The blurred boundaries

When I was growing up and especially in my teens I recall my parents telling me not to get influenced by what my friends did. I should have a mind of my own and decide what's right and what's not. That's where I drew the first line. And then on the list of such lines and boundaries continues. You need boundaries, between you and the rest of the world. Boundaries don't keep other people out, they fence you in. They fence you into a framework that's acceptable to you. According to me, the most important and complicated boundaries are the ones you draw at work. So you create your boundaries and hope that no one crosses those. However life has a funny sense of humor and at an unguarded silent moment someone breaks the lines and crosses over the boundaries. Now, there's a decision to make, do I want to rebuild that boundary again or explore life by crossing over. Some are way too dangerous to cross and can turn life into a mess. But I wonder when has life not been a mess, so can you still constantly live crossing boundaries or creating less complicated ones. But here is what I know, the one time I let someone break into the boundaries that I created, the view from the other side is simply spectacular and I am loving what life has offered me. And guess what, I just built a boundary to confine myself to that view. It's the view I wake Upto every morning .. well almost if he isn't traveling :p

16 July 2013.

Comments

Food for the Gods – Chappan Bhog and more

Eateratti this time is going to give you a peek-view into the food that was meant for Gods.For the first time in my life, I witnessed the scale of spiritual dimension of food up-close. As a part of the Deewali Festivities (one of the most important Hindu Festivals), Annakoot Utsav was celebrated with opulence by my in-laws. Annakoot literally means a mountain of food, where at least 56 different varieties or ‘chappan bhog’ is prepared and offer it to Lord Krishna. I had seen this, once at the Iskcon Temple, but this one was celebrated at home!! Finishing touches to the offering being added by Mom-in law The idea is to invite Lord Krishna or Thakurji in to our homes & offer him gratitude in the form of food, for everything that he has been blessing us with. Therefore, every single item that’s offered to Lord Krishna or Thakurji is hand-made at home for which, weeks of preparation was devotedly put in by my mom-in law, her sister-in law my Aunt Sonal Kaki and their mother –in law who

To TIP or not to TIP

As a kid every time I accompanied my dad to good old humble restaurants, I would linger behind a few seconds till he left the table, to quickly grab the coins that he would place in the sauf bowl (I thought he forgot the money & once when I reminded him, all he said was ‘that’s ok’, so I ensured his money was safe with me, you see). So this assured source of income for my piggy bank continued, till the day he caught me picking the coins (damn my timing!!).That’s when he introduced me to the concept of tipping, that we should leave behind some money for the waiters who served us. However, the last couple of years, our bills have seen a 5 to 12 per cent ‘service charge’ added to it, leaving us confused with the question ‘to tip or not to tip’. Some say its goes to the Government and some say it doesn’t. So here in my next blog, I decided to decode the mystery of the Service Charge for you. Your bill will predominantly contain VAT and service tax (which is applicable to restaurants ha

Benjarong, TTK Road, Chennai

During my stay in Chennai, my friend Sandhya took me to this Thai joint one evening post work. I was skeptical about trying Thai food at Chennai, and therefore kept my expectations under check. However, I was proved completely wrong as here is where I landed up having the best 'Indian' Thai food. Well, I have yet to visit Thailand, to taste the authentic Thai food, as I believe that the taste is customized to the countries local taste, but amongst the Indian joints, this one is one of the best I have had. A simple and extremely classy place, with wood that decor renders a very warm and cozy feeling. For the crowd mostly you’ll see a lot of corporates and few families as I doubt if Chennai folks have still awakened to this amazing place. The main attraction I found in this place is the complementary starter called Mein Khum, hopefully have got the name right. They serve you a leaf, which I am not so sure what it is, but its shaped like a beetle leaf, on that need to put little h

Happy Hour ... and Me

Search This Blog