Manu's Medley

There was a time, whether it was a birthday party or a treat or just returning from shopping or lazy to cook at home or dining out or catching up with a friend, we used to order fried rice/ noodles. It was the beginning of the fast food era and fried rice was the most sought out - veg fried rice, paneer fried rice egg fried rice, chicken fried rice, schezwan fried rice and the list goes on. Somehow I wasn't a fan of fried rice nor the noodles made at the eateries, though I love watching the preparation - tossing the veggies, rice/ noodles together. Yeah you got me. I admit I was and am still a fuddy duddy. Though I accept greasy food tastes the best, I am scared of them because of their ill effects to health, especially the reheated oil, MSG (ajinomoto) used in its preparation. Fried rice was originally a chinese dish, which is believed to be prepared to use the left overs - rice, vegetables and meat. But it created quite a stir in Asian countries and is still topping the fast food...

I keep getting direct and indirect questions on Why I Write? There won't be a better occasion than this to address this Q and other frequently asked Qs. It's been exactly 2 years since I started this website -  Manu's Medley  and apparently this is my 100th blog post.  So Why I Write?  I can give a fancier reply stating "I chose to follow my passion". But I won't, as it isn't true. After being in the IT industry for more than a decade, working tirelessly all through the weeks, months and years, I moved to Canada carrying my little one, when the whole world was witnessing one of the deadliest diseases COVID. It was at the same time, I had to take a career break due to few compelling personal reasons and decided to be a full time mom.  It's a new place and a new role, with almost zero support, unlike the support system at India. To top it, the lockdowns and restrictions were never ending. The three of us spent months together within our apartment and my ...

In the recent months, I saw many recommending "The Memory Box" written by Kathryn Hughes in various book forums. While browsing through the books stacked in our public library for the above title, I noticed "California Summer" by Anita Hughes, right next to it. The Memory Box seemed to be a heavy subject revolving around love and war, while California Summer just as its name, felt cheerful and breezy - apt for a summer read. This is just an instance to tell why my TBR is ever-growing. Anita Hughes was born and brought up in Sydney, Australia. At the age of 8, she participated in a writing contest "One of Australia's Next Best Writers" conducted by The Australian Newspaper and won the title. She graduated in B.A. English literature and Masters in Creative Writing. She has written more than a dozen novels like Christmas at the Ranch, White sand Blue sea, Santorini sunset, Island in the Sea, Rome in love, French Coast etc., out of which couple of them hav...