Golu 2012

With every generation the celebrations gets tweaked; at times due to geographic locations and at times simply to keep the tradition practical with the current times. Evites in lieu of personal invites and weekend celebrations instead of daily offerings. The living room is now home to the golu steps. The steps made out of tables with varying heights and shelving from our closet/store room.

It takes a lot of practice to get the symmetry right for the kolams (aka designs). I get mine from doodling kolams, especially the ones where the design is more free flowing. The above maa-kolam is made with a semi-watery paste made out of rice flour mixed with a little all purpose flour.

Mango leaves from the local Indian stores adorn the Kalash, (as seen above) the key component in a golu display. The kalash apparently supersedes over the Gods and is placed on the top most shelf of the golu.

The part of the golu the kids eagerly wait for are the real-life-scenes they get to make. The trees and shrubs along with the sprinkled yellow dust are from Micheal's arts and crafts stores. The lego table top cover used as a base for the scenary. Added a layer of green landscape paper, some rocks, dirt, miniature animal toys and voila!!!

Happy Navrathri

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Latest Obsession

 I am obsessed with Instagram. Most pictures I take on my phone are saved via instagram. The 70's or the early 80's look is so nostalgic. May be they remind me of life when time went by slow and being busy and always on the run was not the motto for most. Pictured above is my daughter's locker. Magnetic flowers, mirrors, pencil holders and wall paper for the locker completed hers. The outside could have been fancier, but we struck to our last year's design. Polka dot wall paper cut to a strip, weaved through the cabinet door and struck in place by the magnetic flower. Many I noticed decorate the outside with ribbons ... may be next year.

Another of my latest fascination is the keurig. As I am the only coffee drinker in the house, my weekend coffee time includes a trip to the local Starbucks, leisurely savoring the coffee accompanied by people watching. With the entry of the Keurig, I love the coffee it brews, not too sure whether the deal is economical. But I sure miss the people watching, the many conversations that occurred during the long walks en route to Starbucks and with due thanks to Starbucks k-cups, do not much miss the coffee itself.

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Nashville TN

Nashville TN is a haven for music lovers, especially those who prefer country or southern rock and roll. CDs of upcoming artists are played in eateries and live music performed any time any day of the year. I am not a big country music fan, so was not too keen on visiting any of the bars. We kept our promise to the kids and took them to the Country Music Hall of Fame. If I have not said this before, Nashville happened to be on our way to the Smoky Mountains and we have an ardent Country music fan in our family.

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NY Deli & Central Station Market

Wondering if some of the desi ways are rubbing off on NY shops. I was surprised to hear a couple of bagel shops do not accept credit cards on purchases less than 5 dollars. That's usually the norm followed by Indian stores. Other than that, nothing much came between me and my NYC bagel.

A trip to NYC is not complete in Summer with out indulging in the the local fruits. If you are looking for great produce at rock bottom prices, Chinese markets or vendors is your answer. Due to lack of time, I stuck to the market in the Central Station. The market is also a great place to pick some spices and freshly baked goods. 

Cherries and some finger grapes. 

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AZUSA, Midtown NY

What you do for a living no longer seems a person question in the US of A. You would be amazed by how many perfect strangers have asked me that question and how many are more than willing to proclaim their own. It's almost like what you do for a living is a critical part of your identity. But apart from that, I seem to totally enjoy random conversations irrespective of whether I am included in one or if I am simply overhearing by virtue of sitting right next to them in the bar area. On business trips, I prefer to sit in the bar area rather than opt for a table, unless it's outdoors and the  weather is great. 

I was looking for a place to dine in and choose a Sushi place in Midtown. The bar was not too crowded, a Japanese family including a dad, son and uncle and a desi girl. My very first seeing another desi girl dining all by herself. The Japanese family kept us entertained, most of the talking done by the son and uncle while the wise dad kept to a few chuckles. Another banker joined in the conversation who happened to work in that area. We had such a good time, one suggested we meet the following Thursday. But I was flying out, the Japanese uncle and dad were flying back to Japan. Not sure if the desi girl, the banker gentleman and the young Japanese chap met in the weeks to come. AZUSA is sure on my list to visit on my next trip.

In case you found this post via a search result for AZUSA, their sushi is great, service even better. Not pricey at all. The seating on the 2nd floor appears more family oriented while the bar area ambiance is more zen like.

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Screme, NY

I am a little picky about the mango flavor as in ice cream, sorbet or juice. Very few seem to get it right. Screme is one of them. They are located at stone throw away distance from Central Station, NYC. I loved their pine apple and mango sorbets.

But their best happens to be chocolate. They have chocolate in all shapes and forms ... ice cream, chocolate croissants,hot chocolates and you name it, they have it. Their secret is Valrhona Chocolates.

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Soup Nazi

I wonder if this soup place was the inspiration for Seinfeld for one of his episodes on "Soup Nazi" or may be not. Especially the words in red letters does remind me of "No Soup", the famous words of the soup vendor to Elaine, a character from Seinfeld. Al's Famous Soup place is close to my workplace in NY and is usually packed for lunch. Good soup!!!

Talking about TV shows, if you have not watched the The Mindy Project, I highly recommend you watch it. You won't stop laughing the entire time. Well, when was the last time the main protagonist in a show was both female and hilarious. Tina Fey does come to mind, but she had Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock.

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