What does one do when one has a very painful skin infection (which has resurfaced in a month) and the allopathic remedy for that is a very strong antibiotic?
What does one do if those antibiotics cause severe drowsiness and dizziness?
What does one do if drowsiness and dizziness is NOT a good idea when one is managing a three month old baby and is home alone?
One wades through the Internet and tries all sorts of home remedies.
So far, one has applied the following to one's skin
Potato in their jackets
Crushed Garlic
Cut Onion
Crushed Pepper Corns
Now we just need a dash of mayo and a pinch of salt, and voila Cynic-Potato Salad is ready for consumption
Tomorrows recipe : Cynful Aloo Methi with Jeera
P.S. I wonder whether I should put myself up on bhajifried.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The labour of waiting.
Continued from here
So a few months ago, the hero and I went to see the hospital rooms and facilities at the behest (such a nice, euphemistic term for nagging no?) of the mothers.
So we see some of the rooms, not the really scary ones and eventually wind up in the waiting room where a few expectant fathers are lounging around.
The hero, then comes up with the following
"Hey, you know what? I should get one of those air-mattresses C ( his Brother in law ) has for this room. So I can lie down and rest on it while you are in labour. These plastic chairs look most uncomfortable"
So a few months ago, the hero and I went to see the hospital rooms and facilities at the behest (such a nice, euphemistic term for nagging no?) of the mothers.
So we see some of the rooms, not the really scary ones and eventually wind up in the waiting room where a few expectant fathers are lounging around.
The hero, then comes up with the following
"Hey, you know what? I should get one of those air-mattresses C ( his Brother in law ) has for this room. So I can lie down and rest on it while you are in labour. These plastic chairs look most uncomfortable"
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Meluha Bound
I am on a fairly random reading spree these days – and just finished reading the Immortals of Meluha by one Amish Tripathi. I am still not quite sure what to make of that book.
Conceptually it’s interesting. It goes to the heart of Indian mythology and plucks out Lord Shiva and weaves a story around him, in a manner calculated to appeal to contemporary tastes.
The tale follows the life of Lord Shiva – with the underlying premise that he was NOT a God, but a mortal, a tribal chieftain who did extraordinary deeds and consequently legend made him into a God. It starts with his entry as an ‘immigrant’ into Meluha – an almost ideal country, and is turned into “Neelkanth” there and traces his life – whether its his romance with the emperor’s daughter Sati or his war on evil. (This is the first of the trilogy, so we need to see how the story progresses)
It was, well, like reading a hybridized version of Dan Brown and Chetan Bhagat.
The concept might have been inspired by the former - viz. take up divinity and holy cowisque subjects ( pun unintended) and attempt to build a racy ( and hopefully controversial) pulp fictional tale out of it. (As an aside, I kept on thinking of Ilium by Dan Simmons as well – the whole myth angle juxtaposed with modern concepts perhaps.. Ilium was bizarre though - the way it kept on jumping between eras gave me jet lag).
And the atrociously pedestrian language is certainly of the latter.(Chetan Bhagat has done a grave disservice to Indian literature. I know that Indian writing was laboured and pedantic BC*. But AD seems to be characterized by utterly casual lowest-common-denominator fiction.) This book has these so called italicized thoughtblurbs of Lord Shiva, which make one cringe (the English equivalent of “Kutte kameene mein tera khoon pi jaoonga”).
Let me take the comparison further - Dan Brown, while he lacks the erudition of say, Umberto Eco, did manage to throw some historical and cultural nuggets at one in Da Vinci/Angels and Demons. Amish on the other hand, littered his books with names and references, but there was no depth whatsoever. So one would have the book crowded with Brahaspatis, Veerbhadra and Daksha without etching them out at all ( not to mention the rather cutesy references – Nandi as an extremely overweight captain with the chosen tribe of Bull.).
The other big difference between Brown and Tripathi was that there was a consistent tenor through the novels in Browns book. Tripathi on the other hand started out with Lord Shiv as a human but then backtracked by introducing a number of Devas and Asuras and immortality which confused things.
The writer of this certainly scores over Bhagat on two counts - he has taken an interesting subject ( I am obsessed with mythology after all) and there might be certain homework which has gone into the creation of this book - so it doesn’t read like a horny collegians delusional ramblings. Though one wished he would have just raised the whole thing by a couple of notches. (The feeling I had while reading it was akin to when goes for a head massage and the masseuse while working in the generally right area consistently misses the spots which could make the whole experience divine ( pun unintended again)!)
I will probably read the sequels too. Ah well.
*BC= Before Chetan: Sorry, couldnt help myself.
** AD= After Dumbkoff (Sorry, couldnt resist that either)
P.S. Finished reading “Two states” sometime back, might explain the vitriol
P.P.S Extremely random post - what to do? house arrest and sleep deprivation continues...
Conceptually it’s interesting. It goes to the heart of Indian mythology and plucks out Lord Shiva and weaves a story around him, in a manner calculated to appeal to contemporary tastes.
The tale follows the life of Lord Shiva – with the underlying premise that he was NOT a God, but a mortal, a tribal chieftain who did extraordinary deeds and consequently legend made him into a God. It starts with his entry as an ‘immigrant’ into Meluha – an almost ideal country, and is turned into “Neelkanth” there and traces his life – whether its his romance with the emperor’s daughter Sati or his war on evil. (This is the first of the trilogy, so we need to see how the story progresses)
It was, well, like reading a hybridized version of Dan Brown and Chetan Bhagat.
The concept might have been inspired by the former - viz. take up divinity and holy cowisque subjects ( pun unintended) and attempt to build a racy ( and hopefully controversial) pulp fictional tale out of it. (As an aside, I kept on thinking of Ilium by Dan Simmons as well – the whole myth angle juxtaposed with modern concepts perhaps.. Ilium was bizarre though - the way it kept on jumping between eras gave me jet lag).
And the atrociously pedestrian language is certainly of the latter.(Chetan Bhagat has done a grave disservice to Indian literature. I know that Indian writing was laboured and pedantic BC*. But AD seems to be characterized by utterly casual lowest-common-denominator fiction.) This book has these so called italicized thoughtblurbs of Lord Shiva, which make one cringe (the English equivalent of “Kutte kameene mein tera khoon pi jaoonga”).
Let me take the comparison further - Dan Brown, while he lacks the erudition of say, Umberto Eco, did manage to throw some historical and cultural nuggets at one in Da Vinci/Angels and Demons. Amish on the other hand, littered his books with names and references, but there was no depth whatsoever. So one would have the book crowded with Brahaspatis, Veerbhadra and Daksha without etching them out at all ( not to mention the rather cutesy references – Nandi as an extremely overweight captain with the chosen tribe of Bull.).
The other big difference between Brown and Tripathi was that there was a consistent tenor through the novels in Browns book. Tripathi on the other hand started out with Lord Shiv as a human but then backtracked by introducing a number of Devas and Asuras and immortality which confused things.
The writer of this certainly scores over Bhagat on two counts - he has taken an interesting subject ( I am obsessed with mythology after all) and there might be certain homework which has gone into the creation of this book - so it doesn’t read like a horny collegians delusional ramblings. Though one wished he would have just raised the whole thing by a couple of notches. (The feeling I had while reading it was akin to when goes for a head massage and the masseuse while working in the generally right area consistently misses the spots which could make the whole experience divine ( pun unintended again)!)
I will probably read the sequels too. Ah well.
*BC= Before Chetan: Sorry, couldnt help myself.
** AD= After Dumbkoff (Sorry, couldnt resist that either)
P.S. Finished reading “Two states” sometime back, might explain the vitriol
P.P.S Extremely random post - what to do? house arrest and sleep deprivation continues...
Friday, June 4, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
The belated sixth blogversary post is as good time as any...
...to introduce a new member into the fishbowl. Please to welcome Hero Junior, or MiniCyn who arrived a mite earlier that anticipated, on the 23rd of March. Which might explain why I have been under the radar these days with no posts/comments eh?
I probably will be a bit slow with the posts for a while more. Sleep deprivation is a part of it, and I also seem to be suffering from a self image schism or schizophrenia or sch-something which I am desperately trying to resolve. My self-perception is that of an advertising professional in Bombay, but the evidence (and dirty diapers) seems to suggest otherwise. Hmmm.
And to get used to (Okay, the momster bloggers might crucify me for this)the fact that the kid is er... around ( I forget sometimes ,when he is asleep. I also occasionally forget that I am married and get a “ Woah, when did that happen” moment) AND related to me. I can go up to “This is my..” and then my brain synapses short-circuit and shut down if I try to complete that equation. (Chronic ostrich syndrome, huh?)
Also, since I have been under house arrest for the last few weeks, nothing much to report, unless my dear readers want to hear tales of gore and grit (That is the threat I have been using on hero senior for the last month. Damn effective it is too!). Maybe not. But I WILL write a post on the labour of the waiting room (S’s – not mine) and the hooker who moonlights (Sunlights?) as a nurse (yes, I am a weird person magnet.)
So happy belated blogversary ( six years I have finished aiyo!) and belated birthday to the hero as well
P.S. Why haven’t I got a flood of questions and concern wondering where I am eh? I am very offended.
P.P.S. Suggestions for an appellation for the babe? Minicyn sounds like a cough medicine. Also a name – since we are still struggling to find one.
P.P.P.S Also pliss to go easy with the M-word. Panic happens.I know, I know, my mother has already scathingly asked me "What do you want him to call you? Didi?". I did mention my change phobia..?
P.P.P.P.S I need therapy.
P.P.P.P.P.S. He is pretty interesting though, I was told that when he first saw S, he looked him over and then poked out his tongue. Sterling common sense I say.
I probably will be a bit slow with the posts for a while more. Sleep deprivation is a part of it, and I also seem to be suffering from a self image schism or schizophrenia or sch-something which I am desperately trying to resolve. My self-perception is that of an advertising professional in Bombay, but the evidence (and dirty diapers) seems to suggest otherwise. Hmmm.
And to get used to (Okay, the momster bloggers might crucify me for this)the fact that the kid is er... around ( I forget sometimes ,when he is asleep. I also occasionally forget that I am married and get a “ Woah, when did that happen” moment) AND related to me. I can go up to “This is my..” and then my brain synapses short-circuit and shut down if I try to complete that equation. (Chronic ostrich syndrome, huh?)
Also, since I have been under house arrest for the last few weeks, nothing much to report, unless my dear readers want to hear tales of gore and grit (That is the threat I have been using on hero senior for the last month. Damn effective it is too!). Maybe not. But I WILL write a post on the labour of the waiting room (S’s – not mine) and the hooker who moonlights (Sunlights?) as a nurse (yes, I am a weird person magnet.)
So happy belated blogversary ( six years I have finished aiyo!) and belated birthday to the hero as well
P.S. Why haven’t I got a flood of questions and concern wondering where I am eh? I am very offended.
P.P.S. Suggestions for an appellation for the babe? Minicyn sounds like a cough medicine. Also a name – since we are still struggling to find one.
P.P.P.S Also pliss to go easy with the M-word. Panic happens.I know, I know, my mother has already scathingly asked me "What do you want him to call you? Didi?". I did mention my change phobia..?
P.P.P.P.S I need therapy.
P.P.P.P.P.S. He is pretty interesting though, I was told that when he first saw S, he looked him over and then poked out his tongue. Sterling common sense I say.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Fourth Estate
Yesterday, I happened to catch a little bit of Fareed Zakaria interviewing James Baker on CNN. I don't know much about US politics (hell I don’t know too much about Indian politics) and to be honest, I am not hugely interested in it either (Yes, sometimes I do live up to the femme stereotype of not being turned on by politics or high finance.).
Anyways I digress, in-spite of this general lukewarm interest and all that, I still paid more attention to this show, then I have ever been tempted to pay to any of our local media friends - whether it’s the Banshee Murkha or Demented Dazedeep or obstreperous Earnumb (*any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental) .
Mr. Zakaria is certainly an Indian albeit has probably been bred in foreign media climes. As are the BDE and their ilk – so why is there such a stark, almost cultural difference in reporting?
The former is almost statesman-like in his dignity, yet incisive and intelligent in the way he handles his programme, and his guests. He talks yes, but more than that he allows his guests to state their view. If he disagrees, he does so politely, and precisely. He does not try and outshout them to get the point across. He certainly does not try and force feed his opinions and gets the guest to change his/her stance. The latter, well the less said about them the better, loud hysteria, aggressive confrontational tactics, music, melodrama.
The new-casters are no longer just vessels that convey news – blandly as in the
Komal G.B. Singh era. They have become dramatis personae in their own right, a one actor play and the newsroom is the stage. That’s the only way one can explain the fact that in one half an hour segment with six panellists, the host newscaster monopolizes, nay, outshouts and corners the stage for at least 20 minutes. And they also seem to have acquired the eccentricities and temperamental tantrums of the prima donnas in the bargain. (The knee jerk and far from sophisticated response to criticism which we have witnessed in the last couple of years – is a testament to that fact).
The interesting question is what has caused this transition.
I refuse to believe that THIS is something which is desired by the audience – almost everyone I know off cringes at the sledge hammer tactics adopted by them. Almost everyone I know has scant respect for their opinions, their reportage or their interviewing and news casting skills.
Is it the curse of the 24/7 reporting which louder volumes are equated with more eyeballs – again, a difficult hypothesis to swallow – BBC/CNN and others have had continuous coverage for years – and no, I still haven’t seen any of them prancing around hysterically yet.
I had written a post some time back on the overall dumbing down of television because of a shift in the audience profile – but somehow that argument is difficult in the context of the news. Yes, the internet is a big part of it, but for most of us, the television is still remains a very important medium for news.
The only thing which perhaps hints of an explanation is that it is symptomatic of the nouveau Indian attempting to shake off years of under-dog-hood by loud belligerence – where aggression is mistaken for assertiveness, and cacophony for confidence.
It’s a pity that the so called intelligentsia of the fourth estate have to also resort to that stereotype.
Edit Note: There is some hajaar chaos happening in life right now, which is why I have been and will probably continue to be so irregular ( blogging/commenting). please to excuse ( archives, archives!).
Anyways I digress, in-spite of this general lukewarm interest and all that, I still paid more attention to this show, then I have ever been tempted to pay to any of our local media friends - whether it’s the Banshee Murkha or Demented Dazedeep or obstreperous Earnumb (*any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental) .
Mr. Zakaria is certainly an Indian albeit has probably been bred in foreign media climes. As are the BDE and their ilk – so why is there such a stark, almost cultural difference in reporting?
The former is almost statesman-like in his dignity, yet incisive and intelligent in the way he handles his programme, and his guests. He talks yes, but more than that he allows his guests to state their view. If he disagrees, he does so politely, and precisely. He does not try and outshout them to get the point across. He certainly does not try and force feed his opinions and gets the guest to change his/her stance. The latter, well the less said about them the better, loud hysteria, aggressive confrontational tactics, music, melodrama.
The new-casters are no longer just vessels that convey news – blandly as in the
Komal G.B. Singh era. They have become dramatis personae in their own right, a one actor play and the newsroom is the stage. That’s the only way one can explain the fact that in one half an hour segment with six panellists, the host newscaster monopolizes, nay, outshouts and corners the stage for at least 20 minutes. And they also seem to have acquired the eccentricities and temperamental tantrums of the prima donnas in the bargain. (The knee jerk and far from sophisticated response to criticism which we have witnessed in the last couple of years – is a testament to that fact).
The interesting question is what has caused this transition.
I refuse to believe that THIS is something which is desired by the audience – almost everyone I know off cringes at the sledge hammer tactics adopted by them. Almost everyone I know has scant respect for their opinions, their reportage or their interviewing and news casting skills.
Is it the curse of the 24/7 reporting which louder volumes are equated with more eyeballs – again, a difficult hypothesis to swallow – BBC/CNN and others have had continuous coverage for years – and no, I still haven’t seen any of them prancing around hysterically yet.
I had written a post some time back on the overall dumbing down of television because of a shift in the audience profile – but somehow that argument is difficult in the context of the news. Yes, the internet is a big part of it, but for most of us, the television is still remains a very important medium for news.
The only thing which perhaps hints of an explanation is that it is symptomatic of the nouveau Indian attempting to shake off years of under-dog-hood by loud belligerence – where aggression is mistaken for assertiveness, and cacophony for confidence.
It’s a pity that the so called intelligentsia of the fourth estate have to also resort to that stereotype.
Edit Note: There is some hajaar chaos happening in life right now, which is why I have been and will probably continue to be so irregular ( blogging/commenting). please to excuse ( archives, archives!).
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Cootchie Coo(k)
Conversations with a cook prospect, transliterated for the audience. Picture a very scary, grumpy looking woman.
Me: "Oh, so what is your name"
She: "It is actually Kaveri, but sometimes it is Kavita."
Me: "Eh? Which one should I call you then?"
She: " Whichever you like."
Me: (Incurably nosy) "But why these two names? Which one do you answer to?"
She: "My actual name is Kaveri, but my husband lovingly calls me Kavita when he wants loving " (Er..?)
Me: "Well, in that case, since I am not yet in love with you, lets stick to Kaveri shall we?" ( No I didnt say that, was sorely tempted to though. Remember the Maid mafia?)
The one who supposedly joins tomorrow goes by the rather unlikely moniker of "Dimple". Unlikely why? Because she has an a rather bovine cast of countenance - nothing could be further than the Ms.Kapadia.
Watch this space for more.
Me: "Oh, so what is your name"
She: "It is actually Kaveri, but sometimes it is Kavita."
Me: "Eh? Which one should I call you then?"
She: " Whichever you like."
Me: (Incurably nosy) "But why these two names? Which one do you answer to?"
She: "My actual name is Kaveri, but my husband lovingly calls me Kavita when he wants loving " (Er..?)
Me: "Well, in that case, since I am not yet in love with you, lets stick to Kaveri shall we?" ( No I didnt say that, was sorely tempted to though. Remember the Maid mafia?)
The one who supposedly joins tomorrow goes by the rather unlikely moniker of "Dimple". Unlikely why? Because she has an a rather bovine cast of countenance - nothing could be further than the Ms.Kapadia.
Watch this space for more.
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