With the world staying indoors, I believe one of the most popular things trending across the world is baking… Everyone is suddenly baking their own bread!
So what is it that makes baking bread so popular? For me personally, the initial push came from the fact that during the ongoing lockdown, bread was very difficult to come by and without bread breakfast can be quite challenging to put on the table. So I looked up some recipes, played around with the ingredients and came up with some amazing breads! The aroma that fills the entire house and the sense of accomplishment that comes from successfully baking a delicious bread is priceless!
Here I’m sharing a video to help anyone who would like to try baking their own bread 😊
Its Easter the holiest day in the Christian calendar, the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ. His Victory over Death and our eternal redemption. We can see the ushering in of springtime as well, as we can hear the vibrant sound and smell in the air as the Earth reawakens. Its the time to welcome a new beginning with new hope and dreams. A very relevant circumstance in the current times.
We are living in such troubled times and if we look around us, we can see distressing instances of poverty, mayhem and extremism . People are taking shelter of their religion to defend their wicked ways and hunger for power and money. And to exasperate further, we are facing the horror of the pandemic, COVID virus,currently infected all over the world. It has got the world into a World War kind of situation where the world is fighting an invisible enemy.
On this felicitous day let us also pledge to overcome this panic in solidarity and determination. “For God so loved the world”…..He resurrected to save us from our sin. And he surely will save us from the present calamity too. We pray for a happier and brighter dawn with the arrival of Springtime.
A trip to Imphal as an External Examiner for the MBBS Examination turned out to be a most enriching experience. While the days were spent in the rigourous examination schedule, I was entertained in the evenings by a bunch of young energetic post graduate doctors, who wanted to give me the best possible experience of Imphal within the limited timeframe. In order to keep pace with them, I myself was surprised at my own energy levels.
While Day 1 was a trip to Kangla Fort, and the War Cemetery, the next day was a trip to the Govindjee Temple in full Manipuri attire which was arranged for me by one of the young lady doctors. Peach or pink phanek ( mekhela) is normally worn to temples. I was awestruck by the graceful and acrobatic, traditional Pung Cholum dance within the temple premises as it was the auspicious Basant Panchami week.
War CemeteryGovindjee Temple
The third day was a trip to Loktak Lake and this unusual and unique lake took my breath away. It is the largest freshwater lake in North East India famous for the floating vegetations upon it called phumdis. As I savoured every moment with these youngsters, time stood still. Age became just a number. I felt I was one of them. We chatted, we laughed, we rejoiced and we embraced the natural beauty around us.
Loktak Lake
Celebrating life in faraway places with new people who were half my age made me relish each moment with these young hearts and free spirits. There were no barriers, no labels, no demarcations. It is the joy of small things and the simplicity of life that eventually matters. I was happy and content with these young souls.
Young heartsLaughter and chatterIn sync with nature
As we returned from Loktak, we halted at the ISKCON Temple, reaching just in time for the evening Aarti. The doors seemed to have opened just for us, as we realised we were the only ones in the temple apart from the priest.
ISKCON Temple, Imphal
Once again, I bow down to the Universe in gratitude.
After the bomb burst from school , its been 38 years or so and each one of us have been engrossed in pushing our wheel of life into a direction. As a result of which lot of things got precedence over the friends we left behind along with school. With the customary goals and aims somehow fulfilled to a large extent, we decided to dedicate some quality time for ourselves and stimulate our friendship to a higher dimension. It all started one winter evening of Dec’17, when a few of us met up over a cup of coffee, and the first thought of a trip together came to our mind .
Start of the new beginning.
And thereafter, without looking back we have successfully completed 2 very exiciting, adventurous and fantastcally enjoyable trip.
The first trip was a trek up the Dhauladhar ranges in the Himalayas ,at Dharamshala and Mcleodganj. It was nice of Rakesh Singhal to have come and join us at the Tibetan Village over a cup of tea , to flag off our journey at Delhi
Dhauladhar ranges
Never would have thought of trekking up 9350ft.height at 52 in my wildest of dreams, but for my Magical company, it became a dream come true/ And a treasured experience too.
Going upto Dharmashala and not visiting His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s official residence and the Namgyal monastery will be an incomplete trip. Sharing few moments herewith.
And finally before leaving , we were fortunate people to have got a glimpse of His Holiness passing by us at such short distance. A moment to be cherished always.
His Holliness The Dalai Lama
While reminiscing about the trip , I almost missed our reunion with another class mate who is a proud soldier in The Indian Army . Brigadier Amaranth Kukreti. He has build a beautiful home for himself in the mountains and we thoroughly enjoyed his hospitality at his place. It is never a boring moment when you catch up with long lost school friends specially.
Cheers to old school friends
In the end we all were happy with our decision of an annual vacation together, doesn’t matter the destination, and let our hair loose and enjoy. Back to school day
A short and sweet trip to start with, filled with lots of fun moments, happiness and excitement. It surely took us back to our school days.
It was a long cherished dream to revive my childhood passion of riding a bicycle and exploring around the town. I remember as a teen-ager, during my days in Meerut, I used to cycle almost 14 kilometres to school with friends and we used to enjoy the rides. I was a little apprehensive initially, wondering whether after all the years, I would have the confidence to ride a bike again. But I told myself that everything is possible if I am willing to take it forward. The choice is mine.
So finally, about three weeks back I got my bicycle with great joy and pride. It had a little basket too. And so I started with my early morning rides. I would be up with the lark, and it was such a breeze to sail through the streets of Guwahati city during those wee hours. I went around exploring the small lanes in and around Zoo Road and Zoo Narengi Road, chasing the sunrise! It fascinated me to notice the cobbled lanes and colourful trees lining the streets and it felt like I was in another world altogether.
The beauty about cycling is that you know the art of balancing yourself. It also gives one a sense of self confidence. At the same time, it makes us appreciate the smallest things around us. It makes us feel more humble and grounded. Life is all about maintaining the right balance. If you tilt too much to one side, you may fall. Let us be grateful for the simple pleasures of life.
If you’re someone like me who’s always busy with a hundred things going on and a full life humming with activity, then when everything comes to a standstill, it can be a huge shock to the system. I have always maintained that I have three pillars to my life and as long as the three are in place, I can cope with anything.. So when the three pillars suddenly disappeared, I found myself struggling.
To keep my mind and hands occupied, I picked up a number of little projects.
Embroidery, a hobby long given up..
Gardening
Cooking and baking
In addition to the above, doing house work, exercising to an app called Fitify meditating in the mornings and walking for half an hour every evening. But still finding it hard to keep the anxiety down. The only way ahead is to completely stop trying to control outcomes and surrender to the Universe.
As we go through the journey of life, we come across some individuals who make a lasting impression on us. Many times they unknowingly become our teachers as we pick up some traits or skills just by observing them.
Julie baideu was an extremely vivacious personality. In my Dad’s words “she was very different from other women… a combination of leadership and amiability”
When I first met her closely in Digboi, when I first started working there, I was in awe and admiration of her outstanding social skills. The way she would direct all of us and point out when we made faux pas, but without embarrassing or hurting us was something I have still not mastered. But one thing I learnt from observing her was how to introduce people to each other. While introducing, she would always elaborate one quality or ability of the person which would make it easy for them to initiate a conversation. The other thing is that she was always quick to compliment, leaving the other person with a feel good.
She passed away this morning, leaving behind many whose lives she touched in innumerable ways. Rest in peace Julie baideu… I, for one, look upon you as someone who left a huge impression on me, never too be forgotten.
I wonder sometimes whether I was made differently. As I touched upon my chronological age of fifty and beyond, I realised that I was flowing against the tide in my thought process. Was it something to do with my genetic make up or events in my childhood or was it the effects of the myriads of environment that I grew up in, or was it simply a result of being a quiet and silent bystander of various happenings that I witnessed or was it the effects of vivid personalities of the people around me? They say that genetics and environment influence the personality of a person of what he or she eventually becomes. But a person’s views or opinions may not necessarily be static. It can change with time. It can change when one realises that he or she has behaved in a particular manner largely because that is what is expected of him or her by others in the society. A better part of our lives is spent in doing things mainly to please others and to maintain a high standard in other people’s judgement about us. At the same time, we become a part of that web and start doing the same about others. We seem to spend valuable and precious time in discussing and judging others or creating labels about them. Similarly we become busy in behaving in ways where opinion about us by others matters the most, and so we often try to do things even beyond a level, not because we might actually enjoy doing it, but primarily because we expect we are appreciated by others rather than by our own selves. In this vicious cycle, what we have lost is self growth. Our own potentials to perform and to deliver have withered and almost died. We have even decided that the cycle of life is coming to an end and all we have now is reflections of our youth in our memories and maybe bask in the glory of our children and their achievements. Somewhere in this circle we have lost our own selves. That very person who was, is, and still will be capable of doing wonders. If we decide to channelise this great energy within us to develop our own self worth, to tap our own potentials and capacities, to improve upon our own skills to deliver better instead of performing only for the sake of pleasing others and expecting good grades from others around us, and wasting time and energy trying to analyse other people, would this be labeled as selfish? And who would put this label? The same society whom I desperately try to please? Does it really matter? Today, I have realised how thankful I am to the universe around me. I am thankful because this universe has brought within me a sense of self realisation. The universe and it’s immense powers has given me a second chance to live life all over again, this time without the stress of trying to please others, but with the sole motive of being the best version of myself, so that I can make a difference not just to myself but to those around me. Finding myself has been the greatest joy and the beauty of it unravels with each passing moment.
Discovering the true essence of life
Self love is the first step in self realisation. We only need to be in harmony with those around us and all other beings in this amazing planet . By loving myself, it means I love the universe and I can deliver the best within me. In this second chance, I consider myself grateful to be reborn again, to embrace the world, all over again, not to be deterred, but to excel in my knowledge and skills, and focus on constantly improving myself, without any expectations or judgement from any corner, because it is ultimately the universe which will judge me. I am no longer entering the twilight years of my life, but am entering a new dawn of a new morning, and I am thankful to the universe for giving me this beautiful gift of a life that is worth living.
And yes, I am made differently, and so are each one of us. That is the beauty of life . I am but, a part of the whole. Let me nurture myself with love.
Yesterday my young guest, Gayle, requested me to make her some kheer. So I started cooking the kheer, adding sugar, bay leaf and cardamom seeds to the milk. Unfortunately, the milk started curdling! That’s when I quickly changed tracks and decided to try and make some sandesh to use up the curdled milk. I had to bring out a long forgotten cook book to look up the recipe for something I had never tried before and ended up making something wonderful… Similarly, life doesn’t quite turn out the way we expected.. Problems crop up, plans go awry… But it is upto us to take the lemons and make some delicious lemonade with it.
