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Sunday 13 April 2014

Foreign Things That Are Not Actually Foreign

I was watching Queen the other day. (On a side note: It's a great movie.) So Kangana makes and serves French Toast to her foreign friends (one of who is French) and he says, 'I am from France. This is not French.' She tells him that it's only available in India and this got me thinking, there are so many dishes in other cuisines (mostly chinese) that are completely Indian and served ONLY in India.




For instance, Honey Chilli Potato, which is like heaven on a plate - I kid you not - it is a-mazing. But you can only find it in India. It is a vegetarian version of sweet and spicy chicken and since, no place is more vegetarian than India - we make potato. (Haterz gonna hate; potatoes gonna potate)

Then there's the Chowmein (also pronounced Cho-min) - it is a oily, spicy, Indian street friendly version of Hakka noddles and I assure you, you will find it no where else in the world. Also, no other dish is more capable of giving you heartburn than this variety of newdles (overheard local pronunciation of noodles).

Of course, we've discussed, the French Toast - bread dipped egg and then lightly browned in oil. Of course the even desi-er version includes chilli (how can we live without masala man?), tomatoes and every mummy's favourite garnish, hara dhaniya (fresh coriander).

And lastly, there is the French Fries which are more American than French. Everybody from the neighbourhood aanti (aunty) to cousins from Canada are fond of these fried potato. It is universal food. If they don't eat anything alse (else), make fraanch fries ji!

Saturday 12 April 2014

Shyness and Other Such Antisocial Behaviour

Definition: Contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people. - more at +About.com
So yeah, like this is a huge discussion nowadays which before we delve into I must confess that I am an introvert. Not that should come as a surprise in terms of they type of antisocial things I talk about in this blog. Technically, just because I am an introvert doesn't mean I am antisocial and in all honesty, I am not antisocial.

I like to meet people; party; go out as much as the next guy. In fact, I probably go out more than my friends who are all surprisingly social and extroverts of the highest order. I love to go out. I love to travel. I like to attend social events (read: lame school parties) often. I don't have social anxiety. I don't hate everyone (just the incredibly stupid ones...okay everyone). And most importantly, I do not always wish to be alone.

Instead, after attending a party, I like to spend the next day in a less stressful manner maybe sleeping, or reading, watching TV and all things of that sort. Yes, like an extrovert I don't like to party everyday. I find that incredibly exhausting. I like to talk to people but not, small talk. I like to have witty or meaningful (or utterly meaningless) conversations. And that's that.

Being an introvert certainly doesn't mean that I want to hide under the blanket everytime someone looks at me. It means, I want to be the centre of attention all night and then I need about a week to recover from the effort. Honestly, that's all.


Friday 11 April 2014

You have 1 unread message


In simpler times/ olden times, communication was a slow process. You want to talk to your sister all the way in London? Well, you would have to write a letter and wait for weeks to have it delivered and then another few weeks for her to send her reply. This all of course developed from the other slower, inaccurate and ancient means of communications (pigeons, parchments, etc.)

Then came telegrams, and telephones, and pagers and now mobiles. Mobiles are much more than calling and messaging. We have social media on our phones - Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram - and then specific chats for each of the brands of cellphones- iMessage on iPhones (Apple) and BBM for Blackberries (now universal) and even ChatOn for Samsung phones.

Amidst all this buzzing (pun intended), I am having a seriously difficult time in understanding why I have to be available to people 24/7. If someone sends me a message, am I obligated to reply to it straight away? What is there to be offended of if I choose to reply at a time when I want to reply instead of right away.

It's a huge issue now a days because everyone just picks up the phone and calls or sends a message through one of the apps straight away and by any chance if they see that their message has been 'seen' and not replied to - all hell breaks loose. I might like you; you might be my best friend but if I don't want to talk to you, you can't make me. I'd like to choose when I wish to converse with someone else no matter who you are. Honestly!

Is it just me or do other people feel this way too? I think that just because a message has arrived doesn't mean it needs to be read and just because I am online on facebook doesn't meant that I should have to talk to you.

I don't mean to be rude in anyway, I just like my liberty probably more than you do.

Thursday 3 April 2014

Fruit Wars

I'm not even going to mention HIMYM. I'm not even going to tell you I had with tears streaming down my face (well, okay not literally) had also written a post about it which I abandoned because life is unfair. (Fine, I forgot to upload it and now it has lost its relevance like Barney and Robin's marriage *sob*).  


This post is about fruits or two fruits in particular: Blackberry and Apple. By now you probably know where the post is going.  

'Do you still have a blackberry?' My friend asked me. 

And the answer is yes, yes I do. I understand that my phone is probably the worst. It is literally falling apart and it takes forever to load but that's not why people are hating on my phone. They're hating on it cuz it's a blackberry. Because now all of a sudden (okay probably not that sudden) but there is Apple fever and so macs (irrelevant to this post) and iPhone are selling like hot cakes. (Also, irrelevant to 20th century) 

I remember when Blackberry was the 'in' brand. Every single person owned every single version of Blackberry. People couldn't live without BBM. Ask me. And suddenly it faded. These days I don't even remember the last time I used BBM. Damn. 

The point is, people who are running after iPhones and sneering at people who own other phones better realise that this popularity is fleeting. Plus, come on, buy an iPhone and your phone will be outdated by the week after.

All of us are Bad Luck Brians with iPhones


So, I'm living with this...phone. Not that I had a choice anyway.