“There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” — George Bernard Shaw.
This week the Wednesday challenge here on partner Susan and my site is QUIRKY FOODS.
➰➰➰
People from different parts of the world have different tastes and preferences.
Our culture and food are pretty similar to Indian cuisine and culture as we lived together for centuries. In our part of the world, people like spicy food, deep fried and calorie rich!
Okra ( Bhindi)is a very popular vegetable in summer. We fry cut okra and put it in a gravy made with fried onions, tomatoes and yogurt. It’s full of spices and very tasty. Similarly, bitter gourd ( karela) is also a summer vegetable, thought to be beneficial. It is very bitter on its own so we boil it or fry it first before we make a curry out of it.
Bhindi masala Karela masala
Another unique dish is made with fried chickpeas flour dumplings, cooked in yogurt sauce. It’s called “karhi”and can be eaten with boiled rice or roti! We also fry our fish coated in chickpeas flour batter( baisin wali machli ), spicy and crispy. A usual accompaniment to this fish is hard-boiled eggs and green chiliesfried in the same chickpea batter, all this is served with naan.
I have written on this topic before, more than twice. I’ve used two posts from my past and edited them to fit this prompt.
Prompt for RXC # 259;
“Think about how your being, your thoughts multiply in the universe. Write about your children and how do they make you happy. Mull over what else can you acquire or create to leave a legacy.
Do you want to be remembered after you’re gone and how?”
➰➰➰
Cast adrift on a moonless night
The ship sails on sea that is calm
Seeking quiet and solitude I stand here
Thinking how my life is dependent
On those who are a constant in my world
If……
One day I was not here anymore
Would my obituary be read with sadness
Or with a feeling of relief
Would I like them to be sad, missing me
Or will I leave them relieved, secretly happy
I think the best legacy I can leave behind
Would be a score of kind deeds
That will make them remember me with love
And be glad for the fact that they knew me
➰➰➰
We all are on a time lease. Our time on this earth is limited and is bound to come to an end sooner or later. Have you ever thought about how you would like to be remembered after you are gone?
Thinking of dying, leaving this world, or kicking the bucket, for some people, seems morbid. It may be true that some of us are not going to think about it at all. While there are people who give too much thought to their end. I like to have a pragmatic approach. We all will die one day and there is nothing dramatic or extraordinary about it.
What legacy do I want to leave behind?
In my view, leaving behind a good memory/ Legacy is possible if one practices the following;
1. Be kind;
It is a kind person who leaves an everlasting impression on the mind of others.
2. Be generous;
Generosity doesn’t mean spending or giving money to others, but being generous-hearted accepting others as they are, being forgiving and most of all open-minded. And not to be mean-spirited.
3. Be a friend;
What does being a friend entail? Listening to the problems of others, offering solutions, consoling them after a loss, and being there in hard times for them.
4. Don’t be a difficult person;
As we grow old, we become fixed in our ways, opinionated, and hard to please. And old age brings a lot of pain and aches, even if we are in good health. The people who I have seen, getting along well with their caregivers and family are those who maintain an attitude of ease. Taking things easy and treating others with ease of manner. One has to take one’s problems with a pinch of humor. This I think is the most difficult thing to accomplish. But I would try my best to be that sort of person who is not a burden on others but to be a blessing.
I would like to introduce you all to such a historic landmark building of my home city, The Lahore fort. This holds that special charm, that beauty, and magic about it! It is not an abandoned building persé but a historical landmark, which indeed is a work of art!
The main entrance of Lahore fort( Shahi Mahal)
This magnificent fort was built in 1556 by the Mughal emperor Akbar. It is a wonderful example of Mughal architecture and there are beautiful examples of both Muslim and Hindu styles of motifs.
Bara Dari-( 12 doors) an open courtyard where the Mughal emperor used to meet people.
Even though this is not very well maintained, it has stood the test of time quite well. It boasts of beautiful and well-laid gardens and multiple decorative halls.
Gardens outside the Sheesh ( mirror) palace
Anyone who visits Lahore has to visit this historical treasure
Hope you enjoyed this mini trip to one of my favorite places in Lahore. A place of secrets, and of timeless beauty where the imagination can take you back centuries.
I must admit that when I started my blog, I discovered that writing poetry came very naturally to me but there was a hitch!
I cannot rhyme for the life of me or stick to the rules of certain poetic forms, in fact, I even don’t know the names of these forms, except haiku or acrostic poems.
What isa meter of a poem? I haven’t the slightest clue, nor do I know different literary devices or literary techniques.
I love to write out my thoughts in poetic form because I feel using fewer words, I can say what I want to say much more effectively, at least I hope so.
So I do call myself a poet ( of a beginner level) even though none of my poems rhyme, though some of them I feel have a certain rhythm to them!
You tell me am I justified in adopting this label or not?
“Here’s the only blogging tip you really need: always follow your intuition.” – Kelly Thoreson
➰➰➰
Personal blogging is neither an art nor a science. Blogging is self-expression.
When a person starts a blog, they usually have some idea of what they want to blog about. If it’s a personal blog, the topics are varied and one can write about anything. Here, I think intuition can play a role to guide us on what would be the best fit for us.
Intuition is actually the manifestation of all the information gathered by our senses subconsciously. So we should trust our intuition as we trust our senses. If my intuition tells me that I would be a better writer if I write about things that are close to my heart, then I should do so. I started my blog to write about the medical and social issues that women over 50, ( empty nesters) face. But gradually my writing changed and though I still address these issues, I feel ( intuitively) that I am more effective when I write from my heart about the issues our humanity is facing.
So if we analyze this quote regarding the topics we choose to blog about, I think it is spot on. But if someone is advising on how to blog then they should include other aspects of writing here as well; like clean and simple expression, mistake-free writing, and structuring the sentence as to make the writing attractive.
Thank you Tanya for this prompt to deepen our insights into blogging.
November 28, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the saying, “not my monkeys, not my circus”. What is the situation that would spawn that aphorism? Have fun with setting and characters! Go where the prompt leads!
➰➰➰
It is a natural reaction to things that don’t directly concern us to say, “Not my monkeys not my circus”!
But they do concern us because we all are connected. Gun violence in one country can affect others around the world because we get the news instantly through electronic media. And the counter-reaction is swift, and disproportionate
I wouldn’t disown anything as not my concern, I’d try to improve things on my end and if we all did that, maybe things would improve.
This is very much our circus, and we’re the monkeys dancing and wreaking havoc in it.
Keep it alive 
You must be logged in to post a comment.