, if you do decide to try it.

Erm, of course, the above comment does not mean that this is the only thing that irritates me no end. There are many others, I assure you.

So, I live in a lovely society in the suburbs around Delhi. There’s lots of greenery, place for children to play and cycle, a grocery store, some nice neighbours, and very pretty airy flats with lots of windows and balconies.

So, where’s the problem, you might say. There isn’t one, I say in return. Because it isn’t a problem really, it’s just a bleddy-irritatingly-officious RWA!

They make rules that say children can’t play in the park, and should go to a park outside the society, and across the road. They also make rules that pets can’t be walked (on a leash even) inside the society. The second of which I choose to ignore, and the first of which I would choose to ignore if I had kids, and will when I do.

Now, they do do some nice stuff. Like, get the swimming pool opened and cleaned regularly, make sure there’s no gandagi around, that there are guards at the gate, and a maali who maintains pretty gardens, and enough street lights downstairs, power-backup that comes on really quickly, etc.

But, it’s the officiousness while doing so that really gets my goat. (On an aside, what a strange phrase that is – “gets my goat”. And, here is how it started. You know you really want to look too. I did. )

This is the latest thing that’s currently getting my goat, if you know what I mean.

Now, there’s a divider on the road just outside the main gate. This road is a slip road with very little traffic, and considering that this society is at almost one end of the city, and one that is still developing, there are not that many other houses or shops around the place. Now, either you can take the main highway next this slip road, for which you will need to drive about two kilometres further down on the highway, and then take a U-turn, and drive two kilometres back, before turning in to the street that the society is on; or, you can take the back-way, which is through another colony, and is always empty, and which makes you reach the street that the society is on – only, you’re on the wrong side of the road. So, again, you can either drive about a 100-150 metres down that street and take a U-turn to reach the main gate, or you can drive the 100-150 metres on the wrong side of the road, and enter the main gate straight away.

Now, of course, the best thing to do would be to take the U-Turn and come back, but then, it’s just a hundred-and-fifty metres, at the most, on the wrong side of an empty street – and lots of people do just that. Which is wrong, but a personal choice – right?

Wrong. And not just wrong, a grave, grave offence suitable for punishment, according to some.

There have been tonnes of very serious sounding emails on the society’s online group mailing list, where the idea that most seem to love is to instruct the guards at the main gate to disallow entry to residents that want to enter without taking the U-turn. So, if you choose to break (not very serious) traffic rules on the main road, you don’t get to enter your own house!!

After surviving many, many officious-sounding emails that reach my mailbox everyday, and which I am forced to read since I seem to have an almost obsessive compulsive disorder of not being able to see the Bold black unread emails count in my Gmail inbox, I had to reply. And, since I am currently very kicked with my reply, you all get to read it too. What luck, no?

Before you proceed to read, may I mention that I have already received two fan mails from other residents at the time of going to press on this post. Even though, some others might really not get the sarcasm.

* ABC = the real name of the place I live in, to keep stalkers away.

—

Dear All,

Here’s what I think about the whole taking-U-turn/not-taking-U-turn controversy, and I’m not sure how many people would agree or disagree, but then, they’re my views.

1. Nobody, with the exception on traffic cops, has the right to enforce any traffic rules on me.
2. Everyone who will be, at present or in the future, driving a car into ABC, will have a valid driving licence, and hence, will be an adult.
3. Being an adult, I don’t think I would take kindly to something that isn’t hurting anyone else, except myself. Like, smoking for instance – doesn’t hurt others, except in a passive way, and they’re welcome to not be around me, and thus, live longer. Being in a no-smoking zone, of course, would be a different thing. Similarly, what I do on the road, or which driving rules I choose to break or follow, are between me and the traffic cops.
4. Having said the above, this does not, of course, mean that I (or any other reasonably intelligent person) will break every traffic rule in the book. For instance, I wouldn’t take the wrong side of the U-turn on the main XYZ Highway because of the heavy and fast traffic there. I am also aware (as is every other reasonably intelligent person, I’m sure) that taking the U-turn outside ABC is the correct thing to do. However, not doing so does not mean that I would like being told that I cannot enter the place I live in, by the guards at the gate. The reason for not liking this, before anyone jumps to conclusions, is not because it’s a guard telling me, but because I wouldn’t appreciate someone who does not have the right to enforce or allow/disallow my entry into ABC, to take the liberty to be doing so.
5. And, lastly, although it is an extremely creditable thing to be aware and responsible citizens, and have the civic sense to follow traffic rules, I still think all of us need to get down our high horses a wee bit, and think of ABC less as a mini-country, and more as what it really is – just a place that people live in.

Of course, all of the above are just my views, which may or may not find any followers, and aren’t meant to hurt or antagonise anyone.

Cheers!
- Aanchal Tyagi

—

So, anyone else? Anything that irritates you?