10,000 Miles Away

Yesterday, at 8:30PM, I went to Walmart to get some whistles and reached the theater at 8:50PM. Need I say I was waiting to watch Indhiran, a Rajinikant movie in Tamil. My husband and I stood in line to get into the movie hall and one of my buddies from school joined us later. The queue in the picture is only half of what you see, the rest are inside the building.

My sophisticated husband had a few glitches with the whistles in the beginning but joined the fun-fare in no time.

The movie "Indhiran" (meaning Robot), is a must see for all those who miss the villain Rajinikant. Comedy is predictable and I was pretty impressed with the special effects in the climax scene; not just the technical aspect but also the creative side of it. One thing missing in the movie going experience is the cut out of Thalaivar (a.k.a Rajinikant).

I am still working out and enjoying my Yoga; how was your weekend?

READ MORE...

Lighting Their Fires

 via

On a rare occasion when I get a couple of hours to myself, I like to grab a cup of chai latte or cappuccino and sift through books at Barnes and Nobles. During one of those visits, two books caught my attention; “Lighting Their Fires” by Rafe Esquith and “The Art of Choosing” by Sheena Iyengar. I made a mental note to myself to order these online and totally forgot about it until I came across Esquith’s book at the library.

The setting in this book is during a game between the Dodgers and the Cardinals as Esquith takes us through his 5th grade class in Hobart Elementary where kids come to school weekends, stay late, arrive early and perform Shakespeare plays. Upon further research, I found to my surprise that Hobart school is not an upscale prep school, like I thought it would be. Kids here come from troubled families but land up in good colleges with guidance from able teachers and parental involvement.

There is no “eureka” moment in the book but subtle reminders to parents and teachers to fall back on core values like modesty, humility, punctuality, patience, focus, knowledge, decision making and honesty. The book offers numerous activities to hone and attune the young minds.

The book is a good read and reminded me of a great teacher and author, E.R.Braithwaite, and his autobiographical novel “To Sir with Love".

READ MORE...

Yin Yoga

 via

Tao meets Yoga in Yin Yoga. This form of yoga focuses on the joints rather than the muscles and is practiced by holding the stretches and poses longer. I am not sure what the long term benefits are; but I can vouch for one short term benefit. "Sleep". I came back an hour ago from the class and can hardly keep my eyes open.

I signed up for two week unlimited classes and can't wait to try out other new forms of yoga. Hubby dear, is so happy his team is doing awesome in Fantasy Football. He's been filling me in on various strategies that's making his team win. You guessed it right. Its falling on deaf ears.

READ MORE...

Beating a Dead Horse

A few weekends ago I started my day with a bike ride. When I reached the trail, I saw a couple of men power wash the trail to clean the debris caused by incessant rain from the night before. The Common Wealth Games commotion in New Delhi, India led me to think of reasons why the guys were there first thing that morning to clean up, when they could have conveniently slacked off.

Were they there because their supervisor followed up on all their activities? We know there is corruption and not-so-great supervisors at all levels. But the question is, in spite of the limitations, are the deliverables compromised?

What inconvenience can an inaccessible biking trail cause to the public? Does it come from with-in each individual to perform what is expected out of her/him or it is because the public set their expectations to not put up with low standards of any kind?

I was clearly looking at two perspectives, Leadership and Cultural Aspect ... or is it a combination of the two? To twist the tale even further, a revolutionary Indian writer and many others urge Indians not to watch these games. Do we even understand how many years of an athlete's life is at stake here to prepare for a game of this scale? Is our action plan to correct one mistake, to make another one?

READ MORE...

Here Comes ...

Trips to pumpkin patches, corn fields turned into life-size mazes, cinnamon candles, haystacks, pumpkins, colorful mums and piled up leaves remind us Fall is here and the festivities right around the corner.

We kicked off the season with a pumpkin pie baked from this season's first harvest. After the kids went to bed, I set out on making the pie.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Small pumpkins to make 15 oz of mashed pumpkin
1 Sweetened condensed evaporated milk can
1 tbs Pumpkin pie spice
1 Graham cracker pie crust ( Store bought)
3 eggs

Method
1. Cut the skin, scoop or cut the dangling on the inner walls of the pumpkins.
2. Chop the pumpkins into cubes and cook in boiling water.
3. In another bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 2 tbs pumpkin pie spice and a can of sweetened condensed milk.

4. Cool of the cooked pumpkins and mash it.

5. Mix the mashed pumpkin to the egg mixture in #3.
6. Pour the entire mixture into a store bought Graham cracker crust.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes.
8. If you desire a golden top, brush egg wash (whip 1 egg and some water) on top of the pie and bake for 5 minutes at 375 degrees.
9. Cool off for an hour on the rack before chilling it in the refrigerator.
10. Add a dollop of cream and you are all set to go.

Today morning, when the kids woke up, the first thing they wanted to see was the pie. Yes, hubby and I could have cozied up with a movie last night, but the eager looks on the kids' face more than made for a couple of hours in the kitchen last night.

READ MORE...

They Draw and Cook !!!

Click on the image to view it.

They Draw and Cook is a fun site where Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell feature illustrated recipes. They were gracious enough to feature my work along with the likes of professional artists, illustrators and designers.

A big thank you to Nate and Salli and do check out their site to catch up on creativity from around the world.

READ MORE...

Jai Ho! The Journey Home, Dallas 2010

 

I just got back home from A.R.Rehman's "Jai Ho" concert and there were numerous Tamil songs. I enjoyed each one of those. What else would you expect from an Oscar winner who took a minute to speak in Tamil during his winning speech. 

The energy level of the musicians and the performers were high. The lighting, sound and the constantly changing back drop were an integral part of the concert. They brought 'waterless' rain on screen when the singers sang "Na re Na re". In another minute, with tweaks in backdrop, lighting, costumes and mood they transport you to Punjab, with the song, "Rang de Basanti".

The series that followed literally took you in spirit to the various celebrations around India like Holi, Mehandi, marriage and including a quick one on Ganesh Visarjan. With "Ye désh hai mera" and 'Bharat Humko", A.R.Rehman and Hariharan respectively touched a cord of nostalgia, especially those away from home. It was truly a journey back home.

READ MORE...