Author Archives: memoriesandsuch

2019 Secondary 4 Week 36 Update

Posted on by
Reply

This week is the week of the September holidays for the children and slightly more than 40 days to the start of the O level exams. This was also a very short school week as on Thursday the children had a half day and no lessons because of Teachers Day celebrations. Friday was a holiday and the start of their school holidays.

GG has finished around half her prelims and will finish the balance of papers after the holidays. She has her weak subjects after the holidays and I hope she is able to do reasonably well in those subjects.

BB, on the other hand, has started getting back his prelims results. While he has done well in some subjects, exceeding expectations in some subjects, he didn’t do well in others.

I also went back to BB’s school to help out in my last Teacher’s Day celebrations which was a nice break for me.

That was all from our side this week. Have a wonderful Sunday!

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

Smokescreen – Khaled Talib

22194833

At an ancient cafe in Cairo, two veteran spies plot a covert mission to resolve – once and for all – the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. The pledge: Israel will make a major concession as part of the peace treaty.

In Singapore, Jethro Westrope, a magazine journalist, stumbles onto the scene of a murder: the beautiful Niki Kishwani directs him, in her last breath, to a digital recorder, evidence that puts Jethro’s life in serious danger. And, much worse, he is framed for Niki’s murder.

Jethro sets out to find Niki’s killer and is drawn into a web of deception and intrigue involving officials from the Singaporean, Israeli, and American governments, each with a complex, competing, and potentially deadly agenda.

Against this pulse-pounding backdrop, Jethro races to find answers and save himself -yet nothing is as it seems. He finds himself at the centre of a political plot so diabolical and sweeping in its world implications that he is stunned to discover tomorrow’s news headlines today. He is being set up not only as a murderer but as an assassin, and something much larger than his own fate is in his hands.

Poem: The Power of Words

Posted on by
2
Source

I was mulling over the power that words have and wanted to write a blog post about it. But when I started writing the post, I realised I was able to express myself better through a poem than through prose. See the power that words was wielding over me?

Source

The Power of Words

Words can make you laugh, words can make you cry
Sometimes leaving your soul crushed and dry

Words can hurt, words can calm
Words have the power to be that that soothes, be the balm

Words can cause envy, words can cause strife
Words can also sometimes follow you in the afterlife

But words can be used hide and conceal
Words can make you want to do things with zeal

Words can be the cause of revolutions
Words can be the reason that makes people storm bastions

Words have such power you can see
Handle words with care, this is but a humble plea

Words are like bullets fired off a weapon,
Once spoken, can’t be recalled, it has to find its traction

That’s why it’s said to be careful with how and what you speak
Because once spoken, words can never be recalled or erased
Because once wrongly spoken, its future is very bleak
Words spoken in haste, can’t be reversed or retraced

So be aware the power and influence that words have over lives
After all, words have the power to change perspectives

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Krishna Key – Ashwin Sanghi

15733523

Five thousand years ago, there came to earth a magical being called Krishna, who brought about innumerable miracles for the good of mankind. Humanity despaired of its fate if the Blue God were to die but was reassured that he would return in a fresh avatar when needed in the eventual Dark Age—the Kaliyug.

In modern times, a poor little rich boy grows up believing that he is that final avatar.

Only, he is a serial killer.

In this heart-stopping tale, the arrival of a murderer who executes his gruesome and brilliantly thought-out schemes in the name of God is the first clue to a sinister conspiracy to expose an ancient secret—Krishna’s priceless legacy to mankind.

Historian Ravi Mohan Saini must breathlessly dash from the submerged remains of Dwarka and the mysterious lingam of Somnath to the icy heights of Mount Kailash, in a quest to discover the cryptic location of Krishna’s most prized possession. From the sand-washed ruins of Kalibangan to a Vrindavan temple destroyed by Aurangzeb, Saini must also delve into antiquity to prevent a gross miscarriage of justice.

Recipes: Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

Posted on by
Reply

Monday was Ganesh Chaturthi and as usual I made traditional modak or the sweet dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery as an offering or neividhyam to the Lord. I had about 2 tbsp of the filling left over and was wondering what I should do with it when I thought of incorporating it into a dal. I know Maharastrians do something similar with the filling of puran poli, so I took a leaf out of their book.

Fret not if you haven’t made modak the day you want to make this dal, all you need to do is just add coconut and jaggery to the dal and you get a lipsmacking tangy, yet sweet dal to eat with your rice and rotis.

Tangy and Sweet Chana Dal

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup chana dal
  • 1 small piece of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp crushed green chillies or geeen chilli paste
  • 1-2 tbsp modak filling
  • I tbsp grated coconut, roasted (if not using the stuffing)
  • 1 tbsp grated jaggery (if not using the stuffing)
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the chana dal and cook it either in the pressure cooker or on the stovetop till it is completely cooked and starts to lose its shape. Remove when cool and whisk it to a fine paste. Keep aside.
  • Mix and strain the tamarind pulp and get the juice. Keep aside.
  • Heat oil in a largish pan and when it starts to warm up, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Then add the green chilli paste and stir for a few seconds. Now add the whisked chana dal and stir well. Add the tamarind juice slowly and taste test for the level of sourness you want. Season with salt.
  • Thin the dal with water to your preference and let it come to a boil. When the dal comes to a rolling boil, add the modak filling and stir well.
  • If you don’t have the modak filling, just add 2 tbsp roasted coconut plus the jaggery and continue boiling the dal.
  • Finely chop the coriander leaves and garnish the dal. Serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.