When Food is your Constant- Matrimonial

A Foodie’s Matrimonial Ad

Arranged marriages are in full swing in India even today. Once someone hits and surpasses their Quarter Life Crisis, they are obligated to create matrimonial profile for a potential bride/groom, in the best interest of their parents. A typical matrimony profile is mostly about how well you can find someone compatible with your social class, profession, lifestyle and tastes and not just limiting to vital stats or good looks. Almost like a dating profile, but looking for something ‘serious’ and long term.

While matrimony profiles can be as genuine as possible or as fake as being perfect, this is just a starting point for ‘considering’ the person to be a prospective life partner. Well because there are a lot more factors to consider than just what they put up on their profile. In a world where there is a very thin line between reality and fantasy and the complex personalities people end up developing, it’s hard to gain consciousness of what we are and what we want, let alone what we are looking for in our partners. In such a world, if there is one constant that any foodie is sure of- no prizes for guessing! It has to be food!

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach  literally holds true for all food lovers. Here is a comical interpretation of how a matrimonial ad would look like on a matrimony platform for foodies. Because they are pretty sure of their constant and are aware that no matter how perfect the vital stats are, how pretty the face is, how easily they fall under their societal standards and how compatible they are, it all boils down to their constant- Food!! They are crystal clear on their agenda of expectations and rather focus on the ability of their potential partner to cook their favorite dish, rather than the religion they follow or the color of their skin.

Here is a true Biryani lover who would never get tired to cherish the aromatic amalgamation of flavors and seeks the same even on his matrimonial profile.

If only life was this simple- Boiling down to constants (food)! Sigh!

Daily Prompt– Constant

Evoked…Again!| Winter Musings

Every winter evokes a nostalgic state of mind which takes me back to 2014. For most part of my life I enjoyed winter, as all it meant was an opportunity to wear sweatshirts and of course the holidays! But my stint with a real, freezing white winter was experienced when I first landed in the United States. It was the month of December in 2013. My friend and I were nervous as much as excited while heading out from the airport. Though we had an idea of what to expect from a Midwestern winter based on our research during grad school applications, we weren’t really cold tolerant people.

As I stepped out, I noticed traces of snow here and there, but less than what I imagined. The chilly breeze through my hair was a feeling I would never forget, as it is still fresh in my mind after 4 good years! After all, that was my first feel of Nebraskan winter. Within few days, we had good amount of snow and just like many, I enjoyed my time with my first snow.

The honeymoon stage with my snow experience was over pretty soon and thus came the hard part. A 26- minute walk to my apartment every Tuesday and Thursday night after class was the toughest part of my masters program in the States. Yes, I wouldn’t ascribe my hardships in a foreign country to a hectic schedule, busy lifestyle, never ending assignments, homesickness or the tough coursework, but to a bone chilling torture of winter walking with heavy backpacks, freezing palms and feet that almost feel numb and dead by the time you reach home! Not to forget the foggy glasses as a result of my thermal face mask. All this in spite of wearing four layers of clothing with heavy jackets, gloves, beanie and boots!  The privilege of not having a car! But yes, it was HARD!!! Those moments were the only times I felt like running away, the time I missed home and family real bad.

The same scenes repeated each time we went walking to a nearby Walmart. Nothing is as close by as you think when you walk on a freezing winter evening with temperatures falling below -30 C, carrying tons of grocery bags! Phew! (in a cold way) I think most international students can relate to this if they lived in colder places. But it was definitely intense for someone who used to cuddle up in a fluffy blanket just for tropical winters!

I still have a love/hate relationship with winter, but amidst all my hatred for spine chilling cold winds, there was and is one thing I crave for- Sunshine! Yes, who would’ve thought I’d really crave for something so basic- like sun rays! To feel the warmth in a way I never felt all those years back home. It made me realize the need and existence of light and heat from sun.

Now, I’m glad to be in a position where I no longer need to walk miles for groceries or any place else on a winter evening, but winters do evoke my cravings for sunlight! They made me notice and acknowledge a blessing I never really cared about. No matter how much winter reminds of my hardships during my early encounters with it, it definitely made me grateful and reminds me to get out and get my daily dose of Vitamin D!

Daily Prompt– Evoke

Missing in Action- Blog Update

Hola!

Hope everyone is doing good! I don’t know if you noticed, but Aura with writing has been missing from your feed for many months. I haven’t posted anything for the second half of 2017, as I was completely involved and busy with an important life event taking place. I usually write when I can totally indulge in writing and not just for the heck of it. As a result I end up vanishing for months! The end of year always reminds me of my progress/ regress with respect to writing and blogging, as every new year marks the anniversary of this blog.

I started Aura with writing in January 2016 with a budding interest in writing and art. Though I did not make much progress with blogging as I wish to in the last two years, my hope to continue to get better never seems to die. No matter how many times I vanish and get away from writing due to circumstances, I always yearn to get back and learn. Now here I am, yet again, writing reflections for the year on the last day of 2017! (At least in my time zone!)

My 2017 in a nutshell:

The year started off with fresh enthusiasm and promises to keep writing no matter what! Well, I did stick to it for the initial few months and wanted to even after the hectic AtoZ Challenge! But well, it wasn’t easy for me to get into my Zen zone of writing meaningful content when a lot was going on.

Most of my 2017 was stressful both personally and professionally, but ended on a very high note with some unforgettable life events and moments I will always be grateful for! As always I learned few life lessons and this time it wasn’t the hard way! Not because life was easy, but because my perception slowly started shifting for good.

I noticed a lot of improvement in my way of looking at things and people and have made progress in my journey of optimism. All these will definitely reflect in my writings in the future. After a debacle for two years, I realized I shouldn’t be making any promises on being regular on the blog, but hey! Old habits die hard and I’m definitely no quitter!

I was an avid reader as a child and was always engrossed in books. But as I grew older, my reading has declined significantly with 0 being the count for the past 4 years! This very fact makes me feel ashamed and uncomfortable as much as it reminds me of my time I wasted with unnecessary browsing and internet.

My wishlist for 2018:

In 2018, I wish to get back to my old habit of reading, apart from writing. I’m challenging myself to read 30 books in the new year. I do think the number is high for someone who lost the habit of reading, but my over ambitious book count should motivate me enough to get through at-least half of them. As far as the blog goes, I want to update at least twice a month. Not making any promises, but nothing wrong in trying, right? I’m also looking forward to make some major lifestyle changes, one at a time at my own pace. Eagerly waiting to write about them if I’m successful at getting habituated to at least one from my check list. Signing off hoping for an exciting 2018!

Happy new and prosperous 2018! May this year be better and brighter than ever! 😊

She is Fierce

Some fear the fire. Some simply become it!

To create this doodle, I used micron tip sakura pen and copic markers. Copic markers are a recently discovery and I’m still learning to use them the right way. Though this isn’t flawless, it is something new that I tried.

Look Out the Window

I’m excited to share that I’ll be starting this new series on the blog called the Doodling Series. Art and doodles are like my long lost companions. Though writing is something I’ve been doing for the past few years, art has always been my first love. After ignoring my love for doodling and painting for over two decades, I finally decided to get back and try my hand at them. My recent posts on zentangle were the outcomes of this effort. Now with the doodling series, I intent to attain the motivation to draw, sketch or doodle. Though these doodles won’t be flawless, my intention is to observe the improvement or betterment as I move forward with the series.

I shall continue to write, but posting a doodle once in a while on the blog wouldn’t cause harm I feel 🙂

Look out the window

Growing up has lesser perks to life than we expect as a child. As a kid, we crave to grow up faster to escape the hassles of NOT being an adult. But only when we get to adulthood do we realize how ignorant we really were as a kid! Life and its experiences teach us many things, but at the same time, we tend to lose some of the most valuable sensibilities we had as a child. Few among them are the wonder, curiosity and the ability to wish and dream.