Dive In

Am late as usual for the treasure hunt. This chocolate quickie has been doing rounds quite a bit and it's not even a great find any more. (And though I got this ready a while before, now, by the time am posting it, Christmas is jus round the corner!!) But I thought I should post this for Rashmi (see below). Being a skydiver she chats up with the clouds quite often and a short trip to chocolate heaven is not a bit of blight!

Let's make the cake.

All-purpose flour (maida)-3 tbsp
Powdered sugar-3-4 tbsp
Cooking oil-3tbsp
Milk (lukewarm)-3 tbsp
Cocoa powder-2 tbsp
Choc chips-2 tsp 
Vanilla essence-1/4 tsp
Cooking soda (soda bicarb)-1/4 tsp
Salt-a pinch


In a microwave safe bowl or coffee mug or whatever, mix the maida, sugar, cocoa powder, cooking soda and salt. Add oil, vanilla essence and milk to it. Stir well for a smooth batter without lumps. Add the choc chips and stir it again once or twice. At maximum power microwave this for 2.5 mins if it's a 700 Watt. Two mins for 900 W. Mine is 800 W and I did it for a lilover 2 mins. The cake drops down once cool. It's a lil dry and it's most natural for you to reach out for some choc sauce (Hershey's or Fun Foods) or vanilla ice cream. A generous portion for two. (Adapted from here.)



I look at her and can hardly believe here's a woman who has fallen meticulously from a 10,000 ft above ground level. There's none of the swollen pride in her at being tagged such exclusiveness in the world's fastest non mechanical sport-Sky Diving. She's totally humble and uber-cool. After getting trained in Gorakhpur in 2001 for Static Jumps, she joined her husband Rajiv for a stint in Brisbane to qualify for Free Falls (where she fell at the rate of about 200 ft per sec; she has qualified 450 jumps)! She took her qualifying flying training from the U. S. and holds a civil flying licence.

She says the most exciting moment is in that split second of aircraft to air, where gravity changes and you levitate for a while. Then it's a "normal feeling"...brrrr...folks do you dare to agree???

Check out this link for a live demo! It's so cool!

Rashmi's own words about her Free Fall experience:

Rashmi, along with Rajiv, are currently discovering the new found joy of parenting Kabir. Rashmi, hope you enjoyed the chocolate cinch; and a nip of it for Kabir too!! :P

I have a hive of activities in the pipeline for Christmas and it'll be well after New Year I end up posting my next. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!! Will meet you all in your blogs for the masterpiece Christmas posts!!!!! 

Thomas' Birthday Cake and Some Bachelor Boys

Am late. Thomas birthday was last month and all of it happened last month (lil over a month back) but I loved being late here. That's me.

Changing seasons, changing tastes. As much as I've developed a snicker for dark chocolate I find myself baking more of it! My heaven is made of not dark chocolate but white...hmmm yumm. However, my pantry has a generous stock of dark chocolate slabs which I "avariciously" (mind you, not greedily..) bought in the previous metro we were in. And in my new town (oh so lovely Goa; my town Vasco is so so sleepy yet I love it!) the climate is so scarily hot and humid that I found many of my masalas topped with fungus and I hate wastage.
I hate wastage of any kind; be it food, words, love, energy, time.
And I started on frantic efforts of storing my box of choc slabs in the coolest corner in my almirah along with my clothes...I realised I should do something! So it's mainly chocolate baking and desserts. Thankfully I've droves of people around to nosh on it.
I didn't taste this cake as it was baked for Thomas' colleagues. There had to be a cake-cutting ceremony right! Those who tasted it said "awesome". Now that's like at least a "very good" because the men around here are gallantinos and I always take their compliments one tier down :P It's rich and decadent, of course, and I slathered it with chocolate sauce and choc chips with a vengeance...mercilessly...I dunno, was smitten by some choc bug that one hour!

Here goes the recipe.

self-rising flour-1 2/3 cups
unsweetened cocoa powder-1/3 cup
baking powder-1/2 tsp
butter-3/4 cup, softened
superfine sugar-3/4 cup
eggs-2 large, separated
salt-1/8 tsp

(Self-rising flour is by adding 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to one cup all-purpose flour or maida.)

Chocolate Cream Frosting

dark chocolate (I use Mordes brand)-6 oz, coarsely chopped
butter-1/3 cup
sweetened condensed milk-1/2 cup
dark chocolate-6 oz, coarsely grated

Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into a large bowl. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, until just blended after each addition. With mixer at low speed, gradually beat in the dry ingredients. With mixer at medium speed, beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form. Fold them into the batter. Spoon the batter into an 8-inch pan that's been buttered and floured. Springform pan is ideal. Bake for 40-45 mins, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cake a bit; loosen and invert. Let cool completely. Dust with some cocoa powder.
Frosting: Melt the chocolate, butter and condensed milk in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Slather the cake generously all over. Loosen it with some milk if too viscous. Spoon some into a pastry bag and pipe on top of the cake in a decorative manner. Decorate the sides with grated chocolate. (I made additional butter frosting as I wanted the two different colours in the pic; I added red colour to one portion and cocoa powder to the rest.)

(Adapted from Reader's Digest Cakes 1001 Classic Recipes)

Over to the second episode of the soap! I planned a surprise on Thomas' birthday eve. I requested the bachelor boys (a VIBRANT lot of seven to eight guys) right opposite for a "designed bounce": which means whether I'd invited them or not they would've bounced; so I thought it's better to plan it! They came in at the right time with a fabulous birthday cake (pic) and Chaitanya (Chatty) had forgotten the candles I'd asked him to buy. He's passionately courting his fiancee and my request ended up like a candle in the wind in his mind ;P. You're excused Chatty. Wait till you get married and start getting "half kilo baingan, one kg onion, hundred gm garlic" smses instead of the "sweets and darls and honeys" message croon that's happening now!! That said nothing negative intended on conjugal bliss. Companionship is its best gift: the potatoes and onions are just part of the onus of responsibility that comes with a family life...You've to graduate one day or the other right? ;P

K...I digressed. The boys came in; I'd preset the birthday song (in case the boys suddenly lost their voices enmasse..muahaha); there was one shoddy candle I'd yanked out of my pantry (Chatty...chup) that thankfully glowed like someone lighted to lighten; and the table was laid with some yummy meat/veg rolls and sandwiches. Thomas was woken up and I think he went through the entire process sleeping with his eyes open...!!! because he's one man capable of stabbing you if woken up from sleep. Wow we survived, boys!! The cake was cut; the boys sang the song a second time whoa; and whacked the goodies happily gratefully.

All lived happily ever after...

Thank you Thomas for waking up and leaving me alive; thank you boys for your sweetness and promptness :)

Am Back!

Racing in Red
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

Am getting back to the coop! My break was prolonged because I was living life king size: yea…a mélange of settling in; consistent bouts of sickness; guests from native place; ladies activities in my community; some fantastic time off in avid reading; and warm socializing. I’m letting you in on my secret: I DID NOT MISS BLOGGING; there was so much good and bad happening!

I want to thank my family (especially my husband Thomas whose cool-headedness is such a turn-on for me :P) and friends for helping me in my madness; easing my palpitations; and turning the burner on my passions.

Here’s a stunner (one of my faves) from photographer and entrepreneur Anoop Negi. This is from the Champakara Boat Race, 2007, Onam Celebrations in Kerala. You can reach him at Fb, Twitter, Flickr, etc. Ogle at this beauty till am back with a delicious piece of cake and a balmier slice of life!

Chow chow!

Goodbye Summer

I rammed her photostream till it was broken for this beauty!!

She steps out of her cot way too early in the morn than anyone of us can imagine; a quick splash of water and she's in her kitchen quietly packing a solo light picnic pack. She tip toes out of her front door; locks the door ( ah she's locked her husband in!! yes yes); and bursts forth riotously into the early hues of a merciful morn. Let's follow her trail...

That's Iris Hues for you. A soon-to-be doctorate from IIT Delhi (wow; she's brains all over...and she's my friend ;P), she hearts birding, wildlife, food frames and more frames! With a mind of her own, she laps each day with a humongous appetite for anything beautiful that catches the fancy of her lens-its lights and hues...

This particular snap is one of my faves in her stream; as summer fades in the dance of Thor here...Hues of Summer for you by Iris Hues.

.........................................................................................................................................................

I'm taking a two-month break from blogging; maybe not from blog-hopping. Reason: Lock stock barrel movement to a new city-one of its kind!!

Till then ciao...love you folks!

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Mr Stink Anonymous aka Mr Rough Riders

Meet a cartoon character. Mr Stink Anonymous Mr Rough Riders. To get a first-hand feel of this hero read through the comments he's been loyally posting to me of late.

Anonymous said...

WOAH!! Another POOP LOOK ALIKE dish!! MAN, you are so good in shitty presentation BITCH! After so long you're back to track BIACH!!!! I thought u were dead???? Fuck you bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (this comment has unfortunately deleted during recent maintenance period by Blogger)

WOAH! The sauce looks soooo shitty!!! *pukes*

Fuck off bitch! Ur blog looks like shit.

Oh yea you guessed right. He's a psycho. Very naturally. So Mr SA aka RR, if you think I'm so good at royal shit presentations I'm equally good at promoting exceptional talent. Yea and I notice you've oodles of perverse talent.

So you're a psycho first and then a coward and then well well....

My only regret about you is that you're from my beautiful state of Kerala in India. I'm a proud malayalee proud of my roots but I strongly deplore the male chauvinism in the community here which is its biggest curse. One of my friends (an educated wise person) recently said women are better off everywhere else in the country compared to Kerala. I could only sigh inwardly becuse it's so true. And it's precisely men like you who should be wiped out completely to make the plight of women in my state better.

I notice you've been doing your stealth rounds under a cowardish "Anonymous" in quite a number of blogs. We're all confident women capable of carrying ourselves well. And by God's grace married to good (malayalee or otherwise) men who are extremely supportive. Because only a happy mind can produce creative spaces like this.

I realise there's no point in communicating sensibly to such degraded cartoons like you but pl take notice that your comments do not ruffle one single feather in me. I, like my peers, am a confident skilled and sophisticated woman privileged to be part of a Community that is the cream of the country. So you can continue your abusive remarks like a rabid dog till whenever...I'm too suave for a puny worm like you. I only pity the family that houses a pervert like you :(

So here's to Mr Stink Anonymous Mr Rough Riders....long life punctured with tell tales of insanity and wantonness....hehehehe.

Are you with me gurlzzzzzzzzzz???

Bachelor Boy Series #3

Pan-fried Chicken

Easter is here. Like every other celebration everything else takes a backfoot except feasting. Most of us have this refrain running in our life: "Ever since i was a child and as far as i can remember i had this and this or that and that in my paternal/maternal house." And it's really sad when you don have your family around you and you're alone...coz your friends generally end up bonding with their families on these occasions. Sigh...the Bachelors. With a lump in your throat you look back on the memory of that rich spread on your table, drooling way too indecently for a decent chap :P But as we go by the idea of making the most of your state i have a fairly appetising chow before you which is super easy and so really tasty that my platter passed the Mom's Test :)

Post script: This was my humble Easter post. Easter's come and gone and all the mirth would've become beautiful frames now and the palaver penned into well-written memoirs....And here am I entering the scene unpardonably late...jus goes to show what responsibilities do to you...the kind which settle on you loud and stubborn...



Pan-fried Chicken

chicken-6 medium pieces (boneless or otherwise)

curd-3 tsp

soya sauce-1 tsp

ginger-garlic paste-2 or 21/2 tsp OR

fresh ginger-1/2" piece

fresh garlic- 8 small pods (vary as per the size)

pepper powder-1 tsp

coriander powder-1/2 tsp

salt-1/2 tsp

red wine-2 tbsp (optional)

water-1/2 cup

oil-1 tbsp

Wash the chicken. make a marinade of all the ingredients above except water and oil and allow the chicken to stand in marinade for a minimum of ten mins. An hour is desirable. transfer to a heavy bottomed pan and add the 1/2 cup water and turn on the flame high leaving it with the lid on. after ten mins take off the lid and let the chicken cook on medium flame. do not add more water as the chicken is sure to leave quite a bit. stir occasionally. as the water reduces (takes about twenty mins) keep a closer look to avoid the pieces sticking to the pan. take another frying pan and add the oil and heat. add the chicken pieces. turn them in and out for as little as three-four mins on medium flame. serve hot and enjoy!

Citrus Cream Pudding

I love this dessert for its simplicity and taste. Quick to do up and ever so delicious…an exemplary dessert I must say. It tastes like a cheesecake and has the added advantage of being an authorised dinner dessert! So to create these citrus flavours we go about it like this…

lemon juice-11/2 tbsp or two lemons
lemon rind-1 tsp
butter (unsalted)-50 gm
powdered sugar-3/4 cup
all purpose flour (maida)-1/4 cup
milk-1 cup
eggs-2 (yolk and white separated)
baking powder-1/2 tsp (level)

Mix the maida and baking powder and keep aside. Beat the butter and sugar creamy in a bowl with a wooden spoon (I used the beater). Drop the maida mix in it and loosen the batter slightly using some of the measured one cup milk. Add the lemon juice and rind and some milk. The mix curdles. Beat the egg yolk slightly and add into the curdled mix along with the remaining milk. Beat the egg white stiff and fold in gently and evenly on top.

Take ample amount of hot water in a wide oven dish and keep the bowl with the dessert mix in it. Bake at 160-170 C for 45 mins. You get a brown crust and a soft and mushy inner layer.

I had to rub in some more citrus flavours….ever since the orange season was in I’ve been over zealously and funnily adding it to all the cake batters and pudding mixes then. So I used 11/2 tbsp lemon juice and added 2 tbsp orange juice and I tbsp blueberry syrup too. I wanted to be loud about the blueberries so I topped my photo slice with a generous dollop of blueberry!

Bachelor Boy Series #2




Overburnt-not an exemplary photo for a bachelor!!

 

My brother said he dreamt of fish…eeks! But he did…fried fish. In his hermetic life in NZ as a student he was painfully deprived of this pleasure. This recipe goes out to him and the other bachelor.  You think of the stink and mess and recoil from it. Well frozen fish that’s sliced and whisked off the shelf can hardly pose a likely threat but if at all put the fish in a pan and throw some salt and vinegar with a lil water. Let the fellows get cleansed of the forbidden stink. Drain out the water and let stand for a while to avoid excessive sizzle in oil.

Fried Fish

(for four slices)

Boneless fish (any)-4 slices

Ginger-garlic paste or crushed ginger and garlic-1-11/2 tbsp

Salt-1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder-a pinch or two

Pepper powder-1/2 tsp

Oil-1 tbsp

Make a paste of this and dab evenly on the fish slices. Let the marinade be for 10-15 mins or even less if you’re in a hurry. Pour very lil oil in a skillet and fry them lightly or as per your choice. flavour with lemon juice as desired. dont be discouraged by the bland masala. ginger/garlic-pepper-salt-lemon is one of the most honest and fresh combinations...the tastes play a wonderful foil to each other here.

Mine are overdone in the click… I went to get my baby’s feed ready. So Mr. Bachelors you’ve no excuse :P do it to perfection!! This can make your Spartan rice and urukai an envious platter!

I'm linking this to Ayeesha's Taste of Pearl City Anyone Can Cook Event FB WLI WMT.

Wordless on Jewellery!!

For the original size and more reach Stephanie Tramontozzi in Flickr!!
Do shop at her etsy domain!
     (photo courtesy of Stephanie Tramontozzi © All Rights Reserved)

Windows and Me

My life seems to be mostly shut windows...

As i'm about to open them for a whiff of fresh air i'm asked to close them and leave...for another place and a repeat pattern.

I'm taking a ten-day break to console my tired bones, body and mind.

Till i meet you all again...happy blogging and a life rich in flavours and unwashed vessels :P

This photograph belongs to Subhasini.

Bachelor Boy Series #1

Slow-Cooked Buttermilk/Kachiya Moru

Without much ado lemme put this down. two bachelors requested me for some quick and easy recipes and i'm starting a Bachelor Boy Series :) here we have cooked buttermilk which is a regular unavoidable splash on the kerala rice platters. now if you ask me isn't it easier to have it as curd or buttermilk i would say not necessarily. this tastes really good and doesn't bore you like buttermilk may after some days. plus it has a longer shelf life than buttermilk as it's cooked. i generally make it for a week and put in the refrigerator. and take out a lil each day and warm it slightly.

beaten curd-4 cups
oil-2 tsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
shallots-10 nos
garlic flakes-10 nos
ginger-1/4" piece (optional)
fresh or dried chillies-2-3 cut in two
fenugreek powder-1/2 tsp
cumin powder-1/4 tsp
chilli powder-1/4 tsp
turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
sugar-2 pinch
salt-2 tsp

Add the cumin, turmeric powder and the salt and beat the curd slightly either in a grinder or with a beater OR with a spoon/fork in your hand! slice shallots, garlic and ginger (if you use) thin and break the chillies into two three pieces. wash the curry leaves and let them dry so that they wont sizzle unreasonably in the oil. get your tadka ready (mustard, shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies, curry leaves) in a plate. get the vessel to pour the cooked buttermilk also ready with a lil sugar in it. my mum says the sugar is to balance the flavours.

Add the oil. heat it up nicely and without lowering the flame splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. lower the flame and put the shallots, garlic, green chillies and ginger (if you're using). saute them for two mins. add the powders after turning off the gas to avoid them getting burnt. saute for a few secs. turn on the gas. ensure the flame is low and pour the beaten curd slowly and keep stirring. the trickiest part is here. this has to be slow-cooked. it takes around twenty mins. the important thing is to keep stirring; hey you cant multi task here. you fuss and turn on the flame high and the beaten curd curdles and then you call it by your liking...it wont be kachiya moru :P once you see the shallots and garlic and chillies surfacing and the curd gets really hot (twenty mins max for 4 cups curd) turn it off, pour into the vessel kept ready without delay.

Stir the moru in the vessel once in a way till it cools. store in the refrigerator or out if the weather is cool enough and have it with steamed rice and pickle (urukai)...mebbe some chicken too hehe.

You can happily do away with the ginger, shallots, chilli powder, cumin powder...these are added more for their medicinal properties than taste. but the indispensable ingredients are mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek powder (it adds the distinct taste and is a health-forte; you can dry roast some fenugreek seeds and splutter these along with the mustard seeds if you cant powder them), garlic (i cant do without these darlings).

I'm linking this to Any One Can Cook Event from Ayeesha's Taste of the Pearl City.

Award!

The Sisterhood award has been given to me by Ami. thank you so much! Her blog is an excellent repertoire of vegetarian cuisine, especially mixed rice!!

Rules for taking up this award.

(1) Thank the person who sent you the award and link the blogger.

(2) Copy and paste the logo in your blog.

(3) Share seven things about yourself.

(4) Nominate 15 bloggers.

(5) Comment and let them know of the award.

It's not so easy to know about me :P you've to head here.

Bloggers of my choice to whom i pass this fraternity award:

mini

judyjoycesylvia

jill

steph

erin

indu

erica

nashie

shafmuz

yin

hani

farah

sweta

suchi

abeer

Thank you!

Chai and Paintings

Sheba is a stay-at-home mom (for the time being) who's forever in a scramble to slot her multifarious activities because her talents are a smidge too many to be cast in one human form. she's a tanjore painter. an OC baker. a classical singer. she resides in the book she reads till she's done with it. my friend she is and a great one too.

Tanjore painting is like meditation for her. when there was a short term course on hear it seemed to be a slam dunk option for her and she dived straight in. she held her first exhibition in nariman point, mumbai in october 2010. she paints to order for choice customers. here are her coveted specimens. 

However, she hates regular cooking and i actually caught her with these words: "I throw up my hands at making a decent cuppa tea." now that's unpardonable...you can continue making faces at those run-of-the-mill dishes but not our tea...our kerala tea. me being your friend cannot let you survive like this!!

We in kerala don't scrimp on, at least, tea. in fact men have it in spades if they happen to be at home....sigh. my friends have cracked up at the sight of those drawling incessant slugs we take from our dear mugs of tea. it is elixir for the quintessential malayalee, especially the older generation. the only thing thomas fusses is his cup of tea. give him a slopshod one and his eyes fill...haha

Lemme put down my tea recipe for sheba and hopie (whom i'd promised the kerala way of brewing this magic potion). this is for two cups.

tea (granules/dust)-2 to 21/2 tsp
sugar-3 tsp
milk-1 cup
water-11/4 cups

Mix the water and milk and put on heat. add sugar and let it boil. as it froths up add the tea powder and simmer for two mins. (i realise that if you're impatient with your tea then you end up adding more tea powder; so to economise slow down honey and brew it for a steady two to three mins.) turn on high heat and as the brew froths up turn off heat and quickly cover it with a lid. wait for a couple of secs. take off the lid and strain out the tea. pour into your cups and enjoy the mast chai. we use tata tea premium which is really strong (ek dam kadak). if it's a lighter tea you may have to add three tsps. again, we use skimmed milk here (i mean, it's thin by default, blah). if your milk is creamy/high fat use 11/2 cups water for a cup of milk.

Given this much next time sheba, you've a soiree, i should catch your guests saying not "lovely paintings" but "lovely chai and paintings" rrreeeeeeee!!!

Jacky Chips

Jacky is a familiar fruit for us in Kerala because it grows mostly uninvited in the backyards of Kerala households. a totally non fuss fruit ready to lend its sweetness and goodness to all and sundry. while many of us love the fresh fruit and the seeds fried in oil and coconut slices, we do shun the strong and stubborn smell it exudes. people tend to ignore this benign infinitely buxom fruit (one fruit can weigh as much as 45 kg!) and i've seen it rotting in many a backyard.

Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh. it is predominantly found in Asia and the tropical lowlands of Brazil and Africa. it has a tough prickly skin which is studded and rough. you cut open and find a mesh of events within. the fibrous mass are the rags and enmeshed are the fleshy bulbs which enclose the seed. the seed is covered by a light yellow membrane which can be fried and eaten and it tastes very good.

Jacky is rich in protein, carbs, vitamins, potassium, phytonutrients all of which help the health wisely.

The raw fruit is fried as in the pic and steam cooked like kappa vevichathu. so when my mum sent me a portion of the big fruit by Air India along with some fried chips it was my first time cutting it up!  i quite liked it and i like such messy stuff...it's nice to see the filth clearing away..i threw off the bark, sectioned the fruit out carefully and scooped the seeds. had the bulbs fresh and fried the seeds, slicing them fine, boiling, draining and frying them in coconut oil with curry leaves, crushed garlic and shallots, turmeric and chilli powders, pepper and salt.

To make jacky chips you got to cut them fine (as in the pic). heat oil nicely. reducing the flame only a wee bit put them in, and they sizzle. add salt to it two-three mins later. take them out of oil before they brown. put them back again and jiggle them in the oil before lifting them out finally. this last step makes the chips crunchier and crispier.

There's a whole range of snacks and sweets that we make out of it like halwa, varattu, ada, thiyal...my mum in law makes them all...not me, oh yea!!

Anoop Negi's Eye Poppers

Onam in Kerala: Green Faces in Thought
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi ©All Rights Reserved)

Theyyam: Attachamayam: Onam in Kerala
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved) 

Color Me Red: Thripunithara Carnival, Kerala
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

 

Fishing Apocalypse
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)



Goa Carnival 2010
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

 

More Dancing: Goa Carnival (photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

Shakira of Goa! (photo courtesy of Anoop Negi© All Rights Reserved)



Michael Jackson Dies too Young!
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

At Work in Goa: Shirgao Yatra-Nah Not Sylvester
(photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved)

There's a painter by name Stephanie Tramontozzi. (her design website is undergoing a revamp but you can track her work in flickr) she says she has a big appetite for colours, textures and flavours...so do i...at least for colours and flavours. she's been feeling a little low in the sail this new year and been trying to find inspiration. and this post goes out especially to her; to Steph who loves a riot of colours as much as i do! hope this generous smattering of vibrant colours inspires her for her next rocking creation. oh and she cooks by the way....:P. down below are two of her works.

I first came across Anoop Negi's photo while i was doing an article on Goa. swell picture that was. as i browsed for Taj Hotel, Mumbai for my previous blog post i chanced on him again and i got hooked. i simply loved the celebration of colours in his photographs and was flattered by his strokes across our country showcasing its ethnographic richness.

Anoop Negi is a stock market investor who has been seriously dabbling in photojournalism for over ten years now...the photographs put up here are the ones that pinned me down. and this is just a peep hole to a plethora of his soul-stirring images. nudge these links for a closer look!

Anoop Negi in Obvious
Anoop Negi in ofindianorigin

From my short contact with him i gathered he's a great person to connect with and willing to share his knowledge and booty. you can spot him at

Flickr
Twitter
Facebook

As usual I troubled Yoboy for Blogger assistance in this post. thank you pal...you sure need a shout out :P

A Nifty Tour Guide

Taj Hotel, Mumbai

Photo courtesy of Anoop Negi © All Rights Reserved

Now carry your local guide in your pocket!

Many a time you're totally smitten by the travel bug but you feel jaded at the huge prospect of packaging a tour; you blink at the logistics invloved in it. with GPSmycity tour guides you can now confidently beetle off to your choice city and indulge your wanderlust.

GPSmycity.com is an archive of self-guided walking tour software applications on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. these apps can be installed at very reasonable customer-friendly rates. once installed your iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad becomes your unerring guide to invade your dream city without coughing up too much currency. using GPS technology GPSmycity.com navigates around 2000 walking tours across 180 major cities in the world. it provides precise point-to-point directions to the touted landmarks and sights as well as the offbeat spots of each city.

Consider Mumbai. Swing by these links for a good look.

Mumbai Walking Tour
iPhone application Mumbai

What i have below is a quiz contest from the team at GPSmycity.com. those of you who send at least five correct answers (or how many ever you know :P) to quiz@gpsmycity.com will be awarded three city walk iPhone applications to cities of your choice.

1. Who is the only Indian to have been given honorary US citizenship?

A.Mahatma Ghandi
B.Mother Theresa
C.Rabindranath Tagore

2. Who was the first person to use zero as a number?

A.Brahmagupta
B.Archimedes
C.Jayadeva

3. The wooden pole in the centre of the Banganga Tank in Mumbai was created (as legends tell), by Lord Ram piercing the earth with his arrow. It is believed that the place signifies:

A.The entrance to the Underworld
B.A holy place all Indians should visit at least once in their life
C.The centre of the Earth

4.Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling who wrote Kim and The Jungle Book was born in:

A.Delhi
B.Mumbai
C.Agra

5. What type of uniforms do the traffic cops in Mumbai wear?

A.Yellow shirt and long shorts
B.Green costumes
C.White shirt and khaki trousers

6.Home to India’s Hindi film and television industry, Mumbai is known as:

A.Bollywood
B.Nollywood
C.Tollywood

7. What is the most popular sport in Mumbai?

A.Soccer
B.Cricket
C.Tennis

8.At the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, there is an original portrait of a former US President. Motivated by history or not, the portraits belongs to no one else but:

A.Thomas Jefferson
B.Theodore Roosevelt
C.Abraham Lincoln

9. Any Bombayite knowns that "town" means south of Churchgate, which is a:

A.Railway station
B.Church
C.City Gate

10. The railway line from Mumbai to Pune through Bhor Ghat was built in 1863 by:

A.A woman
B.100 slaves
C.12 elephants

So boot and bundle up to your dream city with GPSmycity.com!