Womanhood And The Need For Its Celebration...!!!

‌On the occasion of woman's day I have come to realise that in this particular month there is so much hue and cry about being a woman and celebrating womanhood. What I find hilarious is even women seem to enjoy this whole "celebration" as such.
‌When I think about why there is a need to celebrate womanhood I feel maybe there are parts of India where it needs to be celebrated. Where people need to be told that being a woman is a thing of happiness and pride. But, for a girl like me who grew up in an atmosphere where what is menstruation cycle was explained to me by my dad with the help of diagram in detail I don't think it's necessary. My parents never differentiated between my elder brother and me on the basis of our gender. We both learnt how to ride a motorcycle at the same time. We were both taught how to cook because cooking has got nothing to do with being a woman... It's about being a human. We were raised with all the essential life skills, which developed even further when both of us started living away from home. There were times when I would reach home tired from office and my brother would be waiting with a steaming supper ready to be served. And there were times when I have changed light bulbs, carried heavy bags, picked my brother up late at night or even fixed broken machines. Both my parents have played an instrumental role in raising us as equals.
We (women)don't want the society to give us a  reserved seat in a bus or train. It's a luxury and not a need. We don't need a job reserved for women, we can earn it on merit. We don't want special protection and special laws, we just want the society to treat us with respect and care like any other human being.
Instead of organising functions and making a huge celebration only for a day I would be glad if that same amount of money and efforts are put forward for ensuring that female foeticides are stopped. I would be glad if they are used for the education of a girl child where they are not allowed to study just because they are girls.
I cannot stress enough on this fact that a day isn't enough for us woman to celebrate our womanhood... It takes a lifetime. And it is my humble request to all women to stop trying to be equal to men... Ladies we were not created to be equal to men... We were created to be different and special in our own charming way...!! And if we realise this fact we will be so much better off!
So let's just enjoy every day of our life. And not be bothered about whether our "womanhood" is protected and celebrated by others. 

A Blade Of Grass

The rain gods have blessed us with consistent showers and made our surroundings pleasantly green. Just a few days ago the earth was scorching with heat and every tree, shrub and plant was withered. But the most noticeable of all was the simple plain grass. It was untraceable in the summers.... But one shower and I could see it merrily swaying along the pre monsoon winds. It made me realize how determinant one should be... Strong in the roots... Waiting for the slightest sign of hope to spring back to life with full enthusiasm. A few days more of the monsoons and the grass started covering entire mass of land with its refreshing green and engulfing the area with strange kind of positivity and hope. On close observation I could see that each blade of grass was a different shade of green. Somehow it seemed as if each blade of grass had its own identity and own character... Standing tall and bright in its uniqueness. The grass was making its way from every crack of the footpath, as if to show that you don't really need everything to work your way... Even a little bit is sufficient if you really want to grow and achieve what you want. 

Ultimately it all depends on your perspective... If you see.. grass is just grass.. or if you see.. it could be teaching you lessons of how to live your life with determination, enthusiasm and individualism... It's just a blade of grass or a profound guru.

Summer Vacations- Fond memories of Childhood :)

The month of May always reminds me of my childhood summer vacations.  I always feel like going back to the good old days and living them all together again.  I am sure after reading what I did as a child; you will also feel the same.

I used to visit my native place in summer and Diwali vacations. My brother and me would count the number of days for the vacations to begin as we longed to see my grandmother.  My father had a transferable job and we would travel all the way from every corner of our State to my native place all by ourselves. We felt such great adventure in doing that. When we reached, my uncle would pick us up from the bus stop and we would travel 18kms on the Bajaj scooter to reach our old Wada, where my grandmother awaited to welcome us right in the front door.  It made me feel really special. Once we were freshened up and changed we would have the most famous dish in any maharashtrian household the “Aamras” with steaming hot chapattis and kanda bhaji’s. We would be so tired, that as soon as we finished our dinner, we would immediately go to bed.

We have a huge well in our house, the whole village drinks its water. In the morning as we freshened up in the backyard, all the people who came to fetch the water, greeted us and asked when we reached and how we came. There were a lot of people I didn’t know, but they knew me and my parents. It made me feel royal. They felt brother and me were so brave to have travelled all the way by ourselves. We would have tea and run to take our towels and clothes. We were four cousins and my uncle, the poor Bajaj Scooter would carry all of our weights to the farm well where we would swim in fresh cold water. It was so refreshing. After the swim, we would be so hungry. On reaching home, we would be greeted to the smell of hot chappattis being made, that we would all sit with a plate and have hot chappattis and tea.

Later, a lot of children from the neighbourhood would gather in our house, and there would be non-stop playing of games such as lock and key, hide and seek, coconut tree, playing cards etc. We would set up plays and organise drawing camps. It used to be a lot of fun.  In the evenings, we would all go for a walk in a nearby farm and pluck raw mangoes… the taste of raw mangoes alongwith a packet of chilli powder and salt carried in pockets still lingers in my mouth! J Somedays, we would cycle down to the canal and feel the fresh breeze and stare into the sky and watch the most amazing sunset, At night, we would all freshen up and gather in the family temple and say “Manache shlok” and “Shubham Karoti” in one tone.

By the end of such a mastiful day, we would be so tired that we fall off to sleep even before having dinner and I fondly remember my uncle carrying each of us to the kitchen to have atleast a cup of milk before we slept.

I can hardly imagine a vacation of this sort for todays generation, especially the city bred “kids”

Truly this was the bestest part of childhood.

Who wouldn’t want a childhood like this??  J

Ragada Pattice Recipe

Ragada Pattice

Ragada Pattice a very famous Maharashtrian Chat is something I tired making very recently. Here's how to make it.

Ingredients:

Potatoes 5-6

White peas one cup

onion garlic masala 2 tablespoons

onions 3 chopped finely

1 tablespoon corn flour

1 finely chopped tomato and some Sev to taste.

Recipe:

For the Ragada:

Soak the white peas overnight.

Cook them in a pressure cooking after adding some turmeric and salt to it.

Heat Oil in a pan. Add one onion finely chopped. Wait until it turns golden brown. 

Add the cooked peas and add the Onion Garlic masala and salt to the add. Wait till it simmers.

For the pattice:

Smash the boiled potatoes 

Add ginger garlic paste to them

Add salt to taste.

Add some corn flour for the mixture to bind.

Make a dough and roll into patties.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry them.

While serving make tamrind chutney, Dates chutney and if you like it spicy then along with green chillies chutney too.

Reliving Childhood...!!

This picture has been drawn and colored by me.

Drawing and colouring always reminds me of a playful and colourful childhood. 

What reminds you the most of your childhood? Do you still do it? I feel it's important to keep doing those things no matter how old you get. You must bring out the child in you once in a while. 

Mysterious Evening Colours

These pictures have been clicked through a moving car. The mysterious colours of the evening during Monsoons. Doesn't it look like God is painting a beautiful picture on the wide canvas of the sky? I love every bit of these photos. The various shades of blue and yellow merging into each other remind us of every night has a Dawn. :) :) :)

 

Shevgyachya Shenga

Shevgyachya Shenga is a Marathi play written and directed by Gajendra Ahire. The lead characters are Mrs Barve (played by Swati Chitnis) and Mr Sasne ( played by Sanjay Mone) Both have done true justice to their roles and acted splendidly. In side roles are Kadambari Kadam and Seema Parkar who have also acted equally well. Their acting keeps you hooked and engaged throughout the play. Both of them play characters in their late 60's. Mr Sasne is an eccentric old man who has lost his beloved wife and misses her dearly. He thinks he passes his time very fruitfully by keeping scores of innovative things.  
One fine day, while purchasing vegetables Mr Sasne ends up paying for the vegetables of Mrs Barve which is where their friendship begins from. They start going to each others places for lunch and dinner only for convenience sake and end up becoming best friends. The exchange of emotions is heart touching and will truly strike a chord if you have ever experienced living alone for a long time. Mrs Barve's son lives in the US and she is arranging for her passport and visa to visit him. When the formalities are completed, her son comes to sell off the property and take her forever. The thought of leaving her beloved friend and going away makes her sad and lonely. Finally she decides to stay back with him. This decision is not accepted by her son who tells her she's completely lost her mind and she does not understand Mr Sasne has befriended her only for her property. On the very next day, she transfers her property to her sons name and remains firm on her decision of staying back. 
This play not only entertains, but also makes you aware of the problems of elderly widowers. It makes you feel thankful for the people in your life who truly and unconditionally love and support you. The play also reminds you that as time changes the needs and requirements from relationships also change.  Finally the name Shevgyachya Shenga is apt as these sticks always grow singly on the tree and depicts the lives of these two main characters.