An acquaintance, who is a great music enthusiast and a close friend of the music maestro Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, on hearing me sing, said to me, ” You deserve a teacher like Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and he deserves a student like you.”
I think I died and went to heaven! Thank you sooooooooooooooo much S! You made my day, my week, my month, my year and my life!
- Laasya Chakravarthy
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A Book Review
Richard Bach was born in 1936. He is the great,great,great grandson of the famed composer J. S. Bach. Everything concerning airplanes was his field and all his books use airplanes or flight as a way to convey his message.
One of his books and one of my favourites is titled Illusions. It is about the adventures of a reluctant messiah , Donald Shimoda and his eager student, Richard. The two meet in a barn by chance and become friends on account of being barnstorming pilots. Then Richard learns that Shimoda quit being a Messiah because he got fed up of the people liking the showbiz nature of his miracles. But that doesn’t stop him from teaching Richard about life and it’s illusions.
The best part about this book are the quotes from a “Handbook of a Messiah” that Shimoda gives Richard. The language is simple, understandable and yet philosophical. Here are a few examples :
Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you. You are all learners, doers, and teachers.
Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah.
Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.
Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.
Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.
What I like about this book is that I can read it over and over again and not get bored and still find something new everytime! It’s philosophical, yes, but not so deep so as to boggle the mind. It’s easy on your brain and that’s hard to come by.
Hope you give it a try!
Cheers!
- Laasya Chakravarthy
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Its funny how much I love food. I could dump a guy in a heart beat if someone guaranteed a lifetime supply of brownies or pav bhaji or anything fatty and yummy! Maybe that’s a good reason to explain my addiction to cookery shows like Mirch Masala , Khana Khazana, and Take Home Chef (for the super cute aussie chef)!
Oh!!! Did I ever mention that one of my biggest dreams in life is to have my own cookery show? I often suggested opening a family restaurant to my huge paternal family. Appa always plucked this thought out of my head saying ‘Only people who fail do that. Do you want your friends to think of you as a failure? Then fine. Drop out of school and go cook!‘
Sigh! Thankfully things like the internet happened and I gained an unlimited access to food blogs and such. I often choose to vent my frustrations on cutting onions, or kneading the dough. Perhaps at the end of my life I can say ‘food has been there for me through thick and thin!’
To put an end to my rambling, here’s one of my favorite salad recipes from the show Mirch Masala, by the then not-so-famous Gul Panag. Its simple, filling and take a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 capsicum
1 tomato
Lettuce (optional)
1 cup spring onions
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 packet low calorie sugar
1 tsp black pepper (I like my food spicy)
1 can chick peas
2 cups of tamarind juice
Method:
In a large bowl, combine capsicum, lettuce, spring onions, some lemon and mix.
Then add a pinch of roasted cumin powder, 1 packet low calorie sugar, a pinch of black pepper, and the tomatoes.
Finally add boiled chick peas, 2 cups of tamarind juice, and keep it aside for a few minutes.
Garnish with onions (optional) and cilantro.
Serve refrigerated!
Posted in Bas aiseich baat... | 12 Comments »
