Tagged - Tag-a-thon !

I am tagged and here is my post to oblige the tagging. Pranita, am gonna catch you another day ;-) I like reading her blog posts and am bowled over by here blog theme, "Close your eyes and open your heart to the inside... n lo n behold...! Miracles will happen!"

The Rules:

Rule#1: Put the rules on your blog.
Rule#2: Every person tagged should tell 11 things about themselves, answer the 11 questions asked by the one that tagged you, tag 11 other people and ask them 11 different questions.
Rule#3: Let the people whom you tagged know you've done so.
Rule#4: Don't tag anyone who's been tagged before.
Rule#5: Really do tag 11 others, don't go all ''if you want to take this tag''.

I guess this gonna take a while, if you are really interested to know more about me then this tagging is gonna help :-)





1. Did you know? I don't like to give away my characteristics to others, i like it when people understand me through their own observations. Anyways, everyone's perspective is different right? Now, that am made to say facts about me, am wondering!


2. I like to sketch, i old a great admiration for art.


3. I am musically challenged. Yes, you read me right! It doesn't mean i don't appreciate music - i love them but i don't have the ability to produce them. I really wanna learn music someday.


4. Movies never inspired me, until i got married. work out the math ;-)


5. I can listen till you drop to bed.


6. I can also talk till you drop to bed. Lol!


7. I am deep thinker and constantly look at how i can better myself.


8. Right now, working on "Never to lose temper", thought it's rare rare occasion.


9. What else? I am like this kid who comes on T.V commercial - Papa Hero, Papa Cricketer..He wants to become everything that he sees. I don't wanna become everything that i see, but i wanna be able to do a lot of things and not get stuck with the routine.


10. I strongly believe in 'Where there is a will, there is a way"


11. I often think of the people who have walked in & out of my life. Presence of people can make me smile.


I am done. Now to answering the questions, framing my questions and tagging. I pity you guys!

Answers to the questions by Pranita:


1. Which style would be your dream wedding? (If you're married, how would you like your wedding to be, if you got a chance to do it all over again!) 
I have always fantasized a wedding on the shore, pristine water reflecting the event with just few beloved ones gracing the occasion.

2. What is it about chocolates that drives people so crazy?(I don't like em!) 
Chocolates are to die for! I just love the way they feel in my mouth & they brighten up my mood.
 
3. Do you think the world is really going to end this December? 
Nope! There could be shift in the human consciousness ;-)

4. What would be the one last thing you want to do if 2012 is indeed the dooms year? 
Oh, wouldn't we just be back here in another form or so? I don't really wanna hurry up on anything

5. What is one thing you like about my blog and two things that you don't? 
Like i said, your blog concept - love it. I would like you to add, 'Popular posts' widget so it's easy to read the famous ones

6. What aspect of life do you think is unfair? 
All is fair in life and death

7. Which is the most romantic movie according to you? 
Pass

8. What is your dream that you see yourself living someday? 
So many; to summarize it as a vision : a closely knit family far away from the chaotic world with friends around in a small community that is self-reliant - farming, eating-together, making merry, pursuing interests - reviving life by being worthy to one another !

9. What does your name mean? Given a chance would you change it? If yes, what would you change it to? 
Divya means Divine - I am glad the way it is.

10. Do you believe that true love happens only one time? 
Nope, love can be experienced several times and each time it varies in its magnitude and portrayal.

11. Which of the above ten questions do you think is stupid and why? 
None, actually


Now, to my questions, I am gonna keep it simple and short.






1. Life's most beautiful moment?
2. Your definition of God?
3. What's the best thing you admire about Nature?
4. Your biggest weakness and what would you like to do about it?
5. What keeps you moving in life?
6. One thing you would just like to do only once in your life and forget about it?
7. If you were guaranteed to live another 50 years, your top 5 targets for this lifetime?


Only seven questions to make this a more enjoyable exercise ;-) Apologies originator - 11 seems too much to do!


My Tags: (Please don't curse, if you don't like it - you are free to let this pass)


1. Deepak
2. Akshay
3. Sujatha
4. Bhagyashree
5. Rahul
6. Rupertt
7. Krishnan

Yippeeee! It's easier to break some rules ;-) Hope you guys enjoy reading my facts & some of you would take up the task of spreading this.

55 Fiction:(Skilled) Labour

Raju gave alms to the young man at the bus stop every morning as he boarded to work. He was extremely satisfied with his magnanimous gesture. One day, he saw Suresh talking to the young man. Suresh had enrolled this young man for a vocational course that would train him to become a skilled electrician.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

Liebster Blog Award

I am happy to receive this award from Akshay who writes brilliant blogs, straight from his heart! Blogs are meant to express yourself and Akshay does just that. I am glad to have met you in the blogger space :)

This award from Akshay really means a lot to me! Beyond the awards, it is the encouragement, acknowledgment and constructive feedback received from bloggers that motivates the writer and am person who believes in mutual support. An award reflects appreciation and am definitely elated :)

Like all blog awards, the Liebster Blog Award provides me an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of the Bloggers who i truly admire.

Rules for accepting the Liebster Blog award:

• 1.Link back to the person who gave you the award.
• 2.Pick 5 people deserving of the award and notify them on their blogs.
• 3.Post the award on your blog and spread the love.

Liebster in German means 'Beloved', this award is about spreading love. It's the month of February and isn't it an ideal time to express your unconditional love & support to bloggers? Oh yes!

My nominations for this 'Lovely' Liebster Blog award are:

1. Devan Express
2. Searching Self
3. Miracles Happen
4. Alchemy - Pen it here for a difference
5. VickyPedia

Congratulations!! I hope you will accept this token of love and spread it around :)

Broccoli Soup

My first post on a recipe from my kitchen :)

I have decided to post my recipes here on and after a bit of delving on why i didn't really post on cooking here, even though i like cooking, and the answer is
1. I can't quantify my ingredients (I just do it right!)
2. My ingredients vary according to my taste buds(same recipe), how i would like the dish to taste on a particular day.
3. I love experimenting and ensure i succeed at it!(My success rate is quite high)

Now to the recipe and i shall try to clearly mention the variants :)

Broccoli Soup - Ingredients
1. Broccoli florets - 1 Cup (You can add the stems if you want, i don't.)
2. Ginger - 1 small piece
3. Garlic - 4-5 cloves
4. Onion - 1/2 chopped
5. Pepper corns - 10-15 (Prefer it spicy!)
6. Salt
7. Milk/Cream - 4-5 Table spoons
8. Flour (Optional to thicken)
9. Oil


Preparation

Pour oil(2-3 tea spoons) in a frying pan. Saute the onions, ginger, garlic and pepper corn ill brown.

Boil the Broccoli separately. Remove the Broccoli florets and blend it with the fried mixture smoothly.

You can use the water that boiled the Broccoli as the stock for the soup. Pour the mixture into the boiling water and slowly stir. Add salt to taste.

On simmer, Add Milk/cream. If you would like the soup to thicken further add the flour mixed with water.

Yummy broccoli soup is ready for serving.

Recipe Tweaks I add mushrooms(at times) to the soup when it's boiling. If you have mushrooms at home, you can add them.

We love this soup :)
Broccoli Facts:
Vitamin C rich, Absorbed Calcium, Anti-cancer properties, good source of dietary fiber.

Love is in the air

It's the month of February and suddenly you see so many promotions everywhere on 'Love'. Probably it gives many of us a chance to take a moment to acknowledge the love in our life! We fail to reciprocate our emotion of love in our every day monotony or the monotony makes our reciprocation a daily event. Either ways love remains untold in our lives.

I have understood the depth of many emotions but love still remains a mystery to me! I sometimes blame it on the English language, for its lack of diction to coin a spectrum of words that convey the depth of love. Love has so many dimensions that, having one word to describe its essence has made it underplay the emotion.

Like what's said widely,  Valentine's day is just not for lovers but for everyone who is in Love with someone and who is not? For many of us who fail to appreciate the love in our lives, it's a day to express ourselves or even better let this Valentine's day mark the beginning of mutual reverence through life's every moment!

True expressions of love can redefine relationships! Explore love - it can help you redefine life!

Over the years, i have tried hard to unravel Love and in this journey i have learned, experienced and practiced Love - today we need an adjective to describe love in its original form and that adjective is 'Unconditional'. We have started advocating that Love needs to be unconditional because somewhere along the history of human civilization, we practiced Love as an emotion of need. Yes, we gave love cause we needed someone to give it back to us! Love is an exchange or so it's been defined.

It has become hard to be unconditional but, it renders an inexplicable satisfaction. Loving without expectation is a bliss - it requires certain deep realizations though, of not being attached but being involved. The famous metaphor is that of the droplet on a Lotus leaf. It's a bit tricky but once you know how to express your love unconditionally, life moves to a higher realm of realization.

Unconditional Love is the torsion energy that would bind the world into a higher consciousness. You can look up the web to explore more about the scientific aspects of Love. It's interesting; may be another post, another day!

Till then, Love Unconditionally.
To begin with Express your Love!

Embrace Acceptance to handle Emotional Disturbances

Have you ever wondered why you end up fighting with someone you love? Yes, we tend to argue, fight & opine in anger with people whom we love dearly. We believe God has bestowed us to be their guardian angels. In believing that, we tend to do everything for their good. It is natural to render care when we love someone, but do we even take a minute to reflect, if that is what they really want to do? Yes, we believe that we are doing things in their best interest but isn't it not their life? Don't they have a choice? We end up hindering them from having their own personal experience of an event and thereby disturbing their destined life.

We fail to realize, in our desperation to help them get the best out of their life, we force many things on them. Our intentions are right, but our actions aren't. Why do we fight with someone? Mostly when they don't see our point of view. Everyone has a right to their own perception of a certain situation. You can show them the other side but can't enforce them to view it like the way you do. Experience is the best teacher and so they will learn through experiencing it. Yes, our role is that of a guardian angel that shows the various possible ways and stands by, to let you take your own actions and so should we be too.

The key to balanced relationships is the ability to see other person's view and respect it. Acceptance leads to healthier discussions with neutral emotional ebbs.

It's not just the case in relationships among two people but also in a relationship with self. Yes, we share a bond with our own self and that requires same treatment as well. Self-acceptance is the key to peaceful living. Many a times, we don't accept our own actions; our own decisions; our own responses leading to discomfort. It is important to accept your own self for the world to accept you. If you have observed small kids, they are so blissful in acknowledging their efforts. You might have noticed a kid dance all by herself, singing to her own tune and clap for herself at the end. Yes, that's self-acceptance. You need to approve your own self! When we begin to accept the events(favourable & unfavourable) that occur in life - be it your own action or a universal response to your action - we begin to relax; gain composure and our mind is still enough to look for an appropriate course of action.

Next time, when you are angry, upset or disturbed - ask yourself - what is that you are resisting? Once you find your resistance, take a few deep breathes and begin to accept it the way it appears and ask what next - you will find an answer!

"What you resist, persists" - Carl Jung
"Acceptance is the way to bring in harmony" 

Tell a Tale contest - Results

Winners of Tell a Tale Contest

The winner is Deva

A story told with conviction lacing words that elegantly conveyed the essence of every scene capturing the emotions quite well. He used the serendipity of life to give strength to the character reflecting how an ordinary soul faces challenges of life and breathes energy from his own environment. Kudos to your strong diction & writing style.


The First Runner Up is Hariharan Valady

A Story told taking into cognizance every character, time, and place that any master storyteller would require to take his audience into confidence. He had intelligently used the current affairs to lay foundation for his character's evil notions. A climax well etched portraying how every soul including a Fighter who surrenders to weapons is moved by Love & Emotion.


The Second Runner Up is Krishnan

A story strongly woven with no dangling pointers, closely knitted, gripping the audience till the end to unveil a climax where the protagonist nurtures a devil within him. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind", essayed by character's reflection of self with the surrounding.


Congratulations to the winners!!

Every story had a striking feature which made it every hard to choose the one that outweighed the other. It would be unfair if i don't mention the efforts of other contestants here. Each story had good rendition with interesting messages told.

The striking feature of every story(in no particular order)

Rebirth in a Train  Bold
Strange  Intelligent
Life or So   Powerful
Tell a Tale   Romantic
Beginning of new Journey   Breezy
So near yet so far   Practical
Riverie   Dreamy

Thanks once again for taking part in the contest. I loved all your entries and learnt a lot from each of you!

I believe we all have a scope for improvement and such contests should help us identify those areas besides revealing our strong holds. If you wish, you can drop an email to divya.palaniappan@gmail.com and i would be happy to provide my feedback - my humble opinions that are subject to your scrutiny. We have several platforms that are generous in appreciating our efforts but few that help in collectively progressing ahead, I wish to provide both.

Please do send me your feedback on the contest too. Good luck to all of you with your writing & more.