- ….once contemplated suicide. When I say contemplate I mean I actually went to the roof of this 7 story building and thought about jumping off to my death. When I think back now I think I was just silly although at the time I had tears streaming down my face and thought that life wasn’t worth it. The feeling was short lived and after about an hour clarity hit me and I went back to my apartment.
- I remember that I was all alone that entire day and it in the afternoon that I thought of ending my life. I remember making lunch, which was instant noodles that I ate from a bowl sitting in the balcony.
- I’ve never told a soul about it until just now as I write in this blog.
- Refer to these posts from 2007 – here, here, this one, & finally this one.
- For some reason I will always associate the Barenaked Ladies song Baby Seat with this day & my brief contemplation of ending my life. I happened to be listening to that song just before going up to the roof top. While I was standing there crying and envisioning jumping off the roof and falling down on the roof, the song was playing in my head.
- “You can’t live your life in the baby seat, You’ve got to stand on your own, Don’t admit defeat”
Day: January 17, 2011
Bhel Puri
If you feel the pangs of hunger while in the city but do not want to go to a restaurant for a big sit down meal and just want something made quick which you can have in a jiffy, chances are that you will go to one of the mobile chaat shops. And my favourite dish that they serve is the bhel puri. Bhelpuri is best consumed as soon as it is made. If left for a while, the juices from the tomatoes, chutneys, etc. combine to render the sev and puffed rice soggy.
What goes into a bhel puri and how do you make it?
Ingredients
1 cup Puffed Rice (Kurmura)
1/2 cup chopped Tomato (Tamatar)
1/2 cup chopped Onion (Pyaj)
1/4 cup chopped Coriander Leaves (Dhania Patta)
1/2 cup boiled and mashed Potato (Aloo)
4 chopped Green Chilli (Hari mirch)
1 tblsp chopped Ginger(Adrak)
1 tblsp Garam Masala
6 tblsp Tamarind (Imli) Chutney
6 tblsp Coriander Leaves (Dhania Patta) And Mint Chutney
1/2 cup Nimkis
1/2 cup Sev
1/2 cup Gol gappas
2 tblsp Lime or Lemon (Nimbu) Juice
How to make:
- Mix the puffed rice, tomatoes, onions.
- Drain the water from the grated potatoes and mix that as well.
- Mix all the ingredients under seasoning and add to this.
- Lightly crush and add the nimkis and golgappas.
- Add the sev and kaara pusa directly and mix well.
- Finally garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately..
Here down south they skip the potatoes altogether (thankfully) and keep it simple. However it is tasty and a favourite of mine.
Arsenal 3 West Ham 0
I couldn’t watch the Saturday night football matches as I had gone to Thrissur for my friend’s wedding but I did manage to catch some of the highlights and also watch the full 90 mins of Tottenham Hotspurs vs Manchester United.
Let’s start with Arsenal; I’m quite happy to note that the Gunners had an emphatic away victory at London rivals West Ham. Arsenal, who won 3-0, have scored more away league goals this season than other other team. Robin van Persie scored twice as ruthless Arsenal put struggling West Ham to the sword in a match tipped to be Avram Grant’s last as Hammers boss. The Dutchman expertly rifled home Theo Walcott’s pass before teeing up Walcott to crash in from close range. Van Persie netted his second from the spot after Wayne Bridge fouled Walcott to cap a sparkling Gunners display. It is understood that former Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will take over.
Chelsea won 2-0 against Blackburn, while a Carlos Tevez brace helped Manchester City overcome Wolverhampton 4-3. Hapless Liverpool managed a 2-2 draw against their hated local rivals Everton. That brings me to last night’s exciting 0-0 draw played out by Tottenham against Manchester United. It was a quite fast game with both sides looking to squash the other and both the teams were attack minded. Spurs looked the more likely to win and had the better chances.
At this stage Man City are top of the league with 45 points in 23 games played. However Man Utd are just a point away and with 3 games in hand. Arsenal sit 3rd with 22 games played and 43 points in total. In 4th is Chelsea with 38 points and Spurs with 36 come in at 5th.