The Spicy Indian Blog

The Drive to La Crosse in the morning is a long one. It is also one of the most scenic drives that I have had to undertake till date. Driving along on the Interstate 90 this time of the year is like driving inside a picture postcard. The landscape is blanketed in snow, and radiates a stark, yet bright and unblemished beauty. Charming villages with happily snow covered roofs roll by. For a change, I can enjoy this beauty without fear of the moment passing away, as I know I will be back the next morning or the like. What makes this morning drive exquisite is the direction that I drive on the I-90 early in the morning. East. The Sunrise over such a wonderfully picturesque landscape is such a treat. Each morning when I start the drive after 6.30, I see a uniquely magnificent vista. Each day, the fresh cloud formations ensure I see a differently splendorous panorama. The sky splashes itself with joy at first hint that the sun is beginning its rise in a while. The glorious hues that the sky ...

Wish I was still having my morning visit to the Breakfast Table at the Bayerischer Hof. Its this table after all, which has successfully overthrown the four year old reign of the Homewood Suites Hilton Breakfast as my fav breakfast. Man...Was I impressed with the layout...! Even the start with the corn flakes was out of ordinary. The variety was so abundant that I could practically have something new everyday of my two week stay there. Every glistening flake inviting you to taste its lustrous crunch. Add milk and honey and you really are off to a sumptous start. The German Breakfast has a variety of Mueseli too, unlike the breakfasts in US. I feel Mueseli tastes better with some corn flakes added though. My favorite part of the breakfast were the mini croissants. I love croissants since my childhood, and their availibility on this breakfast table really sealed the decision for me, proclaiming it as the new champion for me :-) ... Maracujasaft or Maracuja juice has been a welcome taste ...

You are walking past a door for the last time... The click of the opening door handle, for once seems so conspicuous, and suddenly seems to trigger off a surge of feelings within you. You hold the door half-way; and look back at your place. Your chest seems to get clouded just as you turn. You try to gather as much of this place within your eyes, and hope that atleast the memories will stay forever as fresh as how you are looking at it now.And that you be willingly able to recall these in your mind anytime you wish to. While you are still reluctant to let go of the door, you wonder, if you did justice to this place when you were here; whether you did justice with the time that you spent here. You know that you are going to miss this place; if only for some time, but you will. As you decide to let go, you know its more than a door that you are letting close, its a chapter of your life that you are closing...Moving on to the next chapter with fresh hopes as well as new apprehensions, and...

I think I must say this aloud as I am quite happy about it... I recently carried out some car repairs myself. The left headlamp of my car had fused. And it had to be replaced. So instead of going to the technician to do this, I just bought the lamp from Kragen Auto Parts and changed it myself. Changing the front headlamp is not as straightforward as changing the taillight. However some reading and some dexterity and some common sense helped. Also, since 120K miles on my car had lapsed, I thought of changing the Air Filter too. Before I first carried out my relatively minor reparis to my car, I was indeed a bit apprehensive, this being completely uncharted territory for me. But the headlamp change bolstered my confidence, and I decided to carry out the Air Filter change too myself, as it seemed to be straightforward. The 'Do it Yourself' web sites like WikiHow.com etc. on the Net proved to be of good help in both cases. I would never have had to do this in India, and hence proba...

Heartfelt Remembrances and Tribute to my paternal GrandFather ("Nana"). It was indeed His discipline and efforts, and the Grace of God, which is the foundation of where all in the Kulkarni Family stand comfortably today. I had earlier written about Nana on this site itself. Click here to read about about him. Today is 17th July 2007 the Centenary of his Birth. He was born 17th July 1907. Nana, We will always remember You...

Posting my funny scribble regarding a not-so-funny Bee-Attack incident which I suffered in Bangalore more than 2 years ago. The email chain is self-explanatory...! :-) ... I think the email chain makes reading it all the more interesting. Hence posting it along with the poem. Hope you enjoy :-) ...Read this article, starting from the bottom... :-) ... -----Original Message----- From: Kulkarni Shailendra Sent: 03 February 2005 14:28 To: George Molina; Ferris Tamara; Bhavana; Sundar G Subject: Asta-la-Vista BeeBee Hi , I do not know if the editors are looking for this. Anyways, Here Goes... Asta-la-Vista BeeBee They Came In Droves, Wave After Wave, Before Each Strike I almost Heard Them Buzz Har Har Mahadev !!! Their Harakiris Were Not in Vain, B'cos I was Instantly in acute pain... ! My transition from an Innocuous Passerby To A Perceived Ill-Meaning Allied Spy, Took Me By Utter Nasty Surprise ; All that I could Hear Now, With the Mounting Sickening Buzz, Were My own Pathetic C...

It was the first year of my primary school. Was a day like any other. It was just past recess. I was back in the class after watching boys from my class play pakdapakdi (catch-n-cook). I remember D'Mello teacher had come into the class. She was a replacement for Gaekwad teacher, who had proceeded on long leave for some reason. I was quite fond of her, as were many boys of the class. She seemed to be very beautiful, and quite adorable, apparently contradictory to the quite strict Gaekwad teacher, who was our actual class teacher. There had been some incident. And I was paying good attention to the goings on, like all first standard boys do when the teacher is broaching some serious subject. SN had fractured his hand and the discussing was abouot how it happened, and who was responsible for it. Then PK stood up and said "It was Shailendra". This accusation struck me out of the blue; and I did not what to say, except for mumbling something like 'It was not me...". W...