Great Food Trail:

Am no cordon bleu but I love food and love to fiddle around with it & create some unique stuff.

Hmm ,they are consumable most of the time thank God!! I hail from Mumbai which has a great variety of Food places for all types of pockets but after coming to Cochin I found that there weren’t many eating places and also I had no clue as to where to get good food at a good price. Hence, began the “food hunt”.

If you are looking for Chinese Cuisine, you got to try Golden Dragon at Mercy Estate, M. G. Rd., Ravipuram. Every dish is finger-licking, especially the Crispy chicken with Honey sauce, Sliced beef & baby corn Fried Rice, Ginger Capsicum Fried Rice for the vegetarians, Honey glazed Sesame pork to mention a few. The price is very reasonable, they serve very good portions and the service is par excellence.

If you are in the mood to have good vegetarian , north Indian food, take a look at Mirch Masala, at T.D. RD., it might be difficult to locate it since it is placed between hardware stores. You might have to deal with traffic, it isn’t easy travelling this road but it’s worth all the trouble. You might want to reserve a table in case you don’t want to wait. The food is excellent, even for a staunch non-vegetarian like me. You could try out their Sweet lassi. Mint paratha is yummy. The kofta’s melt in the mouth. The service & price is good too.

Want to spend sometime with family & friends at Fort Cochin? Ofcourse needless to say fellowship & food goes very well. Call up Dal Roti, Lily Street,Fort Kochi & reserve your seats well in advance. You are sure to meet a smiling host Ramesh Menon to welcome you. He loves conversing and will instantly make you feel at home.The Awadhi Samosa will fill the stomach of atleast 5 people or so & you can eat no more, so reserve it for a day when you are not in a mood to try too many dishes. Let loose and go ahead & try Mutton Fry, Chicken Tikka. The prawn biryani is sure to make you go back again & again. End it with Qubani ka meetha, no sugar added & is mesmerizing. Don’t forget Sweet Lassi or Masala Chai. Service ? Excellent 100% !! And, you are sure to have a new friend Ramesh!

Kashi Art Café is a combination of an art café and cafeteria. Masala Chai, Leaf Tea, Espresso Coffee, Limeade, Home made ice-tea, freshly baked cake are some of the things you could try. The ambience is a mix of traditional and modern . They also serve fixed breaffast & lunch. The time is from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm. It is located in Burgher Street, Fort Kochi.

Have been working hard & want to self-indulge a bit? Go visit Two Trees at the Harbour view Residency, opposite the Ship yard. And, ladies you get a discount during the week days for eating out here. The buffet has an array of mouth-watering international dishes. The ambience is great. Forget your dieting this time, dig into the desserts.

Out on a budget lunch? Go and try Kayees Biryani, opposite D.H. ground. The biryani’s are excellent, good portion. The ambience isn’t much to write about .Try their mutton biryani. You sure will have to stop counting calories this time!!

Did you think dosas are boring & that there are only two varieties, ghee roast & masala dosa? Then wait until you visit Pai’s Dosa, on M.G.Rd. in a lane between Shenoy’s & Padma there 36 mouth watering varieties of dosas to try. Lasoon Dosa, Kancheepuram Dosa, Egg Dosa, Chutney Dosa and many more. While you wait for your dosas do try their refreshing lime juice. The price is easy on the wallet.

Is it Chaat you have in mind. It is the Chaat shop at Bimbis you got to visit. They have tasty pav bhaji and gol guppa’s. Price? very reasonable.

Newly opened Café at Cochin at Panampilly Nagar, is perfect to hang out late night for some aroma coffee, and apple pie. They have outside seating arrangement on the small lawn there.

You may want to try out Black forest at Barista at GCDA, Marine Drive. They are yummy!! It does not have much of an ambience or space but, if you are hanging around that area & wanting to forget your diet, it’s worth trying.

That’s all for now! The quest continues and will update you on this in Part 2 of this series. So watch out folks!!:)

Good Food Ends With Good Talk!!!

The ride is bumpy at times.........

Though the heart be heavy and hurt you may be feeling - If there is time for praying there is time for healing.So if through your window there is a new day breaking - Thank God for the promise, though mind and soul be aching,If with harvest over there is grain enough for gleaning - There is a new tomorrow and life still has meaning.~ Author unknown~

The writer in me seems to have woken up and it often does as I attend one of those " Attitude Tests" (as I call it ) that keep coming in life, often caught unaware and when I have to tell myself I have to pass this test on the contrary my heart wants to cry, I want to scream, growl & shout out, "Why me..?" The most famous question.

I was reminded of Life being a ride in the bus..........at each stop you find some people get in the bus & others get down .As you begin enjoying this wonderful journey and look out through the window, you suddenly realize that some people have decided to hop off . Then again there are people who ride with you all through the journey . The ride can get bumpy sometimes and a tyre can burst, sometimes the heat is too harsh but they are with you all the way to the last point.

And, then as I rode in this bus called life, I had to make choices... the biggest challenge in life. The decision to move forward in life when am going through a disappointment, a loss, is so very difficult. I am stuck on that page, on that chapter reliving that disappointment, that hurt, that pain. I have to make that choice, will I step into a bus again or am I going to bury myself.I have to tell myself that I have to move forward to a new chapter, a new hope. I have to teach myself that life is very short and one can always cherish the moments together in the bus and who knows as you travel in that bus one can never say, the people who hopped off may get right back in and decide to travel with you after all.

So, I learned I have to stop licking my wounds, I have to wipe off my tears, pick myself up from dust, give myself an attitude lesson and keep my thoughts harnessed on positive things.You got to have some faith. This ain't easy at all , trust me! But then, the BIG question is not in your destination but your journey itself ........

“There is no better time than right now to be happy.Happiness is a journey, not a destination.So work like you don't need money.Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching...”

Happy Journey...........

mY aTTitube tEsT

OOps!! I happen to see the date of my last post & I realize I haven't written for quite sometime. I guess it was due to lack of time, topics or I guess I don't give much credit to myself as a writer.And, then again it must have been procrastination.

Lately, my younger son studying in the 9th Std, has not been doing well in his exams especially in languages. So I spent much time yelling, screaming, assuming that all this will solve the problem and he will get more serious about his studies, not to forget praying too. I arranged tuitions for him, monitored him religiously, in spite of which I was called often to the Principal’s office and warned that he would be chucked out if he didn’t get above 75% marks, since they are more concerned about the school’s results. He came home with red remarks in his diary and books, yet I found him talented, intelligent, and articulate and have knowledge about everything and anything. So my doubts that he isn’t studying was even more concrete now. Once when called to the Vice Principal’s office he broke down & cried uncontrollably but didn’t answer to our repeated questions as to why he wouldn’t study. And another time he hid in the classroom . I gave lecture after lecture and sermon after sermon. He was no more the pet of teachers too.
And, then suddenly this time though he performed well in his exams, the Principal asked me to meet her, she felt that I should take him to a Child Care Center for assessment. After going through a full day’s assessment it was found that, though my son had potential the output wasn’t the same since he was dyslexic. It was one thing to sit in a movie hall and watch Aamir Khan talk about dyslexia and another to know that your own son is dyslexic because in my wildest dream I didn’t expect this .
Though I was well aware and had adequate knowledge about the topic and I was also aware that some of the most famous people who left behind their marks are dyslexic yet, as mom I suddenly lacked knowledge and my first reaction was panic and the famous question, “ why me?”
Since, I am a fighter within a day or two I had wiped off my tears , got off my self-pity mode and decided that I had to overcome this problem. I repeated to myself what the Special Educator had said at the assessment center, “ That I had an Einstein in the making or may be an Edison…”. So, now I had this task of finding as much information as possible about the topic from internet, thank God for technology. I had to gear up to face this new challenge and to my disappointment I found that there is not much help that I can get around here. So, now I had to learn new techniques, to don the role of teaching my son and I also had to have the courage of talking to his tuition teachers , hoping and praying that they would show him compassion and not give up on him. Thankfully they did.
I am still on this roller coaster ride shuttling between doubt and faith that yes we will make it and this is not going to put us down. And, then I decided since I realize that there is not much help I can get here, I can use every information, every method that is helpful in my case to be of some use to others. In other words I can use , “my pain to be other’s gain.”
Since, I am a Soft Skills Trainer, I often speak from my life experiences and I happen to mention about this incident in one of my talks. At the end of the program, I had one of my trainee come running after me & requesting me to spend some time with her since she wished to talk about her son, she doubted he was dyslexic from the symptoms that I had mentioned . I gave her all the necessary information and she kept thanking me profusely.
I realized at that very moment that my dream, to make my pain , someone else’s gain had been realized. I also understood the answers to the question, “ Why me?” . I have been created to be an eagle. An eagle has to go through some situations to know it’s full potential . God strategically places us in positions that , we would otherwise not be in on our own, to bring out our wealth of talent within. And, then again I preach, “Positive Attitude “. It is one thing to preach & another to practice. So, now in school’s life , here I was being put through the test which I intend passing out with flying colors.
“LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORMS TO PASS BUT, ABOUT LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.”

Power of your actions

I had just joined as a Corporate Trainer and felt quite lost. It was the second week or so and a colleague came up to me & said, " Hello, how are you? You seem to be very lonely, why don't you join us for lunch? " Hesitantly, I joined him & the others for lunch.

After a couple of days Naveen once again came upto me & said , "what are doing? Can I look at it? " I was creating a module for my training & was working on a ppt. He remarked, "This is good, can I help you with this ?" . Naveen was a wonderful, sincere, but strict teacher, in the days to come he taught me to use most of the softwares and I found that my creativity was being tapped. I wasn't aware of my potentials or hidden talents until then.

Soon, I had to conduct a prog. in a school , Naveen monitored if the ppt was working, if I was all set for the training. I got much appreciation from many in the days to come and I know all the credit goe sto Naveen.

I had this privilege, to be the MC for the Apex Realty Conclave 2008, which had many dignitaries & eminent architects from all over the world. At the end, of the program I had a standing ovation for coordinating & conducting the program and for the ppts and films made for this program. I also recieved an email from Air.Cmde. S.C.Kumar VSM ( Retd.), Senior Advisor, CII – Godrej, GBC stating that " your imprint was seen on the fine film screened during the conference ."

Naveen soon left us for greener pastures & had to leave Cochin. But, he had left indelible marks in my life and he had also by then made me feel "at home " in this new job & office.

The " fine imprint seen in the film screened " was only possible 'coz of Naveen.

Never underestimate the POWER of your ACTIONS. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

Can I Make a difference ?

We often feel that there is nothing much that we can do to make a difference in this world or that we need lots of money if we wanted to or that it is not for us but only some are called to make that difference in this world, but not us.
I live in a place where the current may go off at night w/o any warning, so I light
a candle. Although the light seems to be little yet, it makes a significant difference in the dark room.
We may be insignificant but our smallest act makes a whale of a difference in lives around us. We don't need money for a kind word, a smile, a touch, a listening ear, a compliment, an act of care. These acts may seem small and insignificant but they are powerful and can impact a life, make a difference.
Every person is important and every person can make that difference in lives around them.
Every person has strengths, skills, talents, identify them, make use of them to bring about that difference. We are all capable of doing great things, they begin with small beginings.
So, have you made that difference in some life today?
You don't know what impact your action may have on another life or your lack of action.