Gangsta Granny

Watched 'Gangsta Granny' today in Orchard Theater, Dartford with Ammar. Very enjoyable. My first experience of real Theater.
Great performance by the lady playing Granny.

Ammar's One Liners

25th Nov 2015
Ammar returned home from school today complaining of tummy ache .......when asked how it happened - 'Science ke baad jab maths aaya to pet main dard shuru ho gaya'........-:)


18th Nov 2015
Yesterday after I chose a 'black' mobile when there were many other colour choices, Ammar reprimanded me - 'Papa, you will always be a stereotypical person'........-:) ........time for Papa to become a more 'experimental' person !!

17th Oct 2015
Today Farah asked me whether I want to have tea.....to this Ammar replied - 'Papa chai nahin piyenge.....inko chai se iss qadar nafrat hai'. -:) ......effect of the Pakistani serials he is watching....

29th Sep 2015

Today while discussing his day in school, Ammar mentioned about one of his classmates, 'He must be lying'. To this I responded, 'Why would he lie, Ammar. You should not think like that'.

I was subjected to a lecture 'Papa, you have no idea what the real world is like .....you are like a newborn baby.....you should not be scared to face the real world' -:) -:)

19th Feb 2014
Ammar said this today (in all seriousness) -
Louis Pasteur invented a vaccine to inject the Rabbis -:)


ile emoticon

Spectre - Bond Movie

Watched the latest Bond movie 'Spectre' yesterday. Pankaj had planned it as a 'boys night out' with Sameer. Danish had come to our place on Saturday. He came for the movie too. Movie was paisa vasool.....a typical Bond action flick.

Today

Very good poem by Rabab Haque (she is the wife of my cousin Athar Haque) -

http://rababhaque.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/dedicated-to-refugees-of-all-kinds.html?spref=fb

Dedicated to refugees (of all kinds, everywhere)

Na samandar bakaram apna

Na koi sahil muntazir

Hum shikasta kashti ke musafir

Be-saro-saman nikle

Na koi hamdard apna

Na rahbar koi

Hum pattharon ke shaher se

Hoke pareshan nikle

Na taaron ne ki rehnumayi

Na chand ne thandak di hai

Hum namkeen paani se dhotte

Apne zakhmo-jaan nikle

Na sar pe topi apne

Na jhande haathon me

Hum dhoondhne khuda ko

Chaak-e-garebaan nikle

Azam Khan

Watched the Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's interview with Barkha Dutt today on NDTV -

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/the-buck-stops-here/paris-condemnable-but-why-no-tears-for-us-bomb-victims-azam-khan/391079?hp

He did bring out a different perspective on the Paris Attack, but I found his style of conversation absolutely hilarious.
He speaks 'khalis urdu' and uses such emotional and evocative language. He does this with no change in his expression. He should have been a script writer in Bollywood. His style of speaking resembles Dilip Kumar a lot. Without doubt he is a character.

His views sometimes may sound over the top and sensational but he is able to provide reasoning for that.

I was surprised that Barkha was able to keep a straight face during the interview today.

Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar is going to be sworn in for his third term as Chief Minister of Bihar. He along with Laloo has dealt a huge blow to the Modi-Amit Shah juggernaut in Bihar elections.

With this victory his stature has increased immeasurably in national politics.

He is a consummate politician having been in politics for the last 40 years. At the same time he is so unlike the typical political leader. He is soft spoken, almost self effacing who lets his work speak for itself. He is like a breath of fresh air in today's political environment in India. He has resigned many times previously on matters of principle. In fact his last resignation in 2014 after the debacle in Lok Sabha elections from the Chief Ministership of Bihar almost became his undoing. He made a virtually unknown Jitan Ram Manjhi as the CM who turned against him and later joined the BJP.

He has a clean image. No allegations of corruption taint him. He has also stayed away from dynastic politics and nepotism, a rarity in India. He is an engineer by profession. He is extremely articulate and puts his point forward in a very clear and logical manner. He does this in a manner which is non-confrontational and actually endears him to others. There is certain civility about him which is so lacking among other politicians. He has credibility as well.

In this election, owning to Nitish's clean and positive image, BJP found it very difficult to target him.

In the last 10 years he has done some really good work in Bihar. Electricity has now reached the remotest village of Bihar. Even his worst critics have to admit that he has put Bihar on the road to progress.

In today's political landscape in India, he appears to have all qualities to lead the country. Hopefully in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he is projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

Massacre in Paris

Yesterday some 130 people were killed in Paris in coordinated terror attacked. There were terror attacks in Beirut and Syria as well. The responsibility of these attacks have been claimed by ISIS.

These attacks have to be condemned in the strongest terms. They claim to do this in the name of Islam. It is unfortunate that these people just don't understand Islam. They are totally misinterpreting Islam. Their actions are creating a big problem for the rest of Muslims in the world.

I pray for the people killed and maimed in these attacks. I pray to Allah to show the right path to these misguided people who don't think twice before taking the lives of innocent people. They have to be dealt with severely.

But this problem cannot be solved just by bombing ISIS. That would be just addressing the symptoms. The root cause of this issue has to be identified and addressed.

Maquti

Maquti (some people call it Makuti which is not the correct pronunciation) is one of my favourite sweet dishes. The authentic version is normally prepared during Muslim marriages in Bihar especially Patna. It is served in small earthen bowls (called Dhakni). After it is cooked it is poured in these Dhakni's and left to get thicker once it gets colder. In marriage dinners (Shadi ka Khana) hundreds of these dhakni's are arranged in rows on tables for people to have them as dessert.

Its taste is truly sublime. I have had desserts and sweet dishes around the world but nothing compares with it. It is a mystery to me why it has not become popular in the rest of India or even in other parts of the world. Perhaps because it has not been marketed properly. Or maybe it is difficult to cook.

In India whenever Maquti would be prepared on occasion of marriage or any other function, I would store away these dhaknis and would have it for many days. I am salivating now writing this -:)
I don't think many people outside Bihar have even heard of Maquti. They are missing something !

Here is a recipe I found on the internet, but I don't think it is the authentic one, as it talks about 'grated jaggery'. I think the real one has sugar. Also orange rind.

********************************************************************
Total Time: 15 mins

Serves: 4 to 5 people

Ingredients:

100 gms yellow mung dal soaked in water for 2 hours Or overnight
50 gms rice soaked in water for 2 hours Or overnight
250 mltr milk
100 gms grated jaggery
7 to 8 almonds
7 to 8 cashewnuts
7 to 8 raisins
3 to 4 green cardamom powder Or whole cardamom
1 t/s saffron (kesar)
2 cups water
50 gms mava/khoya (dried whole milk)
Method:

Soak rice and mung dal for about 2 hours Or overnight in 1 cup water for each. I don’t have pic for this one.

Firstly boil soaked mung dal and rice along with water in a heavy bottomed pan. Cook for more 5 to 6 mins.

Once it starts boiling add all dryfruits. Cook on low heat for another 2 mins.

Add grated jaggery and keep stirring continuously for another 2 mins

It’s time to add mava/khoya and milk into the mixture. Let it boil for another 5 mins

By now the mixture will thicken. Infuse saffron with little hot milk. Add saffron infused milk and crushed green cardamom into it.

Let this boil for another 4 mins. Now switch off the gas. Serve this hot Or chilled. I just could not resist hence had it hot hot

Tip

You could skip dry fruits if you wish to.
Vegans can make this in coconut milk.
If jaggery isn’t available you could use sugar.
In replacement of mava/khoya you could use condensed milk. But be careful while adding sugar than as condensed milk is sweet already

About Me

When I was a Bachelor Boy

Dhoni & Ranchi

Papa - Grandfather

Aahistaa Ladiss...Patla Ladiss and Other Stories

Sunny Days

The Day I Slipped Out of my Office to visit Lord's

When I was a Bachelor Boy

My Favourite Cricketers - Viv Richards

Sehwag : Part Sublime, Part Ridiculous, Simply Unforgettable

Tendulkar Tales

Dadagiri - Sourav Ganguly Tales

What's in a Name.....

Ammar's Toddler Language

Vineet And His Great Talent for Name Twisting

Being Taught by patients of Mental Hospital

Pradipto's Memories of 'Khassi Tournament'

The fine art of Patang-Baazi

Bihar Elections - Huge win for Nitish-Laloo

Woke up today morning to the news of an absolutely stupendous win for Nitish & Laloo in Bihar. It has been a huge loss for NDA.........

Hope this result will force BJP to introspect and move away from its divisive politics.

A Sad Day

This was written in the early hours of 30th July 2015.......


The 1993 Mumbai Blasts convict Yakub Memon will be hanged in the next 2 hours.

The way this case has been handled in the last 22 years culminating in him being given the death penalty, raises very serious questions on the Indian Judicial system.

There is a widespread perception that he has been sent to the gallows to satisfy 'collective public conscience' and to atone for the fact that the real mastermind of this case, his brother Tiger Memon has never been captured by Indian authorities.

There is also a widespread perception that the Indian state is in such a hurry to hang him because he is a Muslim. Many other death row convicts have been supported by the state governments and the law has been manipulated to help them turn it into life sentences.

The fact that Yakub Memon decided to return to India with his wife and newborn daughter along with 7 members of his family, placing his faith in the Indian judicial system, has actually been used against him.

The evidence Yakub brought with him to implicate Pakistan's role in the blasts have been used against him and he is being sent to the gallows. The case against him has been based entirely on the confessions of an accused who turned approver. He later retracted. It is on very loose evidence and even then there was no justification for a death sentence.

It is a travesty of justice.

The judiciary and the state know that Muslims are soft targets. They can do whatever they want with them and get away with it. In fact killing and massacring Muslims is the quickest route to the top. It is a win-win situation.

Death for Yakub Memon has dealt a huge blow to whatever trust Indian Muslims had in the judicial system. I am afraid more and more Muslim youth will start believing that there is very little justice for them in India. This is both sad and dangerous.

Today is a very very sad day.

Halloween

Ammar