1 2 3...Tiramisu !!

Pic courtesy :Google (but o'course ! )
Now, I am not slowly starting to invoke any recipes onto my blog or even attempting to copy them from cookery sites/blogs. Though I must attribute a major chunk of my idle hours to those brave efforts spent over studious references to some cookbooks & websites in my steaming hot kitchen, trying to form an edible mass, I am not a gourmet chef and I don’t blog recipes. There are zillions of great bloggers who are good at it. But I just wanted to tell you this. If you have not yet tasted this Italian classic lady love that stands tall among the best loved desserts of all time, you have missed something your tongue will adore.Do find out a decent Italian restaurant that serves authentic Tiramisu (I say authentic because it has to have the lady finger cake, the coffee liquor and the marscapone cheese and these are not easily available). Try it and you would be happy you did. Of all my times spent on hungry scanning of recipe pages and and pantry experiments, I always wanted to try out a genuine Tiramisu and never could. I finally could make it,hmm, I wouldn’t really say make IT ‘coz I couldn’t find the marscapone cheese (used ordinary cream cheese mixed with whipped cream that makes a substitute) and skipped the liquor. So, this was somewhere close to Tiramisu but not exactly it. Talk about over held temptations! I was driving around and my car wouldn’t move past the entry point of this Italian restaurant. And yea, my tummy roared in joy with the feel of first byte of the much awaited dessert tickling down my body. There you go one..two..three, an affair to ditch other crushes for, if you own a sweet tooth, just like that !

What more....??!!!

Hip Hip HURRRAYYYYYYYYYY !!!!

United 93 - Not just a movie

Not many a time in your life do you get to watch or read stuff that you know will linger in your mind for the rest of your life. The impact is higher if the story happened for real. 9/11 is a topic of emotion, fear and heroism. Having always intrigued by the details and controversies about it, it sometimes disturbs me that the fourth plane that never hit the supposed target does not always prominently get featured if you pick any major documentaries/movies/videos on 9/11. United Airlines 93, was a plane that had onboard a rebellious bunch of Heroes who actually saved,well, yes they saved the United States of America.
This movie left me shaken as it cruised thru’ some REAL action, with shear tremor of what it must have been for the passengers who rose and fought the terrorists no matter what the outcome might have been. The lump in the throat just wouldn’t go, detaining an emotion that was filling every part of me with respect (if that’s the best word I can find) and awe for what those guys dared and did.

For hearts that want to go dig out more on this, this is just a few among many sites that hang out there.
http://www.flight93crash.com/
http://www.nps.gov/flni

You CANNOT just miss this movie(http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi653656857/), for it has a soul, so real, so heroic and it tells us by its every spirit, so plainly that real heroes are always amidst us, with us, within us.

Bowing in respect to all those who lost or lived through 9/11.

Dilli 6 –

I waited for the album to spread thru’ my veins so the review doesn’t get slapdash. What a way to start the year for Rahman ! First the golden globes, then the Oscar nominations and now, Delhi 6 !
I did check out the soaring reviews the album has already received across critics and fans alike. I couldn’t really put it on the same plate of Rang De Basanti or slumdog millionaire which happen to be the only two other compilations Dilli 6 is compared with. Curiosity aside for the second Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra-Rahman combo, Dilli 6 did not sweep me off my musical feet completely but it did make them swing along the tunes. I certainly do not consider this Rahman’s best.; but nothing less of a great mix that tempts you for a replay which by the ways is the only way (I mean the replay part) to get used to Rahman’s music.

The songs are listed in order of my personal preference.

1. Rehna Tu : Jazzy, funky, playful and light. I wouldn’t know how to call this track exactly but this is one that gently pats your senses in the middle of the night. Rahman’s music transforms into something else when listened to during the depth of nights and this song really took me to the mid nineties and I felt like getting rewinded to his magical kya kare from Rangeela. Rahman’s voice soothes the mild percussion as Tanvi & Benny Dayal support him from the chorus. A song to get lost into, thinking of the mystical wonders his music has always created.

2.Dilli 6: Starts on a stylish anecdote on Delhi. It doesn’t rock you from the word go, not even through the first half of the song. But the song picks up pace as the guitar mixes slowly but strongly into the rap. Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar…bas ishq mohabbat pyar…,to me it felt like defining Delhi with the word that describes its life the best. Delhi captured completely in its true essence. A sure-to-be anthem amongst Dilli janta.

3.Masakkali: None of Delhi 6 songs has a tremor. As I saw the first song of the album titled Masakkali, I was waiting for some heavy guitar and drums to hit the speakers.But the song surprised me with some soft keyboard setting the stage for a very light romantic number sung in the slipshod voice of Mohit Chauhan that easily takes control of the song. Am glad Rahman used Mohit Chauhan.

4:Gandha Phool: I can’t remember the last time I listened to a traditional north Indian folk in Hindi cinema, perhaps one like Radha kaise na jale from Lagaan.But Rahman doesn’t restrict the tune to plain folk. The slow beat shows fusion at its best but the true flavor of the song is easily taken away by the soft whistling with the bird humming along with the chorus towards the end. A must-listen if you crave for the beauty in Rahman’s Fusion experiments.

5.Arziyan: Right from the word go, this song will capture you in all its spirit and will leave you swaying and singing along in a chanting-like feeling. If you liked, Kwaja mere Kwaja from Jodha Akbar, you are sure to love Arziyan. Javed Ali and Khailash Kher set your mind on a cosmic state, kissing your eyes with a drop of tear as you feel music, with this song has almost attained nirvana.

6.Dil Gira Dafatan: Again, a song to be captured in its true essence at nights. I don’t exactly know but it coincided perfectly that I listened to Dilli 6 again and again over my lazy nights. It’s a song that makes you just close your eyes and listen to the mystical mix of percussions. Ash king; I don’t know him but more than his voice, this is a celebration of the instruments that dance in the backdrop. A song that puts you in a meditative trance.

7.Kaala Bandhar: The beat that follows the initial humming almost took me to Yuhi Challa from Swades. But wait, it’s a rap, yea, a dance number but with soft beats. The singers’ (Naresh Iyer,Sreenivas & Karthik) voices blend neatly that at some points, you are not really sure who is singing what. May be Rahman has gone past his days of rocking the floors with some heavy guitars and drums for peppy songs. Despite the racy pitch the song carries, it still is soothing to the ears and foot tapping at the same time.

8.Tumre Bhavan Mein: To complete an album that has folk to rock to rap to classical to romantic light, this one just fills the gap. A prayer, that remains unadulterated with pure rendition of vocals. Not a commercial number, but a soul filler for music or Rahman lovers.

9.Bhor Baye: Am not a lover of Ghazals or Hindustani classical but the song powerfully brings out the talent in Shreya Ghoshal along with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. I would stay away from reviewing this as it would be not a good deal to comment on genre I have not listened to or shown interest in.

I was wondering what better heights could Rahman scale up to after his first ten years of music that remade itself. By early 2000’s, I felt he probably was relaxing at the passenger seat or was getting exhausted of his own magic. Rang De Basanti put him in a different light, welcoming him to a whole new era of Rahman-redefined ! And now, he has gone higher with tunes that scoop you up to an ecstatic state but don’t block your ears with any loudness. It’s like growing a few ages up. Hanging around this new horizon of music would keep me happy for a long time, but may I ask, what better heights can Rahman go to ? :-)

Ulle...Veliye

King, Queen,Ace,Jack,Queen,King,Jack,Ace,Joker; it looked like a realm of rich but grim royals. “Ulle…veliye…ulle…veliye…ulle…veliye…” vellamani’s voice cut straight to the attention of the puny crowd that surrounded the deck of cards that were neatly laid on the ground.
Nithu(Nithesh, my 12 year old neighbor)squatted among other adolescents around the cards. Pretending to nudge Nithu on his back, I hopped to take a keener look on the cards. NIthu didn’t turn.

I pinched him.”Mcchh….what?”
“Nithu…what are you doing here?”
Nithu didn’t reply.
“Aaaaaahhhh, King kedachuchu paathyaa….podu…ulle…veliye…ulle…veliye…ulle…veliye”, Vellamani took the game on.
“Mcchh…Nithu”
No reaction.
“NITHU”

Vellamani looked at me indignantly but couldn’t release his anger as his lips continued to chant ulle…veliye.

Do I know this guy? Yes, he’s the sweeper turned watchman and now runs errands for almost every one in this apartment complex. He has become a household possession and that gave me the liberty to respond to him on the same tone he carried on his face.

“Vellamani….ennathu ithu…chinna pasangle vechu cheettadittu irukke, athuvum kaasu vechu”.
“Akka, ithu super-a irukku, neeyum vaayen, it’s fun”, Nithu answered for Vellamani.
“Iru…un amma kitte solren. Vellamani, unne thedi Shobana vantrukka”. I knew this would silence the game. Vellamani turned with an appalled look. He would have punched me on my nose, in his imagination. Who cares, I stopped his damn ulle…veliye.

Shobana was not there actually but her name usually threatened Vellamani. So I used it profusely whenever the situation with him needed it. Shobana, his half sister and a hazard to his mind’s peace. They always fought over everything and Vellamani complained she took away everything he had.

“enge irukka”, a sigh, a frown, a moment of closed eyes in silence precedented this.
“Ange, front gate pakkathule”.
He stood up and left without saying anything to the kids.
“Ethukkuda kaasu vechu veleyadreenga. It’s wrong”, I said authoritatively to the dissapointed crowd. They looked somewhere else, ignoring in all respect what I just said.
Three hundred rupee notes, four fifty rupee notes and one twenty rupee note.
“ivlo kaasu yaarodathu?” I didn’t expect an answer. So I picked the money, counting.

“Five Twenty rupees !!!! ” I looked around hoping no one would answer so I didn’t have anybody claiming the money. Yippe, a piece of me said.

“Cut it !! Yaaruppa anthe ponnu…Intha character script le illeye, Vellamani enge?” ,that wasn’t from void. There was a man, about twenty feet away, in goggles. I looked at him, there were few more, behind him, beside him, everywhere and there was a camera. And it was running. The cameraman did not move.

I didn’t actually but believed I understood. I was sitting there, squatting actually,with cards laid out, some cash in hand and surrounded by a mob of brood who pretended to be naïve, all captured neatly in a running camera.
“Vellamani poyittan,Sir.Namma itheye eduthukkalam. Different a irukku Sir, Teenage ponnunge pocket money kaaga, Mangaatha velayadrange.Different ana concept, sir.”
The man in goggles observed me, only his goggles didn’t fit in his ears.They were half dangling on his nose. I had watched enough television to understand he was the director of whatever crap they were shooting.
“Hmm…ok”, he said,”inthamma…apdiye ukkanthutu…konjam..dialogue-e sollu”
“Dialogue-a!?,Excuse me, I am not acting” verum kaathu thaann vanthuthu
He smiled as if he sympathised and turned to another man who stood beside,”yen pa, intha ponnu dialogue enna?”
“Ulle…veliye…ulle…veliye…sollu ma” he shouted from there.
I think Nithu understood what I felt like.
“Akka, come on, dialogue e sollu” , he nudged me
Veliye….Flash, some yellow light beat hard on my face.
Ulle, I felt queasy, or at least that’s what I remember.

A few days later on TV

“Pocket Money sambaathippatharkaage indraye teenage pengal seivathu ennenne, paarungal intha vaaram, ULLE VELIYE! , oru dhidukkidum report”

Nithu’s mom never let him talk to me again. None of the kids were allowed to, from that day.

These reality shows, I am telling you.

After Beethoven, it's A R Rahman !

The musical mastermind of our nation will be present at the 81st Oscars this year. What a proud moment for all ARR fans. After the golden globe, all eyes are now on unarguably the most prestigious entertainment award ever. As far as the album goes, I haven’t digested it yet for none of ARR’s does digest until the songs dole out into the veins with repetitive listening. As a girl who grew up listening to ARR, adoring him more than any movie/sports/music icon ever, here’s sincerely wishing for the genius to bag at least one out of the three nominations.

My first few friends of the year..

I always remember the first book I read every year. Last year it was Five point Someone and though I wouldn’t term it a superlative experience, I am grateful for the smile it had on me between pages. I am not an avid reader but out of about not less than twenty books I pick every year, I finish only about three to four at the end of it. The rest don’t last beyond twenty pages. I have this conviction that if the first twenty pages of the book are no good, the rest aren’t worth a try and there ends my search with a sigh ! But my journey continues and I become a kid again when I run thru’ the aisles in a book shop or in a library getting fantasized by those hundreds of thousands of stories sitting around me, the colors and the pictures on them, the feel of running my hand on the sleekly arrayed shelves, the smell of good old wood logs that just got pulped into fresh papers! Ohh my, a book store is just the place to get lost !I picked these three to start my year with, well, I still get attracted first by the cover of books. Managed to reach 29 pages of Garden Spells and slowly as the story unfolds, it seems like there is this usual damsel protagonist who has a handsome neighbor. So..not again, please, but the reviews say otherwise. It has really got some fantastic reviews. So I am gonna stick to it at least for another thirty pages, hoping it’s not a chick lit. BOOMTOWN Chang’s Fireworks Factory is twenty pages down. This is for the kid in every one. It’s about this fantastic fictional town called Boomtown where everything is just so exciting. Haven’t gone beyond a page of Hog Wild but I like to trust the reviews. As of now, back to the thirtieth page of Garden Spells.