A HEALTHY FOODIE.. Follow me..

“You are such a Foodie by God!”

Many people become sad or ashamed of such a statement. But I love when I am told the same. Being Foodie is not a crime. You should love food in any form. The food must be tasty and well garnished to look appetizing and tempting for the five senses of human being. You must know what to eat and when to eat and in which combination: so that after you have consumed the whole meal, you do not feel guilty for consuming huge amount of empty or unnecessary calories. You must know how to compensate on the high calorie meals so that you are able to maintain your body weight. You must love to eat food. Otherwise you will suffer from various deficiency problems in the long run.

Many people ask me looking at me “You are under strict Dieting I hope?” I reply them back with a big Smile,” First of all I hate the term Dieting. Because to common people dieting still means eating nothing or less eating. Secondly, I don’t control on my appetite or diet. I eat what I find appealing and tasty. I savour the taste of everything. But the only thing is that I eat with such a  combination that my body weight is always maintained. “

Every meal should be high in protein and fibre and low in carbohydrates. I concentrate on this. I also compensate the extra calories that I eat occasionally, through the following meals or on the next day. That help me in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and healthy body weight. Love your Food, Love eating whatever you find tasty and appetizing and love yourself. Be happy and stay healthy.    

Shimla: My Homeland

It feels good when I sit under the sun in the winters specially in my home land, Shimla. While enjoying winters in Calcutta at the end of November, I deeply miss the cool weather, the fresh winds and the warm sunshine of Shimla. These things have taught me to spend time with myself and never get bored when alone or in a group. They have taught me to love Mother Nature. They have taught me to be simple and humble. They  have guided me through the steep uneven paths to Jakhu Temple alone and listen to the soft winds whispering in my ears a lullaby. When I am idle my feet would automatically lead to the mall road – bidding Namaste to people I know (the maximum of the crowd), eating hot gulab jamun from Baljeez, just sit idle facing towards the distant horizon of hills and feel the warmth of sunshine on my back which try to bring me some relief from the cold, savoring the taste of a steaming cup of coffee in my hand. The pine trees have taught me to unleash the unspoken words. The hills have taught me to think and see things on a broader prespective and remain strong and stand by the right decision throughout my life. The yards and yards of silence have taught me to be patient and calm at the most difficult times in life. 

 On the onset of winters in Shimla, hailstones start falling without any prior notice. The hails have given me happiness and I have played with it in my childhood. When I grew up, I used to watch passersby running for shelter during the hail-rain alike children who ran out of their houses with their mothers shouting behind them, to collect hailstones.

Mostly , I have spent time alone in this land of eternity. But I feel to be grateful for that. Strolling through the crowd of tourists, I headed towards the Christ Church (the show stopper of the mall road of Shimla)to find more peace and harmony through prayers and carols. 

Though the Lower bazaar remained crowed, but still in the evenings sometimes after I had finished my strolling and enjoying with the Nature I led my way through Lower Bazar. The pavements are filled with hawkers and the shops are always overflowing with customers. The shop keepers are busy trading. The customers are busy choosing on the stuff to buy. The real hustle bustle of a city can only be found in the Lower Bazar of Shimla. It’s not at all as quiet as the other parts of Shimla.

 After dark also I loved to stay outdoors to see surrounding hill tops then the slopes being gulped by the darkness. Gradually the slopes of the hills started to get illuminated one, two three… then a bunch full of lights… and then the whole slope used to dress up for the evening show with twinkling lights. Cold puffs out from your mouth, warming your  hands in the pocket and the feel of little shiver as the chilling wind kisses you in your face. It is nothing but marvelous.

The last but not the least the Shimla Kali Bari. The unforgettable place for me. The ringing of the temple bells and the sound of the drums during aarti are so nostalgic to me.  The distribution of bhog or Prasad after puja and the evening aarti still brings serenity to me. The view of the long stretched greenery and the 360 degree view of the Shimla, during different times of the day, can never be forgotten by me.

The monkeys gathering and drinking water from the temple tap and the people leaving their queue for the monkeys is the rarest scene to be seen in Shimla Kali Bari courtyard. The monkeys entering the Shiv ji Mandir making their way through the crowd to eat on the bananas and the sweets is a common scene to be experienced in Shimla. You can feel free to feed the monkeys from your own hand. These wild monkeys have never been trained by anyone. But still they come to you if you call them, hold your palm with their both hands, stand up and feed on to whatever vegetarian you offer them.

Among the most nostalgic things in Shimla are the smell and the feel in the pollution free cool air, the weather and the simple people dwelling there. Now I can say that I am proud to be an Indian-a bonafied Himachali-a Bengali. 3 in 1. I feel so proud of myself. I contain the culture and values of all the three. I miss Shimla in every breath wherever I stay and in all seasons. I love Shimla and dream to have my own sweet home in one of the  slopes of the hills in Shimla. I know it’s impossible as Shimla is already overcrowded and id extending to Solan- the valley.  I still close my eyes and whenever I want to see my homeland all the sweet memories come rushing infront of eyes to make me happy. I may have left my homeland but I am present in every part and every content of Nature of Shimla. 

Happy Childrens' Day To Me

Who do not want to be in a house surrounded by yards of greenery? You would have kitchen garden that would serve the purpose of your daily little needs. You would have some hens, some cocks, some sheep, and some horses to take care of and keep yourself engaged during the lazy time of the day after finishing your daily household chores. Its only peace and serenity around you and you sleep at night at the lap of Mother Nature and wake up early in morning in that secured lap of Mother Nature and under the warm sunshine with new hope and new strength. To top it on all this you would have a loving and caring life partner and stay happily ever after. Sounds so calm and peaceful right? But standing at the doorstep of 30, I do have a loving and caring life partner I agree but I don’t think the other fantasies would ever come true for me. They were a dream to me, they will be a dream to me. This dream has come to me when I was a child and it will go with me when I leave this world. Sometimes my love asks me “I am sorry that I couldn’t give you all this. But when you know that this is not going to become our reality why don’t you forget this dream?” He thinks that I am in pain of not getting all this. I replied, “This is a dream. Dreams always don’t come true. That doesnot mean that I will stop dreaming. When I am not in a good mood or I am in a very good mood, I close my eyes. What I see? I see that outstretched yards of greenery and our own sweet wooden house and to fill in the house I have You, Me our Child and some cattle. All smiling faces. Me humming a country love song and feeding the cattle with my child jumping around. You waving goodbye and going to work. Then you come back home. Have a simple delicious dinner waiting for you in the dining table. You get warm hugs and kisses from me and your child. And at the end of the day we read stories to our child and go to bed. Tell me now doesn’t hearing this only bring peace and happiness and serenity in your heart, soul and mind? I feel the same joy and happiness from this dream. I have never imposed on you to get me all this! I will never do such an immature act you know too. In today’s world; smile, happiness, peace, warmth in relationships and family values are bygones. This is my way to behold all these and not let go of them from my life. Still do you ask me to forget such a beautiful dream?” My better half is really a better half I agree, he concurred to my thoughts which made me smile and sense of fulfillment was evident on my face.

I realized that I still have a child surviving within me. I really don’t want to kill that child in me by becoming a fully matured person. I agree I am not totally matured. I am emotional. I don’t think practically. But still I love what I am. I don’t want to change. I want to stay who I am. I cannot stop my age to progress and lead me step by step gradually to the doorstep of heaven or hell. But what I can do is keep the child in me alive? Every single person’s character is made up of good and bad. Some people think, this childish behavior of mine or you may say immaturity, to be foolish. What all matters to me is what I think and then what my parents think and what my life partner thinks. But most important is what I think about myself. I don’t fear death, I don’t fear reptiles, and I don’t fear darkness . In this whole world if I am afraid of anything is that I am afraid of changing myself by murdering the child within me. I am happy who I am and the way I am. I may not have achieved great career, loads of money, world’s best leisure, life without hardships. But what I have achieved is out of this world: that is the honour and respect from people who ever I have come across, people do not forget me easily because of my nature. 

On children’s day once I told one of my teachers, “You didn’t wish me today?” She had replied,” You are no more a child now. I felt bad. Because I thought to my teachers I will always remain a child. But still I celebrate children’s day for me and wish myself Happy Children’s Day every year.