Early Sunshine

Nearly 4 years back I met Miss. A in   USA . We used to work in the same place, we became friends and in no time we were separated as  I moved to different state.   We were constantly in touch through phone. She used to call me or else I did make sure to call her at least once in a day. We used to share each and every thing; each and every important to possibly silly thing was discussed on the phone. She was very supportive to me while I was in turn supportive too. Though I seem to be very hard nut from outward, by heart I'm very weak. I frequently feel very nostalgic and start troubling my lachrymal gland   (about which my brother comments as 'crocodile tears'...which are not!) .   Miss. A was always there to pacify me, she was   (is)   always so close to my heart. Later I moved to   London . I used to make calls through magic jack.    But the frequency of the calls were  not as before. We used to be regu...

This is also known as Sheera in northern India. This is one of the most common sweets you find in temples as offering to God. It is very simple dish which can be made in jiffy. Ingredients: 1 cup rava  1 cup sugar ( If you prefer it sweeter add another half cup) 3 cups water ( I prefer the sweet softer than dry) 3 spoons ghee ( you can add more too...i like less amount of ghee in my sweet) 1 spoon cashew nuts 1 spoon raisins 1 spoon cardamon powder yellow color  saffron strands (this gives very nice smell and taste, the pic I've shown doesn't have saffron strands in it) Procedure: First fry the sooji/ rava in ghee and keep it aside Boil the water in a pan and add sugar to it.  Once sugar is completely melted, add the fried sooji/ rava to the pan and close it with lid. In the mean fry cashew nuts and raisins  Now add cardamon powder, saffron and yellow color to the pan. Once the rava is completely boiled take it in to a...

Kartheeka masam is auspicious month in Telugu calender. In this month we prepare different kind of sweets and offer to lord Shiva along with prayers. Here I'm posting one of my favorite sweet recipes. This is called Sweet Pongal. Ingredients:   1 cup of raw rice 2 cups jaggery (crushed or powdered) 2 spoons of cashew nuts 2 spoons of raisins 2 spoons of ghee (preferably cow ghee while offering to Gods) Cardamons powder Dry coconut grated  Method: First cook the rice keep it aside. Dissolve the jaggery in a 1/2 cup water and keep it on the stove. Once the jaggery is melted, strain it to remove the dirt. Put the syrup once more  on the heat and add the cooked rice to it. In the mean heat the ghee and fry cashew nuts, grated coconut and raisins Add them to the rice along with cardamon powder. Mix well and serve hot. There are many ways of doing this pongal. Few add some milk in pongal, I too add milk but only 2 spoons of it . Ho...

This weeks  Thursday Challenge  theme is TIME.  I've been through my entire photo folders, I found many snaps related to this theme. Among all I liked this snap, as this watch was a present from my aunt. She is my mom's best friend and very close member to my whole family. She knows that I'm very fond of watches. While presenting this she told me “Just remember that time is priceless and can never be retrieved. You can't change the past , but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future. All you have to remember is i n both good times and bad times God is with you and he will take care of you”.     Thank you auntie. Cheers, Vrinda. 

One of my favorite festivals is Diwali. It's after four yours I'm in India during this festival. This festival is celebrated due to triumph of  good over evil. During school days I used to burn the crackers, enjoy till dawn with friends and have fun with noisy fireworks.  In Sanskrit Diwali or Deepavali means "row of lights". You find lamps in front of most of the houses through out India. This is the resemblance of spirit and unity of the country. This festival is also known for Lakshmi pooja (Goddess of wealth) who helps attain health, wealth, peace and prosperity to the family. Firecrackers come in different varieties  from the delightfully visual ones to the ear deafening noisy ones. Standard type of crackers include Flower pots, Bhoo chakra (Ground wheel), Vishnu chakra and Rockets. I've taken many snaps, among all this is my favorite shot.  These are my snaps for this week  Mellow Yellow Monday  and  Thu...