That time again

It's that day again.

Happy birthday, me!

As usual, I wish I had some pearls to share with you, especially some profound thoughts. Unfortunately, wise words often come to me in the middle of the night and I wonder if I should keep a little moleskin by my head and scribble them down as they arrive. But that usually involves waking up, detracting from my favorite activity. Come morning, I am lucky if I can remember anything beyond being thoroughly impressed with myself.

So instead I will share some of the highlights of my past week with you.

A hot air balloon landed in the Open Space in our neighborhood last Tuesday. It first huffed and puffed like a giant dragon in the sky before floating effortlessly to a smooth landing. Since my neighbor's deck seemed to have a better view of the landing strip, I ran into her house only to bump into her as she rushed out. We ran out together, collecting more people as we did, rather like the children of Hamelin.

The excitement and joy of watching this balloon land persists even now.

Read on...

I'm still searching...

Yes, I'm still searching for The Ultimate Question and until I find it, I have decided that 42 is what I will be.

As you might have guessed, it is that day again. It never fails to amaze me how it creeps up on me so quickly after the last one. The past year has been full of successes and that makes me incredibly happy. Big contracts and small contracts at work; each one fulfilling in its own way. On the personal front, new and old friends have provided much laughter and support. My family remains my rock and the center of my world. Sometimes, I am the center of my own world and that is a lot of fun, too.

Today, I will attempt to scale my first peak. Not a fourteener but a strenuous and tough hike nevertheless. Flattop Mountain stands at 12,324 ft; the round trip is 8.8 miles; the elevation gain is 2,849 ft. The last two miles (I think) are brutal and above treeline. It's not necessarily a big deal in these parts but it is for me.

Emerald Lake Overlook, from D's hike to the summit, 2008

Read on...

I have the answer!

And it is:

It is the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. The Ultimate Question itself remains unknown.

Yet another October 2 has dawned and yes, it is my birthday all over again. A year older, some wiser, a great deal lazier, some worse for the wear, only 3 lbs lighter than last year but a lot more fit and as crazy as ever! But do I know where I am headed? Like The Ultimate Question, this too remains elusive.

circa 1974

The picture above is probably older or almost as old as many of you reading this post. I tried to do a face merge - now and then - but the face I currently sport is rather too wide and it took away from the absolute awesomeness of what used to be my cuteness.

There's no need to calculate - I'll tell you.

• I was 7 years old in that picture. 
• It is over 35 years old. 
• Why, yes! I am 42 years old today. 
  

My husband had to ask me how old I was today. All I could think was Wow! have we really been married that long? At least he knew my birth year but he needed to do a little bit of subtraction across two centuries. Little Ms. M did not need to be reminded. She did not hesitate to tell me that I might be a little kinda old because some of her friends have parents who are in their late 20s, I kid you not!

For most Indians, my birthday is difficult to forget because I share it with he-who-shall-remain-unnamed. If you refer to him by name, by nickname, by a reference whether oblique, crooked or straight, your comment shall be deleted immediately. I will also never ever visit your blog nor will I hit refresh a few times after clicking through to arbitrary pages on your blog, in order to increase your hits, page views and, OMG, depth of visit. Instead, your bounce rate shall increase and I will compete with you in your SEO efforts, keyword for keyword, banishing you to the third page in Google's SERPs, which we all know never meets pixels on anyone's screens. As for your PageRank (don't you know? it's everything!), well, let's just say: Your PageRank Are Belong To Me. You stand adequately warned.

With that out of the way, shall we celebrate a little bit here? It would be nice to have a wild virtual party because our IRL celebration is going to be a little subdued. Medha is recovering from a week of being ill with a bad cough, a cold and a fever. She has missed school all of this week and while she might be well enough to go back to school tomorrow, her coughing fits are rather scary and make me want to keep her at home. One more day of rest will only do her good but that's a decision we shall make when the sun comes up over the horizon.

So bring out the bubbly in my honor, dim the lights a bit, turn the music up - please, no Delilah but some 80's dance and disco music would be really nice!

Happy Birthday, me!

Celebrating me!

Yes, it's that day again! Today, I will have completed the first year of the second half of my life or at least that is the way I like to look at it. Happy birthday, me!


Some of you might remember my post from last year on this day. Medha had had something rather profound to say then. This year? She couldn't remember whether my birthday was on the 1st or the 2nd. And quite honestly, it did not bother me. It's just another day, another reminder that time waits for nobody. In which case, it should have bothered me but given that I was rather happy with my warm sake, that depressing thought eluded me at the time.


The past year has been very interesting. There have been many changes and a fair amount of disturbing news; all of which I had thought would be difficult to get accustomed to. But one learns to pick up the important threads and weave them back into the fabric of life. Darning helps but there are some holes and rips that are so frayed that it is best to let go.

On a lighter note, I think that while I have grown as a parent, I have also grown more exasperated. Those of you with a hormonally charged tween will know what I mean!

There are no pearls of wisdom forthcoming from me today. I am happy and that, for me, is enough. I am off to celebrate the rest of the day with my family. Feel free to join in the celebrations and cook some goodies for me!

Yeah! Happy Birthday, me!

Holy Bananas! It's the Big Four Oh!

Yes, that's me! And that was 39 years ago. I hit the big-four-oh today and I am on a new high. At least I think I am. I have to be, especially after going through a long period of "just what have I achieved in my life so far" and "where am I headed." I would be lying if I said I have things under control and that I know where I stand! My life did not pan out the way I thought it would. I was never quite the size 1 lissome supermodel, nor the powerful and intellectual CEO of a company that changed the world, nor did I ever become a Nobel Laureate. Actually, no-one's ever heard of me. And I don't mind because I don't think I have it in me to bear the burden for others, to shine the guiding light and carve the path ahead. I do have my sphere of influence where, no matter what, I know that I make a difference.

I dug out some of the very few pictures I have of my childhood cos I am in a sepia kind of mood. My parents used to kid me that this young man was my first love. The next two pictures are taken in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. I was not quite 2 years old.

I don't remember the cutie's name but it's pretty obvious that he didn't much care for me! Heartbreak at two! Cruel, cruel life!

This picture below was taken in Bombay, now Mumbai. Didn't everyone have a papier-mâché model of the mascot of Air-India? Almost everyone I knew had a relative in Air-India. And almost everyone had the Maharajah taking a deep bow on one of their bookcases.

And that transistor radio! I loved to fiddle with the big knob that changed the stations. Was there any other radio station besides All India Radio with their Vividh Bharati service at that time? Does anyone know or remember? It was just one of those tangential thoughts that arose through all this introspection I have been doing.

My conversation with Medha last evening was very interesting. I told her that it was probably the last day of the first half of my life. She started negotiating with me - maybe it's the last day of the first third or better still, the first quarter of my life - as though I had some control over it all. When I told her I didn't want to live that long, she said she never wanted to have to do without me. But, I pressed on, there would and should come a time when she will not need me anymore. She thought a while in deep silence, her brow furrowed, and then said, "Mumma, I may not need you but I will want you!"

Sweet! That is where I want to be. Wanted more than needed. If we ever get there, it means that there will be at least one job that I will have done well.

I am quite sure that today will be a normal / business-as-usual kind of a day. But it is an important milestone. Technically I am 'over the hill' but, as my friends tell me, there is a whole new life on the other side. I certainly hope so!

We don't have plans for today except to make Glazed Bananas with Ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day will pan out just as life has, moment by moment and no regrets.

Glazed Bananas with Ice Cream

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
• 3 bananas
• Vanilla ice cream to serve a la mode

1. Heat butter in a small skillet until melted.
2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and orange juice and cook till it simmers. Stir frequently.
3. Cut bananas in half lengthwise and then cut into 1 inch pieces.
4. Add bananas to the juice mixture and cook for 3-5 minutes, turning as needed to coat the bananas well with the mixture.
5. Serve hot over ice-cream.

This is a really simple dessert that is out-of-this-world delicious. My brother-in-law served it to us when we visited them earlier this summer. It was the perfect antidote to the Goa Prawn Masala that had us on fire. He said it was a recipe from a local newspaper.

I don't have a picture for you because Medha and I will be making this later tonight. If I take a picture, I will update this post with it. If not, just imagine the flavors as you know them all very well and feel the warm bananas in your mouth as it mingles with the chill of the ice-cream.

I know my day will be great! I hope yours is, too! Just don't ask me for pearls of wisdom. I am only turning 40. Not 80!

Update: And here is the picture, as promised:

It was very difficult to take a picture of this dessert. I did not chill the bowls and when warm glazed bananas met cold slow-churned vanilla ice-cream, I was looking at a white pool of ice-cream! But this was a wonderful treat and a great way to celebrate on a schoolnight.

I am sending this to Mandira, the warm and gracious host for JFI: Bananas.