Saluting Yashodhara & Womanhood...

I was sent this lovely piece on WhatsApp, that talks about the pain Lord Buddha left behind for his family, when he renounced the world. This piece, which is attributed to Vikram Bhattacharya salutes Buddha's wife, Yashodhara and women in general! This is my tribute to womanhood...

He left her in the middle of the night, the night their son was born. When she heard the news she was devastated. Yet, she did not complain but her life lost all meaning. The only reason for her to live now was her son. She wanted him to grow up to be a man that the world would look up to.
Her friends and relatives came around and asked her to forget about the man who had left her and start life again.
They asked her to marry again but she refused. She was young and beautiful and suitors queued up outside her door, but she refused each one of them.
Then one fine day he came back !
He stood in front of her and she could hardly remember him as the man who had left her. “They call you the Buddha now?” she asked him gently.
“I hear they do,” he answered in a calm fashion.
“What does it mean?” she further inquired.
“I think it means the enlightened one, a knower,” he informed.
She smiled and then a silence.
“I suppose we have both learned something. Your lessons O Buddha, will make the world richer in spirit, but my lesson will unfortunately remain largely unknown.” she reflected deeply...
“And what lesson is that?” the Buddha probed.
Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, “That a courageous woman does not need anyone to complete her..... SHE IS COMPLETE ON HER OWN ”

I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always! -- Part XIV - An Evening Of Thanksgiving...

We're soon going to be completing 3 months in Songdo - these 3 months have been extremely trying but enriching at the same time. 

Most of the times, we have been pleasantly surprised by what lay ahead of us, just around the corner. And we have got to interact with people from all around the world - in a sense Songdo is a microcosm of the "shrinking world".

And then we were invited by our Peruvian-American friend to join him in celebrating the American festival of Thanksgiving. And we enthusiastically agreed - not only would we get accustomed to the festivities in the United States, but this would, in a sense, be our thanksgiving to Songdo, for not only surviving here but also for the intangible enriching experiences that we got here, in Korea, in the last 3 months...

My first introduction to the Thanksgiving celebrations happened as a kid - I was always a history buff. And I had a soft spot for American history - the migration from Europe to the New World, the American War of Independence, the Civil War leading up to modern United States. One of the books that my parents bought for me from a local bookshop was on the early settlers in New England - a Ladybird book called The Pilgrim's Progress!

The book explained the challenges the settlers faced in New England in the 1600s, described how they overcame the challenges and how they celebrated the their first harvest in the new land with a feast, shared with a local tribe - the Wampanoags. 

In short, the story goes as follows: English separatists or the Pilgrims, as they were called, who arrived at Plymouth Rock onboard the ship, Mayflower. The settlers did not have enough food to survive. The native Wampanoag tribe helped them adapt to the new environment and get settled. They gave the Pilgrims seeds and taught them how to fish. And after a particularly good harvest, the Pilgrims had a three-day feast, which they shared with the Wampanoag people. It is believed that the food served at this feast was all local produce - turkey with stuffing, seafood and fall vegetables like corn and squash. This was the origin of the modern Thanksgiving feast, which was formalised by Abraham Lincoln after the Civil War. 

Today, Thanksgiving is one of the biggest festivals in the United States, commemorating the fall harvest and kicking off the holiday season with a feast to acknowledge our gratitude for bounties of nature that all Americans can enjoy.

The bounties of fall with mandarins from Jeju...

And the good stuff - food. This lovely colourful salad was our contribution to the feast...

Cranberry sauce to go with the turkey...

Some more salad...

Dinner rolls...

The good stuff - roast turkey with crispy skin!

Creamed green beans...

Creamy mashed potatoes with dill...

Bright mandarins...

There goes the Thanksgiving trivia quiz...

And finally Nirvana - a delectable meal to celebrate our Thanksgiving to Korea for making us feel at home!

A Bollywood Evening In Seoul...

There is never a better place to witness the tremendous soft power that India enjoys than to see foreigners enjoy Indian cuisine or sway to Bollywood tunes. Yesterday, we were witness to this.

We headed to Seoul to attend the annual Indian Ball - a fundraiser held after Diwali that brings together Koreans, Indians and other expatriates to join in for the festivities.

The evening began with performances by artists to the tunes of Bollywood numbers...

The menu for the night...

The starters were quite tempting...

Witnessing the performances...

She claimed to have performed for the reality show, Bigg Boss, back home in India...

Getting the audience to shake a leg...

"Make In India" was the theme of the night - Prime Minister Modi's magic is infectiously all pervasive!

There is my lovely thali...

The Americans around us were enjoying the Bollywood overdose...

Luckily, an overdose of Bollywood doesn't kill...

Jalebi, rabdi with rose petals...

Now the audience gets to shake a leg...

It was particularly pleasing to see foreigners enjoying every bit of it...

And especially Koreans going beyond K-pop and enjoying Bollywood bhangra hits in traditional Hanbok attire (see the video at 00:27)!!!!

Indeed, India's soft power was in full flow...

The Magical Flame Of Diwali, In An Alien Land...

Today, it was our first Diwali in Korea, an alien land, that we have began calling home, for the next few years.

The contrast with India was vivid. Back home, everything comes to a standstill, a few days before Diwali. Markets are decked up, there is a frenzy to clean up homes, buy new clothes and prepare for the festival. 

It felt a little odd that there was no festivity here.And yes, it was a working day today. It was a bit depressing to get up early and head to office instead of preparing for the festival. Diwali messages from India really rubbed it in - I felt alone, really alone in an alien land, away from friends and family and the conviviality that comes alongwith a day like this... 

But it is Diwali, I just couldn't feel low. I pushed myself, adding a spring in each step and went about my day.

And in the evening, perked up by Neeti's chirpiness, we cooked up a delicious meal - stuffed capsicum and maa ki daal!

We did our puja, welcoming Goddess Lakshmi in our new abode in Songdo!

And lit up the magical flame of Diwali, ushering in a new beginning...

After lighting up home, it was time to have dinner and dessert - atte ka halwa that Neeti had made. Indeed that was the best halwa I had eaten in ages...

Then came the biggest fun-filled surprise - meeting local Indians for lighting up some fireworks, as we do back home in India. Indeed life is all about creating a home wherever one lives and building new relationships - that's the message the magical flame of our first Diwali in Korea brought us... 

Seoul-ful Moments...

After a heavy dose of emotions at the DMZ earlier today, we need to chill. Once we were back in Seoul, the crazy crowds, the frenetic pace of life uplifted our mood. 

We roamed around Myeongdong for an hour or so, feeling the pulse of Seoul every moment. It is in places like these that one can actually feel the spirit of the city. And Seoul has lots of it. It throbs, it pulsates with an indescribable energy - you can feel that in every step you take in Seoul. And that energy literally makes you "flow" through with ease. 

That is why I would rate Seoul very high amongst the Asian cities I have visited, in fact would rate it at the very top (tied with Mumbai), followed by Georgetown, Taipei, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Beijing, Singapore, Shanghai and the last Kuala Lumpur. In fact I have come around to love Seoul a lot. 

And there are those weird moments, in Seoul, like this one, where I had a tough time figuring out why the heck would the lady wear a dress saying "Sick And Tired"...

And there are some delightful surprises around the corner as we discovered tonight - we figured out that a restaurant in Hanamdong serves dosas. There we had to go, for a taste of home, a taste of South Indian cuisines that Neeti and I are so crazy about...

Indeed, this amazing meal made me love Seoul even more!