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Few days back Prakruti didn’t want to eat… and I came up with this story….. Gods don’t eat by themselves, when we eat, each piece is for one God and when everyone eats Gods get their tummy full…. The first piece is always for Hathi jeje (Elephant God or Ganesha). Once Ganesha ate, he said my brother is also hungry eat one piece for him also.. So the next piece is for Muruga jeje. After eating his share he said, all my strength is from my mom so eat for her also.. And the next one is for Parvathi jeje.. Parvathi jeje said this after she ate: “You ate for me… please eat for my friends Saraswati jeje and Lakshmi jeje as well. Once Saraswati jeje ate her share she said… “please eat for my husband also…” Lakshmi jeje wants you to eat for Vishnu jeje…. Brahma jeje says, “ eat for my son Narada… please” Brahma and Vishnu want you to eat for their very good friend… Shiva jeje…. With this her pappu mammam (dal rice) was over… I will probably add valli deivanai and other Gods i...

We were looking for relaxing trip a short drive from Bangalore for a day or 2. Considered Yelagiri/Yercaud. We were worried that Yelagiri might be hotter than Bangalore, and may not be worth the trip. But it was good!  The drive was very nice (mostly) - Slow traffic in Bangalore city (took us 1 hour to reach E-city flyover from Banaswadi) on a Saturday morning - and again really horrible traffic in Hosur (because of ongoing flyover constructions).  The resort - We had really low expectations of resorts/hotels in Yelagiri (based on friends' feedbacks). However, we were pleasantly surprised with what we saw at Zeenath Taj Gardens! The place is beautiful, trees, and cottages, lots of place to loiter, and basically wonderful to relax! Staff were excellent - amazingly courteous - special thanks to Mr Ayas (i hope that is the correct spelling) who seemed to have the whole place in control single-handedly! Vegetarian food was also pretty comfortable.  The grounds are main...

Road trip on our Suzuki Ritz 2013 Vxi Petrol - Bangalore - Tiruchengode - Trichy (Vayalur - Tiruvanaikovil - Samayapuram - Srirangam - Rockfort) - Namakkal - Bangalore -  850 kms - 3 days/2 nights   After our road trip to Chennai last month, I really wanted to go on another long drive, and was looking to drive all the way to Kanyakumari on the NH7. But, with the limited budget, we decided to restrict to Trichy which is around 380 kms. We started with an elaborate plan to cover a lot of places in and around Trichy with a 4-day halt at Trichy - mainly a temple tour with a few picnic spots here and there. However, the actual trip spanned only 3 days - we started on 6th October at 5AM and returned on 8th October by 4 PM - purely a temple tour. The Trip... Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Salem (200 kms - 3 hours) We started from Horamavu, Bangalore (north-east corner of Bangalore) on  Sunday, 6th October 2013 0500 , and drove through the inner ring road to reach Hosur Road...

We had planned a sudden trip to Tirupati-Tirumala in late March 2012. Our plan was to drive to Tirumala on 25th March, Sunday, visit the temple the same day, stay there overnight and drive back early on 26th March, Monday. However, we had heard that (23rd March being Ugadi), the weekend will be very crowded. We had also not planned/booked accommodation there in advance. In spite of this, this trip  turned out to be a really good one!   We took the normal route -> Bangalore Old Madras Road (NH5) - Hoskote -> Kolar -> Mulbagal -> Palamaner -> Chittoor bye pass -> Puttalapattu -> Tirupati -> Tirumala.  Sunday, 25th March 2012 We started early Sunday morning, 5.30AM. We had decided to stop only once for breakfast. So around 8AM (when our daughter woke up), we stopped somewhere beyond Palamaner, at a place called Priyadarshini (or something like that). We had some decent breakfast - idly, pongal and coffee and then proceeded towards Tirup...

ABCD story for kids! This is one of P-'s favorite stories.She enjoys it totally, and listens attentively till the end! This is how it goes... A-for-Apple and B-for-Ball were going for a walk. There they met C-for-Cat and D-for-Dog. A-for-Apple asked C-for-Cat where they were going. C-for-Cat said they were going for an all-animals' meeting and asked if they would also come and witness it. All four started walking. In some distance, near a river they saw E-for-Elephant. D-for-Dog asked E-for-Elephant if he was coming for the meeting. E-for-Elephant said he was waiting for F-for-Fish. G-for-Goat was walking in the other direction, and on his head was a H-for-Hat. F-for-Fish asked G-for-Goat where he was going. G-for-Goat said he was going to the shop to get some I-for-Ice Cream and asked if they would accompany him. C-for-Cat said he did not want I-for-Ice Cream, but will instead drink J-for-Juice. As they were eating I-for-Ice cream and drinking J-for-J...

Palak Methi Balls Another nice snack from Ramya's Recipe book! Ingredients Palak – 2 cups Methi – 1 cup Gram flour – 2 tea spoons Rava – 2 teaspoons Atta – 4 teaspoons Chilli paste – ½ teaspoon Lemon juice – 1 teaspoon Sugar – ½ tea spoon Salt – To taste Oil – 2 teaspoons For Seasoning Mustard – ½ teaspoon Jeera – ½ teaspoon Till – ½ teaspoon Hing – ½ teaspoon Oil – 1 teaspoon Procedure Mix all ingredients 1 to 10 Make 5 – 6 portions and roll it in your hands Steam it for 10 minutes Allow it to cool and cut it into discs Add oil in a kadai and add mustard, after it splutters add jeera, till and hing Toss the discs in the seasoning and serve Note Ginger paste and coriander can also be added Increase or decrease the amount of chilli paste as per your taste This can be prepared without adding sugar also More posts from Ramya's Recipe Series

Thavala Adai - A type of Rice Cutlet This is a very tasty evening snack item.  Ingredients Idly rava – 1 cup Water – 2 cups For seasoning: Dry chillies – 3-4 Mustard – ½ spoon Split Urad dal – ½ spoon Gram dal – ½ spoon Grated Coconut- 2- 3 spoons Salt- To taste Asafoetida – A pinch Oil Procedure In a kadai heat oil and add mustard and red chillies (broken into 2 or 3) After the mustard splutters add split urad dal and gram dal After the dals turn red add Asafoetida, water and salt When the water is boiling add the grated coconut and idly rava Keep mixing till it is 3/4ths cooked Remove it and after it cools make it into lemon size balls Flatten these balls Heat another kadai and place these flattened balls in it and add oil Heat it till it becomes golden brown on both the sides Serve it hot with sauce or tomato chutney or any chutney Note If idly rava is not available, grind rice or par-boiled rice to rava consistency ...

So, this is our latest story for our 2-year old daughter. 1. There was a man called Newton sitting under a tree. 2. Which tree? Apple Tree (include A for Apple somewhere now...) 3. What color apple - Red Apple 4. Suddenly, a red apple fell from the tree on Newton's head (ask her to show where her head is). 5. Why did it fall? Gravity! Newton ran around shouting - Gravity, Gravity! What did our daughter learn through this story?  - A for apple  - Apples are generally red  - Body parts  - & most importantly - Gravity! Other Kids stories in this blog

Ingredients Masoor dal- ½ cup Cinnamon-2 pieces Carrot, Beans, peas, Cabbage-1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped Salt- to taste Pepper powder- to taste Corn flour- 1-2 spoons Procedure Boil the masoor dal in a pressure cooker with a small piece of cinnamon Boil the finely chopped vegetables with a small piece of cinnamon Mash the boiled masoor dal using a blender In a  kadai add little oil and add a small piece of cinnamon. Add the mashed masoor dal and the boiled vegetables. Add little water to the corn flour and make it into a paste. Add this to the masoor dal till you get the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper powder before serving Note Remove the cinnamon pieces before serving Any other vegetable like cauliflower can also be added Fresh cream can be added while serving Add lesser corn flour and more water if you want the soup to be a thin soup. More posts from Ramya's Recipe Series

Bottle Gourd Kofta Thanks to Aveek's mom! Ingredients For Kofta Bottle gourd- 1 grated Ajwain- 2 tea spoons Jeera powder- 4 teaspoons Chillies- 2 finely chopped Besan- 4 teaspoons Salt- To taste Oil- For frying For Gravy Tomato- 4 Onions- 4 Cinnamon, Clove, Cardamom- 2 each Chillie powder- 3 teaspoons Salt - To taste Oil- 3-5 teaspoons Procedure For Kofta Squeeze out all the water from the grated bottle gourd Mix the rest of the ingredients and make into balls  Deep fry the balls and set aside For Gravy Cut the onion and tomatoes Grind the tomatoes and onions separately In a pan add oil and add the Cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Add the onion paste and saute till golden brown Add tomato paste and saute till the raw smell goes Add salt and chilli powder. Switch off the flame once the oil begins to separate. Add the koftas to the gravy and enjoy. Note Green chillies can be avoided in the kofta i...

When my daughter is asked for a story, she tells the story of a crow. A crow went up and sat on a tree. It sang a song but fell down.  It got hurt on its head and went home. Its mother applied medicine on its head and so, it recovered quickly.  This is probably her version of Aesop's fox and crow story . Other Kids stories in this blog

I will be starting with a dessert/snack first! This is an Eggless Banana Bread (with optional dry fruits). I learnt this from a cousin, with few of my own additions/improvements.  The main ingredients...  Maida - 2 cups Powdered Sugar - 2/3rd cup Oil - 1/4th cup Baking Soda- 1/4th tea spoon Over-ripe Bananas - 2 Optional Ingredients: Dry Fruits: Powdered walnuts, Almonds, Cashew - 1/2 cup, Raisins- 15 Method Pre-heat the microwave at 180C in the convection mode.  Sieve the maida, powdered sugar and baking soda.  Mash the over ripe bananas and add them.  Then add oil, powdered dry fruits,raisins and mix well.  Now, coat an aluminium tray with crystallized ghee.  Add the mixture and bake in the microwave in the convection mode at 180C for 1 hour. After 1 hour, allow the bread to cool.  Slice it and enjoy Tips Use over ripe bananas, it gives the best taste. Banana can be substituted wit...

Ramya has been experimenting with different recipes and I have been the guinea pig. Generally, they have been good and I love the new stuff she makes. So, we thought she should start posting her recipes too. Her first post coming up soon.... More posts from Ramya's Recipe Series

I started a series of short stories that I tell for our daughter before she goes to sleep. She has started play-school since November 2011. So, one story that we tell her is how her day passes... 1. Mother wakes her up at 7.30AM, brushes her teeth and makes her drink milk. 2. Father gives her a bath, and hands her over to mother to put her into her school uniform. 3. Mother give her breakfast 4. Father drops her in school at 9AM by car. 5. Mother goes to school at 12PM by walk, picks her up and comes back either walking or by an auto. 6. Grandmother gives her lunch and puts her to her noon nap. 7. Father picks her up from Grandmother's house and brings her back to her house 8. She plays, eats dinner and goes to sleep! Other Kids stories in this blog

My 2 year old daughter keeps asking me for new stories every night before going to bed. I have used up most of the kid stories that I remember, and now have started inventing my own stories based on other stories that I read. She has been listening to my adaptations of Tintin, especially  Destination Moon  and  Explorers on the Moon . My stories are really a set of statements, mostly less than 10 and simple. She really enjoys these stories and sometimes repeats to me/her mother. My latest story is inspired from Tom & Jerry , and the Lion & Mouse story . 1. Tom is chasing Jerry because he is hungry. 2. After running around for some time, Tom manages to catch Jerry. 3. Jerry begs to leave him, and offers a piece of cheese that he has at his home. 4. Tom agrees, and follows Jerry to his house. 5. Tom sees that Jerry has a small kid. 6. Tom is a nice cat, so he lets Jerry go and asks him to give the cheese to his kid rather. My daughter really enjo...

Managing my tasks has been one of the most difficult tasks! After a lot of advice from family and friends, I have started maintaining a single list of all my tasks. When I was using a single laptop with MS Outlook, I used the inbuilt task list. Now that I no longer have Outlook on my laptop (I work for IBM, and we use Lotus Notes as our email tool), I was looking for a better tool (preferably on the web). I didn't like the Lotus Notes version of task management, primarily because launching Lotus Notes is a task in itself (with a start date and end date) :) I was therefore trying out a variety of tools on the web. Gmail Tasks I started with Gmail Tasks. This was great because, it was integrated into Gmail. I liked it also because I didn't have to do much in terms of clicking; tasks and subtasks could be created using just the keyboard. However, I wanted slightly more detailed options - especially for reminders, start date, due date, and the UI was not so intuitive for that...

I have been a great fan of Douglas Adams ever since I started reading his " The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy " six-book trilogy! I was such a crazy fan of the book that I had an index of my favourite parts of the book. I used to participate in online quizzes, conduct quizzes and post in online forums, and such... I have re-read the book an uncountable number of times - focusing specifically on the indexed pages. I recently listened to the audio versions of the book. Found some parts much more interesting than while reading. I also inspired quite a few friends to start reading his books. Whenever anybody asks me for book suggestions, that is the first book I suggest. Recently, I listened to his posthumous book - " The Salmon of Doubt ". This book is a collection of previously published and unpublished material, mostly content from interviews, introductions to his books, his views on technology, and god (he was a faithful atheist). I am now reading the paper...

Submitted my car RC book for cancellation or removal of hypothecation at Indira Nagar RTO in Bangalore. (I had completed my car loan repayment in July).   1. Received NOC from financier, and 2 copies of Form 35. 2. Went to Room 13 with a copy of current car insurance and the NOC, the 2 Form 35 copies, the original RC book and a self-addressed envelope (with a Rs 12 stamp).  3. One officer (counter 9) verified the documents and sent it to another counter for data entry.  4. After data entry, I was asked to go to the Cash counter (Room 1) to pay Rs 300 as fees (Rs 100 for cancellation of hypothecation and Rs 200 for converting my paper RC to smart card). 5. Went back to counter 9 in room 13, the same officer verified everything and sent me to counter 6.  6. At counter 6 (Inward & Despatch), another officer verified everything, filed everything and gave me an acknowledgement that they have collected my original RC for cancellation of hypothecation and convert ...

Tatkaal Passport Reissue Experience Astonishingly simple passport reissue process in Bangalore. My passport was due for renewal mid-2012. But wanted to get it renewed by the Tatkaal mode early. Multiple changes in my passport details - Chennai->Bangalore, Single->Married, ECR->ECNR.  Phase 1: Online 1. Register at  www.passportindia.gov.in 2. Fill the online form & Submit it.  3. Upload 4 relevant support documents (pdfs).  4. Apply for an appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) through the same website. Appointments can be booked only 1.5 days in advance. For eg., appointments for a Thursday open up only on Tuesday evening at 6PM.  5. Print the Passport Application Receipt. 6. Carry the original and one photocopy of all support documents.  In my case, the support documents were: a. Address Proof:  SBI Bank Passbook (with more than 1 year of entries).  HR Letter mentioning that I am an employee and have been staying ...

Google Video has stopped allowing users to upload videos and soon, it will stop letting play uploaded content. I was expecting this a long time back (almost since Google bought over YouTube). Anyway, there is no easy way to migrate videos from Google Video to YouTube. Download them one by one and upload them onto YouTube one by one. I have just uploaded some 3-4 videos, and not too difficult to migrate them. However, I am worried about the Rhythmica videos!! So many of them on Google Video!! I have to let the right people know!! Update (2012-01-16): I now use Google Docs extensively for all my document storage and sharing!