Food is an art.

I've got a neighbor who bakes cakes professionally. Some people may start drawing conclusions calling me lucky, but I'd say the opposite. When you're greeted with the delightful aroma of freshly baked cake in the corridor when you've come home from college, threatening to open those salivary glands, it requires all the self control you posses to stop your hand that's itching to ring the doorbell to your neighbor’s house instead of your own!

I'm no food lover. Yet, I can't describe food in just a few words. Food is a delicacy. It’s an ancient art and like all forms of art keep developing with time, so does food. Just like art, you've got traditional authentic food, as when it was made in the time when our land was ruled by royalty and everything used was fresh and new. On the other hand, you've got fast food just like we have graffiti. Something captivating that comes up while you're snapping your fingers or whistling a tune. It's fast and easy to cook up with its own technique and way to go about it. Then comes Modern art, where you let your hands do what they want, and travel the paper as they like to. You let your heart control your movements and come up with some abstract design (Translation: A mysterious "shape" that millions of people are supposed to figure out) having a deep underlying meaning. So many chefs out there are whipping out new dishes and blending together different tastes to create something new and exotic. Sometimes, I feel we don't appreciate them enough!

On another note, I eat only Jain food. In case you don't know what that means, Jain food is vegetarian food with a few more restrictions. It doesn't include underground vegetables as well like potatoes or onions. (Mind you, the reason isn't because it grows underground. I guess most of what we Jain people can't eat does (grow underground), which is why categorizing it like that seemed to be easier.) Some people ask me why I follow it. Is it because I just believe in my religion and it’s something I have to do? Or is it because I just can't bring myself to eat other food? Honestly, it’s the latter. Just thinking about killing something which can talk, see, smell and roam around the world like us human beings makes me feel like a murderer. At the same time, I try my best to respect my friends and not make a face when they eat. (Really, I do!) They claim that I'm missing out on a large part of my life and that Jain food is bland......

I accidently overheard them talking and approached them. The Indian guy also told me that his friends were planning to open a line of Jain resteraunts...Good Luck with that! :D

.....So, you can't imagine my surprise when I walked on these people having a completely Jain spread at a restaurant! And they admitted that it tasted good too!

After looking at my mom and grand mom put in so much effort while cooking and after looking at the way people can describe food and have arguments about them with expressions on their face you never thought possible, I realised that calling food just good, or even wonderful doesn't do it justice. Some pasta may be delectably soft with a parcel of spiciness engulfing it with flavours unknown, you may have hot rotis at your service which have steam oozing out of it's unnoticeable pores as it flattens down and the ice cream must be icily inviting with some scrumptious Belgian chocolate to die for! Just listen to a food monster talk about food- you'll get my point if you haven't already! :P

Kanksha :)

Thanks for reading! 

Btw, I loveee taking pictures of food. If you get the correct angle and light, even apples can be made to look delicious. Not that I don't like apples. 

Transitions

Listening to good music leaves you lost in the melody, while you circle around the beat. Before you realise it, the story has moved on from the initial awkward meeting and hesitant conversations to arguments and finally the wild (end of story) party. This transition from soft music to thumping loud music is so flawless that you won't even realise that it took place (unless you're concentrating.)

Transitions can be slow or happen in milliseconds. They can be happy or heartbreaking. Life and death. Two "things" that no one has understood yet. In fact, it's ambiguity and sketchiness makes it all the more endearing. We come up with more and more concepts, more and more theories but no one knows what will happen in the end. It feels terrible when you find out someone died, especially when it's someone young. Cancer, for one, has stolen millions of souls indifferent to the age. But I think, out here, it's more of the mental transition. The acceptance of the fact that one is going to die is necessary (though hair raising), but giving up fighting isn't admissible. The minute one changes how one thinks, the second one loses courage or hope and opens Pandora's box, is the day that person has decided his own death. On the other hand, some people are tungsten strong. They smile and live life normally as far as they can, and continue doing so till their last breath. I admire them. To be your own rock is probably the most difficult thing to do.

On the other hand some transitions are beautiful. Like the ugly duckling, you may ask. Well, I'm talking about the caterpillar. You'll see it munching parts of the leaves, crushing them with what it calls it's teeth, growing into a mini version of a gargantuan pig. And then it contrives with immense skill an intricately woven twist around itself. Wait for a few days, and before you, there is a biological miracle, weighing half the weight it originally did and looking way more gorgeous - The Butterfly.

You get these mugs and cars that change colour, you've got chameleons which do that by simply sitting on an object. Once again, this colour change is so fascinating to examine that you can watch it multiple times and still be enthralled.

All these transitions or transformations require their own amount of time. If given lesser time, the process will fail. I guess we must give everything the time it needs; including ourselves. Some of us (like me) keep complaining about how we don't get time for all those things we want to do. And all those things hardly ever include just relaxing or doing absolutely nothing. Maybe doing nothing and looking at the traffic go by, to watch three buses try to squeeze into one lane, isn't a bad idea once in a while.

Kanksha :)

Thanks for reading! 

Joy of Siblings.

If you've got a sibling, you must think I'm mental (to even think of such a heading). I could say I'm excessivly sarcastic, but that wouldn't be completely true! Give it a thought, and you will agree. And if you don't have a sibling, I'd leave it by saying that having one does have its own perks.

Alright. This is one of the most conflicting topic ever. Most siblings have pretty tantalizing relationships. Some of them claim to hate each other, but have an ocean of love for them all the same. Independent of the age difference, they tend to undergo a temporary metamorphosis once in a while. A defect in the vocal chords, a small uncorking of the anger control screw in the brain and removal of the non-violent gene is all it takes for World War Three to occur. Trust me, I'm not kidding.

I asked a few of my college friends to define their siblings in 5 words. And if not that, requested them to tell me whatever came to their mind first. Here are a few of them:

"She is a CHOCOLATE STEALER. Where does her diet go when she wants chocolate, huh? And shopping. She can go shopping anywhere. Looks around for 2 hours and buys nothing. I accompany her for food." (he has got an elder sister.)

"I'd call my younger brother Fat. Short. Fat. *thinks* but he is becoming more like me as a person, so I guess its okay." 

"Bitch. * 5" Is what one guy called his younger sister. When I told him I wanted it for my blog, four of those 'bitches' became caring, manipulative, considerate and helpful. 

"Smart. He is going to be smarter than me. When I told my mom she made the mistake of not making me study, she's made sure she doesn't make the same mistake with him. :')" (she was blessed with a younger brother.)

I know of a guy whose has a wickedly clever younger sister. She sits by his door, soundlessly listening to him talk to his friends. He deserves it though, as he checks all her facebook conversations in return. Another young lady, cousin of a guy in my college asked me to spy on him, and tell her if he talked to any girls. And if not, any boys. xP It's just so ironic that younger siblings are taking the responsibility of looking after the older ones. I know of two more people whose younger siblings (complete nerds full of themselves) nag them to study. 

I find it funny how they are the ones who infuriate you to no end, yet be the ones who save your skin from your parents all the same. I think the best bonding time is when they're both in trouble, or about to face their parents wrath...because that's when you work as a team. You talk with your eyes, make subtle gestures and end up stifling your laughter instead of feeling low. 

As I said, having a sibling has got it's perks. You've got to go out of your way sometimes, but those moments fighting for a pillow, switching the TV channels to and fro, arguing on every small thing even if it's not necessary and singing together at the top of your voices are unforgettable. 

Love you Dish. <3

Kanksha. :)

For all those who don't know, I've got a younger sister....her name isn't dish, or fork for that matter, but that isn't really important. Anyways, thanks for reading.

Feel free to share any anecdotes, whether they bring out a laugh, or a chuckle. :D