Kabadiwalas and Indian Mothers

"Kabadiwala or junk dealer is a term commonly used in Hindistani to refer to a person who deals with old household products."

Google shows you this when you search for the meaning of 'kabadiwala' but we Indian kids know they're more than just junk dealers. Every child was haunted by the call of the kabadiwala at some point of their early childhood. By the time they reached the mid-childhood years, they would wonder what exactly the man was trying to say (I'm still stuck here though). He was the person our mothers would scare us with, when we wouldn't go to sleep. End of the day, whichever part of the country you were in, at least once in three months on a Sunday that familiar voice echoed across the quiet streets and you'd know it's that time of the month again.

Kabadiwalas for our mothers were something else. They gave mothers an opportunity to trade all the old used goods for a decent price. You're basically getting money for discarding your old newspapers and scraps of metal and plastic. In a mother's perspective, you're clearing the house and getting paid for it! So, no longer could the "I'm a housewife. I don't get paid for my work and still I do everything" line work on us.

On the morning of the monthly ordeal, the kids would get a heads up to clear out all the old question papers, answer sheets and other stationery from their closets and cupboards. Then finally, close to noon, the doorbell would ring and everyone would get down to business. Stacking up newspapers and checking how much they weighed on the scale, seeing your mother bargain and haggle for an extra ten bucks on some charger that's in a "good condition" was another experience all together. Once everything was done, a look of accomplishment would sprawl across your mother's face. By then, reality would have caught up with her and her next thought would be- "what should I make for lunch?". 

Over and Again

Over and Again 

You asked to be excused today as well, 

For some work that keeps you busy. 

The procrastinator you always are, 

Takes a back seat when you're with me. 

And when you're away, all I can think of 

Is a conversation that lasts a minute. 

The frays of your "sorry's" linger on, 

As silence comes back to check on me again. 

Even so, every time you do come back

I let go of the past. 

As your lips touch mine and I feel your smile on them, 

I watch silence look back at me and say, 

I'll be back over and over again. 

Women's Day- Truly a celebration or not?

As 8th of March gets closer, our newspapers are bombarded with advertisements for jewellery, dresses and other feminine products which are somehow linked with women empowerment and better status in society. One day for celebrating all the women in the world, but is it truly a celebration?

The capital of our country is seen as the biggest crime capital and yet we celebrate women's day. Girls all over the country get abused and bullied through their school years, some become victims to attacks or suicides and still we celebrate women's day. A woman's sexuality and ideas of self-stimulation are still seen as taboos in the Indian context, not allowing us to explore ourselves and completely get in touch with ourselves. And yet, we still have the audacity to celebrate women's day.

In my opinion, women's day is a redundant celebration until and unless we make women feel celebrated. We make her feel welcomed in our lives, make her cherish each day of living and make her believe that we need her more than anything else in the world. And most importantly, thank her for doing all that she does, not expecting anything in return but maybe just a quiet afternoon with a book and herself. Then, and only then, will we be truly justifying "celebrating women". So, dear women in our lives, thank you for everything that you do everyday regardless of the weather, time, place or situation.

All said and done, here's a shout out to all women, from all fields and careers, all backgrounds and cultures, all countries of the world, happy women's day. This is in hope that by the next time this day comes, we make you feel more as an individual who has her own life and voice, rather than a victim of patriarchal dominance.

88th Academy Awards- Everything Done Right and Wrong

The world had literally come to a standstill on the 28th of February at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles. The oscars were here. This year's academy awards were much awaited owing to two reasons- the first being the never ending hope that Leonardo Dicaprio wins an Oscar this year and the second, having Chris Rock as the host. Everyone was revved up and ready to spend an early morning sitting in front the television, sitting on pins and needles.

By Hollywood standards, I felt this year's oscars wasn't up to mark. Be it the overdo of the black v/s white or racism of Hollywood that was more than highlighted in Chris Rock's commentary, or the lacklustre comedy that was not expected from actors who come as comedians on the big screen, it came as such a shock, in hindsight, that I  not sit through the entire show.

What Went Wrong 

Hearing that Chris Rock was going to be hosting the awards this year, I was literally counting the days left for the oscars. Finally at nine o clock, I switched on the telly, switched off the lights and sat up to watch the show. Chris started off with the favouritism and the different kind of racism that Hollywood follows and for a while it was good. But, as he kept going on and on about the same thing, bending all his jokes towards the same subject, it started getting a bit monochrome.

The best presenters for me, were Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe who added some white comedy into the completely "racist view of Hollywood" put forward by our host.

What Went Right (and reminded us why Hollywood owns in the show business)   

Getting some respite from the "blackness" overflow, everyone was moved to tears when finally Leonardo Dicaprio won an Oscar for best actor. The internet went through the biggest hit of posts, all former Dicaprio memes were now irrelevant and every human could now die in peace after seeing him receive an award. 

The best part, for me, was his acceptance speech. It was amazing to see how he morphed a speech into something that reflects a social cause, climate change, something that affects every person on the planet. This is where Hollywood triumphs over Bollywood because I don't think many actors would have thought of including poverty or lack of literacy faced by the country into their speeches. 

If you want to learn grandeur, learn it from Hollywood. The way that word rolls off your tongue, it brings images of bling, glam and sheer sophistication. From the way the ladies were dressed to the kind of ambience the Dolby Theatre gave us, this industry had done it yet again. Having performances by Lady Gaga and other eminent singers with the huge orchestra accompanying it, it showed us why our award shows aren't and never will be as grand as theirs. 

With another year down the line and another Academy Awards show done and dusted, we hope to see the best of what the cinematic world can offer us next year (expecting them to not commit the same blunders again). 

Old Delhi Brunch- First of the many more walks to come

I was bored. Bored of sitting home all day with absolutely nothing to do but laze around. The thing about students is that if you give them two months of extreme studies, they start wanting a holiday. But, if you actually give them a week off, day 2 the signs of boredom start showing. So, to have a slight change in routine, my mother and I decided to go for a food walk.

Tickets were booked through BookMyShow and costed around 800 for two. A fairly decent price. The meeting point was Chawri Bazar metro station at 0830 hrs. By 0845 hrs everyone had assembled and we had to pool in 500 per person for the food. Honestly, I thought that was inclusive of the 400 but I guess not. And so the journey began.

Walking through the narrow winding streets of old Delhi and being hit by fragrances ranging from flowers to freshly cut dhaniya, stews and other items on the stove, bubbling away, we reached our first destination.

Shyam sweets (estd. 1910) offered us two of the most cherished local dishes, Nagori halwa and bedmi puri. My personal favourite was the halwa not just because of the taste but the fun way of eating it. A small puri is given along and just like how one has gol gappe, you fill the puri with the halwa and take a bite into it. With 8 more stops to go, we consciously had to stop eating and move on with the expedition.

A few feet away, we were lucky to find Daulat ki chaat waiting for us. A winter delicacy made of milk and cream, garnished with sugar and khoya, this dish truly represents all that is antique in this old city. 

Ahead on the walk, through winding streets and getting plastered on the walls trying to give way to cars and bikes, we went for chole kulche at Loten ji Chole Wale. Established in 1918, the shop is set up at 0730 hrs and closes by 1030 hrs. Along with chole kulche, they prepare a special beverage made of the water in which the chole was boiled. May not sound as appealing, but taste wise, it clears all the checklists.

Coming to Old Delhi and not having nahari and paaya, I would consider it a cardinal sin, So, our next stop was at Karim's, the famous restaurant that offers the best of Mughlai. Established in 1913 and being run by the fifth generation, we had nahari and paaya with khameer roti. Nahari was my personal favourite, though my mother enjoyed paaya more. The khameer roti was one that caught my attention. Unlike the other breads made here, this involves the addition of yeast which gives it the layered texture and softness. 

Another few minutes of walk along the main Chawri Bazaar, our next stop was at Rehmaan Foods where we had Sheer maal which, to me, felt like an Indian version of a waffle. The subtle sweetness combined with a creamy layer covered by a glazed, crunchy surface, it proved to me, yet again, that sweets do not have to be overpoweringly sugary to appreciate. 

A few shops ahead, our next stop was at Chaina Ram at Fatehpuri Chowk. They claim to be the pioneers of Karachi halwa in Old Delhi. Established in 1901 and still following the same age old recipes, the owners of this sweet shop do not believe in expanding their name or trying new recipes. Their idea is to give all that they can through one shop and one recipe, going from one generation to the next. Me not being a very big fan of Karachi halwa found Sindhi ghevar as the next best dish they have to offer. A bigger and thinner version of jalebi, this ghevar was so good that we decided to take some back home. 

After a two hour walk, we needed a place that could give us something warm and toasty to gulp down and a place to rest our legs. Inderji Chai ki Dukan gave us just that. Hot, steaming chai with buttered toast and a small coven to sit and relax, it was a much needed break from all the hub-bub on the streets. 

Three more stops to make, many people were closing in on their saturation points. But as soon as we reached Hemchand Ladli Prasad sweet shop and got a whiff of the milk cake and rabri, our palettes started screaming for a taste. Run my the fourth generation, this place offers the best rabri and milk cake of Delhi. Another box to take back home, of course.  

On to the main market road, chole bhature at Shiv Mishtan Bhandar was our last eatery joint. Why would this be different from other chole bhature? Well, because being a Jain based restaurant, there is not a speck of onions or garlic. But still, it managed to taste amazing. My mother was completely full and could just have half a bhatura, but somehow my appetite wasn't half as satisfied which came as a shock because whenever I'm at school, I barely eat anything. 

As the walk came to an end, our final destination was Amritsari lassi shop where we finally capped our desire to eat more by gulping down creamy lassi. I had the namkeen lassi made of jeera and other spices. As the lassi washed my palette and gave a soothing, cool after effect I was almost ready for another food walk.




By 1245 hrs, our eating escapade came to an end and as we walked back to the metro station, with heavy eyes and a satisfied stomach, we went over all the dishes. The next thing on our minds was a nice long nap at home.

Credits:
Information- My dear mother
Pictures- Myself

And you call them Crocodile Tears

And you call them crocodile tears

As the wintry evening comes to an end, 

And the birds fall silent

Your criticises echo across the hallway,

With my face stained with salty water.  

All that you say is true, 

And maybe that's why it hits so hard. 

Because every time I don't do what you wish me to, 

My heart is stabbed with a glass shard. 

I cry those silent tears, 

For they are the only way I can show repentance. 

Yet, it is all for nought

Because you think they're tears of vengeance. 

Ruby Sparks- Redefining "characters coming to life"

We've all come across many novels that have given us characters that come to life every time we sift through the pages. But this movie might just take that to another level, a more actual and some may say, improbable level.

Calvin Weir-Fields, a young novelist is down with a major case of writer's block years after his first bestselling novel. Introverted and extremely unsocial, he has a tough time coping and decides to get therapy. His therapist asks him to write about a stranger coming up to him while he takes his dog for a walk. Yet, Calvin could never get anyone near his dog.

So, he dreams of meeting this girl in the park on a bright sunny day who volunteers to sketch his dog. They start talking and suddenly he wakes up. That gives him the inspiration. Every night after, he would dream of this girl and would end up writing every little detail about their adventures together. He named her, Ruby Sparks. Slowly, he thinks that he's falling in love with his character and that's reflected in his dreams. He starts dreaming about being together with this girl and loving the idea of it. But, he never quite anticipated this sudden turn of events.

Like every other normal day, Calvin wakes up, remembers the splendid night spent in his dreams and tries getting something on paper, but that day, he wasn't alone. Ruby was with him. It was as if he had conjured her out of his writings. She was exactly as he described and it took a while for him to come to terms with the fact that a character he created had actually come to life! After awkwardly running about restaurants and streets of the city, he was led to believe that Ruby was visible to all and it wasn't his mind playing tricks.

He continues going over the facts and realises that facts do not matter when something as phenomenal as this occurs. Calvin gets to live his dreams and writing had taken a stepback. But, as the inner layers of this mystery girl surface, will Calvin be able to recreate her as he wishes or will she get to know that she was after all just a figment of his imagination?

This movie is plain interesting. Although there may be a few parts that are a bit lacklustre, on the whole it's a good movie with an amazing plot. The sudden changes in Ruby that are seen with every sentence written by Calvin on his typewriter are probably the best scenes. I for one could relate a lot to Ruby and how she fights against being changed by Calvin because of his character and his idea of love, something that I've been through in the recent past as another Ruby. All in all, this movie truly keeps you tuned to the telly. So if you're interested in watching something a little brain wracking, this is the one for you. I'd give it 3.5 stars.