Tamizh Puthandu and Vishu

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Its 14th April tomorrow … Here in Johannesburg it is of no significance but back in India its Rongaali Bihu – the Assamese New Year (1st Day of Chitrai or Bohaag)); Vaisakhi or Baisakhi – the Punjabi New Year (1st Day of Vaisakh); Sinhala – the Sinhala New Year (1st Day of Chaitra); Naba Barsa – the Bengali New Year (1st Day of Baisakh) _ BUT the one that I am close to is the Tamizh Puthandu (or the Tamil New Year, 1st day of Chithrai) and Vishu – the Malayalam New Year (1st Day of Medam).

At home, it’s festive environment for us as we follow both the Vishu and Tamizh Puthandu tradition. The day used to start with the “Vishukkani” - an auspicious kani (first sight) at the crack of dawn on the Vishu day would prove lucky for the entire year. Vishukkani points to a year of abundance—both spiritually and materially. Food, light, money, knowledge—all should fill our life. This is a photo of our Vishukkani that we had last year. Wah … Sheer nostalgia !! :)

It is then followed by a bath, Puja and the visit to the temple. It is also accompanied by preparation of various food items. One that I love the most includes 'Maanga Pachadi', a sweet, sour and bitter dish made of raw mangoes, jaggery and neem flowers to signify different aspects of life. Wow … now, we never found the need flowers to add most times … But if we did then we added that in the Rasam and not in the Maanga Pachadi. :) .. My father usually loved reading the Panchangam (almanac) on that day – which mostly predicted all good things in life.

After that we relaxed at home – watching some new Tamil/Malayalam movie featured on Sun TV or Asianet. After overeating because its worth it … we had a nice afternoon nap … Wow … What a day it is ... Truly Bliss!! … Here in Johannesburg I would be in office, like any other day !! Sigh !!!!!! :(

Anyways ... Happy New Year !! Happy Vishu !! Tamizh Nal Puthandu Vazhthugal !!

Review: Invictus (2009)

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A friend of mine had been telling me about this movie for sometime. So I decided yesterday that I would finally see it for whatever its worth. I had no clue as to what it was all about. After seeing the movie I can say that I am so moved and inspired by Madiba (Nelson Mandela is also known as Madiba). What an inspiring person he is!

The movie shows how Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) used the Rugby World Cup as an event to get the blacks and whites in South Africa together.

I feel that post 1990s if South Africa could avoid the Civil War situation and is where it is today - it is only because of the farsighted vision of Nelson Mandela. Even though in the 1960s Nelson Mandela embarked on violent forms of political struggle (only when all else had failed) … when he came to the position of power, he decided to take the entire nation together. Some of his quotes below,

• “Brothers and sisters, this is the time to build our nation!”
• “The Rainbow Nation starts here. Reconciliation starts here. Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.”

It’s a beautiful scene where Mandela manages to convince a meeting of the South African Sports Committee not to change the Springboks team, name and colours as he realizes that such an action would instead drive a further wedge between the two races.

Mandela also shares with François Pienaar (Captain of the National Rugby team played by Matt Damon) a poem, Invictus, that had been inspiring to him during his time in prison, helping him to "stand when all he wanted to do was lie down". I share the entire poem here for everyone to be inspired.

Invictus (meaning Unconquerable in Latin)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

- William Ernest Henley

At one point in the movie, Francois Pienaar is himself in awe and says “I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him...”

It’s a movie that leaves you with a “wow” factor and inspired. I feel that Madiba has the inspiration and energy of Mahatma Gandhi in him. I get wonderful feeling after seeing this movie in South Africa – guess I was moved more since I was here when I saw the movie.

My attempt at mini-idlis (with Sambaar)

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I just came out of a long weekend (4 days) ... I had decided not to go anywhere this weekend ... Strange but true ... I decided that I'd atleast eat well while at home ... My father had sent 3 mini-idli tattu (plate) so I decided that I would try to use existing resources to make idlis in Johannesburg on my own ... Ofcourse, with inputs from India :)
Its actually very simple ... we need some whole urad(Muzhu Ulundhu) and Rice (Par Boiled Rice) for making the idli dough. Surprisingly, I found whole urad(Muzhu Ulundhu) in Shaiyonna in Mayfair St and Tastic already has its Par Boiled Rice - so with the main ingredients available I decided to make idlis ... All the mamis are now wondering "how did he grind it" ... Well, I tried to use the blender at home, and to my surprise it did pretty well ... :) So here’s the recipe for you all ...

So with a ratio of 2:1 of Tastic Par Boiled Rice: Whole Urad(Muzhu Ulundhu), I soaked it water for about 6 hours. Then I ground them (Rice first and Urad next) into a fine paste and mixed it together, added the required salt and allowed it to ferment in a warm environment for about 12 hours.

At this time it’s pretty cold out here in Johannesburg so - Tip: Warm your Baking oven for 30-45 seconds at some high temperature and there you have a warm place even during winters … :) … Also place the container on some thick cloth so as to insulate it from the metal below.

Hopefully, after 12 hours of fermenting your dough is ready for use. So grease your idli tattu (plate) with some oil and pour the dough in it. Take some water in a cooker and put the idli tattu with the dough into the cooker and close the cooker. Important: Never keep the whistle when making idlis. If you do - you wont get idlis .. and what you get you would have to name it yourself or probably it may not be worth naming. Anyways, after 10 mins of steaming your idlis are read to be served with Sambaar … that is, if you have made sambaar - I did :). I will share the recipe for that some other day.
One more Tip: Take a spoon with a sharp edge, dip it in water and then use that to take out idlis, they would come out well – without sticking to the plate.

Last tip (Comes from my father): Soak and add a little Avil (Beaten rice otherwise called Poha) along with the rice while grinding it. This makes the idlis better and more softer.

Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

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A late review (as always) ... I had seen this movie before and did like it then also (guess I was lazy to blog about it then .. ) But some movies one likes more and more as one sees it multiple times ... This movie is one like that ...
I was simply amazed by the wonder that was created by the make up and the computer graphics team working in tandem. Its was an absolute work of art. I have always had this liking for Autobiographies/Life History kind of movies and books, so it was natural for me to like this movie as well. The movie shuttles between the past and present similar to Kamal Haasan's "Hey Ram" and was narrative like Tom Hanks' "Forrest Gump" - both of which are movies that I have loved in the past.

I was impressed by Brad Pitt's impeccable acting skills. What also impressed me was the guts he had to kill his "cool dude" image (which ladies worldwide fall for) and adorn this character of a old man for almost three quarter of the movie. Hats off to him .. :)

And all of these kind of movies always have the most incredible dialogues. I present to you some of my favorites.

• My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances. While everyone else was aging, I was gettin' younger... all alone
• Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life.
• You can be as mad as a mad dog at the way things went. You could swear, curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.
• Letter to his daughter: For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
• Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it.
• About Daisy: I think, right there and then, she realized none of us is perfect forever.
• Mrs. Maple : Benjamin, we're meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?

Happy Movie Watching !!

Visit to Cape Town

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All Cape Town Photos
The visit to Cape Town, began on a disastrous note (well … almost). We reached the airport to catch our flight to Cape Town. My friend Abhay dropped me to the airport. Just as we were entering the security check area, I realized that I had forgotten my wallet (with all my money and cards) at home!! I just couldn’t believe that my forgetfulness would reach this level. I calmed myself down and called Abhay and coordinated with some other friends and had Abhay come back to the airport with the wallet. Thanks to Abhay, I managed it on time and moreover to add to my advantage the flight also got a bit late.

So finally we reached Cape Town – which was “picture postcard perfect” and made me “forget” my bad start. The scenic beauty that I saw in Cape Town was something else.

Firstly we drove through Simon Town and then to the Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. It was a wonderful feeling to go through this place imagining how so many Sailors including the first one Vasco da Gama would have come here and turned left and upwards to finally reach India. It was beautiful to be able to distinctly differentiate the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Also it was amazing that we were standing at the point which was the southernmost tip of the African continent.

 

The beaches in Cape Town were also beautiful. The sand on the beach was white in color. Amazingly … pretty uncommon for someone from India … the water was ice cold … COLD beyond words !! Forget about going into the water … it was difficult and highly painful to just stand in the water. So we kept a safe distance … :)

The other attraction in Cape Town was the Table Mountain. It gave a bird’s eye view of the entire city from the top of this mountain also the Cable Car that we had to employ to get to the top of the mountain was the added thrill to the event. It was a cloudy day and the view that we got from there was so different … it was as if we were in Heaven.

 

Other noteworthy experiences in Cape Town included:

• The Drive to the Chapman’s Peak
• The World of Birds
• The Huge Canal Walk Mall
• V&A Waterfront Experience

We left Cape Town with fond memories of the beautiful locations which we had earlier only seen on picture postcards … It was fun to be now part of the picture postcard!!

Visit to New Castle and Durban

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All Engogo Photos
All Durban Photos
My leave plan at office has been simple ... I was taking the Thursdays and Fridays off for the weeks that Janani is here. So I was getting three such long weekends - One was planned for "New Castle and Durban" next one for "Cape Town" and the last one for "Places within Johannesburg - which essentially means shopping".

So Week 2 - was for New Castle and Durban. I researched and searched out this "not-so-well-known" place in the middle of nowhere near New Castle - Engogo River Water Lodge. Set in the scenic surroundings of Drakensburg Mountain ranges, reaching this place was a bit tricky; actually driving to the place I was thinking if I had not chosen a wrong place. Once we reached the place, all my apprehensions faded away and I was struck by this wonderful feeling of awe. This place has by far been the best place I have ever been to ...

Three beautifully built cottages by the side of a river stream which is passing by the valley with a beautiful backdrop of the Drakensburg Mountain ranges. The continuous sound of the water flowing added to the beautiful environment. Room was cozy with all amenities (a fireplace also !!) and a fully equipped kitchen - no room service, only self service - so we had brought things so that we can cook and eat there. With no cell phone coverage, we were completely cut out from the world and it was a wonderful feeling. We took a scenic walk by the side of the riverstream and on the way back walked through the shallow portions of the stream. The water was cold but was it fun wading through it. The ambiance in the night was also out-of-the-world. We left the place next day morning with fond memories of being in a place like paradise. And I must repeat that it is by far the best place that I have ever visited.

The drive to Durban was very scenic and beautiful. Durban is a place which is highly populated with people of Indian origin. Durban is the land of beautiful "warm" beaches and Bunnychows. Bunny chow is a slang term for a South African fast food consisting of a loaf of bread, with the inside scooped out, and filled with curry. I had heard about the Gounders Curry – which is very famous for its Bunny Chows in Umbilo, Durban. We tried the veggie Bunny chow there; was nice but too spicy for me so I let Janani do most of the eating.

We visited couple of beaches there in Durban but I feel the highlight of Durban was the visit to the uShaka Marine World. It was again a place that I would have never seen anything like that in India. uShaka Marine World is a theme park which is comprised 4 sections, uShaka Sea World, uShaka Wet 'n Wild, uShaka Beach and uShaka Village Walk.

Of the four sections the best one was the uShaka Sea World where we spend most of our day. It is the 5th largest aquarium in the world containing sea creatures ranging from small sea horses all the way through to sharks and dolphins. The Aquarium is built to look like an old ship wreck. There are also Four very unique things that we/I experienced there.

• The Shark Cage Experience - where we (yes Janani also did this one !!) were lowered into the shark tank in an acrylic cage to view these magnificent predators of the sea swimming around us.
• Snorkel Lagoon give me an opportunity to swim with the fish in the aquarium. Geared in a buoyancy vest, a mask and snorkel, I snorkeled among colourful fish species - and the feeling was completely out of the world. I snorkeled throughout the pool seeing strange fishes swimming with me. I also had some sharks like fishes in the bottom and i tried to keep away from them. Janani was watching me swim with the fishes from the viewing galary in the aquarium.
• Ocean Walker Experience. is where I took a walk among the sea’s beautiful creatures; such as rays, sand sharks, tuna and dorado. It was also bit scary as a stingray was nibbling away on my back for few seconds before a diver came and got it off my back. :-O ...
• The dolphinarium - the largest dolphin stadium in Africa - where we saw a beautiful dolphin show. The Dolphins showed off their skills and synchronised activities that left us wanting more at the end of it.

We skipped the uShaka Wet 'n Wild as this was a waterworld themepark similar to the one in Sun City. The Village Walk was designed in an African theme consisting of Restaurants, cafes and other shops - resulting in some shopping experience.

The 4 day visit which started out scerene, peaceful and beautiful ended on a thrilling, and exciting note. I was happy that I had seen somethings that I had never seen in my life. :)