The wait belied no more...

The wait belied no more, for they stood side by side

The time of togetherness, arrived into their lives

The moments, fleeting, passed by, unraveling the night

And with each passing, the nightfall unraveled a blossom

Stir she didn’t, for those days were for him, his smiles

The days, memories he created, she coloured them all

Swinging to the sounds, like the leaves to a gentle wind

His every breath filled for the notes, her heartbeat, the rhythm

Her every smile melted the chill of time, the pain of absence

His arms bounded the warmth, her eyes in the distant dreams

Time flew, days passed and the time to part had been reached

And though she stepped away, her fragrance lingered still.

no time ???

Friends are here.. projects are to be done.. where is the time ???????

If Cricket is a religion, we all know who is GOD !!

Heartbreaking as it was, watching India lose by a mere 3 runs chasing 350 against the Aussies, i watched one of the best knocks by a man who has almost single handedly carried India's hopes in cricket over the last 20 years.

To hell with the "experts" who want him to retire. Not while that kind of genius still resides in him and his thirst for perfection continues.

And as a tribute to the man, here are some qoutes from people on the genius that we all know as Sachin Tendulkar. Thanks to the person who sent me this qoute. I am not a die hard Sachin fan, but I can only cheer wildly and applaud loud when he plays knock like the one at Hyderabad.

I guess even the non-cricket fans will like to read this because there can be a non-cricket fan in India but not a non-Sachin fan.

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"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it." - Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job." - Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be" - Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives." - BBC on Sachin

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" - Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC.

Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. - Brian Charles Lara

"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin." - Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock." - M. L. Jaisimha

"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual," - Glen McGrath

"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play," - Anjali Tendulkar

Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?

Shah Rukh Khan: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!! - Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.. “ - Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also. - Waqar Younis

'I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin' - A banner in Sharjah

Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries. - Allan Donald

On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!! - Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist

"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination. " - NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others. - Andy Flower

"I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India" - Mathew Hayden

"Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed coz even the GOD is watching" - A hoarding in England


NOW THIS ONE IS PROBABLY THE BEST AND MOST CUTEST OF THE LOT
"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar." - Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.

It has been long

Woww..

its good to be back.. close to 7 months off the weed of writing !!

Lets get it started in here !!

The road ahead,

As the day of departure nears, it brings with it the anticipation of a new life.

Today I have stepped in a zone where I know life will never be the same again.

In fact some where deep inside, that's probably where I wanna go.

Let life never be the same again.

Let life be brand new every single day.

New life, new days, new everything.

cook .. me ?? what ?? where ??

I had a feeling that things were ominous..

First it was a few friends wondering if i would cook with them at school. Sharing an apartment with 3 others meant that someone needs to be a good cook among the 4 of us.

Lets see where that heads...

Then a dear friend recommended my pasta making abilities to a friend. And a day later I was typing a detailed recipe for pasta.

Coming home, the circle completed.. mom had to step out for some work to finished.. and I was handed the "responsibility" for dinner.

The item on hand was Pau bhaaji. Something that I had recently tasted in Jaipur.. and had cleaned out the plate and my finger.. now cooking the same dish was like reaching out to an unusually high benchmark... (read "yummiest food in india is still not in the restaurants")

The yummiest food in India is still not in the restaurants

While the restaurants serve out some really "exquisite" fare in terms of food, the best of the finger licking yummy like hell food is still dished out on the outside of the restaurants.

And I say this with all due respect to all the chefs and hoteliers. In fact, I am a patron of some of these places myself. Some places that I love going to for a good meal. But its the tack in the mouth experience that I head out to the road side joints for.

In hindi they are called "thela" or stalls. Down south in Chennai, the stalls are popular as "kayanthi-bhavans" which literally translates to "seek by hand" place.. or self service places.

Delhi and its surrounding places now elgantly called NCR or National Capital Region today have the latest and snaziest malls holding the hippest of joints. And yet, the by-lanes leading to these malls have all these thala wallas (thela guys) who serve the lip smacking "junk" food that a foodie like me would love to gulp down. Gol gappas, momo's, bhel puris, pizzas... the list can go on, you get the point.

Drive down the road from Delhi to Jaipur, and you have so many dhabas lined between lovely mustard fields. And the love and affection that the dhaaba owners serve you, can overwhelm you.

Now one doesn't normally associate Jaipur with food. But if you know someone who has grown up in Jaipur, like my friend Sukesh, you would be in a position to unearth some treasures. Incredible as it may seem, Jaipur held my taste buds three days in a row. Lassi (sweet butter milk), daal kachori, alloo tikki (potato cutlet), paani patasha (a.k.a. paani puri, gol gappa, puchka, etc), chhole poori. Wow.. I couldn't stop eating. One of the best experiences was sitting at a four crossing, looking up the residence of the royal family on a small hill near by and wiping out the pau bhaaji clean. This was served on the crossing by a thela waala known around jaipur. The chart toppers without doubt - daal bhaati and choorma. Even a trip to the nearly deserted fort of Nargarh (where Rang de basanti was shot, scenes of dropping into a pond from a wall above, etc) yielded a taste bud winner - channa chor garam.

The next time i visit any city, I will remember to keep notes on the best thela waalas. Because a city isn't visited until its cuisine has been tasted.