Whispers from my heart.....

"My momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get".

I love this line from the movie "Forest Gump" and I think it still holds good for many of us. While we are busy making plans, life has something else in store for us. As I was writing this  the news of the barbaric Peshawar shooting broke and it left me thinking even more about the surprises and uncertainties that life throws at us. Having said that one cannot stop dreaming or hoping for a better future, right? My life would stop the day I stopped dreaming and my hope would end, the day I stopped believing. I think it's time to count our blessings and start appreciating the littlest things in life. I look forward to a fabulous 2015 as I tell myself - "Everyday do something that will take you an inch closer to a better tomorrow".

I also take this opportunity to thank all my readers for making "Sage&Slingback" what it is. I attribute it's success to your unconditional love and support. Interesting projects are in the pipeline and some big announcements will be made in early 2015.  I request your continued support in the coming years and I wish you all an exciting year ahead -  a year that is filled with hope, happiness and a better tomorrow!

Bollywood & I:

My earlier posts for this year have been a little profound. I was digging on the many aspects of life, precisely happiness and peace. I take a break from my soul searching phase and want to end this year with a lighthearted post.  Accept my creative madness with a dash of smile and I am sure you will enjoy my natter.

Irrespective of the notion that bollywood is for dim wits, I have no qualms in admitting that I am crazy about bollywood movies. While my friends spent their pocket money on fast food and make up, as a teenager, I saved mine to buy copies of Filmfare & Stardust. Apparently people who know me well, know that I thrive on bollywood and everything about it fascinates me. Masala, melodrama, item songs, running around the tree and breaking into songs - I embrace it with open arms. 

I am sure I am going to lose a handful of readers after this candid confession, but it's a less known fact about me that I am a huge Salman Khan fan. I was in my first  year of engineering when "Maine Pyar kiya" was released and like any other teenager of my times I was completely "fida" over him and since then I have remained a Salman Khan loyalist. I take his failures personally and celebrate his successes as if they were my own. Though I don't watch every movie of his, I religiously follow his professional carrier graph, indulge in his personal gossips and remember his birthday - Dec 27th every year.

Every time I talk passionately about my liking for him, eyes are rolled, faces are made and I am sniggered at. People waste no time in throwing the most obvious questions at me. "How can you like a guy who has injured 4 and killed 1 in a drunken state?, How can you like a guy who ill treats all his girlfriends?, How can you like a guy who is insensitive to animals?" they argue. I stand there without an answer or a counter argument. All I know is that behind his bad boy image there is a heart of gold that is less publicized, a heart that reaches out to those less fortunate ones in the name of hope, care & happiness, a heart that believes in Being Human!

Forbes, India recently ranked Salman as the current superstar of bollywood. The quote read: A quest for redemption: Though entangled in court cases and mired in controversy, Salman Khan's super stardom is now being channeled into a genuine effort to do good.

Salman, Sundari and 3 Idiots:

Recently, one of the Indian channels on television had a rerun of the 2009 blockbuster movie, Raj Kumar Hirani's  "3 idiots". Normally, I don't watch hindi movie reruns, but with this one, I paused and decided to watch the rest.  A few minutes into the movie I realized that I was smiling. The memories of the 2009 days loomed large. It reminded me of my conversation with my gynecologist.

"Dr. Bennett - Can I have my baby on Dec 25th or say precisely on Dec 27th ?" - I asked him.  Little did he know about my hidden agenda. After a couple of check up's he told me that I could bring her to this world any day after Dec 27th. I was quite disappointed  with his answer but the prospect of seeing my Sundari soon cheered me up, after all I had waited for 14 long years to see her. 

"3 Idiots" was about to release on the 25th & I wanted to watch the movie as it was a part of my "to do before my Sundari is born" list,  27th was Salman's birthday whom I wanted Sundari to share her birthday with. Though I ended up watching 3 idiots, first day first show on 25th, my latter wish of Sundari sharing her birthday with Salman Khan on Dec 27th was not fulfilled. Even to this day I blame it on Dr. Benette - shucks, I missed it by a day, I tell myself. It's been 5 years since "3 idiots" was released and ironically as Raju Hirani is all geared up for his next  release "PK" this month, Sundari will be turning 5 and Salman is all set to step in to his big 50.

A high five:

December is a month of jingle bells, celebrations and many memories.  All bundled up in her cozy fleece, my Sundari came home on the cold morning of Jan 1st, 2010. We welcomed her with an aarthi while Bhimsen Jhoshi's song " Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma" played in the background. It has been 5 years since then and the journey has been the most fulfilling one. She brought happiness to my life and now it was my turn to celebrate her and her big 5 through this post. Recently I had hosted a holiday/ pre birthday bash for her and her little friends. Here are the snippets from her dress up party.

Home made orange - chocolate bundt cake: 

A pinterest favorite: Santa Hats

You can never go wrong with an Ina Garten ( Barefoot Contessa) recipe : Heirloom tomatoes topped with pesto cream cheese.

Seen here in Alice & Olivia outfit and a bow statement neck piece from Anthropologie.

Sundari & Strawberri:

As I end this post, I will leave all of you pondering over this line from Salman's recent movie KICK. This describes him and my liking for him very aptly I guess - "Mere baare mei jyaada socho mat. Mein sab ki dil mein aata hoon, samaj mei nahi".