Delicacies

Photos of some of the delicacies that we had during our Summer vacation in May 2017 to both our natives.

Kolukattai...

French Fries...

French fries... Just out of the frying pan...

Kappa-Meen curry with Rice and Fish fry...

Palam-Pori - A special dish, made with ripe banana... In the first piece from left we can see the banana inside... One of my favourite item... Size and quanity wise sufficient enough to replace a lunch...

Mutton Biriyani with Chiken curry...

Kolukattai, Mutton Biriyani, Chicken lollypop, Thayir pachadi with Kurma... A speically made lunch...

All the side dishes served in a plantain leaf...

All the side dishes served in a plantain leaf... Waiting for the main item - Rice...

Rice with daal arrived...

Breakfast ready... Idly-sambhar-chutney, vadai, kesari...

Another wedding feast - lunch...

Evening tiffin - Methu Vadai with chutney and Jangiri...

Mutton Biriyani... Made with Seeraga samba rice... This varitely of rice gives a special taste to the Biriyani...

Mutton Biriyani with Chicken curry...

Mutton Biriyani, Chicken side-dish with Thayir pachadi... Served... Yummy lunch...

Desert after the Biriyani - Chips, Halwa and Kadalai mittai...

Creamy butter Paastha...

Creamy tomato Paastha...

Cream cakes...

Gulab Jamoons... Ready for eating...

Nungu... An item well suited for the summer...

Watches and Pens

Watches & Pens - the two things that can lure me to spend any amount of money and time. When I try to recall when I started getting a passion towards them, I cant identify any particular date or year. It happened. In those days I was referred as Pena-paithiyam & Watch-paithiyam (mad of pen and watches). Now it changed to Pen-Collector and Watch-Collector, looks some what decent. Thank you English.

[Pic: Watch Case]

Recently I moved some of my most recently used watches to a watch-case. When my friend first suggested to get a watch case for my watches, I rejected the idea upon knowing its price. Since for that price, I can get another watch. But after thinking for a couple of days, I got one, since I felt that it will simplify the process of storing and switching them, which these days, I am doing it twice a week. Can you see the white papers around their faces??? Those are tissue papers. Just to extra protect their faces. I can't bear my any of watch receiving a scratch :-). There is one more technique that I use to protect them, which I wont disclose. Its a trade secret. But a watch mechanic found that out when I gave one of my mechanical watches for service and gave a smile.

One pouch of that watch case is empty now . Will be filled with a vintage watch this weekend. Right now the watch is undergoing a complete service and rejuvenation in an expert watch mechanic shop.

[Pic: Pretty Jhalak adoring my wrist]

- spgr.

The story of my watches (6)

HMT Automatic:

Once I was browsing and reading about fountain pens. I am one of those rare persons who still uses fountain pen for most of my writing tasks. But nowdays my serious writing got reduced to writing one page in the diary, of course with an ink pen. During that time, I came across a couple of posts by a person called Hari. whose hobby was collecting pens. He also had mentioned about his another hobby, which is about collecting watches. From some of this posts, I got to know that HMT watches are still in production and they are still sold in their own retail outlets. I browsed more on that and somehow managed to locate a HMT retail outlet near my place. I visited that showroom and bought an Mechanical Automatic watch.

I have written more about it here - My New Automatic Watch.

HMT Mechanical Automatic - Model NASS 11

Sonata:

The Sonata quartz was presented by Amma in 2011, and it is the only Sonata I have till date. The face somewhat resembles the TIMES watch that I had earlier. Till now it required one battery replacement. Its more of a formal watch and I wear it only for special occasions.

Sonata

Chennai silks watch:

This is a digital watch that I brought from Chennai silks in Trichy. It received the attention of some watch enthusiats in my office. This was the watch I was wearing when I met with a minor bike accident. After that incident I almost stopped using it.

[pic: Chennai silks watch]

Chennai silks watch - Not in service now.

- SPGR.

The story of my watches (5)

HMT Amitabh:

For one of my birthday, my first younger sister wanted to get me a wrist watch. I took her to the HMT retail showroom. After a long selection process, I finally zeroed in on the HMT Amitabh. The dial was good and shiny. At that time HMT was selling all of its watches at 50% off, and we got this watch for just Rs. 575. When I wore it to office it gained the attention of many who enquired about it. Many were surprised that winding watches were still available.

HMT Amitabh

Haneefa Watch:

This digital watch was got by my friend from a nearby super-market named "Haneefa". It was of very good quality and lasted for more than 2 years of continues use. The original watch is not there now. but the digital movement was no nice that I moved it another case and it is functional now.

[pic: Haneefa movement in a new case]

Haneefa movement in a new case.

- SPGR.

The story of my watches (4)

HMT Kohinoor:

This is my grandfather's watch. It laid idle for many years after it came into my possession. While at college I asked my father to give it for servicing. He gave it an old watch mechanic who brought it back to an excellent state. This watch mechanic was a retired school headmaster who had taken up watch sales and repair after his retirement. Around this time I was in college and in hostel. I used to come home once in a month. Once when I came I found that the watch was serviced and ready for use. I keyed it in. But unfortunately I kept keying in, until I heard a knocking sound and the watch stopped working. The main spring gave up. My father took it again to the headmaster, who repaired it again. In the next time when I keyed in, I keyed very carefully and stopped with 12 winding. But this time, unfortunately I dropped the watch, with the crown directly falling on the floor and receiving the impact. The crown was still functional, but it got into a slanting position. Appa again took it to the headmaster, who probably would have replaced the crown. After these two incidents I never touched the watch for a long time.

Nearly after a decade, I took this watch to the HMT service center. The watch mechanic there serviced it and brought it back to near showroom condition. This time, the face-plate is changed to a grey colored one, and also the back plate is changed, since the original back plate had a minor crack in it. But, through these upgradations, it lost its vintage look. Now the movement and needles were the only ones from my grandfather's days. Now I think that I should have changed the needles too :-).

[pic: HMT Kohinoor, My Grandfather's Watch]

HMT Kohinoor

- SPGR.

The story of my watches (3)

Nelson Quartz:

When I was in 11th standard, Appa got me this watch. Appa took me to Mainguardgate with an idea to get a watch for me. We went through many watch shops, but I didn't like any of them. When we went to a shop in Super Bazaar, I liked one watch, which had a day-date feature and a dual tone dual tone dial - white and gold. It had the name "Nelson" written on it. It was a bit costly in those days, costing about Rs. 450. But still Appa went ahead and bought it for me. I wore this watch from 12th standard until I completed my UG. It was used almost daily. I still remember the day it received its first scratch on the crystal, the evening before my 12th chemistry public exam, when I was wearing it and studying for the exams. After that it received many scratches, but served loyally. Later on I gave it to my father, who changed its case, strap and used it for some more time. Eventually it was destroyed.

TIMES:

This was a quartz watch bought by my sister from Vizag. It had a black case, black resin strap and a gold face. The needles of this watch was especially cute. Once when I banged the door of "Rockfort Express" in an attempt to open it, it received an impact on its crystal and the crystal cracked. I moved the machine of this watch to my another watch and this watch was eventually destroyed.

Casio DB-36:

My younger sister got this watch from US. This was a wrist watch that had many features and it is one of my favorites, since my watch wearing habit started with digital watches. It also had the ability to store 30 phone numbers which came handy whenever I forgot to take my mobile phone to office. "10 year battery" is written on its face-plate, meaning that its battery will last for 10 years. Bought in 2010, it still keeps perfect time, and didn't required a battery replacement.

[pic: my casio DB-36]

Casio DB-36

My Experiments with Dancing

Though even in school days I have witnessed many dance events in the Annual day functions, they didn't attract me much. But when I was studying UG in PSG Tech, Coimbatore,  there used to be a function called Calypso, an inter-college meet of all PSG Group of institutions. There I saw a groups of Girls from PSG CAS and GRG dancing on the stage. That was a well-rehearsed, practiced stage show.
Still that was interesting. On seeing that I used to feel that someday I too should dance like that. But I know very well that I may not get a chance to dance on the stage.

Driven by the desire to dance (or) to learn dancing, I used to try some little steps in my hostel room, seeing which at times my roommate used to laugh. But within a few days this landed me in a trouble. One day I was sleeping and it was around 11:30 in the night. My roommate woke me up...
"Pavala... Pavala... Wake-up... Wake-Up..."
"What da..."
"Our seniors asked me to bring you..."
"For what..."
"They got a  chance to participate in tomorrow's event... They got 10 minutes, and they can do whatever they want in that 10 minutes..."
"And why they want me to come..."
"They are going to dance and they want someone to teach them..."
"Ohhhh... And who told that I can dance???"
"Me..."
"Deiiiii... I cant dance da... I dont know how to dance..."
"Dont worry... Just teach them what you know..."
"I know nothing..."


It became clear that now there is no point in arguing with  him. As you know during college days seniors are demi-Gods. I woke up and we both went to their room in the B Block. Once I entered their room, I found a huge crowd, roughly of about 30 people waiting for me. A senior, who is known to terrorize his juniors was summoned to explain me what I am supposed to do. I told him that I cant dance... I dont know how to dance... At once he changed his tone and started threatening me... Some others started convincing me... And finally almost all of them started pleading to teach them whatever I know... I was giving different reasons that I could not dance, and this went on for about 40 minutes... After 40 minutes it became clear to me that I cant go back to my room, without dancing and without teaching them something...

They played the song. It was some English song, which I didnt know. With no other option, I  had to jump into action. I heard the song once, asked them to play it again... and started dancing... Keeping my legs in "Stand At Ease" position, I moved two steps to the left, then two steps to the right and again two steps to the left, two steps to the right, then turned sidewards and spread my arms horizontally... It seemed that they got impressed... And I had to do the same steps again and again for the next 30 minutes,  until they learnt it. Eight Guys stood in two rows of four each, and they kept practicing. In the mean time they found out another Guy from some other department and brought him there. Then we both worked together until 3:30 in the morning. My primary job being learning the steps from  him and repeating it again and again until our seniors picked it up... In the mean time I started enjoying this work... The practice sessions went on in the next day afternoon too...

Next day evening the function started, and I was anxiously waiting for my seniors to arrive on the stage. After a very long time, towards the end of the event, they appeared. The stupid announcer, announced in the mike that that was the last performance for the day. Half of the crowd dissolved on hearing that. They stood in two rows of four each... the music started playing... and they started moving two steps to the left, two steps to the right... exactly in the same way I did on the previous night... and when they turned and spread their arms... almost all of the audience dissolved and dis-appeared... Only a handful of people were left... Though the steps were funny, it still made me happy... may be, because of the joy of creation... I and the primary choreographer stayed back till they completed... clapped and then we too went to room back...

Then while doing PG in NIT, Trichy, there used to be a function called "Version" in our department. In that some were given chance to dance on the stage during dance events... We Guys used to take this chance and dance, in the front, right below the stage, exactly imitating the steps on the stage... And this imitation and dancing reaches its peak when gang of girls dance of the stage... Due to this type of training, now it is very easy for me to learn and imitate the girls steps...

Then I joined for work. My first company was TCS, training in Trivandrum Technopark. Just one week before the training was about to get over, my batchmates arranged for a party and a get together. There they had arranged something close to a DJ party... In a big hall, with fancy lights & loud music, people started dancing... I was entirely new to that type of situation and I kept on watching... After a long time, with lots of hesitation, I too entered, by which time almost all had stopped and only a few were dancing... I started dancing and in order to encourage me, my colleague Gurleen Chawla, just came in front of me and accompanied me in the dance... I was sort of embarrassed, and tried to stop and go out.. But she kept dancing according to my steps and I too continued and this went on for more than 15 minutes... Right at that moment, my another colleague, who was carrying a camera, caught that moment in a flash(pun intented :-)...)... Finally we both were the only ones dancing and all were watching... When we stopped there was a huge round of applause for us :-)...

Then at work, I never got a chance again and I almost forgot about dancing, until one day a DJ party was announced in my third company iGATE. That was sometime in May 2012. I went there 30 minutes after the party started and was just watching it... But after sometime after hearing the loud music and the fancy light, I couldnt resist and just jumped into the dance floor... It was there that I rediscovered my hobby again... I thought of going out in 10 minutes... But I stayed back... and tried to dance till the end of the party... But only a very few were dancing and there was no much audience... I enjoyed that day...

A sample clip for your view... :-)...

 
Then again another DJ party announced in office in Nov 2012... Finally that became one of the most memorable day of my life, which I will explain in a separate post... 

- Pavala.

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