Perky the Duck - Fascinating story

I have been following this story the last few days and am just fascinated by the survival of this duck!

A duck that survived being shot and spending two days in a refrigerator has now overcome major surgery - despite briefly dying on the operating table.

Unbelievable story. Please check it for yourself

Friday Photo - Whistler, Vancouver Canada

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Photographer - Bin Lin Shu, Vancouver, Canada
Camera - Nikon D100
Lens - Tokina 20-35mm.
Shutter speed - 2.5 secs.
Aperture - F20

Show me the money !

பணம் வந்திட பத்தும் பறந்து போம் !

கேள்விகள் பல இருப்பினும், ஐயா முதலமைச்சரே..உமது ராஜதந்திரத்தை வெல்ல, யாரால் முடியும்?

Photo Courtesy: The Hindu

Sunday Recipe - South Indian Side Dish

This is my Mother's recipe. I made this yesterday and my family loved it. This goes well with rice.

தாளகக் கொழம்பு

ThaaLaga kozhambu

Ingredients

1/2 Golf Ball size Tamarind (புளி)

1/2 cup Toor Dhal ( துவரம் பருப்பு )

1/2 cup Grated Coconut ( துருவின தேங்காய் )
2 Teaspoon Oil ( எண்ணை)
1 Teaspoon Sesame seeds ( எள்ளு )

1 Teaspoon white rice ( வெள்ளை அரிசி )

6 Red chillies ( காய்ந்த மிளகாய் )

Pinch of Turmeric ( மஞ்சள் பொடி )

Salt ( உப்பு )

Vegetables (sliced)

2 Indian bringal / eggplant ( கத்தரிக்காய் )

1 Potato ( உருளை கிழங்கு )

1/4 Small Yellow Squash ( மஞ்சள் பூஷினிக்காய் )

5 Lady's finger/Okra ( வெண்டைக்காய் )

5/6 small pieces Indian Yam ( சேனை )

5/6 small pieces drum stick ( முருங்கைக்காய் )

1 carrot ( கேரட் )

Preparation

Soak Tamarind in water and make a puree

Throw all vegetables into a pan

Add Tamarind puree,water, salt and Turmeric Powder

Let it boil until veggies are cooked

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Heat oil, add Toor Dhal, sesame seeds, rice, chillies and roast them.

Remove and set aside

Roast the coconut in the same vessel used above until the coconut turns brown

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Grind the Dhal, sesame,rice and chillies ( let it be a little coarse )

Add Coconut and grind again

Add the paste to the boiled veggies and let them all boil together for 15 minutes

Check consistency. If it is too thick add water

If it is too watery add 1/2 Tsp of Rice flour mixed in a little water.

Check taste, add salt if required

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Friday Photo - Dream Home

Travelogue - Trip to India - Part I

( Photos above: Kuala Lumpur International Airport)

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It was a Friday evening. I left early from work to reach SFO airport and ended up reaching too early. Had a nice snack and waited for my flight to LAX. Reached LAX around 8.00 PM and I have to mention here that LAX sucks big time. I had to ask several people how to reach the International terminal. There were all kinds of buses like 'A', 'B','C' etc. I noticed several people like me asking for directions.

Checked-in and lucky for me since I had already checked my boxes to Chennai from SFO they let me in a special line. Check-in was over in 5 minutes. Then like a fool I went thru security ( P in the A) and got to the gates immediately. Only then did I realize that LAX didn't have restaurants / food court near the gate. Cursing LAX, I waited for my Malaysian Airlines flight.

My flight took off at 11.30 PM and I had good food for dinner. Very courteous crew indeed. I got a bulkhead seat and that gave me a lot of leg room. Took some Melatonin and went to sleep. And boy..did it work like magic. Arrived at Taipei the next day ( 14 hour flight crossing the International date line). I must say that I was very impressed at Taipei International airport.

One hour layover and took off and landed in KL International airport around 11.30. Wow..What an airport. Tooooo...big and beautiful but deserted !

Rested at the paid lounge with some super comforts like a chair massage, oxygen therapy and buffet food ( Free alcohol, though..I didn't drink). Walked around KL airport, called fellow Blogger Visithra who was surprised. Sweet girl I must say. She apologized for not being able to meet me ! ( I thanked Blogger for such friends ).

Finally boarded my Malaysian Airlines flight to Chennai. Reached around 10.00 PM Sunday night and got out of the plane.

Oh god..I was shocked! The arrival area was like walking into General Hospital in Chennai. Shame on the Government I thought. We brag about IT, growth, GDP etc. Yet. the arrival area at Chennai International Airport looks like a Hospital ! The guys who designed and built it had absolutely zero aesthetic sense ...IDIOTS. ( I later found out that the Departure areas were a lot better).

I walked out to the warm smiles of my mother and my best friend Shankar.

Racial Remarks

I felt bad/sad about the racial remarks against Ms.Shilpa Shetty. I condemn it and I hope such incidents don't happen again.

Then, while I was browsing, I found this interesting topic in Indian Express.

This is what I wrote, about a incident that happened to me.

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Place - Palika Bazaar, New Delhi

What happened - I was called 'Saala Madarasi' when I mentioned that I didn't know Hindi !

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Happy Pongal

I've been wanting to write for the last few weeks. Time and patience stood inbetween me and my blog. Finally found the will to write today.

Today being PONGAL I thought I'll start writing again.

• India trip was a blast.
• Had a great time with my parents, relatives and friends.
• Met a lot of bloggers including a few members of the Blogswara team.
• I did something very good for myself and my family. Thanks to Pradip and some of my friends, I joined the ART OF LIVING course. Never realized it would help me so much. I enjoy doing the exercises. Maybe it will be a turning point in my life. Only time will tell !

I'll write in detail about my India trip this week.

Until then, 'Happy Pongal' !