The Gift of Time

The announcement of a blogging contest at Indus Ladies has got my creative juices flowing. Its been a long time since I wrote a commissioned post and this seems like the perfect opportunity. The contest is a prelude to the International Women’s Day celebration and therefore, centers on women. The topic is ‘A perspective on roles of Indian Women’ and this post is my entry for the contest. I tag Tanvi, Chandni and Ritu to participate in the contest.

Indusladies 2nd Annual International Women's Day Blog Contest

I love Saturdays. Well, who doesn’t! But my reasons for loving Saturdays might differ from yours. I love them for a very simple reason that my husband is at work on Saturdays and I get the ME time I so look forward to the whole week. Don’t get me wrong here – I looove spending time with him and family too (whenever they are around) but there’s a greater person that itches for a fair amount of undivided attention – That’s Me!

 

I won’t call it self-love (though I admit I’m quite vain! :P) but I love spending time with myself for a simple reason that ‘Me-Time’ is liberating, exhilarating and peaceful all at one. Spending quality time with myself has always been therapeutic for me. Making activity almost irrelevant does that trick. I could spend that time doing anything from curling up in bed with a book or flipping through my favorite channels or facebooking endlessly to pampering myself in a spa or indulging in retail therapy without having to care much of the responsibilities that awaits me when the Me-time ends.Over time, it has become my quick fix for an instant rejuvenation.

And its heartening to know that it isn’t just me. I find more and more women appealed by this idea of Me-time. Women today, Indian Women to be particular, do realize (and definitely should!) that there is something beyond the labels that the world has metaphorically pinned upon their torso - homemaker, nurturer, mother, daughter-in-law and wife. Each responsibility, of course, constantly entails being a constant physical presence in the lives of others. Not many of us can look beyond these responsibilities even for a fraction of time without feeling guilty or selfish. 

My two cents to all the women reading this and on the brink of getting convinced of Me-time – your spending time with yourself is not being self-centred, it's self care! Irrespective of what role you play in life, care for yourself first so that you care for others better. There’s something magical, fun and empowering about spending time with oneself. You will always return with a renewed sense of gratitude for what awaits you. Discover yourself. Let your hair down. Turn up the volume. Croon louder. Laugh harder. Nobody will sue you for that!!! :)

Happy Women’s Day and a toast to your new-found freedom!

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Old wines in new bottles

I absolutely adore this particular time of the year. There’s a lovely nip in the air and the mood is upbeat as the festivities come rolling in one after the other. My birthday and wedding anniversary being less than a fortnight away pumps up the happening quotient even further as we consciously plan for a vacation every year around this time for a twin celebration. Though this year a long, idyllic vacation is on the cards for a later time of the month, we sneaked out from the city to bring in our anniversary this weekend.

Being the diehard travel junkie couple that we are and largely of the road tripping kind, we’d been itching to hit the highway and with indulgence on our mind, a road trip to Sula Vineyards fit the bill completely. Sula Vineyards in Nasik (180 KM from Mumbai) is India's most popular winery that churns out India’s leading premium wine brand, Sula Wines and is developed to be world-class. The winery is open to visitors, who can enjoy a tour, tastings, courses, and fun events. Read more about Sula Wines here

Wine has evolved into a lifestyle staple. It plays diverse roles as a conversation starter, a romantic prop, a style statement, a dinner delight and a heady beverage that gives health benefits when had in moderation. And one of the rare things that get better with age! Experiencing the multi-faceted wine at its full glory was an absolute joy. We packed in a tour of the vineyard, a process demo of grapes from plants to wine bottles, a tasting session, a lip-smacking spread of kebabs, a sumptuous Italian meal and a sinful walnut brownie and loads of pictures – all in a day trip.

The wine tasting & appreciation session was quite informative. Here r a few things from the session that all wine lovers must know:

• All types of wine fall into one of these six categories: White Wine, Red Wine, Rose Wine, Sparkling Wine, (including Champagne), Dessert Wine, and Fortified Wine.

• Generally, bigger round bowled glasses for reds and tulips (standard wine glasses) for whites. Champagnes can be served in flutes (tall, long, thin wine glasses) so that the bubbles don’t escape or in tulips.

• Always hold the glass from the base or the stem so that the warmth of your hand doesn’t affect the temperature of the wine

• There are four stages to tasting wine – look, smell, taste, savour

1. Look : evaluate your wine’s appearance for color (both hue and depth), and clarity. Move the wine around in your glass by tilting it from side to side. Hold it up to the light or in front of a white background.
2. Smell : evaluate your wine’s nose, aroma, and bouquet. Swirl the wine gently in your glass to open it up to more surface air. This will release more of its aromas. Take a few moments to let it breathe. Dip your nose into the glass and inhale deeply.
3. Taste : evaluate your wine’s taste or palate . Sip a small amount of your wine, but do not swallow it yet. Let it roll around inside your mouth for a few moments so you can detect its flavors. Note the body of your wine, or how it feels in your mouth. Wines will be light-bodied, medium-bodied, or full-bodied.
4. Savour : evaluate your wine’s finish , the sensation left in your mouth after swallowing. The longer the flavors linger on your palate, the longer the finish.

While I was faking enjoying wine like a connoisseur but being an utterly poor drinker, I got tipsy in just a few sips of wine. What a perfect way to end a great day! They say “Love makes the world go round?” Not at all! Wine makes it go round twice as fast. Hic…hic…hic

P.S. Images by Inky Pinky & Mr. Husband

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Deconstructing the 2-minute noodles

If there’s one food with which I associate my most profound memories, it has to be Maggi! 25 years old and still going strong…this 2-Minute wonder has grown with me (rather most of us, I’m sure!) in its varied garbs - a childhood staple, an instant hunger-fix after playtime, a delight in school tiffin box, a saviour in college canteen, a survival kit in foreign lands, a comfort food for lazy days and a saving grace after a hard day at work!

With a brand new campaign and innovative marketing, things could only get better between ‘me & meri’ maggi. But someone was playing killjoy in this blissful union. Forward emails starting doing the rounds on the internet highlighting the potential health hazards of consuming Maggi. The key points mentioned in the email were that these instant noodles are coated with wax and by cooking it the traditional way; we consume the wax along with it. It also mentioned that the tastemaker contains MSG and when the ingredients in the tastemaker are boiled, the molecular structure of the MSG changes, causing it to be toxic. Therefore, the correct way of making Maggi is to prepare it like hakka noodles - draining water after boiling the supposedly wax-coated noodles and mixing the tastemaker after the noodles are done.

I was heart-broken, totally ! I felt as if a good friend had betrayed me. I tried to ignore, avoid and occasionally snub that old friend for being what it was made out to be. When I couldn’t resist much, I started following the tip mentioned in the email and ended up getting frustrated every time I cooked Maggi since this new process was quite tedious. It was like a love affair gone sour!

The same forward mail landed in my inbox yesterday and this time I decided to give the relationship a second chance. I immediately wrote to consumer services at Nestle about the email demanding an official take on it.I was pleasantly surprised to receive a prompt reply from them clearing the air on the email contents. It turned out that the stated facts were FALSE and our good ‘ol Maggi noodles are as rocking as ever. In public interest, I am appending their reply here...hear it from the horse’s mouth!

Some relationships are meant forever, they say, and I couldn’t agree more today! Maggi, here’s to you and friendship…

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