Ushering in 2011 - AB style

Wishing you all a great new year 2011 - AB !

There goes by 2010.. "Thank you thank you and now go away" that's what the Tee reads. Welcoming 2011 as 2010 is history. My dad has this habit of giving unique gifts and this Tee was one from his hat.





We tried some muffins and almond cake and they came out perfect. We got this silicon muffin moulds that work out perfectly for muffins and giving out the right muffin shape.









Also the Pigeon eggs hatched :). Welcome to the world "chinnu" and "munnu" - the pigeon kuttis. We will update a clear pic later.




and of course the foggy days at Bangalore !



Wishing good health and love !

Pigeon guest, dinning table and farewell

Last week we had quite some activity. We had a surprise visitor in our balcony. A pigeon made a small nest in our second balcony and laid couple of eggs. Right now that place is like a maternity ward :)



The eggs....



Then finally our long pending dinning table came along. At least we can make our guests sit comfortably and eat.



Thankfully we had Vinod's farewell at our place with Manjula joining us.



Time to call near and dear !

Caker Baker

So what have we been up to ?

Baking cakes... Oh Yeah ! We've been trying to make a real good cake and for that fact we wanted to make a bread at home. After lots of googling and playing around with our convection microwave we made our first bread and then a banana pie+muffin.

Thanks to Ani who actually knead the dough the way we twist and mash the clothes during rugged washing. This was our first bread and came out very well.



This was made out of Maida (All purpose flour). Next we plan to use Atta (Whole wheat) and see how the result would be. Shall keep you posted !

Convection cooking works !

First Buys, Karthigai and Pizzas....

After Diwali we had our first shopping spree. Electric rice cooker, convection microwave and a refrigerator. Remaining loyal to Samsung brands !


Then Karthigai with Patti ...


and finally our first home made pizza (in fact second) ...

Thats some quick update ! More as we move on....

Thala .....

So this weekend we finally got some great respite from work and to top it up this was our Thala Diwali.

We had a great time with our family and cousin kids adding to that extra glitter.





As Chitti (in Eindhiran) would say "Happy Diwali Folks !"

Deja Vu

Exactly around a year back A and B met to be known as AB

Oct 5, last year this time I met Ani at Barista cafe and saw her for the first time and this year we again met there to mark the first anniversary. We wanted to order the same items this time, but nay, we tried a new coffee this year.

So now its more than a year and time has just scurried across. Deja Vu !


Works commitments keeping both of us busy, so no posts for some time. Surely some new posts in the coming days. Have a great festival season ahead !

So whats cooking ?

Well then I mean it literally here.

Ani has been trying lots of recipes these days and we've tried almost every cuisine. Trust me ! Our penchant for home food keeps us busy and experimenting on weekends. Its been a great learning for us and slowly moving to settle.


Some of the things that she tried:
Peas Pulav, Methi Pulav, Sattoo Paratha, Makkai ki Roti, Methi Paratha, Dark Chocolate Cake, Banana Muffins, Falafel, Humus, Rajma, Ragda Chole, Kala chana, Pesarattu & Alum chutney, Besan laddu, Seedai & kodbole, Kheer and most of the south Indian dishes you can fathom (Pongal, Idli, Red Rice Idlu, Upma, Savige, Vangi bath, Kesari, Adai, Dosai,Ragi Dosai, Aval Akki, Akki roti, Ragi Roti, ...........)... the list goes on..

Of course, most useful inputs coming in from both the Moms have added that kosher effect.

Adios !

How to Track Posts in India

After having tracked so many of my letters here are various ways of tracking your posts in India if it is being carried out by India Post. This how I gathered information over years.


Registered Post International
All international mails to and from India can be traced here
IPS Web Tracking: http://ipsweb.ptcmysore.gov.in/ipswebtracking/

Most of the international items coming to India by post (not Courier) have to pass through customs check at Mumbai. Only after the Mumbai office clears the item they will directed to the domestic location. If you see your item has been stuck at Mumbai customs you can call them and check:

If the item cost is more than $100 (excluding mail charges) you could attract customs duty.

Mumbai customs post office customer care: (022) 22611791

Mumbai Customs Ref: http://www.mumbaicustoms.gov.in/scripts/public.asp

If they loose your document you are entitled for compensation (details in the above link)

Registered Post - Domestic
Domestic Registered posts cannot be tracked. Wait for at least 2-3 weeks before you call up your local post office.

For Chennai you can try this number for Registered post related: (044) 22560233

Speed Post - Domestic
Yes. Can be tracked. Check the below link and enter your tracking number there.
http://services.ptcmysore.gov.in/Speednettracking/

If it has been delayed by more than 3 days call up or email their helplines for the respective cities. Trust me they'll help and will also reply to your email.
Click on this link for more information
http://www.indiapost.gov.in/netscape/speedpost.html


Normal Post - International and National
No Way ! Just call up or visit your nearest local post office.


There is a post office call center as well in Hyderabad (for letters to and from Hyderabad). You can call them convey your issue: (040) 23463807


You need to have patience. Pincodes are very important. The letters will come for sure. It might take almost a month sometimes but it would surely come. Unfortunately there is no one-point access for all these information. Purely based on my experience.

Hope this helps. Happy snail mailing.

Kolam - Sem Manu kollam

Here is Ani's Sem Manu (Red brick) Kolam (Rangoli) with red borders. The Aadi month has started and to start with this rangoli.

Personal life just keeping us tooooooooo busy !

Guess who ?

Can you identify the two people below ?



Yes its we - AB !
This terrible sketch of ours was made at Chitrakala Parishad by artists in Bangalore sometime in early January this year. Neither of us could recognize each other.

Honeymoon trip - Teaser

Bonjour ! So finally here are our Honeymoon trip selective snaps. It was a great trip and the best part was that we did the entire thing on our own without any tour operator.


At Burj Khalifa, Dubai


Under water aquarium - Dubai Mall, Dubai

Most of our trip was in Switzerland, couple of days in Paris (France) and around 8 hours in Dubai (UAE).


Ferry ride, Lucerne

Detailed blog entry will be available in couple of days.


No Guesses for this one... Eiffel Tower, Paris (France)

The entire trip was planned to perfection and it was eventful in many ways starting from Visa till we left Zurich (Swiss). We have lot more to share. So if you are planning a trip to Swiss you can drop in your queries here and we will be glad to help/suggest.


Disney Land, Paris



See you soon, Danke !

--- AB

Married - Wedded Bliss

Happily married to Anisha !


The moment - AB


If two were one, then surely we !


Thanks to one and all who attended and wished us on our wedding. Shall share the pics very soon.


So then here I'm after a long long break from Internet. More posts will now appear in the coming days.

-- AB

Alvida - Tranquility 305

Finally it has been almost 4 years since I moved into Bangalore and to this Apartment in Koramangla, Tranquility 305. Today is my last day here !


My first job, first time with roommates and so many firsts.
It has been a great great time with roomies here. To put it, Awesome !


Thanks to Biswa, Vineel, Susheel, Ritesh and Ram who had been great roomies all this while.


Moving out...placed at Parking


All those parathas from our cooks, IPL matches, TV shows like Roadies and Big Boss, Balacony talks, Terrace walks, Running around the parks and tracks, silly neighbours, live graveyards ..... man, so many memories...


Miss you all guys, Will miss Tranquility.

Now moving into a new life and a new Avtar with Anisha !

Some moving out pics:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/balsubu/305TranquilityShifting#

Mumbai - short trip

So here I'm in Mumbai for a quick short trip. Took the morning 6AM flight to Mumbai (that meant I had to start by 4Am, means had to get up by 3AM)....then slept in the flight.... and reached Mumbai by 7.40AM. Then reached Babulnath (Girgaon Chowpati) for some work.

If you are very new to Mumbai and want to reach a destination and don't mind spending Rs 15 per KM then you choose from a variety of prepaid/postpaid taxis. I prefer Meru cabs and as soon as you are about to leave the Arrivals exit, onto your right you'll find free phones that have direct lines to their cab's call centers. You just have to pick the phone (don't have to dial - direct lines) and give your destination and mobile number. He'll give you the cab number and you just have to go out and wait for your cab. Generally within 3-5 minutes your cab should be there (Thanks to Nitesh, my roomie who told me about this).


Passed through Shivaji park, Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Haji Ali, Mahalakshmi. From Haji Ali I knew the route and this is where two years ago I ran the Mumbai marathon. Interestingly my cabbie new about marathons and stuffs.


For lunch I wanted to go to Shivaji park. I vaguely remember a place called Prakash near Sena Bahavan when I last visited. Hiked a taxi to Sena Bhavan. The best thing about Mumbai is you just have to get into the Taxi and tell the destination and that's what I precisely did. After getting down at Sena Bhavan I went to shop in for some Chikkis(for Ani) and casually asked for Prakash restaurant. The shopkeeper said it is down the next street.


Just as I reached the Prakash I was getting into my old memories but was disappointed to see the shop closed for the day. But that didn't deter my search saboodana wada and khicdi (Aside: Ani makes them Super). Just then I found a decent looking restaurant and was able to get some Maharashtrian stuff.

-- Dhahi Missal
-- Saboo Dana wada
-- Chaas (butter milk)

I was beaming and then started to explore the nearby area Dadar and had some Kookum juice, Piyush juice (mango lassi types). Then after more walking had some Aam Panna (raw mango juice). It was sultry as usual here at Mumbai.

After great deal of walking and some phone calls I wanted to try their BEST buses but figured out there is no direct bus to Airport. Finally hiked one more taxi and reached Airport good 3 hours before my flight. So here is the blog and finishing replies to some older emails.

Until then...... have fun !

Shambo Shiv Shambo - Jr NTR

This guys dances amazingly.

Wishing a Happy Ugadi to all my readers !
-- AB

Leader - Telugu Movie Review - SUPER

SUPER SUPER SUPER. That's the verdict.


This bloke, Rana is just the guy Telugu cinema was waiting for. Though he comes from filmi background but I bet he is here to staty.

He is just too good and has an awesome voice and demeanor. Just wondering how he will do romantic roles but I'm sure he'll carry it well.

I'm inspired and looks like I was waiting to get inspired. Time for some personal goals again.




Shekar Kammula has made a stunner after making feel good movies before.

Go watch, Leader !

Pic Courtesy, IndiGlitz.com, dotmovie.in

Heart Break Run at Hyderabad

Before you can surmise anything, this was just a run with Hyderabad Runners. After a long time I caught with fellow runners at Hyderabad for a 11.5KM heart break run.

Watch the route on the map above closely and you'll see it is in the form of heart break and thus the name.

Ran with Deviyani from Asha Hyderabad for most part of the run and then Rajesh Vetcha joined in to listen my pre and post engagement stories.


Good run and wonderful to be back running with Hyderabad Runners !

Keep Miling !

2000+ KMs of Running and still going

So here it is guys, 2000KMs of running.
I started around 6.30AM at Basvangudi to do the left over 5 odd KMs. That's a nice finish and place to celebrate 2000KMs. There were another set of legs accompanying me post 2000+ Kms.



Check out my running log: http://www.weendure.com/user/balsubu

I started this log in November 2007 and in 27 months I've crossed 2K mark. Feels Good !

The idea is to do 1000KMs every year! So we are quadrupeds now (AB together)!


Keep Miling !

Adhurs - Telugu Movie after a long time

Pic Courtesy: Bharatwaves.com

It had been a very long time since I'd been to a Telugu movie. Last Friday when my folks were here, my Dad and I rushed to see Jr.NTR starring "Adhurs".

Brahmanandam and NTR have just rocked. Both of us enjoyed it tremendously. Comedy was amazing and not mention the dance steps. He dances amazingly !

Jr.NTR is doing movies in similar theme which his grandfather did. This one was based on "Ramadu Bhimaddu". Until next time, Adhurs !

Awesome Puppet Show - Ananya Kids

Last Friday we where at St.John's Auditorium to watch our Ananya kids perform puppet show.


Unlike previous performances this one was amazingly different. Rohit, the chief composer did a marvelous job and Ani and I were I just stunned to see this amazing show.




Great Job Kids. Truly Amazing. Don't miss out and this Friday, 12th Feb, 2010 at JSS Auditorium, Jayanagar 8th block as they have the last show at 12, 3 and 7PM respectively. MUST SEE !

More Pics in here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/balsubu/AnanyaPuppetShow

Taking plunge into politics ?

Just back from a small sojourn from the Telangana region. I was there at Siddipet and Yadgiri Gutta (Telangana heart bed) last weekend.

Telangana surely looks like a serious event this time with scores and scores of prople joining the movement. Number registrations of vehilces bearing AP registration have been morphed either voluntarily or through force to "TG" - for Telangana. All the boards having "Andhra" word have been defaced to "Telangana".


Check the vehicle number above (Vehicle number smudged for privacy reasons) !

The heat is on and also the summer is slowly setting in.

Then had a quick darshan of lakshmi Narsimha swamy at Yadgiri Gutta, 3rd year in a row.

Politics and me, well NO-NO !!!

In love with Basavangudi

Pic Courtesy: Flickr

No place in Bangalore must have impressed me as Basvangudi did.

I've been a big fan of Jayanagar but I'm just mesmerized by Basavangudi as it dates me back in time with my cherished childhood at Hyderabad. Koramangla and Indiranagar were the only two locations that I had spent most of my dwelling time in Bangalore.

Dodge that, said Basvangudi ! These days I've been spending so much time in and around Basvangudi and have become a temple hopper these days. Basavangudi reminds me of this typical neighbourhood teeming with normal people more on two wheelers or the Nataraja service (I mean walkers). So many bylanes, so many small shops (Kirana style), flower shops, hawkers, parks .... oh man ! I'm in love. Just can't beat it.

DVG Road
This is like "Sultan Bazaar" of Hyderabad. You name it, you'll find. I love spending lot of time just taking a stroll on this road. Just love this place.

Srinivasa Brahmin Bakery @DVG:
This is the typical "Iyengar Bakery" style. My top picks here are
Pallaya Bun
KBC - Kharra Bun Butter Congress
(Congress here colloquially refers to split groundnuts)
Apple Cake - made out of Ragi balls
Nippat (Uppittu-Nippatu is a great combination they say)

Vinayaka benne gulkand @ DVG:
This is my favourite.
Gulkand - made out of rose petal with sugar syrup served with cut bananas and butter
Dal Bhel
Congress Bhel
Bele - local bhel poori version

Ref: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2006/08/05/stories/2006080500770400.htm

This road recently bore the brunt of Vishnuvardhan fans' ire.

Gandhi Bazaar
Who doesn't know Gandhi Bazar. This is just perpendicular to DVG road. Its like the market area.

Vidhyarthi Bhavan
I'd been to Vidhyarti Bhavan several times for their Masala dosa.

Subbama Stores:
This is the place to get "holige" (sweet roti). Of course scores of other hot items

South End circle:
I just like this place and the stretch that leads towards Jayanagar.


So many circles surround this place,

Natkallapa Circle,
Aurmugham Circle,
Prof. Madha Rao Circle,
Home School Circle,
Sajjan Rao Circle,
Nagsandhra Circle.......... and the list goes on....


With inputs from Anisha

Hope For Flowers - Ananya Trust

I've been involved with Ananya Trust for more than a year now. Please do buy tickets for the show to raise funds.

- AB

More at:
http://www.ananyatrust.org/e/hope-for-the-flowers_puppetry.html

See our progress through the following links: | | |
Visit the friends of Ananya Trust: