Her Parents

So I got to read today this piece of news on social media - “Married daughter also has obligation to maintain her parents, Bombay HighCourt”. Finally there is a ruling that supports gender equality.

I always feel bad when I hear a parent say they have to tend to themselves because they are son-less. And the primary reason they prefer a son is because he is bound by duty to obediently provide his parents financial support and/or a daughter-in-law who is a caregiver to them. A daughter who loves her parents feels equally as a son to support her parents emotionally and/or financially. This should be a motivation for women to work. It’s time to apprehend that marriage isn’t just about binding to your in-laws; you are still your parent’s daughter. ‘Is my daughter and Like my daughter’ makes hell lot of a difference.

In Indian marriages, the ritual Kanya-Daan implies - “The girl no longer remains the daughter of her parents and now that she has been donated to her new family, anything except her family belongs to them.” This is on top of wedding expenses borne by the girl’s family which I consider as a form of implicit dowry.  If it isn’t then there should be a balanced share of expenses. And I hate the girl being called an asset/ property. They aren’t any form of chattels you see.

Maybe the society is changing but it’s at Tortoise's speed. It can be accelerated if the current generation of parents bring up their son & daughter with fair thoughts on responsibilities and are not biased. There is simply no dubiety in any situation for a married daughter whether or not to provide for her parents. If a son should, so should a daughter. (Period) 

Life, Soul & Anime

With all the spare time that I have now, thought of watching Bleach Anime which I have wanted to for quite some time.  It’s one of the best anime I’ve watched after Death Note.  

For those who don’t know, Bleach is a Japanese Anime series of the Manga version that goes by the same title, written by Tite Kubo.  It’s about the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains Soul Reaper powers (Shinigami or Death God) from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

I am listing some of my favorite characters and why I like them:

Uryu Ishida (The Quincy) - For his Intelligence to think calmly at strenuous situations and power of absorbing spiritual power to form his weapon

Byakuya Kuchiki (Squad 13 Captain) - I like his name firstly; Second, he is strong and most serious character and fights only when in need. Yet his care & love for his clan & family is implicitly revealed; Third, his powerful zanpakuto Senbonzakura.

 Kisuke Urahara (Former Captain of Squad 12) - He is funny yet talks stuff that matters, the master for research and development.

Yourichi Shihoin – Former captain of Squad 2 and friend of Kisuke - I like her in the cat form and as a guide to Ichigo.

Chad - Ichigo’s Friend and I like him for the way he treasures his friendship with Ichigo.

Well there are some other characters as well that I enjoyed seeing like Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai – lieutenant, Toshiro – Captain, Ikkaku – lieutenant.

I am always touched by the subtle messages in Anime which are usually about Family values, Friends, One’s abilities, etc.  And it’s a nice way to make an impact on children as well as adults. Similarly in Bleach, it’s the lead character Ichigo Kurosaki’s qualities that have inspired me to write this post.  

Some of them that made me ponder and ended up having a list:

1.     Have a motive in Life – Makes life easier if you have an aim, I am sure we won’t end up asking ourselves the ‘’Being’’ question ‘What’s the reason for our existence? ‘. The Being Question as I've termed happens to be thought about at-least once in our lifetime.

2.     Good Friends - Friends who trust you and don’t give-up on you. Subsequently they are the ones who support us to work on our goals/dreams, next to our Families.

3.     Believe in Yourself – If you have an aim, have faith that you can achieve it. It’s always an ongoing task. Listen to your soul and there you have the guidance.

4.     Never Give-Up –The strength to overcome any struggle, comes from your Power of Will. Trust me, it always works.

5.     Have some Jest – Life is not always about being serious and matured.  It’s okay to be chilled and have some fun.

6.     Last but not the least is ‘’To Forgive” – It’s not an effortless one but I am at work on it. Helps to keep calm and focus on other important things in life.

These points are probably known facts but for me it feels like a revisit to the bottled-up thoughts. And I guess it will take me a couple of days to emerge from hangover. Until then I will get geared-up for the next one on my list i.e. Full Metal Alchemist. 

The Fridge Story!

In last 6 -7 months a certain aspect of my fridge has kept me amused. Do they behave like that? A fridge that modulates the temperature based on the weather. If the clime is cold the fridge becomes warm and if warm then cold, freezing cold.  That’s how I viewed it. The veggies are frozen and I need to just thaw them, phew! Thankfully the freezer behaved normal. The beeper always kept a check for the 10 min window that I had to take or keep stuff. Not a second longer. Then one fine morning it decides to stay warm! Probably the fridge is angry on me for something! You see, I did try to correct its conduct many a times and it never budged. And today, it’s time to bid goodbye to this unique fridge.

 We bought this fridge after we moved to Sydney. We had just relocated and had to get other stuff done like finding an apartment, furniture, appliances etc, I thought it would be fine to use a fridge that’s not new, but thoroughly checked, cleaned and tested to perfect. But it also makes me think a second’s stuff is bound to be with such unique features, but the refrigerators that we have at our parents home have lasted for over more than 10 years functioning wonderfully without any surprise elements.  

Lately I have been feeling guilty every time the milk got spoilt and happy that I learnt to make Paneer. Also I did learn my way to buy & store veggies just right for the fridge’s temperamental behaviour, cook just enough so that there is no leftovers and a number of recipes to make with Paneer for my foodie hubby, who loves Paneer.

 Nevertheless the fridge did decide to leave on a sweet note. Thanks for the last spoilt milk and then unfolds the story of making of Rasgulla (A syrupy dessert). OMG! Now I need a chef cap, the Rasgulla is made from scratch with no shortcuts... And here’s the snap.

Rasgulla with
 Cardamom and Saffron Sugar Syrup

Karna and Destiny!

Have you heard the story of Karna, the great warrior in Mahabharata? He is the son of Sun-God Surya & princess Pritha , also known as Kunti.  He was born to Kunti before her marriage to King Pandu. Afraid of being an unwed mother she places him in a basket and set him afloat in the river. He was found by Adiratha, a charioteer in Hastinapur. Adiratha and Radha brought up the boy as their own son and named him Vasusena. He was also called Radheya.

This was to brief about him. But something about Karna’s life always disturbs me, should I call it sympathy?  His life clearly depicts the role of destiny. No matter how good or bad, righteous or unrighteous you are, whatever is destined has to happen.  I am a firm believer in destiny.

Karna was very courageous and generous. And he has always been admired for that. His generosity was a mark of his acceptance to minus the unrighteous deeds he will have to support. His generosity / charity helped him pacify his mind for all the wrong.  Duryodhana’s friendship with Karna is always talked about because when everybody disowned him and even insulted Karna, Duryodhan stood by him not only by considering him as an equal but also by bestowing him a rajya for his capabilities in the great mythology Mahabharata. But I seldom think whether Karna ever realized Duryodhana’s friendship towards him was also bound to the enmity with the Pandavas.  Was Duryodhana a true friend?

So the thought crosses my mind, was Karna happy in his life? He is supposed to be a Prince, brought up as a common man’s son.  Dronacharya refuses to take him as his student for not being a Kshatriya. He gets trained under Parashurama. He is cursed to forget all the knowledge required to wield the divine weapon Brahmastra, at the moment of his greatest need.  Karna never knew till before the Kurukshetra war about his identity. Not knowing one’s identity in itself is such a pain. He was a Kshatriya and a Brahmin but insulted at different phases of life because it was unknown to anyone except Kunti. 

Karna was also cursed that his chariot wheels would get stuck in the ground in the battlefield. I don’t recall the exact story for this curse.

At the war Karna was not allowed to enter the battlefield by Bhishma until he was put down. Why, because Bhishma knew about his lineage.  And how can anyone defeat the Pandavas when the Lord himself is with them.  Right when the truth unfolds he promises to Kunti that she would still have 5 sons at the end of the Kurukshetra war.

And even at his last moments the Divine lord in the disguise of Brahmin asks Karna for his Dharma in the form of charity. And since he was bound to give whatever is asked for. He does so. But the ultimate blessing is when after all the pain & dejections, he gets to see the Lord in his Universal form.

People might say what more does one want if he gets to see the Lord. True nothing can beat it. But come to think of it what was Karna’s fault for his hidden identity. Unknown to his identity still he takes all efforts and trains to be the best Archer & a great warrior, but falls prey to wrong people.  The one big mistake he did was to accept Duryodhana’s friendship.  It is to say, a decision taken in a weak moment can decide a person’s future. So standby think. It may take a while but at-least there can be some rightness in it.

Karna’s life always makes me realize that nothing is truer than destiny. A famous quote that says ‘We are not permitted to choose the frame of our Destiny, but what we put into it is ours.’ So true! Amen!

Coffeelicious!

Cappuccino, Frappe or a filter coffee. It's like we search for reasons to have a break from our routine and Coffee comes to our rescue. Who doesn't love coffee? If anyone doesn't .. just read... :)

Most of us have our day starting with a cup of coffee. A second one just like that... friend calls, let's catch-up for coffeee... yeaa.. In for an office meeting, where's my mug of coffee (yawn!) & compulsory one after the long meeting...after lunch, evening break? Coffee before a goodnight's sleep, who wouldn't love it. 

I met my hubby over a cup of coffee.. Coffee and it's magic, woah! :)

I can't recollect the number of times I would have visited Starbucks here. I love their cappuccino and Frappes, strong flavors with a dash of milk. 

Have any of you tasted the Black Ivory Coffee and Luwak Coffee. One comes from Elephant poo and other from Luwak.. I never imagined coffee could be made this way @_@. They are the most expensive coffees in the world. I would rather do some shopping for the price of each of these coffees :P  Can't dare to taste them..

I like cappuccino from Starbucks & latte from CCD. For Filter coffees after I tried the one at Anandabhavan (A2B), Bangalore I can't remember the taste of any other... the best filter coffee I ever tasted after the one's prepared my dad.. For me it's always a yes, yes & yes for a coffee! How about you?.. So.. Anyone for a coffee?