X'mas is round the corner!!

X'mas is round the corner, with all its colors and hues.. stars and lightings.. ornated X'mas trees...santa and the pool of gifts he brings in for the excited kids....carols and singing church bells..the sweet aroma of x'mas delights... and time to bid adieu to 2004!

I wish you Health...
So you may enjoy each day in comfort.
I wish you the Love of friends and family...
And Peace within your heart.
I wish you the Beauty of nature...
That you may enjoy the work of God.
I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities...
For those things that really matter in life.
I wish you Generosity so you may share...
All good things that come to you.
I wish you Happiness and Joy...
And Blessings for the New Year.
I wish you the best of everything...
That you so well deserve.

Merry X-mas and Happy New Year to All; my dear colleagues, friends and well wishers!!

Slice of Life!

this has always been my favorite sunday column in The Hindu ever since I started reading this national english daily. and millions of readers across the world would vouch for the same.. it is amazing to see the ease with which the columnist handles subjects as varied as food, country life-life in the rustic parts of kerala in the early fifties-art, science and tech, fashion and education! it is through his columns that I came to know about the traditional tamil dishes, festivals, customs and family values.. the language is simple, elegant and has a special aura attached to it..

now, who is the columnist am talking about?

answer here...

X'mas Lunch

being a gourmet of good foods, can't help writing about the much awaited X'mas lunch at my home...

we gonna start with a sumptuous breakfast.. palappam and beef stew, with lots of shredded bell pepper... enough to tickle ur taste buds to the root.. hehe... for the veggies, we will have a mixed masala with cauliflower and potato! and mind you, the appams are gonna be piping hot..

lunch would be strictly traditional.. am not ready to compromise the charm that my mom brought with every X'mas lunch on table.. cake and wine would give it a kick start..
appams would do a second round.. this time with an add on chicken curry, with a semi-thick gravy.. beef fry with coconut cubes and curry leaves will be any non-veggie's delight... we like white rice cooked to perfection.. seer fish prepared in the traditional way goes well with the rice... regulars like aviyal, thoran, mezhukku puratti, kalan, achar and papad would be the other accompaniments... you can have a liberal helping from ada payasam or gothambu payasam... but i would vouch for the latter any day!!

yes...we will have my friend Naz, his wife Geet and their son Sidharth for the X'mas lunch this time.. all of u, feel free to join us:-) winks:-) JK.

all my friends and well wishers...

here is wishing you a very happy and Exciting X'mas and a fantabulous new year!!

cheers
roy

Transmission!!!

I was on a sabbatical again.. said no to blogging, tv and even my favorite past time reading books.. could not say no to my regular work out because of physiological reasons.. did i feel better? probably yes.. rather i would love to believe that way....

and did 'transmission' give me a break? maybe, i could, kinda identify with Arjun, the SW Consultant... again, i could kinda appreciate life in the US for a SW Engineer, even during the SW Boom.. but was never captivated by the author's style and language... the former was non-existing and the latter, immature, to say the least!! i did also come across a few grammatical errors in the book! amidst these personal skirmishes on the book, i did feel a compulsive obsession to carry on and almost through with it.. certainly, transmission, is not a great literary peice nor would it stand anywhere near Arundhati Roy's God of Small Things, in terms of style and language.. i would not say it is worth investing your time and money on transmission, but would be a good read if u can grab a copy from the nearby library.. sounds good?

PS: Hari Kunzru was never effective as a techno-fiction writer... i stand by this and would never read a Kunzru book in the same line..