Zara Sochiye was a short TV program Doordarshan showed in my teenage years. It'd be mostly aired when a movie-break was due to finish and would be short enough to catch many eyeballs--certainly of children of the house who were done with their quick house chores of laying dinner tables and keeping school bags ready … Continue reading Poor civic sense in Indians…Zara Sochiye!
Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon
Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park in Sector 52 Gurgaon is one of the few public parks in the city that gets some noticeable--albeit inadequate—attention from the city administration on its upkeep. A walk around this 2 acre park gives a clear impression of someone’s best intentions on its design and purpose but its poor upkeep … Continue reading Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon
Paradise Lost
I’ve been a Gurgaon resident for close to 17 years. The first 7 years were spent in an apartment that we’d booked way back in our youth with dreams for a ‘clean and green life South of Delhi’ – our apartment builder’s catch phrase to attract young Delhites to this suburban city. The struggle of … Continue reading Paradise Lost
Birding as more than a passing interest
I started looking at birds closely about 14 years ago. I can estimate this time somewhat accurately as I still remember my first focused birding walk of that long ago. It was in Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary on a wintery morning when my son, Kabir was just over a year old and we were ill prepared … Continue reading Birding as more than a passing interest
Sindhi Porridge: Bhutt
Some food experiences have the ability to transport one back to one's childhood. This porridge is one such preparation for me. Going by Kishore’s reaction to it, I can add that even if one hasn’t been connected to it for great many years, when had hot for breakfast on a wintery morning, it acts as … Continue reading Sindhi Porridge: Bhutt
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
This is an easy meal to put together but one that has required some tweaking over the years. Both Kishore and Kabir enjoy it equally so I keep its ingredients close at hand for those evenings when a non-fussy Italian meal is called for. Over the years, I’ve successfully substituted chicken mince for lamb mince … Continue reading Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Creamy Penne in a Cheese Sauce
This pasta is one of the quick dinners I fix for Kabir. I prefer to make it when Kishore and I are going out for dinner or when Kishore is outstation and I’m eating something simple fixed by the cook—the reason is the richness of this pasta that he can take in easily but it’d … Continue reading Creamy Penne in a Cheese Sauce
Homemade Peanut Butter
I got to know about peanut butter as a food item only after meeting Kishore! He loves the stuff. In the early years of our marriage, I’d see bottles of peanut butter coming his way from the family: his Mom would make it by mixing Amul butter with crushed peanuts and cousins travelling to Musoorie … Continue reading Homemade Peanut Butter
Performance review = A continuous feedback and development process
In the last three years that I’ve managed performance evaluations of support engineers for an IT consulting firm, I’ve been wary of assuming a judgmental stance – either directly or through the feedback process I’ve helped manage. Performance reviews are known to be tedious exercises for all concerned so my objectives for them have been … Continue reading Performance review = A continuous feedback and development process
Sindhi Kadhi
Over the years, I’ve heard many generalizations made about Sindhis: that they have ‘aani’ surnames, that they are overly cautious with money, that they look and speak in a certain way and that their Sindhi Kadhi tastes good! Let’s see how much of that applies in my own case: my maiden name was Puri--a simplified … Continue reading Sindhi Kadhi
Jyoti's Musings 