Lovely weather here down south, and a great time to be on vacation. Showers every alternate day, and mostly at night, makes it all the more pleasant and un-invasive. Great for morning walks, the soil still being damp and at places squelchy, dotted with chocolate puddles. The morning breeze being so fresh and invigorating, that it falls under the list of ‘those inexplicable’ blissful sensastions.

The roads in the early part of the day, bears no resemblance to what it is, during the better part of the day! Wading through a sea of vehicles, could well be an adventure sport in its own right! Nosing your way, sidling into the gaps, instincts razor sharp, you need them, either to swerve dramatically, to avoid an over speeding driver, zipping inches away, or to wedge your vehicle into the narrowest gap in front of you, before nudged by a million other forms on wheels. Its survival of the fittest, the fastest and the smartest out there. While in the back seat, its best to just shut your eyes, or take part in some deep, engrosing conversation, wherein you allow yourself not to be distracted by a racey action-flick, unfolding right before your eyes!

Just thought would touch upon some interesting features about food in the Middle East. The staple diet or rather the one you would order in an restaurant would be like khubuz and hummus (vegetarian), and showrma or shish taouk(non-vegetarian) along with pickles and garlic dip, and of course the famous Biryani .

Khubuz (has varied spellings and pronunciations!) also known as 'pita', very much like our Naan, and is a bread baked in a kiln, and removed by metal rods, just like our rotis. But slightly thicker and sort of spongy and yeasty.

Shawarma is a non-veg dish (of chicken or lamb) where the soft tender cooked meat, is shredded and garnished. Eaten as a roll or sandwhich with the khubuz.

Hummus is a dip or a main side dish, basically made of ground chickpeas or channa. It has a nice smooth consistency and is very wholesome.

Shish taouk is basically chicken kabab, served with salad. The only difference, from its Indian counterpart being that, they form one long section, instead of chopped individual pieces.

Garlic Dip - Not sure what the exact Arabic name is, but it is an almost inevitable accompaniment, and is said to neutralise the effect of excessive fat and oil in the meal.

Biryani - To be honest I have not tasted a typical Kuwaiti Biryani, so will refrain from saying much, except for the fact that the dish did indeed cross over from Persia across the Arabian Sea to India. So I would think it would taste much the same as it does in India! Maybe another blog can be dedicated to this Queen of all Dishes at a later stage; Or would welcome fellow bloggers or readers to contribute towards this section.

From my limited knowledge, and from what I have observed from my short stay in Kuwait, I understand that the cuisine, is a mixture of Lebanese and Iraqi and Arabian cuisine. And ofcourse the country has been sort of swamped by fast food chains, which are so very popular, that you tend to find them more, than the typical Arabi restaurants, and followed closely by Indian restaurants of course. So we do have our share of Dosas and Butter chickens and Utthappams and Naans, regulary at the local 'Udippis' or 'Saagars' and the 'Daawats'!

A summer evening

The fauna and flora here is nothing spectacular I would think, or rather nothing much to write about; but still when you set your mind to it, you can have your share of greenery, or rather in this part of Kuwait, it would be ‘brownery’. The fact that the landscape is so oft ravaged by sandstorms, the plants bear the brunt, and tend to be laden by the constant onslaught of sand particles. They seem to sort of weigh down on them, and stay put, giving them a brownish tinge, to the entire structure of the plant, tree, so much so that it merges perfectly with the sandy landscape.

Right in the middle of summer vacation, another month or so, to go still, and you see crowded streets, malls, and of course open grounds, dotted with numerous football teams, of varying age groups, and varying energy levels. Was reminded of our playgrounds being crammed, with charged up feisty players, (predominantly the 5-14 yr olds) brandishing their invincible bat, and lunging with all that they have got, to get the perfect yorker. And scanning for a similar sight, was awarded with one, and heart did leap with joy to behold a team, made of all but 8 players, but the spirit there all the same, heaving a mighty six, and the lunge to catch the ball. Cricket is around, trying to carve a niche, and managing to, amidst the roaring fury of football mania.

When you search for beauty, you are sure to find it, or so I would like to think. So as the twilight set in, managed to get this ‘colourful’ image, with the tiny dot of moon, heralding yet another long, warm night.

Crazy Phrase-y (Word Game)

Rules of the Game : Starting with the given word, form a sentence, without using prepositions, pronouns or conjunctions. Poetic or wacky, it is entirely your choice. Points are not awarded, just based on the length of the sentence, vocabulary and expression also counts! The word given here is

Falling .....
Falling leaves swirl languorously gliding, swaying, creating a beautiful pattern, the blue sky, the canvas.

Falling down served many a purpose, including a smashed ladder, heralding a tinkling laugh, making matters worse indeed.

.......................................................................................................

Lets see who comes up with the phrasiest of the phrase-y sentences. Bring in the poetic streak, then on it becomes easy! Do pitch in, and have fun.

The following list, is not an exhaustive one, so some concessions have been made. But the specified words are to be skipped, or else will entail disqualification. Happy phrasing!!

Prepositions – "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

Pronouns – "I," "you," "she," "he," "it," "we," "you," "they,” "me," "you," "her," "him," "it," "us," "you," and "them."

Conjunctions - "and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet", "after," "although," "as," "because," "before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till," "until," "when," "where," "whether," and "while."

Sandstorms and Seagulls!

The Dust storm seems to have come to stay. Will be around for a while, it looks like, sometimes mild, sometimes descending with a vengeance shrouding the entire vicinity, with a thick blanket of fine swirling stand, and at times almost non-existent; but it’s there alright. And the strangest part being, geographically, it has been stated that the monsoon rains, towards the south-easterly direction in the globe, and the dust storms here, are connected. And so, as the dust and sand, goes through its angry journey across the desert lands, the rain unleashes itself on areas, just divided by a large expanse of ocean. How and why, it is beyond me, though of course it is all to do with the Elements of earth, going on with its routine, with some party days, thrown in, I guess.

Watching the waves in its incessant trips to the shore, is always a pleasure. And getting to see the seagulls making its rounds, perching on a stray boulder or a boat, is interesting too. The view from the tower in Al-Kout, is something I always look forward to. Somehow, suddenly you seem to rise above the motley crowd of human race, and get to be with nature, with just a few flights of steps. The rounded pebble like rocks which form the jetty, itself looks lovely and distinct; the sea line dotted with few bobbing boats, and the birds trying to catch their feed, wait patiently or keep hovering around, yet don’t come too near the shoreline. The coastline looks pretty impressive too, with the high-rise buildings reaching for the sky. Leaves one to wonder, however grand, imposing and luxurious man tries to make his creations (Al-kout Mall), what actually soothes your self, and brings in a sense of peace is of course the creations of nature, and its wonderful we get to find it, amidst our other pursuits. (Thanks to kuw son of flickr for this lovely breathtaking picture of the tower.)

Dust Storms - http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Dust_storm

Al-kout Mall - http://www.nicoleb.org/Countries/Kuwait/Al_Kout_Mall.html

Pondering

" Help rendered to another cannot be measured

by the extent of assistance imparted;

Its real measure is the recipient's worthiness. "(105)

This is indeed, not just an inspiring thought, but such a humbling one too. I mean, its always assumed that the giver is on a higher plane, and gains more points too!! But this totally challenges that concept. Its beautiful actually the thought, and coming from someone who passed this planet around the 200 BC era!! One of the pearls of wisdom of the Poet Thiruvalluvar, from the southern tip of India.

Such insights, such a lovely grasp of the oddities of human life in all its forms. While reading Thomas Hardy, struck me how thinkers and writers had this luxury of completely ransacking the human mind, at leisure, and then laying out all that they had found, and finally arrive at, theories as to, why people are, the way they are. And these theories most of them turn out to be real profound and so well scripted. In this period of diversified but short span interests and distractions, I think the time taken to ponder and ruminate on something is come in a wonderful form of 'Blogging'! So we are the unofficial 'thinkers' or maybe even the undisputed philosophers of this era!! That's a quirky thought!

The wind is almost howling as it blows against my window panes, and slightly the panes shudder. Yes it has been predicted to be a mild warm day, and its such a blessing I would think. Hope it lasts through the weekend.

Nature and its trails

As Kuwait is reeling and sweltering under the onslaught of heat waves, well into our 'famed summer', interspersed with its share of dust storms,- elsewhere it seems to be pouring cats and dogs. Or rather more than that.

Western Europe is going through a terrible time, with the torrential rains playing havoc. Major landslides causing roadways to be blocked, cars and vehicles all caught in the eddy of swirling muddy waters, coursing throught the cities and the countrysides. England, Italy, France and Belgium have not been spared too.

Heavy floods in Germany, and the country is thrown into a shock, I would think. It somehow seems that these natural disasters, have a way of striking the 'lesser mortal-countries', or the not-so-developed countries, and its like 'Oh! its happened again', 'Poor things', 'Wonder how we could help?' and so on. All genuine concerns there alright. But when it actually strikes places, which are know to be clinically efficient and impeccably organised and absolutely well funded, there is a mild surprise sorts. The point is, how the fury of Nature when unleashed, becomes a leveller, against which no one has any answers, until it abates.

And with the talk of nature, reminds me, the thing one gets to miss most in Kuwait is greenery. I dont think that very term would exist, or be applicable here in this section of the world! Actually come to think of it, this thought leads me to feeling absolutely wretched. Well, so what do we do, buy small 6 inch saplings, and try to do some simulation, within the confines of our homes. Yes we do, but still wonder, especially people who come from corners of the world where they live right amidst those tall imposing trees, walk on mossy wet grass everyday, listen to the calls of wild birds, smell the waft of moist air, go for a swim in the backyard brook, what do they do? Don't they miss them?? Sigh! I do.

What hits you first, when you take a trip through your hometowns, is the presence of this colour, green. The presence of green interlaced in the landscape, every corner and nook. Eyes does search, in vain, for these vaulted images, only to finally rest back in the plant that stands alone, in my drawing room, and gain small comfort.

Change - inevitable but promising.

A new Government, new Ministry, a fresh crop of Ministers the air filled with hope and a sense of enthusiasm everywhere is always a welcome sign. Wherever you are, whoever you are. So the speeches made and the promises too seem to invoke a sense of optimism and anticipation. But where do we feature in the plans, schedules and framework, if at all is a disturbing question indeed.

So the Academic year is drawing to a close in many schools here, and the holiday mood slowly seeping in, and for a few it already has, who have left for their homes far away. So with the scorching summer on its way, people are only too enthusiastic about making their getaway, as soon as possible. So lots of shopping, planning and travelling in the agenda for many, and great times to look forward to.

Flats and buildings which are cloaked in a gloomy silence, (with exams going on ) will resonate and reverberate with cheers and yells of joy shortly, as the children would flock the places below, to meet, play and have a rollicking time; where they throng from, this mob of kids, were they in hiding all these months, one wonders! So wishing all a Happy Holidays out here, though it’s ironical that way back home, everyone is done with their vacations, and are stepping into their serious routine mode, at this very moment!!