The adventures of Tin Tin

Something is very special about Tin Tin movie. It was planned long back by the three musketeers to watch the movie in big screen. However one of the musketeer missed Tin Tin by a whisker. It was a perfect day with good start early in the morning when we started to sathyam cinemas. It was just 1 day left in the countdown clock of my first time-all-alone-9000 miles journey. Its hard to pack all the things that I need. Because my need is the WHOLE CHENNAI, which is impossible.

I don't want to deviate from the current topic, so let me continue with Tin Tin Tale. As usual its an adventurous plot where Tin Tin's crew were rattling and tattling to uncover the secret of unicorn, the treasure ship. However, the movie was not a spine chiller one and the suspense ingredient was less than what I expected.

The storyline was crystal clear with no hidden knots in it. "This movie is a Indiana Jones movie for Kids" says Steven Spielberg. I wish to make a slight change to his statement - "This movie is an animated version of Indiana Jones where the characters are alone replaced", hence its not just a movie meant for kids alone. The movie beings in a market place where Tin Tin is attracted towards The Unicorn Ship's model. Once he becomes the rightful owner of the ship he is stopped by two other people who are also interested in owning the same ship. But this suspense essence behind this Unicorn didn't last for a long time. The ship had a secret scroll in it which when opened with two other similar scroll will be the map to a 17th century treasure. Soon before Tin Tin learns that one of other two scroll is already with Sakharine, he is been kidnapped by Sakharine's men and dropped in his ship. Snowy plays a key role in rescuing Tin Tin from the mob. While they escape from the ship Captain Haddock joins the team. This flight scene won many claps and whistles from the audience. The hallucination scene in the desert was also depicted well. Tin Tin cracks the puzzle step by step with the help of Captain Haddock who is the grand son of Sir Francis Haddock, Commander of the Giant sea vessel, The Unicorn. Now the trio marches towards the third scroll. Once Tin Tin succeeds in getting all the scroll there is breath taking final chase scene something like Tom and Jerry strip. Finally the movie ends up with the expected climax where the trio lands over the treasure place. In between Thompson and Thompson invaded the screen with their witty portion. Overall, I will give 8 of 10 for the movie.

"I am not sure when again I will be at Satyam Cinemas along with my whole bunch of beloved people." With this frozen thoughts I sailed my ship back home.

Anju

Deadly Hallow Hunt Again

In continuation to my previous blog posts here and here, let me write about my hallow hunt experience at US Consulate, Anna Salai. The VISA initiation was done through the corporate company where my man is working. It was just my duty to be there 15 minutes prior to my appointment time, attend my interview, get my Gate-pass stamped, fly my 9000 miles Final Destination journey and start my new life.

This time the lucky charm was totally diffused in each and every cells of my body. My appointment was on 4th Nov at 11:45 A.M and I had to be there at least by 11:30 A.M. The first right move for the hunt day was my dad's idea of booking a cab to reach my interview location and the next appropriate move was my plan of travelling along with my cool Big Brother. Both the combo worked on well though there were few fiasco like heavy rainfall, traffic over kathipara, hectic 2hrs journey to reach Mt Road from my place.

Looking like a totally drenched chicken, I entered the Consulate sharp on the gun time, en-queued myself in the security-check queue(not a big Q, just 2 ppl were before me). Its a kind of tight security check where they scan us head to toe electronically and manually. You are not allowed to carry any electronic gadgets inside the Consulate. Once I was done with the security check, I was given with a token number. Then, I was taken inside to a counter were my HDFC receipt and other Docs were verified, after which my finger prints were all scanned by a bio-metric recorder. I was then made to wait in a hall were the interview procedure was taking place. Each and every petitioner were called in accordance to their token number. I was just staring at the board were the token numbers were displayed. It didn't took more than 5 mins time for my token number to take a position on that board. The interviewer greeted me with "Good Morning" and a broad smile. I too greeted him back and gave my Docs folder to him. As mine is an H4 petition it didn't have any freaky questions. It was all direct obvious ones. One should see to it that your interviewer is convinced with 2 important pointers:

1. You are the real dependent of primary applicant or ur spouse. (It needs few supportive documents like marriage certificate, wedding photographs, photocopies of spouse's documents-Passport, Visa, Client letter, work permit, payslip, bank account statements, Tax forms etc)

2. You don't have any plans in permanently settling down at the US.

It didn't took more than 5 mins for me to get the desired two words "Visa Approved". I walked out of the Consulate in search of a telephone booth, called my lucky baby and drove back home celebrating the Hallow victory with everyone through phone.

So whats next? Its my 9000 miles journey. Stay tuned.

Anju

How it all began? Where am I now? What I do now?

It was just like a sudden* down pour which totally drenched me totally.

* umm.. Was that really sudden.. No, not at all.. It took a good amount of wait time for me and people around me to breath and brag about it each and every moment..

Now, I am too far from my usual world where I lived all my 24 years. Whats wrong in letting my age out? I am married now ;) I have now decided to write few back-to-back blogs in this space to answer all the question related to who, what, where, when, how and everything......

• My Big Day
• Deadly Hallow Hunt Again
• Whats special about Tin-Tin movie?
• 9000 Miles Journey
• LA-Vegas-NJ within a week
• To be continued- Always....

Ullae Velliyae

The plot is a simple game of looting 500c "Money Money Money" definitely a big bumper lottery. Police(hero) getting suspended for rescuing a convict is the intro scene. The camera now focuses the IPL bidding and match fixing issues. Action king (I' m impressed) plays the role of eminent Police officer to uproot those bidding activities. The whole lot of bidding money is swiped by a gang of 4 lead by the hero. The whole plot showcases the successful plundering of the 500c. Obviously, people change when they posses some huge money. Two mates of the gang flee away with the massive loot. Now the other three tries to trace back the two tricksters. Before they could find that the whole booty is at Goa, one gets caught and is executed by action king's gang. In the final climax all fishes fall into its trap and the whole place is destroyed (Except the 500c and Thala50)

Plus
- Final twist in climax real treat. (shhhh.. I' m not letting it out)
- Blooper was awesome.
- CSK ku periya Whistle Podunga.
- Stylish Game.

Minus
- Very lengthy movie.
- Missed out timing comedies of Venkat Prabhu.
- Too many characters.

Mankatha = Ocean 11 + Dhoom + Jannat
Investigating Cop + Suspended Cop = Ullae + Velliyae

Typical Thala movie with few Venkat Prabhu touch ups here and there.

Padathula neega nallavara illa kethavara?? Nayagan theme music in the BGM..
Nanum Evalo Naal Than Nallavanave Nadikurathu..


Anju

HP7 2.0 Saga - Continued

As per the request of a regular reader of this blog, here I am adding few Potter-Watch Extras (Like Match Extras). Initial version is here.

Disclaimer:

This blog will be covering few things that I missed out in my earlier version. So it is advisable to read the following stuffs after reading the previous blog.

Hogwarts war 1.0

After Snape's fleet, the whole Hogwarts unites together to fight back the evil force. All the teachers, order members led by McGonagall casts a protective charm covering the whole perimeter of Hogwarts. Battle includes all the wizards, witches, death eaters, dementors, gaints, enchanted statues, suits of armour, elves, werewolves, etc.

Half Blood Prince's Tale

Pensive portrays the Snape's true love for Lilly.

Snape: “Expecto Patronum!” (The shinny Silver Doe appears)

Dumbledore: “After all this time?”

Snape: “Always” (Awesome cloud nine feelings)

It was Snape who followed & protected Harry throughout in addition to the Lily's protective charm. Just because Harry has got the same eyes as Lily's... And the plain love that he had for Lily...

Mother's love

Narcissa's role was the trump card in the decline of Voldemort. Out of love for her son Draco(knowing from Harry that he is alive), she declares that Harry is dead to the Dark Lord. Its a sentimental scene in the movie.

Hogwarts war 2.0

Corpse of Harry was carried back to Hogwarts by the big man Hagrid with a huge water fall of tears flowing down is bushy beard. I could remember the quotes "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it" said by Albus, when Neville finds the Griffindor's sword in the Sorting Hat at the right time. It was an splendid strike by Mrs. Weasley over Bellatrix.

19 years later

Harry tells his son that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of whom was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever knew. Definitely, Snape deserves this touching finish.

P.S

Hope, I have did some justice now. Time to hear from my special blog reader.

P.S.S

I thought of writing a separate blog for my hero RON. Shall I do that? :P

Anju

I am Krishna

Krishna vanthachu! Nila vanthachu!!

Yes, its time to write a few words for Deiva Thirumagal. Its a movie with a simple storyline that reveals how a special father portrays his love for his daughter (the only treasure that he has got in this whole world).

Director's Formula

50% Love + 20% Emotional + 10% Coldness + 10% Cuteness + 10% Humor = 100% Nice Movie

Love

Love can do wonders. It can win over many hearts. Finally, it can even rewrite the court's judgement. Though the court's verdict unites father and daughter, father leaves his daughter to the hands where she can be nurtured and brought up well.

Emotional

Emotional war between two fathers. Father one who loses his daughter to a special father counter-plays by splitting the special father and daughter.

Coldness

Lawyers can't afford losing any trial so easily. To taste the cup of victory they walk down to any extend.

Cuteness

Baby Sarah cute performance.

Humor

Nan Lawyer illa, Tea kadai Naayar! CoPPieee Teeeee Tee CoPPeee... LOL :D

P.S

Watched it yesterday along with my family and cousins. Its not a movie with any social message. But still a different one, worth watching.

-Anju

HP7 2.0 Saga

Once again we made it. Potter-Watch on the first day @ Sathyam. Could not resist writing about it here though its very late now. I dedicate this to people(of course Potter Manic ones) who are so busy and yet to spare time for the dramatic end of HP saga.

Movie starts with a respectful burial of the FREE house elf Dobby. After which the Horcrux Hunt begins with a deadly deal signed with Griphook. Polyjuice potion of Bellatrix version(Hermione), rickety-tickety roller coaster drive to Lestrange's vault, mulitiplying cups at the vault, dragon flight escape from the Gringotts is the coolest part of the movie. However the trio loses the Gryffindor's sword to Griphook. The next operation is at Hogwards to sort out the horcurx related to Ravenclaw's house. On their way the trio encounters death eater's attack and were saved by Aberforth. Here Aberforth narrates the dark flashback of the greatest wizard Albus Dumbledore and his Squib sister Ariana. (Probably the director didn't want to highlight the gloomy stuffs of Albus Dumblebore. I felt this part could have been depicted well) The trio were then welcomed by Neville and farther by DA members.

DA members: Harry, what should be done next?

Harry: We need to find a thing.

DA members: Whats it?

My friends nearby (in sync): Ginny... lol..

Jokes apart now back to the real story.

Here was the director's touch in the movie. Harry was interrupted by Luna while proceeding to the Ravenclaw Tower to find how Diadem looks. In the mean time, all the students were called off to the great hall by Snape. This scene was a typical Tamil movie sort (Vaseee Meewhhh... Scene in Enthiran). Then Snape was sacked up by whole DA team lead by Prof.McGonagall. The whole Hogwarts is ready for the war. Harry meets Grey Lady and finds the hiding place of the Diadem, parallelly Ron and Hermi fetches the Basilisk fangs from the chambers of secret. Its now Hermi's turn to destroy a Horcrux. After which the trio proceeds towards the room of hidden things to find the Diadem. This scene depicting the fire accident, broomstick escape and rescuing of Malfoy & Goyle was a breathtaking one. Time to count few death toll. Fred, Lupin and Tonks are no more, Snape's chapter is closed by Voldemort himself in order to conquer the elder wand. Snape leaves his last memory to Harry. Pensive scene showing the half blood prince story could have been edited in a much better way. The main essence of Snape's memory is his love for Lily, care on Harry and finally revealing the fact about the last Horcrux is Harry himself. High time Harry walks to the forbidden forest along with the soul of his parents, Sirius and Lupin. Yes, Harry now owns all the 3 Deadly hallows for a short period. However, he drops the Resurrection Stone down and proceeds towards his own death. The green spell knocks Harry down to King's cross where he finds Albus waiting for him. Quite funny to see this part. I dunno y.. Better watch and find out.. Harry is given 2 choices, either to move on or to return back and fight the dark lord. Of course the story is not yet over. So he chooses to fight back. In this gap at Hogwarts, Neville kills Nagini using the Griffindor's sword. Hogwarts war 2.0 resumes, Harry returns back from his dream. Then comes the climax, direct duel between Voledmort and Harry. Harry's assumption about the elder wand is proved correctly. Master of the elder wand wins at last. Voldemort was thrown in bits and pieces.

NINETEEN YEARS LATER

At platform 9 3/4(real King's Cross), Harry along with his wife Ginny and daughter Lily Luna drop their sons James Sirius, Albus Severus in the Hogwarts express. Similarly Ron is with his wife Hermi & kids and Malfoy along with his wife and son were on the same platform. Movie could have ended by showing Harry's legendary scar, that is where it all began.

HP bids adieu to us forever. :'(

The whole HP in 99 secs is my new current mood video. Quite disheartening to see all the seven parts in just 99 secs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y57sYHIDP_Y&feature=player_embedded

Anju

28th Lap to 29th Lap

When you were racing your 28th Lap, I was on my 24th one. (It doesn't mean you are gonna win the race :P) There is no race without pit-stops, overtaking, crashes, safety car, engine failure etc.. Our race too had many such things. Here are few such stuffs.

+ Daily morning drive to office (Some times peaceful and at times cold)

+ Evening walk and tender coconuts (Inner Peace)

+ MBA classes, assignments, exams (Bottleneck events)

+ Few movies together (HP7, Kung Fu Panda 2)

+ McDonald's (Shrek, Panda happy meals), Sanjeevanam, Velu military hotel, Ponnusamy, Arun unlimited, Baskin Robins, Chocolate room, Fishermen fair, Jigerthanda (Now I ve put on weight)

+ Reliance, Nilgiris, Spencer's Daily, Pazhamudir nizhayam (For fruits, milk, cereal)

+ Water melons, mangoes, musk melons (Unlimited)

+ SBI, Indian Bank (Of course you are my financial advisor)

+ Cricket world cup (Final match, when the whole nation was watching the match we were at Vaigai)

+ My birthday (Shrek DVDs)

+ The betrothal (I know what you feel)

+ Private lunch turning to a gang lunch

+ Shopping (mostly window), collecting quotes for house hold accessories (Almost from A-Z Asian, Birla, Ceramic, Dalmia, .. ,Finolex, .. , Jaquar, Johnson, Kajaria, Kolar,..., Marbonite, Nitco, ... , Parryware, .. , RAK, RR, Somany,.,. Vetrified,... , )

+ House warming ceremony (Really a BIG day)

Another year passed away just like a fastest F1 qualifying lap. As we complete each lap there are plenty of changes within and around. We get redefined to a newer version. Of course, change is inevitable and it makes us to evolve accordingly. I wish let this new lap and the upcoming laps be a smooth and hurdle less one.

This is yet another Birthday blog for my moto montu. Last year's blog post is here.

P.S

Thanks to Les Paul Google Doodle. I played Happy Birthday tune for my montu using the virtual doodle guitar.

Anju

DEADLY HAL(d)L(d)OWS Part II

I woke up early again for the second innings of the Quidditch match. (Wanna know about first innings? Its here) Heard from few of the people lined up in the queue saying that they were also been disapproved for the first time. So, I will consider Luck to be a factor in Shastri Bhavan mission. Moreover, it is not advisable to seek opinion from the agents seated outside the Shastri Bhavan. Because some of the application verification officers easily catch up cold temper when we argue anything by stating or quoting agent's comment as a supportive statement. Its better to read all instructions and FAQs given in the portal before filling up the form. In addition to it do hear few tips from people who have prior experience in it.

However, this time there wasn't much scrutiny of documents like the previous visit. Finally, I was able to acquire the first Hallow by using a couple of Diffindo spells against my internal resistances(I was totally in an OUT COLD situation on that day).

Anju

Shastri Bhavan @ DEADLY HAL(d)L(d)OWS - Experience

Three powerful magical objects termed as the DEADLY HALLOWS can defeat death in terms of HP dictionary. Definitely, most of the magical world people would like to posses them. Now, I am on a mission of hunting three such things. Today, I was looking for the first HALLOW at Shastri Bhavan @ HADDOWS road. I was along with my dad(He too seeks the first Hallow) Before reaching there, we registered ourselves online and booked our appointment 2 weeks earlier. It is really easier doing it online rather than getting an application form and filling the whole form manually. We got the online application form printed and filled in rest of the details manually. Then we had few more preparatory work in gathering various proof documents like address proof, birth certificate, degree certificate, affidavit & identity certificate[if working in Government sector]. We also had a photo session other day for getting the specified 3.5x3.5cm copies. Once everything was done, the well awaited day arrived. We reached the spot by 7:30am. Head count of around 50 people were already enqueued in the line(General category). They have 3 different lines- (General, Tatkal, Enquiry). It seems that now more people go for Tatkal when compared to General category. The queue was static on the floor till 9:30am, after which we were given with the token stickers. Then by 10:00am they started the document verification session. Our token number was called out by 11:00am. We missed the Hallow by a whisker. I felt like seeing a GRIM in the cup.

I pray that the GRIM be Sirius Black rather than a worst omen in the world. I was supposed to enter father's name in SURNAME column rather than entering it along with my name in the GIVEN NAME column. Keeping my fingers crossed and wishing that I get my first Hallow soon.

Hunt continues..

P.S

Wanna know more about three Hallows? Then keep following :)

New current mood video -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mObK5XD8udk

Anju

Cool pranks for the Fool's Day

April Fool's day, it was not just another day when I was at school. We used to have lots of fun, prank, laughter the whole day. One such experience is here. Almost the whole charm is lost now. If you wish to resurrect the lost charm here are few pranks that you can use. Hope it will work well.

1.) Put some catchy status message in your Facebook or Google Buzz.

I tried the following one. It really had a very good response. Quite a good number of victims. :D

//"Frenz r asking if I ve started putting kadalai.. Yeh, rite nw I m munching few.. lol :P"//

Maybe you can also change your marital status from single to committed or committed to single. This prank will definitely increase your prey count.

2.) Gather few of your friend's mobiles. Set alarm in it and place it in different cubicles. Let all the mobiles ring at the same time. It will definitely create panic amongst everyone around.

3.) Place a note/greeting card on your friend's desk stating that he/she looks awesome/gorgeous. Also, don't forget to mention that, this note is from one of their crazy fans. ;)

4.) When your friend forgets to lock the machine and walks away from his/her desk, you can use this kind of prank. Press Ctrl+Alt+ArrowKeys in a windows machine to rotate/flip the screen. While they return back it will be a galla time.

5.) For few more idea, please click here

Do share your own ideas if you have got one such.

P.S

Hope you enjoyed this post and enjoyed the mast of 5th prank I have added ;)

Anju

Its gonna be a highly PATRIOTIC DAY

"Nowadays, we people are so tightly scheduled and we scarcely find time to think about the Nation. Neither you nor I fall under the exception list."

Are you really ready to disprove this statement? Come on do it, if u dare. But on one condition -> Don't be a lame duck by telling that you are gonna be patriotic for a sake of a cricket match :P

Definitely, it is gonna be a historic day marked on our calendar. The whole nation is going to hail, cheer, whistle, applaud, pray and breath for a single cause- victory. It is a BIG Day for 2 teams, 22 players, 2 nations composing of 2 billion people. Best wishes to Dhoni's men.

Suitable captions for the above image..

Hmm maybe,
1.) Captain fire and Captain cool

2.) Tom and Jerry

3.) Neeya Naana

4.) Sabash sariyana potti

5.) Green uh, Red(shud ve been Blue) uh?

Your ideas?

Anju

P.S

Current mood video updated..

http://www.youtube.com/v/-9OLLAj0JCc

Sketches & Fantasies

"Pictures speak louder than words"

Is it really true? If yes, can anybody share few words for these portraits.

P.S

Did this work as a part of a task given by my Chris-ma in ChrisMa-ChrisChild game @ office. I "Really really"(Shrek style la) liked this task very much.. Thanks Chris-ma ;)

Anju

Confession

Disclaimer:
You may wonder why am texting this disclaimer at the beginning. This confession is gonna address my college friends. To others, you have got two choices. Either you can proceed reading further(definitely you will be puzzled) or you can catch me in my next blog.

Finally, I have decided to disclose an eclipsed truth. It was my first year @ college, I did that grave blunder. Yes, I lied. Almost solid seven years passed away. I know it's late. Still I wanna confess now.

Confession:
"29th Feb isn't real. Plzzzzzzzz believe me. And I am sooooooo Sry" :(

Many times I have told this. But you people didn't pay much attention. Hope now I have invited a great trouble. Friends, don't give me any big punishment other than wishing me promptly on my (!Fake = Real) Birthdays :P

Funny cartoonscape on confession
















P.S
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
- Winston Churchill

"Think before you lie. Later truth has less chance of getting back the lost audience."
- Paga

Anju

Arabian Delight

BURP....
You may wonder why start with "Burp"?
It's a compliment. "Better out than in". Shrek always say that.

At last its finally executed today. "Treat" given by a bunch of Newly* Wedded teammates.

Venue: Al Arab, Mylapore.
Al Arab is a kinda Indo-Arabian cuisine hotel. Once we step into Al Arab, one could feel an Arabian ambiance around. It's the waiters and attendants who make us feel that way. They are all seen dressed up in their traditional Arabian outfits(white pyjamas & red checked scarfs). There are four floors in the hotel. It seems that 3rd and 4th are meant for buffet. We were all accommodated in the 4th floor. The feast was set open once the mini charcoal grill sears were set in our tables. First we were served with a roll of Shawarma. It was really a good preparation. Then the waiters revolved around the table placing the pre grilled Chicken, paneer with few veggies over the charcoal sears. Taste of the grilled chicken was quite different with a carbonized aroma. Chicken was soft & tender but had a bland taste and could not be consumed without sauce or mayonnaise. After 2 to 3 rounds of grilled starters I was unable to lift myself from the seat to fetch the main course. With great difficulty I reached the buffet table with my friends. The main course had 2(V & NV) hot & spicy soups, around 10 different salads, 2 types of stews, a fish curry, 2 other gravies, briyani rice, naan, curd rice. Opposite to the main course table they have stationed my favorite items, "The Desserts". They were good in number. So I decided to cut short my main course and reserve space for desserts. So I just tried few salads and had a small quantity of curd rice. Once I was done with my short main course, I hopped towards the Desserts area and loaded my plate with a choco truffle, a small piece of brownie, a scoop of fresh cream, a Gulub Jamun piece, few pieces from fruit salad, 2 scoops of vanilla icecream. Regarding the desserts, brownie and Gulub Jamun could have been better, otherwise it was worth the taste. In short it was like a welcoming feast given at Hogwards(Konjam exaggerate panniten)

Shawarma

Grilled Chicken, paneer with few veggies

* Are they really Newly wed now? [Summa ;-)]

P.S

Thanks to the JSG group for this appetizing treat.

Anju

Plum cakes - Key formula revealed

Is there any good tie-up between me and cooking?

Actually, I WAS quite a Kitcheno-Phobic person EARLIER. But now I have started spending time doing some research on kitchenomics. Have tried few recipes, faced countless failures and couple of successes. Let me share few words about my hit recipe. You would have easily figured it out as the blog is entitled in such a manner. Yep, its PLUM CAKE.

Ingredients:

1. Dry fruits like dates, tutty fruity, orange peel, raisins..
2. Nuts like cashew, almond, pista, walnut..
3. Grape juice or red wine
4. Maida flour - 1 cup
5. Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 cups
6. Eggs - 3
7. Butter(Non Salt) - 100 gms
8. Baking soda - 1 tsp
9. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
10. Powdered spices (Cardamom,Cloves,Cinnamon,Nutmeg,Dry ginger) - 1 or 2 tsp
11. salt - 1 pinch (Optional)
12. Ramen Girl's Touch (Must)

Procedure:

Soak the dry fruits and nuts in Grape juice/ red wine in an air tight container for 2 days time.

Caramelize 1/2 cup of Sugar.
Heat a medium sauce pan with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tbsp of water. Stir it continuously. It will turn into a dark colored syrup. Slowly add 1/4 cup of water and stir well and allow it to cool. Be careful while pouring the water as it might splash out of the vessel.

Add baking powder to maida, mix it well and keep it aside.

Add powdered spices to soaked dry fruits, mix it well and keep it aside.

Dough making
Beat the butter into smooth paste. Added 1 cup of powered sugar to the butter and beat it well until sugar blends well along with butter. Try to beat is an uni-directional manner. Then add beaten eggs into the butter and sugar mixture. Beat for some time. In intervals, add some amount maida and mix it well. See to it that there is no lumps of flour left behind in dough. Now it is time to add the vanilla essence and caramel sauce. Mix it well so that the caramel is evenly distributed thru' out the dough. Finally add the Soaked dry fruit mixture and mix it well. Don't beat for a long time bcoz it might break the fruits.

Baking
Grease the cake baking aluminum tin with ghee or butter. Added a very film/layer of maida flour over the ghee. This is to avoid cake from sticking to the tin while removing cake from the tin. Micro oven settings vary from one microwave oven to another.

(In our IFB microwave oven, "Cakes and Deserts" settings was chosen and a baking time of 45-50 mins was set)

Few useful tips:
- Try to use Round shaped Aluminum tin

Scientific reason: in a round shaped vessel heat distribution will be even.
- Use a toothpick to check whether the cake is fully baked. The centre/ bottom part usually takes more time to cook.

- When more dry fruits are added it takes more baking time, especially the bottom part of the cake.

Scientific reason: dry fruits settles down @ the bottom due to Newton's law of gravity.

Now, if you ask me "Is it all over? Can I expect a divine taste if all these steps are followed correctly?"

My reply is Flatly "NO".

You have missed one of the key ingredient(no. 12) mentioned in the list.

Ramen Girl's Touch

What is this Ramen Girl's Touch all about?

It is a kinda intangible ingredient. It refers to the mood/state of mind & heart with which you prepare a dish. In simple words, cake's taste is directly proportional to the amount of happiness with which you prepare it.

P.S

Keep in mind, the Ramen Girl formula while cooking:

Taste ∝ Happiness

More about Ramen Girl here.

Some more Filler:
Updated my current mood video.
Youtube link here

Anju

Ratatouille Villa

Thai Pongal, harvest festival to thank the Sun God is just around the corner. So it is cleaning time @ home. My brother's place definitely requires a massive cleaning mission. Today morning, we found 4 new born rats in my brother's room. We had a real galla time with the newcomers. The 4 rats are christened as Jerry, Terry, Nibbles, Tibbles.

Few snaps of the Ratatouille Villa are here..

Anju

IPL Auction 2011

IPL Auction 2011 was a real hunt for young players. It would have been an indigestible meal for senior players like Saurav Ganguly, Brian Lara and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Here is a brief summary of IPL Auction 2011. It is done using smart cool Zoho Sheet Application.



CAUTION:
The following is not for Dada Fans :P
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Click on the image to see a clear one.
To see the original version, click here.
Source: Cartoonscape, THE HINDU dated 11/1/2011.

P.S
Hmm.. Here is a small game for you.
Can you find 6 differences between the two images? (Kumudam Style)
The original version had a flaw and it is rectified in mine ;)

Please do drop your comments @ http://worldaroundanjali.blogspot.com/
This time I expect more from DADA FANS..

Anju

Ramayana - frm my frame of reference

This blog is all about one of the greatest epic, Ramayana. I have tried to make it more precise, so that you are not "really" bored while reading it. Ramayana is a nice plot flooded with the essence of Indian culture and duties of various relationships. The whole story is composed of 7 Kandas (parts) and coined around 4 VIPs.

7 Kandas are:

1.) Bala Kanda- Happy childhood days
Once upon a time there lived a king named Dasharatha. In those days, kings used to have plural no of wives. Umm.. Dasharatha was not an exception like Rama. He had 3 queens(Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumithra) and 4 sons(Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna). Princes were fostered by a finest guru(Vishwamitra) at his gurukula. Then comes the romantic part of the story. "Sita's Swayamvara". Rama wins over Sita by bending a heavy bow. (Usually guys are expert doing this. Converting loads of stored potential energy into kinetic energy while seeing a beautiful pageant.)

2.) Ayodhya Kanda- Jealousy
Happiness got temporarily knocked down by wickedness of Kaikeyi. She demanded Rama to be exiled to forest and her son Bharata should be throned as king. Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana, left Ayodhya.

3.) Aranya Kanda- Adventurous days
In short, this part is full of adventure, thrill, attacks and revenge. In the forest, the trio were attacked by Rakshachi(Devil), Surpanakai. Lakshmana slashes off her nose and ears. This news reaches her brother Ravana who is a Rakshasa(Demon) & king of Lanka. With vengeance in heart, he made a tit-for-tat cheap act by kidnapping Sita.

4.) Kishkindha Kanda- Building up an Army
Rama and Lakshmana signs up with Hanuman and Sugriva and helps them in getting back the kingdom(Kishkindha) from Sugriva's brother Vaali. As a token of gratitude to Rama, the whole Kishkindha is now ready to fight back Ravana for his villainous act.

5.) Sundara Kanda- Beautiful part
Rescue ranger, Hanuman takes off to Lanka and finds the Beautiful Sita @ a Beautiful place Ashoka vanam. Here the story would have ended if Sita was brought back to Rama by Hanuman. But here is the twist. Sita wants to be escorted by Rama himself, after defeating Ravana for his dreadful act. Moreover, she was reluctant to allow herself to be touched by a male other than Rama.

6.) Yuddha Kanda- War days
War note is being declared by the Rama et al over the Ravana & co. At the end of the war Ravana was knocked down and Sita was bailed out. To reunite with Rama, Sita was asked by Rama to take up the controversial Agni pariksha. He never doubted her purity for a second, still people around would not have accepted or honoured her as a queen if it was not done. After the successful completion of the test, the trio returned back to Ayodhya. There, Rama and Sita were named as the throne King and Queen.

7.) Uttara Kanda
Sita announces that she is carrying the next heir of Ayodhya. Even though Rama Raajiyam imposed lots of ethics and moral values to the Ayodhian citizen, rumors can spread as quick as fire and pollute the minds easily. This time Rama banishes Sita to Valmiki's ashramam. To common man's sight Rama may appear to be an imperfect hubby. But in reality he wanted be a flawless king. Sita is blessed with twin children, Lava and Kusha. Finally, Rama identifies Lava and Kusha as his juniors. Then both Sita and Rama vanishes from the earth after accomplishing their assigned mission.

4 VIPS are:
I am sure, from the above stated story you would have figured out those 4 VIPS of the story.
1.) Rama - Ideal King
2.) Sita - Ideal Wife
3.) Lakshmana - Ideal Brother
4.) Hanuman - Ideal Servant

It is really a great epic of heritage India. Quite hard to cover the whole story. Hope, I didn't mess up things here.

To proceed further read this note first:

Plz don look for some more Ramayana below. It is all done. :-P
Following is my own Ramayana. BlaB BlaB..

Source: SMS
Sender: My brother

Ramayana with Facebook touch

Ram changed his Relationship status to "Married". Lakshmana ans Sita "Likes" this.

Ravana updates his status as "Kidnapped Sita". All Lankan people "Likes" this.

Rama comments on Ravana's Status "Dude, you are dead". Hanuman "Likes" this.
Sita sends message to Rama through Hanuman. "Defeat Ravana & Escort me back". Rama replies back. "Coming honey. Hereby, I m declaring war against Ravana". Sita "Likes" this reply.
Rama updates his status "Victory against Ravana and crowned as Ayodhya's King". All Ayodhya people "Likes" this status.

Source: From my school diaries
Venue: Class Room
Event: Tamil class
Class: X
I miss my Tamil classes, Tamil Iyya(sir) and umpteen number of impositions(OMG! I won't forget """இ" thru out my life). He gave such a graceful explanation to the Kamba Ramayanam poetry which we had in our class X. I guess it was a part from Sundara Kanda. I could still remember few of the verses.

Plz click on the image to view a sharp image.

"இ" phobic Anju

Golden Triangular Trip Gallery

I really cherish these snaps. We clicked them during our golden triangular trip.


What a creation? This what they call as love :)
















Tall stands the white marble pillars around the Tangible Taj
















I have never seen such an art work @ boneyard. Let the great soul(Akbar's) RIP.
































Hawa Mahal(Palace of Air). Really a spectacular elevation with 365 windows.




















I was petrified to see such a huge Sun dial at Janta Mantar
















When I was there, I felt like Princess Fiona locked in the tallest tower of a castle awaiting my hero, Shrek.
















It seems Rajputs really loved bright colors just like I do :)
















Powerful prayers under the Dome.
(Made a small research on Dome structures too. Soon will write about it)
















Pillar inline with Qutub Minar





















Lotus flower with 9 petal, representing 8 Indian religions and 9th Baihai petal is open to all religion

P.S.
Photographers: Myself and my dad

Anju