Creative Musings

'THE GRUFFALO'  The Gruffalo is a 15 year old classic children's book written  by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler  that has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. I recently borrowed the book from the library for my 2 year old and had no inkling before I turned its pages that I would love it just as much as my boy does! From the time we borrowed the book, we have read the book tens of times without once getting tired of it! I love it when my son who has memorized most of the lines from the book, finishes my sentences and prompts me on the next line. "Oh help! Oh no, its a Gruffalo!"  "What's a Gruffalo?" "Why didn't you know?  With his terrible claws and terrible jaws, Gruffalo is the  most loved monster ever to set paw!" Here's my take on what makes Gruffalo the classic, super loved hit that it is? A. The Storyline - Gruffalo's story starts with a hungry little brown mouse making...

The first thing that came to my mind after reading 'The Timekeeper' by Mitch Albom was "Thank heavens, I didn't buy the book." I had come very close to buying the book on more than one occasion since it was on the top 10 bestseller list but somehow desisted each time and I thank my stars I did.  So, I borrowed the book from the library instead (at least I didn't pay for it!) to appease my curiosity. Right from the start, I knew this was a book I wouldn't enjoy but I carried on reading in the hope that something good would come of it. But alas it did not! Nothing appealed to me in the book- neither the storyline, nor the narrative, nor the characters and definitely not the annoyingly slow pace of the book. The book was boring, tedious and too much of a fable to digest for a grown-up mind! It's a story about a man who will later be known as Father Time as he is the first man to try to measure the gift of time. He is banished for cen...

Vacations over....kids are back to school...and I am back to some serious writing n (not so serious) blogging. This vacation we decided not to venture outside Singapore...husband is super busy, it's extremely hot and we have been travelling a lot in the last 2 breaks of  December and March....so we decide to save some money and the sweat and make do with what is within Singapore ...which is a lot actually! This left me with the onerous task of planning activities and events that could satiate ( read as: exhaust ) my boisterous boys and maintain my sanity. This is not easy - it is in fact tougher if you are staying put and not travelling than if you are travelling where in you just pack your bags and go......so my planning started a month ahead of the vacations. I planned for a combo of activities - some inclined to enhance knowledge, some that gave them the needed adrenalin rush and some pure, innocent, family fun ( the last one keeping the younger one in mind since...

To, My dear son, my super-hero, my little champ! As you turn 7 today, memories of when I carried you back home in my arms from the hospital 7 years back come flooding to me. I remember the time the doctor held you up to show me how you looked; how the nurses and doctors at the Redbridge Hospital in London surrounded you, marvelling at how well formed your features were! They were meant to be- after all I had nurtured you in my womb for 42 weeks -a good 12 days after the due date!   I remember the time when the nurse placed you on my chest and in my arms for the first time and you flicked your eyes open for a second-  a wave of emotions- so strong, so overwhelming enveloped me, that in that instant I forgot the gruelling 48 hours of labour  I had gone through to give birth to you. It was magical and even though I didn't realise it then, that moment changed my life forever. May 2008 -1st Birthday  It is true when they say, "A mother holds the ba...

I have been trying to write this post for many many days now....have edited and re-edited the text and the structure over and over again since I feel very strongly about this subject and fear that my words will get carried away in the heat of my emotions. On the one hand, March- the month in which we celebrate spring, colours and the empowerment of women -beckons us and fills us with happiness and pride; on the other hand incidents of crime and harassment against women in India continue to pound the headlines and shame us. As another incident from my home town in northern India comes to light;  it again lent credence to my belief that this dismal state of women's safety in India cannot only be a product of external influence that it is conveniently blamed on ( immigration from smaller towns, influence of the media, exposure to western culture),- but rather a product of how we bring up our sons or rather how we choose not to bring them up! Of course, media does play ...

I have always pressure-cooked our Biryanis for obvious reasons- it is easier, faster and healthier. But for a long long time I had been toying with the idea of making Mutton Biryani in the famous '' Hyderabadi Dum'' way and not the mundane pressure-cooked way! Finally, last Sunday I wrenched the opportunity from my hubby who is always eager to cook mutton dishes. I did have an idea about how I wanted my biryani to turn out but just to improve on these ideas, I scoured the net. I ended up picking up cues from several recipes of the dum biryani on the net. However, I did not follow any particular one by the book but kept customising as I went along. I will but make a special mention of the recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor of Khana Khazana fame - as it seemed the most straightforward and time effective. Dum Mutton Biryani Serves 4-5 Base Ingredients; Rice- 1 1/2 half cups washed and drained. (Basmati rice is good for Biryani ) Mutton- 600 grams washed thoroughly- mi...