Quarantine Cooking – Chicken Momos

Momos hold a very special place in every street food lover’s heart. So, it came has no surprise when entire social media was filled with pictures from experiments with the momos during lock-down. Being a big momo fan myself, I decided to dive in and try a dozen. Luckily my insomnia helped me to get hold of a slot for minced chicken online. It was decided, chicken momos were happening in my kitchen. After a mildly successful experiment when a lot of people wanted first-hand experience, I decided to take my time and write about it in detail. At the start of the year, I had taken a resolution to write atleast one post per month, so when the opportunity presented itself with an easy update to the blog – I grabbed it with both hands. Yea, I am cheap like that. 

Anyhow, if you are here just for the recipe, do scroll directly down because I will probably ramble about for a paragraph or two before coming to the point. However, if you are as bored as a panda without a bamboo, then feel free to continue reading my momo timeline. 

I clearly remember when I ate momos for the first time. It was in Delhi roughly around 2006. I had never even heard about them but my sister sweared by them and how good they were. I hated them at the first bite. I was bewildered why someone would eat this raw-ish ball of flour and that burning-my-mouth-chutney. Fast forward few years with the influx of students from Ladakh, momos made their way into every corner of Jammu and my heart (and stomach). Back in college we had momos every day. Yep. I am not exaggerating; our canteen had in-house soya-filled dumplings and spicy watery chutney. They were fabulously drowned with bottles of cold drinks. And if some day we missed out on eating them in college, we had this epic joint called Momo Hut. It was a very shady place, always dark inside but they served the best-est mutton momos. I have never had amazing melt in the mouth momos ever after that. Sadly, the joint is closed now.

We have successfully Indianized momos - tandoor momos, fried momos, kurkure paneer momos etc etc. While all of them taste good, for me – those mutton momos hold the highest place. Closely followed by these chicken momos I had in Mcleodganj. Third place is for kurkure paneer momos. So, with the decision of making momos at home came a big responsibility of atleast matching up to the big guns and the big expectations from ahem the husband. Thankfully it was not that bad. 

Now I did a lot of improvisations to my recipe. You can choose to follow the same or like me watch atleast 5 videos of the recipe and then follow little bit of everything.

Chutney
This is the most important step. Because what are momos really without that fiery chutney. You will need :

10 Red Dry Chillies (soaked in water for atleast 2 hours)
4-5 Garlic Pods
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Oil
2 Blanched Skinless Tomatoes

First take the red chillies & garlic and grind them till the chillies are finely done. Next add the sugar and oil. Lastly add the tomatoes and grind everything to a smooth paste. The consistency of this chutney will be a little watery, you can choose to cook it a little. Just a simple saute saute till the consistency becomes of your liking.

I kept the chutney as-is though, as it reminded me of the canteen-ki-chutney. You can also skip the tomatoes for that schezwan chutney like flavor. 

Stuffing
Chicken Mince (Cup full)
Pepper (2 Teaspoon)
Spring Onions ( 1 Cup including the greens)
Finely chopped garlic (1 teaspoon)
Salt (swad anusar)

Mix everything up and done. As easy as that.

Dough
All purpose Flour (1 cup)
Ragi flour (1 Tablespoon)
Baking powder ( 1 pinch)
Salt (1 pinch)
Water (well, obviously)

I know what you must be thinking, what is the ragi doing in there? That’s a futile attempt for my conscious to make it a little healthy. Knead the dough until it is soft and spongy. Let it be for 15-20 minutes before using.

Now that all ingredients are ready, let's start.

1. Make really tiny balls with the floor and bhelo it into small sized rotis. Make sure to keep the edges thin. 

The balls, momo base and raw momo chilling side by side. For some reason gas lighter is also in the picture.

2. Now add the chicken mince and seal like you would close a Gujiya. 

The Chicken Mince

3. Once all momos are stuffed, you will need a steamer. Here’s an interesting bit of information - I don’t have a streamer. But that wasn’t going to stop me. 

4. So I made a jugaad of sorts with a patila of boiling water and a colander. 

The jugaadu steamer

5. If you too don’t have a steamer, don’t forget to brush a little oil on the colander (I forgot, and it broke 5 out of 12 momos).

6. Keep the setup covered for like 10 mins. Keep checking. Turn the momos to other side. Keep for 5 mins. Switch of the gas. Let it rest. 

And Voila, you are done.

I was a little skeptical about adding the raw chicken, but it was cooked splendidly. 

Do try and let me know. 

Love:
Sepo

P.S Apologies for the abysmal quality of pictures. In my defense, while cooking, I wasn't aware I would write and post about it.

Of being inside a circle in a circus called love — or its subset called life.

The first thing that Rose did after getting news from Dionysus — of that-inebriated-fellow’s heart racing so fast that it stopped — was to open his cigarette box. The moment she took the cigarettes out of the box, one after another, and was staring at them, the moon too was gawking at her from the space in-between two curtains. On each cigarette, there was a cross.

Staring at the cross, Rose went back to reflect on the time gone by — a shadow that she thought had weakened over time. But, had it become faint or had it still the force to control her life? The reckless time of young and fresh love — the soft innocent kisses and the tender hugs. She distinctly rembered how foolishly were they in love with each other. This time-travel brought a little smile on her face — a smile with its etymology in an unknown void — a void with prickles of unanswered questions. Puffing one of his cigarettes, she got up to make some coffee. With the coffee and cigarette, she starting asking herself hurtful questions — the usual ‘what if’ ones.

One fine day, when they were not-so-together, they had a heart to heart with each other to realise they can’t be together. And Rose’s chain-of-thoughts had crash-landed her straight into this moment of abyss. On that day of realisation — there was first an eerie silence in the room followed by that-inebriated-fellow’s broken voice. The vividness with which this episode was coming alive in front of Rose, she was drowning deep and fast in the mess. With a hushed voice — he had pushed out these fragmented words — you know I’ll die waiting for you but I won’t trouble you, I shall seal the corners of my heart and lips. And in that fucking moment — Saturn had cracked and the moon was going to crush her anytime by the mass of love alone.

Love — is just a four-letter word — but how much weight does it have? After all calculations, what is the total sum of it? Nil or infinite — but what exactly are both of them — valued or not valued? Is it about sacrifices or empathy? When does empathy become sacrifice? Is it about what you read in books — spiritual connect, soulmate, longing etc etc — or do we find it in the music we hear? But you know, what Rose felt for him after he left abode was something beyond definitions — something unknown — something unanswerable. It couldn’t have contours. Those intense dreams were the questions themselves which she had to fall in love with. Did she have an other way — an answer — the answer — she wondered.

~The Night it was~

There were a lot of words unsaid, yet the silence was filling the unsaid words. The moonlight, the breeze and the light drizzle made the few moments of togetherness all the more special. The time to say goodbye was nearing but they refused to acknowledge it. Holding hands tightly they braced together the impending separation.

They were never supposed to become lovers. Even now they refrained from calling each other that. There was no exchange of the magical three words between them. Yet here they were looking into each other’s eyes and finding nothing but longing and love. While holding each other’s hand they went through details of the past which had brought them from acquaintances to probable soul mates.

Like they say in movies – Sometimes just one meeting is enough and sometimes many meetings are necessary to reach to a stage of trust. This is where they were right now. The ride along had been a rosy one but the way ahead was not easy. But when is the heart deterred by logic and social norm? Their hearts were on a different pace, trying to tune in with each other.

They made inevitable promises and hoped against the hope. Braving the distance and difficulties. Young love is like that, full of confidence and positivity. They felt lucky to be together even if only for few moments. It would be months or perhaps years before they would meet again. So they made the most of the moment. Gazing at each other, memorizing every line, every freckle. Unaware of the world going by, people passing by, the little drizzle slowly drenching them.

The time to part was nearing, tears that had been controlled for so long were threatening to overpower. One last time they thought! And held each other in a tight hug. Reluctant to part, their lips touched ever to slightly and kindled something deep in their hearts. They found each other lips again this time not just for a brush. And thats what came to be known as their First Kiss

“.It wasn't that long, and it certainly wasn't the kind of kiss you see in movies these days, but it was wonderful in its own way, and all I can remember about the moment is that when our lips touched, I knew the memory would last forever”
― Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

Happy Valentines' Day, Everyone!

Love:
Sepo 

Good Guy Vs Bad Guy

"Every girl wants a bad boy, who will be good just for her and every boy wants a good girl who will be bad just for him."

 This quote got me to thinking about the ever ranging war between the good guys and the bad guys. It is a well known fact that since ages, girls have been attracted to bad boys. The one with bikes and money, leather jackets and an attitude, anger and aggression, brawls and fights. She just can't help fantasizing about the bad boy while friend-zoning the good guy heads over heels in love with her. There are a lot of theories floating about this very strange attraction:

Picture Courtesy - celovetalk.wordpress.com

1. The bad boy is not easily attainable, hence the challenge to pursue him is unmatched

The bad guy is not someone who can be tied into being in a relation with a same girl. Changing girlfriends (breaking their hearts on the way) is the part of the game the bad boy so excels in. Tying him down hence is a challenging task to say the least. Thus a girl takes the responsibility of taming this wild child into a more homely creature. While many succeed in doing so others are then seen crying in the arms of the friend-zoned guy.

2. The bad boy is rough and not all girls out there like chivalry
Not all girls want to be treated lady-like. Some want the casual stuff and that is exactly what drives them to the bad guy. Because the bad guy is not a gentleman, knows no chivalry. He won't open the doors nor pull any chairs for you. Thats precisely the reason why the prim proper girls stay away from him. And the bad guy is out hunting for them (as they are out-of-league). It is a vicious circle really!

3. The pain associated with heart-break involved in a relationship with the bad boy is addictive

We all know, being with the bad boy is not easy. He will be emotionally unavailable, prone to anger spurts, maybe two timing or just uninterested. The stress caused by being with someone like this is addictive. It makes it feel like love. When things are easy and we have a guy who is totally into us, does not cheat or insult. Things seem too good to be true and that freaks us out. Love has been made synonymous with pain by the books, movies and other marketing gimmicks. So when things are smooth in our love -life (like with a good guy) it all seems very un-love like to us. Believe it or not we dig drama in our lives.

4. Challenge to turn the bad guy into the good guy

The ultimate challenge of dating a bad guy is to change him into good. Make him into somebody you can introduce your parents to. Change the way he cuts his hair and dresses up. Erase various profanities from his vocabulary. There are a lot of tasks involved in transition from bad to good. None of these deter the girl involved in bringing about these changes. Whether or not all the hard-work will bear fruits depends on the destiny and the kind of mark the girl has left on the bad boy's heart.

5. The excitement of experiencing the bad guys world

Bad guy has a different way of life. If the good guy is daal chawal, bad guy is the biryani. If good guy is Bata, bad guy is the Charles Keith. If good guy is the desi Chinese served at Indian outlets, bad guy is the authentic Chinese served at Mainland china. His style is unmatched. He only shops from branded shops. He guzzles beer more than water. He smokes up stuff. He can tell his wines from each other. 80% of girls have had their first share of alcohol or smoke in the company of a bad guy. His pub hopping and loud music playing definitely attracts a fair share of girls to him.

In-spite of the above mentioned points it is baffling as to why any girl would subject her to such atrocities. At the end of the day every girl deserves to be with a guy who appreciates and adores her. It is very important to make right decision and move towards the right guy. While the bad guy may give you a temporary high, it is the good guy who will guarantee that you get your deserved share of permanent happiness.

Love:
SEPO

It's Still Not The Time for GoodBye!

Image Coutesy - allindiascoop.com

I don’t think Maggie has ever been considered to be a junk food. It is something that we would ideally put in the category of what is popularly known as the comfort food. The popularity of Maggie can be understood by the fact that Nestle holds around 60% share in India markets. Ever since I can remember, the evening snack has always been the quintessential yellow packets of goodness. In the 90s life was simple. Pizza’s, burgers were conspicuous by their absence.We saw them being devoured through recently introduced cable network. But the only relation we had with them was of fascination. For us the-kids-of-90s Maggie was arguably the only guilty pleasure. Maggie also had a strong foot hold in foot items that are a part of relief and emergency like mountaineering etc.

We induced variety in it by adding vegetables trying to emulate the prototype on the cover.But mostly it was just cooked in boiling water. Though it was never done in 2 minutes, no one complained. Maggie meant a whole lot of different thing to hosteliers and bachelors. It was like a knight in shining armour, a saviour and a necessity to say the least. A lot of late night chit-chats were centered on Maggie. Study sessions were supported by numerous cups of coffee and bowlfuls of good ‘old Maggie. No-mood-to-cook days were efficiently taken care by the thought of Maggie hai na..

Then nestle won another round of hallelujah from the lazy bums all across when it’s introduced the cup noodles. Just add garam pani and you are done. Now there was no need to even switch on the gas burner. Because the hot water was procured from the geyser. It just couldn’t get any better.

But it did. Soon after they came up with vegetable aata noodles. Got Madhuri Dixit on board to make us believe that it’s perfectly ok if your kids don’t eat the regular chapatti and vegetables. As long as they eat these “healthy” noodles there is no reason to fret. It’s not like we believed that Maggie was the ideal food, we all knew at some level that it is a very unhealthy substitute. But we chose to brush it aside until something jolted us into action.

That jolt came in form of a very disheartening news of Maggie constituting lead contents which were 17 times the permissible limits. It takes our body roughly around two to three days to get rid of these toxins. Just imagine, noodles cooked in 2 minutes (well actually more than 2 minutes) eaten in less than 10 minutes and we feel that’s that. But the sheer amount of work our digestive system has to do to digest the maida, flushing off toxins etc is mind boggling. Especially when there are negligible nutrients involved. Just like Shakespeare would have said – Much ado about nothing.

The subsequent ban on the sale of Maggie has invoked a mixed state of reactions from people.While some are showing their anger and aggression by burning packets of Maggie, others are expressing their disappointment by sharing their fond Maggie memories on various social networking sites. There is also a section of people who are unaffected by the whole hullabaloo. For them it doesn’t make any difference. Having been eating Maggie for year’s altogether, they feel the new revelation of lead will do little harm. A college student from Delhi jokingly says “By now our bodies are so used to the lead or whatsoever content is there is Maggie that it hardly matters”.

The future course of action also varies hugely. Some people have entirely sworn-off from Maggie and the likes (knor, sunfeast, wai-wai etc.), others feel that it is only a matter of time before Maggie comes back with a bang (and with a popular celebrity endorsing it). We may recalls that the same kind of scenario happened with cold drinks and Cadbury chocolates some years back. With pesticides content found in the former and worms in the latter. After a gap of 2 months however, both the products were back with top film-stars and cricketers backing them. Most of the people therefore feel that Maggie will surely come back after the hiatus.

Nestle’s global chief executive officer, Paul Bulcke, said in an official statement: “We have been in India for over 100 years. We are part of India. Trust of consumer is shaken because of some confusion and we want to restore that.” Nestle maintains that Maggie is safe to be had but the huge over cry has forced them to withdraw the sales.

Meanwhile while the samples of noodles are tested and retested the die-hard fans of Maggie are left with no other option except reminisce. Personally, Maggie invokes memories of me and my sister fighting for who gets more share. Preparing our own maggies to see whose tastes better. Ordering platefuls of Maggie over assignments in college canteens. Relishing coffee and Maggie from Nescafé's. Ban or no ban, it goes without saying that Maggie has and will always be close to our hearts and stomachs.


LOVE
Sepo

10 Reasons We Love Chuck Bass

Gossip Girl may be long over but that doesn’t stop us from going head over heels for Mr Chuck Bass. The smirk, the slow dialogue delivery, those scarfs and those four words – “I am Chuck Bass”. Enough to make any girl weak in the knees. Its no surprize that he managed to get the queen bee herself to fall madly in love with him. He may have started out as a philanderer but as the series progressed his character turned out to be one of televisions most loved. Though there is no reason required to love Chuck, but there were a few moments in the series when he just melted our hearts and made us collectively go Awwwwwww. While on the re runs of Gossip Girl, I have nailed down some of his aww-worthy actions.

Picture Courtesy - cosmiclovecb.wordpress.com

The time is kept Lily’s secret

The time his father died in a road accident while on his way to meet his stepmom Lily. Chuck, in the process of blaming Lily for his father’s death paid huge amount of money to his father’s detective. The one who had a big secret which even his father knew and was on his way to confront lily about but insteaddied in the car crash. Having a full chance to tell her secret to the world, Chuck chose to be a gentleman and at lily’s instance kept mum about Rufus’s child that Lily gave up, years ago.

Picture Courtesy - www.popsugar.com

When he saved Lily from getting raped by Jack Bass

While on the verge of losing his dad’s business to the evil Jack bass, Lily offered to adopt Chuck to become his legal guardian and hence help him keep his father’s legacy. This did not go down well with the scorned Jack Bass. He attempted to threaten and rape Lily but she was saved with Chuck’s timely intervention. I love the look of extreme anger on his face in this scene and well the mind-blowing blows. *sighs*

Picture Courtesy - gossipgirl.wikia.com

His best man speech

The best man speech at his father’s wedding to Lily was what changed Chuck from a boy to a man. Now we will forget that towards the end of the first season he stood up Blair and hobnobbed with some decorator. But his words about love and forgiveness stole our hearts. 

Picture Courtesy - gossipgirl.wikia.com

The time is helped Serena during the whole Georgina Sparks thing

Playing the perfect friend and step brother Chuck helped Serena coming out of the mess Georgina Sparks created. From holding her up at the Palace to arranging a fake Serena to give her SATs. He did whatever was possible to keep her safe including lying to not-very-amused Dan Humphrey. And who can forget the iconic “let’s get the bitch” sentence he uttered in response to Blair’s scheme for the final blow to evil Georgina.

Picture Courtesy - gossipgirl.wikia.com

When he paid for Blair’s dowry

According to an agreement clause in Blair’s cursed nuptial to the Prince, she has to stay married for at least a year or pay a mind boggling sum of money as dowry. Since the money would make the Waldorf‘s bankrupt, Blair decided to stay married for a year. But Chuck wanted her freedom so on the cost of Bass Industries he paid off Blair’s dowry in what can only be called as the costliest romantic gesture ever.

Picture Courtesy - governmentgirl1943lp.typepad.com

The time is got Blair her dream senior prom dress and made her the queen of Constance.

We all know Ms Waldorf had been planning her prom since she was a little girl. Her dress, her makeup, her man just about everything. But the time nearing her actual prom was not an easy one. So she was pretty excited when a dress arrived exactly like the one she had in her scrapbook. She went with the guy she had always dreamed of going with – Nate and also ended up being crowned the queen of Constance.Chuck made her dream come true.Though her minions schemed to de-throne her but it was chuck who saved her and put her name in all the voting chits. Awwwww.

Picture Courtesy - www.tumblr.com

When he rode a bike in that dapper jacket.

In order to get away from Blair’s wedding, Chuck went to chill out in LA. Considering that we rarely saw him in anything but suits, this appearance in that leather jacket was a treat!

Picture Courtesy - www.tumblr.com

The time in Yale when he saved Nate

In order to accomplish his dream to be a part of secret society in the crown of Ivy League, Yale he made sure not to betray his best friend Nate. When the members wanted him to give Nate as a ransom, he gave them poor Dan instead. Smart as he is, he also kept a blackmail material ready capturing their escapades with the girls in the party thrown by him. 

Picture Courtesy - blog.muchmusic.com

When he gave up Blair to Prince Louis

Even though madly in love with Blair, he let Blair have her princess moment by not letting her breakup with Louis. It takes a lot of courage for a deed like this and Chuck proved yet again what an incredible man he is by this action.

Picture Courtesy - twitter.com

His fabulous quotes

Agreed he is portrayed as a narcissist but the dialogues and his dialogue delivery was one of the high point of the entire series.

Love:

Sepo

10 Type of Girls We All Have Met

 After a very overwhelming response to the guys post, a similar post on girls was promised (and requested). All this time I had been formulating the post in my head, very confused on the number of categories to be included. Since I did not want to go beyond 10 it was hard narrowing down, plus many seemed to be kinda overlapping. So finally after much deliberation and way too much analysis the post is ready. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I present you a dissection of the fairer sex.


1. The Drama Queen

Alia Bhatt in Student of the Year (Photo Courtesy - tajveez.com)

The name explains it all. This girl has a knack of highlighting a simple mosquito bite into something that can be potentially life-threatening. Though everyone close to her knows her tactics, she still manages to invoke sympathy and well, a lot of attention. Especially from the opposite sex. One of my cousins used to be a huge drama queen when we were kids. She saw ghosts, fainted, got diseases whose symptoms were only visible to her. Her tactics for attention exasperated me from the very start and throughout my life, I have tried to stay as far as possible from the DQs. DQs are generally insecure in nature and that is what drive them to various new attention seeking tactics.

That said, it is my personal belief that there is a hidden drama queen inside every girl. While some make it a way of life, others (like me) unleash it at the right time in the right situation. The art of drama is crucial for every girl, it is one of those things that we can display when a situation demands and get away with aplomb. One the best things about being a girl is to be all girly and reap the benefits ~ like pretend to get dizzy in crowded bus to score a seat. Or use PMS as an excuse to take a day off from work. Or harmless flirting with the shopkeeper for making him agree to your bargain price. Before you start to get all judgmental, let me tell you – with all that we have to put up with on a daily basis, the lewd gestures, the dirty stares, and “accidental” hand brushings. We deserve to use our gender in a way to reap some harmless little benefits.

2. The IT Girl

Blair Warldorf of Gossip Girl (Picture Courtesy - pinterest.com)

This is the girl surrounded by her admirers that follow her around just about everywhere. This girl is rich, spoilt, proud, has an enviable wardrobe and the handsomest boy as her boyfriend. Her life seems perfect but in reality it’s far from it. Her constant struggle to remain popular is taxing. Add to that the pressure of looking like million bucks always. And she has no close friends. Girls are jealous of her and guys are intimidated by her. Everyone around her is just for the sake of popularly and her social status.

Having spent my school years in a girl’s school, I have literally grown up surrounded by IT girls. It starts with one senior girl who all the girls look up to. She is pretty and looks fabulous even in the school uniform. While we are still busy figuring out puberty issues, she has had changed two boyfriends already. To come up in the radar of becoming an IT girl, you would have to mingle with the queen or have some sort of an ego clash with her. And of course fight for the spot within your batch mates. I will always regret not being an IT girl all through my school life. But I will try my best to make my daughter into one. Just kidding. Actually no, not kidding pretty serious!

3. The Guy’s Girl

Genelia in Jaane tu (Photo Courtesy - pixsharks.com)

She is the tomboy. The girl who you sometimes forget is actually a girl. She drinks with you, is your shopping buddy, beats you at various games and makes fun of all the girls you hit on. She fights with you all the time but loves you fiercely. Usually she is the only girl in your group of guys but that hardly matters because she comes without the fuss and hassles guys usually associate with a girl. She swears without batting an eyelid and gives two hoots about what society thinks.Hanging out with her is just is just like a breath of fresh air.

These types of girls are usually the danger zone of getting friend-zoned.

4. The Sweet Talker/Gold digger

Keeping up with Kim Kardasian (Photo Courtesy - foxnews.com)

This one is a cunning fox. She takes her time in getting to know you, your likes and dislikes. She acts in a way you like. Praises you, cooks for you and does everything possible to make you fall in love with her. And then she subtly tries to influence you to give her gifts. Sending you pictures of things she likes. Before you know it you are doing her shopping and paying her bills. You won’t even seem to mind it because in your eyes she is oh-so-perfect. Your friends will try to put some sense into you but you will pay no heed. She has that bedazzling effect on you. In case you do come to your senses she will make sure to extract every last bit of benefits from you, ever heard of a hard duty divorce alimony?

5. The Crazy one

Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (Photo Courtesy - cineticstudios.com)

Have you seen Gone Girl? If yes then that’s the kinda girl we are talking about here. If you haven’t seen the movie, then please do watch it. They say Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. If you by any chance mess with this girl, she is going to make you pay. Big time. She will leave no stone unturned to make your life hell. She with her group of comrades will sit together over martinis, carefully plotted each and every detail of how to ruin your life. Depending on the type of unjust you have done to her, it takes just about some nano seconds for a perfectly normal girl to transform into that crazy bitch. I have indulged in some minor scheming of my own. Read more about that here.

6. The Tattletale

Kareena in Jab We Met (Photo Courtesy - bigindianpicture.com)

This one just goes on and on and on. She will tell you about her day, in minutest details including how many trips she took to the washroom to pee. She will also keep you updated on all the latest happenings in her friends’ life. She will bitch about the girl she hates. Tell you who is going out with who. Also tell you the secret her BFF swore not to tell anyone. Though she shares everything with you, there is an equal chance that she bitches about you the moment she is with her friends.
It’s a little hard to trust this girl and also somewhat hard on your ears.

7. The Mysterious One

Robin in How I Met Your Mother (Picture Courtesy - barbarashdwallpapers.com)

Everything about this girl is perfect. The way she talks, the way she dresses, her smile, her hair…it’s all so dreamy. You fall heads over heels for this girl. Everything thing seems perfect until to realize that there is only a fraction of her that you know. She is fiercely independent and always in control. Bills to movies she handles and is capable of watching them alone. Although she is extremely fun to hang out with, she will never make you feel needed. There is this shield around her which if difficult to break. She doesn’t like to talk much about herself but is a patient listener. Takes time to open up but once she does never break her trust. Because trust issues is the reason behind that strong walnut shell she has around her.

This girl is usually artistic in nature, she paints or writes or engages in some creativity. It takes a little work to be in a relationship with this girl. Poke and nudge her about her behaviour and she will cut you out of her life. She can’t handle drama, especially when she is already burdened by it from her girlfriends.

8. The Marriage Material

Daina Penty in Cocktail (Photo Courtesy - apnatimepass.com)

She is the kind of girl raised by Alok Nath. Everything about her screams sanskari. She dresses appropriately, talks with just the right amount of shyness. Cooks delicious food and has that distinct mother hen feeling associated with her. She does not experiment with drinks or talk with guys or lie to her parents. Whatever she lacks in the crazy/adventurous quotient she more than makes up for it in the taking care department. She has the 2Cs and 2Ps of the one – Commitment, Communication, Persistence and Passion.
You are one lucky man if you manage to get this girl. Agreed she is a little boring but she is a gem. She deserves a guy who treats her the best and thanks his luck every day for getting her. And if you mess with this type of girl, ditch her or have an affair behind her back..well then you will just rot and burn in hell. Because this girl prays and keeps various fasts, hurting her will invoke wrath of numerous gods on you.

9. The Innocent One

Amrita Puri in Aisha (Picture Courtesy - blogbestwallpapers.com)

Ever since I have seen this episode of HIMYM (Season6 E15) guest starring Katy Perry, it has given a new dimension to the word innocent. Check out some of the quotes from the episode and decide for yourself. “My apartment building is so safe. My landlord even installed a security camera in my shower”.” Maybe I should feel weird about giving a stranger my Social Security Number, but the guy's a Nigerian prince!”
Hilarious as it may sound the truth is, some girls are innocent. They believe all the shit some stupid skunk tells them just to get into their pants. They have a childlike innocence and a tendency to tear up at slightest provocation. A lot of guys are really crazy about these girls because you are guaranteed to have a lot of firsts with this girl.

10. The Damsel in distress

Katrina in Bang Bang (Photo Courtesy - pinkvilla.com)

 Just like Rapunzel, this princess needs to be rescued from the metaphorical tower. Your number will be on her speed dial and she will call you nonstop. You will have to pick her up from places, carry around her shopping bags, and beat the hell out of guys that are apparently stalking her. She is beautiful which just flocks guys around her. Generally she is also a little clumsy, which means she will forget her phone, drop her things, fall down frequently and do a lot of other careless stuff.
She is the girl for you, if you like playing the dad.
 

Well, that's all we have. Hope you enjoy it as much as you did the other one. Leave your feedback in comments.
Love:
Sepo

Vanity’s fair

We all have that perfect picture of ours in mind which we desire. It can be anything from outward beauty to that perfect envious lifestyle. Women in general are very concerned about the way they look. Most beautiful women too will worry about the most trivial things ranging from the way her brows are shaped to the size of her nose (which is perfectly fine by the way). If not this then there are always unexpected zits to worry about, the occasional blackheads and laugh lines which magically are invisible to everyone else. And above all this there is the most raging issue of all ~ weight. In my entire life I have never met a women who has told me “I love the way I look”. On the contrary I have met numerous guys who have splattered this exact statement on my face. Trust me, none of them were worthy of it. Anyhow coming back to women. The VLCCs, weight watchers programs, uncountable yoga instructors would long have been rendered jobless had it not been for the womenfolk. It’s not like men don’t care about the way they look but according to statistics men generally are more inclined towards fitness rather than the for cosmetic reasons. Women on the other hand look out for exercises that reduce the tummy but keep the rest of the stuff intact, work the thighs but keep them stems as is.

World around us is filled with blasphemous notions and standards of beauty. Like what was up with that size zero fad? Overnight skinny was in but not necessary adored. But because Kareena Kapoor was seen endorsing it in hot pants, girls blindly imitated and were seen ditching pizzas and drinking green teas. The most old and ridiculous of all is the 36-24-36. I don’t know why it’s considered to be an ideal shape for women, I would really like to meet the person who set this very unflattering standard for women to follow and men to fantasize. As an erstwhile not-so-proud-owner of a 24-inch waist, let me tell you – it ain’t any fun. Try to buy a jeans of your choice in 24 or 26 waist size and you will know what I am talking about. What I feel is that as long as a person has a healthy BMI, the vital statistics don’t matter. But if you want to be a model or an actresses then that’s different. Even then you can always get some procedure done to “enhance” your looks. Cosmetic surgery is a very popular, surprisingly lucrative and dreaded-ly addictive process. While it’s very popular and somewhat open in Hollywood (celebs like Michael Jackson, Nicole Kidman and Donatella Versace examples of it). In the Indian film industry however it is still a very hush-hush affair, here a lip job is still attributed to sea-food allergy.

After years of wisdom gained by reading cosmopolitans, harper bazars, feminas, vogues and what-nots I can proudly proclaim that atleast 85% of actresses/models have used some or the other cosmetic procedure to achieve that perfect pout, that slender nose and the perfect 10 figure. Anushka Sharma’s duck lips is no make-up trick. Priyanka Chopra’s old pictures from her Miss World days are far from the sexy desi girl we now see. Katrina Kaif was not born with that bee-stung pout she flaunts in the mango ads and apparently it was neither the power yoga nor the 108 surya namaskars that helped Kareena get that chiselled size zero frame. It was a smart liposuction that chucked out all that baby fat. Check out the pictures below and see the differences.

Going under the knife is a personal decision and I am totally fine with it. When you get paid for the way you look (or you have so much money that you don’t know what to do with it) it becomes necessary to look a certain way. So it’s fine, even we spend money and undergo some trainings or take classes to excel in whatever field we are in. But the issue is creating a false standard. Why should a normal person compel and compete with unnatural standards of beauty. If not for the surgery the magazine covers are always photoshoped to give that flawless complexion and sexy bod. Who can forget the racist controversy that sprouted when a very light-skinned Aishwarya was seen in the cover picture of Elle magazine. Very recently FHM has a very sexy photo-shoot of actress Huma Qureshi, who in real life pictures looks pretty healthy, but the toned arms and midriff in the magazine pictures very clearly gave away the Photoshop trick. We really need to stop objectifying women and create ridiculous standards. Beauty is not about a size or a perfect shape. Everyone is unique and there is a beauty in all shapes and sizes. But yes, I do have to say that exercise and eating right is very important for the overall health and happiness. Exercise just for the fun of it, for the toxins it flushes out of your body. For that painful yet pleasant soreness in the muscles and the cute guys you spot while working out. But definitely not to look like Deepika, Anushka or Kareena. And dear boyfriends/husbands, please stop asking/wishing your partners to look like Deepika Padukone (especially when you yourself don’t look like Hritikh Roshan). Instread encourage them to look healthy and appreciate them the way they are.

Another aspect of obsessive weight loss is the whole theory of dieting. Dieting as a concept is very good if undertaken in a proper manner so as not to starve the body. However recently celebs have come up with this concept of crash diets and juice diets which works but leaves the body weak. It helps to lose those kilos very fast but the moment you come back to your normal routine the kilos all get pill-ed back in an alarming way. And not to mention the crazy-bitch-quotient (a term concocted by me) which comes free with dieting. This is basically the irritation that sprouts from deprivation of food me. Trust me, I fast on Thursdays and my colleagues in office e refrain from talking to me after 4 PM because I am ready to bite-off their head at any slight provocation. Dieting also promotes disorders like anorexia and bulimia amongst girls. Most of the stick- thin models you spot on the ramps are on religious diets of caffeine, wine and drugs, which is just so sad I mean with all the delicious food out there.

Photo Courtesy - www.googlygooeys.com

All I am trying to say by blabbering so much is that you may call a girl fat (jokingly or seriously) and forget about it. But what does inside a girls mind after this is something you have no idea about. She just starts getting obsessive about it and everything around her, friends, photographs, food, mirror, clothes etc all seem to be shouting – FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT FAT. She will start on some crappy diet that worked for Beyoncé, Rihana and Nargis Fakhri. Gets cranky with hunger and fights with friends/parents/boyfriends and then comes the phase of do-hell-with-dieting, where-is-the-dutch-truffle. One dutch truffle will lead to another and there will be a consistent increase visible on the weighing scale. Now the button of favourite pair of jeans will refuse to budge and the entire cycle repeats. So in short, a simple comment like that just messes-up our head. Next time think twice before you call a girl fat, or ask her weight, or her age, or comment on her make-up or clothes, or make fun of her accent or ___________________________________________________________

The list goes on, but we don’t want to give away all the secrets cause then there would be no drama

And we all love some drama, don’t we ;)

Love:

Sepo!