Masala Dosai and start to of a new chapter in life...

Note- Although what is below this text was written a long time ago, it was never completed or published. Hence I (abruptly) decide to post it today..finally...

A crisp golden brown crepe, bathed in a dab of sizzling butter and unabashedly enclosing the spiced starchy delight, accompanied by the irresistible aroma of Sambhar and the lure of seasoned coconut chutney........
Just another saturday evening, and when you hear the intermittent 'growl' of the reliable 'Sumeet' mixer and grinder, you know the menu for Sunday breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner! Idli and Masala Dosa followed by Idli, Utthapam and Masala dosa.
No. These are not indulgences that you pamper yourself with, if your mother has gifted culinary skills or your entire family is devoted to - "South Indian' delicacies. But these are the weekend treats which make themselves omnipresent and you omniscient when it comes to any special occasion like a birthday or anniversary.
So that is how I grow up. Though my staple diet is lots of green vegetables and lentils (does a vegetarian have more choices?- ok...the lament in the tone is a cheater), wheat chapatis (because I 'am' genetically North Indian) and Chawal or rice (because I "am" a more than half Assamese...no rice- no life! person) and fruits ( because you need to eat healthy). But I do have a regular dose of "IQ Tablets" a.k.a Idlis and another regular treat of Masala Dosai!
Change is life and I was facing exemplary proportions of it beginning a few months ago. At times I felt I was on a springboard practicing to qualify for the upcoming Olympics! As series of these wonderfully strenuous changes catapulted my life to Los Angeles.(I must begin by clarifying a few things here or I will run the risk of being mistaken as a complete headless foodie and this blog as a food blog. Well... both of the above concerns are true and this is NOT a food blog!).My life in Los Angeles begins with 'dal chawal' and takes off with Masala Dosai at Mayura restaurant on Venice boulevard. While I was still trying to figure out what was happening to meThis expression is only representative though.

To clarify further- this isn't a food blog nor is it a travelogue about the City of Angels. It is just about me and my life in Los Angeles.

I knew about a lot of people who lived here, worked here, gathered for evening Chais and paarthayy-ed during the weekends and made life fun. And then I met them.
They were all different yet almost the same - warm welcoming leg pulling teasers!

Its not my fault..that I remember to do the wrong things ;-)

Hello S Space, 

After continually depriving myself of your company and thinking of seeking solace in writing to you, I probably am doing it today. Unless of course I start talking to you (like now) and leave the conversation abruptly (maybe?) incomplete...

Nevertheless, you are my best and most trusted companion to date. DO you know why? You are my best companion because you help me and guide me when I return to you, instead of enacting a throwback at my past mistakes and rolling your eyes in a judgmental fashion. Today, I wanted to discuss with you what I just found out. I was pondering over why and how in my life I have ended up making the same mistakes over and over again. This behavior has been sometimes annoying to myself and others while it has been sometimes life altering in both good and bad ways. When I was little I was taught that when I do not know the answer to a question, I must look within, introspect and meditate to find my guiding light. I must admit that I have done this and have found reasonable answers. But this was the story of my past. Letting bygones be bygones, today my life has a plethora of problem statements, open errands, and responsibilities that are growing faster than my ability and efficiency to meet them. Therefore, when faced with a question now, I just type it into google! Google engines guide me through, remarkably fast to reasonably correct locations (usually). Brain research experts maintain that we repeat our mistakes because of how our brain functions. When we do something, we form a memory aka a neural pathway. When I do something good, my brain makes a pathway and it does the same when I make a mistake. So when I am trying hard to not repeat a mistake, I essentially slip bak into the pathway made when I has first made that mistake. It is confusing but the simpler way to telling the story is that this is the scientific way of explaining how we build habits. Old habits die hard, because they have survived longer and allowed to be repeated several times. The next question to answer is how to get out of this vicious circle then? Start afresh fearlessly. Fear is our most ferocious enemy. When I am afraid that what happened in the past will happen again, I essentially let my brain fall back into the old neural pathway and repeat the same mistake. So all I need to do is to be fearless and start aiming to fulfil my goals with a fresh new me. And help those grey cells make a new pathway for me…a pathway to succeed!