Poet of the Week - Vikram Seth

Wish I could reproduce my favourite poems here, but that would be a copyright violation. I'll have to make do with these links instead.

• All You Who Sleep Tonight (My most favourite - it's even on my kitchen wall)
• From California
• Prandial Plaint

Vikram Seth's Biography

Carl Sagan - My Hero

In my teens, I was a huge fan of Carl Sagan.The more I read his books and watched his TV series, the more I admired his work. The only fan mail I've ever written or will ever write I wrote to him. Yet, to my great regret, I never posted it because I felt a bit silly about it. On this day that lies somewhere between his birthday(November 9th)and his death anniversary(20th December), I thank him for making astronomy so interesting and fascinating for me.

More: SETI

My Daughter Gets to Know Her Hindu Gods

Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man came up on our TV screen yesterday. My 4-year old daughter said, "Mum, we have that in our house". As I was wondering where at home she might have seen it - I was pretty certain we had no such thing - she pointed to the copper statue of Nataraja on our mantlepiece. She also sometimes refers to the statue of Buddha in our house as "Buddhu" (Idiot in Hindi).

The Importance of '4' in My Life

• My DOB adds up to 4.
• There is a 4-year difference between my parents' ages.
• My brother and I are 4 years apart.
• My kids were born 4 years apart.
• My home number ends in a 4.
• My phone no. has three 4s in it.
• Seems like my groups of friends come in sets of 4
• The year I graduated from Engg. College (it being a 4-year course) adds up to 4.
• My son was born on the 4th, my husband on the 14th and my daughter on the 24th.
• The accident that changed our lives happened on the 4th.

Coincidence?

Currently Reading...

There was a time in my life when I used to finish reading a book in one sitting. These days I'm lucky if I can read one chapter without interruptions. My goal for the next few months is to revisit the classics and read at least a few books from the Man Booker Prize list. Of all the books in there, I've only read Arundhati Roy's 'God of Small Things'. Right now I'm reading Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. It's not from the Booker prize list, though. I enjoyed her memoirs in Cooking with My Sisters immensely. I'm only a few pages into Big Stone Gap, but I like it so far.

Ever share a recipe with a friend?

I didn't have potatoes,
so I substituted rice.
Didn't have paprika,
so I used another spice.

I didn't have tomato sauce,
so I used tomato paste.
A whole can not a half can
-I don't believe in waste.

My friend gave me the recipe
-she said you couldn't beat it.
There must be something wrong with her,
I couldn't even eat it.

~ Source unknown

Here's one recipe I never fail to share with my friends. It's fabulous, as is evident from the 700+ reviews.

This is My Little Corner in Cyberspace

A tiny piece of cyberspace to call my own,
To scribble my thoughts when all alone,
To record time as it has flown,
To laugh, cry, muse or moan.