Song of A Phoenix

My Dear Little Girl,

How are you ? It has been a long time since we have spoken to each other.  It has been more than ten long years of that December morning, a whole decade !!! when we made a promise to ourselves. I know, how much you exactly  remember every thing about that cold yet sunny morning. Right now, when I am writing this letter to you, I know, you are going through a tough phase of life. That is the reason, I am here to remind you something from the past , from that glorious and colorful past which you might be forgetting or perhaps, have lost belief on your own words.

The day and that moment  is still alive in my memories. Darling, in all those years, you have grown up in a beautiful, confident and mature woman; you have come across a long journey. You have crossed the oceans and treaded upon the  most stony and thorny paths. Sweetheart, your journey is a worth telling story of  struggle and hardships. Dreams, that you nurtured in your heart with the blood of your soul, however couldn't be fulfilled completely, still you managed to achieved some of them.  

Flames of passion, ambition and aspiration ... Flames of hopes and desires ... To become an IAS officer. How easy does it sounds.. No ?? Yes, it was easy; It was hell easy to fall in love with just the thought of becoming an IAS and enjoying all that position, status, powers and of course monetary gains that will come along with that lucrative post.     And you loved this dream from the depth of your heart and from the core of your soul.

Was it that easy ? especially, when you come from a small and traditional town. You dared to challenge all the barriers of society that draw the lines for second gender and expect them to be satisfied with whatever options and choices given to them. It was the rage of those hundred and thousand flames that you denied to get married with less educated men, becoming a housewife and to give up the  ambition of becoming an IAS. You decided to go to new Delhi for further coaching and study. The very first girl of your prestigious family who went out of city for STUDIES. People warned you about crossing the "right age" of marriage and producing children and if not then being left to rot like an old sprinter; yet you did not moved even a single inch from your decision. That was the power of those burning flames in your heart that nobody could stand in front of your aspirations.

My dear, how on earth could  anyone  have imagine that this meek, shy, not so out spoken girl  who can't even manage the  "Simple Social Talks"; who have not seen the WORLD out of her cozy and safe home, can take such bold and strong decision. However, your parents knew that their little girl can not only take this decision but will also carry it with all her might. 

Why am I calling you little girl !!! you were not that much little at the time of  those big decisions. But, do I not know that your inner self is of a little girl; giggling, chirping and living in your own castles of  dreams. Soul of a little girl, hidden in the body of  an adult woman; this is how you appear in front of the world.

I know, you do not want to recall all those bitter memories of day to day struggles and troubles, your ailments due to the tough routine and harsh weather of Delhi etc. The cycle of life has once again brought you on such a  juncture when you are feeling depressed and lost. The Physical ailments has given you sufficient reasons to cry for better sunny days of life. But remember your own words, that you spoke on that December Morning, " This is the bottom line of My Life. I can't go down any further. Now I have to rise upwards only. There is one way only and that Way goes Upwards straight."  Do you remember your own words, "I am the phoenix who will rise from it's own ashes." Only you could have said such words in those  tough times.

And you Rose up, you shone like a morning star; Yes My girl that was you, who wrote the IAS mains just after three days of a finger surgery (right hand index finger). Do you remember those Bloody Words of doctors who once declared that you need to consult a psychologist and all that bla bla bla... 

It was you, who proved all those people wrong, who said, "Ahh, SHE!!!! she is looking like an old woman with white hair and wrinkles on her face, what she will do now. how her parents are going to find a good match for her ?" 

They were all wrong. You prove them wrong. Your selection in State Administration Services and the Degree of NET gave them a befitted reply.  And even before that,  before this Tag of Officer and all that decorum, you found a hidden talent of yourself. A talent or say a quality that might have remained hidden inside the pages of your personal diary, bloomed up in a shape of Two Blogs. Yes !!!, Two Blogs . From My Desk and Life With Pen And Papers.  "From my desk" was a tiny step into the world of blogging, a window of your thoughts, imaginations and fantasia. This blog gave a voice to all your pain, tears, sadness and whatever feelings that had shattered you in different ways after the failure in IAS. Little girl, your first ever story  "Yatra" was uploaded on this blog. However, this blog was not just for literary work; you wrote various informative articles about different social economic issues on this blog. And then, you realized that writing stories, fictions, book reviews and personal experiences is something that you enjoy the most rather than the academic work. Hence, this  current blog "Life with Pen & Papers" came into existence. A journey of your literary work, no matter how small or less impressive it was;  all that mattered is, It was a world of your creations, a place that gave a platform for everything that you wished to showcased, be it writing or photography or participating in online contests. A warm place woven with the the emotions, thoughts, fantasies and impulses of your soul. 

This blogging and writing helped a lot; right ?? it gave a new recognition and new level of energy  to the name and person who was still going through the struggle phase in her career. It not just only diverted your negative energy into a positive mode but also rekindle all those little hundred and thousand flames that got diminish due to the infelicities of life. Those flames and their combined energy gave new wings to the phoenix who was slowly slowly rising from it's own ashes. The sparkle and heat of flames that grew more and more fierce with each post that you wrote on blog. And, remember, when you wrote your story of struggle of those years in two parts, titled; Koyaliya Mat Kar Pukar !!! There were mixed reactions; some of your so called well wisher Friends took it as a publicity gimmick or sympathy gaining idea in virtual world. Some others said that writing all this stuff wasn't necessary and maybe the things have been presented in exaggerative manner.

However, that was not the case. You wrote that story because it helped to clean out and wash out all that pain, depression and storms of defeats that were being piled up in your heart from a long time.It was like venting out all your emotions in one go !!!!! moreover, no matter what others said, it took courage to write down all those emotions and cycle of events that you have gone through. It took a hell lot of courage to tell your story to the world; to unfold the pages of personal life... to scratch the wounds again that were healed up. It was a journey to your inner self. 

Right now, when I am reminding you all these things, something from the past is trying to make a come back in our collective memories.  That Greeting Card !!!!, do you remember it ???, What was most appalling about that simple card ? Inside empty, just a scenery of mountains and a lake !!!! or was that the quote, printed at the bottom of the card which immediately caught your attention. Climb High Climb Far, Your Goal The Sky, Your Aim The Stars  without any second thought, you picked up the card and bought it.... bought it for  A Day that you imagined will come in Near future. You decided that one day when you will achieve your goal of becoming an IAS and the day when your Dreams will Come True; you will give this card to yourself; a kind of award or medal or whatever one may call it. In your heart, you knew that such a lovely gift is a worth to wait for. 

The inner side of the card is blank and you kept the blank space untouched for THAT Special Day. However, as the time passed by, this card got disappeared from your memory or the tough struggle of career and life forced you to forget this card. in both cases, darling ! it is the right time to pick this card again and write something in it and present it to yourself, as it was promised  a long ago..... There is never too late for anything.. And It is the perfect time to realize your own worth.... Be proud on what you have achieved in past years and Be Proud on all those wounds, the harsh experiences of life gave you. 

Once Again My Dear Girl, Roar Like a Tigress, Emerge from the Flames of fire pit. Remember, the proud words of your Mother when she said, "What other people's Sons could not do; My daughter has done that."  Let not her words get ruined by the harshness of life.. Little Girl, Do not let the splendour of those hundred flames get  diminish because these flames are the representatives of your own soul, your very existence, your personality, what you have become and how you wished to be recognized and remembered by the rest of the world. 

Your's Only,
 A little flame of your strong will.

This blog post has been written for the #AHundredLittleFlames contest at the platform of indiblogger.  The title of this book drove me to pen down my feelings about life and it's ups and downs. 

Image Courtesy : 1. The Lion Image and the Phoenix is from google.

                             2. The Greeting Card Pics are from my personal collection of greeting cards and not taken from internet. 

Sindhi Sai Bhaji with Methi Parantha : An Iron Saga

The color of blood, the color of life, the color of energy... Red. 

How iron deficiency can create troubles for us ?  Ever thought about it or faced it ? Most people think that it is just a matter of malnutrition and not eating properly. Is that all fuzz ??? No, the answer is a clear No. It is not that simple. 

If our body is going through an iron deficiency problem, then first we need to find out the exact reason for that. Are we not eating iron rich food or our daily diet does not contain enough natural iron resources like green leafy vegetables, fruits like apple and pomegranate, beetroots, grains like oats, etc. ?  or the body is losing blood!!!  in case of women, losing blood is one of the major cause for Iron deficiency.  It could be heavy menstrual bleeding and Fibroid that drain blood from our body almost every month.

I myself is a victim of this problem; not just iron deficiency but low hemoglobin problem as well as. It has been two three years since I was diagnosed with a fibroid. Fibroid is like an open wound that can keep flowing for 24 to 48 hours during your menstrual cycle and will also create severe cramps, bloating, weakness and what not. I have faced it for a long time.  Initially, my doctor gave me some iron rich capsules and syrup but around an year ago when this fibroid reached to 5mm size and hemoglobin fall to 7 then the warning clock ticked. 

"This medicine will reduce the size of fibroid but for hemoglobin I want you to eat more iron rich food and less junk. however, I am prescribing an iron tablet , take one everyday."

"How do you start your day ?" The doctor asked.

"With a cup of tea." I replied instantly.

"No, start day with  a glass of milk and  a handful of nuts like almonds, walnuts and cashews.  Go for a walk every day, do some light exercises like, stretching, warm ups and breathing exercises."

"Are you a non vegetarian ?"

"Yes ."

"Then, do include eggs and fishes in your diet twice or thrice in a week. Medicines will do their work but a healthy  daily routine and nutritious diet are the best treatment. because fibroid is not a serious disease rather it is lifestyle related problem; treat it with this perspective."

This was the piece of advise doctor Chetna gave me. 

Iron rich food... !!!!!! Spinach was the first name that came in to my mind, but I needed something simple yet a quick effective recipe. something that can easily gel up with my daily cooking schedule and should be  delicious as well as. and then I thought, ohh!!! it's our very own "Sai Bhaji".

Sai Bhaji the traditional Sindhi dish made with spinach, split chickpeas lentil, onion, garlic and tomatos. a simple, basic yet an effective nutritional food that goes very well with rice and chapati. Usually we Sindhis like to eat sai bhaji at night with plain rice , rice pulao or with chapatis. but, here it is about Iron consumption, so I came up with an idea of eating this sai bhaji with methi parantha in lunch and to make it  extra iron rich, I decided to cook it in an iron wok  rather than cooking it in pressure cooker.  Cooking food in iron wok  is an age old tasted formula to increase iron level in blood;  the fastest and easiest way, our elders swear by this...

Sai Bhaji with Methi Parantha or plain chapatti has been included in  my regular diet since then

Here goes the recipe of sai bhaji, the traditional sindhi style...

Ingredients :

1. 200gm spinach, fresh and small leaves

2. Two medium size onions ( thinly chopped)

3. 50gm yellow petite lentils ( I replaced split chickpeas lentil with this more easy to digest dal as I was eating sai bhaji almost thrice n a week)

4. Two medium size tomatos ( chopped in small pieces)

5. 7-8 cloves of garlic ( chopped)

6. Salt to taste

7. Two pinch turmeric powder

8. Two tea spoons of red chilli powder

9. One large green chilli

10.  Two tea spoon of coriander powder

11.  Two table spoon oil for frying garlic cloves and onions

12.  crushed ginger half tea spoon

Preparation :

Wash spinach  4-5 times in sufficient water and finely chop them . Soak lentils in water for 10-15 minutes, later on wash them thrice. 

Cooking method :

1.  Heat oil in iron wok and add garlic clove pieces. let the garlic pieces become light brown.

2. Add chopped onions and fry them till brown.

3. Add lentils  and green chili.

4. Add spinach and salt, red chilli powder, crushed ginger, turmeric and coriander powder. 

5. Add  one cup of water and cover the wok with a plate or lid.

6. Put a heavy utensil or ladle on the wok lid and let the dish simmer for 15-20 minutes. keep the flame of gas stove at medium. and keep checking the dish after 5-7 minutes, so it will not get burned.

7.  The lentils may take more time to become soft and fully cooked, therefore, if you wish to save the time then boil the lentils in pressure cooker before adding it to spinach. in that case, do not add lentils at early stage rather add them later in last 10 minutes.

( I have added tomato puree at the final stage when the whole preparation got cooked, because the tomatoes are acidic and I wasn't much sure how this acidic thing will react in an iron utencill on flame.)

8. Once cooked, remove it from stove and let it be cool for ten minutes and then mash the whole  preparation 

for a couple of minutes.

9. Iron rich spinach loaded with goodness of protein and lycopene is ready to eat.

 Methi paranthas gave an extra zing to this dish and makes it a wholesome meal. Serve it hot with sliced onion rings and sprinkle some lemon juice in sai bhaji before eating... and Voila !!!!

The iron wok gives a nice texture and thickness to the dish.

The Recipe for Methi parantha is below :

1. Wheat Flour two cups

2. 25 grams fresh methi leaves ( in summers when fresh methi is not available, you can opt for kasoori methi  that is dry methi leaves)

3.  one small onion thinly chopped

4. one small green chilli thinly chopped

5. salt to taste, one pinch turmeric powder, one tea spoon red chili powder.

cooking method :

1. wash methi leaves 4-5 times in fresh water.

2. mix all ingridients in flour  ( methi leaves, salt, turmeric, red chilli, green chili)

3. knead a soft dough and make  medium size balls.

4. roll out each ball with help of dry flour and prepare paranthas on a ladle. roast each parantha with one tea spoon of oil so the outer crust will become crispy and brown.

As I said, The color of Blood, the color of  Life... Red.

Here I am posting the pics of whole cooking process :

                                                     

 

I have followed this diet for more than a year  ( thrice in a week) and now the fibroid size has been reduced to 3mm and the hemoglobin level  has become stable on 10 point.

This Post is written for the Livogen Iron chef Contest .  

The Iron Chef Contest is an initiative by livogen to spread the awareness about the importance of Iron in the diet and crowd sourced iron rich recipes. Simple lifestyle and dietary changes can help one go a long way in fighting iron deficiency. 



Images Courtesy : My mobile camera :)

This entry has won the Runners up award in the above said contest.