Thursday, 20 December 2012

The lack of “SENSITIVITY” in this shallow Society

Everybody seems to be talking about the recent rape incident recently happened in the city. It continues to haunt every single lady who can ever think of an iron rod inside her genitals damaging her intestines. Are we so desperate for sex as a society that men on the road not only become rapists but also brutal?
What we lack is not the punishment or fear for raping women but actually an attitude. Yes, of-course we need much stronger punishments and a justice to prevail but what will happen after that?

What do we actually need in our society – Sensitivity towards each other is the ANSWER

This is running from generations to generations will continue how polished and educated we become. Spare the metros where the cases are getting reported at-least, why do we forget such cases happening in Ghaziabad, Muzzafarnagar, UP to be precise, interiors of Haryana. They are more dangerous. The world in these cities is completely 360 for someone like me who has experienced both the worlds. Chain snatching, House thefts, Rapes, Girl Child marriage prevails and society just shows a larger image – Oh we are so concerned!

Respect for woman in general is very much required. More than mother, sister or wife, she is a “Home-maker” – she may be housewife who looks with dedication after you and family. Or she may be “Working Professional” - who despite of contributing financially to the family intersects with cooking, care-taking of the house and the kids.

She requires your sensitive attitude – Help in the house, pamper her needs, understand her and talk to her. And for heaven sake stop looking at how our Dada, Dadi, Nana,  Nani or your Dad treat the ladies of the house and name it as family traditions. If you continue to do that, you belong to their generation. Women do not need “pity” since they are much capable of handling themselves. But they definitely need your support in everyday needs – Let her be – She does not want to cook – eat outside or you can also cook sometimes, she does not want to wear a sari – alternate it with a suit but never tell her “No” it does not go well in my family. It is very important to balance. When she will see this sensitivity in you, even she will reciprocate. And not run after going in the opposite direction of what you say - as many men feel!

This is how people in USA, UK and other developed countries behave with women. And definitely a fear of stronger punishment in case of heinous crimes is definitely a requirement. Either you are a rebel or a sufferer and most us women are not “rebel” despite being a breadwinner of the family. It is only because of “traditions” that mock on us.

This incidence especially has brought a concern for myself despite other such rapes in India and I feel I should value myself more than I do because only then people will value me. I, me, myself in the above line should be converted for every women I know.


Monday, 17 December 2012

Tips and Tricks to Bake a perfect Lasagne



The word lasagne is pronounced as la-saa-nia and it is nothing but flat sheets of Pasta. Nowadays, it has become a trend in metros to make something new at home for parties and Italian food is quite a rage - be it Garlic Bread, Pita Bread, Pizza, Pasta, Risotto (Italian rice cooked in cheese and white sauce), or lasagne, people are open for experiments. And I am surely one of them. I had friends for a party at home last Saturday and the menu was Garlic bread, Focaccia bread, Red Sauce Pasta and Lasagne. It sounds lot of dishes but then I am talking about eleven people.



Lasagne tastes best with white sauce. This is my opinion and also from the experience with more than 50 people eating this dish.  While in different countries, it is served in different ways. For example Maldives includes lot of sea food in the white sauce; Switzerland (a very bad experience) served boiled lasagne sheets with boiled vegetables and some tomato ketchup. I was looking at the dish for 5 minutes and was wondering how to eat it. I had no option but to gulp down the 14 Frank + taxes worth small raw pasta.  Spain serves it in red sauce with lot of pork or beef.



So after the above reviews, here is how I bake it. The recipe and few tips for making it for 10 people –

Ingredients
  1. Lasagne sheets (different companies such as Spigadoro, Baronia)
  2. Onions (finely chopped three medium sized)
  3. Cloves (Not more than 3)
  4. White Flour (3-4 Tablespoons of Maida)
  5. Milk (half litre)
  6. Cream (optional)
  7. Spinach (finely chopped and boiled)
  8. Mushrooms (finely chopped)
  9. Cheese cube (2 cubes)
  10. Butter or oil
  11. Italian seasonings (Oregano and Chili Flakes)
Yes, this is all you need and doesn't it sound simple. Yes, it is very easy and takes maximum one hour to prepare it.

Directions

  • Heat 2-3 tablespoon butter or oil in a pan and add clove and onions to it. Saute them till light brown
  • Turn off the gas and add flour to it and then stir fast to avoid lumps.
  • Saute both of them on medium flame and then again turn off the gas
  • Add milk slowly and stir continuously to avoid lumps
  • Add grated cheese and cream if you want.
  • Stir and then switch on the gas.
  • Stir to avoid the sauce to stick to the bottom of the pan
  • Once the mixture gets heated, take out one cup of the white sauce and keep it aside.
  • To the rest, add spinach and mushroom and stir well
  • Add seasonings and keep it aside.
  • In a separate flat pan, boil lasagne sheets one by one to avoid sticking to each other

How to set it –

In a glass rectangular dish, add some white sauce (one with mushroom and spinach) and spread it across. Lay the boiled lasagne sheet on it. Then add the same sauce on top of sheet then again lay another sheet. Repeat till there are 6 sheets and white sauce between them.
On top of the last sheet, add the white sauce which was kept aside in a cup. Add grated cheese for garnishing. Now your lasagne is ready. Before serving, bake it for 15 minutes at 180 degree in the oven.




Personal Tips:
           
  1. Adding cloves before onions to the pan makes them saute in clove flavored oil and it is tasty apart from making it digestible for sensitive stomachs
  2. Milk can be full cream if you want it to be rich and creamy or toned for keeping it on lighter side.
  3. By adding cream, you make it even more rich and tasty. Though it is optional.
  4. Finely cut spinach can be boiled in the microwave by adding 1 tablespoon of water to the  spinach and microwaving it for 8 - 10 minutes
  5. You can make it with 6 or 8 sheets. Top 3 should be in the center  one above the other. However the rest can be placed to maintain symmetry in the dish.
  6. Always cut with pizza cutter in a perfect square and serve it with pie-serving spoon with a little bit of chili sauce on it.

Friday, 14 December 2012

Top Fragrances for HIM


Now that we have seen "Must have perfumes for HER", let me write about some of the top fragrances for males as well. As I mentioned earlier that I am a perfume lover and it does not matter to me whether it is pour homme (for him) or pour femme (for her). And before I start writing about the brands and the products, here goes two tips the users:
  • Since guys have too many products to apply which have intense fragrance, they should avoid mixing of each other or use same brand for all the products. Such as talcum, after shave, deodorant and perfume.
  • Most of their perfumes are in the tones of musk or aqua, it should be applied moderately and not too much to avoid distraction to others because they are very intense.



Two people whom I have seen using perfumes regularly are my brother and husband. And out of their entire collection of perfume brands, below are some chosen fragrances (again, they are my preferences and it may vary from person to person)

  1. Armani Acqua di Gio - This is by-far my favorite perfume. And I must say that it is a classic old perfume selling like hotcake despite being little overpriced. But as they say, it has an "Armani" legacy behind it. The perfume has two contrasting notes - Citrus and Woody. It also gives a feeling of fresh aqua.
  2. Burberry Brit - It seems that citrus and musk is the best combination for male perfumes. Yes, even Burberry Brit has this combination. The notes are Musk, Cardamom, Ginger and Mandarin. 
  3. Bvlgari Aqva - Yes, I am spelling it right - It is Aqva. And if anyone of you wants to dive into a deep ocean then Aqva is one such perfume. It is definitely a summer perfume but smells great on freshly dry cleaned coats and sweaters.Citrus, Fruity and Oceanic are its top notes.
  4. CK Be and CK In2U - There are two perfumes I really like from Calvin Klein. While CK Be has an awesome sexy bottle , CK In2U has a medicine shaped bottle. CK Be has a unique combination of Mandarin (Citrus), Musk (Woody) and Peach (Fruity). CK In2U offers heavy citrus (Lemon & tomato leaf) with mild woody fragrance.
  5. Hugo Boss Just Different - This perfume as the name says is "just different". The combination is very unique with Mint, Basil and fresh leaves. Doesn't it seem very opposite to the masculine fragrance mentioned above but believe me it is good.
  6. Davidoff Cool Water - Same notes as Cool Water for females. Yet has got more masculine note with a pinch of extra citrus. Mr. Davidoff's perfume is very old and is one of the top preference by many office goers.
          

These were the top ones I have mentioned here however, the other bottles I see often in Rohan's (my husband's) cupboard are Gucci by Gucci, Nautica, Burberry Touch and Chrome by Azzaro.


Wednesday, 12 December 2012

FDI for Masses & Classes

This topic has been doing rounds in the Parliament since so many uncountable days and I feel bad to see our Politicians throwing their anger with unpolished words and uncivilized attitude. One of them said "How would you expect a guy riding scooter to enter Tesco". We are very comfortable in our own shadow but still all of us riding scooter or driving cars like to go to Big Bazaar or Spencer or other retail outlets. This was a big change from our very own "Super Store". But we all accepted it right? Then why not more of it? From a common man's point of a view, this is the story which made me write all of the above and below.

"Hi, I am Dev. I am from the same tower, Flat 22. What about you" - This was asked by a 50 year old gentleman in the lift of my society who has been putting up in San Diego since past 20 years or more. He recently purchased one of the flats in our building and had come to see the situation along with his wife.

"Hello, I am Neha. I am in Flat 16 and put up in this house since 2 years along with my husband"
"May I ask you a question, if you don't mind - Where did you get this packet from". He saw a packet a Gnocchi in my hand and was amazed that it was available in India and general public is aware about it and eating it.


"Gnocchi" is a home-made pasta and I had tried it in Maldives. And since then I use to make it very frequently at my house. It is made from semolina (Suji), potato, egg and cheese. They are very soft dumplings and can be molded into any shape. They are generally available of the shape shown in the image.

"Le-Marche: Sugar & Spice but they are also  easily available in Big Bazaar, Easy Day".
He was taken aback. Completely surprised look on the face which made me curious to know that what was so special about a simple pasta.
"I never expected all these things will be available so soon in India". He replied.


I came back home to think about it in whatever I was doing. And I concluded (in my mind and now on this blog), that India is changing. People are liking that change. Development is the backbone of any country's growth. People want that change. It is making a nice perception to the other nations apart from the negativity we have drawn from poverty, population, pollution and corruption.

Don't we all shop from malls or at-least want to shop? Even they offer everything from Rs. 100 to as far as we can think. They are not different from common store. Don't we all want an investor for Kingfisher Airlines since that flight has served us like a king or a queen. And we want it back so that we all can fly with luxury.

Well, all the above was sounding like "Classes". If I think of "Masses" then even for them it is big opportunity. It will bring employment to many people from ground level to top class. A local superstore having two "chotu's" and one "Sahab" will be changed to at-least 10 staff, 2 supervisors, 2 cashiers, 1 store in-charge for a small modern retail outlet. Imagine, number of people for a big Easy Day or Spencer or SRS Value bazaar we visit. Also, some people get training such as how to speak in English or how to handle customers or even accounting at cash counter. Doesn't this all contribute to growth & development of the country.

It is just a thought and we may continue to debate over this for long in the sessions...


Tuesday, 11 December 2012

"Must Have" Perfumes in HER Wardrobe

              
For my love towards perfumes, my first blog is dedicated to the top fragrances a woman must have in her wardrobe or in the wishlist! I may talk with my interest, however just to give you a background about fragrances - there are many kind of tones. They can be floral, fruity, woody and oceanic (fresh aqua). And a piece of caution, do not jump over just the brand name - Try various perfumes under these brands and then choose what suites your skin. One more tip - While you may be given a paper strip when you try a fragrance, if you are in the process of finalizing the perfume, do try it on your wrist. The fragrance sometimes smells different from one person to the other & this is because of different skin types, weather conditions of the place etc.

To talk about few brands and then the perfume under would be appropriate, I believe. And here it goes - Chanel, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Dior, Issey Miyake, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace and Burberry. Am I talking about too dreamy brands.. Well to my knowledge, every women would indeed love to own at-least one of these in her kitty.
I personally like the below mentioned perfumes under these brands.  
  1. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle - Floral with mild citrus. Top notes are mandarin orange, while it gives you a touch of Jasmine in it. 
  2. Gucci Guilty - For a daring and sexy lady, this one is woody and floral mix. Pepper, Lilac and even peach is one of the tones when you apply this amazing perfume. (One of my favorites).  
  3. Ralph Lauren - When I talk about RL, it has to be "Romance" for sure. I still remember buying this bottle for Rs. 4500 when I completed my internship (first salary). Floral & musky are top notes  
  4. Calvin Klein Euphoria - Floral with a touch of citrus is the note. Sweet and fresh for summer mornings 
  5. Davidoff Cool Water- Fresh Aqua, citrus & fruity. It makes you feel the same when you dive into the ocean. Perfect for a day when you want to feel cool.
  6. Dior - The classic Dior perfume is J'adore. It is an old fragrance but it is being craved for its sweet floral & fruity smell 
  7. Issey Miyake Florale - My latest buy, Pink color, tall  and smart bottle. Its is pure Floral as the name suggest. For all the "Rose" lovers, this perfume is for you. The one is a mix of Rose and White Lilly.
  8. Dolce & Gabbana - There are many perfumes by this band and all are amazing. I have tried their recent perfume "Light Blue" which is extremely popular. It gives you a feel of a breezy, fresh aqua and mild citrus which makes it a perfect choice for summers. 
  9. Versace - Yellow Diamond, is the recent entrant in 2011 December. Ohh, I just love the bottle. The cap is actually big, bright & shiny like a diamond in Yellow color. The fragrance is also a very new combination. Neroli oil (oil from Orange Tree), Bergamot and Pear are the top notes while woody and musk are mildly infused.
  10. Burberry London - Classic old fragrance with a nice Burberry checkered designed bottle. For all the Jasmine lovers, this should be your first choice. It also has a citrus note because of tangerine and mild rose infused in it. 

      

I am sure all the readers of this post would like to know the price of the individual fragrances. However, I would want you all to go, try out in the market. Explore yourself, obviously internet is there but going to the mall is a better option. It might just make you crave for one or more.