Week 5 #52weekchallenge

Have not been able to do this challenge regularly since there's way too much going on with me lately. But hope to get this rolling again. For week 5 I only got around to doing a cooking project and this week I cooked Korean Style Chicken Legs! 

Korean Style Chicken Legs

My mum wasn't in town when I made this so I didn't get any constructive feedback. However, my brother devoured three chicken legs in five minutes flat! And because he's such a picky eater I take this as extremely positive feedback. On the flip side, I think he may have been very hungry by the time I served him dinner.

Week 3 #52weekchallenge

Wondering what happened to week 2? Yeah, that week was just fail. Too much was happening that week for me to get this stuff done. Anyhow, week 3 though was awesome! I got all the stuff done in good time and I'm quite satisfied with how it all turned out. Here's what I did last week:

1. DIY Project

Canvas art - Dancer

Not that I'm a good artist, but I had an empty canvas lying around for a while & thought I'd put it to some use. Of course I cheated ;) This is not a free hand painting. I got an image off the web, stenciled it onto the canvas and filled it in with paint and glitter. This particular image is of a kathak dancer and the gold glitter on her feet are her Ghungroos.

2. Cooking Project

Shutki Maach

This is my favorite dish! It's otherwise known as dry fish and it's a speciality in Tripura (North-East India) where my maternal grandma's from. Not many people like it so it isn't easily available nor are there recipes or videos online to learn it on my own. For this dish I took my mum's help but the next time I cook it, I want to experiment with some additions to the recipe.

3. Short Story

'Awakening in a dream'

 

He touched her with tenderness yet with urgency. On that single bed in a small room, their bodies met each other with heightened excitement. In that darkness, they gave into blindness and placed their entire trust in their sense of touch. With one arm on the back of his head and the other arm guiding him, she was holding him like she didn’t want to let go. And he was lost in the moment, with urgency and excitement starting to spiral out of control.

As I awoke from the dream, I realized without any emotion that the girl in bed with my man wasn’t me.

____________

2 days later

Namitha had once told me that distance isn’t about the location; it’s about the heart. For the past couple of days I felt like he’s been pulling away from me. He and I have been fighting for a couple of days now over small, annoying, insignificant things. “Maybe we should break-up”, I said. Without a second thought, he agreed.

5 days later

“I feel we should give it another shot” I said. Relationships do take time and effort after all.

“I’m sorry I can’t”, he replied. And here I thought he would jump at the second chance. What a stupid heart I have.

I asked him “Why?”

After some hesitation he said, “I’m with someone else now.”

“Who?”

“The girl from your dream.”

Sunayana Sen

Week 1 #52weekchallenge

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm taking up a challenge I found on the Internet- 52 weeks of the year. As a part of the challenge, I will be doing three things every week:- a DIY project, cooking/preparing a dish and writing a short story. And in week 1 here's what I accomplished:

1. DIY Project

DIY Pen Stand

2. Cooking Project

Herb Coated Mushrooms with Cheese Sauce

3. Short story - WIP 

Failed on this one this week :(

Sunayana Sen

52 weeks

Happy New Year folks! 

We survived the apocolypse a year ago and made #hashtags a way to converse last year. Most importantly, we got the word 'selfie' into Oxford dictionary!

And now we start a new year by making typical resolutions and it seems as though the universal resolution for the year is 'Go to gym'. I'm going to be Grumpy Cat here and tell you one word- NO. That didn't happen last year, the year before that and all the years before that. And it's never going to happen in the near future. Booyah!

Nevertheless, best of luck to you guys!

As for me, this year I decided not to make any resolutions but instead follow a challenge on the internet. 52 weeks. In these 52 weeks of the year, I've challenged myself to do 52 DIY projects, cook/prepare 52 dishes and write 52 stories. And if I can complete this challenge, at the end of the year I will treat myself to a lavish holiday in whichever country I feel like travelling to. 

Without all the grumpiness, here's wishing you and myself a successful year ahead!   

Sunayana Sen

Har Har Mahadev!

Late last month Amish Tripathi released his last book in the Shiva Trilogy- The Oath of the Vayuputras - and a whole bunch of book lovers in my office went into a frenzy. I didn't quite understand it & quite frankly I was agitated that I didn't know about this famous book when everybody else did! I then looked it up online & decided that I want to read it too. I'm immensely fond of mythology so I took to the book immediately, yet grudgingly so since I knew it was only fiction. But some parts of the book either brought tears to my eyes, or answered an impending question in my head, or left me a tad bit wiser. Sorry Paulo Coelho, your books didn't impact me as much!

Here's an excerpt of the trilogy that I liked most and brought tears to my eyes:

A resounding roar arose from the Suryavanshis. They were led by the Mahadev. The God of Gods. The Chandravanshis did not stand a chance.

"But I am not the only one!" 

 A shocked silence descended on the Surayavanshis. What did the Mahadev mean? He is not the only one? Do the Chandravanshis have a god too?

 "I am not the only one! For I see a hundred thousand Mahadevs in front of me! I see a hundred thousand men willing to battle evil! I see a hundred thousand men capable of destroying evil!"

 The stunned Suryavanshis gaped at their Neelkanth as the import of his words permeated their minds. They dared not ask the question: Are we gods?

   Shiva had the answer: "Har Ek Hai Mahadev!" 

The Meluhans stood astounded. Every single one a Mahadev?  

"Har Har Mahadev?" bellowed Shiva. 

The Meluhans roared. All of us are Mahadevs! 

Pure primal energy coursed through the veins of each Suryanvanshi. They were gods! It didn't matter that the Chndravanshis outnumbered them ten to one. They were gods! Even if the evil Chandravanshis outnumbered them a thousand to one, victory was assured. They were gods! 

"Har Har Mahadev!" cried the Suryavanshi army.

This excerpt had such a profound effect on me and I felt empowered! It was as if I was in that army and I was being spoken to. I still have no idea why this touched me so. Maybe it's a a piece of knowledge that will be used later.

Another beautiful line in The Secret of the Nagas that touched me was:

There is a god in every single one of us. And there is evil in every single one of us. The true battle between good and evil is fought within.

And somewhere later in the book it is said because there's both good an evil in us it takes strength to choose the good. The weak would choose evil. To me this meant that when I have to make a choice, I have to be brutal on my self and choose what's good for most that are involved otherwise I'm weak and that's something I can't live with.

For those who are looking for self-realization and like reading, do read these books. Well written, addictive and helpful. May have the answers to your questions.

Sunayana Sen

Guardian Jewels

Some highly observant people have asked me why I wear my old-fashioned, gold watch all the time. 

It was my Late Didima's (Maternal grandma) watch and she wore it all the time. Boy, did it look great on her! I have other watches too, more 'fashionable' ones but her watch has the timeless uniqueness that none of the prada, gucci, tommy watches can match. Just like my Didima. Most importantly, I wear it because it gives me a sense of comfort that she's always watching over me & I'm not alone.

The necklace is another piece that I inherited from her and I wear it with all my sarees. I never forget to wear it for any family wedding. I wear this necklace because my Didima was a beautiful and fabulous lady and I hope to be a tiny reflection of her some day.

These pieces of jewelry have been through my many ups and downs but have still remained the same timeless beauties, giving me a sense of stability and security just like my Didima did.

Sunayana Sen

The room on rent

On that clear summer morning the girl in the yellow pants ended her journey with you. You both have done this before but this time it has a sense of finality. For some reason she wonders what your future would be without her. She had never considered this before, not even when you chose someone else one time. But today she is. 

You’re in a new country now exploring sights, people, food, experiences. Every day is an adventure for you and fortunately for you, this leaves little room to think about the girl in the yellow pants who occupied two years of your life. Slowly and steadily this girl will fade from your thoughts and occupy a small room in the recesses of your mind. Sometimes you will walk down the road to that room just to sit over a coffee and reminisce with her. Maybe even you will chat about what could have been. Who knows? But slowly those visits will stop as you will meet other girls. Some of them may remind you of that girl in the yellow pants who lives in a room in your mind while some of them may make you feel like you are fortunate for that clear summer day. She wonders if you still smile thinking about her. Do you ever wonder about me the same way I wonder about you she asks. Do you feel like picking up the phone and calling me to make everything like before, she asks again. She does.

There will be a girl soon who will be THE girl for you. You will finally fall in love with her, marry her and have a loving family with her. You will forget all about that girl in the yellow pants who quietly lives in the room in your mind. You will stop visiting her. On one emotional occasion you will take THE girl along with you for one last visit to the room to introduce them to each other. You will tell THE girl that she was a part of your life for a while and will hopefully say a nice thing or two about her. You will tell the girl in the yellow pants that this is your last visit to her room. Consider this your eviction notice you will say. It’s time to leave.

Maybe your paths will cross again someday when you’re 60 years old with grey hair and wrinkled skin. God can be cruel that way. Or merciful. Whichever way you see it. Maybe that love will raise its head again. Maybe you will have coffee together and talk about your respective families. Maybe you will remember what she looked like in the yellow pants. Maybe you will wish things never ended. Maybe.

Sunayana Sen