Wednesday, 22 May 2013

3 Things my daughter has taught me?

Hi All, 
 
Daughters are the angels in the your life because their cute smiles brings you an internal joy that no other thing in this world can. I am too blessed with an angel in my life and she is the hope and fuel of my life.

My daughter has taught me innumerable things which as adults we tend to forget with time and it's the adaptibility to smile and carry on, no matter what has happened in the past. She leaves me amazed when I see her living in the moment and enjoying herself fully. She quickly adapts to the surroundings and tries to make the best of the same. I still remember when I was in London and she used to live with her grandparents and my wife was working in another city. She quickly readjusted to the place of my parents and when my wife used to visit her every weekend she used to make the best out of those 2 days and one night with her mom. She understood that mom will leave soon and it took her monday/tuesday to come back to normal self but then also she enjoyed herself. It was really tough for us to adjust, but she really did cope up and built herself from there and she was just 1.5 years old.

Secondly, is her quality to get whatever she wants in the way she want. She will build stories around and will try to make you agree by the way of love, smile and sometimes tears but she will be persistent enough to get the same thing done from you. She will come running to me and will ask, Papa, you love me? I will say, yes. Then she will say that Ok, please get my long forgotten toy out of the storing area as I want to play with the same. Another story, is when her mother was doing some stitching on the sewing machine and she wanted to rotate the wheel of the same, but her mother disagreed, so she ran to her grandmother. She told her that my mom is ruining your sewing machine, kindly take away your machine from her. This expression was just because her mother didn't listen to her and she couldn't rotate the sewing machine wheel.

The third quality is the never ending Curiosity and the ability to question the logic and reasoning to understand the world she lives in. Blessed with great listening skills, she understands everything and asks relevant question and we have to tell her the logic and reason why that is so and why is goes like this? She has build up a whole Dholakpur inside her mind and everything runs from there. She thinks Dholakpur is in Singapore and she has to visit Singapore to see if it's there or not. Till that time, she doesn't believe that it doesn't exist in the real world. Last year, her grandparents went to US and she said that she has not seen US so she wants to go with them next year. My younger brother has a dog there in states, so she said she will personally visit to see if the dog does what my brother tell him to? She will question on anything and everything under the sun and it's our responsibility to give fuel to her imagination and curiosity. She loves to eat Parle-G and asked me once what is the G in Parle-G? And as shown in the TV advt, she asked how the cloth is flowing in the air? She tried to do the same with her mother dupatta but failed till she tried it in front of air coolar installed last month. The spark in her eyes and the happiness of achieving something she wanted really created moments that my family will cherish forever.

Thanks a lot.  

Thursday, 9 May 2013

My Gourmet Indian Kitchen Party with ITC Chef's

Hello Everyone, 

It feels great whenever you are invited to a party or you are throwing a party because it gives you a lot of time with your loved ones and helps you relax, unwind and enjoy the moments. I was too planning to throw one since my daughter's bday last year where we enjoyed a lot. There were some things which were missing in the bday party of my daughter and I wanted to improve upon them this time. This time the occasion will also is different. The time is to celebrate the new home and I am throwing a housewarming party for all my friends and relatives. Making a house is a lifetime achievement award and I feel great that with the help of my parents I got this reward. Thanks a lot!

Let's start with the planning that goes into making a party which includes setting up a place, food & drinks, decorations, Music, games and finally a good garbage disposal system.

Last time, the music was not properly programmed and there was no playlist saved. This time I have all the music set with the help of my laptop and pendrives. This music will be connected to the best  speakers I have with me. They are not loud enough to disturb the neighbours but will set the mood right to dance. Ipod/iPhone docking with aux in cable will be kept in a room if anyone wants to play his own music and wanting to turn DJ, he/she will be most welcome.

As this is a housewarming party the place will be drawing room, lobby, kitchen, balconies of my house. There needs to be plenty of seating arrangement that needs to be taken care of, for that I will be fetching extra chairs from neighborhood.

Ambience will be a lot of shadow lights in the form of table lamps and wall lights. With soft music on the play in the background, it will be soothing to talk to people around and enjoy ourselves also. All the kids will be given a bedroom with TV as they can watch their favourite cartoon characters like Doramon and Chhota Bheem. They will also be playing with my daughter's toys if she shares and allows them to. Otherwise, TV is the best option with chocolates in their small hands.

Before the food is served it will be time to play some general games like Tambola. Tambola prizes will be those which I have showcased on my website www.thelifesway.com . Some of the lucky people will surely get great goodies from tshirts, bags, music CD's & headphones/earphones. Whosoever will be the lucky winner will have to perform a dance on his/her favourite number to claim his/her goodies. This will be the added twist that will make everyone twist and swirl and bring in a lot of fun to the evening.

Finally coming to the food and drinks part of the party which is the most challenging part as it makes or brakes the party. This time instead of ordering food from local vendors I have chosen special ITC Chef's for my party. Kitchens of India is one the great products crafted by the ITC hotels Chef's. The variety of products available will break away or atleast bring flavors to the regular dal and paneer in a vegetarian party. To check the whole range of dishes available I checked the website http://shopping.kitchensofindia.com/  and narrowed down the following items for my party.

To make it more effective so that food don't spoil all the fun on the D day, I went to the nearest superstore to check the products before buying them in bulk for the party. I picked up Mirch ka Salan and Mughlai Paneer as my favourites to taste beforhand.


@araijain



Mirch ka Salan has a taste which was totally different from what we have ever eaten. This was the taste of Green chillies cooked in white gravy and will be great as an additional dish. So I will be buying 2-3 packets for my party. This is priced at Rs. 95/- for 285gms.




@araijain




Mughali Paneer is a great Paneer dish and that's maximum Vegetarians can do at their homes or order from the market so Paneer has to be included in all the parties in various dishes. I will be procuring 5 packets of the dish priced at Rs. 100/- per packet of 285 gms.




Dal is a compulsory item as many of the people don't like paneer and other dishes and what's better than ITC world famous Dal Bukhara. I will be procuring 6 packets of the dish for my party.

I will also be serving Vegetable Biryani Masala Mix – 3 Packs and Paneer Makhani Masala Mix – 3 packs as an added servings.

This will all be served with the Laccha Paranthas and tandoori roti procured from the nearby Dhaba or if possible will ask my maid to make roti's for the people who don't like both the above ones.

For the Desserts, Ice cream will be the first choice in summers & will be always available at my party, but then I will introduce people to Hazoori Petha Halwa – 3 packets and Jodhpuri Moong Dal Halwa – 3 packets.

So overall, I have a big list of Kichens of India products to buy from the market and need to find out any discount stores for the upcoming party. I am procuring around 25-26 packets of dishes and will cost me around Rs. 3000/- only.

For drinks we will be providing the basic cold drinks available in the market – all the three flavours generally sold in the market. I would love to add APPY Fizz as the welcome party drink because it will set the right taste on everyone's tongue. As a valedictory gift for their coming to our home and celebrating our happiness, I will give them a pack of sweets per family procured from best sweets shop in town. We can also think of gifting KOI desserts also if I get them at discount and if people like to break away from Laddoo's and Barfi!

Thanks all, I hope you will feel to come to my party...thanks for reading and enjoying! 

Cheers!!!

A good garbage system will save you from tension as you can push all the used stuff like paper plates, tissues, glasses and packaging in big black bags and keep them in a corner for ready throw early next day. 


More about KOI - Kitchens of India brings to you a wide range of Ready to Eat dishes and desserts, giving you a gourmet meal in the comfort of your home - just Heat and Eat ! Each of these recipes have been crafted by the Masterchefs of ITC hotels, from royal recipes guarded closely over the ages. You can also choose from exotic chutneys and conserves to add the perfect twist to any meal.


Wednesday, 8 May 2013

The love of my life...

Hi Guys,

Madhya Pradesh is the heart of Incredible !ndia....




but what lives in my heart and what I like the most is....



TEA 

I still remember asking my landlady in London before reaching there if Tea is available in plenty there and can I make it myself using their gas stoves and utensils? She told me, Yes and only if when you prepare the same for me too. I always loved Taj Mahal Tea so bought some packs of the same and continued the Taj Journey in London too! 

Waghbakri tea was the most popular tea there in Wembley area as it's mainly Gujrati community living there. Waghbakri Tea hails from Ahmedabad. Oh...i remember Waghbakri tea has to send me goodies pending since many months for their PredictAndWin Contest!

Cheers!!!

Books to read in 2013

Hi Guys,

These are some of the fiction & non-fiction to be read during these summers...




Injustice - Sanjiv Bhatia



Chocolate Guitar Momos - Kenny Deori Basumatary




Yoga For You - Prahlada & Shameem
Westlandbooks














Focus, Sam





The CRISIL Story - Westland Books
















I am one of the biggest fans of Westland Books. I have got a lot of books published by them. Last year also, I read a lot of books published by them. Let's hope that I get more before completing these ones...

Cheers!!!

Monday, 6 May 2013

Sony - MDR ZX100 Headphones

Hi Guys,

No no I have not won them, rather I bought them to gift them to someone. These are one of the best and cheapest headphone from the stable of Sony. They are light in weight and comes in two colors. I chose White so that it suits the personality of the person I was gifting them to.

The set has a long cable so that you can use them on your laptop also. Also the cable is thick so it remains untangled most of the time.



The sound coming out from the headphones was way better than some costlier headphones and Sony has a champ in this category for all the students and general users.

Thanks a lot! Cheers


Contact me for your product's review at twitter @araijain or @thelifesway or email - thelifesway@gmail.com