BRAVEHEART.....

REST IN PEACE BRAVE ONE!!

Be it VASUDHARINI or UDD, most of my posts in the past have been about Streeshakti, about these strong- resilient women. And today it is about AMAANAT, a braveheart who paid a HUGE price for being a woman, in fact an Indian woman!!

It's Sunday 4 a.m, I wake up with a shiver running down my spine. I experience a weird sense of gloom. I am still thinking about the Delhi rape case and about Amaanat who breathed her last yesterday. It was Sundari's 3rd birthday yesterday and as I was getting ready for the celebrations for my little girl, I hear about Amaanats death in Singapore. My heart sinks right there and for the very first time I regretted being a woman, a helpless one who has to fear for her own safety in her own country and fight for her rights at every step of her life.

As per the statistics more than 250,00 women gets raped annually in this world, but this particular case has disturbed me immensely and I simply can't get her out of my mind. The degree of non sensitivity, inhumanity and the brutality involved in this particular heinous act just leaves me with this one question - How could they do this to a woman, just how could they??

I have fond memories of my trip to Bombay last year where I travelled all alone, enjoying the mansoons, the local food and the transportation without any fear. I travelled in trains, local taxis and rickshaws from KalaGhoda to Juhu Tara at 9 in the night without having to worry about my safety even once. It felt good to be free and be myself  in my land but henceforth my trips to India will never be the same. I will have to reluctantly use chaperoning services as I have started to fear my own countrymen after this brutal incident. What a shame!! 

Sorry for sounding pessimistic but the fact is that things in India hasn't changed much in the past and it will not change in the future too, unless we dig the roots. Indian government did it's bit of drama by flying Amaanat to Singapore in-spite of knowing that her health was deteriorating, women protesters were labelled as "painted and dented" by Abhijit Mukherjee,  the speaker of Rajya Sabha didn't have time for Jaya Bachchan's plea & tears, a few other politicians blamed Amaanat for boarding the wrong- tinted bus, the sports fanatics worried about Sachin's retirement, the film buffs about Dabangg 2 crossing 100 crores and the truth is  in the end nobody really cared, such is the sad state of my country!!

I personally feel that brutality of this degree should be answered by brutality of the same degree, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Stone them to death, so that one wouldn't even dare to do something like this in the future and I hope a fair, fitting and a swift punishment is served to the culprits. Her fight should not go in vain.

I only wished that Amaanat was alive to throw that FIRST stone at those bastards.

Have a SAFE new year that's full of hope!

CELESTIAL UNION !

Ramaya Ramabhadraya, Ramachandraya Vedase,

Raghunathaya Nathaya, Sithaya Pathaye Namah:

Very often, I keep asking myself this question - Does one really need a reason to celebrate? Doesn't every minute of this beautiful life call for a celebration?

I am a typical cancerian, a total homebody who is extremely house proud. As much as I like to socialize and have a good time, I also find comfort within the 4 walls of my home and it's important to me that my house reflect my personality. Since I am big on celebrations, I have aptly named my house ‘Sambrama ‘, which loosely means celebration in Kannada.

Faced with the challenge of decorating the huge bare walls of my new home, I painted murals on them depicting the happy folk art of India. Be it the rustic Warlis or the bright and bold Madhubanis, the walls in my house have a story to tell, a story of celebration!!

According to Aristotle "A friend to all is a friend to none" and I couldn’t agree more.

By choice, I have very few friends and as you all know by know that Vandana is one of them ( my posts are incomplete without mentioning her). I believe that she is lucky for me & I keep pulling her leg by saying that she is my Kajol and I am her Karan Johar. She helps me out by editing my texts and is a part of Sage& Slingback in some way or the other.

She is an amazing cook & loves to entertain. During one of the dinner gatherings at her place, she introduced me to this fun loving person, Aashima Dogra. Aashima is a hotel management graduate who bakes gourmet cakes for a living. Light, airy cheesecakes and mousses are her forte.

After a few meetings, when it was my turn to return the hospitality, I arranged a "women only" lunch at my place and during this visit, Aashima saw my wall murals and loved them. She then told me that she would like me to paint one of her walls someday. I casually brushed it off since quite a few people have said this to me in the past and forgotten about it later.

But exactly nine months after our meeting, Aashima , true to her word, invited me to paint the family room wall of her new home. YES, a promise was kept and a huge, framed white wall had been readied for me. It is a very satisfying experience for any artist to see his or her work in another’s home.

So I decided to paint a Madhubani mural with an auspicious theme depicting "celebration" on this humongous 16 by 5 foot wall at Aashimas. And what could be more auspicious than the joyous occasion of Lord Shri Ramachandra and Sita Devi's wedding as this is considered the epitome of celebrations in Ramayana ( The second one being "Shri Rama Pattabhishekam", coronation of Lord Rama).

Aashima trusted me completely and gave me a free hand. Not once did she question my decisions regarding the theme or color choices. We finalized December 14th as the unveiling date and I then took charge of bringing this "CELESTIAL UNION" to life in colors and form!!

Today, through S&S, I would like to congratulate the Dogras on their new home and wish them a life filled with happiness, good health & cheer. May Lord Rama bestow his blessings on this family!

Aashima & I

LOOK WHO'S TALKING!!

Time sure flies....

It's going to be 15 years this December since I moved to Chicago, my home away from home.

Unlike many of you,  America didn't happen to me by accident.  It was planned.  I had always dreamt of settling down in this country and God was kind enough to grant my wishes. When I first landed at the O'Hare airport in 1997, the feeling was exhilarating, I felt like I was landing on the moon. Quite an inexplicable and  priceless moment that was!  Even after all these years, I clearly remember my drive from the airport to my then home in Evanston. I was mesmerized by the sight of fresh snow, tall buildings and  super shiny, squeaky clean roads that looked like they had just been shampooed and conditioned. There were cars everywhere with rare sightings of human beings, quite contrary to what I was used to in India.

 

Like any other Indian who had newly moved to the U.S, it took me a while to get adjusted to the new way of life. But I never complained as this is what I wanted all my life. Some things came easily to me and some I learnt the hard way. And today, when I look back fondly at all the years spent on this dream land, it gives me sense of achievement and fulfillment.

Chicago is the only place that I have lived in. I was this starry eyed new bride who moved to this alien land 15 years ago, leaving behind her kith and kin, with new hopes and aspirations of starting a new life of her own. Chicago holds a special place in my heart as it has given me a chance to live a life that I have always dreamt of. It has embraced me with open arms and today I am trying to make the most of this beautiful life that I have been blessed with by imbibing the best of both the cultures.

And now if you are wondering what cupcakes have to do with my story, hang on, I am getting there. Like I said, some things came easily to me and some took forever and one such thing is the brutal Chicago winter season. Coming from a coastal region, this is one thing that I am still having trouble adjusting to.

I absolutely dislike Chicago winters. The lush greenery and the clear blues skies reluctantly make way for snow and  dull grey skies. Sassy summer dresses get replaced by layers of wool and warm clothing and comfy flip-flops by tall boots.

Come November, I go into hibernation and all my partying comes to a stand still. It's during this time, I reminisce about the fun parties that I hosted during summer. Out of the many parties I hosted this summer, this particular one is special as it was for my "SUNDARI" and her young friends. And the good part is, I don't restrict her friends to her age group. Anyone who enjoys her company and vice visa is invited.

This time "CUPCAKES" was the theme as I was in a mood to bake. The date was finalized, the color theme and the menu was fixed and I decided to set the table outdoors and take full advantage of the awesome summer warmth. After much brainstorming, I decided on 4 different flavors with some unique toppings. Chocolate & Red velvets were much in demand.

Silver- aqua & a mauve pink table setting welcomed them. Candles were lit, flowers were arranged and the cupcakes sat pretty on their stands. It was a friday evening and as the sun was going down, my little guests started arriving in their finest outfits and happy spirits!

From here on, I will take a back seat and let all the cupcakes, table and my little guests do the talking .... the PARTY HAS BEGUN, so sitback, relax and ENJOY!!

Chocolate on Chocolate topped with marzipan cherries....

Krupa Sudheendra....

Lemon cake & French vanilla topped with fresh Blueberries....

Classic White cake & Orange Mousse topped with fresh Oranges....

Apsara Attavane:

Red Velvets & Cream Cheese topped with Caramelized walnuts....

Meghana Mohan.....

 Dhruv Nagesh....

Fresh Strawberries filled with cream cheese and topped with powdered Grahams cracker....

Lemon Basil potatoes...

Fresh cucumber & goat cheese sandwiches...

Svanik Tandon...

Megan Mehta:

Riya Hegde & Nikita Pawar:

My Sundari....