Friday, 19 September 2014

Newfeeling

I exactly don't remember the writer's name but most probably he was Marty Wilson and I read the article in the Reader's Digest long ago. The article was about our 'fear' of unknown situations, which had captured my attention. The writer replaces the terms 'scared' and 'nervous' with a complete new and impressive expression 'newfeeling.' According to him we encounter the new situations in our lives every now and then. Such situations suddenly bring a change in an ordinary life style or they are beyond our comfort zone. At that time we obviously are  'nervous' or 'scared.' The writer argues that these terms give us negative meaning but if we use the term 'newfeeling' to replace them, it increases our curiosity to face or taste the 'new' thing.

To justify his statement he gives an example of his five-year-old son, which is quite interesting. Marty takes him to school for the first time and the poor boy seems to get nervous at the sight of swarming noisy kids. He turns to his father and says, "Daddy, it's all funny in my tummy." Then the father asks, "Are you scared?" The little boy snaps, "Nah! I've just got a newfeeling." Marty gets fascinated thinking that how nicely his son has absorbed the idea of 'newfeeling' simply by listening to his father's discussion with one of  his friends at home.

Marty points out that people are usually reluctant to accept a change. For such people he has two messages: (1) life is nothing but a change and (2) when you refuse to change, you don't hold onto the past, instead you lose the future. To make his argument stronger he quotes a philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, "The limits of one's language are the limits of one's world."

How amazing! Broaden your horizon, come out from your comfort zone, taste new things whenever they are available, try to go beyond your limitations and see how your world views will get wider and more open. So, no more nervousness or scare but a newfeeling which encourages you to face the challenges of your life and accept changes. Let's try and see if it works, guys.





{The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.] 


Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Chilli Challenge!

It all started with pickled dry chilli during the dinner time. Bishu said, “It’s got good flavour but not challenging at all.”

“What do you mean? Chillies are hot and spicy and that’s what it is?,” I retorted back.

“But to what degree? It’s too mild,” he said.

Alright then. And thus started a chilli adventure. We began with fresh jalapeños from the Dandenong market and tried them. No, it was not hot at all. They look so fresh, crispy and green but just baby mild.

“Get some ghost chilli next week, please,” Bishu suggested and we did that. It was okay but we found Cassatta and Bird’s eye better.

In fact our dinner time turned into a chilli time as we looked out for more spicy varieties. “Tobasco sauce?” One of the Chinese friends suggested us and we tried.

“Oh it gave a real kick,” Bishu said and added how one of his friends finished a bottle of Tobasco sauce and threw out the whole night.

It was a big joke when Bruce, our landlord, asked my husband if he liked chilli. As soon as he got the positive reply, Bruce rushed inside his kitchen and came out with a plate of garden-fresh red chillies and asked my husband to eat them all on the spot. Bruce was just being funny.

So what could be the real hot chilli was still a question until we found out that it is Trinidad Scorpion Butch T. The literature related to this variety says that one requires wearing protective gears just to touch it. The image of the explosive chilli is very close to our Akabare.

The chilli stories got the added flavour when we ordered extra hot pizza on the father’s day evening. The pizza man delivered so spicy pizzas that we could not finish them all. And the chilli contest was over. However, we still have to go and ask the pizza man was it Trinidad Scorpion Butch T chilli that he used on pizzas that day?

The next morning Bishu enthusiastically shared his finding, “Probably our grandfather was right as he used to say chillies are the swords for tongue.”

{The pictures on this blog are posted here with permission from their owners or have been gathered from various sources on the Internet. If you are the copyright-holder to any of the photographs herein do not hesitate to contact me. They will be swiftly removed if desired so.]