Engeyum Kadhal – Love Everywhere

This Sunday, J and I had such a lovely time doing what we do best – watch movies. Watching movies together is one of those many times when I feel J and I are really custom made for each other. I also believe we get along so well in our choice of movies and mood swings that at the end of a movie, we feel the same way about it – good, bad or bleh! So as I was saying, this Sunday J and I went to the cinema to spend a whole day watching movies. We watched two Indian movies – one in Tamil and the other in Telugu.

The first one we watched, Engeyum Kadhal (EK) was a decent flick. Directed by spring mudi (spring haired) Prabhu Deva, EK has been shot in Europe with songs being shot in Australia. Jayam Ravi plays the lead protagonist, Kamal and Hansika Motwani plays his love interest, Kayal Vizhi. Other key characters include Suman & Raju Sundaram.

Direction: Bleh!

The first reaction one gets after watching the movie is that Prabhu Deva had done some parts well and compromised on some others. The good point is that the story does not have too many twists and confusion. The story had been quite predictable from the beginning. In totality I was glad that he hadn’t dragged scenes and had stuck to delivering the message crisply. Prabhu Deva could have worked more on some romantic scenes among the two. By romantic, I mean scenes where people could really feel the love & affection between Kamal & Kayal. Isn’t it what the movie title is all about? – Love!

Jayam Ravi: Ugh!

There are some characters this man cannot play. And those are all the characters that need some “class”. Jayam Ravi with this pathetic English accent & vocabulary irritated me throughout the movie. It probably isn’t much of a deal for others, but I just like class to be portrayed with a class. What I liked about Jayam Ravi is his rare burst of sense of humor. In some scenes, he really gets to the audience and invokes a giggle or two. However, on a positive note, I liked his clothing style. Sure, it wasn’t something overly stupendous but it sure was refreshing. His acting skills did not raise an eyebrow and so my rating for him falls flat.

Hansika Motwani: Cute!

Hansika is not a good actress, nevertheless she is cute. She added a lot of enthusiasm and smiles across the screen. In many scenes, it felt that she really attracted the audience with her charm. I liked her.

Harris Jeyaraj (Music): Nice!

Music is the greatest plus in the movie. All the songs were pleasing and transporting. Nangaai, a tribute to Michael Jackson is such a lovely toe tapping song. Its picturization was also interesting. “Dhimi Dhimi” though a Tamil version on Telugu film Orange’s “Chilipiga” was also nice. High marks for music. 

Cinematography & location: Awesome!

Loved the romantic European location the film is set in. It adds to the feeling love & luster that the film tried to achieve.

Story: Dumb!

Such a dumb story! The pain plot of the film lacked base. I cannot imagine the story happening in any family forget Tamil family. Further, there just wasn’t enough love. 

Engeyum Kadhal: Show me the love! (2.5/5)

Good food + Good company = So Good!

Yesterday was one of those special days. A little ruffle on an otherwise very calm & peaceful living put me through a roller coaster of emotions. I was so tired from an intense "thinkathon" (thinking-marathon) that I just couldn't walk from one room to another. I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling when our home phone rang. Not wanting to get up from the comfortable position I lay in, I let it pass. Ringing stopped and started again in the next 2 minutes. Now, I had to pick up the call willingly or unwillingly. "Let's run together today", voiced J. "What? Are you coming home early?", I asked in surprise.

No sooner than I heard those words, my stress seemed to have taken to its hide out. I lightened up in joy and decided to make some snack for J as he is always hungry after work. I boiled some potatoes and mashed them smooth. I added boiled peas to it and mixed it with masalas - chili, turmeric, garam masala . I made dough out of maida/ all purpose flour and rolled small balls out of it. Later I flattened the ball into thin circles and cut them into 2 each. I added potato stuffing and folded the semi-circles into cones around them. I let the opening be close with the third side and they were ready to be fried in oil. I stored them in a box and let them sit there until we're back from our run.

J got back from work by 5:30 pm. We freshened up and got ready for our first jog together. The road that we decided to take is about 1.1 miles one way. Many a times, we just speed pass it on our car that we never get a chance to experience its real beauty. But today as we both jogged side by side, we could notice how much of effort people take to keep their neighbourhood beautiful.

I hadn't noticed how many different types of trees were there on this road previously. Some big, some small, some with flowers and some with buds. Leaves of green, yellow, red & brown covered the sky. Flowers of bright pink, pretty white & sunny yellow waved a hello. There was no end to our awe as we went pass doorways coloured with lilies, daffodils & tulips. Little boys & girls played in their garden watering the grass & spraying plant food. The scene was so inspiring that J & I dint realise that we had run all the way & gotten back closer to home as well. We were sweating out after our 2 mile jog. We were approaching the last 200m stretch that would lead us home. We gave each other a glance and ran up the cliff the fastest we could. We ran so hard that when we came to a halt at our front porch, we were panting trying to catch a breath. I could feel my entire body shake as my heart beat started to descend to normal. J has been in the locality for years and was I surprised when he said "How beautiful is our community?"

We got back home, munched on freshly fried samosas and mushroom soup, turned on a nice movie and spent the remaining evening in comfort of good food & good company.

Very Tired to Very Yumm

There is no better song that I want to hum right now but this:

This life I'm livin'
What a wonderful life, days with a life of ease, oh-ho-oh
Well, I've got no job to worry me
No big bad boss to hurry me
It's a wonderful life life's good to me

-          “What a wonderful life” by Elvis Presley

Ah! This song always feels good, doesn’t it?

I just got back from a jog that I pushed myself to complete. It’s not that I am lazy but I just like investing my calories where I see more rather than do more. Do you get me? Don’t worry I think I am a little too clever that I don’t get myself many times! :P

So what I was saying is I just got back from a jog and hung around the chair very tired. Just then I remembered my promise to J at lunch time. “I’ll make you something you’d love”, I wooed him. It was already 5.15 pm. So I either drag my lazy bum to the kitchen and get things moving or just watch TV and give excuses of being “very” tired. But I knew I would feel bad if I had done that. For there is no better pleasure on earth than to see your hubby enjoy a meal you cooked. Just the thought of J’s smile got me up on my toes. I quickly wrapped my new frock-like apron on myself and got things chopping! 

Half an onion, 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste & 5 red chilies took a spin in the blender. A fat tomato went under the knife and took a grind in the processor too. I placed both the set of ingredients aside and asked them to wait their turn. I brought a deep bottomed pan to heat and dropped a block of pure butter and played around with a spatula. Into the pan went the onion, ginger garlic & red chilies mixture for a fry. The tomato mixture followed that and got fried too. Next came in line a small pinch of red color, garam masala, chili powder, coriander powder & turmeric powder to it. I let the colors mix to a unison. Red, yellow & brown blended into what I call “mmmmm”. I added a pinch of salt & tossed in some green peas to bring in a contrasting hue. It was all set for the star of the dish to enter - fried paneer pieces. They got cooked with the lid on. 5 minutes and seconds of surprise, what I tasted was pure bliss! For the final touché de excellence, I sprinkled some chopped coriander leaves & ghee roasted cashew and raisin. tada! It was ready - Paneer Butter Masala a.k.a Heaven!

A familiar thing

It was a nice sunny day. Gardens have gotten greener, birds have started chirping tunes and flowers  have come out of their hiding. Beautiful spring makes you spring up in a beautiful mood. As I was biking around familiar routes in town, my mind wandered into a familiar territory. I heard people laughing and speaking loudly in a language incomprehensibly familiar to me.  I saw lanterns burning down the walkway.  Figures clad in black & white clothes approached me. I could now smell the familiar flavor of apple & mint. I knew where I was. And I knew what was coming next. I was tasting the unique flavor and enjoying its crispy outer cover. I wanted it right away. “I want falafels”, I mouthed. Right then I understood I was day dreaming. Day dreaming while biking under the scorching sun while my throat was longing for a gulp of water to soothe its thirst. Ignoring the fact I was a dreaming rider on a bike, I immediately charted a plan of action in my head.

I got back home from a 9 mile biking and the next thing I did after washing up is to prepare for the dish. I doubt if J has tasted it previously. But I knew that what I am about to make will blow his mind. I shoved a cup of soaked white chick peas into my food processor. Chopped an onion while crying in joy and threw it in right next to the peas. Gave a little churn and then added 8 red hot dried chilies and sang to myself, “Oh I like it spicy mama!”. I added in some garlic, cumin seeds , coriander seeds & chopped coriander leaves and gave a whirrrr. In seconds, it was done. I could sense the good aroma and felt immediately happy. For the final touch I added a pinch of baking soda, salt & semolina. Gave it all one last turn in my mixer and transferred to a big bowl. I had to make sure my measures were right. So pinched out some mix, rolled into a nice little ball and gave a tap on its head. Just when he was ready to go, I rolled him right into heated oil and watched him fry to radiant golden brown. “Come on my little friend”, I voiced while I carefully picked him up and got him dried on a towel. The little guy is ready for a bite. “Mmmmmm…Yummm”.

J will be home in 10 minutes and I just can’t wait for him to try it.

A day that inspired millions...including me!

It was just another day - NOT! It was a day that got millions of romantics hopeful for a gooey feeling inside as they wait to watch just another common girl become a princess in England. I personally had two contrasting thought processes waging a war inside my head. The romantic part of me was thrilled to be a part of this legendary love story while the rational part of me considered it an absolute waste of time. However when I watched the ceremony hours later on TV, I instantly knew the romantic in me had won. I was feeling it - the gooey stuff melting in my heart. When Will & Kate kissed each other as man and wife with billions of people as witness, I just couldn't help but hail for the magic of love. To me, there is no better gift of God that empowers the living as LOVE.
Oh I can go on and on feeling all Shakespeare but I better stop now.