THE JINX!

Why is it that some weird things happen on a special occasion that you would want to go perfect? Why in the stream of perfect thoughts, any unusual thought seems to give the adrenaline rush? And not just on celebrations, on almost every important day that we wanted to end smooth!! Coming to think of it, even when you have studied well for an examination and are very sure of yourself, there will be that one particular question awarding high marks that you had missed while preparations. I have always noticed these anomalies somehow letting down my mood or spirits at days I want to do my best… those days when I am jinxed with bad luck and all the bad in the world seems to be dumped on my platter!! And like humans respond to bad luck, I look up, talk to the air, and ask, ‘Why me!!!’

For instance, my birthday had just passed and I was busy with the makeover of my new room. I was busy decorating the room with a new theme and interiors. I finished with the painting and moving the interiors to the right places. I also got frames and lamps just the day before, and on my birthday morning, they seemed to be perfectly in place. Since everyone at home noticed my frenzy of decorating my room for almost a month, my family gifts were all artifacts for my new room. I liked most of them, but it was Papa’s gift that won my heart.  It was a beautiful, modern wall clock with its hands stylishly curled and bubble shot at the tip of the hand. You might be wondering, how a wall clock could have possibly made things perfect as a birthday present, but you will understand the feeling when you want everything in your room to compliment the perfection of its owner. But would I live that joy for long... jinxed again when a few hours later I noticed that the timepiece wasn’t working. So we took it down and changed the batteries. Later in the evening, the same thing happened. The clock stopped working and we realized that it wouldn’t work anyway. And a piece from my perfect place was amiss. 

Then there was that one particular incident in the family gathering during my sister’s wedding days. We were having a good time, all dressed up and clicking pictures, fooling around and gabbing about. The oldest of the family members caught up on childhood stories, the younger cousins catching up on academics, life and love stories. You couldn’t have thought about a better to be at that time. We posed, made fun of, teased each other, and sang flamboyantly. Then it was time for Food!!! Yes, possibly the best thing about a get together! Everything got served; I had nothing to worry about. The boys took care of it all. And when the guests were done with lunch and the desert, it was time for tea and that’s when I spotted the salad tray, untouched, in a room. It seemed like one of the boys left it there on their way to the living room, where the guests were seated. My mom began scolding the boys, and the poor boys looked down. It was a small thing, but pretty much ended our moods of the fact that, Boy, all went as planned!! 

I am sure everyone has had such experiences, experiences that you can only laugh about later. I remember another one while going to see-off my sister at the airport after her marriage. I thought we’ll have plenty of time to make a video and click unforgettable shots, even though I knew my sister hated such ‘photo shoots’. ‘Way before departure? Check! Cool Outfit? Check! Camera? Check!’ I had also blackmailed sister to reach early to the airport, and finish off the formalities before check-in. Once we reached she did what we planned, and finally I pulled out my camera for the last shots till sister returns. I remember even boasting loudly, “See, if it wasn’t for me, you would have missed these precious last moments. Now line up, I want to click family pictures.” The camera switched on, I focused my digital camera, and adjusted zoom to fit everyone in the picture. But the picture blurred. So I asked them to click in groups. And now, my camera doesn't switch on. What in the world must have happened to it in five minutes? Ah, yes, no charge! So we took to clicking pictures with mobile phones. And as you may expect, some were blurred, some dark snaps and some with ghost eyes. The perfect picture was jinxed. I did feel bad about things not going my way, but somehow the irony of it amused me.

I have had enough experiences of jinxed moments and heard quite a many from others to come to this conclusion, ‘There is something in the universe that has an effect on our daily lives and makes a simple day extraordinary!’ Perhaps the little innocuous errors we make, particularly on special occasions and celebratory days, are actually guided from above while we remain oblivious to our own actions. It is understandable and answers my question. Maybe things not going the way we planned, embarrassment and silly mistakes happen only for the special day to become a memorable one.

- Written for Bangla Express, December issue, 2011 

http://studentexpress1.wordpress.com/

TOMATO CHUTNEYS

ORIGINAL TAMATAR KI CHUTNEY

It is very simple, you just have to fry/saute 2-3 onions in oil, but don't let them turn golden brown. Add 3-4 chopped tomatoes along with salt and chilli powder (About a tablespoon of each) and cook it with a lid on low heat for 5-7 minutes. Do not add water to this as the juice in the tomatoes will be enough to cook the chilli powder & will not let the mixture burn either.
That's it... you're done!

CHUTNEY FOR A MEAL

One of the variations on the ‘Tamatar ki Chutney’ I make!

For those who love veggies and colour in their food! Besides salt and red chilli powder it has got tomato, onion, capsicum, green chilli, and a hint of chicken to tease your tentacles, sprinkled with a dash of chopped parsley!

1. Cut two medium sized onions and saute, do not let them turn brown. 
2. Into that add two kebabs, I used frozen chicken burgers. Break them into smaller pieces with your spatula. Do not add water, the onions can also get slightly golden while the burgers are being fried.
3.  When you feel the burger is just about done, at this point add about two tablespoons of tomato ketchup!
   *This is a tip for Chicken recipes by the famous Pakistani Cooking Expert 'Kokab Khwaja'.
   Whenever I am cooking '10 minute' Chicken dishes like this one, adding tomato ketchup enhances the taste and I feel works well to reduce the odour of chicken too!
4.  When the burger pieces are fried, add three diced tomatoes. (The pieces should be neither too small nor too big) Then immediately after, throw in finely chopped green chillies.
5.  Then add very little water for the spices to dissolve. Salt and Chilli as per your taste. I would say 1 flat tablespoon of salt, 1 & 1/2 tablespoonful of chilli powder. And about 2 tablespoons of coriander powder. Mix it and let it cook for 3-5 minutes. 
6. Now add diced capsicum in the end because we don't want it to be overcooked.  
7. Then lower the heat and cover it all for about 5 minutes. 
8. For the final touch of perfection, sprinkle finely chopped parsley or coriander on top for a delicious aroma! And you are done! =)

A RARE UNFOLDING

That morning was like any other morning at home, boring and dull. Little did I know what the day had in store for me. I woke up late and was lazing around. Its one of those times, when you have slept sufficiently enough but you still wonder why your head is feeling heavy. Should you make your way to the bed again or will a hot cup of tea wake you up from dizziness.

It took a moment to decide. A cup of tea would do the magic, besides I had so much pending work to finish. My brother’s graduation ceremony yesterday and my sister’s wedding last week have left me flustered about my own tasks to be sorted.

Before going my way for a brewing cup of tea, I stopped to listen to my mom and sister conversing about the month’s festivities. I actually miss all of it, but is there any time to reminiscence those memories with such an irritating headache and the idea of getting back to finishing my deadlines. My headache shrieked with thunder, when my mother reminded, “Kokab, we have to pick up the pictures of your sister’s reception today!”

My thoughts paced about. What a wonderful celebration it was! My mathematics assignment is due tomorrow!!! The reception was simple, plain and beautiful! That thesis I wanted to do, the research draft is 1000 words!!! I got such amazing compliments during the reception! I haven't been to lectures for four weeks; I can’t remember when is the quiz!!! I wish I will live the dream wedding like my sister…. “Kokab make us a cup of tea, please”, broke my sister into my trail of thoughts.

So I obediently went to make tea and arrange breakfast for the three of us, having all those thoughts running about in my mind; the wedding reception which was done with now and the thought that when would I attend my Graduation. “But that’s all in the past now. Life is back to the same old monotonous routine and there’s nothing more to look forward to! At least not yet...” I thought to myself.

I quickly filled the saucepan with water and left it to boil on the stove. I was just organizing the breakfast tray when I heard a loud explosion followed by a shriek! And then there was dead silence. I stood still, stunned at the point. The cry was so short-lived I can’t even recall whether it was as frightening as the BOOM! “Kokaaab! Kokabb!! What was that sound?! Kokab, what happened?!” asked my mother anxiously as she rushed into the kitchen. It took me some time to react. I startled when she repeated her questions. “How could this happen? The tea carafe just exploded!” I managed to speak “Why would the carafe explode?! It has got a plastic exterior!”

Mom did not care. She and my sister were relieved that the house wasn't on fire. But I needed an answer. Why will the tea carafe explode!!! And I need tea badly!!! Mom finally spoke as she went out of the kitchen, “How did it break? You have to be more careful Kokab!” Now that’s it! It wasn't my fault. But what could I come up with to explain! I myself had no idea what had just happened!

The glass liner had collected at the base of the carafe in the form of glass powder. I remember putting in tea powder. But what happened after that, I had nothing to do with it. The next thing I see is shining powdered glass pieces and smoke rising from it. Anyway, I don't get tea, but I have an extra job now, clean up!

There were minute glass pieces powdered all around the flask. I cleaned the cabinet-top and the floor. While doing this, my mind raged another war. Why do I have a headache today!? Why did this have to happen to me?! Will someone get me tea?! Why would this carafe burst?! I recalled again… I had rinsed the cups prior to preparing tea thus my hands were wet. When I was adding tea to the empty flask, the spoon that I was using got wet too and so did the tea granules. So I put the metal spoon further inside and tried to jerk off the damp tea. This means nothing! One last try, but my headache seemed to tear apart my spirits and I suddenly realized how the explosion may have happened. The flask was kept next to the window with its lid loosened!! This is science. As the day hours passed, the sun heated it up to such an extent that the mild resistance created by the spoon hitting at the glass caused it to explode. Had I not struck the spoon inside the flask and poured in the hot boiling water, I can only imagine how horrific the eruption might have been! Thankfully, I have survived from a mistake. Suddenly, I felt no regret of missing tea this morning. This lesson unfolded much more!

I hope that all those reading my incident take this series of events seriously as a word of warning and caution everyone around them. If you have big windows occupying your kitchen, make sure the curtains are always down, and if not, keep your glass-lined carafes away from the sunlight. Especially the ones having a thin glass interior!

Home is presumed as the safest place, and God Forbid can be very dangerous if we carelessly do our chores around home. Bear in mind that house accidents can be of any degree when it comes to damage! So, all I can say is what my mom keeps telling me, “PLEASE, BE CAREFUL!”

- Written for Bangla Express, November issue, 2011 

http://studentexpress1.wordpress.com/

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES! ( A True Story )

Lesson Learned All Over Again!!! I will never forget it now hopefully!

I will be extra careful while typing from this time on!! Will have to watch these fingers from wandering off to the wrong places on the keyboard namely Alt, Shift and Control keys. Accidentally changing things on the PC and then not figuring out what you did and how is indeed a mess to be in!!
This ain't the first time I am using MSN Messenger or creating confusion for myself but a first for others during a chat! Just that this time I couldn't recall what keyboard shortcut switches the text direction, or what changes your input language to Arabic! Just imagine that you are in the middle of a conversation and typing something, you suddenly notice that the text direction has changed, it is now Right-to-Left but you send your chat message anyway. Now at the next sentence you begin, all the letters are of the Arabic language! Needless to say, I was unable to express anything through words, the impulse initiative to show my concern through a sad emoticon such as ':(' also failed miserably and I ended up smiling instead! At first it seemed like a funny situation, where all I typed was
يةبىنانيساسنابن :)
يبانسيابنسابنتا
:) سةبانسابنشا
:( *
And my friend suddenly started laughing and I responded with a ÷ شؤؤهىيثىفشممغ :س :ح which corresponds to 'I accidentally :s :p' in English. While typing I had realized what I was doing, thus the emoticons, which obviously didn't come out right!
I could type in English everywhere except Messenger...Assuming that I have changed the text direction and the input language simultaneously, I tried everything possible to fix it using the Options available but there were none related to either of the two, I pressed all the keys and combinations I could think of, having in mind 'that's how I figured the solution last time!' But I couldn't recall it somehow, so I asked people on Facebook, looked up Microsoft Office Word, tried to Google it but couldn't narrow down the search because I wasn't sure what I had changed, the Language or the text direction.....and besides there were all sorts of search results, for changing the "Text Orientation" from Horizontal to Vertical, people discussing Graphic Design, HTML Formatting and what not!!! And then my brother started worrying me that I had created a problem for others who use the computer.
Yes, obviously by then the humour of it had all gone and I became anxious and wanted to end all the confusion, especially when I had just begun a conversation with my friend after such a long time and wanted to continue. It was a time when you would truly need your Arab friends, but they were nowhere to be found! Why is it that you can't find what you need at a time like this, a time when an easy task becomes a pain and a drag not to mention. I felt like an idiot, the only idiot who can ever be stuck in the same problem twice or more and can't recall how to get out of it. And not even Google seemed to be interested, giving all sorts of results that have answers to all Hi-tech questions from computer geniuses for Web Designing and HTML formatting. Initially having second thoughts, I knew Google was, after all, my only hope even if it took me all the time in the world. Although, I did think about Bing in between for maybe a second but instantaneously shrugged the idea off and rebuilt my trust on Google, out of helplessness. I tried to calm myself down and got myself to carefully look at the search results for 'switch text direction' and what do you know I spotted this:

Useful tricks and shortcuts for users around the world - Office ...
blogs.technet.com › Office Global Experience - Cached
19 Feb 2010 – Ctrl + the right Shift key changes Text direction to Right-to-Left. ... Using Alt + Shift, a user can easily switch between the four ...

Obviously I wasn't going to waste my time by clicking on the link, I instantly applied both the shortcuts but 'Alt+Shift' ended my worries.

Later on, I decided to read the blog where I came to know that the term used to refer to what I had done is 'Changing the Keyboard'. Meaning I switched between the input languages when I hit Alt+Shift by mistake.
Just so you know, the challenge only took me an hour.