Pinku-Enchanted Life

The four year old fancies herself as Suzuka the intelligent girl friend of the ever whining Nobita from the Doraemon series. Amongst the many abilities of Suzuka who is a brave, compassionate and intelligent girl is her ability to bake cookies. So when Aarini decides she wants to do an activity she has to but of course choose cookie making as the ideal activity to indulge in.  I picked a simple recipe I have been meaning to try out for a while now and provided her the ingredients and stayed with her as my lil baker went about with full zeal. Waiting for the cookies to bake 18 minutes is a long time for a 4 year old. Recipe: 1 cup whole wheat (atta) 1/2 cup powdered sugar 2 tsp cardamom powder 1/2 cup ghee and olive oil ( I mixed both as I was short on ghee) Some chopped almonds for garnishing  Sieve the atta and cardamom powder together and keep aside.  In a separate vessel mix the oil-ghee combo with the powdered sugar and whisk till a creamy consistency is achieved....

In a country being governed by the Parivar as the BJP and its allies are called it is obvious that the religion I was born into would be a matter of great importance. Not that it ever is anything but important, being the religion of the majority of people in India. However in the past year or so Hinduism has crept up in news and views far more frequently than before. One or the other leader of the so called parivar and even parliamentarians have been remarking on various aspects from how many childrena Hindu ought to have , to eating habits , to the patriotism quotient of Hindus versus any other faith etc. Incidentally parivar is how the ancient Hindus looked at the entire world enshrined in the phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam i.e. “the world is one family” Nowhere did they say that every member of this gigantic family has to follow the same belief system.   All of this has made me feel amused, harassed, furious and most of all disgusted. These so called guardians of my religi...

Each Day there is a new story, a new tantrum and new dimension that gets added to the fun and depth you add to our lives. A few random pics of you and yours. Selfie Queen Water Baby Acting coy...or trying to Happiness spills through Best friend Anoushka My hug is the tightest Modelling Mom's earrings Hope you can spot my lipstick too Ready to party...all the time I take care of my toys too Lounging Early morning shoot with Brownie

Our gang of girls at work is forever into planning the next fun thing to do. From being dressed in sync to shopping sprees to sneaking out for a lunch or movie or even at times planning a socially relevant protest - we are upto it all and more. Last weekend bored with the office canteen food and craving something nice talk started about doing a pot luck. Most of us being non-veg lovers the food of course was going to be predominantly non veg we did decide on a couple of veg dishes as well keeping in mind the token vegetarian in the group and also to provide ourselves from the overload of non veg. I was told to get a fish dish and it better be finger licking good I was told. Monday was set as the D day. The weekend being ample prep time. Now Sunday was also Jamai shoshti or the Day of the Son in Law in Bengali households. Mom was getting ready to cook up a storm in the kitchen. With outside temperatures already hitting 45 degree plus I managed to dissuade her and instead opted for a lun...

For a long time now every story of abuse against women has boiled my blood. Four years ago becoming the mother of a girl child added a few more notches to the temperature as I became more acutely aware of the inequalities and challenges a woman faces at every step of her life. Media reports on the brutality being meted out, the growing gap in gender ratios and the total lack of empathy amongst the powers that be coupled with remarks too often heard - what can we do....and the helplessness echoed in that statement, propelled me to think of something WE COULD DO. We can go on STRIKE and force men and the society to realize our importance and the need to treat us with understanding and respect as fellow human beings. So here is what I have started and I hope you will join in, for without you it wont work. #WomenOnStrike

The partner got a box of lovely looking strawberries and demanded a whipped cream and strawberries dessert. He sliced and soaked the strawberries in sugar. I decided to better it with a Strawberry cheese cake sans the cheese (that's why the healthy tag) Here is what I did. Used a clean cloth to hang up a cup and half of curd for about 6 hours getting smooth hung curd (one cup) in the process. Once I had the hung curd in place I started assembling the rest of the ingredients. 1 packet Amul's whipping cream (200 ml) 1 packet marie biscuit (large) 125 gms butter 3 tablespoon powdered sugar coloured balls for decor 1. Crush the biscuits in a mixie jar, once finely crushed pour out into a bowl and add melted butter.  2. Mix with a spoon till its evenly mixed with no lumps 3. Spoon about 3 spoons of biscuit butter mix into individual glasses and lightly tap with the bottom of the spoon to straighten it up into a uniform base - these quantities work for about 6 portions. Put the glass...

Dear Ringorotash, yes you of the million name fame i.e. my darling badmash daughter. You turned four yesterday. You have been insisting that you want to grow big but almost immediately you let us know that though you are four now you are still a baby and therefore we shouldnt expect so much from you. At Bookaroo - your first visit to a Book fair - both dadda and me hope that you will catch the reading bug, much like us. I wonder where you have got your logical mind from. Am sure your dad or me would never have come up with such complicated thoughts at age four. You tell us complicated stuff like, "babies too have feelings" when scolded and when I ask you where your feelings are you point to your tear ducts. You also tell lies and when caught say you were just playing a prank. You dont like being second guessed at all. And you are a self proclaimed 'genius' though you frequently forget your ABC's. At Jiya baby's first birthday - with your first...