Story telling!

This is a story of two people and their farm that they built with common interest.

Few years ago two people came together due to a common interest. Buoyed by success at an event, on a rainy night, brain drowned in water (you want to read as quarter?!), they wanted to build a farm. In this farm they wanted to bring in new people who would join and then grow up and either be in the farm or go out for greener pastures!
They wanted a sponsor or a promoter for this farm too! And with minimal effort they managed to get one. Of course with their convincing powers and success of common interest.
Over the years they expanded the activities in the farm. Initially not many were willing to join the farm and they were apprehensive. So, the farm creators talked to people, conducted events to bring in people.
Some few people joined the farm. Some few who joined the farm were new to activities of the farm and some few were not. Some few were unable sustained in the farm for long and they dropped out from activities. Some many sustained, enjoyed the events and grew up. The ones who grew up and seeing their growth some more joined. The grown one’s also got involved in events with or without the farm creators thereby making the owners proud. And in retro effect even the farm promoter/sponsor was made to feel proud. The promoter/sponsor was so proud that for some events they helped the farm owners and the inmates in all possibility.
The farm started building by itself and the creators were no more required except to bring all together for an event or two.

Now the time has come where the farm creators are feeling left out and are getting back into the groove.

Thanks to all those who stood by to build this farm and continue in growth of the farm.

Characters: One of the farm creator is myself. The farm promoter is my current employer.
The farm is running and cycling club!

Thanks to my family, friends, well-wishers apart from the farm growth who stood by me and supported in all my activities.

Note: This apparently is my 1000th published blog post. It did take a long time to reach this mark. What more to make post thanking my family, friends, acquaintances, current employer (almost decade long association). And a post which would include my activities that I have been doing for more than a decade.

Poori Masala (Recipe)

This is also something I have not tried so far. I tried making poori and masala with potatoes (called saagu in few places).

Ingredients:
1. Potatoes – 4 to 5
2. Onions – 2 to 3 (depends also on size of potatoes)
3. Green chillies – 6 to 7 (depends on how spicy they are)
4. Urad dal (black gram) – 2 spoons
5. Salt – 1 spoon
6. Besan powder (gram flour or chickpea flour) – 1/2 spoon

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes and peel the skin off. Mash the potatoes (not into very fine pieces).
Slice the green chillies.
Cut onions into slices and not into small pieces.

Recipe:
Heat oil in a pan. To that add urad dal till it gets friend. Then add sliced green chillies and then add sliced onion. Fry till the onions become golden in colour. Now to this add the mashed potatoes. Mix the contents and add salt to taste. Normally a spoon should be good enough for the portion made. Add little bit of water.
Leave it to boil few times. Add 1/2spoon besan powder and mix well. Leave it to boil for 2-3times. Stir the contents.
Depending on taste one could either make it completely watery or dry up the water and make it with good consistency.

Now the masala alias saagu is ready to be consumed with pooris. But yes, I screwed up pooris. Only 1 out of 12 came nice and fluffy.

Channa Masala Bread Sandwich – Recipe

A simple and healthy food! Sandwich with channa or chick peas. In times like these when the onion prices are high, these sandwiches are helpful. Onion is not mandatory.

Ingredients:
1. Channa (chick peas) – 2 cups
2. Tomoato – 1 in number
3. Green Chillies – 3-4
4. Red chilli powder
5. Salt
6. Potato – 2 in number
7. Bread

Preparation: Soak channa the previous night in water.
Boil channa with bit of salt. You could keep the water for use in cooking.
Also boil the potatoes. Peel the skin from potatoes and mash them.
Chop the green chillies and tomatoes.

Recipe:

In a pan add a little oil. Once heated fry green chillies and then tomatoes. Once fried add the boiled channa and mashed potatoes.
Add red chilli powder about a pinch and salt to taste. Use a little bit of water (of boiled channa) to cook faster and get the mixture properly. Also slightly mas the channa so that the spice and salt gets into it.
This channa mix is very easy to make.

Now take slices of bread, put spoons of mixture between and grill them. If you dont have a griller then toast the bread and put the channa mixture between slices. The other way is also to put butter on the slices, add spoons of channa mixture, press them together and then toast it.
Now the sandwiches are ready to be served. One could have it with tomato ketchup or eat as it is. I would recommend eating as it is!
Overall making sandwiches takes around 20-30 post boiling channa and potatoes.

Indian Perspective

For anything and everything we normally look towards the West for a solution. Lot of good and bad around the world. Out in the West the perspective is to fix something immediately while in Indian perspective there is nothing immediate, with time there is always a solution and a permanent one too.
There could be a lot of overlap between the two worlds too. If we look at things more deeply there is a strong grass root in our Indian methods and practices. None of them has a shortcut though! 🙂

One thing we need to understand also is that the civilization is not like that of the West which is something of recent ages. There would be lot of mix of culture into what is being done and said. It is well known that the civilization in the Indian sub-continent is one even long before that.

There has been lot of interest from the West in the Indian practices and perspective. Though I believed in our system of the past I was not clear on certain things and there were doubts. I relied on my own style of following things.

3 persons or events or however you name it have made me feel more strong about our Indian methods of talking to body, mind, emotion and energy and our way of treatments.

First:
One style of treating ailments is the Ayurveda. Typically in Ayurveda deals about preventing than in instant remedy. Ayurveda also says that every plant, every leaf, every root has a medicinal value. And every fruit is to be consumed. Just because of diabetes one shouldn’t restrain from eating banana. And so on and so forth.
In that line came in doctor Adishesha. He is based out of Mysore and does a visit to Bangalore on Sunday. We took our mom for a treatment and today she is free from sugar. The best part is long term medicines can be made in home itself and consumed. I also went for a check-up and within a minute he would diagnose what is the problem. He does a pulse check, checks for symptoms within the tongue. Both these combined would indicate any problem in the body.
A google search may not return his name. His mysore clinic address:
SHREE OUSHADHALAYA PANDITH ADISHESHA M.S
Opp Udaya Ravi Printers
No 1314/1 First Mn Rd 3rd Cross
Near Ballal circle
Krishnamurthypuram
0821 2424212

Second:
Yoga the ancient art of stretching body and bringing all elements together by breathing patterns. Sadhguru Jaggy Vasudev, hailing from Mysore but a yoga center in Coimbatore. His specialization is imparting Shambhavi Maha Mudra, inner engineering.
One can search for Isha Yoga on internet and find a lot about this program and other programs. What Sadhguru talks is nothing new or something which has not be spoken about by anybody else. What made me interested was his talks aligned with my thoughts.
I, of course wouldn’t plunge completely into Isha Yoga. Practice wouldn’t stop.

Third:
Last in this line is treating any body physical ailments by exercises. A proper stretching and concentrating on the required muscle. Recent times when my elbow started paining, I wanted some cure for it. I do not put down orthopedic doctors. They are good in their own way. But for someone like me who also does running, cycling the doctor needs to understand and connect to what am saying. For this the doctor himself should either a runner or a cyclist or a swimmer or one who dedicates some amount of time in a day for physical exercises.
In that I learnt about Dr. Gladson Johnson who runs a clinic by name Attitude Prime in Jayanagar, Bangalore. He gave only set of exercises for me and they do seem to have an effect. He has treated patients with slip disc and got them into running full marathons.

There is something that one would notice a common characteristic among all three above. Each one has a name in their own field of expertise and none of them have an ego or an attitude towards people coming to them. Something which is a cause of problem all around us. There is lot that can be learnt and a lot that can be un-learnt when one talks to them. Don’t blindly believe in me, experience it and then you would also believe.

Inner Engineering – Isha Yoga (Part 1)

This is first post of I don’t know how many more in the series. In recent times I was getting bored of doing weights in gym. My body is not reacting to heavy weights as it used to before.

There was time till a year ago when I was not in favour of Yoga practise, for no reasons known. Now about 2months ago when I wanted to explore this area which I have never ventured into, I checked with few friends and colleagues. That is when a colleague of mine recommended this program of Inner Engineering by Isha Yoga (Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev).

In recent time I went for the Inner Engineering course from Isha Yoga. In this course they teach one Shambhavi Maha Mudra which emphasizes on getting the body, mind, emotion and energy together focus as one.

There are few steps in this, the first part is the preparatory exercises and the second part is the actual kriya itself.

There are three preparatory exercises:
1. Pathang asana (the butterfly)
2. Shishubala asana (rocking child)
2a. Right leg
2b. Left leg
3. Nadi vibhajan

Exercise 1 and 2 has to be done for 2mins and 3rd has to done 3times.
The main focus area of these exercises is to strengthen the base of spinal chord.

Now the second part starts which is a 5step process. To do this one should sit in Artha Sidhasana, which is sitting with left lower foot pressed firmly towards mooladhara. :
1. Reverse U-breathing. Start and end with exhalation from left nostril. While breathing from one nostril the other should be closed. 6mins
2. A-U-M chanting. This starts with ‘A’ from little below navel, ‘U’ from chest & lungs, ‘M’ from throat with closed mouth. One can feel the vibrations inside. 21times.
3. Rapid breathing or rabbit breathing with head slightly up and focus on junction between the eyebrows. 3mins.
4. Bandas which is neck, diaphragm and anal locking with fullest and with emptiness. Depends on how long one can hold his/her breath.
5. With head slightly up and focus between the eyebrows, normal breathing. 5mins.

In all the entire kriya is for 21mins. Basically there are three importants steps in pranayama
1. Pooraka (Inhalation)
2. Rechaka (Exhalation)
3. Kumbhaka (Retention)

In kumbaka there are two types, again Antar kumbhaka (holding the breath after inhalation) and Bahya kumbhaka (holding the breath after exhalation).

That is what is used here with minimal effort and simple steps. One needs balance of body, stability to sit through for 21mins which is where the preparatory exercises help.

Benefits of the program:
1. Increase in cellular energy levels
2. Healing of physical ailments & enhanced immunity levels
3. Healing of psychological disorders, accompanied by emotions such as peace, joy and well-being
4. Neurological changes in the brain
5. Genetic transformation
6. Expression of extraordinary abilities like materialization and levitation

Note:

I have only mentioned the steps above and how it should be done. I cannot do so since am not a teacher. Its is better to learn from teacher than to learn through books.

For further reads and research articles:
1. Article 1
2. Article 2
3. Article 3
4. Article 4
5. Article 5

Books if you still look for one:
1. Book 1
2. Book 2

Await Post 2 “What happens in 7 days” and post 3 on “What is the real secret”.

Avial – Recipe

Avial is primarily a Malayali dish but a favourite of others too due to the taste. Its not difficult to make this. Easy to prepare and can be consumed with anything that you can think of, rice, dosa, chappathi…

Ingredients: (Depends on size, the below are taken with medium size)
1. Drumstick (1)
2. Potato (2)
3. Brinjal (3)
4. White pumpkin (200gms) (Ash Gourd)
5. Beans (100gms)
6. Carrot (1) (If required)
7. Peas (50gms)
8. Green Chillies
9. Coconut
10. Curd
11. Coconut Oil

Recipe:
Cut all the vegetables to medium pieces. Add water to the curd and make sure its not very watery mixture. Put the cut vegetables to the curd mixed with water. Make sure that the vegetables dont get completely soaked in the mix and the mix is also not less. Around 250gms of curd you could add 2cups of water. You could also add sliced green chillies. Add salt based on taste and requirement. Normally one spoon would be enough for above quantity.
In the meantime, grind coconut with green chillies. Add green chillies based on how spicy you want it to be.
Boil the vegetables till they are cooked properly. Once boiled, add the above mixture and mix it up. Add 2 spoons of curd and mix. If it is too watery you could add a spoon of rice flour or wheat flour.
Make sure of the consistency and there is not too much of water.
Reduce the flame/heat and add coconut oil about 3 spoons. Mix well and take it out of the stove.

Nice, aromic avial is not ready to be served.

Safe Cycling in Bangalore – Tips

In recent times there are many mail exchanges in forum, discussions among public. In all that I thought of putting a post that cycling in Bangalore is not un-safe as being discussed.

1. Stick to the left most end of the road.
2. Even at left most end of the road if someone honks from behind there is no space to move just keep cycling others will change path.
3. Speed is fine but breaking is not as effective as bigger vehicles.
4. Use hand signals.
5. When a driver looks at you return the stare.
6. Worst situation use Kannada words.

We’re the Millers – Movie Review

A thin story line where drug dealer is to bring marijuna from Mexico into USA for his friend. This is after the drug dealer is robbed of his cash leaving him in a debt with his boss.
How the events unfold from before hatching the plan till the end leaves one laughing throughout the movie.
Jennifer Aniston as a stripper, Jason Sudekis the drug dealer, Emma Roberts the homeless kid and Will Poulter the teenager in the apartment. All of them come together to pull off the smuggling across the border. At every turn there is so much to laugh and all four get bonded that they become a complete new family.
Don’t use any brains, no logic. But still the movie does not leave any loopholes that could make one complain that a particular scene had no logic.
Yes, the language is not normal and that explains the rating.
The dialogue delivery and timing from Jason Sudekis and Will Poulter adds to the comedy touch.

A definite watch. My rating 4.5/5.