July 2015 Archives

It's a lot all at once, even though it won't all happen at exactly the same time. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed about what's happening in the next six months and beyond. I tried to put everything in a diary, but it didn't show me that I'd covered all the topics. I made a list of all the projects and plans but that wasn't quite enough. So then I made a sort-of Gannt chart.

There are many variations on jaljeera, but all include sugar, salt, lemon, and cumin. I have two recipes for it; one quick and basic; the other more flavorful. Vary proportions to suit your own taste;  prefer mine not too sweet and the recipes reflect that. Other flavours you can add to jaljeera include tamarind, amchar (dried mango powder), cardamom, and even a sprinkle of chat masala to garnish. 

1 Tbsp dried kasoori methi (fenugreek leaf)*

3 curry leaves, dried or fresh

1-2 Tbsp butter or ghee

1/2 tsp black mustard seed

1/4 tsp cumin seed

pinch hing

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

1 tsp turmeric

salt and pepper to taste

Soak kasoori methi and dried curry leaves in hot water. Melt butter or ghee in skillet over high heat. Drop in cumin seeds, black mustard seed, and hing. When the seeds pop, put in the garlic and ginger.Reduce heat. Add the mushrooms and after they start to brown a little, sprinkle in some of the soaking water to help steam them. As they cook down, add turmeric, methi and curry leaf. When the mushrooms are cooked, pour in cream until you like the consistency of the sauce. Finish with salt and cracked black pepper. Serve over toast or use as a filling in a sandwich toaster.

* If you don't have fenugreek leaf, use a pinch or two of fenugreek seeds along with the cumin and mustard seed.

I am enjoying life in Bangalore. We've been here for three weeks. The traffic is dreadful and the mosquitoes plague me, but this city is full of people I love. Having friends somewhere makes the visit rich and wonderful.

We're staying with Shreyas and Arun. I'm not sure how to appreciate them properly. They are terrific guys who tolerate - even encourage - our experiments in their kitchen and my DIY projects. Their place is always called Home with the capital H obvious from the way it's said. We are Home. It is good.

People in the neighborhood are getting used to us. The guys at the vegetable cart down the road help me find the nicest beetroots. The guards in the apartment building wave hello as we return from our shopping. The other night I held a puppy at the supermarket while its owner was checking out. Shreyas's housekeeper asked Tod where I was when I was off at HasGeek one morning. Today I finally spotted the rodents that live in the garden and eat the compost and scraps.

We'll leave Bangalore tomorrow. This might be the first time in a long time I haven't been ready to return to Tokyo after a long journey. I will truly miss Home.

Anyway, I was asked to perform at the event, but that morphed into me leading some Stretching for Geeks sessions in between talks and doing two circus playshops. I made juggling balls and brought hoops and scarves and it was great fun. In fact, there are eight new jugglers in the world now. I'm really proud of the guys who came and played and practiced until they got it.

Having run and organised plenty of events myself, it was interesting to see how it is done here, by my friends at HasGeek. There were about 1000 people in total, with a two track, two day program and vendor booths, too. There was lots of networking time and space for everyone. They had an epic lunch setup with interactive buffet elements like a freezing cylinder that made kulfi, salad bar, tons of veg and non-veg buffet options and live cooking. I ended up with the lunch boxes both days (since I was circusing during lunch time) which were also tasty.

In addition to circusing, I spent both mornings greeting the attendees outside the venue and directing them to registration. That meant people knew my face and came to me with questions and problems. Even though I was a last minute addition to the team nobody knew that! So lots of times I had answers and sometimes I didn't. I also got up in front of the 800 seat auditorium to make announcements and moderated and impromptu flashtalk session when one speaker had to cancel. I had a lot of interesting conversations with attendees and staff, received many compliments about my ability to keep the enthusiasm going, got a couple of job offers, and made some possibly useful connections for my social circus activities.

All in all, The Fifth Elephant was a great event, even for a circus person. Zoupi enjoyed it, too.

While staying at Shreyas' place, I made six beautifully hand-crafted but torn cane chairs useable again with painted plywood seats. They aren't fancy, but you won't fall through them.

I measured the chairs and went to Workbench Projects to use their tools. We carried a sheet of plywood through Bangalore traffic from the nearby supplier - that was fun. Actually, everything at Workbench was fun. It's bright large and neatly organised! The staff are great and we all juggled together. If you need to make stuff in Bangalore, you should go there. They have hand and power tools, 3D printers, and a co-working space, too.

Back home, I painted the cut plywood with a creamy colored enamel and let it dry for many hours between coats. Then, uncertain how best to attached the seats to the frames I'd pulled all the can from, I opted to simply sit them there. Glue will ruin the chair for future reworking and the holes from the caning make nails and screws impractical.

Hooray for DIY

We stopped at Somanathapura to see a beautifully carved 750 year old temple. We ate well and Tod had an especially memorable paper dosa. We went to an art museum that houses a collection of instruments and games on the top floor, and enjoyed the paintings, sculpture and artefacts even when the power cut out. We saw the palace lit up at night. I made a new hooper friend in Avani. And we grownups talked about education and plans and all sorts of good stuff.