Visit to Numaish- 2017

Every year between 1st of January up until 15th of February, there is a very very large scale All India Industrial exhibition at Nampally Exhibition Grounds, Hyderabad. Most of the stalls put up at the exhibition are related to clothing and bedroom accessories, one can find a lot of other things- packed food, furniture/upholstery, electrical goods, plastic ware and some innovative tools. Apart from this, there are a whole bunch of games and of course- FOOD stalls!!!

People/merchants come from all across India to sell their goods. There are stalls from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa etc.

This year, I happened to visit the place twice- once on a Sunday and once on a weekday. Sundays are extremely crowded and best avoided. Also, heavy crowds arrive between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. On both days, I went to the grounds at about 2:30pm. At this time, the crowd density is low. Also, we have had beautiful weather this year in Hyderabad, so it was not too warm to walk about. Please bear in mind this is a large scale and expansive exhibition and demands a lot of walking around. So, please ensure that you wear very comfortable footwear. Another thing to bear in mind is to not visit using your own vehicle. There is no space to park your vehicles. I highly recommend using public transport (if auto rickshaws are to be used, be prepared to shell out about Rs.20-40 more than required). Using services like Uber and Ola would delay you considerably as the traffic in the area is quite bad as long as the exhibition runs.

The atmosphere is quite colourful and electric and gives you a feeling of being in a fair. My biggest purchases were dry fruits and nuts from Kashmir.

Sharing some glimpses of Numaish shared below. Enjoy!!

Sarees and Dress Material from Bengal

Lemonade Shop and Insect products stall

One of the numerous Cosmetics and Imitation Jewellery stalls

Ittar Fragrance Stall

Games and Rides seen at a distance (Giant Wheel)

One of the several chaat stalls

I had Pav Bhaji at Gokul Chaat Stall

Chocolate Fountain

One of the several Dry Fruit and Nut stalls

Colourful Clothes

Wooden and Clay Toys stall

Lungi Stall

I hope you can visit it in these last few days or definitely make a point to visit next year. You will not be disappointed!

P.S: I know this is not really a post related to travel but I just thought it is the most appropriate of the labels. You may disagree but this is my blog, my mind on paper ;)

Money For Nothing by P.G Wodehouse

I bought this book at the Blossom Book Store in Bangalore years back and never got around to reading it until July-2016. I read it partly during my commute to work and partly at home.

I started reading this book right after Innocent Erendira and Other Stories. After the depressing atmosphere of that book, I needed a strong dose of P.G. Wodehouse humour to bring me out of the gloom, and Money for Nothing really delivered.

The story is about a rich miser Lester Carmody who along with his acquaintances- Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly Molloy try to orchestrate a robbery of certain antiquities at Rudge Hall (owned by Lester Carmody) and cheat the insurers and make money. Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly in turn plan to rip Carmody off his insurance money. There are other characters at Rudge Hall- John and Hugo, Lester's nephews who are completely unaware of the grand scheme brewing. There is also Pat Wyvern, who is the lady love of John and a smart-ish dog Emily who is John's pet.

Hugo is a young man looking to set up a club in London but does not have the necessary funds for it and Carmody who is entrusted with Hugo's share until he is mature enough to handle his own affairs, refuses the money to Hugo and thinks of Hugo's best friend, Ronnie to be influencing him for the worst. John's pursuit of Pat and Hugo's pursuit of funds for his new business, unfolds the wretched scheme of Carmody et al in the most humourous manner possible.  In the end almost everyone is happy as expected.

The book really keeps one on tenterhooks right from the inception of the fraud, all the way to the end.  One really looks forward to turn the pages over and eagerly devour the story. The food descriptions in the book are not aplenty but whatever exists is sufficient to feed my appetite. This book is yet another gem by P.G. Wodehouse. It came to me especially at a time when I really needed a good laugh due to the stress I was undergoing at that moment.

On a scale of 5 , where 5 is excellent, I rate this book a 5.

My Goals for 2017

I have read in several places that people tend to stick to their personal life goals if they make it public, as people feel really accountable towards achieving them once it is public. While, I do not really always miss on achieving my goals, I must admit that sometimes they do take a back-seat due to other priorities, so much so that they are  completely forgotten. I usually make a mental note of my goals and never put them down on paper. This year I would like to see if it really works to publish my personal life goals and if I would achieve most of them. It also depends on whether people would actually read my blog and if my goals are going to interest others who might happen to bump in to my blog to make me feel accountable towards them. Well, I have decided to try nevertheless.

This year, all my goals are going to revolve around a common theme- Finishing unfinished business.

This would mean:

1. Finishing reading books that I stopped reading half way or those that I bought meaning to read but did not get around to. I have loads of these. I stopped reading some books as they were boring and some because I wanted to read them when the time and setting was perfect. With passing time, I have learnt that there is no perfect time for reading. Any time is perfect or a book makes any time perfect to read. I have already started working towards this goal. I have made a list of books which I must finish reading and I am really looking forward to finish reading and move on to newer books.

2. Finishing off my half done craft projects. I have started many art and craft projects in the past few years but have not been able to finish them either due to laziness or extreme "busy-ness".  I am determined to take them all to a conclusion in 2017. Again, I have made a list of these projects and based on my interest levels in each of them, have decided which ones to finish first. I will try to post these on the blog once done.

3. Finishing trying out cooking the huge number of recipes that I keep marking to myself favourites to read and try later. However, I have not even looked back once to see what I have marked. I kept waiting for an occasion to try those out. Again, with experience, I have learnt that I do not have to wait for an occasion (what if they turn out to be disastrous- it would make the "occasion" very painful) to try these.

4. Finishing off writing in the journal I am currently writing in. I try and write as and when I find the time. I just need to make it a habit to write very regularly. My friends who had started journalling at about the same time as me have moved on to their 3rd or 4th journal while I am still writing in my first. Mind you, my handwriting is much tinier than theirs- still...I do not want to be so far behind even if it is not a competition.

5. Taking care of myself. This is an ongoing thing for every one. However, I specifically mention this here as I have stopped taking care of myself the way I used to once up on a time. This is partly due to laziness, boredom and work related priorities. I used to run 5km in 30 mins and walk 10000 steps every day for some time. However, I stopped tracking them and completely or just got too busy to take care of my health and this should be a priority for everyone. I also started consuming some unhealthy food which makes me too lethargic to do anything. I have also stopped looking well groomed. In addition, I need to focus on a good work-life balance. I really need to take care of myself in 2017!

6. Regularly updating this blog. I have several half-written posts or posts in draft which I need to review and publish. However, due to the want of time or sheer laziness, I have not published them. So, this year, do not be surprised if you see a flurry of posts on a given day. You know what may have happened ;).

7. Miscellaneous personal projects- I wish I could be more elaborate about this but due to their very personal nature I am not revealing them here. However, these are extremely important and probably more important than any of the above mentioned goals. Some of them are about travelling :). I would write about them once I accomplish them as then it would not be this anymore.

I have a whole bunch of professional goals as well but I know we tend to meet them or at least work on them. I would love to hear from others on their goals. This is it from me for now :).

Innocent Erendira and Other Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I got this book at the Hyderabad Book Fair last year. The description seemed good. I did not have a chance to read it for a long time. I read a big part of the book during my commute to work.

I have never finished any book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez before, though I started reading a few. I own 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', started reading it but never finished it. I was a student back then and my exams got in the way of finishing the book. Innocent Erendira and Other Stories is the first book by Marquez that I actually finished reading.

As the name of the book suggests, this is a compilation of short stories. Most of the stories have a common theme of supernatural and some of them are single active character stories. Most of the stories came across as a drag, some of them were good but not memorable. I have actually already forgotten them. I liked the story that made its way to the title- The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and her Heartless Grandmother. This story is about a young teenage girl who is forced into prostitution by her grandmother and how she finds her freedom from the dreadful life. This is not a modern day story in terms of setting. From the description, it is either an ancient or a medieval times setting. There is a lot of superstition, intuition and a very small bit of super natural element in the story. I think this particular story was the best in terms of writing when compared to the rest of the book. My heart really went out to Erendira and I would think of ways to rescue her from the predicament. Truly, this is a story worth reading but you can easily pass up on reading any other story without feeling guilty.

Marquez's books are originally in Spanish, which have been translated to English. It could be that it is a brilliant book in the original language of writing but may not be the same when translated. Sometimes, the magic can be created only in the original work and not in a translation, no matter how good the translator is or how best he has done the translation. So, it is quite possible that this is an amazing book in Spanish but lost its charm in English.

Another possible reason why I may not have liked the book as much could be the amount of negativity in the stories. When we lead stressful lives, we look for strands of positivity to hold onto. Most of the stories in the book are depressing and I do not think I was mentally prepared for the volume of negativity.

On a scale of 5, I would rate this book 2/5. Innocent Erendira is the only reason for 2. All other stories are pretty ordinary.

Drop Dead by Swati Kaushal

The first book of Swati Kaushal that I read was A Piece of Cake. It was a thoroughly enjoyable book and that made me pick this book for a read. My husband gifted this to me back in 2013, if I am not mistaken, but I never got around to reading it. It was ordered on Flipkart.com.

I read this book in June,2016. I read most of the book during my commute to work during very stressful times and it made my commute quite entertaining and interesting.This book was quite different from the 1st book of Swati Kaushal's that I read. While A Piece of Cake is a chick-flick book interspersed with office politics which many can relate to, Drop Dead is a mystery novel. The write shows two different aspects of writing- one part is cheesy and cheap, and another one is that of a well-read literati. It almost feels like two different people have written the book.

The story is based in the beautiful hills of Sonargam with a dashing and savvy protagonist Niki Marwah, who is a cop. Niki has a team of officers who are investigating the case of a high profile individual, Rakesh (Rak) Mehra. While the story for the most part is quite engaging, there are a lot of technical flaws in it. For example, as soon as they become aware of the death of Rakesh Mehra, Niki insists that it is not necessarily a murder or an accident and that they are yet to establish it; however, she calls the scene of the event, "crime scene" and the people they interrogate as "witnesses". It would have been still a little bit okay, if she termed them "suspects" but time and again they are referred to as "witnesses". Also, how they conclude on the murderer is also a little bit weird but not implausible so I am not going to argue on that front.

I love descriptions of food in books and this book did not disappoint me in that aspect. There is also a glimpse of Niki's family who is bent up on getting her married, which does not add any value to the story or character development. Some of the characters just disappear quite suddenly without making any significant appearance again, like Niki's best friend. Though it is quite entertaining, it is a very average read. It feels like reading a Bollywood masala movie script. Maybe the writer, did have a movie in mind with Priyanka Chopra playing the lead as Niki Marwah. The cover art definitely resembles Priyanka Chopra.

If I have to rate this book on 5, I would rate it 2/5 just for the entertainment value. I hope the next books by Swati Kaushal would be much better that this one and that she can recreate the magic of "A Piece of Cake".

Ricardo

I recently participated in a short story writing contest. Though the results have not yet been announced as of now, I kind of know it is not a winner. However, this contest helped me get back to writing a short story after a long time. Below is my entry:

It was about that time of the day when Rose would visit the church. Ricardo waited for her patiently. He made an effort to clean himself up and look presentable. He looked at himself in the mirror several times and made sure he looked neat. He looked forward to Sundays to meet Rose. 

As he waited outside the church, he thought of their first meeting. Rose was with her father at the church and Ricardo was accompanying Chris. Ricardo was very little then. He recalled how beautiful she was- young, vivacious and with a spark in her eyes. She smiled at him pleasantly that day and the thought still warmed his heart. It has been 13 years now. Though Rose has aged gracefully, nothing else changed about her. 

He could now see Rose walking towards the church. She arrived, smiled the familiar heart warming smile, tousled his hair and went inside the church. Ricardo would never enter the church. Chris never encouraged it and though he was no more, Ricardo honoured his wish. He waited patiently outside the church for the service to end. He paced quietly in the churchyard and reminisced the summer time spent at Chris’ estate. He was very little then and frolicked in the vast gardens while Chris and Rose cheered him. Everything seemed to be perfect. Little Ricardo loved Chris and Rose. There was news of their betrothal in the estate. He smiled to himself now and wished nothing had changed. 

Rose emerged from the church after the service and walked towards Ricardo. He could smell her familiar rosy fragrance. She smiled at him again, he reciprocated. “How have you been Richie?”, she said as she tousled his hair again, and coughed. This was their Sunday routine. He always wished that he was not born mute and could respond to her in words. He wanted to know about her cough. She has been coughing for a few months now and it seemed to get worse. All he could do was respond to her with gestures of affection. 

Rose walked back home and Ricardo accompanied her for a short distance but not all the way. He thought it would not be gentlemanly and bade her farewell. As she walked on, Ricardo wished that Chris was amidst them and they could all walk towards the estate. He thought of Rose- How lonely she was! Life had not been easy for her. She was by Chris’ bedside while he succumbed to pneumonia. As she grieved, news arrived that her father, her sole source of support, was no more. Her empty world was soaked in sorrow in a matter of days. She did have Ricardo, but, he was much younger then. She thought he would be cared for better at the estate and sent him away despite his quiet protests. 

Ricardo walked aimlessly all day. Sundays are bitter-sweet, when all those memories come flooding in. He rested under a tree in a park in the estate. His thoughts went back to Rose. He recalled, how she braced life bravely and made some tough decisions. She did not marry anyone. She lived with her maid and when she stepped outside her home, she carried her heart-warming smile. He wished she had not sent him away to the estate. He wished to accompany her everywhere but Rose had been firm. She would meet him only on Sundays outside the church. He respected her decision and looked forward to every Sunday. He waited eagerly for Sunday to arrive. 

It is Sunday again. As always, Ricardo eagerly waits outside the church for Rose to arrive. It is raining heavily. Rain or shine, she is always on time. He admired her for that. He knew by instinct- it was time for her arrival. He could see the church filling up. He waited patiently. He could hear the sermon begin. There was no sign of Rose today. He rushed to Rose’s villa. As he approached the villa, he could hear her violent coughing. He peeped in through a little opening in the window- she looked quite pale. Her maid was trying to comfort her while a doctor looked over. Ricardo wanted to run inside and talk to the doctor. He found his muteness unbearable. He peeped in every now and then. Rose seemed to be falling asleep with intermittent coughing. He left the villa. He worried about her all day. He visited the villa again in the evening. There was silence as he peeped in. Rose seemed peaceful now. Her maid was asleep by her side. Ricardo rested outside the villa and gradually slipped into a deep slumber. 

He woke up startled, to loud wails and rushed inside the villa. Rose was lying peacefully on her bed as she did the evening before.There was no movement from her breathing. She was very still. Her lips parted slightly. There was no colour on her face. He had a sinking feeling that Rose would never wake up again. In a few hours time, Rose was laid to rest in peace. Ricardo walked to the grave carrying a flower between his teeth, placed it on Rose’s grave, wagged his tail, lowered his aged body next to it, watched sadly and whimpered.

From My Kitchen