Genghis: Birth of an Empire

Just finished reading this book and I have to admit though not transfixing... it was certainly entertaining...

Being a total history buff, I tend more towards reading historically based novels.... it feeds my travel hungry soul!

The book gives an excellent description of the Mongolian landscape and the hardships places by the wandering tribes... I could almost imagine myself in the place. Though some of the historical facts have been tweaked a bit to make the novel interesting, it seems to stick to the essence of the "dreaded Khan"... I think the novel manages to be illuminating while being entertaining...

You find your heart going out and rooting for young Temujin (the future Genghis Khan) when he and his family are left to fend for themselves in the harsh Mongolian plains.. you cannot help but admire the feistiness of the mother, Houlen who manages to keep the young kids alive through the winter at sub zero temperatures with no roof on the head...

I, for one will definitely read the next in the series, Bones of the hills....

The characteristics of an ideal, perfect Tava Roti (Indian Bread)

Yes, I can make one… from a scratch. Well, being an Indian, it is nothing really to boast about and frankly, it is probably a very easy task. However, making a simple Roti is probably easy, but making a perfect one is a totally different story!

So to begin with the question is how do you make the Roti??

The recipe is as simple as it gets. All you need is (a) 2 cups of atta (wheat flour) (b) ¾ cup of water (c) a pinch of salt. Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl and knead it to make smooth dough.

You then form small lemon sized dough rounds and flatten each one to around 8 inch diameter using a rolling pin. Finally you cook this evenly on both sides on a skillet (or as Indian’s would say “Tava”). Your roti is now ready to eat !

Sounds easy enough eh? But to get an “perfect” roti, is an art in itself. A “perfect” roti has to be “perfectly round” and soft enough to melt while you eat with that “Hot curry”.

Alas. Therein lies the issue… first you need to mix the dough just right, if you over knead it you end up with “ultra hard cracker-style” rotis… if you mix it too loose.. it’s a pain to roll. After many attempts and a few dirty looks from my hubby about having to eat my creations, I think I have finally got the initial art of mixing the dough just right.

But my attempts at making those perfectly round “circular, even radii” roti’s has been a total disaster. I can proudly state that I can make all the shapes and sizes of the roti… will all, except for the round shape. of the various countries (of course, that is not by any design), but try as I may there is no way I can get a round one.

Trust me I have tried and tried… very diligently too! But after trying all I can, the art of making those perfect “coveted” round rotis totally escapes me.

So, I have a solution for when I make roti’s for some one else other than hubby and me… I call it “the knife carving method of making rotis”. Roll your dough out, don’t worry about the shape and then take a round lid , place it on top of the rolled dough and use knife to cut the extras. VOILA… you now have a perfectly round roti’s…

Some may call it cheating.. but I call it the art of knife carving roti.... works for me (Totally!)

Why I love Spring: Top 10 reasons

1. It comes right after the dreaded “winter”
2. It brings a "spring" to my step.
3. No more snow to shovel (Totally love the fact !! )
4. The chirping of birds outside my window (I wanna chrip too) .
5. The feel the sun on the face (right in sync with my Indian sensibilities)
6. The cool wind on my face while biking (Feel like singing aloud sometimes)
7. Walking amidst the greenery makes heart pump stronger (or so I suppose).
8. Longer days (Ah! the charm of illusion of more time.... )
9. I get to wear finally wear dresses, skirts and sleeveless tops. (Yay! )
10. Most importantly, It makes me Smile (pointlessly).

Expansion of the off-shore oil drilling... where are we headed...?

I have to admit I am a little disappointed with the new approach Obama administration is taking towards the offshore oil drilling. The fact that now the previously restricted portions of Atlantic and gulf of Mexico will soon be a oil and gas drilling field, makes me think of the numerous fauna and flora which will cease to exist.


Yes, I agree that with the new technological advances the oil spills, once rampant, are a vague (very vague) possibility. But, at the same time, it is essential for us to focus very heavily on developing other oil-substituting resources. Personally, I feel, that an increase in off shore oil drilling, will just encourage the folks to extend the timeline for maturity of the other natural resources.


It is a pity, that when Saudi Arabia and other rich oil producing countries are focusing on developing solar and other renewable energy sources, Kudos is being given to the new expansion plans for offshore drilling. I am not saying that solar is the way to go, but I am surely saying that there are other resources out there (perhaps natural gas, wind energy etc) which need belief and a need of urgency to actually meet its true potential.


It has oft been told "Necessity is the mother of all inventions"... so if we don't make the need essential and an necessity, the inventions will happen.. but eventually......and slowly.. ... perhaps too slowly !!


Think about that!