Mundane Musings

Understandably, since it involves me, Intermittent Fasting had nothing much to do with my weight loss, though I did lose some weight when I followed it diligently. But I sure can wear out any self respecting diet or weight loss program - I am that relentless. Nevertheless I had started Intermittent Fasting last year with the noble intention of losing weight before I hit 40. The mile stone came up alright, except it did with the same fat and weight on my person as it was at 39. So yes, this post has nothing to do with weight loss. But it is about the adoption of a healthy eating mindset, thanks to Intermittent Fasting. After trying it for almost a year without doing any exercise, I had managed to lose a couple of kilos. But I haven't pursued it this year, as I have started yoga and exercise and I wanted to use the confidence Intermittent fasting had given me to pursue a concrete and fitting diet plan that will get me through my forties and my binge days. Now what did I...

There have been quite a few restaurants I had visited these few months that have so thoroughly satisfied my food cravings. "Quite a few" is pretty big for me as against the ordinary number which stands pretty much at one or zero a month. First on my list of visit-again restaurants is Fromage. Not just for their great mango mojito and beef lasagna, but also to re-order a few other items which were a blur on my taste buds leaving just a tantalizing promise of flavours I could have enjoyed if not for the boisterous company. A visit to Fromage materialized when the darling husband read about it on a friend's FB post and shared it with me. I don't need much incentive to check out a restaurant...especially one serving Continental food. So up I jumped and planned a Sunday lunch with two other friends before S could get cold feet. Off we went from Kilpauk, all the way to MRC Nagar, a good 15 kms away to try a restaurant that had 'cheese' in its name. I h...

I'm quite bugged by the new Swiggy ad that has swept over our TV in the past few weeks. Swiggy is a food ordering and delivery app, for the unthinkable few who haven't got a clue about it. While the previous Swiggy  ads have concentrated on no minimum order value (which is a superb idea actually) the recent ones have touched the pulse of an emerging economy with its happy to spend population. Earlier if they had looked to target the smart young generation with dispensable cash at the ready and retired people who wanted to hide their sweet cravings from well meaning Hitler-ish spouses, now they have decided to enter the haloed space of the thrifty Indian home-maker. It is no rocket science that in India, the home maker is a WOMAN. With so many opportunities to milk issues of feminism and/or women's liberation - issues that won't be recognized by an average Indian male or female even if it came up to them and smacked them right across their faces, it is no wonder tha...

After two weeks of melting our hearts with their sweet mannerisms and angrezi accent, my niece and nephew have left for Dubai to stay with their mother's set of parents. The two weeks they had stayed here have flown by like a breath of fresh air and the saying that time flies when you are happy could never have been truer. This visit of the brother and his family was more special as this had been their first that Anakutti would remember. She interacted actively with her cousins from London instead of watching them with curious eyes and garbled words as she had done two years ago. I was excited by their visit for the sake of the kids...my kid specifically, who craves company of people her age. So these two weeks have gone in managing pick ups and drops between mum's place and ours and organizing lunches and dinners for the family as a whole. I don't think I have eaten out as much as this in a long while. I wanted to expose the children to a bit of Indian food during th...

I'm presently sitting contently in front of my laptop, trying to meet some work deadlines. But all I can think of is the delicious lunch I have had an hour ago. If there is indeed a temporary heaven for gastronomically satisfied bellies and stuffed hearts then mine would already have found a place there; instead of trying to sit and make sense of words in a document and put that into some sense. The meal was a simple, home-cooked fare - rice, nachikota keerai sambar , potato fry, tomato rasam and curds. I shall leave humility aside and accept that it was a good day in the kitchen and all items were very tasty. Every element was a lip smacking addition to our meal, which by itself should have elevated the lunch to nirvana status. But for me it was the combination of the various elements on my plate that contributed to a perfect mouthful. The pairing of the right dishes that look ubiquitous on the plate but transcend all expectations when they touch the tongue and give that sock ...

This sultry, humid, melting people’s resolve heat of April has made me yearn for the month that has passed us by. It was the last of our cool, dry weather with the evenings bringing with it pleasant winds from the Bay of Bengal (thank god for that water body) chasing away the truant temperatures and letting us still walk around with a modicum of decorum. Case in point the below picture. My filled to bursting social calendar of March was another reason why the month was memorable. Let me see, since I have had Ana Kutti a typical social month would be hanging out with close knit friends for starters and biriyani washed down with shandys or beer or plain water with the conversation flowing freely to distract from other realities (running behind the said child/children with their dinner, trying to stop them from scribbling or destroying a toy, managing their sleep times...ho hum You get the drift). It was all fun in a way only people who have friends with whom they can let the...

I'm presently reading Vir Sanghvi's Rude Food (2004) and I am thoroughly enjoying his sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes blunt account of the food he has eaten in India and around the world. He is a bit of a kill joy though, for people who aspire to write about food, as he includes so many minute details about hotels and their chefs, food served in higher end hotels, the staffs' service, the kind of wine to drink, the foods to stay clear off for the weak-hearted in other countries, they best way to cook a truffle, truth about caviar and whew...what not. And all this, in his inimitable style that very clearly defines the title of the book. Sample this: I've never eaten a raw durian. Believe me, I've tried. But the smell (like a dead rat decomposing in a pool of vomit on your dinner plate) has been too strong for my delicate sensibilities. ....I've eaten durian preserves. I've tried durian pastries. And I've struggled with a cup of durian ice-cream...

Beautiful rain soaked Pondicherry. Sigh. The French quarter is so lovely! The streets are wet but clean. Walking under the green canopy, feeling the fat droplets of rain, telling myself not to think about getting back to Chennai - rather sums up my holiday here. I can never tire of walking here. It seems to be the most natural thing to do. Every time I come here I find something new to do. This time too after driving down the scenic ECR, we checked into Executive Inn, a hotel conveniently placed in the French quarter and close to the promenade and the famous Manakula Vinayagar Temple. We were hungry and we were familiar with the menu at Executive Inn. So after a decent meal of butter parathas and paneer matar, we were ready to walk. I never have any particular destination in mind when in the French quarter of Pondi. I was sure I’d chance upon some charming shop that I’d missed out the previous time. And that’s what happened. We walked about the promenade taking in the co...