Getting the most bang for each day

We have all heard, read about 'living in the moment', 'getting the most out of life', 'find your passion before the grim reaper arrives', etc. But, here is a different twist to that....read on
Now, if you think our average lifespan is about 70yrs ( Current World Average is 70 as per wikipedia and there are variations by gender, race, etc and all that is besides the point anyway)
This translates to ~25,500 days in all. That sounds like a lot of days.
Now, the first 6-7 years which translates to ~2500 days we are mostly happy and have pretty good time in general.
Its from about 7 years old or so that we start experiencing moods and seem to somewhat understand/experience different emotions and start to form our own outlook towards life. (Disclaimer: I am sure this definitely varies from individual to individual and I am no expert in the area of how the human brain develops through the years and this is just purely from my observation of my boys)
So, its really about 63 years translated to ~23000 days that we have to play with and can choose to do whatever we want with these days.
Now, let's say we use this comparison: What if we are given a total of $23,000 for our entire life and we are asked to live our life with it. For most of us, the natural instinct would be to try and maximize what we can get from these 23 thousand dollars.. we will do all kinds of research and bargain hunting to get the most 'bang for our buck'. We will try to invest in it to stretch that pool and so on..
What if we view our days the same way too and try to get the most 'bang for each day'.. find our passion, do something each day that will make you truly happy, invest in it so you can stretch your days and stretch the quality of those days..

How to make soft chapatis - the 34,101st recipe for beginners

So.. about 3 weeks ago I started my quest in the land of chapati making. Why.. you may wonder, well.. coming from a rice eating state of AP, chapatis and rotis were not a regular item on the menu in our house, but lately I have realized the health effects this may have and wanted to replace rice with the healthier option of Whole Wheat Chapatis. So...I decided to have me-made chapatis for dinner everyday. My memories of my previous attempts which ended in crispy or sometimes hard leather like chapatis did scare me a bit, but this time I was determined to put in more effort and give it my 100% for at least 2 weeks before giving it all up again. I even thought of another option of developing a taste for crispy chapatis viewing them just like the mexican hard tacos, but that idea didn't go too far and I had no option but to learn making soft chapatis.
So, my first step was to go to Google and type: 'How to make soft chapathis?' I was prompted by the spell-checker and learnt that the correct spelling is 'Chapati' and not 'Chapathi'. Really...I am still not too sure, but Google says it, so it must be correct :-)
Anyway, my google search resulted in about 34,100 results and after reading a few, I realized there are some very elaborate recipes which pretty much nullify the health effects of going with whole wheat chapatis by adding butter to the dough or some such thing. Then there are other recipes that are just way too complicated for me to follow with a number of different ingredients that need to be precisely measured, kneaded, etc. Finally, I found a set of "least common denominator" instructions that most of the recipes included and I decided to go with those. Now, its been about 17 days since I started and I have been able to consistently make soft chapatis that stay soft for 24 hrs and beyond. This post is my attempt at not just becoming the 34,101st result, but to help a beginner chapati maker like myself with some simple/easy tips that he/she can master in a short amount of time.

So, here you go (pay special attention to the ones in italics):
1. I used the Laxmi Brand Whole Wheat Flour (nothing added)
2. Take 2 cupts of the flour, 1/2 teaspoon of Norton salt
3. Some Hot Water
4. Some milk * - Definitely makes a difference. Without this, I didn't get them as soft
5. 2 teaspoons of oil
6. Knead the flour into dough * - in the end, the dough should not be sticking to your hands. If it does, add more flour and it should be almost like chewing gum. Knead at least for 15mins
7. Keep the dough aside for at least 30 mins with a little damp wash cloth covered on it. What worked even better is when I made the dough in large quantity and stored it in the Fridge overnight. The chapatis came out even softer next day onwards
8. When you are ready to make chapatis, put the tawa on the stove and let it heat up
9. Make balls - You will need to try couple of times before fixing on a size that works for you
10. Roll into chapati - not too thick or too thin
11. Wait for tawa to be fully hot * - this is very important and made a difference.
12. Put the rolled chapati on the tawa
13. Wait couple of minutes and you will notice very small bumps and then turn to other side * - if this takes longer because the tawa is not hot enough in step 11, the chapati ends up being more harder and crispy like papad
14. On this side, use a damp cloth or paper towel and press around, while the chapati puffs
15. After all the chapati has puffed, turn to other side and repeat step 14
16. You can store in a hot box/casserole now as is or apply just little oil and store * - Oil didn't make much difference to the softness, but does a bit to the taste and feel

That's it.. Now, if I have ready dough in the fridge, about 5-6 chapatis which is what we need for one meal in our house takes about 20mins or less. Now, I am motivated to keep this going hoping I can always find 20mins before dinner to make yummy me-made whole wheat chapatis.
Whether I have mastered it or not, only time will tell, but I am pretty confident that if I keep doing what I am doing now, I will get soft chapatis in the end.
Hope these instructions will prove useful to someone who doesn't want to go with the other time-tested options of buying them from a store or someone else.
I know it has been just few days and so I cannot consider myself an expert. Please drop me a line if you have tried these tips and the result has been different or if you think I was just plain lucky in getting them soft.

Being a woman...

Our upanishads said this already:

Karyeshu dasi, Karneshu mantri,
Roopeshu Lakshmi, kshameshu dharitri,
Bhojeshu matha, Shayaneshu vaishya,
Shatkarma nari, Kuladharma pathni.

The following is more real and is very well expressed and it definitely deserves a spot in my blogland. I received this in email this morning and it certainly jump-started my day and made me feel somewhat special and proud.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;
One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your
sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as
much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the coffee, first thing in the morning and cook
food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more,
and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother,
a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as
to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply
Because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise
One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;
One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house – your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most
importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

Please appreciate "HER"

Live your life.. find your passion before the grim reaper comes

Randy Pausch became a celebrity when he delivered his Last Lecture on Sept 18th, 2007. His lecture and his life touched me like it did millions around the world. One of the quotes and slides he used in his lecture 'Tigger or Eeyore' sticks with me and I think of it many many times when I am trying to cheer myself up.

"It is not about how to achieve your dreams; it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the Karma will do its thing and the dreams will come to you"

I recently came across another video of him addressing the CMU graduates and I think, as always his message about living life to the fullest and finding your passion before the grim reaper arrives seems like common sense but, it is impactful and thought provoking.



He talks about not chasing after money or 'things' since those never fill you up.. its finding your passion and chasing it that matters. Living the life where people around you love you and respect you for what you are is the ultimate honor. Great speech... nice message.. emotional ending...so here it is.

Me, me and myself

There is this thing going on on Facebook where people put in 25 Random things about themselves and then tag a bunch of people. People who get tagged have to now say the 25 Random things about themselves, tag others and it goes on....I was tagged recently and that got me get into introspective mode a bit and here is my list... take it for what it is... with a grain of salt and lots of sense of humor please :-)
1. I am cusp of leo and virgo and I think that’s part reason for my split personality. People close to me say I have more of leo qualities in me.

2. When working in groups, I like to work on team dynamics, mentoring people and creating environments that bring the best out of people.

3. I take my commitments very seriously however small or hard they are.. once I commit, I don’t go back on it easily. My pet peeve is when people don’t live up to their commitments and the one that ticks me off most is about timeliness

4. I am a hands-on mom also, which I am really proud of ( I need to let go of the guilt that I am a working mom).

5. I am a very emotional person especially about family. I can cry upon a drop of a hat

6. I was always a tomboy, in my thinking, dressing etc. I hated to be dressed like a girl when I was growing up and even now I am most comfortable with my comfy pair of jeans and a good shirt or nice shalwar kameez... don't like saris at all.

7. Mom was my first best friend even before I knew what friendship was about.. I knew she always brought out the best in me and did not judge me for anything whatsoever. My sister is almost like second mom to me now.. and thanks Mommy for giving her

8. I was very close to my mom (I still am in a way) and I miss her terribly and want to keep her spirit alive by doing the things she liked to do…which was ‘Giving’

9. I never really "knew" my sister growing up.. we did nothing together during the day since I was busy playing outside while she was busy in front of the mirror or with her books but, I remember holding onto her hand real tight while sleeping at night

10. I met my husband, Chandu on a Badminton court.. we were mixed doubles partners and he even hit hard once that my nose bled.. now why did I end up marrying him??? long story for another time

11. I value honesty and integrity a lot and that’s what made me fall in love with Chandu. He got on my list of Best friends and I have really high expectations of him (you know that Chandu, don’t you?)

12. I love logic in most of the aspects in life and I really appreciate logical explanation for anything not understood by me. I am also superstitious about somethings and do follow them more ‘just in case’.. do you see a pattern of the 'cuspiness' here?

13. I am an orange belt in karate and would like to pursue that more someday as a hobby along with Badminton

14. Growing up, I wanted to be the First Woman Air Chief Marshall, Prime Minister of India, Indian Cricket Team Captain, Basketball Player, IAS Officer and am really not sure how I ended up being a Program Manager here in Dow Jones

15. I like to exercise more for the feeling afterwards. I am yet to find my favorite activity that I will not get bored with after few months.

16. I love to read, watch movies and have intellectual discussions with people. I also love listening to music and I like to be heard through my blog.

17. I am passionate about giving something back to the society and strongly believe in 'Being the change I want to see in the world' and hope to take this up more seriously soon.

18. I hate conflicts and in a conflict situation, I usually just try to change/mend myself somehow to get over it. The hardest lesson I learnt is that I cannot please everyone.

19. I am usually very hard on myself and have high expectations of myself and think somehow I can do a lot of things including solving World Hunger if I put in the right attitude and effort

20. I am not comfortable behind the wheel and not sure what induced this fear.. perhaps being caught by Daddy one morning racing on my bicycle with an autorickshaw in Hyderabad..contributed to it

21. I totally enjoy my morning cuppa without any interruptions. Like to have it before the boys in the home get up.

22. I thrive on planning, lists and being prepared. Excel is one of my favorite tools

23. My sister’s biggest enemy was my best friend while growing up ( all my friends were boys while growing up and I would only play cricket, jungle, war games, bicycle racing with them)

24. I look forward to seeing my boys as compassionate people, caring husbands and most importantly happy in whatever they choose to do and of course as handsome dudes(as my sister puts it)

25. A lot of my family and friends don’t know my real name. I am most popularly known by my pet name - Mickey

26. My nose influences by taste buds. If I don't like the smell of something I will either just not eat it or am damn sure will not like the taste