Find your pinch of salt

Jaipur 064, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

A month back I decided to expand my culinary expertise from Eggs and instant noodles to something more. So I picked up this vegetable biryani paste which promised a perfect biryani just by adding cooked rice and vegetables and with some advice from Mummy dearest conjured up what looked and smelt perfect. Yet my first spoonful of food made me realize that everything was there but it lacked a certain harmony, the most vital ingredient - a pinch of salt.

Life is quite similar. You could have everything in place but you need to have that one little extra thing which makes it perfect, the pinch of salt.

Take this picture for instance. For the 5 seconds it took me to focus trying to block the sun on my LCD screen (No pro cam this. I don't even have a view finder), all I could see was how beautiful it would look when captured for posterity. For those 5 seconds all of life's problems ceased to exist and there was harmony. It was my pinch of salt.

So go ahead, find your pinch of salt.

Luv,

PR

Travelling again. This time in a new direction

Jaipur 058, originally uploaded by Pranay Rao.

The picture is of a gentleman basking in the winter sun in Jaipur reading a newspaper. Jaipur had quite a few people living on the gardens near the hawa mahal and the albert hall which was most beautiful.

We (Rahul, me and Goutomda) reached Jaipur on the 15th courtesy Rahul and me winning an internal call in ITC quiz contest which was a small part of the larger TM&D quiz we call Star Wars. That is one quiz I have never been able to qualify for so being at the finals was nice. Met loads of friends there. Won the smaller quiz event and got a trophy and a princely gift voucher of 1000 bucks :). Incidentally Jaipur was where I had won my first ITC accolade so it made sense that I win my last one there. Life comes full cycle.

The next morning we (Rahul and I) did some sight seeing and some shopping. Jaipur is known for a lot of it's local techniques of weaving and artistry. I bought a bandesh sari for mom. Bandesh is a dying technique which involves tying little knots in the fabric and dipping it into coloured dye. The knots prevent the dye from seeping into the knotted area which causes a unique design. Also bought a block printed bedsheet and a small kurta for my nephew.

We then headed to Nahargarh which has become a little more commercial since RDB was shot there. It's as beautiful as last time, though some more of the walls seem to have crumbled off. We then headed back to the airport and home.

After some careful consideration, finally put in my papers on 19th. Probably one of the toughest things to do post 3 years and 8 months in ITC. I realized how long it was since I've looked at my certificates. I had quite sensibly laminated all the certificates, though the marksheets have become a little like parchment.

Also visited G K Vale. G K Vale is to Bangalore photography what JJMehta is to serious camera buyers or FlickR is to all of us amateur digital photographers. However I didnt go to get a picture framed or something. I went there for a passport photo.

Post the photo session :), I headed off to subway grabbing a salad and sub and picked up boiled grape juice at Savoury which was most tasty.

Spent some part of the morning watching the republic day parade which had me a little freaked about staying in Gurgaon. I did spend one year in temperatures hovering close to zero in HP. Dreading waking up early morning on cold days. Feedback from friends in Gurgaon is scary. It is bloody cold there.

Life has moved in a new direction and I am liking it.

Luv,

Pranay