Some more succulents for you!

 Some more Succulents for you!

Surprise, surprise! Do you know what an 'Entremet' is?  

It is my friend Manvi who demystified the term 'entremet ' to me as a word that stands for a confectionary! She should know as she runs a successful Pattiserie brand called called Peony.

An entremet is a complex, multi-layered dessert that is often served at special occasions. The word "entremet" comes from the French word meaning "between courses". Referred to as little treats served in between dishes as a palate cleanser or intermediary dish during a formal meal in earlier times. But now they are being served as stand alone desserts as well,

appreciated for their intricate construction and harmonious flavour combinations. 

What is the difference between a cake and an entremet, you might well ask.

The main difference between a cake and an entremet lies in its composition, construction, and presentation.

An entremet is a sophisticated dessert where every texture serves a vital role in enhancing the flavours of its ingredients. 

So the next time you are in a confectionary shop ask for an 'Entermet', see how they react!!

Book Review- ‘Madam Sir’ by Manjari Jaruhar, IPS (retd)

 Book Review- ‘Madam Sir’ by Manjari Jaruhar, IPS (retd)

Title: Madam Sir

Author: Manjari Jaruhar IPS, retd.

Publisher: Penguin 

Pages 237

Manjari Jaruhar’s book, ‘Madam Sir’ is a story of triumph despite many setbacks both on the personal and professional fronts. It is a stirring memoir where the author’s quiet strength of conviction shines through. The exemplary quality of head and heart which the book is steeped in wins the reader over without any effort. It is both heart-warming and poignant  as she narrates, ‘frankly and honestly’. 

If there is one element that connects the reader to the extremely engaging narrative, it is the authenticity of the voice that narrates. Jaruhar is able to imbue her life story of ordinary and extraordinary events into a narrative that is clear and matter of fact. She does not set herself up to be impressive at all. She allows us a look into how she grew up in a typical middle class but scholarly family of Bihar without having any real ambition in life. She was made to go to a convent school in Patna and brought up to be able marry well into a higher placed family. Imagine a well-placed family bringing up three delicate daughters as eligible matches in the marriage market! In retrospect she marvels at how decidedly submissive she had been in those years to her family’s inherent wish to settle their girls well. 

But a serious, shattering setback in her life makes her transition into a woman who claims her agency and refuses to let go of it ever! She decides to come to Delhi and prepare for the civil services exam. For a girl who had been groomed to be an ideal wife, she takes her life by the horns to slog and qualify for a career, refusing to return to the cocoon like family which wants her to go back. After qualifying for the Indian Police Service (IPS) she recounts in great detail the hardships she had to undergo to measure up to the physical fitness regimen required for the job. While her body was breaking under the stress and rigour of training, her steely resolve remained intact. She was determined to live life on her own terms!

The next phase of her life when she is posted to Bihar as an IPS officer reveals the deep patriarchal society she is up against which abhors women in uniform and authority. Her travails under her first boss who dismisses her as more of a liability because of her being a woman is a recurring theme as she has to work doubly hard to prove herself. Of course her determination wins the day as the then Chief Minister Lalu Yadav and later Police Commissioner Julio Rebeiro repose immense faith in her to handle sensitive and difficult job profiles. Jaruhar mentions some of the prominent cases she had to deal with in her illustrious career. Of special interest is Operation Gangajal about which film maker Prakash Jha had later on made into a film by the same name.

I would recommend the book as being a motivational story for all concerned. It would be beneficial to college students to read such first hand accounts of a lady who had the courage of her convictions in the face of  immense challenges. The book is also a master class on how an author can connect with her readers by an honest narration that leaves a lasting impression on the mind and the heart!

I would give it 4 out 5 stars

This is part of #BlogchatterHalfMarathon 2024

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 Vanishing gardens and my winter Oriental lilies 

Most home gardeners like me have been in despair the last couple of years. Well tended and deeply loved gardens have been going astray not due to any fault of theirs’ or of the poor flora and fauna! It is as if the doom’s day of climate change has arrived in such an alarming fashion that most are left guessing as to what will hit them next! Severe heat, incessant rains or freezing winters! Gardens are in shock! The stable weather that the gardeners and their gardens knew and trusted has been missing to be replaced by erratic and unimaginable degrees of weather that have frozen or burnt away their plants with the unusual patterns of heat, rain and cold!

There was a time when all of us worked to a calendar of dates and months when we planted seeds and saplings, with very little variance. And Mother Nature would reward us with blooms and bounties of vegetables and fruits without fail. It seems that those comforting times when one was sure of the produce are gone forever!

Take the last two years for instance. The rains came as late as August when it is usually the time for them to recede. So intense heat that preceded the monsoon, burnt most plants. It was pathetic to see heathy plants with singed leaves and flowers.  No matter how hard one tried by sheltering them the temperatures and the humidity destroyed most prized plants. The worst hit were the hybrids who in any case are more complex to cultivate.

The other face of gardening is to take losses of plants one has grown to tenderly care and love in one’s stride and carry on valiantly. But this year’s summer was worse. Leave alone the poor plants, even human beings were finding it hard to carry on. The intensity of the heat , close to 50 degrees Celsius became a nightmare! It is in those low periods that I gaze at my collection of pictures of my garden in happier times!

I am sharing some snaps of my Oriental lilies here from a couple of winters ago! They do well in early and receding winter. Exotic and pretty they command pride of place in any garden or vase. They delight the senses with their fragrance and beautiful resplendent petals. Surely a thing of joy that lasts forever, even in memory. For one is now hesitant to get ambitious and aspire to having them in the garden. With unpredictable weather, they are fit to only be flown in to places like Delhi from cooler, more stable climates to decorate vases, not to be grown. Till we meet again, my beauties! 

This blog is part of #BlogchatterHalfMarathon challenge 2024

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