10 steps towards a better life

In the rush of daily life, it really soothes to come across something that emphasizes on leading a healthier and happier life. I can’t say about others, but I really get inspired by the idea of devoting some time for our own selves or taking care of small things that can enhance the quality of our life. It relieves to know that we are still not machines who are supposed to just work, work and work. We have a good life and we can make it better further, not by achieving more targets or piling up more possessions, but rather, by slowing down the pace of our life, a bit. We often read or listen to such ideas, I am just summing them up here, so that it can act as a ready reference whenever it is required the most.

1. Rewarding self for every small accomplishment: Whether you study hard for the whole day, or work at your workplace, or perform your daily household chores, reward yourself for even small accomplishments made. After the day’s work, you deserve a warm shower, soothing music, good food or any other thing that can allow a feel-good-factor. Enjoy the simple things and unwind yourself before going to bed.
2. Surrounding yourself with what you love: It is pleasure to see the things or people we love the most, whether it is family, pets, plants, hobbies, keepsakes. Let your home evolve into an oasis from the frenzied world outside.
3. Cultivating richer relationships: “The quality of your life is the quality of your communication.” Tell the people that you love them, treat them well. But having good relations with all is not possible as this is an imperfect world. So keep up the virtue of forgiving.
4. Keep cheerful friends around: Associate only with the positive and cheerful people from whom you can learn things. Avoid those who make you unhappy; whining and complaining people will sap away all your energy. So laugh-often, long and loud.
5. Throw out non-essential things: The principle of emptiness comes into play here. Give away the things you don’t require, de-clutter and don’t keep piling up and similarly give up the useless feelings and thoughts too. Make space for the new ones to come in. One can experience the enhancement in energy levels, once you de-clutter and organize (whether things or thoughts).
6. Cherish your health: Since health is one of the most important assets, so adopt a healthful lifestyle. Indulge in a health regime that can help you stay fit and fine. Have a balanced diet and keep the stress away.
7. Keep learning: Learn some new things, whether it is a new recipe or a new activity, a new art or anything that makes you feel growing. You are happiest when you feel you are growing. When you feel that you are contributing and advancing in the direction of your dreams, you will notice that you have boundless energy and vitality.
8. Reading: This is the best way of getting many years of experience in a few hours time. Resort to speed reading; read about influential people, read about the topics that interest you. After all, the more you know, the less you fear.
9. Appreciate nature: At times, take some time out to enjoy the natural surroundings; take a walk, hear the birds chirping, gaze at stars, see the sunrise/sunset. Get up early some morning and notice the richness of your surroundings.
10. Endure, grieve and move on: When the things go wrong, as they sometimes will, don’t shy away from shedding some tears, you can have the liberty to grieve on it (provided you move on and not keep clinging to whatever happened). Be alive, while you are alive.

What matters, is not that you do in your life; but how you do it.

The ritual of watching Cricket World Cup

Yes, you read it right. It’s not about playing cricket, it’s about watching cricket.

Dale Carnegie says ‘Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something’ in his bestseller How to win friends and influence people. Hary A. Overstreet in his illuminating book Influencing Human Behavior said ‘Action springs out of what we fundamentally want’.

This is about the people who specialize in human behavior. One of our colleagues was also preaching one day ‘Nobody in this world, does anything unless until they have some personal interest in it.’ We, in general also know that our time is very precious, especially in busy world like today. But I really wonder what power this cricket beholds? How come it can manage to let so many busy souls out there throughout the world, particularly in India, stay glued to their television screens, while their team is playing. Despite the fact, that a plenty of variety of cricket tournaments are there now. But the World Cup fever doesn’t even seem to fade, let apart die.

If you have some urgent work on a day when India is playing, don’t worry, go out hurriedly and you can come back within half the time it usually takes. There is no traffic on the road on a match-day (this is obvious, but still tried and tested ).

One of my friends even posted that “Facebook should be renamed to cricket-book…Ppl like me who hate 50+50 overs match should leave it for a day”.

Movies still allure a particular age group or interest-group, but cricket…it can charm all categories: whether they are school-going lads or matured busy people of my father’s age. My father – he’s very particular about time, doesn’t waste it in watching television or movies. But even he can manage to leave aside or else complete his important work in advance, so that he can spare some time to see India playing. PVRs prefer to play cricket match during the World Cup than movies and people do buy tickets for the same.

And the best of all is: everyone has a piece of advice for every player and every ball-how should the bowler throw the ball at a particular situation, how the fielder should avoid boundaries, how the batsman should hit hard, or any other important playing strategies during the whole match-everyone has a fair idea/suggestion for those professional players too.

Is that funny? Is that crazy? Is that too much? I can not say, I don’t have an idea. But yes, people forget to see friends, people forget to call families when it is the question of a cricket world cup match. I am not too fanatic about cricket, but I also, enjoy the last few decisive overs. I too, don’t shy away from saying ‘abe catch pakad’ or ‘abe chauka rok’. This excitement is unparalleled. Just a few minutes ago, I saw an outstanding cricket match, although we lost it.

I never thought I will write something about sports (as I am least interested in the same). But the whole cricket season is so overwhelming, I couldn’t resist writing this post.

The wintery dessert

the hot garnished Gajrela

Finally I could put the Saturday laziness aside and spend a productive day, checking out most of things I wanted to do since so many days and best of all, could prepare the mouth-watering Gajar ka Halwa (carrot pudding) for the first time in my life. This is the most special North Indian dessert cooked in winters so that one can pamper the taste buds with something really sweet and delicious and feel the warmth with hot served Gajar ka halwa. I was thinking of trying to cook the same since past few months, as it is mainly cooked in winters, but it takes a lot of time to prepare this pudding.

Although the recipe can be availed from any Indian cookery website, but here I am sharing how I made it: 

I am loving it...

Ingredients:

• 1 kg carrots
• 1 litre full fat milk
• 2-3 tbsp pure ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cardamom powder
• Dry fruits to garnish

Preparation:

• Peel the carrots and wash them thoroughly.
• Then grate the carrots and heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan.
• Add grated carrots to the pan and cook for around 5 minutes. Keep tossing.
• Simultaneously, let the milk simmer till the carrots get dried in the pan.
• Add the milk to the carrots and let it cook untill the milk gets dried. Also add cardamom powder when little milk is left in the pan.
• Then add sugar, it will release some water, let it dry and then turn off the flame.
• The Halwa is ready, now you can garnish it with dry fruits and serve hot.

Naini…You look beautiful!!!

Another hill station, yet again. And now, this time it is Nainital. Despite being such a familiar hideout ‘Mussoorie-Nainital’ for Delhites and researching quite well, about the place before going there, it was least expected to view that grand lake within the center of the town (surrounded by pine and oak), set amongst the towering peaks of the Kumaon Himalayas.

You may stroll along the lake, try a bit of boating, shop at the Mall, capture some gorgeous shots in your camera, enjoy Bhutta or ice-cream or do nothing at all, but relax and watch the lake changing its colors every while like chameleon.

Hill stations have a unique spell of their own especially during monsoons. Summers are explicitly a relief from the heat of plains and winters offer the snow-clad show. But in monsoons, when everything is green and mist is all around, you can expect any drastic change in weather. There is pleasant weather and you plan to go out for a stroll and as you get ready, it starts drizzling. Now you make your mind to either go or wait and thick rain drops start falling which you can hear aloud over the sloping tin roofs, making it easier to decide. As you sit down to have a sip of tea while watching TV, the sun starts shining brightly. But beware; you can’t even rely on this one too.

There are hordes of people coming from different places to spend their weekend, so if you want to be a little different from the rest, move to the outskirts and let yourself detox with peace prevailing. Naukuchiatal is amongst the loveliest lakes in Kumaon’s lake district, deep blue expanse of water, all engulfed in the terraced green hills and forests, making you believe you are in heaven.

Strolling around the secluded lake amongst woods you can see the flowers blossom and hear the birds chirping. It feels like a place out of this world-watching ducks, lotuses, boating and one or two dhabas around to have some food, cooked fresh just for you.

Needless to say, the trip was very rejuvenating and proved that slowing down the pace of life can really refresh and make you ready for all the day-to-day fight back home.

Seven Husbands…Are you kidding?

I assumed “Susanna’s Seven Husbands” might be a story written long back by Ruskin Bond, the famous writer, whose creations, we have gone through in our literature classes at school (that’s how I knew him till date). But it was today only, that I read somewhere, this book has been published in Feb 2011. And the next impulse was a swift Wikipedia-surf to know a little more about him. The movie based on his novel Saat Khoon Maaf had already kept me preoccupied for the whole day ever since I saw that (by now, it must be very clear that I haven’t read the novel).

Apparently, the acting as well as the story is superb. But the best of all is, you know explicitly it’s a fiction – it is not true, nor it can be true. I mean, nobody can have such an ill-fate. Falling in love for seven times with the wrong person and even getting married too, to all the seven. After going through such a dreadful experience with one, two, or even three of them, nobody will even think of marriage. Hence it is very clear the story is absolutely a fiction, but still why my intellect is being challenged by the stupid thoughts that are arising (perhaps I am thinking a lot about it).

1. How much, we human beings need some people around us, whether family or friends, those who love us. How lonely otherwise, a person can be and how it can turn him/her hopelessly hopeful (may be this time, it’s going to work).
2. Situations may seem tough or even impossible, but when you are actually into it, you don’t have any other option than getting out of it, by any means. And that’s what she does, every time she falls prey.

Somebody just asked me, why she doesn’t get caught even after murdering seven people (husbands). And my prompt reply was, “just go and watch the movie.” Although I am convincing myself that it is a fiction, but back of the mind, I also know I am thinking all this just because the way this story is written and the way it is enacted on-screen by Priyanka Chopra & other characters, it is simply powerful, it is contagious.