Curd based delicious foods like mishit doi, boondi raita and lassi

Milk and milk products have a good balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate and are a very important source of essential nutrients. In some places, milk is taken in the raw and children hate the very thought of gulping it down. They need to be coaxed into drinking it and for this, the parents resort to various tactics. These include use of additives like chocolate. In order to do this effectively, ad agencies come into the picture and introduce children who boast about various after effects like become taller, stronger and more energetic than others. When it comes to elders in the family, milk and milk products take a different shape. Very few of them drink milk in the original form unless they fall sick and the doctor prescribes something like a ‘glass of warm milk’ at bedtime. Yogurt (or dahi or mishti doi) is an important byproduct of milk and it lends itself easily to a number of tasty food items. 11 Things You Can Make With Yogurt. Raita and lassi are easy to prepare and very popular.

Raita is usually a side dish and ingredients can vary. Ingredients for a vegetable raita are usually finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and chili. These are mixed in the bowl of curd with salt and sugar to create a heavenly taste. The combination is served in small containers for consumption on as required basis. Their addition to normal dishes helps to improve the overall taste. Another raita is of boondi. These are small roundals made of a mixture of besan (powdered chana dal) and water to make a batter. This batter is then passed through a sieve so that drops fall into hot oil and get fried. These end up as crisp roundals that are slightly larger in size than homeopathic globules. The process of making raita with this boondi is simple. Take a bowl of beaten curd along with additives like chopped green chili, coriander leaves, salt, powdered black pepper and a pinch of sugar. Once the mixture is ready, add a fistful of boondi and stir them to create a dish fit for the King. Some add pink pomegranate seeds to make the raita more colorful.

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If only I had become a doctor

When young, I was fascinated by the aeroplane. Our house was not too far from the airport and some of our neighbors who stayed in our area worked in the airlines. I would see them go for duty in their company buses and longed to be like them. I did choose the aircraft industry but as luck would have it, I went into the aircraft-manufacturing stream. I was in my early 20s, got an appointment in Kanpur and from there moved to Nashik. I have been in Nashik for more than half a century and my son chose to join the IT industry. Today, I sigh and wonder if only I had become a doctor, my life might have been different. This is because today I realize that the medical profession is loaded with money. I hope my friends who are in this profession would agree with me.

Medical profession is a noble one because it is all about healing people and saving lives. Sanjay Dutt proved it in the 2003 Bollywood movie Munnabhai MBBS. It was a blockbuster and one cannot forget the message of Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani). It was that personal feelings should not influence the decisions of the Doctor. However, in the scenario of 2022, one observes that specialization has played havoc with this noble profession. I read somewhere that there are dentists who specialize in the upper set of teeth leaving the lower set for others. A time could come when there could be separate opticians for the right eye and the left or the right arm and the left or the right leg and the left. If only I had opted for this profession in my youth, today I might have been rolling in money. All I would require would be a degree, a suitable location to set up my clinic and contacts among other doctors. That way I could refer my patients to others more knowledgeable than me.

He loved a game of contract bridge

Here is the twenty seventh unforgettable character in my life …

In those days, there were young men who married by giving information that was not true – it was sad because, after the marriage, it broke many homes. I have seen it happen. Anyway, the person I will now write about did no such thing – he handled the electrical aspects of the fighter aircraft and he got married to a girl who had a wonderful voice. She could render Rabindasangeet like any well-known singer.

He was also a footballer and an acknowledged player of bridge – he and his partner had participated in many national bridge tournaments and rubbed shoulders with the likes of bridge maestro Jimmy Mehta.
The wife was a calm lady, busy in her household activities and came on stage whenever requested to do so to sing Rabindra sangeet – either solo or in a group. In order to assist his wife, my friend learnt how to play the tabla and would accompany his wife on stage. None of them believed in creating problems.
As per traditions of those who live in a place for a very long time, he purchased a plot of land with the intention of building his own house and living there after retirement. The fact that his younger brother also stayed in the city and had a small business of his own added to his desire of staying on here. But, events willed otherwise.
His small family was complete with the only child, a son – he had little or no interest in either games or music. He was a studious boy and moved from one class to the next with honors. He finally became a Doctor and is currently in Pune. There is no certainty of his returning to Nashik. Therefore, my friend has sold off the land and shifted over to Pune to be with his son.


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He was a doctor who could remain afloat in the swimming pool

Here is the seventeenth unforgettable character in my life …

Doctors are supposed to practice what they preach and should lead by example. In those days the ill effects of smoking was not highlighted to the extent that it is done today. There were no bans and tobacco companies used to be the greatest advertisers and sponsors of major events with catch lines like ‘made for each other’, ‘good to the last puff’, and ‘live life king-size’. There was not so much restriction on smoking and this Doctor used to be a chain smoker. Even while he was on duty in the in-door ward of the hospital, he was never without his cigarette.

I have seen him in the swimming pool – he had the ability to remain afloat for a long time. This was an achievement because he had a bulky body. He was a specialist on heart diseases and, when I asked him about this smoking habit of his, he replied that he did what he thought best and there was no need to imitate him. Then he added with a smile – I can remain afloat for two hours. Can you do that?
The Doctor’s wife was a teacher in the school and they did not have any children. Therefore, they decided to go in for adoption. They adopted a sweet little girl and, no outsider ever knew that the kid was not theirs.
The Doctor’s father was an avid writer of letters. Every morning, he would walk down to the post office with an umbrella for company – a distance of around two kilometers up and another two kilometers down. He would usually be the first person at the counter of the post office which would open at 9am. He would drop the letters he had written the previous night into the letter box and purchase envelopes and stamps for continuing the letter writing the next day. He spoke little and kept to himself.
This Doctor friend was suddenly transferred to another unit of our organization. That disturbed his regular routine and affected not just him but other members of his family as well. Still, the transfer had to be accepted so off he went – into a sort of exile. His family followed him after a lapse of time. But, it was not easy for him to reconcile to the change. He suffered a stroke and passed away.


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Here is the thirteenth unforgettable character in my life …

We stayed in the company quarters and, as is normal with colony life, he wanted to do some work in his off time to keep himself busy, and simultaneously augment his monthly income for his daily additional pack of cigarettes. He convinced one of his close buddies and, together, they embarked on a novel idea of selling saris. Since there were practically no overheads, they could sell these at cheaper rates and there was always a queue of customers in his quarter.
When he was on duty, his wife managed the show. They used to get their stocks on a monthly basis from neighboring Surat – one of them would go there on alternate weekends to replenish the stocks and bring in the latest designs.

Time does not wait for anyone. After some time, the business reached saturation point – also, their children grew up.
One’s son went into medicine and became a Doctor; the other’s son became an Engineer and moved over to the Gulf. They built their houses on adjacent plots of land which they had purchased when their business was on the up. They wanted to stay together because they had plenty in common. God however had other thoughts in mind.
Ego is one of the most terrible destructive forces. When it raises its head, it spares no one. They might have had close bonds but after superannuation, tiny differences began surfacing between the one-time bosom friends and one thing led to another. One of them is no more. A really sad state of affairs that proves the golden words – Man proposes, God disposes.


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