Fiction: Hell can wait!

The Writers' Circle is back and this time we are trying our hands at fiction. 
I have given this a tentative title for now, but would welcome any suggestions.

Hell can wait

He opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of a huge gate. It took him a few moments to realise what was happening. He had been dead for only a couple of minutes but it felt like eternity. He wasn't sure what would happen next.

And then he saw some one approaching him from behind the gates. It was a welcome sight to see another 'person' and suddenly he realised that he must be standing at the gates of heaven. "So this is how it all ends, at least I am in front of heaven." He felt happy.

The Apsaras were all excited too, at the thought of having a chef come and stay with them.
 “Finally I can learn how to make perfect souffles!” Thought one of them.

But the chef was being told some thing else by the gate keeper “ You know we would love to have you here in heaven but although you have done a lot of good deeds by pleasing a lot of people through your food, there is one thing that is preventing you from making heaven your home.

You have broken a lot of hearts through that program on TV, where you judge a cooking competition. Your caustic remarks and harsh language made half of those aspiring chefs to abandon their dreams and some were so depressed after that competition, that they thought they were good for nothing.

But you are still being given a chance. We have arranged a similar test for you where you have to cook something with the given conditions. If you succeed you may enter heaven, otherwise the other world is waiting for you. But you are used to Hell’s kitchen arent you?"

The chef smiled, after all this was something he did every waking moment of his life. How hard can it be?

He was then led onto the kitchen area. Everything looked different. It reminded him of his long lost & forgotten village kitchen where his grandmother used to cook. There was nothing he could identify with, no non stick cookware, no ovens, no gadgets, not even a proper sink! He was handed a sheet of paper with instructions and was left alone.

"Cook something savoury using Chickpea flour and the other things provided." Said the sheet. He looked around for other ingredients and found a tray with some basic essentials but only a few teaspoons of oil. So frying was out of question. He looked around and could see only one sauce pan, a few spoons, a few plates and a small herb garden. For once, he was stumped for ideas. His mind went blank and he could not think of anything at all.

As he gathered himself and started to think, all ideas he came up with, required elaborate ingredients and costly gadgets. While he was looking for a way out, his thoughts kept returning to one student who he had criticised a lot. He would always look lost in the plush kitchen of the Chef's culinary school. The student would always make something that his great aunt would make at home for him and the Chef would always ridicule him for that, saying, how did he expect to serve something as plain as Khandvi to the distinguished guests in his 5 start restaurant. His Khandvi had tasted great and was so simple to make though.

"Of course! Thats what I can make now!" He tried to remember what the student had done and how.He quickly gathered everything he needed to make it and went about preparing it. He was just adjusting the coriander garnish, when the gate keeper walked in and asked him to stop, since his time was over. The chef proudly presented his dish and waited for the verdict.

To his own astonishment, he was actually sweating with tension and was really scared of what he would hear about his creation. Is this what the contestants went through while he smugly went on tasting their creations and said whatever came to his mind. Hardly ever appreciating any one, always keeping them on their toes and conveniently ignoring their best efforts?

He looked at the gate keeper's  facial expressions for a clue and was even more tensed. He took his time tasting the Khandvi, looked at him one last time and said “ I will let you know the decision but after our special guest has tasted this." As they all looked on, a young boy, no more than 5yrs of age entered the kitchen and went straight for the dish. He took a mouthful and instantly spat it out. The chef could not believe what had happened, a first for him. He was about to give up completely when the boy returned to the plate and carefully picked out the coriander leaves with his fingers, then picked up the 'clean' khandvi and relished it.

He turned to the chef and said " Its delicious but without all the green leaves that you put there for decoration." The decision was made, the chef could stay there but on the one condition that he would cook for them and be prepared for their criticism every day.

India Shining? Definitely!

This post is a part of what I call a " Writers' Circle". We are a group of friends (some real life, some just online) who write on a common topic every month, in an effort to keep our love for writing alive (At least that is what is behind my posts, a few others do manage to write regularly without having to wait for the compulsion!)


This month's topic chosen by Deepa,  was India Shining: 2 Things I like about India and 2 things I would want to change.

As soon as I heard "India Shining", the first person to come to mind was the former Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. For those of you who don't remember his blink-and-miss tenure in the Govt, it was during that time that the phrase "India Shining" was first coined. It has been extensively used by everyone since then, sometimes with proud and sometimes sarcastically.
Since I have been living outside the country for more than 6 years now, this topic is even more significant for me. Overall, I feel that as a country we have come really far and I would consider India's standing in the world as an achievement. Having said that I also realise that there are a lot of avenues that need huge improvements, as would be pointed out by some of those cynics out there. Dont get me wrong, I am very pragmatic when it comes to my thinking and feelings but to just snigger over any comments of development by saying that there are so many things we lack is being very pessimistic, in my opinion.

Now before I get too serious and wander off from the topic let me start with the top 2 things I like about India. It is very tough to choose only 2, but I have tried.

Unity in Diversity - Cliche to some, but absolutely unique according to me. Where else can you see people from so many different backgrounds and culture, living together and flourishing in each other's company by sharing everything. On the last count there were 29 states and 6 Union territories in India. Each with its own culture, heritage, beliefs and language. In fact you would find many different dialects of the same language in a single state. Now add to that the population that India has, and you get numerous combinations of people in any given town/city. Barring a few communal and caste instigated incidents, we do manage to live peacefully with each other, enjoying every festival and every occasion equally. I can go on and on with instances that I have myself seen and experienced about this unity.

Tolerance and Adaptation - I didnt really know how put this one. Let me try. India has always been exposed to various foreign cultures and trends over the years. Now there could have been 2 scenarios with this - either the foreign culture could completely take over or it would be totally rejected keeping in mind the traditional values. But the thing I like very much here, is that we have managed to create a balance between the modern foreign trends and our own traditional values. An average Indian youth wears Levis Jeans, eats at McDonalds, dreams of owning a Mercedes Car, is hooked on to Facebook completely but is still deep rooted in the family values and traditions which we are so proud of.

Now for the things I dont like so much and want them to change

Civic sense in people - I think this would be a classic pet peeve. Why cant we think of others too when we are in public? Why cant all of us make it a point to throw the rubbish in the bins, not spit wherever it pleases us, respect others' right to the road and other public amenities, not always be in a rush and have some patience basically.  There is no point in honking your horns when there is a huge queue of vehicles in front of you. If the person in front of you could drive on, he most definitely would. He isnt really interested in camping out in the middle of the road, you know. And then again, if we all were a bit patient and did not cut lanes or force ourselves onto wrong lanes there wouldnt be a traffic jam to start with. So for once, why cant we stop blaming the Govt for everything and start acting responsibly?

Small - no the word I am looking for is trivial - Issues! - There are loads of things, very important and some even very critical that need attention in India, but the majority of our political brigade seems to be concerned with issues that are beyond my realm of understanding (and I am sure lots of others too!) in terms of their significance and importance. We have fights over naming of roads & by lanes, riots over the incidents such as a statue covered in bird poo, endless discussions over what to call the city/town, renaming of airports and other landmarks and not to forget what is being shown on TV & films and their names & songs too! Remember how "Billu Barber" was renamed "Billu" just because the the Barber association did not like it? We have several law suits filed to protest against how some one dresses up, what some public figure said what occasions we celebrate (Valentine's Day for example). Add to that the fuss created by top politicians & celebrities when they are required to go by the rules at airports, Govt offices and other such places and the list can go on.

Let me repeat here that it has been very difficult to limit myself to only 2 things in both the categories because there are a lot of other things I really like and dislike, but that could be material for another post some other time perhaps....

5 Influential Quotes

Its time for us to get back together again and write about a common topic which for this month is, "5 influential quotes you love & live by".  As I love collecting quotes, I jumped at the idea but realised that selecting only 5 out of my collection was really difficult. I have tried to do it anyway, by picking up the ones that apart from being some of my favourites also hold a special meaning for me in some way.


1. Amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic - Source unknown
I love the simplicity of this quote and how easily it puts forth the idea that, just because someone is not a conventional expert about a certain thing, they should not be ridiculed or discouraged. Recently I have started seeing how well this applies practically, whenever Shreya points out something which is so obvious that we later wonder why we didnt think of it!


2. If its not happy, its not the end.
I knew this and lived by it, long before Shahrukh Khan condoned it in 'Om Shanti Om'! Remember this - "Picture abhi baki hai mere dost!"


Again, I don't know the source but this is something I have strongly believed in throughout my life. Some might call this overly optimistic but I sincerely feel that everything will sort out in the end. In fact there was a time when I would refuse to watch those serious 'art movies' where the end used to be left vague with the lead actor and actress going their separate ways, or the frustrated youth either jailed or dead, or the harassed child going on to become a frustrated youth and so on. I always wanted the characters to have a happy ending. Maybe this is the reason I still adore the Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies, where it always ends with all the characters smiling for the camera, everything sorted out and in place for all of them to be happy ever after.


Having said that, I do not live in my own fairy tale world and I do realise that things dont always work out, but the way I look at things is that, whenever it is not working out, it is just a passing phase and eventually everything will be fine.


3. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.
This is a classic one, if you ask me and so true as well. There are a lot of things I have wanted to do and whenever I think about them I feel very sad that I didnt pursue them. Even now while I am drafting this, I can hardly recollect anything that I have done & regretted. Of course short term regrets will always be there but you tend to forget them in the long run and what you are left with are the things that you didn't do.


4. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
An often repeated quote that I love because of what it implies and of course the Tomato angle gives it a witty edge as well. Surprisingly there are a lot of people who really dont know that Tomato is fruit and not a vegetable!


5. No matter how thinly you slice it, there are always two sides.
My attitude in life exactly! Anything that happens always has 2 aspects to it, you can choose either the positive or the negative one. As I have already demonstrated in one of the earlier quotes, I am the perpetual positive thinking one, which sometimes is annoying to people. But this quote has stood me in good stead and I am always preaching it - there are always two ways to look at things!


There are lots of other quotes I like and I have to mention a few more here.

• Everywhere is within walking distance, if you have the time. (Steven Wright)
• Our house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.
• One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension
• Opportunity has to knock, but it is enough for temptation to stand outside and whistle
• Being right is highly overrated. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day
• You can discover what your enemy fears the most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
• A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.(Arnold H. Glasow)

Purpose of Life.

Now thats a topic which should make you think, it sure made me. What is the purpose of my life? Do I even know what I can call a purpose? There are a series of things I would like to do, but do they qualify as the puropose of my life? I dont think so. I believe that the purpose of life should be something that should make you feel absolutely content with life once you achieve it. No more contemplation or struggling and that is hard to achieve in this day and age because our needs and wants are constantly changing.

Having said that, there are people who understand the true purpose of their life early on and work towards achieving it the rest of their lives. Some manage to do it in their lifetime and some are credited of having achieved it after their stint in this world. As for me, I am not in that category as I haven't been able to fathom the purpose of my life yet. There have been events that made me happy and for some duration after those events there was nothing else I wanted - my first job (the look on my dad's face was priceless the day I brought home my first paycheck!), my marriage, birth of my daughter etc. But as I said the satisfaction was only for some time before I started to feel that I want more from life.

That has continued till today and I am nowhere near to finding that elusive purpose or one single objective of my life. I did have 'mini' objectives at different stages of my life. When I was in school the sole purpose was to study hard & get good marks so that the future is secure. Did that help? I am not sure.

Once in college, in addition to the above there was another purpose, of keeping & maintaining the friendships I struck. I am very happy to say that I have been able to manage that even now after all these years and I do consider that as one of my achievements. Didn't some one say that friends are the best investment you make? I totally standby it.

After achieving the education that I set out to achieve, the next big thing of course was the job and again I consider myself fortunate that I got the chance to work in my chosen field for a reputed company and more importantly I thoroughly enjoyed the work and that became my purpose for that phase of my life.

Once I got married and my daughter was born, I think I can say that the only purpose I have now is to give her the kind of upbringing my parents gave me. If she turns out to be an intelligent, independent, tolerant, respective and humble person, I would consider my purpose as being achieved.

But again, is that the purpose of my life? Not really, that may be one of the things I want to achieve in my life but not the sole purpose. Just like many others I will be in search of the purpose of my life and the day I chance upon it will be the most significant day, I am sure. I only hope I realise what it is, before its too late for me to start trying to achieve it!

10 Day You Challenge: 10 Secrets

The 10 day challenge kicks off, with me writing about my 10 secrets. Now I am not sure if they really are secrets. There will definitely be some people who know all these facts about me, but these are some of the things that I believe are not common knowledge about me, so here it goes in no particular order.

1. I am a huge fan of thriller/detective/murder mystery programmes on TV. I am on a first name basis with Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Barnaby, Inspector George Gently, DCI Banks, Taggart, Lewis, Morse, Foyle, Frost and so on, the list is endless. Give me a murder any time and I am glued to the screen. It need not even be in English, I have even watched Swedish murder mysteries with subtitles and thoroughly enjoyed them. I can watch all the gory details (CSI style!) without wincing even once!

2. I would like to believe that I sing fairly decently. Nothing too classical but I can easily manage the semi classical ones, although I am too conscious to sing in front of others. The only person who has heard me in full swing is my daughter, who has had to put up with my semi classical lullabies when I used to sing to her during her bedtime right until she was 3 yrs old, that was the only 'riyaz' I got :)

3. I have a habit of talking to myself all the time. Although I tend to do it in my mind, some times I am quite loud even without realising it. I discuss pros and cons of things with myself, remimnd myself about important events/things, repeat instructions etc and generally behave as if there was was someone with me.

4. Another thing that I do very often to kill time while I am out and have got nothing to do, is play Antakshari with myself. I sing a song in my mind and continue with another song starting with the last letter of the previous song.  We took it a bit too far once when I and my friend P played Antakshari during a Physics test, for which we were not prepared at all. So when the question paper was given, after about 10-15 minutes we had written all we could but had to pass time for the next 2 and a half hours before the the test got over. Luckily we were seated one after the other and we would quietly whisper the last letter of the song that we would have just finished singing in the mind and the other would continue. I know, it sounds absolutely crazy and thats what we were then!

5. I am a big movie fan and know the dialogues of most of the Hindi films that I have seen including Sholay, Chupke Chupke, Andaz Apna Apna, Bawarchi, Hum aapke hain kaun, Gulam, nearly all Govinda movies, Agnipath, Deewar, Don, nearly all Bacchan movies too and so on. Actually I should mention here that I do watch a lot of movies so the list would be quite long.  In fact, I and my brother have this ongoing challenge wherein we use a dialogue from any movie while talking normally and the other peson has to instantly recognise which movie it was. We can hold a complete conversation using only the dialogues from movies and no other words.

6. Talking of Hindi movies I am a die hard fan of Salman Khan. There I have admitted it in print now! I have been teased all my life for this and especially when he is in the news for all the wrong things. I am very protective about this and can not take anyone saying anything bad about him, maybe thats why I get teased all the time! I feel equally protective about Sachin tendulkar who happens to be my favourite sports personality. I get furious when people equate him to God, yet wouldnt think twice before rubbishing him for getting a low score or accuse him of taking away all the credit sometimes.

7. Although I like things neat and tidy, I am very bad at clearing clutter. I collect all sorts of things and can not bring myself to throw away anything even if it is no longer in use. I still have my daughter's clothes from when she was a baby, of course sentiment plays a very important role here, but apart from that I also have my own clothes from long back which dont even fit me any more. In the kitchen, even after I get a replacement for some thing, I am very reluctant to throw away the original one, specially if its in a working condition. I stash such things away to be used in an 'emergency'! GM is really annoyed by this habit of mine as all these 'useless' things take up a lot of space in the house but I keep telling him that we might need them some day.

8. It might be slightly hard to believe if you see me now, but I have been very much into sports throughout my school/college life. My favourite sport to play is Cricket and if you are one of those people who have raised their eyebrows at this, yes one more time, I do play cricket and not just watch it! In fact my brother who is now an accomplished player and happens to be in his Company team, has learnt the basics from me way back when we were 12-15 yrs old. I have also been a Kho Kho and Kabaddi player on the zonal level and have won medals for long jump too.

9. There was a time when I could recite the whole of Bhagvad Gita. I was a Sanskrit student in school and I had learnt it to take part in an elocution competition.

10. I hate getting facials done at a beauty parlour. Apart from not liking them I am also sort of allergic to them. Till date I have had it done only 2 times in my life and both the times, my face broke out into pimples after 1-2 days of the treatment. I only tried it the second time because my friend and colleague managed to convince me that it was completely herbal and had no chemicals in it. The result was the same and now I am on a vow never to try them again. Home made face packs or even the ones available in shops such as Everyuth and Cuticura are different but I hardly have time for them anymore.

So these were 10 facts/secrets about me. Next Sunday I will be writing about the 9 loves of my life.

10 Day You Challenge

There will be no use giving excuses or explaining the absence inspite of claiming otherwise in my earlier posts, so I will get straight to the point and once again mention that this time I will be writing regularly. What is so different about this claim when compared to the earlier ones? This time I have a bunch of friends to motivate me, some of whom I havent met at all but we share a liking for writing.

As an engineer I have noticed that I work better with deadlines. I dont know if this is something general applicable to all engineers or if its just me but somehow when I have been given an 'assignment' and told to complete it by a certain time, I really get working! So I thought of giving myself a project to do and just so that I dont take it lightly, I am setting a deadline as well!

This challenge has been doing the rounds of the blogosphere and I thought why not? So here am I writing about myself using the guidelines provided in this challenge. It is pretty straight forward and clear in the the above image. Everyday I have to write about a topic, giving my list of the specific subject. Now I dont want to send this blog into a shock by writing everyday as opposed to just 'opening' it once a month, so I have decided to have a gap between the posts. I will be posting every Sunday.

My first post for this series will be published on Sunday, the 23rd.

Another revival....

This blog has seen too many revivals or rather the attempts, so this might not be taken very seriously but there is something which doesnt let me leave this in oblivion. I am now busy with my other blog, which is doing quite well, if I say so myself but I can never forget that my blogging started with this one.

This was supposed to be my space where I could write about anything that came to mind, about things that were important to me, my likes & dislikes and so on. But life got busy and when handling the food blog itself started getting difficult, this was promptly forgotten. But not any more.

This is it! I might sound like one of the aged Bollywood stars trying to make a comeback again & again, but this time I am here to stay!