Friday, July 29, 2011

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: A Delicious Mutton Curry - KORMA MADE SIMPLE

A simple recipe for a delicious dish - just click the link below and read on my blog

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: A Delicious Mutton Curry - KORMA MADE SIMPLE:

"MUTTON KORMA MADE SIMPLE A Delicious Mutton Curry to warm you up on those cold damp rainy days By VIKRAM KARVE Long back, in the late 1..."

Sunday, May 15, 2011

MAKEOVER


MAKEOVER

The Beauty Trap
Cosmetic Engineering
Food for Thought and Implementation
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Are you happy with yourself as you are?

Think about it - close your eyes, reflect, and think about all aspects of your entire self - your body, your personality, your physical appearance, your mental faculties, your social graces, your talent and your soft skills.

Are you jealous of others? Especially, do you envy those who you think are "better" or "smarter" than you?

Do you crave to be like them and yearn to acquire all their qualities?

Are you obsessed with the quest for perfection?

Are you desperate for a "makeover" and trying all sorts of things in order to "improve" yourself - beauty parlours, gyms, personality "development", finishing schools, dance classes - anything and everything to change your personality in the desperate quest to become someone else.

Why are you not happy with yourself as you are?

If you are not happy with yourself as you are, then you must read this story:

Once there lived a Goat – an ordinary looking goat - who lived wild and free in the mountains.

One day while grazing in the forest, the goat saw a Giraffe, and the goat said to himself, “I wish my neck was as long as the giraffe.”

Lo and Behold!

The goat’s neck suddenly became as long as the giraffe’s.

Delighted, that he could now see far and wide, the goat saw an eagle flying high in the sky.

“I wish I had wings like that eagle,” wished the goat... and instantaneously, wings appeared on the goat’s body.

Thrilled, the goat flapped its newly acquired wings, when he suddenly he spotted a tortoise.

The goat admired the beautiful hard shell of the tortoise, and said to himself, “I wish I had a strong hard invincible body like the shell of the tortoise,” and instantly his wish was granted – the goat’s back turned into the shell of a tortoise.

The goat felt ecstatic and impregnable, till he suddenly saw a Cheetah speeding across the horizon running at high speed.

“I wish I had legs like the Cheetah,” the goat wished, and miracle of miracles, the goat’s legs immediately became like the Cheetah.

Now the goat was truly overjoyed, on cloud nine, till he saw the enchanting sight of a beautiful peacock with majestic feathers dancing magnificently.

“I wish I had gorgeous feathers like the peacock,” he wished, and in a jiffy the goat’s wish was granted, and the goat now had dazzling copious plume of colourful feathers.

Adorned with the neck of the giraffe, the wings of the eagle, the shell of the tortoise, the legs of the Cheetah and the feathers of the peacock, the Goat felt jubilant, supreme, regal, on top of the world, and strutted around grandiosely in majestic pride.

A Hunter passing by suddenly saw this unique stunning creature and he marvelled for a moment as he couldn’t believe his eyes.

The hunter stared in fascination and gawked enthralled and was mesmerized at the bizarre and fascinating creature he had never seen before.

After looking spellbound at the fantastic “Goat” for some time, the hunter recovered his wits and decided to capture this exotic priceless gem.

So the hunter cast his net, caught the “Goat” and sold this amazing “never-seen-before” and “one-of-its-kind” exclusive creature at an astronomical price to the zoo.

Large crowds gathered at the zoo, and everyone gaped in awe at this astonishingly exotic creature, fascinated by the awesome sight.

The exotic “Goat” spent the rest of its life in captivity locked up in a cage, weeping and crying, and he wondered why even those other ordinary goats, his erstwhile fellow brethren, who were wandering about freely and unnoticed in the zoo gardens, did not recognize him.


This apocryphal story, a parable, highlights the dangers of trying to be everything and exemplifies the ramifications of ensnaring yourself into the Beauty Trap of your own making.

Dear Reader, tell me, isn’t it better to accept ourselves as we are rather than chase elusive dreams of “perfect beauty”?

Why is it that we are not happy with ourselves as we are?

These days everybody wants to be “perfect” in all aspects, physically and intellectually.

Everyone wants to have a “picture perfect” body, a shapely figure “perfectly sculpted” in all dimensions, and look “perfectly beautiful”, and have a flawless complexion, and be absolutely “perfect”, and to achieve this goal some are ready to do all sorts of things, exoteric, even esoteric, maybe even go under the scalpel.

Even spiritually, you are constantly chasing elusive dreams of happiness and enlightenment, becoming a "seeker", trying to "improve" yourself, when the key to self enlightenment is inside you, waiting for you to look inwards and discover for yourself.

Why are we are not satisfied with ourselves as we are?

Why do we want to have all possible qualities and attributes, intellectual and physical?

Why do we try to "fake it" and try to wear a mask of pretence and develop "social graces" that are in conflict with our inner nature and basic personality?

Why are we obsessed with the quest for perfection?

Whenever you don't feel happy about yourself, as you are, and get obsessed with "improving" yourself, remember the story of the Goat who tried to be everything and lost his own identity and, most importantly, lost his freedom.
It is always best to be happy with your own unique identity, albeit not so perfect, rather than try to be everything and in the quest for perfection lose your own identity.


VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Did you like this story?
I am sure you will like the 27 stories in COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures(2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Fiction Short Stories Book

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

CTO VADA PAV - MOUTHWATERING MUMBAI MEMORIES

CTO VADA PAV - MOUTHWATERING MUMBAI MEMORIES

EATING OUT IN MUMBAI
MOUTHWATERING MUMBAI MEMORIES
CTO VADA PAV
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Vada Pav (or Wada Paw, if you want to spell it that way) is my favourite Fast Food. It is affordable and fulfilling. In fact Vada Pav is the ultimate Indian Fast Food - what a Burger is to America the Vada Pav is to India.
I have a Vada Pav almost every day and have relished Vada Pav at countless places, and though it’s been a long time, I still have fond mouthwatering memories of my all time favourite Vada Pav – the inimitable CTO Vada Pav at Ashok Satam’s stall on the Hutatma Chowk (Flora Fountain) side of the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) in Mumbai which I enjoyed every afternoon on my way back home from office or during my evening stroll.
The Vada is served freshly fried piping hot and is crisp and crunchy on the outside. Thats how a good Vada should be from the outside – nice and crisp, not soft and soggy like most of the fare dished out elsewhere.
The moment you bite the sharp zesty effect of the spices and greens hits you there is an abundance of tangy greens in the tasty fusion inside: green chillies, coriander, curry patta, ginger-garlic.
Don’t chew, just roll your tongue and press the hot stuff against your palate and let it dissolve. You will feel stimulated for sure!
The Vada is not only mouth watering, it may be nose-watering too if you have a delicate tongue. So might as well put the vada in a pav and savour the CTO Vada Pav gazing at the Hutatma Memorial, the Fountain and nice pretty faces in the crowd rushing by, to and from Churchgate, CSTM and the bus stops.
I wonder whether the CTO Vada Pav Stall still exists and if the Vada still as zesty and delicious as it was. Will some Foodie Vada Pav aficionado Mumbaikar let us know.
Meanwhile, can anyone tell me where I can enjoy a good Vada Pav in Pune? I have tasted many batata vadas in Pune, even the famed Joshi, Diwadkar, Rohit et al, also during intervals while watching plays at Balgandharva etc, not to forget the ones at Karjat Railway Station too, and found them quite soggy and insipid compared to the Ashok Satam’s crisp, zesty and stimulating Vada near CTO in Mumbai.
VIKRAM KARVE
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book APPETITE FOR A STROLL and his book of Short Fiction is being published soon. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:
http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve:
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.