Do I need a reason to pray?

Every night and every day 

Sitting in silence - 

When I bow my head and say... 

Do I need a reason to pray?

Way to connect with a feeling

To realize the spirit of life -

When prayer becomes my breathing...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Things around me grows deceiving

And the going gets tough -

When I find the courage to keep on moving...

Do I need a reason to pray?

The only One I can talk free

Where my secrets are bound safe -

When He alone understands the depth in me...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Having all the sins I erred

I seek for forgiveness -

When He wipes away my tears that shed...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Looking gloomy in despair,

Yet, blooms the hope to survive -

When the Oneness can mend and care...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Happiness to embrace

The smile that I wear -

When I am bestowed with His grace...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Protection from evil forces

Saves my respect from breaking bad -

When He guides me through the right choices...

Do I need a reason to pray?

I lit the incense

To create an ambiance -

When the stillness ignites my true sense...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Blessed with good wealth

Gratitude for the life I live -

When I receive His kindness upon my health...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Being well and lively

I stay content with His mercy -

When joyous air fills my family...

Do I need a reason to pray?

Searching for solace every day

Looking towards the sky, I thank -

And raise my hands to pray...

‘Oh God, You are the most beneficent, the most merciful..!’

Festival Greetings...!

Eid Mubarak...! Happy Diwali...!

As they say Diwali is a season for celebrations and festivity, Sampoorna Lakshmi Pooja pack makes a perfect gift for Diwali - the festival of lights. The pack has small deity idols, 30 pooja essentials and a booklet and audio cd which conveniently guides you through the pooja step by step. Since I don’t practice these ritual poojas, this year I would like to gift Sampoorna Lakshmi Pooja pack to my childhood bestfriend who lives abroad and finding it difficult to do poojas traditionally. I am sure she will be delighted to receive this gift.

And I celebrate this festive season - Eid by gifting Cycle Brand Incense pack

To my Grandma who taught me

The essence of prayer and the value of life.

This post is part of pureprayer.com contest, 'Everyone has a reason to pray..!' 
Organised by Cycle Pure Agarbathies.

May God Showers His Blessings Upon You All...!!!

This post is also shared in Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Toast - a - Doodle

Chilli Cheese Toast

Ingredients

Bread  4

Egg  2

Onion  1 chopped

Tomato  1 chopped

Green Chilli  1 chopped
Milk -  ¼ cup

Grated Cheese

Salt and pepper
Chilli powder - (optional)

Butter for the toast

Method

1. Beat well  à Egg + onion + tomato + chilli + salt + pepper + milk

2. Dip bread slice in it and toast it in a buttered tawa.

3. Sprinkle the grated cheese on both the sides turning the slice over the medium flame.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

A quickie yet a delicious stomach filling dish. One of my favorite 'anytime meal' recipes.

Perfect to have it with a cup of hot coffee/tea at the time when you are in a hurry or too bored to cook and especially at the arrival of unexpected guests.

Come, let us celebrate with a toast....!

Enjoy Nibbling..!!

My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe Contest at Blogadda.com in association with TastyKhana.com.

Noodle Doodle

Banana Noodles and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

3 Banana sliced

2 Cucumber sliced

1 cup Noodles (or Spaghetti) Boiled

1 recipe Salad cream

1 Carrot, shredded
Lettuce (optional)

Salt and pepper for taste

Mix the below ingredient and prepare 1 portion of Salad cream

100g Fresh Cream

1 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Mustard powder (optional)

Method

1. Mix the sliced banana, cucumber, noodles, salad cream, salt and pepper.

2. Fill the bowl with the salad and chill thoroughly.

3. Garnish with grated carrot. 

Serve chilled.


A nice cold salad is ready.

We can also prepare salad cream earlier and store it in fridge for almost a week. Useful at times of our hurry burry moments.

The addition of banana is quite different but gives a unique flavor to this simple yet a tasty recipe. You can never go wrong in this quick salad dish.

I am Hungry. I am gonna nibble (or gobble ?!)... Care to join me? :D

Happy Eating - Yum Yum Mum Mum.

My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe Contest at Blogadda.com in association with TastyKhana.com.

House Sparrows

After quite a long time, I was happy to see some house sparrows at my home.

This picture post is shared in Camera Critters.

Aloo Palak Gravy

The other day when I was planning to cook Palak Paneer for dinner and surfing the fridge in the last minute for Paneer.. alas.. it was not available enough to serve my family. Only some potatoes left in the vegetable basket. So I made use of it. It tasted so good and here I am sharing it here, my quick recipe.

Ingredients

Palak / Spinach - 1 bunch

Potato - 3 boiled, peeled and cubed

Onion - 2 pureed

Tomato - 2 pureed

Green Chillies - 1

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Dhania powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Sonf powder – 1 tsp

Sugar – ¼ tsp

Salt

Milk . ¼ cup

Oil – 2 tsp

Cloves, cardamom cinnamon for seasoning.

Method

Separate the leaves of spinach from the thick stem. Wash and clean the leaves. And then grind it to a puree along with the green chilli. Set aside.

Heat oil in the pan and add the onion paste. Add garam masala. Fry little and then add ginger garlic paste and sauté till raw smell fades off. Add tomato puree and salt and the other spices. Stir well. When tomato puree turns little thick, add the palak puree, sugar and salt. Add little water to cook, in medium flame for around 5 mins. When the gravy is cooked, add boiled potatoes. And mix well. Finally add milk and simmer for 2 mins. Don’t cook in high flame now cos it may curdle the milk. Finally before removing from fire, check and add extra spices n salt as per your taste buds.

Serve hot with rice, roti or chappathi.

Tasty and healthy dish with no much oil consumption.

My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe contest at BlogAdda.com in association with TastyKhana.com

A Crazy Nightmare

Placing your fat bum in a metal chair

Which traps you with a big 'HaHa' snare,

As she jots down your name
Here starts your frightening game...

Every time the door creaks

'Is it my turn?', your mind voice speaks

Like a vroom-ing car chase

Or a whining rat race -

Whenever she comes out and calls

'Not yet, my dear', laughs the dirty white walls

Ugly lizard stands above your head

Jumps down safely and runs away with a thud...

Mosquitoes buzzing around

You clap at their annoying sound

They shake their butt and fly away
To dance in their own way -

Wonder if they know what's your problem?

As you cough up sticky green phlegm

Like a red tomato, your face glow

'C'mon its obvious' scracccking the fan above...

While the clock tick-tocks

'Still how long?' your body squawks

'More time to go in

You are the last in the line' -

Dusty floor screams, 'Boo..'

Until she calls for you,

Jumping out of the chair

With a screeching affair...

You mock as if you care

Leaving behind that scary nightmare,

'Hee Hee, see you again', cackles the eerie room

As you walk away from -

The doctor's waiting room...!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

The Pain

'Please don't do this to me…' Maria screamed.

No one cared to listen her cry.

She felt that inevitable moment for the first time,

Where she wasn't treated the same way as before.

Pain engulfed her when they shut the door against her face,
And locked her in…

To rest in that unfamiliar peace forever.

The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad - Book Review

   
Title                  The Caretaker

Author               A.X. Ahmad

ISBN                  978-93-5029-996-8

Publisher            HarperCollins Publishers India

Price                  Rs.399/-

Genre                Thriller
Rating                3.7/5

About the author

Mr. A.X. Ahmad's grew up in India, was educated at MIT and worked for many years as an International architect before taking up writing full time. This is his first novel. But as Amin Ahmad, his short stories and essays have been published in many literary magazines.

                                                    Visit his website à here

The Synopsis

Affected from a haunting hallucination from his dishonorable past in Indian Military Service, Captain Ranjit Singh is now an illegal Sikh immigrant in America with his wife Preetam and his young daughter Shanti trying to start a new life in Boston. After couple of years working in his uncle's grocery store, he manages to find the caretaker job for few wealthy residents in Martha’s Vineyard. One of his clients is Senator Neals, an African-American politician who just returns back as a Hero after his visit from North Korea and his wife Anna Neals.

With heavy oil leakage in his rented house and having no other choice, one day Ranjit has to secretly move his family to the Senator’s vacant house to survive the winter. Unfortunately one night two armed men breaks into the house and so they are forced to flee, fearing of getting arrested for trespassing. The little girl, Shanti grabs one of the wooden dolls from Anna’s collection just before they escapes. But soon he learns those men are after that particular doll. Tangled in between some deadly people who try to retrieve the doll and a threat to his family, he is caught in the middle of a political scandal.

So who are these mysterious men? What is the secret behind that doll? Will Ranjit be able to unravel the mystery? Can he save his family in time? Did he overcome the past event which spoiled his life back in India?

Having so much to do but with little resources and short time span, all hell breaks loose and now Ranjit is a wanted man with a stake on his life.

My View

Basically I am a slow reader and especially with my reading block, I take days to complete a book. But gladly this novel broke my block and kept me engaged from the beginning till the end. When I first saw the cover, I started liking it for its simplicity. And I must mention this is a well written, page turning book and I enjoyed reading it thoroughly. At the end of the day, I am a happy reader who got this intriguing novel from the Harper Collins book review program, in Indiblogger.

The Caretaker is definitely an engaging thriller. The story moves back and forth between past and present - Siachen Glaciers where a secret military operation takes place and Martha’s Vineyard where the hero is on the run. The action is split between Indo - Pak border and the chases in Boston and at the island. And I appreciate that the protagonist’s haunting past is effectively interlinked with the present day especially during his tough times. It was an easy flow of narration that it made the story even more gripping. Also thankfully the author didn't go much into those confused political details.

Each characters are etched in a realistic way that even their flaws helped the story in taking it to the next level. The book also showcases the immigrants’ lives in U.S. From the Brazilian ferry driver to the handicapped Vietnamese military veteran and that Arab old man, they all have their own characterization and helps the lead guy to carry on with his mission further.

With some twists coming through out and the plot moves along so quickly I found it was hard to put the book down. The beginning chapters made me glued to it that I didn't even want to skip a word whereas I found it bit dragging with some prolonged scenes in the last few chapters, especially, those intimate moments between Ranjit and Anna, cooking good food and wanting for more Tea, that too with his injury and when his family is suffering in deportation. To me, it was bit of a cliche. But altogether the book ended better with an opening to the sequel. It was like watching a fast paced action movie.

Overall I found this as an entertaining and engrossing read. I may not call it as a must read book but without any second thought, I recommend this if you are into any mystery and thrillers, like me.

You can read the first chapter of the book à here.

A promising debut novel from the author and I am looking forward to his next book with the hero of our times, Ranjit as the lead, and it will be a sequel to this novel because the mission is still on...