Rest In Peace, Lisa

The curtains were finally drawn on Lisa’s struggle with breast-cancer on Oct 4 2007.




Funky Winkerbean, a long-running comic strip has often delved into contemporary issues…be it gun violence, teen pregnancy or child abuse. Issues which rarely find their way into the funny pages, were handled with tact and tasteful humour.

Lisa’s story line was one such recurring theme and it covered an entire gamut of emotions…..be it despair, helplessness, hope or even resigned acceptance. Even when things showed a definite downward slide……the creator of the strip infused the last few days with a bundle of poignant moments.

A quiet and dignified end to a memorable character.




Here are a few of the last strips......

The streets of London are paved with gold.....allegedly

Funny, fresh and bursting with bawdy humour……West-End Girls by Jenny Colgan doesn’t veer far from the time-honoured tradition of Chick-Lit fare.

It is a story about twin sisters as different as chalk and cheese. ‘Hook-A-Rich-Guy-In-60-Seconds’, blonde and beautiful Penny is always at loggerheads with her chubby and shy sibling, Lizzie. The only thing that binds them together is their fondest wish to leave behind the dump that is their current life and move on to bigger and better things.

They get this opportunity when they discover that they have a senile grandmother living in Chelsea. When the latter has to go into hospital, she wants the "little-twins" to flat-sit her posh, upmarket apartment. Shocked but nevertheless ecstatic at this unexpected stroke of luck, the twins rush off to their new world.....hoping to finally rise above the poverty and drudgery.

But life in glitzy London isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are a range of whacky surprises in store for them. Be it fat, hairy restaurant owners, psychotic-IT girls, club-brawls that are the higlights of Page 3 or scandalous OTT parties , they come across a wide-spectrum of zany characters and unrealistic situations.

The book is a gleeful romp through the ups and downs of an over-rated urban lifestyle. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than a light and witty take on all things shallow......and does a bang-up job on it!!!

Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)

I was expecting my return trip to be something of a dampener. I had finished the series…. and after all, how many more surprises could the first book reveal? The magic must have faded over time and the characters must surely have achieved the status of house-guests who had overstayed their welcome.

Predictably enough, I was proved wrong. It offered me new avenues of thought. It was interesting to see how the complex and brave heroes of the later years started off as grimy, nervous, ickle-firsties!

It was a time for firsts : neglected, ill-treated Harry’s discovery that he is a wizard – an actual-honest-to-goodness-magic wand-wielding-wizard….that he had a family who loved him and lost their lives to save him……..that there exists a fantastic magical world where’s he much, much more than just an unwanted kid who stays under the stairs. It is also the first time he meets his to-be best friends, not knowng that it would be the start of dangerous but memorable adventures for them.

My personal delight lay in the re-introduction to some of the finest characters I could hope to find sandwiched in one series: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione, Neville Longbottom, Peeves, Filch, Malfoy,Nearly-Headless Nick, Hagrid, Snape, Voldemort, Fred and George, the Dursleys and of course…..a truly well-crafted hero…The Boy Who Lived.

I also liked the fact that Rowling didn’t patronize her young readers. She spoke about death and other sensitive topics that usually don’t find their way into a children’s book. Minimal sugar-coating…..she created realism in a world of improbability. It’s not all fun and games…..at the end of the day, Harry has to face his demons. He gets his first opportunity to prove that he’s more than just the kid with a glorious and mysterious past.

The book sets an adequate pace, unsolved questions and a strong foundation for the rest of the series. It engages, it thrills, it satisfies. Needless to say……the rest is history.

THE BURIED LIFE

100 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE.....that’s the quest undertaken by four quirky young men.

Certain things have to be experienced and achieved, but life has an uncanny way of taking over and wishes and desires often get pushed to the back-burner. Given the penultimate deadline……these four guys have decided to turn their dreams into a reality.

Armed with an RV and a dog-eared list of 100 things to do before they die....Ben, Dave, Jonnie and Duncan are scouring the length and breadth of North America crafting a memorable documentary. Along the way, they ask people one question: "What do you want to do before you die?" and encourage others to go after their own lists too.

The inspiration for the documentary title “The Buried Life” came from a poem of the same name written by Mattew Arnold in 1852.

The lines were:

But often, in the world's most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;

From the insane to the socially responsible……their list traverses a whole range of unfulfilled wishes and aspirations. Some are easy as hell and others….downright impossible. But the journey has been incredible and inspirational.





Check out their BLOG and doodle out your own list……..goin’ after it with altleast half- the conviction and fun that these guys are having!!!

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I am a SHOPAHOLIC........and proud to be one!!

For a shopaholic like me, today was a swinging-winging trip straight to heaven!! Stacks of gorgeous clothes (some of which, actually FIT!!)……oh-so-pretty shoes……perky little clutches and tons of other yummy knick-knacks!!......TRUE BLISS!!

Retail Therapy is a good thing (maybe a tad shallow, but what the heck!). It sure beats all those new-fangled “feel-good” techniques that seem to be raising their oily heads at ever corner.

Moreover I manage to squeeze in a bit of character study on these trips. (I like to think of it as grist to the writer’s mill!!!) If you ever desire a study in human behaviour……visit your nearest mall. You’ll find an entire palette of characters squeezed together under one roof. From the good, bad to the downright ugly…..emotions are in full Technicolor display!!

The ones that you would probably find everywhere and remain stuck in my head are:

1) The soul-deadened husband/ boyfriend who walks along with a glazed expression as his better-half flits eagerly from one rack to another. Like a pack-mule, he lugs along the ever increasing load of shopping-bags, rarely contributing to her excited chatter.

2) The over-large aunties with gigantic bosoms, providing fashion-advice to their wanna-shine ”babees” as the latter slinkers along on vertigo-inducing heels. Their main aim is to terrorize the timid salesgirls and generally ensure that they receive maximum exposure.

3) The usual motley crew of college kids…..who believe that the world is one big extended canteen and yammer away non-stop as they diss each other’s appalling fashion sense.

4) The super-sexy, stylish divas……who walk like they own the world and assume that all salesmen have been put on earth for the sole and dubious honour of fulfilling their every whim and fancy!!

5) The poor harried mom…..who has finally…..FINALLY got a chance to venture out into the land of the living. She does a stupendous job of turning a deaf ear and blind eye to her hyperactive toddler who’s bawling his eyes out and generally creating a nuisance of himself.


There are many more…including seemingly normal and boring shoppers, such as yours truly! But I’ll go down that road some other time.

For me shopping is a wonderful way of improving your poor disposition….and if you actually fit into a size smaller than usual!!! (could anything taste sweeter???)

"HEALTHY DESSERT" .......one of the most depressing oxymorons!!

I belong to the ol'school of thought whose strong belief is that a dessert should be rich, scrumptious, decadent, oozing with creamy goodness and loaded with calories. The concept of a healthy dessert is alien to me….shocking almost!

But going against the grain and not to mention, being bamboozled by my health-conscious dad……I decided to forego my staunch principles(!?!?!) and attempt a healthy “Banana Bread Pudding”. Swiped from an old edition of Femina…here’s the recipe:

BANANA BREAD PUDDING

Serves: Four
Time Required: 30 minutes

Ingrediants:

~2 ripe bananas
~300 ml skimmed milk
~4 slices whole wheat bread
~2 tbsp honey (or to taste)
~a few drops vanilla essence
~2 egg whites
~a few nuts and raisins

Procedure:
1. Blend or mash the bananas to a smooth consistency. Set aside.

2. Cut the bread slices into small pieces and then add the milk to them.
Cook on low heat till thick.

3.Add the honey and vanilla essence to the banana puree and mix well.

4.Beat egg whites and fold it into the banana mixture.

5.Add the bread-milk mix to the above and mix well.

6.Apply a little butter to a flat cake tin or a pie dish. (I went a bit further and used Amul Lite!!)
Pour the entire mixture into the dish.

7.Bake for a few minutes till the crust is slightly crisp.

8.Sprinkle a few nuts and raisins on top of the dish as an option.

9.Serve warm.


VERDICT: Warm and pleasant…..went down well with the health-nuts. Personally, I prefer the good ol’creamy version of Bread Pudding. I got a lo-oong lecture on the merits of healthy eating and how I don’t need every dessert to be an artery-clogging mass of cream, butter and white flour!! I nodded obediently. You could practically see my halo gleaming in the late-afternoon sun.

P.S. Did I mention that I add four heaped tablespoons of castor sugar to get just the right hint of sweeteness????

Chake De India!!!

INDIA WON-NNNNNNN!!!!......Y-aayyy!!!....am bursting with joy 'n' pride!!!

Three tantrums, Five outbursts, Hours of toil and a great meal later.......

Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha

Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva

Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa

Which translates into

O lord with the twisted trunk, with the effulgence of a billion suns,
always remove the obstacles when I am on an auspicious undertaking.

A hopeful start to an optimistic and cheery blog. With the advent of Ganesh Chaturthi…….I have set aside my rampantly-procrastinating spirit and decide to dutifully maintain a regular, uplifting and light-hearted blogette!

A traditional part of this festival is the ruckus that takes place in our household on the first auspicious day. We rise with the birds and spend the better half of the day churning out dishes for the mega afternoon meal. A spread of five different vegetarian dishes, mounds of rice and a bucketful of Payasam is no easy feat!!

Sweating in a hot kitchen over the proverbial hot stove…..cutting, chopping, dicing, stringing, shelling, churning and doing Lord knows what else……is enough to send the festive fervour right out of the nearest window!!

When I try, nonchalantly, to escape the confines of the steaming kitchen…my dear mum (who can spot a slacker a mile away!!) issues some dire warnings and well-placed threats. And like the meek lamb (!?!) that I am, I trudge back into the melting pot.

Everyone pitches it…not only with assistance but also some well-meaning advice. Needless to say, tempers are frayed…..faces are marred with angry scowls….and daggers are well and truly drawn!!

After the mammoth cooking session is over, we perform the main Puja. It is pretty understated by normal standards. A simple fare, with minimal prayers and straight-on devotion, we are quickly done with it and head off to the main attraction of the day…..LUNCH!!!

A lovely spread on plantain leaves; it is a delectable feast for the senses. All the hard work, aching muscles, and the cricks in unheard-of-places seem worth while. We tuck in with vigour….no-hold barred!! Rules of etiquette and concerns of calories are firmly tucked under the table.

Well-fed, content and bursting to the seams, we head off for a long lazy siesta and spend the rest of the day like a family of beached sea-lions. The calm after the storm…..truly blissful and occasionally peppered with a hastily-camouflaged belch!!

I try not to venture out in the evenings, because I inevitably end up admiring the moon….something, which is best avoided on Ganesh Chaturthi!!

Legend has it that during one of his birthdays, Ganesha’s mother, Parvati, cooked (like all doting mothers are prone to!!) twenty-one types of delicious food and a lot of sweet porridge. Ganesha ate so much that even his big belly could not contain it. Mounting his little mouse, he embarked on his nightly rounds. His mouse suddenly stumbled upon seeing a huge snake. To adjust His belly, Ganesha put the snake on as a belt around his stomach. All of a sudden, he heard laughter emanating from the sky.
He looked up and saw the moon mocking him. Ganesha infuriated, broke off one of his tusks and hurled it at the moon. Parvati, seeing this, immediately cursed the moon that whoever looks at it on Ganesh Chaturthi will be accused of a wrong doing.

Though I get tossed the blame bucket pretty frequently, I prefer not to tempt fate on festive occasions!!! Stay in, avoid the moon and tuck into leftovers…..not asking for much, h-uh??