Art attack

this is one of those construction equipment

and this is supposedly a car

I was working on my laptop and my kids came in saying I have to let them go outside and play. I couldnt let them play outside as it was really hot, so taught him how to use Paint and draw pictures using the mouse pointer. These are his first scribblings.

Elections

The election season is in full swing and the first phase of elections in AP has ended on a peaceful note. The TV channels started off with their analyses and predictions galore but must say this election is going to surprise everyone with a stunning result. The main reason for this would be that the educated Upper Middle class has exercised its right to vote in large numbers this time and I see that many of these have voted for Loksatta( I did my own small poll survey) in anticipation of that ever eluding change in the helm of affairs. Some are saying Loksatta might have eaten into the other parties' vote shares but may not win as many seats as to make a mark.
Need to watch this space to know what happens in AP politics by May 16th. Till then,keep hoping for real change....

Do Actors make good politicians?

It is a common sight all over the world, that people with considerable reputation in acting or related glamourous fields, venture into political arena. But the probability that they do a good job in it is highly questionable. We are in an election year and the recent months have seen more and more actors make their foray into politics, but how many of these are coming in with a service motive or to make a positive difference is anybody's guess. Practically none of them have their homework done, all they want to do is cash in on their glamour and come into power, only to fill their pockets.

Our political system is already in shambles, what with politics being coloured by caste, religion, communal and regional differences. These actors are doing a great disservice to the nation by showing up with zero knowledge about issues that matter and nil insight regarding governance. Even our state has a popular movie star jumping into politics but one can make out in the outset itself as to how ignorant he is regarding the real issues that plague our state. Moreover the candidates are asked to pay for getting a ticket from that party, which he would view as an investment. The same person, if elected , would only try and extract it from taxpayers money tomorrow. When would this vicious circle end? Already a bad precedent has been set in terms of caste based candidature and money ridden politics. Now it would be really unfortunate if this party indeed wins majority of seats and forms government in our state.
There are already many things which need immediate attention in our state, and handing the government to wrong hands would only worsen the situation. I am hoping that majority of people would be sensible enough not to hand him power.

Cakes

Mmm .. I love Cakes and Pastries. My kids love them too. So I had to learn baking cakes and cookies and the likes and in this regard it was my Mom who has been of immense help. She taught me the finer nuances of baking which one can only get through experience and not by just reading a recipe. I first started with a simple sponge cake and then gradually learnt to make the icing or frosting whatever you call it.
Here is the recipe for a simple Chocolate Cake complete with choco icing.
Ingredients:
eggs - 4
Maida - 200 gms
Sugar - 150 gms ( powdered)
Butter- 200 gms
cocoa powder- 2 to 3 tbspns
vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
for icing:
butter -50 gms
powdered sugar 50 gms
milk - 3 tbsps
cornflour- 2 tsps
cocoa powder - 4 tbsps
First cream the butter in a vessel with an electric beater, add the sugar and beat again. Add the eggs one by one beating after adding each. Seive the baking powder, maida and cocoa powder together. Now add this to the above mixture slowly, beating at lower speed ensuring that there are no lumps. Add the vanilla essence and pour into a greased and dusted cake container and bake in a preheated oven at 185 C for 26 mins. Prick a knife in the middle and see if it comes out clean, if not bake for another 2 mins. Remove and keep on the wire rack to cool.
For the icing, take a saucepan and melt the butter on a slow flame, add the sugar and stir. Add the cocoa powder and ensure there are no lumps. Now add the cornflour to the milk and add it to the above mixture, stir evenly. Let it simmer for nearly but less than a minute and pour on the cooled cake. Spread it evenly and you can decorate it with dry fruits if you wish.

Enjoy..........

Pic : Chocolate Cake with Icing

Cooking

One of my passions in life right after music is cooking. I started cooking with considerable interest only after marriage. My hubby is a total foodie and enjoys all kinds of food, which I have to admit, is the main catalyst to my cooking. I learnt North Indian, Chinese dishes just for him. And soon I started loving it considering cooking is an art in its own right.
Some of the dishes he loves are Paneer tikka, Veg Kolhapuri, Biryani and Dum Aloo. Needless to say these dishes feature in my menu frequently and some other dishes I like are Gobi Manchurian, Schezuan Rice and Tandoori Gobi. ..mmm.. My mouth is watering now.

The dishes in the pic are Biryani, Dum Aloo and Raitha

Divine Music

One of my favourite genres in music is Carnatic Classical Music. There are many stalwarts who have enriched this genre with their soulful renditions but my idol remains MS. Subbulaksmi. No word can singularly express the quality of her pristine voice. Her rendition brings peace to my soul, often tears to my eyes. Such is the greatness of MS Amma that it is not an exaggeration when one says ' na bhooto na bhavishyati ' which means in Sanskrit, there is no one like her in the past and there wouldnt be one in future. She is a legend and though she is not amidst us now her divine songs will remain beyond eternity.

It has been my dream to learn vocal Carnatic Classical music, but for some odd reason it has been eluding me till now. I'm hoping I would do that in near future.