Being un-eeek...

Just when I was hopelessly running out of ideas to blog I got tagged after a really long time by a blogger who can write blogs out of thin air…Abracadabra …just like that!!

The tag sounds simple and should have been a cakewalk for rocket science experts like me. But the ‘unique’ clause in the tag made me ponder a bit… Neways here goes the tag.

5 Unique Things Found in My Room

Since I have changed house thrice over the past one year, I don’t really have a room which is close to my idea of a room…Nevertheless I guess like all single guys who are lazy enough to polish their shoes by nonchalantly brushing on those bristles on the elevators, there is always something special in our rooms…

• F.C St Pauli scarf...Not a football buff but love the ideas what the club stands for.
• A Mozart memorabilia miniature violin which I bought during the recent trip to Austria...Got to parcel all the stuff gathered over the last few months else I ll have to check-in at the airport carrying a 60 kg baggage and pretend I never knew that they allowed just 30 after all..
• Highly confidential documents printed from the office printer about places to visit during Christmas…
• A trainer cycle which is a unique decorative item in the room. There is always a next day for starting the exercise...right?? ;-P
• A bottle of ice-tea which is such a good drink when you are watching television.

5 Unique Things Found in My Bag

• A ‘Saint Nikolas’ chocolate gifted by a colleague in office. It looks so good that I am having trouble to eat it.
• It sounds so girly, but I carry a Vaseline lip balm because it gets so cold out here. ;-P
• Any novel which I always carry in case I get bored. right now its “My name is Red by Orhan Pamuk”
• A small pic of Mother Theresa
• An airplane model which I got to gift to a family here…

5 Unique Things Found in My Wallet

• Visiting cards of travel agents who can give me tickets for 0 Euro but with taxes and surcharges of 100 euros…clever eh..
• A washing machine coin which I need for washing clothes here.
• It is silly…a bit of paper with bank account numbers...I have never managed to remember all those numbers even till now.
• Old Indian sim card ...I was supposed to be abroad for three months and I assumed to use the old number once I got back...But it has been a long 16 months and I still don’t feel like throwing it away.
• A million Euro...am one of those rich dudes kind…driving Porsche’s…dining at the Ritz…flying private jets…yeah all these after I cash that piece of paper (they have written on the lottery, the first prize is a million Euro)...I was joking...hahaha...I don’t need that money!!...No..No..On second thoughts, I don’t mind… ;-P

I will pass on the tag to new friends in here… abhi..Ann..Regil..Elijo and Zee.. I am sure i can carry on this espionage and submit the reports to Agent Silverine who is doing a psycho-analysis report on bloggers..

Oliver twisted!!

Another special tag that evokes fond memories..Silverine has tagged me on memoirs , when we were kids about the age of Bobanum Mollyum(mallu child heroes)..Days when we never knew what globalisation was..what professionalism was..what inflation was…ah..those days when you just had to bother if there was a power cut when Giant robot was being played

..The Wonder Years Tag
1. Write 8-10 things about childhood ( 1-12 years) that you miss.
2. Write 8-10 things that you disliked about childhood.
3. Tag a few people.

What I miss about childhood

1. The first thing that comes to my mind are those yearly summer vacations when I went to kottayam and spend weeks at my grandparents place...My cousins used to come over and we had our own hardy boys tales. Hitching to the nearby cemetery and finding out the oldest man sleeping there..It was our own way of learning maths the fun way!! :)

2. The simple basic ice cream my grandma used to make. That taste still wafts in the air as I write. Whoever said Baskin Robbins is the best...I remember my grandma saying years later that I never used to drink anything cold. The feeding bottle had to be wrapped around a towel and I still cant believe I did that!!

3. The jigsaw puzzles which I did many times over again and again..The novelty and enthusiasm never was lost even in the nth time..I stll have a 1000 piece puzzle which was a precious treasure for me…er..is still a precious..

4. I miss going to the beach with parents..When my parents seemed to be more wary of us going careless deep into the waters..Those silly attempts to touch the wave at its edge..and watching your name disappear in the next wave..cross checking if the sun sets in the east or the west..The trip wouldn’t be complete without a masala dosa from the nearby coffee house..

5. I miss Christmas times..That seemed to be the only time when I was master superior at home..I was very conscious that I run the crib making process..That feeling of being the architect when your parents just watched how far we did go..I barely survived a full mass during christmas and most often had to be carried back home on shoulders..

6. Watching new year programmes in doordarshan..Might be the only other day when I must have been awake till midnight..Prannoy Roy if I remember right used to host “the world this week”..I used to watch with dad even though I barely new anything happening outside trivandrum ..

7. I miss the camel color painting competition..Those rare days in school when I felt like "Elvis Presley." When I eagerly waited for teachers to appreciate my “Picasso” paintings..

8. I miss making the paper boats or four squares..or paper planes..I vaguely remember getting caught by my class teacher in 111 C , I guess for tearing half the pages in my notebook to make paper planes..

9. I miss the train journeys to bangalore…That was the northern most part of the country for me those days..I used to stretch my neck outside the coachwindows lest I don’t miss anything ..the sounds..the sights..the smell..

10. I miss the sheer joy when Amma or Appa comes back home after they had gone somewhere..nowadays we are so limited by the so called beingness of “maturity”!!

What I disliked about childhood

1. Drinking milk. I disliked being forced to drink milk and almost every time I vomited it out but my mom wouldn’t relent…Ditto..dint have to edit Silver’s post

2. Long prayer sessions at native place...I always wondered what so much to pray for..For me it were just 3 things which I repeated daily..

a) Give me some brains to study
b) Keep Dad and Mom happy
c) Keep all of us healthy

I couldn’t think of anything further then...

3. I disliked showing my report cards to Dad..That was real nasty..I never did score those huge marks in upper primary...

4. Being forced to eat vegetables..I never liked avial or infact most of the vegetables except bitter gourd..Things I ll kill for now..

5. Hated when guest came in at home and I had to stop the television for their sake, when any of my favourite programmes were running.

6. Visiting the eye doc..I used to break my glasses very often and I was made to read the chart as many times..Towards the end it was like..”I can read the V T and U very well..F T E and Q quite easy..but am finding tough with the Y L Z and S”..The doc used to go crazy.

7. The school drill..and somehow it always happened when it was the sunniest..I thought it was torture of magnanimous proportions.

8. Combing my hair. I still remember the fuss folks made if they couldn’t see the proper parting line ..Any deviation was dealt as if the Pakistanis just tried to change the line of control!!

9. Helping father in household chores..I tried all sorts of ingenious ways to wriggle out, though with a failure rate of 99.998%.

10. Getting up in the morning for school ..I think this comes by default for all!!

I would like to thank Silverine for creating this suppa tag that takes you down the memory lane..And I invite Velu,Rama,Sreejith,Maya,Anand,Rashmi,Dhanush,Shakhi,Neers,Amu,priya and Jac to take up the journey of those wonder years.

blog analysis..A P tharakkan report!!

I was tagged by Her Holiness Sri Sri or Sreemathi Silverine. I will be granted moksha when His Holiness Sri Sri bloggerdotcom publishes it without any hindrance…


1. Are you happy/satisfied with your blog, with its content and look? Does your family know about your blog?

I am quite happy with my blog. Analysis of my own blog was never part of my agenda. Infact I feel quite awkward weighing the pros and cons of my blog. For me the blog is just my thought process in alphabets…my family knows that I do blog. But then they don’t read it. I show Mom some of my articles but then am in a comfort zone when I see that they are not particular about reading all my crap!!


2. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?

A few of my friends know that I blog. But then most of my friends don’t bother a big deal about blogs. I don’t feel embarrassed to let my friends know, though I don’t want my friends to weigh me based on what I write in the blog. I would like to keep it as an outlet of my own free will. Cancerians play it safe…u know!!


3. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?

Yes. It definitely has given moments of laughter…introspection...Empathy...Sadness...Infact it can generate a whole gamut of emotions. Some blogs have really inspired me. Some others have given that fleeting moments of anger…Some still leave me happy and contended that world is after all a good place to live!! Just like some celebs are “media shy” I have always been “other-sex shy”…This place is a good place for folks of my ilk!! :)


4. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?

I am comparatively new to blog world. I used to blog hop when I started out. Of late I have restricted myself to a set of blogs which I frequent. Comments are definitely a boost. But then I read blogs for my own leisure.


5.What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?

I put the counter sometime back. But then I don’t frequent that site anymore…It has more to do with a feeling that It doesn’t matter neways!!! The initial curiousity about the search links folks use or my visitor stats have died down…


6. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?

Yeah I create a mental picture of the person. That is something that happens while reading the person’s blog. But then that changes for the same person when they write on different themes. I have visualised the same person as a nun as well as a hot shot rockstar..eh.Just kiddin..

7. Admit. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?

Yes, We have frank conversations. All those blocking points like sex...looks...caste...creed...whatever… is absent here. I think that’s the best part of blogging.
8. Do you think that bloggers society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
It is isolated from the unreal world of show biz and fake camaraderie…fake etiquettes. If the real world is Page 3.Then blogger is Page 1!But then blogger is most of the time a small place in our day-to-day life.


9. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?

I get annoyed in the beginning if it is unwarranted...The toughest part is to know the intent of the criticism…I don’t show the person that I get annoyed. And then I just think about it. Most of the time I try to find rational…

I haven’t received any cutthroat criticism in my blogs. Anyone dare do it…It is a veiled threat...hehehe…


10. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them?

I often do read political blogs. Though social issue blogs interest me more. Political blogs sometimes get into unruly war of words that leaves a bad taste. I don’t frequent propaganda blogs…


11. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?

Yeah.Those .5-volt shocks send shivers down my spine. Am not aware of bloggers getting arrested. On a serious note I ll say anyone one using blogs to harm anyone should be duly punished.


12. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?

It will be institutionalised in the bloggers hall of fame and commemoratory parties will be held once a year to mark its death!!!..


13. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to in your blog?

I have varied interests in music and I hear any language as long as it sounds good. Neways the song for the day is...this beatles song..hey jude..


Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it bette
rRemember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better


Hey, Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.


And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
Well don't you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder


Hey, Jude! Don't let her down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember, to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.


So let it out and let it in, hey, Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey, Jude,
You'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder


Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better


I would love to pass this one to my friends…Angeline Jolie..Vidya Balan..Meg Ryan…yeah my celeb friends do blog. But then I visualised people like I said before!!!

million dollar tag!!

I got tagged by my pal Velu and am pretty sure he guessed right that am jobless these days. This tag was quite fun unlike the sadist foodie tag!!(Growling at one of my favourite bloggers silverine ;))…Am finding lot of fun surfing the blog world these days as it’s my only solace in office these days...Two of my roommates are leaving soon to their own destinies. One of em is going onsite and the other leaving job for higher studies…Am bit apprehensive of life ahead. It feels bad that all the fun is over and time to move on. Wish em good luck!!


I am thinking about: my trip home next week. It has been 3 months since last one and this time am getting 5 days off! Although I love to pretend that am not homesick, sometimes it gets into your head!!

I said: You got to get angry at your boss someday...Stop pretending!!

I want to: visit Leh and have a hot tea in the snow!!

I wish: Vidya Balan just drops by my place...sing that song from parineeta for me...get married...And have 2 kids...Hehehe...I am not overtly ambitious!! ;)

I wonder: god must be really intelligent..He just created man and woman. A third entity would have been confusing!!

I regret: I have psychologically manipulated myself not to regret on anything!

I hear: Blowing in the wind-Joan Baez. I start my day listening to it!!

I am: a box of chocolates!! Though few em are unappetizing!!

I dance: an exotic variety of Spanish tango with sensuous gyrations. It resembles vaguely with another art form called “dappankuthu” (Rajanikanth isthyle)

I sing: kidding eh?? It works as repellants at times!!

I cry: frankly really long time...But I feel like crying when I listen the song “Lukha Chuppi” from RDB...

I am not: the CIA mole who many think I am!!

I make with my hands: liquid bombs ;)...I don’t have a better answer

I write: anything that comes my mind..I dont have a hidden agenda or something!! ;)

I confuse: those multiple choice questions…Sometimes given a choice can be bad.

I need: 8 hours of sleep ever day...no one dare mess with that..


And my favorite, random quotes are:

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
--Mother Teresa

I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That's deep enough. What do you want an adorable pancreas?
--anonymous

"If fate does not make you laugh then you just don't get the joke"
-- Shantaram

The nice thing about meditation is that it makes doing nothing quite respectable."
-- Paul Dean

I pass this one to anyone who hasn’t taken up the tag yet!!

Ambrosia

This is a tag am going to love and hate as well…Love it because am a foodaholic and hate it because am writing this far away from home…far away from my beloved appam mutton curry……far away from the mouth watering dishes that I sinfully ate without any disdain…Any damage to the keyboard while am drooling over the dishes should be duly reimbursed by Silverine who had tagged me!!

My Mom being a working woman hardly gets time to cook the delicious delicacies that is seducing me through most other blogs...But she used to make my favorites whenever she got the time to do like all loving moms do!!!She rarely watches cookery shows and relies more on advice from my grandma or my aunt who is apparently a cuisine queen…I would infact dedicate this blog to all adorable people who have made food with love for me all these years!! Thank you Amma, Appa (really my dad cooks), Mummy (I call my grandma “mummy” and that is a different story), Daisy aunty, Amini aunty (I have many other aunties but would rather mention them for the feasts they made for me), Chechi (from chechi’s mess where I take food these days)…hundreds of cooks in various hotels who put the right amount of salt, chilly and pepper to give the aroma that made me visit em again and again!!

I wouldn’t vouch my Mom makes the best chicken curry.. But she definitely makes it the way I want...Chilly happy I want everything spicy and no one knows that better than my mom!! Neways I ll start mentioning those dishes rather than test your patience... (On a lighter note I feel like am writing a love letter)

Appam and Mutton stew

Appam soft enough that it can be used to make those soft spongy American dolls. and mutton stew with right amount of spices (imported from Kottayam (from our own parambu))...Its a gastronomic delight of heavenly propositions..
I always peek into the kitchen to get the appam when it is piping hot and when it is the softest...Infact it can be eaten without any curry..So I usually have it both ways. Soft piping hot..and then laced with coconut milk rich mutton stew…And then a burp that rings that I can’t take more…whoaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

P.S for the uniformed Appam is a pancake made of rice and coconut milk.

Semia Payasam

This pudding is a big favourite of mine. Absolutely love the aroma of it...And the best part is that, she cooks it at least once every month…There was always lot of jostling happening at the kitchen to get those precious milk maid drops. I love the smell of cashew fried in ghee and this often resulted in shortage of desired quantities of it for the Payasam... ;)

Fish Curry

The kottayam style fish curry with a decent helping of karyveyppu Ella (aroma leaves)..pulli(tamarind)…and grounded chilly…This fish curry tastes best with kappa(tapioca)..My dad makes a trip to palayam market to get the best fish in town and mom embarks on getting the spices ready… Am the official taster for fish curries at home...This blog might give an indication that I spending excessive time in the kitchen. .This is because we dint have any servants at home that time and myself with bro and dad spend a good deal in kitchen exploits...

Sugiyan

This 4 o clock kadi is something that my mom absolutely enjoys making..
This is a snack made of grams, jaggery and grated coconut. And tastes best when its semi warm..Sometimes make me wonder how amma manages to make all these sweets when she being diabetic hardly gets a chance to relish any of em...





Jackfruit and Tapioca
I couldn’t help lifting this dish from silverine’s blog..Bcoz it happens to be
my top favourite as well. My taste buds are just showing utter despair imagining those delicious dishes..


vazhakka appam
A dish that is synonymous with malayalees..This is a dish I miss a lot..Most of the time there is a severe shortage of vazhakka appams at home..This phenomena can be attributed to the paranormal consumption that happens whenever amma makes em..Banana dipped in Maida with the aroma of fried coconut oil is a gourmet delight!!!


Mango pickle/lime pickle
This is a grandma specialty..My mom always say “Mummy” makes the best pickle in the world and she would have definitely raked a moolah if she had marketed her “achaar” properly!!..Mummy still makes those tingling lemon pickles even though she is way past her prime..



Iddiappam
This soft rice cakes traditionally called idiappam or noolappam are of two kind..One without coconut icing like the one shown above and those with grated coconut toppings…The first kind is usually accompanied by some curry to add spice to the dish..But I love the second variety which is white and pure with pleasant steam rising through the wafers in between. This customized variety with lotta coconut and sugar can be infact classified as a sweet..







Fish Molly
It might be repetitious to include another fish preparation ,but I would be doing gross injustice if I missed out this one..This typical central travancore dish is cooked in coconut milk and can practically go with nything..rice..roti..bread..chappatti..u name it!!!








This tag wasn’t an easy job when you are far away from home and you have to recollect all those mind blowing dishes that folks back home are savoring. A third degree torture of sorts for my palatable senses…

I wish to pass on this torture to all my fellow bloggers who can go through the sufferings that I have battled.

Advice: Please write this blog when you are really sick to avoid any grudge or a feeling of discontentment!!


Credits:
1) A superb foodie blog with amazing pictures..Thanx indiandoc for allowing me to use photos from her blog.

http://isouthpotpourri.blogspot.com/

2) Countless forwards with those tempting snaps

Picturesque tag!!!!!

Getting tagged gives this eerie feeling of being watched and the good part is that its so funny yet so plain revealing ….And the online world gives the pleasure of being true to yourself without any inhibitions!!!! Thanx silverine for tagging me up!!

1. Most desired celebrity

Konkona Sen

Comment: I fell in admiration for this woman after Mr. and Mrs. Iyer!!! There is a rumour running that men like the company of woman with brains but when it comes to marriage they look for just dumb beauties!!!!!! ..Pretty debatable….But how can someone beat this lady of beauty and brains. She is a cocktail to hard to resist!!!


2. Want to do this some day

Safari in a land rover: Infact lot of places to choose from…So I would put it around the world National Geographic ishtyle!!

Comment: Lofty wish…But then dreams don’t have limits!!!!!!
P.S...I don’t want a bunch load of people in this kind of trip...

2. Want to visit this place

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) near Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks.

Alaskan Freeze: Very fascinating place…Best place next to moon maybe….Exquisite natures work’s at display! And the best part is hardly few humans out there! Hehehe!!

Comment: I don’t know if it’s possible to visit this place this lifetime...Research says hardly any software firm have base in the ice shelf’s of Alaska. .So practically I can’t go onsite to Alaska!!!!

4. Random Favorite

Princess Diana

Comment: We are always fed with a daily dose of Superheroes…Spiritual Gurus. Political big shots…Sporting Geniuses…and the list goes on…But Diana is some one who stands out from the rolling listing of celebrities. Even today her charisma gives me a sense of awe unparalled…….Why wonder when she is the most photographed face on earth!!!

5. I was tagged by Silverine

Comment: Post the picture of the place where you were tagged, and if you picked up the tag yourself then the picture of the place you picked it from.

I tag Rose , DewDrops ,Anand to carry forward this tag.

How chekku got tagged..

I was inspired by Alex to take up this tag. Moreover tags are good when writer’s block keeps hallucinating you. Here are some unknown (?) facts about myself.

My Accent: Unfortunately a tinge of malayalee accent. But i can vouch Lolakutty is worse than me...She is zimbly pathetic!!!

Booze: I am a ceremonial drinker these days..When my ex-military uncle offers me that rare 1/7th of a "small" during christmas...And my Dad looks at me as if am gonna get drunk after that...
Curiosity and all air about masochism associated with drinking died after college days during when i faced many a "royal challenges" and "Teachers" advice.

Chore I Hate: Picking up clothes after they have been put for drying. Washing plates after dinner...

Dog or Cat: Dog. But I don’t like Pomeranians.

Essential Electronics: PC as my job demands so, Music System.."naturally inbuilt music player" is a nuisance for friends and attracts obscenities of severest proposition.

P.SAm less electronically inclined.

Perfume: don’t use. Waiting for Pears to bring out something that smells like their soap.

Gold or silver: neither .Infact not interested in body adornment. But sporting a gold ring my dad gifted.

Home: Kottayam... Trivandrum ...Mysore

Insomnia: Never...Infact just the opposite. I fall asleep easily.

Job Title: Design Engineer

Living Arrangements: I live with my friends. Staying close to office. Do you believe its just 10 min for me to reach office? Mysore rocks!!

Most Admirable Traits: Am a peacemaker by instinct and very often try to defuse volatile situations by injecting humour.

Disclaimer: It has failed as many times as well.

Number of Sexual Partners: None .Fantasize a huge list though!!

Number of times in hospital: Many times. Though usually to take friends who have had accidents.

Phobias: Arachnophobia. Necrophobia...

Quote: ‘If fate doesn’t make you laugh, you just don’t get the joke.’

Religion: Catholic

Siblings: A bro younger to me.

Time I Wake Up: 7.15 am on weekday...10.30-11.30 am on weekends. That depends on when my roomies wake up. Friends nag me saying that am living only half my life as I spend the rest sleeping.

Unusual Talent or Skill: I can sleep while riding piggy back on a bike.

Vegetables I Love: Cauliflower...bitter gourd...hell lot of naadan vegetables... I just don’t happen to recollect the names.

Worst Habit: I buy things if I have fallen in love with it and won’t delay it under most circumstances. Terribly bad money manager.

X-Rays: Those root canal days! Sigh!!

Yummy Food I Make: None now. But fours year of living alone made me a decent cook. Chicken curry (ready made powder with my own special additives),tea, coffee, omelette with lotta coconut.

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

People tagged to do it: Anyone who would like to tell a bit about themselves.