Life is a Circus~

I wish someone told me

Life is a circus

You are a clown

Greed is hot dog vendor
Love is cotton candy seller,

Floating in a ballroom gown

Education is lion tamer

Achievement is dwarf,

Who keeps falling down 

Memory is souvenir seller

Imagination is ballerina,

Wearing a glitter crown

Survival is French dancer

Failure is Italian acrobat brothers

In a suit: olive brown

Money is the ticket booth cashier

Reward is the gift shop seller,

Who lives in boom town

Instinct is the Magician

Endurance is his assistant

With a constant frown 

Passion is a cowboy
Friends are audience member

They never stop coming around

I wish someone told me

Life is a Circus and

No valet parking allowed

Picture courtesy Google

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
This post was selected by BlogAdda as a WOW post. 

Neighbor's Envy~

Fiction:

Since my best friend shifted to our building complex, I hated her. In school we were inseparable but now after twenty years, she seemed like another person altogether. To make matter worse, she looked ten years my junior. And a few times that our path crossed, in lift or at the car park, she seemed more polite and less friendly.

My jealousy doubled, when my husband informed me that the membership of the in-complex Gym had grown, all because of her. He looked animated.

‘She definitely needs to gym, she is fat’ I said as I gulped my green tea.

 ‘No, she is just well endowed. And at her height, a little meat is desirable’. My husband gave me a quick reason to kill him.

‘Oh…?’

‘Also, strange men come to her at odd hours. That makes her a popular topic’. He was definitely on a trip.

 ‘Did you have her followed?’ I was willing to faint on my chair to show him my shock reaction.

‘Ha! Ha! All the dirt is from the gym. Every little detail is lapped by everyone around. It is a circus out there’.

‘Really, you Jokers have nothing better to discuss’.

‘What could be better? They say at home, she walks around in her undergarments’. He did not know, when to stop.

‘Oh my God..!’

‘The bet is on, to find out her age’.

‘She is my age. She is my best friend from school’ I offered proudly.

‘Are you sure? I do not see you visiting her and she looks younger’. I finally had his undivided attention.   

Soon, I went over to her place.

‘Please come in. High time we old friends met’. She seemed genuinely happy to see me.

‘How are you? You live alone?’ I looked around still riding my high horse.

 ‘Well, my husband is in merchant navy. He is rarely home. I have twin daughters’.

‘That is nice. I have a son’.

‘One of my daughters is a thalassemia patient’. Her transformation in my eyes was instant.

‘I am so sorry to hear that’.

‘Do not worry, she is good’. I noticed, my friend had a fantastic body along with a gorgeous smile.

‘It is exhausting but I manage’. She said.

‘Good’

‘I joined the gym for I was getting tired often. Why do not you join too? You know, you are the only real friend I ever had’

Word count: 400 

Delicious Chicken Curry~

When it comes to cooking, I like quick-recipes. Something that does not eat into my work time (read blogging time). At the same time, does not compromise on health and taste. For this recipe, I recommend Del Monte Tomato and Basil Pasta sauce and Del Monte Zingo. Do use Del Monte Extra Virgin Olive oil too.

Recipe of Delicious Chicken Curry:

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast/ bone less/cubed - 250 grams
• Tomato puree - I Cup
• Olive oil - 2 tb spoon
• Refined oil - 4 tb spoon (for tossing chicken cubes) 
• garlic paste - 1 tb spoon
• Del Monte Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce - 4 tb spoon
• Del Monte Zingo Sauce - 2 tb spoon
• Juice  of one Lemon
• Two sprigs of Curry leaves
• Green Chili - As per taste (I used 6 pieces)
• Salt to taste
• Two sweet Basil leave (for presentation) 

Preparation: 

• Take a pan, heat refined oil and shallow fry diced chicken pieces for 7-10 minutes or until moisture is observed. Do not cover while cooking.  
•  Pressure boil four to five ripe tomatoes(chopped) in 1/2 cups of water. Strain to make puree.
•  Slit green chili
• Squeeze juice out of a lemon.

Method:

• Take a fresh pan and heat olive oil on low burner. 
• Add garlic paste and salt. Next add green chili. Wait for garlic to change color to light yellow.
• Add curry leaves and wait for a minute.
• Next add Del Monte Pasta Sauce, Del Monte Zingo and Tomato puree. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Next, add chicken pieces. Cover and cook. Allow gravy to thicken. When you can see oil floating, switch off the gas.
• Mix lemon juice. Your Delicious Chicken curry is ready.

 Getting started with the aroma of garlic and chili filling the air.

Preparing the gravy and loving the color red.

Cooking Delicious Chicken Curry and feeling good.

Presentation:

        Take a plate and serve Delicious Chicken Curry with lemon rind and curry leaves. A portion of
        steamed rice served on a bed of sweet Basil leaves goes very well with it.


Happy eating with me.

Not to disappoint our vegetarian Friends. I have prepared the same recipe with Del Monte Chifferi Rigati. I have followed the recipe except that I have used boiled pasta instead of cooked chicken pieces and lemon grass instead of curry leaves.

Recipe of Delicious Pasta in Curry Sauce:
                             
 Ingredients:

• Replacing cooked Chicken chunks with Pasta
• and curry leaves with boiled pasta and lemon grass.
• Rest of the ingredients as as above.

Preparation: 

• Boil Chifferi Rigati pasta according to instructions given and cut lemon grass in small pieces. 

Method:

• Same method as before. 
• Replace cooked Chicken chunks with boiled pasta. 
• And Curry leaves with lemon grass.

Presentation

      Take a plate and serve you Delicious Pasta in Curry Sauce on a bed of two sweet basil leaves along with 

       lemon rind and slit chili. 

    

My kids loved eating with extra helping of Del Monte Zingo Sauce. 

Note: I have used fresh Chili, Curry leaves, Lemon, Sweet Basil and Lemon grass from my Terrace garden.

Tip: To dilute the gravy, add a little warm milk to the curry before serving.


This post is part of The Del Monte Blogger Recipe Carnival on IndiBlogger.
Visit Del Monte facebook page for more fun:  http://www.facebook.com/worldfoody
    And to know more of Del Monte products click here~

Snap Your Fingers And Buy a Deal...

Name: Ghazala Hossain

Age:   Not applicable

Status: Married with kids

Hobby: Shopping, shopping and Shopping

                Well, this is the easiest way to describe me. But, I can not always get out of the house. I have to
                be there : to welcome servants, pay bills and receive letters. Jokes, apart, I am old fashioned. I do
                not like to shop alone. I am also fussy about climate, traffic jams, and petrol going pricey.

                On line shopping suits me, fits me and when it happened to me, I was in love. At first, I use to  
                browse the shopping portals without buying. I was worried about swiping my credit card. One
                gets to hear about credit card scams. Bad news, they say travels fast.

                There was not one 'Indian on line shopping portal' that gave me confidence. Most of them, did
                not even ship to Kolkata. Until Snapdeal happened. I was super excited, finally an  E-commerce
                site in India that gave awesome bargain and deals and free shipping to every nook and corner.

                I bought local salon deals and restaurant deals from Snapdeal and grew in confidence. Since then,
                I have shopped with 99 labels, Fashion & you, Crazeal, Bhaap, Med plus, Jaabong etc.
                However, Snapdeal remains a favorite. First love, they say is always special.

                All most all my shopping experience with Snapdeal is a breeze. But the most recent one stands out
                as, for the first time, I was ordering a pair of shoes. My daughter needed a pair of sport shoes and
                she insisted on a branded one. There was no sale going on in any of the local shops.

                I sat with my daughter and looked up Snapdeal, on my laptop. Kids these days are very smart. I
                needed to show her what Snapdeal was all about, before she agreed to shop.

About Snapdeal:

Logo of Snapdeal from Blogadda.  

         

Following two paragraphs are an excerpt from Snapdeal website.

             What is Snapdeal.com?

             Snapdeal.com features a wide range of products and services from thousands of national, international and
             regional brands. There is a wide assortment of products across categories like Mobiles, Electronics, Fashion
             accessories, Apparel and Footwear, Kids, Home and Kitchen, Sports, Books, Restaurants, Entertainment and
            Spas amongst others. Snapdeal is the shopping destination for millions of online users across the country.

     Which cities are these deals available in?

     Snapdeal offers deals in over 1400 cities all over India. Our aim is to reach and serve
     maximum customers in every corner of the country."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

         
        
Back to on line shopping:

         She liked what she read and saw. She was excited that shopping had become that easy. With in five 
         minute, we came across a good bargain and decided on Nike shoes for her. Initially, she was 
         worried about selecting the correct size. I advised her to stick to the size her regular size. The size 
         she buys off selves. We also went through the size chart. It was easy to understand. 
         We selected a size bigger for her she is growing up fast. We instantly received a confirmation on my 
         mail from Snapdeal. Our shopping was done.
         
         Here is the mail,

  

       Your Order No. : 708898743         Order Placed On : 2012-08-31 13:51:40

Order Details:

S.no Item name Item Code / Voucher(s) Status Unit Price Quantity Price Subtotal 1 Nike Eliminate Black & Red Sports Shoes Size: 8 XX16562XX  Shipped Est. Delivery Date: Sep 09, 2012 Track your Order here Rs. 1995 1 Rs. 1995 Rs. 19

Order delivered:
After a couple of days, there was a friendly courier man at our door with a parcel from Snapdeal.

It contained a pair of most amazing sport shoes from Nike. Excitement filled the air.

That was a memorable on line shopping experience. Here is a happy customer. 

Thank you, Snapdeal.

This post is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Snapdeal.com.

A Class Act~

This post is written for challenge no-44
for Romantic Friday. Click here  to participate. 

Do you believe in moments or in eras? I believe in moments and in romance that can happen, in that moment. Strange? I know. However strange is the way some people are… 

We knew each other for long, as neighbors. And as Kids, we attended the same play school and had the same play groups. She called herself Danny, even though she was Denise to us: a non conformist and a non common person.

I lost touch with her in standard three, when she passed over to middle school. And, it was earlier this year; she came back to my batch in Senior High after she flunked again. We connected when she sat next to me for Chemistry and Physics. And on Saturdays, we walked home together: Bus service from school was unavailable on weekends. But, it was no trouble for us for our homes were not far placed from school.

This was where; I usually go unapproachable on her. All the tension building inside me because of my close proximity with her during school hours died, walking. My fascination for her ended as soon I plug in on my iPod.

Mrs. Mathews, her Mom, a leader in our locality always came home without fail before every election. Mom did not like her. But we supported her for the simple reason that no other contestant personally called on us. Mrs. Mathews never failed to mention how her daughter Denise was growing up, sooner than allowed. She would ruffle my cropped hair and say, ‘See, Jas is still a baby’.

That day, after school, walking back home with Danny, I realized I hated Denise for all my inadequacies, for all the unsolicited comparisons. I fell short before her even though I had gone a few inches taller than her. She managed to make me feel inadequate without even trying.

She had this amazing peach like complexion even though she played Basket ball. And her brown eyes reminded me of two muddy pools. She had a Monroe pierce and a silver bell adorn her lower lip. Her one-size-small tee was deliciously filled.

It was late afternoon, and as we walked, we brushed each other’s sides. She held my hand on and off and was generally being a pal. She wore a sheer top. "Darn, I could see her inner-wear".

We were at the end of the park and there was no one around. I was breathless and felt crowded by her.  It took me time, to return her gaze. And when I did, all I saw was her mouth. A touch of orange gloss had my heart doing a sprint. I realized, I would go nowhere with this. "But try telling that to a sixteen year old".

I pulled my earphones out with my free hand and she dropped her denim sling to the ground. We were alone and finally in sync with one another.

‘Have you ever kissed a girl, Jasmeet’? She asked, stepping closer to me and putting her arms around me. When she touched my hair, she distracted me big time. I held her gaze and clutched my ear phones hard.

‘Nope, not really’, I replied and closed my eyes. I desperately tried to open my mind to her dark world.

‘Neither have I? Since we were little girls, I have been meaning to do it’.

This is where I squandered the moment and ran…

Picture from google images.

 Words: 565

Raindrop Rhythm~

Guest Poet: Vinita Bahl 

She played the unattainable diva
His patience on thinning ground
It was now or never, he thought
This time, she had to come around

He tried to get her to notice
Amidst his seasoned flirtations 
She didn’t seem too pleased
By him interrupting conversations

So he simply inched closer
He was done playing games
His strong arms enveloped her 
Defiance was a flickering flame

He caressed her moonbeam face
And as he kissed her parched lips
The dam of resilience lay shattered
With reciprocation her soul grips

Ecstasy glistened as water droplets
Wet diamonds made by sunshine
Serenity filled the green panorama
The earth tasted like old wine

The showers of blessings had arrived
To a proud city with a thirsting soul
My heart unchained like the symphony
‘Call him’, the mind seemed to cajole.

    Picture from google

                                       

This is a guest post by my Friend Vinita Bahl. She is unable to post on her page because of her daughter's exams. This is her poem in reply to team Kolkata night writer's challenge. Team Kolkata has challenged our Team Ahmedabad in the "Poetry" genre. The topic they have chosen is: "Rain, Ecstasy". Note: The poem should contain the words, "My heart unchained, like the..." Please do read Vinita Bahl by clicking here.

This is what Vinita Bahl has to say about this poem. "I wanted to end the IBL with an ode to a team member from Amdavad Tadka. The topic was Rain, ecstasy.....it seemed perfect. My first glimpse of Ghazala Hossain was on her post (Fashion show and Fund raising~) where she walked the ramp along with her husband for the school annual day. She was stunning. And just like that, this poem came about and so did my first ever guest post. 

I envision her as she watches the rain gods have their way with the demure earth......and somewhere between the showers of sweet remembrance, she decides to call on the man she loves and misses......." 

"This post has been published by me as a part of IBL; the Battle of Blogs, sponsored by http://www.writeupcafe.com/group/18. 

Join us at our official website and facebook page.

www.indianbloggersleague.com

www.facebook.com/IndianBloggersLeague “

Ten experiences, I want from Melbourne, Australia~

We visited Australia in the summer of 2009. Indian summer, that is. We traveled through Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cains and Sydney. There is no words to describe the experience. It was like watching a Hollywood film, like a living in a dream, like eating an ice cream. Yes, that good :)

If there is place on earth where I would like to grow old and retire, it's Australia. In all this, the sad part is, we could not visit Melbourne. It was winter in Australia and Melbourne was out of reach. I regret, missing out on Melbourne and wait for the day, when someone will tell me, '...it's your time to visit Melbourne NOW!'

Here is a quick list of 10 experiences, I want from Melbourne, Australia...

Experience 1: I want to bask in the architectural splendor and in the old world charm of Melbourne. I want to revel in it's laid back life style and natural environment. I want to be enchanted by Melbourne magic, linger on every city-scape and succumb to it's grandeur.

I want to visit the post office, the railway station and the university too. I want to look in every pub and raise a toast to all my friends back home in India.

                                                                                                                            Experience 2: On the contrary, I also want my adrenaline to rush by going sporty. There is so much to choose from. I can go surfing or para sailing. I can go fishing or Scuba diving. Or I can settle for snorkeling: something that I have done before and am more comfortable doing.

Deep sea diving would be fun too. I would like to get wet and wild. It would be fun to try all kinds of sport with professional guidance, where safety would be top priority.




Experience 3: Nature. That one word is enough to make me excited. I want to experience open air zoo and wild animal parks. I want to see dolphins dancing and animal shows. I want to touch and communicate with a baby python or rare parrot. I want to be a crocodile dundee for a day. I want to camp in an animal farm or lend a hand in feeding animals. I want to merge with nature and be part of it like never before.

Experience 4: I want to visit an island, walk around randomly and explore the environment. I want to fly and feel free. I want to feel the sand under my feet and touch the blue sea water. I want to swim along the waves or get my pedicure done on the beach.

I want nature to know me as a fish, okay make that mermaid. I want to be a kid again and play in the lap of mother nature.





Experience 5: I want to jump into a nerve racking roller coaster and slid down hell to experience heaven like fun. I want to go mad for a day and lose myself in a theme park. I want to try every ride there is and click pictures doing it.

I want a day living in a fairy land and behave like a witch. I want to scream and shout. I want to be just me. I want to laugh like no one is watching me...

Experience 6: I could just say fish and chips but Doughnut is not a bad deal either. I want to to sit in a road side open umbrella coffee shop, to relish local cousin. Or I want to hop on a SUV from eateries to coffee shops. I want to eat like a buffalo.

When I am done, I want to watch people pass me by. I want to smile at kids and wave at ladies. I want to sip my coffee and rest my feet in a spa.

Experience 7: Shopping. I would like to pick up a Kangaroo soft toy or a Koala teddy. There are an array of products to choose from. However, it has to be 'proud to be made in Australia' product.

This is where I officially go crazy. I spend hours deciding on which one, I like best. And end up buying more than I can afford. I want one soft toy for all my friends.

Experience 8: I want to meet the lonesome Aboriginal singer belting out soulful music. I often wonder about him. I wonder, where he lives, with whom he lives. Is he as lonely as he sounds or he has his own kids to play with? I want to be his friend.

How to miss out on the Aboriginal painting that you see adorning many art shops. I would like to bring one home. I mean the painting and not an Aboriginal fellow :p




Experience 9: The sea. There is something about sea and their beaches that makes me romantic. A beach side dinner on a cruise will be an ultimate dream come true, with Mel Gibson of course.

A late evening stroll can be equally engaging. I am up for either or both. What do you say?




Experience 10: Great ocean road, this is my top reason to visit Melbourne. There is so much history around it that I long to spend a day here. Great ocean road is where, I want to pick a stone and throw into the sea. Here is where, I want to sit under a shade and write a poem. Here is where, I want to be, when my trip ends. Here is where, I want to leave my heart in Melbourne...


A tip off: When you are visiting Melbourne/Australia look out for City Tourist Shuttle. It is a free bus service for tourists to go to key destinations around the city. (Between 9.30am and 4.30pm daily). This helps a back packer save a lot of money.
Do check out : Melbourne/Australia
This is a contest entry. If you liked my post vote for me on Indieblogger website.

Note: All the pictures are from our trip to Australia in 2009.