Jingle Bells

Merry Christmas!

 “Jingle bells, jingle bells , jingle all the way , Santa Claus in coming to time riding on a slay”…  The countdown has started. Only five days to Christmas!!!

I remember my first present from Santa was a stationary set, wrapped in a beautiful pink paper. Every year, on Christmas Eve, my mother and I walk to a nearby cake shop and buy ourselves a deluxe fruit cake. Decorating Christmas tree is something which I love doing! And then we have a small get together at our place on Christmas Eve. It’s hard to get sleep on the night of Christmas Eve with excitements soaring high!  Christmas Carols, visiting churches, and certainly the presents make it all so special!

Christmas carols remind me of my nursery classes where we used to merrily sing along to the tunes of “Rode off the Red-nosed reindeer”; “Santa Claus is coming to town” during the Christmas week. On the 24^th of December, our music teacher used to dress up as Santa Claus, clad in a red robe with white beard and moustache, ringing the bell he carried in one hand. And when presents were distributed, we could hardly wait to unwrap them!  I know I’m getting too nostalgic, but these are a few happy moments which are always going to be memorable for me. It’s not that I’m not excited about this Christmas, but sometimes old days are just too good to be relived again!

I hope Santa fulfills all the pointers on your wishlist this time! A Merry Christmas to all the fun lovers across the globe! 

10,000 Fun Lovers

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A Troublesome Banana

Yesterday I did something awful to my hair. It’s probably the worst thing a girl can ever do to her hair. Well if you’re wondering whether I chopped off my hair then you’re wrong. It’s something worse than that! I recently read in a magazine that applying a mask of banana adds extra sheen to your hair. And I was tempted to try it out. So after shampooing my hair I took a banana and squeezed it in my hands and applied the mash all over my hair. After keeping it for five minutes I washed my hair and dried it with a towel. And guess what, I found small chunks of banana all over my hair!  I shampooed my hair again but it did not help as the banana chunks were quite determined to stick to my hair! I just kept my fingers crossed and hoped that I don’t find red ants all over my head next morning! I had to stay back at home throughout the day, bored to death! I realized that I had to mash the banana into a fine paste and then apply it! But forget it, who’s going to try again. I've decided, bananas are good to eat and that's how they're useful ,NOT for applying on my hair !

Funday with Friend

lychee chill and choco shots

Life is so dull at present! I want to escape this humdrum life and travel far, far away from the duns and drabs and slate grays of everyday life! Since I don’t see any plans for a get away very soon, probably a meet-up with my friend would be just fine. So, off I went to my friend’s house! I met her toddler cousins (they were all really cute)!! And her grandma made me some curd rice which is a South Indian preparation of rice with curd and pickle. And then we hopped into a CCD nearby. This was really fun!! I had a "lychee chill", (which tasted quite the same as milk shake) and my buddy had a green apple soda with mint. 

We chatted for a long time, and she also did nail art for me (which was probably the worst nail art you have ever seen). Later we also pigged out on chocolate shots and they were yum!! I had a great time, except for the curd rice, which I expected to be delicious , but it turned out so sour and my expression after having a spoon was one which people have when they stamp on a dog’s poop by mistake)! So, Saturday was more or less a Funday for me. After all Saturdays are meant to be fun, what say?

Durga Puja~The Quintessence of Bengali Festivals

Pandal -hopping

Hey everyone, how’s it going?  Back to blogging after a long time as my exams were on. Now that they’re over, I’m in a happy mood! And one more reason for my “happy mood” is Durga Puja, which is only about two weeks from now. The five days of Durga Puja are real "fundays" for the people of Bengal. There is so much life and color in the city during these days.

There are bumper sales and discounts on outfits in every store and people literally get mad while haggling over their prices! In busy market places like New Market and Gariahat, you can hardly find a place to walk on the pavement.

Streets are already being decorated with lamps and everywhere you get to see “pandals” under construction. And if you’re a true Bengali, then these small things are sure to bring that special feeling of joy and excitement in your heart. Durga Puja is one of my favorite festivals like all other Bengalis. 

Shiuli

But, probably my reason for liking it is a bit different from others. I love autumn, so maybe that’s a reason. And there’s a special aromatic flower than blooms only during autumn. I recently discovered that its local name is “shiuli” which stands for coral jasmine. 

The air is filled with the fragrance of these flowers after twilight. And when you go out for pandal hopping, the beautiful fragrance of the flowers is a real delight!

So, here I am, wishing all Bengalis across the globe a wonderful Durga Puja!  Go shopping, feast and celebrate ~ that’s the true joy of the festival! 

Friendship Day Special

A year passed in a jiffy, and yet again, Friendship Day is back with its delights! This time I dedicate this post to all those who’re still in a quest of finding a true friend.

Well, to begin with, a true friend is certainly someone who makes you smile, at least once a day, and doesn’t care to ask you before he munches away your share of meal. Generally, he’s the one who pings you and straight away starts a conversation, without even saying a “hi”. He might laugh at your follies, but will never abandon you in your hard times. He’ll get annoyed if you don’t ring him up at least once a day. He won’t mind cracking the wackiest jokes with you. 

He may sacrifice some of his interests for your sake and will never hesitate to help you out in times of need. The most important of all, you can trust him with your biggest secrets.

 When you are in desperate need of someone, to whom you can pour your heart out , you’ll have his number at your fingertips. And probably, he’s the one who may not find it necessary to wish you on Friendship Day!

Now, probably you’re doing a bit of brainstorming. Well carry on, and if you think you have such a person in your life, then he deserves to be called a true friend. Treasure your friendship, take his weaknesses to translate them into positives. That’s how you can build up an eternal friendship. 

Ice cream- A royal delicacy

Strawberry Gourmet

Ice cream is a very essential summer delicacy. On a hot day, we never hesitate to loosen our purse strings over ice -creams. While many of us reflect that ice-cream is a modern concept, it has got a very interesting origin dating back to 400 BC.   

In the Persian Empire, people would pour grape-juice concentrate over snow, in a  bowl, and have this as a treat on a hot day. Snow would either be stored in the cool-keeping underground chambers known as "yakhchal", or taken from the snowfall that remained at the top of the mountains. In 400 BC, the Persians went further and invented a special chilled food, made of rose water and vermicelli, which was served to royalty during summers. The ice was mixed with saffron, fruits, and various other flavours.  

Chocolate Ice cream

Ancient civilizations have served ice for cold foods for thousands of years. The BBC reports that a frozen mixture of milk and rice was used in China around 200 BC. The Roman Emperor Nero (37-680) had ice brought ice from the mountains and combined it with fruit toppings. 

Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat asserts, in her History of Food, that "the Chinese may be credited with inventing a device to make sorbets and ice cream. They poured a mixture of snow and saltpetre over the exteriors of containers filled with syrup, for, in the same way as salt raises the boiling-point of water, it lowers the freezing-point to below zero. It has also been claimed that, in the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan enjoyed ice cream and kept it a royal secret until Marco Polo visited China and took the technique of making ice cream to Italy.

So, the next time you have an ice-cream, whether it’s a sundae or a gelato , do remember that you are relishing a royal delicacy!  

                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                  source:Wikipedia

The War of Siachen

The Siachen Glaciers

The war of Siachen has been the Indian army’s longest running military operation since independence, code-named Operation Meghdoot. Its objective is to prevent Pakistani intrusions into the Siachen Glacier, and to establish India’s right over the area ceded by Pakistan to China. The war has lasted for eight long years, and none of the sides has yielded. The Siachen Glaciers have an extreme cold and forbidding terrain. Since April 13, 1984, when Siachen became an active war zone, both countries have spent over Rs 15,000 crore here and both sides have lost over 2000 soldiers. The Indian rate is a staggering 63 per cent –of every two men sent up, one will be dead. Temperature in these glaciers can drop to forty degrees below the freezing point, when any exposed flesh will freeze within minutes. In such an extreme environment, normal livelihood is impossible because almost everything is solid; metal and the human skin become so chilled that when a jawan tries to load his gun, the bullet sticks to his bare hands. 

At Base Camp, the Siachen Battle School is responsible for training the men to survive the extremes of conditions on the glacier. The training culminates in a survival test. Sections of 10 men are asked to stay on the glacier for the night. If they survive, they pass. Almost all the food on glacier comes in tins, which taste all the same. In clear weather, the men are overworked, first repairing the damage cause by the last storm, then carting the supplies to the forward posts. Thousands of veterans have already sacrificed their lives for a war over a frozen, waste land.

 The government of both sides should take initiatives to discover a new way of settling the matter. I am touched by the plight of the jawans. I hope this war of agony and violence comes to an end very soon. I would like to make an appeal to readers to share their thoughts.. Fundaytimez pays tribute to all the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives, fighting for their motherland. 

Recipe for Delectable Chocolate Lava Cakes

Chocolate Lava Cake

If it's your mom's birthday and there's a party at your house, and you want to give her something really special,then here is the recipe for tempting chocolate lava cakes. Just six simple procedures and your cakes are ready!

Ingredients:                                                      
10 oz(280g) bittersweet chocolate(60% cocoa)
4/5 cup(180 g)butter
8 eggs
1 + 1/4 cup (275g) sugar
1 +1/4 cup (140g) all purpose flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Grease 10 large muffin tins or cups;paper muffin bake cups can also be used.
3. Grind the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with butter over hot water.
4. Beat the eggs with sugar and mix with flour.
5. Slowly fold in the melted butter and chocolate.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for only 8-12 minutes; the outer part should be cooked and the inner part liquid.
The chocolate lava cakes may be served hot with custard ,ice-cream or berries. The cakes may be dusted with icing sugar.
So, if you wanna make your special ones happy, then go ahead and try baking Chocolate Lava Cakes.  The sweetness of chocolate won't fail to impress your loved ones!