Peeta Hoon To
June 5, 2020
In those days of joyous abandon, the craft was not the focus, but the feelings were. Poetry to me is about moments, it should evoke feelings and memories. And this poetry sums up that.
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Seviyan
April 13, 2020
Seviyan is most popular as a celebratory dessert. For Muslims it marks Eid-al-Fitr, for Hindus it’s served on occasions like Rakshabandhan and after Karwa Chauth.
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Arabic Chicken Curry
April 10, 2020
Though every Gulf country has a specific style of cooking their curry, this curry is quite generic and would be like an introduction to the region. What is differentiating from Indian curries is the use of vegetables, so it becomes more like stew. And the use of lemons too.
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Work From Home
April 4, 2020
Being a writer, isolation is second nature to me. Writers are known to living in a dreamy world they’ve created with no distractions, just words floating around like atoms.
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Egg Kabab
April 3, 2020
I am always fascinated with the preparations that could be done to eggs. It’s the most versatile dish after all. Though majorly used for breakfast, there are so many recipes that go well into supper.
Continue readingDiwali Radio Spot
February 2, 2020
A diwali radio spot that gave me creative satisfaction. Pure hindi with several words that are colloquial. Aired on Suno 1024FM (United Arab Emirates) in November 2019.
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Dubai Adventures
January 30, 2020
The city of superlatives is more than meets-the-eye. It’s got its heart pumping and ensures your jaw drops at adventurous experiences, not just at sight-seeing.
Continue readingDushmani to hai
January 22, 2020
This video was made during World Cup 2015, especially for the India-Pakistan match, the biggest match of the ICC World Cup. We were brainstorming on the thought when I went silent. When an idea comes to my mind, I become oblivious to the crowd or the chatter and start penning my thoughts, as if I am sitting alone.
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Spiritual Bali
November 27, 2019
Traveling is all about new learning, discoveries and experiences. Memories we create are the stories we would keep reciting all our life with equal enthusiasm and a bit of exaggeration. We get to understand cultures, sample foreign food, hear the cacophony that defines the cities, get a whiff of underlying smells in each nook, do things out of our comfort zone, commute by means which we only saw on postcards, meet people and hear their extraordinary stories…there is so much that our five senses go through. Bali is one of those unique destinations that can leave a transcendental imprint on your life.
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Katra Sattvik Food
October 27, 2019
To understand the food of Katra, one must understand the concept of Sattvik. We all know that Sattvik is pure vegetarian food, just as is Vaishnav food. But there is more to Sattvik than just the pleasant sounding name. It stems from Ayurdeva
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Art Dubai
September 30, 2019
Once a desert enclave, Dubai has today transformed into an oasis of arts. The glitzy skyline and swanky malls may feature in picture-perfect postcards, but it takes more than a canvas to reflect the art scene is Dubai.
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Vienna
July 18, 2019
Reaching Vienna (called Wien), it is advisable to peek out of the aircraft window, in fact there should be an announcement “Please look out, heaven below”. Simply because the sight is surreal. Swathes of green fields dotted with solar windmills look like an idyll world. The slow whirring of the windmills is symbolic of Viennese life, which you would realise later as you absorb the city.
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Shakshuka Recipe
May 24, 2019
An easy to cook Shakshuka Eggs recipe. The popular tomato stew based breakfast of the Mediterranean region.
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Croque Madame
March 19, 2019
This week’s exploit was Croque Madame. A French Ham Sandwich essentially, popularly known as Croque Monsieur, but when you add in a fried egg, it becomes Croque Madame. While the sound of it may seem easy to cook, after all what’s the big deal in a ham sandwich, but then, it’s French. Nothing is as easy as it sounds, not even the names!
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Taj Mahal – The Magnum Opus
February 23, 2019
There is something endearing about Taj Mahal. Maybe it’s the name itself, which has come to symbolize craftsmanship of the finest level. Or it’s the grand scale on which it is built. Or it’s the conspicuous status of being one of the wonders of the world.
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Leopold Museum Vienna
December 21, 2018
Christmas Markets are widely popular across Europe, some of them being ancient, while some of them have ancient backdrops. While the vibe is festive, family oriented and cheerful, I loved the Christmas Market at Leopold Museum, Museumsquartier (MQ) in Vienna.
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That Sandalwood Hoarding
December 19, 2018
This was in mid 2000s, when Indian advertising wasn’t orgasm-ing on overtly emotional routes of ‘Khushiyan, Rishtey, Garmahat’ etc. This hoarding ad was just a fancy painting, to say the least. Yet, for someone it was a piece of art, which spoke to him in ways he hadn’t expected.
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Visiting A Spice Grove
October 14, 2018
The walk through this forest was informative as we saw the plantation and cultivation of cocoa, spices, herbs, vegetables, fruits and other natural items. It’s a serene place, almost like a cocoon that shields you from the pollution, noise and speed of the city life.
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Gourmet Salts
September 29, 2018
Svaneti Salt has travelled far & wide, though it can also be made at home. The texture of the salt is coarse, while it isn’t as dry as spices are, with garlic adding a bit of moisture.
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SEL Car Rental Campaign
September 29, 2018
SEL Car Rental (Dubai) has a division for ultra-luxury vehicles, falling under the Limousine segment. A brand campaign was designed showcasing the vehicles’ attributes metaphorically.
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An Everyday Saga
July 24, 2018
As the last ray of sun melts into the horizon, the sky changes colors like a chameleon. The clouds do try to bounce off a kaleidoscopic luminescence with joyous oranges, yellows and reds, but the light is short-lived.
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Recipe: Chicken Tabahi
July 3, 2018
Presenting: Chicken Tabahi, a name coined by me.
Tabahi is a colloquial term that literally means disaster, but in regular lingo is an expression of OMG or wow (denoting something extreme).
I named it Tabahi simply for its spice quotient.
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A Sensory Affair
June 24, 2018
Everything is rosy and dreamy until the food arrives. That’s when the senses go for a real spike. The mood suddenly becomes ecstatic. The food here wins your heart, and that is the true testament of any restaurant.
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Gravity, Bali – A Nature Resort
May 30, 2018
Cattle grazing on a pasture land, yawning away time while sheep idling along. Bougainvillea demarcated estates with huts and small houses where kids are playing hide & seek, mothers washing clothes, grannies cooking
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My Dream Bag
April 12, 2018
In our Italian sojourn, Rome was the only touristy city that warranted shopping. It was the last leg of our journey, so we knew how much space our luggage had, and how much Euros our wallets had.
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Photostory: Metcalfe House
April 8, 2018
Thomas Metcalfe, a civil servant, renovated this tomb to be his summer retreat in 1830, known as Dilkhusha. A couple of gardens, water bodies, pavilions and terraces etc. were created to elevate the ambience of this place. It was strategically built to keep an eye on Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
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GEMS Coffee Table Book
April 8, 2018
The coffee-table book project was initiated to commemorate Dubai Modern Academy’s Silver Jubilee. The book was launched by Former US President Bill Clinton in a gala event in Dubai.
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That Place: Review
March 27, 2018
Once upon a time, there used to be Chicken Tikka & Shish Tawook, in their barbequed glory. There was Butter Chicken with its creamy curry, Biryani with its saffron induced rice, and Pasta with its morsels of awesomeness.
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