Elixir of life

The beauty in Malaysia,
like that of a bride.
The smells scattered like whorls on her visage,
the exhalation when she sighed.


Stopping by the farms,
growing rich red strawberry.
Dazzled by the smell,
like a heaven-struck fairy.


The poignance of that moment,
still afresh in my mind.
Blogging about it,
is anything but a grind.


Like iron to a magnet,
I was stuck to the smell
So sensuous the scape was
that I just had to dwell.


The smells throughout the travels,
eclectic and natural and aromatic 
Of petals, breeze and grass,
makes your heart acrobatic.


The terracotta mountains, 
turquoise waters around
The natural beauty served,
Knows no bound.

Dancing like a lunatic, 
the brain dispels misery
Like a pauper's resplendence,
when he comes across a treasury.

The effulgent sunshine gels,
the hibiscus and lavender.
The moist air fuses the smells
so subtle and sombre.

The dash of cool breeze,
coming from the sea.
The zen of the flora,
setting you free


A point on earth
where the yin-yan meet
A kernel of heaven,
where divine scents greet.

 
The poet awakens within you,
inspirations galore in kind.
The nostrils are spoilt for choice
as the soul engulfs the mind.




The picturesque gardens,
the hypnotic highland.
Malaysia is a vibrant flower,
in the world of garland.




The meditative environs,
you absorb all the vibes.
These are the days you yearn for,
the days on which live thrives.





So evocative were these travels,
like entering paradise via slide
The inhalation of scents felt,
like cryptic eyes of a bride.

This entry has been written exclusively for "Inspire a fragrance" Contest conducted by Godrej and powered by Indiblogger. The objective is to inspire with your evocative travel experience to help create the first crowd-inspired fragrances for Godrej aer. For more info regarding the same, visit godrejaer.com.

Culinary treasures with Borosil

Food is a genre that I don't resonate with and when it comes to blogging about food/cuisine, this is my debut. Before I begin my sojourn, I would like to thank IndiB and Borosil for bringing out ideas that force you out of your comfort zone and broaden your range.

I'm a hardcore North Indian punjabi and as any punjabi who thrives this planet, am extremely proud of the legendary cuisine my region possesses. The cuisine is renowned all over the world with people from England to Australia swearing by dishes like Tandoori Chicken, Dal Makhni and Sarson ka Saag.
Today, i would be sharing a dessert that is also a Punjabi speciality and was pioneered by my ancestors but is popular all over India and is one of the signature dishes.The dish, my dear readers, is called Gajar ka Halwa. [For the non-Indian readers, it's a sugar carmelized carrot pudding]

A delight during winters in India, this delectable dish has attained legendary status in the North-Indian lexicon. Every dadi, nani and mom has their own equally successful version of this ubiquitous dessert but I'd like to share mine, with inputs from my mother. Hope you'd try it!

Ingredients
2 cups thickly grated carrot
1 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp milk
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp mava (khoya){optional}
1 tbsp raisins (kismis)
1 tbsp chopped almonds (badam)
1/2 tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder

Serves 4

Cooking time- 30 minutes

All set. Good to go.

Method

1.Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker; add the carrots and sauté on a medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes, while stirring continuously.

2.Add the milk, mix well and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

3.Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.

4.Transfer into a broad Borosil non-stick pan, add the sugar, mix well and cook on a high flame for 5 to 7 minutes, while stirring continuously.

5.Add the mava, mix well and cook for more 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.

6.Add the raisins, almonds and cardamom powder and cook for another 1 minute.

7.Serve hot or warm in a Borosil large bowl

Here, I have used milk to cook the carrots instead of the traditional khoya. The texture is creamier and the smell is aromatic. A mesmerizing dessert ready in minutes. As Nigella Lawson would have said, "It's my idea of perfect comfort food".




This confectionary has been created as per Borosil's order My beautiful food, powered by Indiblogger. Do browse through Borosil official site to purchase amazing kitchen ware and dishes.

Burp

Fashion at a click!

The marvel social media has become in today's world, makes us feel astonished about the limits to which it can outreach. But when you combine the power of this ubiquitous tool with the creative insight of a fashion powerhouse like Jabong, bazinga...you get an online fashion week.





India's largest online shopping haven, Jabong.com brings India online fashion week. With the aim to make the greatest designs, fabrics, labels more accessible to the common denizens, this initiative by Jabong has been lauded on apparently every media platform. India Online fashion week (IOFW) will be the world's first shop-able fashion fiesta. Not exclusively meant for fashion freaks, this grand event opens up exciting avenues for aspiring models, designers and creative personalities from various fields to showcase their talent and get recognition.


IOFW invites you to participate as a model, which is as easy as uploading your portfolio on their website and if you're lucky enough to skim through, you could have a highly credible launchpad. Apart from that, Jabong also has enough in store for budding designers and stylists who will get an awesome opportunity to mingle with industry experts and get mentored. This opportunity will provide them with excellent insight into the high-end fashion industry as well as provide a platform for networking. True to the adage- "Jabong for fashion and fashion for Jabong", IOFW also provides enough avenues for fashion photographers, dextrous make-up artists and hair stylists too.
Launching on 12th July, 2014, IOFW promises to be a magnum opus for online fashion in India and I personally am  sanguine about its unprecedented success. This radical step to be a true online shopping destination by giving lipsmacking opportunity to the online shopper as well as fashion, fraternity will certainly go a long way in certifying India as an online fashion giant.

Fingers crossed in anticipation.....



This post has been written for the India Online Fashion Week Fantastic Blogger competition. Visit www.iofw.com to know more