Rain & Melancholy!

Its raining right now. Makes me think of this.


“There are a hundred things she has tried to chase away the things she won't remember and that she can't even let herself think about because that's when the birds scream and the worms crawl and somewhere in her mind it's always raining a slow and endless drizzle.

You will hear that she has left the country, that there was a gift she wanted you to have, but it is lost before it reaches you. Late one night the telephone will sign, and a voice that might be hers will say something that you cannot interpret before the connection crackles and is broken.
Several years later, from a taxi, you will see someone in a doorway who looks like her, but she will be gone by the time you persuade the driver to stop. You will never see her again. 
Whenever it rains you will think of her. ” 



Its a quote by Neil Gaiman. Rain does that to you. Makes you nostalgic about a million things that have happened while still making you eerily calm.

And whenever it rains I think of this. This quote. Thats all. 

Book Review - Americanah

Americanah by Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie 

I came to know about this book while flipping through goodreads recommendations, looking at the cover I thought 'Hmmm... I might like this book.' And I was not wrong. 

This is a book about Ifemlu; a girl growing up in Nigeria, where one struggles for basic needs like running water, electricity, et al. She has friends who keep going abroad mostly America and eventually have plans to move out of their homeland, And then she falls in love with Obinze. And their struggles growing up, moving to different countries, identity issues, diaspora. racism & longing for a home. Its witty, funny, heart wrenching at times and very very realistic. 

I never like books based in developing or underdeveloped countries, it reminds me of the struggles and the plight of people living in India. And usually, these novels are overly exaggerated versions of the reality and mostly cater to the white audience. Whereas this novel is totally different, it appeals to one & all the same. Nothing hyped up or exaggerated. You come to know the nuances of the African culture and small things which make the people there different from the others.

Some noteworthy quotes in Americanah:

"Why did people ask "What is it about?" as if a novel had to be about only one thing.” 

"But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish of that past.Remember this is our newly middle-class world. We haven’t completed the first cycle of prosperity, before going back to the beginning again, to drink milk from the cow’s udder.” 

 

My Ratings: 4 out of 5

Do I recommend it? Yes, Of course.

Will I re-read it? I don't think so. 

 

Driving in to the Ironical

I just finished reading a book about the struggles of migrating from a third world country to a first world country and was pondering when Mr. D called and we started talking about Driving. 

Driving a car in India is very difficult. You have to look forward, keep checking the rear-view mirror, keep correcting the side view mirror angles as the bikers somehow keep banging into them, try keeping your car at a safe distance in traffic, avoid driving close to Autorickshaws and Buses and many such judgement calls. There are just three rules to drive; Stop at Traffic Signals, Try not to use cellphones while driving & Don't Park in a no parking zone. For me it is like meditation, because when i am driving i cant allow any thoughts in my head else will end up with a huge dent on the doors of my car. Its also a good anxiety buster, I always tell my friends that whenever one is feeling anxious; one should just go for a drive. It sure will distract you enough to ease your worrisome feelings about an important meeting the next day or about your job interview results. 

The most ironic part about driving in India is the driving test. I was just asked to make an '8' in a an already made track without any traffic or trucks & buses to dodge. It almost made me laugh. I passed and made an '8' and got my driving license in three working days.

Whereas, in a first world country driving is so easy. There are so many rules but still driving feels like a piece of cake that does get monotonous after a while. There are no potholes to look for, no judgement calls about Autorickshaw that would take a sharp turn out of the blue or the holy Cow that will decide to sprawl on half of the road. Adrenaline free driving. Almost boring from my paradigm. 

But the driving tests, OMG! There are theory classes, practical classes, theoretical tests, Night driving classes, practical tests. It takes almost a month to obtain a license to drive. They make it so damn difficult. I wonder why the test is so easy here and driving so difficult & the other way around in a developed country????

Its Ironical is what it is. Sigh!

30 day calendar of Healthy Eating Part Uno!

Finally i decided its time to take up a project as my readers' block is here to stay! So it was time for me to now take my health into my hands (which somehow always was; and i never bothered).

The first thing i concentrated was on what I am eating. I wondered is there something like eating right for being fit? All the books and articles about the topic lead me to eating food for weight loss or starving for weight loss. The idea of weight loss repels me, I am happy with what I am. I want to eat to be fit. As 'D' says "fitness is not a trend; its a lifestyle".

After a lot of research on nutrition, minerals & vitamins needed for the body to function well, I decided to change following habbits of mine:

•  Eating three heavy meals a day
• Loading up on Carbohydrate rich food like Rice, Bread
• Avoid processed food. Actually throw them out of the house.
• Mid afternoon heavy duty snacks & tea in office with some gossip.
• Midnight snacks. 

Instead I started implementing these ones:

• Eating five small meals a day
• Restricting Carbohydrates to 30 gms per day.
• Increasing the good 'fat' intake. Yes! you heard it right. I said increasing fat intake. 
• Increase intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds. 
• Green Tea/ Infused Tea/ Kashmiri Kehwa thrice a day
• Keeping a food diary & tracking my meals. 

After 30 days of rigorously following this i felt a huge difference. I was more active, happier, slept better. Actually slept around 8 hrs a day; which was impossible seeing how I have always been an insomniac. I no longer feel anxious, angry or sad. My mood swings have reduced a lot and Guess what! Even 'D' has noticed the change in me. 

Only by implementing this i gained around 1 kg. Wait!!! Hear the rest; I also lost around 1.5 inches all around. Just by eating right. Almost Magical. :) 

A Blessing! Ceralip Lip Repair Cream

How Ceralip helped when no other lip balm did the trick.

What La Roche Posay says about this product:

CERALIP LIPID-REPLENISHING LIP CREAM

FRAGRANCE-FREE, PARABEN-FREE

Reconstitutes severely dry, chapped lips, and can be used after medical treatments. Restores skin comfort. Fragrance-free, preservative-free, CERALIP minimises the risks of intolerance.

Ingredients:

CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE

PPG-5 PENTAERYTHRITYL ETHER

PEG-5 PENTAERYTHRITYL ETHER

BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII / SHEA BUTTER FRUIT

CERA ALBA / BEESWAX

HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL

SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE

GLYCINE SOJA / SOYBEAN STEROL

CITRIC ACID

BHT My Views:  I suffer from severe chapped, dry & cracked lips which are extremely sensitive to sun. Plus had a bad lip allergy after my trial & error with Faces Lipsticks and had to visit the dermatologist. That's when i was introduced to Ceralip with certain other medications. I am strictly against using any kind of topical steroids, so i skipped the medication and just used ceralip for around 2 days and WHOOPIE my lips became fuller, dermatitis vanished and lips were super hydrated. That was last year! I have finished three tubes of Ceralip Lip Repair Cream since then.  The Lipids in the cream promotes cell regeneration and maintains it. I do not have to worry about finding the best lip balm in the world any more, since i have found ceralip already. It is a translucent formula which looks exactly like Petroleum Jelly and is non-sticky, Fragrance, Paraben & preservative free. I never leave home without Ceralip in my bag! The only drawback is that it is a bit on the expensive side and can be pocket pinching most of the times.  Cost: INR 590/- Availability: Mor Medicals (Hyderabad), Oliva Skin Clinics (Hyderabad) & online (Amazon & Junglee) Ratings: 4.5/5

A persian dish with a bengali twist!

So i saw this cookery show on TLC about this Indian-cum-Kenyan-cum-British lady who looks gorgeous but fails to impress as Nigella or Jamie Oliver does. But she made this dish with eggplant that i kind of took a liking to. I did some of my own experiments to it. Here it is.

Sauteed Persian Eggplants with Pomegranate:

Ingredients 

1 medium eggplant
2 cups yogurt
Some fresh Mint
Some fresh Coriander
1/4 lime
Bulbs/Seeds of 1 Pomegranate
Mustard Oil to saute
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon corriander powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon honey

Start by de-seeding the pomegranate. Dont worry get your hands dirty!!

Love the passionate red color. 

Remove half of the seeds and keep aside. With a spoon crush the other half a bit. Crunch Crunch. Add Honey, chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, juice of 1/4 lime, salt to taste & whisked yogurt. 

After mixing it all it will turn into a beautiful baby pink color with a dash of green here & there. Somehow my iPhone turned the pic to a weird creamy yellow.

Wrap it in a cling film and store it in the refrigerator to cool for 45 mins. Till then we slice up our eggplant (1 cm each approx.), add the salt, turmeric, paprika, corriander powder. Toss it or Mix with your hands. I used my hands. Keep this also in the refrigerator for 20 mins. 

After 20 minutes, Keep a skillet on the stove at medium heat. Here comes the bong twist - Pour some mustard oil and saute these eggplants. Two mins on each side will do. Arrange it on the plate the way you want to and garnish with those bulbs which were kept aside.

Drizzle with Yogurt Pomegranate dressing and Ta-Da it is ready. I love how the coolness of the dressing balances out the pungent flavor of mustard oil. 

Hope you like it. 

Winter Care Cream Review - Elizabeth Arden Intervene

So I have been doing a lot of things viz. shifting into a new abode, getting prepped for 'my best friend's wedding' and finally resigning from work. Yes, you heard it right! I resigned and to top it all i feel amazing. It is like the new year arrived earlier at my new doorstep. In between all the shifting, packing, unpacking, re-decorating & all the shopping; my skin became so flaky & dry that even my last resort - almond oil could not nourish it back to life.

And then the hunt started for a new night cream. First stop was a mall and i consulted a few so called 'beauty experts' who suggested i go for Elizabeth Arden's Intervene - Stress Recovery Night Cream. Sounds Amazing, Right!

Unfortunately, the cream is not. I bought it for a whooping INR 1100 and i wished i would have bought a blouse from promod instead of buying this. Firstly, it has a lot of those glitter particles which are supposed to nourish your skin and make it shine, which does the trick when you apply it but when you wake up in the morning the shine and the sheen is all gone. Also, having asked for a treatment for very dry skin, Intervene was clearly a wrong suggestion from the 'beauty expert'. It just didn't do anything for my skin. My skin was as dead as it was before i applied it.

Will i buy it again? No.  Will i suggest it to someone? Maybe Not.