History

I had the following chat over instant messenger with a friend (D) while I was planning to write this blog:

me:i am planning to write a blog
D: cool
D: your blog will be good
me: why do you say so ?
D: you have a clean mind so it will come up well
me: hmm..
me: people with clear mind never created history
D: you don't need to create history... just need to create a blog :D

Nostalgia

As yet another year dawns I remember the good old days when I was a kid. The schools in Nainital would shut down for the winters (Dec-Feb) and I used to spend the three months with my parents.

Winters in Uttarakhand were severely cold and we all would stay inside our houses tucked under warm quilts. As a ritual to usher in the new year my mother would cook piping hot gajar ka halwa*. The preparation for the halwa would start early in the evening. I would go with my father to the vegetable mart and we would bring fresh carrots and khoya*. Along with these we used to buy gajak* and roasted peanuts to while away the time while the halwa would be cooked.

My contribution in making the halwa would be to grate the carrots and from there on my mother would take over. The halwa was cooked over a low flame and would take around three hours to cook.Back in the 80's and early 90's Doordarshan was the only TV channel telecast in India. After dinner we would enjoy the programs telecast on Doordarshan, usually some Bollywood dance and music, with the gajak and peanuts.
Finally at midnight we would all wish each other 'Happy new year' and eat the halwa.

There were no mobile phones then and like most middle class families we did not have a telephone connection. Friends and relatives used to present greeting cards to each other. I remember going to the market with my mother about 10-15 days in advance to select the greeting card for our distant relatives. The greeting cards would be duly posted so that our new year wishes reached the relatives on time.

I have not celebrated the new year with my family for the past 10 years. I have friends here in Bangalore to celebrate the new year, however today as I write this I somehow miss the gajar ka halwa, the Doordarshan programs, the cold winter nights and the quilt under which I would be tucked in with my head on my father's chest and my hands around his waist :)

khoya = whole milk thickened by heating it in an open iron pan.
gajar = carrot.
gajar ka halwa = sweet pudding made from carrots.
gajak = A north Indian sweet made from jaggery and nuts.

Boredom

Working alone in the office can be really boring. One may detest crowd but when left alone in an office meant for over 100 people, working can be a real pain. After a certain amount of time the mind wanders and you don't feel like working at all.
In my case I start day dreaming and imagining things-how could life had been had I made a particular choice or what would I do 2 years from now and so on. Basically the mind is cluttered with irrelevant thoughts.
In fact my boredom and restlessness can be gauged from the fact that I have actually started to write.

First post...

I have always wanted to write. But whenever I sit and actually get down to write something somehow the words elude me.
It may be because I have not written anything after I left school or because I am too scared that my writing will not be good and others will not approve of it.
However, today I decided to give it a shot and finally here I am doing what I always wanted to do. Well, not always but sometimes.

So I begin by writing the new year resolutions. Resolutions I hope to stick to in the coming year.
1. Wake up early. And therefore sleep early. Whoever said early to bed early to rise was correct :)
2. Study something everyday.
3. Exercise every day.
4. Eat well.
5. Communicate more with people around you.
6. Concentrate on the job at hand.
7. Learn and practice multitasking.
8. Read more books and watch less TV :)
9. Travel.
That is all for now. I plan to add more as and when I remember something.