Monday, 8 August 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Flower power: The fragrant Motia
As summer arrives the fragrance of motia assails one`s senses. Usually, vendors at traffic signals are the first to herald the arrival of motia; you can spot more than a couple at each signal trying to lure customers to buy their gajras. From newly married girls to elegant old ladies all love wearing these in their hair or around the wrist.
The Jasminum sambac plant belongs to the jasmine family and is popularly known in the subcontinent as `motia`. It is a hardy plant and grows throughout the year but flowers only in summer. It is commercially cultivated for use in Unani medicine, teas, perfumes, garlands and embellishments, though it`s cultivation in homes is, sadly, dying out.
If one relishes the lingering aroma it leaves, its use can be taken far beyond a garland or a gajra to which it has been restricted. You can buy motia flowers in substantial quantities and spread a few in your pillow cases and a handful on your bedsheet. Fold neatly and put the bundle in a plastic/paper bag. The next time you use the bed sheet the aroma from it will astound you. Do this to all the linen, towels, bedsheets and bedspreads and savour the fragrance that fills the room.
Buy pretty earthen pots, and after filling them with water put a handful of motia flowers in each; keep in corner in every room. The simplistic beauty will enhance the decor of the room and, of course, the aroma will be an added delight. For added effect you can pack motia flowers in small containers/candle holders or tiny ceramic pots on formal dinner tables or as a daily routine and enjoy the impact both visual as well as olfactory.
For a new taste of green tea add a couple of motia flowers to the water after you have soaked the tea leaves. You can also add motia flowers to your green tea caddy and enjoy jasmine scented tea throughout the year.
Motia sherbet Boil four cups of sugar with two cups of water. Remove the scum as it rises. Let it boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add 6/7 handfuls of motia flowers when it is hot but not while it is boiling. Submerge the flowers with a metal spoon as they will keep floating otherwise. When the flowers are submerged, close the lid tightly, and keep overnight; strain and use the next day. You can`t keep this sherbet for long as no preservatives have been added but it tastes like nectar. So relish it every season.
The Jasminum sambac plant belongs to the jasmine family and is popularly known in the subcontinent as `motia`. It is a hardy plant and grows throughout the year but flowers only in summer. It is commercially cultivated for use in Unani medicine, teas, perfumes, garlands and embellishments, though it`s cultivation in homes is, sadly, dying out.
If one relishes the lingering aroma it leaves, its use can be taken far beyond a garland or a gajra to which it has been restricted. You can buy motia flowers in substantial quantities and spread a few in your pillow cases and a handful on your bedsheet. Fold neatly and put the bundle in a plastic/paper bag. The next time you use the bed sheet the aroma from it will astound you. Do this to all the linen, towels, bedsheets and bedspreads and savour the fragrance that fills the room.
Buy pretty earthen pots, and after filling them with water put a handful of motia flowers in each; keep in corner in every room. The simplistic beauty will enhance the decor of the room and, of course, the aroma will be an added delight. For added effect you can pack motia flowers in small containers/candle holders or tiny ceramic pots on formal dinner tables or as a daily routine and enjoy the impact both visual as well as olfactory.
For a new taste of green tea add a couple of motia flowers to the water after you have soaked the tea leaves. You can also add motia flowers to your green tea caddy and enjoy jasmine scented tea throughout the year.
Motia sherbet Boil four cups of sugar with two cups of water. Remove the scum as it rises. Let it boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add 6/7 handfuls of motia flowers when it is hot but not while it is boiling. Submerge the flowers with a metal spoon as they will keep floating otherwise. When the flowers are submerged, close the lid tightly, and keep overnight; strain and use the next day. You can`t keep this sherbet for long as no preservatives have been added but it tastes like nectar. So relish it every season.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Monday, 1 August 2011
Movies I watched with You
Almost all the movies I have seen in cinema, I have seen with you, before that I have hardly seen 10 to 15 movies in the cinema. This may be because there weren't many movies or good cinemas were available when I was young or able to go to cinema on my own, or it may be the reason that, most of my contemporaries or acquittance were not fond of movies. VCR/VCD players were also the factor behind not going to cinema. This doesn't mean I don't like the movies I do like them.
I enjoy very much the movies that I have watched with you. Especially at the Empire Cinema, Longbridge where we watched most of our movies.
Your memory is very good, you remember how we enjoyed the movies, re less watching.....
I remember on the horror scenes you always cover your face and trying to cover my face as well, and then asking me is the scene over yet, hahaha.
Popcorns salty and sweet for me and sweet for you, then when I finish mine trying to nick yours, sharing the pop and cappuccino. Then afterwards rating the pictures, arguing about the characters, which obviously I wasn't good at. Going home and letting me drive, that was great time I enjoyed it very much. Hope we will do this again in.
I love all the time spent with you. Thanks for being sharing your precious company and time with me. I love you my darling wife. Your love mean everything for me.
My First Movie Experience
Ah! I still remember my first movie, Mum and another relative went to see cinema, I think I was 5 or 6 years old that time, I was sitting or might be standing beside mum, and when the film started I started crying. I don't know why may be because of loud sound, mum did her best to calm me down but I was continuously crying and asking mum, I want to go home, as last resort she smack me and then we came back home. Sometime she did tell me the story and how I ruined their outing. What a nonsense I was, I wish shouldn't have done this.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Matchbox Joke
There once was a powerful Japanese emperor who needed a new chief samurai. So he sent out a declaration throughout the entire known world that he was searching for a chief.
A year passed, and only three people applied for the very demanding position: a Japanese samurai, a Chinese samurai, and a Jewish samurai.
The emperor asked the Japanese samurai to come in and demonstrate why he should be the chief samurai. The Japanese samurai opened a matchbox, and out popped a bumblebee. Whoosh! went his sword. The bumblebee dropped dead, chopped in half.
The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!"The emperor then issued the same challenge to the Chinese samurai, to come in and demonstrate why he should be chosen. The Chinese samurai also opened a matchbox and out buzzed a fly. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The fly dropped dead, chopped into four small pieces.
The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!"
Now the emperor turned to the Jewish samurai, and asked him to demonstrate why he should be the chief samurai. The Jewish Samurai opened a matchbox, and out flew a gnat. His flashing sword went Whoosh! But the gnat was still alive and flying around.
The emperor, obviously disappointed, said, "Very ambitious, but why is that gnat not dead?"
The Jewish Samurai just smiled and said, "Circumcision is not meant to kill."
A year passed, and only three people applied for the very demanding position: a Japanese samurai, a Chinese samurai, and a Jewish samurai.
The emperor asked the Japanese samurai to come in and demonstrate why he should be the chief samurai. The Japanese samurai opened a matchbox, and out popped a bumblebee. Whoosh! went his sword. The bumblebee dropped dead, chopped in half.
The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!"The emperor then issued the same challenge to the Chinese samurai, to come in and demonstrate why he should be chosen. The Chinese samurai also opened a matchbox and out buzzed a fly. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The fly dropped dead, chopped into four small pieces.
The emperor exclaimed, "That is very impressive!"
Now the emperor turned to the Jewish samurai, and asked him to demonstrate why he should be the chief samurai. The Jewish Samurai opened a matchbox, and out flew a gnat. His flashing sword went Whoosh! But the gnat was still alive and flying around.
The emperor, obviously disappointed, said, "Very ambitious, but why is that gnat not dead?"
The Jewish Samurai just smiled and said, "Circumcision is not meant to kill."
Match Box
Early matches
A predecessor of the match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur were invented in China in AD 577. Besieged by military forces of Northern Zhou and Chen, Northern Qi court ladies were out of tinder and desperate for a means to start fires for cooking and heating.[2] During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms(AD 907–960), a book called the Records of the Unworldly and the Strange written by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 stated:
If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulphur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire they burst into flame. One gets a little flame like an ear of corn. This marvellous thing was formerly called a "light-bringing slave", but afterwards when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to 'fire inch-stick'.[2]
Matches also appeared in Europe by about 1530.[2] But the first modern, self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by K. Chancel, assistant to Professor Louis Jacques Thénard of Paris. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulfur,[3] sugar, and rubber. The match was ignited by dipping its tip in a small asbestos bottle filled with sulfuric acid. This kind of match was quite expensive and its usage was dangerous, so Chancel's matches never gained much popularity.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Wrinkles and Crinkles
They say that behind
every line and wrinkle
there lays a story to be had there.
With all the wrinkles and crinkles
that line my face,
there should be
a couple of novels worth there
every line and wrinkle
there lays a story to be had there.
With all the wrinkles and crinkles
that line my face,
there should be
a couple of novels worth there
Wrinkles
WRINKLES OF MINE
I stand in front of the mirror
And look at my face
Where did these wrinkles come from
I exasperate.
Are they wrinkles of wisdom
Are they wrinkles with age
Are they wrinkles from boredom
or wrinkles from rage.
Are they wrinkles from the sun
Or from having too much fun.
Are they wrinkles from smiling
Or wrinkles from frowning.
Wrinkles do have a story to tell
Sometimes it is of happiness
Sometimes it is of pain
And sometimes it is just vague.
Should we erase them
Or let them be seen
Should we just hide them
Or is that being Vain.
I dab on some creme
And say to myself
A few wrinkles on my face is not such a big thing
Considering all that can go wrong in this world we live in.
So I start the new year with a few wrinkles on my face!
Friday, 29 July 2011
If you asking...
If You are asking, if I need you,
the answer is forever...
If you are asking, if I leave You,
the answeris never...
If you're asking, what I value,
the answer is you...
If you're asking, if I love you,
the answer is yes I do...
I can't Live Without You
The moment I met you, I felt something unique inside my heart,
My heart said that you are the one I am finding from years,
Time passes and I was getting you as my lovable partner,
You finished off loneliness and emptiness of my heart,
I feel you all the time; feel your priceless love,
I can’t wait for long; I can’t live without you my baby,
The distance between us is like torture,
Take me in your arms,
I’ll join your soul like flower and its fragrance,
I want you completely in my life,
I really can’t live without you,
Those days are crucial for me,
Now I trust you more than I usually do,
I love you more than I usually do,
I miss you more than I usually do,
I want those days back,
I wish we will be together soon,
Forever,
I can’t wait more, come soon and be mine,
Love you
My heart said that you are the one I am finding from years,
Time passes and I was getting you as my lovable partner,
You finished off loneliness and emptiness of my heart,
I feel you all the time; feel your priceless love,
I can’t wait for long; I can’t live without you my baby,
The distance between us is like torture,
Take me in your arms,
I’ll join your soul like flower and its fragrance,
I want you completely in my life,
I really can’t live without you,
Those days are crucial for me,
Now I trust you more than I usually do,
I love you more than I usually do,
I miss you more than I usually do,
I want those days back,
I wish we will be together soon,
Forever,
I can’t wait more, come soon and be mine,
Love you
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