I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh, cruel, world. And I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go. – Kazuo Ishiguro
I saw a fellow photographer displaying his photograph which concentrated on the aspect of lack of focus and that stirred a weird emotion inside me. The very thought provoked me to write this piece. Everyday I wake up, perform my daily chores and then sit down with a glass of milk and watch my fishes play in the water. The thoughts in my mind run wild and I try to concentrate on one stable thought but the mind is running wild. Few years back when we reluctantly wandered into ‘The Smoke‘ relinquishing a life of extreme order and rush. We found peace in our little do-nothings, from sleeping languorous in our beds to elaborate breakfasts, along with lengthy discussions on paranormal topics of life. Life has ever been so out of focus. This aspect of lack of focus procrastinating the existing dogma of chasing a goal is paradoxical. The willingness to focus doesn’t mandate a target but rather a desire to focus. I for that matter lost that desire. That I assume has been the very kernel of my new self. I started reaching to people outside my professional circle, writing proses and getting time to express my thoughts and clicking photographs for channelising my negative thoughts. I embraced life better in my current state of hallucinations and unknowingly touched a chord with so many strange souls.
But each time I turn myself to the world of digital distractions I lead myself into this mysterious labyrinth with no right answers. Each one of us is surrounded by a Smorgasbord of technologies. A simple exercise of reading a book is now broken into minuscule breaks where the focus is redirected to the Whtsapp chat groups and notifications from various platforms. The brain is no longer stimulated by one task at a time its needs to multitask to keep itself alert. It needs to let the world know of its current location, its boosts self-esteem gathered from the likes of friends and foes, a realm of thoughts exchanged on varied topics ranging from politics of the world to the hassles of a girl friday. A reckless share of your bedroom talk and your whimsical heart, a narcissistic boast of 300 odd photographs and a constant lingering fear to be in the good books of the mass. Focus my friend is just so passé !
We think a little less about us and more of the world around us. These sentiments were not written for others but a mirror of the turmoil inside me. A person who is already a nomad is now pulled into this vortex of noise and bewilderment.
The latest trend about being human is inactive opinions. Everyone is polarised, we don’t need to have a active role in social betterment but we need to have an opinion etched on our wall. For those who write less will have ample amount of forwards to make a point. This in a way has made the world more radicalised and segmented.
At times I am that little girl from the pages of Kazoo Ishiguro who is desperately trying to hold onto to something that was old and dated and yet she knows deep within that the current world would overwhelm her and only ashes would remain in her tiny hands.
Squash Koftas
I can feel the clash between the cold winter and the windy autumn. The roads are covered with fallen leaves while the frost coats the window-sheilds. The heart yearns for something warm. Its time for soups, broths and hot chocolates. The winter squash is available abundantly. I picked up some Ambercup Squash which resembles a small pumpkin with orange skin. It has a sweet taste. I love roasting it and adding it to dishes. Great texture with no stringyness, is a sweet mild flavor, and is a gorgeous colour. It has an extraordinarily long storage life. Last year I made some lovely Squash kebabs.
- 1 small Ambercup Squash, peeled and shredded
- 1 tsp pink peppercorns crushed
- 2 tbsp gram flour
- 1 tsp carom seeds
- 1+1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds powder
- 1 tsp coriander seeds powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
- Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. This will be needed for frying.
- In a bowl mix the shredded squash, crushed pink peppercorns, gram flour, turmeric and red chilli powder, carom seeds, salt to taste.Do not add water as the moisture from the squash should be enough to combine into a thick mixture.Incase it doesn’t bind then add 2-3 tsp of water for binding the mixture.
- Use a ice cream scoop to shape them into balls and pop them into the hit oil. Fry them evenly on all sides over medium heat. The koftas should be throughly cooked. They have a uniform brown colour.Do not fry them on high heat as we want them to be throughly cooked inside and out.
- They are ready to be served as is with chutney or ketchup.
- Otherwise, lets proceed to the next step of preparing the gravy.
- In a skillet, add 1 tbsp of oil. Then add your onions for frying until translucent.
- Then add your tomatoes for frying along with the onions. At this stage add 1 tsp of salt and turmeric, red chilli powder. This will quickly cook the tomatoes into a pulp.
- Then add your ground masalas like cumin, coriander powder. Then fry till the oil separates.
- Then add 11/2 cups of water and make a thick gravy. Add your fried koftas and sprinkle garam masala on top. Give it a quick simmer.
- Then the Koftas are going to absorb the moisture from the gravy and become plump.
- They are ready to be served hot over piping hot rice or with hot rotis.
“A reckless share of your bedroom talk and your whimsical heart, a narcissistic boast of 300 odd photographs and a constant lingering fear to be in the good books of the mass. Focus my friend is just so passé ! ” – Spot on! Couldn’t agree more!
About the Koftas: so unheard-of! So dying to try ASAP!
How I adore those out-of-the-box pictures!
A 10/10 post, my darl. Hope life is treating you nice and kind. Hope you’re taking good care of yourself. Hugs.
Wowww Just! Beautiful and gorgeous pics! loved both the recipe and the write up!
Your write up always jitters my innerself.You are a gifted writer my friend👌.As quoted by one of my friends “if you are not on social media you don’t exist.” Such is the reality of the current situation and knowingly or unknowingly we are the victims. Coming to the recipe never heard of this squash .hope to try it .😊