Break a Leg!

      All of us watch and enjoy movies. We watch them in theatres. We download copied and pirated versions and watch them. And the rest of the unfortunates watch it on TV along with the 10 min ad for every 10 min of the movie. But hardly anyone watches drama these days. Yes, live drama.

      The first time I went to the theatre to watch a drama was last week and I am glad that I did. It was a completely different experience. I felt like a kid watching a magic show for the first time. The play that I went for was Romeo and Juliet - No string attached. It was nothing like Romeo and Juliet and nothing like No string attached either. It was a story about four puppets who become free and decide to enact a play the way they want it and not the way the puppeteers want. It wasn't the story which I liked for it was like any other bollywood masala movie. It was rather the way they told us the story that has left me in awe. It was amazing to watch actors change their characters with just a hat or an apron. To watch the lights dim just at the right moment to show whether it a drama within a drama or just the drama. To watch the stringeri (one of the character's name) play and sing songs to accompany their dialogues. To listen to songs at a concert was one thing but to listen to songs tell a story was a completely new experience. It was surprising to see how much we can do with the just a few things. They almost enacted all the characters of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with just four actors. There was no change in the background but you could realize the change none the less. And to know that there are no retakes made it even better.

      I wish I had started watching them long before but I'm also glad that I watched one at least now. But rest assured, when there is a show in town next time, I'm definitely not missing it!

-Shreeji

Expression

        I have always been told that I cannot express things. That I cannot put in words what I feel. That I cannot share it with them. True. In fact, I have hardly shared things with anyone and when I did, it always took the wrong turn. Every single time.

        I don't express myself because I'm scared of what people might think. Yes, of what people around me think. I know I have always portrayed myself as someone who doesn't care of what others think. I show myself as some kind of a rebel questioning the common ideologies of the society. Trying to do something radical every now and then so that people will take me seriously. So that they will look at me as someone who is courageous. And trust me, the radical stuff sometimes come on their own and I realise that they are different only hen someone point it out. I do all this because I want to be like that. I want to be brave. I don't want the judgement of others to cloud my decisions. I don't if showing myself like that, in any way, makes me that, but I do it none the less. Deep inside, I do consider what others think and by others I mean those I consider my family and friends. I do care what they think about me. I do want to be judged well in everyone's eyes'. Under every different points of views. Because I know I am nothing without the people around me. And above all, because I care.

        This is exactly why you cannot find me explicitly expressing myself because I'm scared. I'm scared that they ll think of me as a person with negative views. I'm scared that they will talk behind my back and eventually leave me for the juvenile passing thoughts in my mind which are not completely mine because thoughts that go through your heads are not always yours. They are the sum of what you observe around you and your perception on it. I'm scared that people will judge me solely on what I think and not the circumstances that has made me think that way.

        I've seen it happen to so many others. I have seen people talk behind a person's back because his/her views did not match with the others around that person. I've seen people being hurt , to have been judged by who they are and not considering why they are. When I pointed things which others did not notice, when I asked them to think about that person, I was considered absurd and foolish.

        May be that is one reason, why I like the Shiv Trilogy by Amish more than any other version because it also tells Dakshya's and Bhrigu's circumstances which made them who they are. May be that's why I like The Kite Runner over many other books because it was the story of someone who did not quite share the same views as that of a Moral Science text book. May be that is why I'm drawn towards stories of Asuras and the villains of the epics and myths because I know that no one can be outright bad. They can only be different.

        And may be that is exactly why I started this blog with a pseudonym and do not share with everyone. So that I can express and be judged at the same time and not care about the consequences. So that I can have the privilege of putting in words what goes on in my head and heart without changing anything around me. For expression is a need of which a person cannot be denied by oneself or by others.

- Shreeji

Dosai!

Who would have ever thought that Idly batter gone bad can be turned to truly delicious food? The folded crispy Dosai with a chutney or a sambhar is complete bliss. I would describe a perfect dosai to be the one which has a lot of crispy and brittle outer region and not too thick a center. The best part of Dosai is that anything with it makes a perfect combination, be it chutney, sambhar, vadai curry, or any almost any type of curry. I love it so much that I often eat it without dipping it in any side dish.

One thing I absolutely hate is that some people call it Dosa. It is a Dosai  with an 'i' at the end! You can also call it a Dos-I but definitely not Dos-Ah. Some people also call it Roast. Roast is a name that englishmen gave it. They probably thought it's like their Toast but a Toast is not even close to a Dosai.

I'm sure people think Dosai originated from Idly. The rumour is that there was a lot of unused Idly batter and some intelligent cook found a way to put it to use. Even this article starts like that! But the fact is that, it was Idly which originated from Dosai. Tamil Sangam Literature in the sixth century AD mentions Dosai but not the Idly which only appears in the Kanada literature four centuries later. The Manasollasa written in the twelfth century AD in Sanskrit mentions the dhosaka for which only pulses were used. It has travelled to all the neighbouring countries of India being called by the name Thosai, Thoshay and the like. Today, it is one of the world's 50 most delicious dish according to CNN (between buttered popcorn and potato chips)

Though Dosai typically refers to the roasted plain batter there are many variations and it is constantly being experimented with Western dishes. Some of the famous versions are Masala Dosai, Onion Dosai, Ghee Dosai, Ada Dosai, Set Dosai, and the list goes on for more than a 100 different types! A few of which are really good in our own canteen! The Masala Dosai and the Ghee Dosai is just amazing in the F Block canteen. The Ghee Dosai in the IM Canteen is equally good (cause that's the only Dosai I ate there).