Fish and Coffee

I sometimes wonder if I was born as an Indian rather than belonging to a particular region because of my love for good food from every corner in India. The food that completely lifts my mood up is Fish Fry and fresh river water Fish Curry in mustard gravy (I am not a Bengali or have any ancestral connections to Bengal), the drink I enjoy the most is fresh Madras Filter Coffee and chilled coconut water, again having no connection to Southern Part of India.

The best home-made meal I have ever had (of course apart from the food cooked by mom) was an Onam Feast on banana leaf where I ate at least a kilo of rice with 5 course of various curries/chutneys and curd, though my staple daily food is roti and sabzi as a north Indian. The best non-veg I have ever had was not at the famous Kareem’s in Delhi or Bade Miyan at Mumbai but at a small restaurant called Sheesh Mahal en-route to Mahabaleshwar.

Whether it is the rich local Rajasthani meal at Chowki Dani, Jaipur or the amazing sea food, omelets and the local desert called “Bibinca” in Goa, I feel elated to be staying in the nation of spices where each region has such varied cuisines and such endless delicacies to offer and wonder if food can ever be a source for national integration! :)

Poem-It’s a beautiful day

Whatever people might say, today, it’s a beautiful day
The birds chirp as usual, but today, they sound more gay
The butterflies fly around as if they have something to say
The sun is out shining bright after so many days!

Today, it’s a beautiful day!

The night has turned out into a fragrant and fresh morning
The rainbow has appeared in dew drops without any warning
The days of yore seems no longer to be mourning
It is a time to celebrate and let sorrows astray

Today, it’s a beautiful day!

PARADISE

What is it that the fools call a paradise?

Is it the faraway sky or the futile prize?

Many consider it as a dream, a desire;

Free from all evils, safe from all floods and fires.



For me, it is a pain coz it is so difficult to attain

No matter what I achieve, I let it go in vain…

I do not travel to reach a dream destination

I want to traverse through the unknown for my salvation



Singing my own tunes and dreaming about nothing,

I want set my spirit free, devoid of all illusions.

I do not believe in destiny either

I am a solitary walker, a trouble monger, a jester.



Somehow my words do not make sense to many

But I am unaware how to behave to not look uncanny

I am a subtle enigmatic flame of fire,

My mind is my Paradise, and I am its desire.

Singing in the rain…

Singing in the rain is no more fun

People nowadays like the brighter sun

They don’t mind bearing the heat or the sun ray

But they do not have time to get wet in the rain on the way



Gone are the days when flying kites would bring joy

When days will go chatting and nights counting stars in the sky

When the sight of sweets at the local market used to widen the eyes

Because people these days prefer sugar free and low cal vice



Change is good and inevitable they say

But I hope I am not loosing on my old memories following the new ways

It is important these days to pretend and look good and worthy

But I still prefer the days when you could still live even if your life was murky



Singing in the rain used to be fun. But now no more, coz there’s only the sun.