DIY Diwali

Last month, the hubby and I took stock of our little wallets and came to a conclusion that we were dealing with not just holes but craters in them. With maintenances and property taxes and insurance premiums and furniture and our unstoppable love for food, we'd pretty much turned a sprinkle into a downpour from our piggy bank. So the usual budgeting and let's cut this and let's cut that followed. The next thing on the horizon was Diwali and of course, we were in the kind of mood where we said, that's it. No gifts this time. But then Diwali still had to be special and fun. So a brainwave (?!) hit and said “I know! Let's make gifts”. So started our Diwali DIY project.

With google and pinterest, the possibilities were endless. I spent many happy hours browsing and shortlisting various things I loved. Always having been extra strong (!) on feasibility studies and planning exercises, I drew up an impressive list of things to make. Hubby looked at me with the resigned look that he has learnt to wear when I am on one of my crazy streaks.

The first day I was off work, I rushed to the heart of the city and raided the stationary stores, paper stores and the like to stock up on all essentials. I wanted to make sure I had everything so I bought doubles as I usually do. This was definitely going to be a super-economical project.

So basics were of course, diyas

For this project, my daughter was super thrilled and jumped aboard. All aboard the chhoo choo train. Off we were. Rushed to the potter's and got 24 diyas for about 40 bucks and soaked them overnight in water to minimize oil leakage. I'd already raided the stationary store for colors, glitter tubes, varnish and the like. A large wooden board covered with tons of newspaper, color palettes, brushes, painting aprons and we were set. The lil one would call out a color. We'd pour it into the palette cups, dip brushes and begin the whish-whoosh; one side and then the other. Turn it over and carefully set to dry. One mistake we made was put them to dry on the paper. So a little bit of newsprint joined the diyas. Nevertheless being super-proud of my amateur DIY'er status and completely convinced of the leeway I took to be my right, I took this in the stride. No harm done. A quick second stroke of color over the borders and we declared the problem solved. I don't think the diyas would agree.  But hey, I declare the 'Done' here. It took us about 2-3 evenings to complete the base coloring and then off to decorating. Squiggles, (a) symmetrical flowers, (un)evenly spaced dots - I just let myself go. Master creative minds at work do not worry about details but just go with the flow. So, we finally had 24 diyas all decked up and ready. A coat of varnish and 2 days in the sun; these are now ready to be packed off

Meanwhile, on the side, what was planned was Utna. Our DIY diwali would not go with store-bought Utna. The search for this was not easy and google for once refused to be of much help. So I reached out to my sister who's an Ayurved doctor. She messaged me the list of ingredients, most of which I'd naturally not heard of. I went to an Ayurved store and confidently listed of all the ingredients that I wanted. The store-owner looked at me and started handing out everything powdered. Now my sister had asked me to get the original ingredients but then with powders, this would definitely be simpler. No such luck. One message to her and a definite answer - 'No, absolutely not. That would not be strong enough”. Luckily the store keeper sourced it for me by the next day. I spread them out on plates. The next morning was to put them out to dry. 1 day of sunshine, not too bright to ensure the fragrances stayed. As luck would've it, it rained the next day, and the next. I was in despair. But finally, the sun decided to make an appearance and I had these dried. Next, what I needed was a mill; a special kind of mill that drills shikakai and the like. Regular mills do not accept these due to the strong odor. I called my local JustDial (mother-in-law) and as always, she knew where one was. FIL kindly agreed to take it to the mill which decided on 2-days of leave for polls and then Thursday (the national power-cut day). But finally, he was able to take it around and we now have one container full of utna - about 0.5 kg.

Moving on to the fragrances, I had no idea these were so difficult. I read umpteen blogs on this and each one had a slightly different way. I knew this one would probably be the Achilles heel for my Diwali project. In any case, we decided to give it a shot.  These are the two blogs that I referred to most since it dealt with mostly procurable (?) materials 

http://www.rookiemag.com/2012/11/diy-fragranc/
http://sweetteaapothecary.com/blogs/news/7644907-how-to-make-your-own-perfume-oil.

The first challenge, glass bottles to bottle the oil. These are not available in our area and available only in the city. Working weeks and other-priority weekends did not give me a chance to do this. Again, my local JustDial (mother-in-law) stepped in. She’d unused glass bottles that we’d bought about 3 years back for gifting. I gladly stole them from her and set off with my task. The glass bottles were first sterilized. The second challenge was the carrier oil. Most blogs recommended jojoba as carrier oil. Almond oil can also be used but apparently has a stronger smell and can overpower the flavors that you use. Now, in Pune, jojoba oil is still a specialty. It’s not available in local stores easily and that launched another fruitless search. Then on some blog, I saw olive oil mentioned as the carrier oil. It did have to be cold pressed. But thanks to the proliferation of Italian cooking in Indian homes, this was much easier. I went to a cosmetic store to buy olive oil for massage and to my surprise was handed over a regular bottle of Borges EVOO which the label said ‘Used for pastas, salads, dressings’. Hmm, this one for Diwali oil? I decided to give it a try. 

I filled the bottles with coarsely ground clove, cinnamon, chopped mint, rose and golden champa, one in each bottle. I covered these with oil and tightly closed the lids. These were then immersed in boiling water and left till the water turned cool. There was a failed experiment where one of the bottles filled with tuberose had an argument with the boiling water and just lost its cool. It cracked and water entered the bottle. Odor?  Yes. Fragrant? Decidedly, No.

The next was a sun bath. So put them out in the sun for 3-4 days and then let them rest a bit for another 3-4 days in a cool, dry place. Now, the third challenge was small perfume bottles to blend these. Thanks to a super cooperative WhatsApp group, I was able to reach Deepti Chemicals near Vijay talkies and got them. The blending is yet to begin. That is planned tonight. I did a sneak whiff on these and there is a mild fragrance in each bottle. The result remains doubtful since I believe it would need longer to rest.

Then, came the next part. I wanted to make handmade paper lanterns/lamps that could be used easily. I was spoilt for choice with the variegated designs available. But how do you illuminate these? I did not want wires and plugs. I was bent on using handmade paper so that ruled out actual tea lights. There was some information available on fireproofing paper but it mainly made the paper fire resistant, not fireproof. The other option, LED tea lights. However these are fairly expensive in India as yet. More research, led to LED throwies. This may be something I go with, if I do get time. Since now, I am officially behind schedule by about 1 week. 

The designs I loved,

http://www.housingaforest.com/paper-mache-globes/

http://boulderfamilies.com/diy-projects-activities/diy-creative-paper-lanterns-to-make-with-your-kids/

http://weheartit.com/entry/26267741

http://craftbits.com/project/handmade-paper-lanterns/

LED Throwies:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/everythingdigital/104047113/in/set-72057594069888500/

I tried the pyramid lanterns and they were mostly simple to do. When I do manage to get them illuminated, will definitely let you know. I also have materials ready for Idea #4. Any takers?

And finally, the part I did not account for. Packing. What do we pack these in? Since I’d done my bit of research and truth be told, was exhausted, I handed this over to hubby. Read: begged him to take over and threatened with dire consequences. So, he got on YouTube and followed video instructions to make simple paper bags. We do need to make these special so Nandini’s handprints will adorn these simple bags. A small pack of utna packed in tissue envelopes, a pair of hand painted diyas, pyramid lamps minus the illumination and a small bottle of very lightly fragrant oil. Not too fancy and definitely amateur. But great fun and hoping for more next year. And here’s leaving you with our own homemade lantern

#Note to self

• Plan better, plan smarter
• Involve the whole family (extended as well)
• How do you light the diyas? :S
• Use WhatsApp for material sourcing information ALWAYS

Malaka Spice

Yesterday we started reminiscing about what food we miss from Pune. The regular wada pav, chaat, pani puri started the list. But then, to my surprise, Malaka Spice came up; and just stayed!

 

Now, let me explain something. Malaka Spice is not a picture of "Pune food" or "home food". Its not "Prabha" or "Bipin" or "Vaishali". So why would it be my strongest memory? You see, we get all that food here; and it isn't like Yana's where Mayur and me would go every fortnight. In total, I would have been to Malaka Spice about 6 times. There is no specific dish that I remember or always order when I get there. Sometimes I have had outstanding food there. A couple of times, I didn't really like what I ordered. But there was never a time when I did not leave Malaka Spice satisfied and at peace, as if I had the bestest time in the world.

 

Is it the ambiance? I am not sure. ABC farms has a similar ambiance in a few cafes. Or is it the service? When I think of Malaka Spice, what do I think of?

 

Oh,the menu card! The interesting, interesting menu card. I never tire of reading it. The creative illustrations, the descriptions, the 'Chef Cheeru" special icons - I just love it! Its like reading a really catchy trivia magazine. I take ages to order and even after we're done, I still keep reading the menu. I hate the concept of taking away the menus once you finish ordering. It should be abolished.

 

Then there are the waiters, dressed in casual Hawaiian shirts, not in waistcoats and ties. And yes, almost all of them are knowledgeable about what they serve. Isn't it fantastic? They just fit right in. Plus there's Prashant Sinha doing the caricatures. In the candlelight of Malaka Spice, caricatures have their own special magic or at least I do remember it as magic.

 

When they moved, we thought Malaka Spice would lose its charm because it came out of being a small cosy place into this huge expanse. To my delight, it managed to retain its charm. It achieved just what was required. The utter cosy ambiance was now just available to more. The personality stayed.

 

The crowd at Malaka Spice is a cross-section of the Pune society. College students, typical camp crowd, KPites, Oshoites, young professionals and so on. But its still comfortable for any one to fit into.

 

Pretentious? No

Elitist? Nope

Charming ? Yes

Interesting? Always, yes

Special evening? Guaranteed

Rahmania .. .. .. Soaked!

Mayur and me been following Rahman concert updates on various facebook profiles since early March. We thought we'd missed it for the year. Well, I thought..'tant pis'. It'll be back and we'll catch it elsewhere. And then when we heard his tour had been postponed..tant mieux..! Thank god, we hadn't booked.

But I guess, we were in luck. A few days later, we saw a post for AR Rahman in NJ. Quick ride home, login to the net, a few clicks and we were set! I've been to a couple of live performances in Pune and though they were fun, it wasn't "must-see". I didn't know what to expect.

 

The concert was beyond everything I imagined. After we got back from the concert, for the first time in years, words rushed out. I just needed to talk to someone, to explain what I felt. I knew it would not be enough. But I wrote the blog below and kept it for reformatting and reorganizing later.

 

Guess what, its almost 3 months and I am still" working" on it. Now, when I look at it, I think, is this really how I was feeling? Is this gushing blog me? This is stupid, I cannot feel this way. My usual skeptic attitude and sarcasm threaten to take over. But I am going to try and fight it. I don't know which of this is the real feeling or maybe both are. So, I am sticking with the original post. No edits, no re-formats.

Rahmania...Soaked

I am so overwhelmed that for the first time in 2 years, I just wanted to write.

But what?

Where do I start without this turning out like a gushing teenager's blog describing a first crush?

What do I say to even convey a bit of the tumultous feelings that assaulted my senses in these 3 hours?

Was it that great? Have I never really been out?

Dunno..

Do I start with the songs or was it just Rahman?

Was it the foreign dancers in their wonderfully exotic ethnic costumes putting up a splendourous display

OR the sheer energy of the performers

OR the lasers and lights and their fantastic use

OR was it the small cute packaging of each song into appropriate stories?

Whatever it was, it sure was once in a lifetime experience

The Vande mataram, the Jay ho, the Bharat humko, Swades - the cliched patriotic songs; How do they make goosebumps appear?

The obviously planned and staged gimmick of Il Omkar followed by O Palanhare followed by Khwaja mere Khwaja; How does that leave you speechless and the message of "India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters" suddenly start feeling so real, so important and not "oh come on" any more (especially when we contrast it with the newspaper reports) ?

Why does a presentation of Ganesh Chaturthi ((Fantastic) or holi or mehendi, the same cheesy filmy song make you all mushy? I guess its being Indian after all. Hum to aise hain bhaiyya and Phir bhi dil Hain Hindustani

But what pride; what a sense of pride. Our Rahman holds an international audience spellbound and has international dancers draped in Indian clothes do bollywood steps. Oh! its such a pleasure. I cant explain why, but hell, we can do it.! And its great to witness that. Show me another one of this kind. Well firstly it will be a privilege. If not, well, .Rahman hamara hain and .......Rahmania continues

Mind Overloaded!

There are no lights in office and the UPS is now drained. Obviously, the work’s come to a standstill. So for the first time, I am listening to songs randomly, without selecting, without even reading the name of the song. Somehow when I listen to a song without explicitly selecting it or knowing the name, I enjoy it. Normally I would just look at the name and flip to the next. Why does this happen? Is it because the unknown fills you with anticipation and you listen to it more carefully or is it simple acceptance of the song that plays? When you have a choice, you keep flicking on ahead thinking that you will find a song that you enjoy more than the current one. Either way, I end up listening hardly to a song or two; neither of which I enjoy fully because while listening to the song, one part of my mind is furiously working to determine what to play next. Instead of enjoying what’s playing currently, it becomes a race to keep finding a better option to play next.

I guess this is what happens in life too.

Instead of fully, completely and unreservedly enjoying and absorbing the present moment, I keep planning the future; something as simple as what I should do after the song is over to what I should do in the evening, what I should cook at night, how long I should continue with this job, what do I do next, what is my goal in life…the list is endless. My mind is constantly restless - planning, thinking, worrying, erasing and restarting. Whew!

Its important to plan agreed, but the planning is not the all-consuming focus. A tentative plan to avoid a spread like an amoeba and then totally giving oneself to the moments that come – that’s what liberates you and lets you be one with every moment. Like now, when I am appreciating the lyrics, the music, every single word of the song that’s playing. I have discovered that some unnoticed songs have the most amazing lyrics. Who knows how many such more discoveries I hit upon?

Do you have the same experience?

First Day after GLT

‘See you, Take care!’, I said aloud to everyone who had got up to bid me good-bye and walked out of GLT escorted by Satyen, Vikrant and Bharat. It did not sink in then that this would be the last time I would be in GLT premises as 35018491. There was this weird feeling in my heart that refused to go away and a lump in my throat. But there were no tears. Just a little mist. In the same dizzy state, I rode home and went to sleep.

In the morning after a sleep disturbed with dreams throughout, I woke up not having to go to office. Surprisingly, it did not feel scary or out of place. I just felt as if the weekend had come early. Plus there was loads to do since mom was unwell and I was officially in-charge of home. In a rush of activity, cooking, cleaing, sleeping (;-)), evening soon arrived. My brain was working itself into a fury with constant thoughts and list of things to do and so on. The thought cycle just wouldn’t stop. Fatigued, I finally sat down and then started thinking what had I exactly done in the entire day. It then hit me that for the first time in years, here was a day when I was not with my team. No one in the entire day had once called out ‘Baks, will you do this?’ or ‘Bakul, just a question?’. You feel as if you are not needed. I mean though I had been busy, its nothing like office work. Housework sure is lonely and I now have a different admiration for homemakers. Its different to work in a team, the feeling that you are in this together, the sense of solidarity, the teasing and troubling, the jargon unique to your team, the ups and downs, the celebrations, and laughing over terms and jokes that no one else can understand for – all this is what I will miss the most. This is what is going to be very difficult to get used to.

Sister Act

This is a story of two sisters - two friends, from their childhood to their college days to their married lives right till the present where both of them are 55 year plus grannies - My mom and my Mavshi :-)

They were a group of 6 girls in college. 6 saree-clad girls always together, one of the typical "girl-gangs" that are such a characteristic of college life. They obviously presented a very attractive sight to all the head-in-the air, young lads in college and were the target of playful teasing and mischievous comments. At the same time, the quiet dignity of the young ladies kept these naughty boys at bay and no one dared misbehave.

They had innocent and fun-filled college days of bunking lectures just to go and play on the swings (an almost unheard way of having fun nowadays). Excitedly but demurely they scanned guys to find the big, brown eyed stranger who had stolen their friend's heart. They were chastised by their mother for the big sin of some stranger daring to ask them out through no fault of their own; since obviously if he asked them, they certainly had done something to attract attention (what would Aji say if she ever saw us girls of today totally checking out guys and rating them on a scale of 1 to 10 :-)). Lungis and Kurtas were the rage during their college days. But these two draped only sarees since Lungis and Kurtas were too "modern" then.

A black and white picture of the two of them perfectly captures the essence of these days - My mother wearing a sleeveless blouse and a lovely saree looking quite the older sister and a perfect comely lady and my Mavshi wearing slacks and a kurta - the quintessential old-fashioned heroine (typical Sadhna or Mumtaz style).

Thus passed their college days. After graduation, both wanted to work. But a girl working in those days, especially in a small village, was quite unthinkable. So while, their friends moved on pursue BEd, these two returned home and were married. Mavshi did work after marriage but not quite what she wanted to and Mom took the full-time job of bringing up 4 daughters (3 of us + Elsa, our dog :-))

I could never imagine them as the pig-tailed, giggly, young gals full of spirits and bright hopes of their future. Since the time I have seen them, they have been busy with in-laws, kids, relatives. But seeing them together for the past few months has made me see them in a totally different light. Both of them are still so innocent and childlike but at the same time have the strength of 10 men (needs to be awakened at times for mom :-)). They are still curious, still enthusiastic about everything around and keep molding themselves into the casts of the new generation. One is enthusiastic, a born convincer, ever weaving everyone around in her charming web and making them willingly dance to her tune while the other is a dreamer - shy, extremely loyal and possessive and completely guileless and gullible. Both are as different as chalk and cheese (not in their appearances J) but still perfectly complement each-other.

They have been with each other through thick and thin. There are no secrets between the two; there’s only absolute trust. For as long as I have seen them, I have never seen them bicker. This does sound idealistic. Of course there is a difference of opinions but there are no raised voices and no digging up past grievances and throwing them in the face (typical sibling style). When you look at them, you can see just genuine love for each other -the kind of love that can only be there with someone who has grown up with you and knows you through and through. The years have bought them to a new level of understanding where a simple look or a lift of the eyebrow conveys much more than words.

When Mavshi was down with cancer and several places were vociferously being considered for treatment, without any hesitation she declared her wish to stay with her sister. A place where her Tai was around was her secure haven - a place where she completely relaxed. They are so amazingly fine-tuned into each others frequencies. In the hospital Mavshi just had to think about something delectable and without even mentioning it aloud, Mom would send it in the Tiffin. This uncanny telepathy would leave us shaking our heads in disbelief while the two of them would be smiling mysteriously. For the past few months, I have seen Mom hovering over Mavshi protectively like a worried mother over her newborn child and Mavshi, in turn, totally laying her worries to rest, trusting her sister to take care of her. A very touching picture!

There is no trying to correct, no trying to change; Just acceptance - absolute and complete acceptance. Both have been each others pillars of strength. They feel each others pain and rejoice in each other. So at ease and so at peace - touch wood. But that’s what it takes - unconditional love and acceptance of everything that comes in the package called "You" - to create this wonderful bond.

And I begin..

Its my first post!! :-)

I am not sure of what to write. But instead of just thinking and day-dreaming and letting my constant thoughts drain my energy, I thought it would be better to express them. Maybe others feel the same way or it may interest a few. 

Wish me luck and do keep visiting my blog.