Tag Archives: Indian Food

Day 186

It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going. – Anthony Burgess

It’s 8: 12 PM on day 186 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself French fries for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, exercise for 5 minutes, tweet about my campaign some more – @whoamitome (Juliana) who by the way has donated once before made another donation of $20 – thanks Juliana 🙂 – and feed myself butternut for dinner

A couple of days ago I was watching a Cricket World Cup match held in India on TV and I suddenly felt a twinge of guilt because I saw how proud the people of India were of being Indian while I was not and to make up for that I would like to take this opportunity to bring you the best of India – from architecture to food, music, movies and celebrities – enjoy 🙂

Welcome to my motherland

Taj Mahal – Wonder of the World

Taj Mahal, a mausoleum that was built on the southern bank of the Yamuna (Jumna) River, outside Agra in India, by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Arjumand Banu Begam (also called Mumtaz Mahal, of which the name Taj Mahal is a corruption). She died in childbirth in the town of Burhanpur in 1631, after having been the emperor’s inseparable companion since their marriage in 1612. The building was commenced around 1632 by plans prepared by a council of architects from India, Persia, Central Asia, and beyond. More than 20,000 workmen were employed daily to complete the mausoleum itself by about 1643 and the immediate adjuncts (mosques, wall and gateway) by about 1649. The entire Taj complex took 22 years to complete, at a cost of 40,000,000 rupees.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar

The Golden Temple was first built by the fifth guru, Guru Arjun Singhji, to house the Granth Sahib – the holy book of the Sikhs. It was rebuilt in 1803 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The temple is also known as Darbar Sahib or Hari Mandir Sahib. The temple is located in Amritsar and is the holiest place of the Sikh faith. It is built in the middle of a holy pool. The dome of the temple is covered by a gold leaf. The interior decoration consists of inlay work done with semi-precious stones in a delicate floral design.

The Akal Takht (or the immortal throne) was established near the temple by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind Singhji. It is the seat of the supreme head of the Sikh religious authority.

India Gate

This 42-meter high structure is located on the other end of Rajpath from the Rashtrapati. Also designed by Lutyens as a war memorial, it has the names of Indian soldiers who died in World War I inscribed on it. An eternal flame, a tribute to the Unknown Soldier, was placed under the arch in 1971.

Chapati/Roti

Thin bread cooked on the griddle.

Biryani

A fancy rice casserole, often containing meat, poultry, seafood or
vegetables

Dosa

Crispy, crepe-like southern Indian specialty filled with potatoes or
vegetables

Sachin Tendulkar

The backbone of the Indian Cricket Team.

Aishwarya Rai

Former Miss World and bollywood Actress.

Shahrukh Khan

Bollywood’s leading man.

Day 123

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Doing little things well is a step toward doing big things better – Harry F. Banks.

It’s 7: 15 PM on day 123 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself myself Dosa – fermented crepe or pancake made from rice flour and black lentils – and Sambar – a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toor dal – for breakfast, listen to music – Ready, set, don’t go by Billy Ray Cyrus is really good if you haven’t heard it yet you should go listen to it – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – just when I was beginning to think that what I did didn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things I noticed a $21 donation from a guy I barely knew just goes to that it only takes 5 seconds to turn an awful day into a great one 🙂 – exercise for 10 minutes, watch TV and feed myself bun and chicken nuggets for dinner.

This morning, as I sat at the dining room table staring out at the trees through the window I made a resolution not to see everybody I encountered as potential donors to my campaign but rather as living, breathing human beings who just wanted to be seen and to my surprise the way people interacted with me changed almost instantaneously and although it took me a lot longer than usual to get the donation I learned an invaluable lesson – no one likes feel as though they are just a means to an end. When you do something do you focus on the process or the outcome? 🙂

Day 81

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The road to hell is paved with good intentions – Proverb.

It’s 7: 28 PM on day81 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Upma – a south Indian dish made of rava – and beef curry for breakfast, fix my Facebook button – if you want to get to know the real me add me on Facebook – I am an open book open for all the world to read 🙂 – spend THREE hours tweeting about my Clean Water For All Campaign – I am so frustrated it’s like all of us are waiting for someone to come and fix all the problems of the world only we don’t realize that each one of us is that somebody – feed myself Custard for lunch – not the most nutritious of lunches but it was yummy nonetheless 🙂 – continued reading Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela –just in the first 10-15 pages I began to realize how much respect Mandela had for the leaders who came before him and that is something that I believe is sorely lacking in today’s politics and the world at large – feed myself rice and curry for supper and exercise for 15 minutes – today’s session was just right – nor too painful and not too pleasurable kinda like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears LOL 🙂

Today as we were having supper I saw my brother – who is my 10kg’s overweight – reaching for a fizzy drink inside the fridge and I said don’t drink that have you see your stomach – I know, I know I am a horrible person – what I really meant to say was I love you want you to be healthy and in retrospect I probably should have suggested an alternative to the fizzy drink – I feel like the scum-of-the-Earth right now 🙁 Have you ever said something that came out all wrong?