If You Smellllll..........What the Don is Cooking

Yeah i know the title is somewhat strange but its taken from the best line i have heard in sports entertainment from the one and only The Peoples Champ and yes suitably modified for me. But yes otherwise the title stands true. Can you smell what i am cooking? Cooking is an art to say the least. The aroma of food rising in to the air and capturing the senses of everyone around is truly mesmerizing. I don't know why is it so, guess its because we all love food so much. Our bulging and now embarrassing bellies stand testament to that.

Which brings me to the point i want to talk about. I love cooking and probably that is why i love helping out in kitchen at home. I love the feeling, when you are appreciated for some thing you have done. The enjoyment you get seeing the look of fulfillment or satisfaction on the face of others, after having devoured your effort. People say that this is the ultimate gift for a chef, i agree. I know i can't cook anything. All i can do is make tea (i'm very good at that :) ) and it feels good when i get appreciated.

I have an iclination towards cooking and like listening about new recipes. When i hear the experiments people do to dishes, it generates a feeling of exciement which yearns to be fulfilled at the earliest. Sadly my memory doesn't permit me to remember things like these for long. It's all the less important stuff that i or my mind rather love to remember. But i am a fan which needs to delve a bit more into this artistic lane. Slowly but surely i have grown a liking to the field of artistry. 

It has so many avenues that i have never explored. So many things i know nothing of. So much to discover. Probably that is why i am shifting my focus to this field to try and see if i have it in me to deliver in this field. So that being said i know i'm talking big words here (big enough for me to handle :) ) , i am going to get myself a recipe book and start with the art of cooking to make the dishes that i love to listen about. Give the artist in me a chance to think and act rather than get suppressed in the melodrama of education.......

Seven

Seven items to describe me or things about me. A different approach, definitely. Let's see what I churn up.

Item #1: Girls

Never had a happy story to tell. Although i am ridiculed for chatting with girls only, fact is they are only chats and nothing more. Don't know what is the matter here but girls just don't seem to find me busy :D, I'm always free. Yet after all this I'm still single. Can it be because i consider myself the BEST Bachelor around. I don't believe that is causing a hindrance. Rest i leave to God to make me understand coz i just can't make any heads or tails of it.

Item #2: Education

Never been a top grader in anything i have ever done. Always in the rat race though for different reasons. Studied hard to get into DCE. Failed miserably as a student. Got placed after another struggle. Then thought of another innovative idea. Lets do MBA. Since i was never a technical guy, at least i have never considered myself one, it seemed like a logical choice for higher education.Been trying for 4 years now without a single convert.

Item #3: Sports

Always had a love for fats. Guess that explains my attraction to girls. PJ's are allowed so don't worry. Coming back to point. Never had an athletic build. I was the guy who could cheer his team but never be on the pitch and if i ever was then i wouldn't be doing a good job rest assured. Yes i like to watch a lot of games and have interest in quite a few but the only game i have ever played with true passion has been Football. The game where my heart truly belongs.

Item #4: Writing

Don't know if i am qualified to be called a writer or not, but i sure would like to believe that i am. Always had an inclination to writing. Started with poetry in hindi, moved to poems in english. Now i'm into blogging though i don't visit other blogs. Isn't that ironical? You can say my blog is just like an online diary. This has anyhow helped me improve my writing abilities.

Item #5: Criticism

The self proclaimed critic - my nick name at times. Yes i don't like a lot of things. I'm very hard to please no doubt about it. But that can be because i have very high expectations from people and things around me. Yes this tendency to criticize has posed problems in the past but i don't want life to be walk on rose petals. Guess that what gives me a realistic outlook to life.

Item #6: Music

Rock and metal music. The noise (thought not as loud as heavy metal music) gives me a high like nothing else can. It is the one friend that can never harm me. It engulfs my life, my being. It can cheer me up. It can push me to the upper limits. Only thing is that i need to broaden my horizons on this front. Too long i have stayed in the shadows of a select breed of bands.

Item #7: Friends

My friendship comes at a price. No this is not arrogance. I demand a lot from my friends. I expect a lot from them in my life. Simply because i rate them the highest in my life. I would do anything for my friends. That is why i demand them to be responsible and supportive. I have failed on this front a lot and as a result have been hurt a lot too. But that hasn't stopped me from being who i am. That i call the Myth of Friendship.

There are many other points that i could have raised about me here but they fall by the side as compared to these. If something important shows up well i guess i'll write another article.

I have never seen you in that way

Ahh.... that kind of feels like a stab straight into the heart. A wound inflicted upon thee by thy own longing. A result of the feeling you so wanted to express to the person infront of you. But what do you get in return? A timid but terse reply - "I have never seen you in that light." Your expression of love turned away politely. Why does this happen? After the time you spent with the person. Even after spending all your time trying to listen, handle, solve their problems. Even after being or trying deparately to become a pillar of support for them. Why is it that they can not see your emotions? This is not to suggest that you did all this for your own need. You provided the support because you actually cared. You wanted them to be happy. You would have given anything and everything for that smile to remain. 

They do acknowledge your support and care. They are thankful for that and mean it from the bottom of their heart. But.....they had never seen you in that light. Period. For them you are the friend that would be always there for them. While you the wanna be Knight in Shinning Armour had by now developed those forsaken feelings that you never thought could arise are left to the torture of the mind. The mind- the fastest animal alive. The questions and answers popping in and out every minute. What torture do they put you through. You want it all to be over so you could have some peace. You finally decide to take the plunge and pour your heart out.

"But.... I have never seen you in that light." This is when it hits you. You fool of a KNIGHT. The biggest misinterpretator of all. What made you think she would be interested? Having been there for her for some time doesn't give you a right to impose yourself on her feelings. She needed a friend and you took it too far. You betrayer. You should be slain along with all the monsters that ever existed. Okay that was taking it too far. Coming back to normality. What does all this mean then? You could never have a chance? Or you could if you just tried it slowly for some more time. Maybe she will see it later and accept it. Maybe she will realise that i am wat she is actually looking for. Maybe she will come to me one day and say, "oh my handsome prince please never leave my side for i want you to be with me always." Bravo...bravo!! where's the award damn it? 

Yes you would be thinking along the same lines. But that was brought upon thee by thy own self. Your ambitions, your expectations, your feelings. When will you ever stop thinking about yourself? Selfish son of a gun. Try thinking about others once in a while. You fool, destroyed or at least jeopardised a perfectly good friendship. Why did you have to listen to your heart? Your mind is more logical and reasonable. Listen to it for a change. Please. Well what now you think. What to do? Will things be same? Will she turn cold? Will she talk? Who will i find now that she can't be the one? What will happen to me? Will I die alone? You feel like crying. Man where is that award? 

You ponder on the event. You think why did it happen the way it did. You talk around. You are not the only one. Many comrades have suffered the brunt of JAF- Just A Friend. You take hope. This might not be all that bad. You have company. There many like you, thinking and wondering. You delve deep into the never ending abyss. You reach a conclusion that satisfies your ego. You love your interpretation. The self obsessed narcissist pig has reached an explanation. She is wrong. She doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. I do. Ask me. Keeping this thought in mind the Knight jumps on his steed in search of new pastures where the grass is green. Forgetting the time gone by. He enters a new land. Beauty beholds and he falls in love instantly. He cries his heart out the next week to her and waits for her response. The lips part. He looks at them. They move to say something. But he is mesmerized my their movement and the words miss his ears. The last sentence gets registered though -"But... I have never seen you in that light."

P.S. - Please pass this on to all those who have been through this like this Knight - the brave son of a gun.

Blasphemy or Ignorance

When i visit a temple i know what i am doing. whom i am worshipping and also what the figures/statues signify/denote. But when i visit any other religious monument i am totally at a loss. Why is it that i don't know what to do? I know after all they are worshipping one form or the other of god. But somehow i can't put a finger to it. Lets face it. I know a lot about hindu mythology and all the gods you can find in a temple, i am well aware of them and who all they are and what all they have done. But i also know that Christ was the son of the God and christians worship the son and the god and the virgin mary the mother of Christ. They pray to the lord keeping him in mind and the cross as the sacred symbol.Atleast that is what i believe.

Prophet brought islam to the world and though i know they don't believe in idol worship but i really don't know what they do in a mosque. Yes they pray to the Prophet Mohammad. But since they don't use any idol then what form do they give their lord when the muslims worship? So if i went to a mosque who should i be praying to? When i see images of the Mecca i see the big black building. Somehow it is connected to the devil that is what i know though i am not very sure of it.

This brings me to gurudwaras. I faced my current dilemma on my recent trip to Amritsar and as expected there were gurudwaras galore. Each having its own significance and value. Each revered by one and all. But what i didn't know was that what i am praying to. Sikhs too i believe don't believe in idol worship and though Guru Nanak Dev did certainly bring sikhism to the world, he is not the one being worshipped. Its the Guru Granth Sahib that is worshipped in gurudwaras. I came to know about it only in Amritsar. There are different levels/floors where the priests read the holy book and people come and worship. But is Guru Granth Sahib or its copies is present in all the floors? If so what is the purpose of having the same holy book kept in different rooms in the same gurudwara?

If i look at a temple then yes i can say that all temples are same. No difference what so ever. But inside a particular temple you can find different gods which ahave separate chambers. There is a semblance of normalcy atleast i believe so. People visiting a temple can associate with what they see and know what they are worshipping. But is this because i am hindu and have been brought up by learning about the different gods? As far as i remmember i have never been taught about other religions in great detail.Whatever knowledge i have is from movies and stories off the net.

Personally i can say that i am not a religious person though i am spiritual. Which simply means that i believe in god from the bottom of my heart but i don't believe in religions and communalism. I believe that all religions talk about one god and that they in essence are just different methods people use to worship god in their own way. But a very important point i want to raise is that why is it that i don't have knowledge of all the religions that are practiced in the world. Why is it that it is left to us to know about other religions and no in depth education is given on this subject which is free of prejudice. Why is it that i don't know what is worshipped in different religions? Aren't we all worshipping the one common god? Can there be two gods - one for islam and one for christianity?

I may be treading on the lines of blasphemy here by what i am writing but i sincerely believe that like me there are millions perhaps billions of lost souls out there who have no idea of what they are worshipping or who their neighbours are worshipping. Why so much of ignorance? This i believe is the premier cause of why fundamental groups of different mindsets manipulate us as puppets and make us do things which we could never have dreamed of doing otherwise. Sentiments are very easy to exploit and blind sentiments at that are simply irrestible.

Is this the way to go? Is this how we should live?I know there is lot of preaching going on here which again matches with my overall demenour but i am disappointed in myself for being so ignorant.........