Sinfully yours - Envy

Leviathan - Envy
That is one name i adore... Its even my nickname at some places... Anyhow, i envy and that too how...

• I envy all you folks with 9-5 job.. believe me, working at odd hours sucks :-|
• I envy all you folks who can indulge on cheese, milk shakes, chocolate ice-creams on daily basis... I have a love-hate relationship with them.. i love them, they hate me... :-| (I won't go into the gory details of the puke fest)
• I envy you folks who can ride a bike, rider or pillion rider... I can't sit on a bike without holding onto my dear life.. (yeah thanks man, thanks for coming on the wrong side and giving me great days at the hospital, NOT) Its eight long years since then, yet I still dread.. sparing Biker dude and my brother, I hate sitting behind any one else including my sister (ok riding with her is the worst nightmare, so lets leaves her)
•  I envy you girls who can walk around in those 4 inch heels without a single twitch of facial nerve... err how do you do it, being the shorty short I am, I need some lessons there... 

So the Leviathan in me, envies all of you for the above and even more!

Sinfully yours - Vanity

Lucifer : Vanity

It was a Monday when i took an hour long bus ride to Cutz and Glitz. I lost my way in between and had to take an auto.. Thankfully the auto driver didn't charge more than ten bucks. Sigh!

Anyhow, i was greeted by a girl with all smiles and handed me a menu asking "what service i need today?" Yes sir, i was there to get pampered... :-D Anyhow, i settled for a wash and haircut... Another lady came over to give me a nice haircut with loads of layers and bangs. Only i won't be satisfied... I wanted a forehead fringe to hide err, my balding forehead... :-P So anyhow, I am the Lucifer with a gorgeous new haircut almost resembling Lion's Mane :-D

The Return of Killer Vadas!

Whenever I move away from a place, more than the place or the people I miss the food there... when I left Chennai few years back, i missed Sambar Sadam/Bisibelabath and Sambar vada more than anything else.. and full meals too.. missed them so much that when I landed back in Chennai a year ago, I promptly hit a Saravana Bhavan and ordered Sambar Sadam, Yummm Slurp!!

So you can see what I would be missing now! Yup the street food of Indore... Indore was the city which made me a glutton... The Chappan Bhog with its 56 shops of different delicacies and the Sarafa market (which is ideally a jewelry mart that transforms into a food bazaar post 9 pm) are dedicated for food and food only...

Dal baati is one heavy food that has to be reserved for Sundays and Holidays...  Made of Dal, I ate this first at a Sai Temple, I had the habit of visiting for my Reiki treatment... it was served with lemon, some chutney, dal, onions and something else..  was so full that I slept in the car by the time i reached home :-|

Ghamandi lassi takes the punjabi lassi to a totally different level... Butte ka kiss is a kiss of a parallel world... This is a part of India which wakes up to Hot Jilebi and soft Poha... Johnny's hot dog at the Chappan dhukan may be just bun and patties but they are so crisp and lovely, you will end up ordering more than enough... trust me i always did...

This was the first place I had "Mitha Samosa" that too by mistake, a sweet mistake nevertheless... Garadu is just yam cut into small pieces, fried and served with lemon and spices... Just pop in a piece and there will be myriad number of tastes popping in your mouth... Mithe Tukade is a fried bread slice served with generous helping of dry fruits and cream, Yumm!!

When I got back from office, I usually took a walk from the main market to my house buying vegetables, stuff and stopping especially for a plate of Paani pathasa (paani poori for you lesser mortals), Aloo kachori and sometimes a bite of Khaman...

If its saturday, my weekly off, I will walk over to Apna sweets for a Lunch Thali...  for 80 bucks you get 5 pooris or rotis, chola, dal tadka, dal makhani, rice, pulao, 2 sabjis, 2 rasgullas, papad, pickle, onions, lassi and dahi.... yumm slurp!!

Sigh... anyhow, this is also the city which showed me Sago/Javvarisi is not just for payasam, payasa or kheer... they make umpteen number of dishes with a handful of Sago... Sabudhana khichdi is to die for and my personal favorite is Sabudhana Vada... So imagine my delight when mom left a pack of Sago during her last visit... :-D

I got into the act of finding the recipe and gathering the ingredients... very simple to make and Ta-DA..

A bowl of soaked Sago, grated potatoes, finely diced onions, rice flour, green chillies and some chaat masala.. mix them all, make them into balls and deep fry them... voila!!

 I can go back to Indore just to eat all day :-D Sigh, how i miss the Dark chocolate pastries of Fantasy and  a nice plate of chat at Khajuri Bazaar!!

A guide to what to gift her and get to her heart...

or something like that...

If you have been even a little bit observant, you would notice that i have added a small icon "Desicritics" to the sidebar among the various badges... yes sire! Yours truly has started writing at DC... It all started with me requesting and eventually Flyinfiddlesticks inviting me to write at DC... Follow the link here and do read my posts, mind you I am just 2 posts old :)

Coming to the title of the post, I shared one of the articles by a fellow writer Mansi, "Gifts Men Should Not Give Women"... Santa promptly commented "then what to gift???" If i remember right, Santa had asked me this question previously in yet another instant too :-D... so here goes the post....

Giving a gift is not a mighty thing... it varies as per the person... as per Mansi's post, flowers and chocolates are a boo-boo... well roses and a box of dark chocolate lifts me up anytime... seriously, anything from "My Man" with love will get me going about it for hours... anyhow, to the list...

Flowers: The secret lies in how you present... make an effort... read about the flowers you are sending... a pointer here, the meaning of the flower always vary as per the country... Dutch believe white rose is for death and Americans believe it denotes innocence and "seeking forgiveness" ahem! anyhow, read about the flower...
and don't send a lack luster bunch... either send her simple bunch of dozen roses or dig out the whole Amazon forest as a floral bouquet... anything else is gonna leave you dangling :-D

White roses waiting to be sold at flower market

 And if you are still in doubt, go for the classic bunch of RED ROSES!!!

Chocolates: Whatever women say, they dig chocolates... they can have a high rigor diet going on, but a simple box of chocolates artfully presented raises their heartbeat.. :-P

Make her drunk on chocolates and your love

Be Creative: Pick up those scissors and glue stick... remember those craft lessons you had to undergo in your middle school (no don't remind me.. mine was a horror)... pick up a clue or two from there...

• cut up hearts of various sizes and stick them on a chart paper... corny, i know.. but hey, if it wins her heart, you are good to go right??
• make something, which she had seen and mentioned to you... at college, a friend once came to me beaming and showing off a red kite... she had mentioned about kids flying kite on the beach when the couple had gone out on a date... the boy promptly prepared all by himself a red kite and gifted it to her... all he needed was some tissue paper, sticks, glue and loads of love! 
• go the Chetan Bhagat way, make her a lipstick case... ok engineering mechanics is not my trough.. so what try something similar..
• instead of buying a greeting card which says "101 reasons why I love you", sit down and write down reasons why you like to be with her.. Even 1 would be great, you don't need 101 reasons to floor her... one Valid reason is enough...

Ok, not this one... bats are no good in love!

  Encourage Her Hobbies:  Sure shot way to reach her heart... she is dabbling in cooking, get her a cooking book or some kitchenware... she is into painting, get her new supplies or a couple of camel hair brushes... she reads a lot, get her a subscription to the local library... Oh come on you got enough options there...

Ok not so old.. But if she is into classics like me, YAY 

Go the classic way: If you don't know what to give, go the classic way... take her out  for a dinner or cook her a meal... even noodles or mac and cheese would be great... book her a day at the spa or give her a lovely massage... or if she is really angry, stay away from her... ok, i am joking :-D

 If none of the above works, just hand over your credit card to her and see her jump up and down in joy... hey it really works :-P