Dear Koledze,
Viva La France!! France
won the EURO 2000 adding to their WorldCup. Though my favourite was Holland
who were eliminated tragically in semis, I had reasons to be happy. Becos
I had put my money on France 2-1 here. Yes!! Betting!! Its legal in these
parts you know.. Anyway it was in Adam's Pub & was for fun. I won few
bucks on that,but I swear I didn't do any Match-Fixing for I dont know
Hansie or Chawla well.
Dont be surprised that you
got polish times very soon. It will continue to do so. By the way, Silently
PolishTimes crossed another milestone. Yes! It completed 150 Days the day
you got it last week.
Catch me at my office..
Extremely sorry for missing
out one important word in Polish. "Wadna Jestina" - A word more famous
even before I start to poland "Pretty Girl". If you dont mind, the exact
word is "ladna dziewczyna" though the pronounciation still holds.
**'Twardogora' - Polish Village
Personified**
Not much can be distinguished
between Twardogora & our own 'Malgudi'. Bit far from Urban life yet
not so far. Transport services closed as early as 5 PM.. Big church at
the heart of it.. Everybody knows everyone.. so on.. Culture & language
may vary but the soul of rural life preserved.
During my first month, walking
upstairs to my flat, I saw the neighbourhood girl who was cleaning the
floor dropped everything & ran into her house. Only after confirming
that I went into my flat, she came out to take her things. It was funny
to see people going out of my way in awe.( I used to hear "Badshah!.. Badshah!!..."
kinda BGs when I walk in those streets..:-) Guys bigger than me in width
& height were also among these..(its another matter that I was trying
to avoid them)
Being 1 of 3 foreigners, I
was easily noticeable. Without being in town, Jacek used to tell where
I was in the whole town for a weekend."Somebody told me" - was the reply
when I asked how."Twardogora is one big family" - I used to say him.
Now things are brightening
up as I see people with friendly face. Even the girl next door, says "Czesc"
now. Three months among them & my better Polish has made many friends
for me. Nowadays I cannot walk in the streets without waving 'Hai' to atleast
2-3 people(Read "Young People!") "Chandru" is quite a common name now.(Dont
ask to write it, Please!)
If Sunday-morning-churches
are the show of veterans(with due respect, "Perusunga"), then its easily
overshadowed by Teen Gala on Weekend-Evening-Pubs. Be there on both the
occasions, And you know all in Twardogora.
See to believe the spring..
When I became citizen of
Twardogora for some documents, Mayor Office lady gave me the honour of
"First Indian on Twardogora Soil". She also adviced(?!) me to stay in twardogora
by marrying a polish girl. Its another matter that I didn't take seriously.
(Thanks to the brickbats you sent,it still hurts!!)
40 km from Wroclaw, it has
better infrastructure than nearby towns, thanks to Bosch. Bosch's plans
to shift to Wroclaw has dampened spirits of many here.
I have quite a few good friends(Read
Young) here in twardogora too. Chances are that they will sing "Pardesi!
Pardesi!! jaana Naheen! Hamen Chodke!! Hamen Chodke!!" when I come back
to india. For those of you with crooked smile, its "hamen chodke" &
not "Mujhe Chodke" :-) Even now while I am writing this, one of my colleagues
says "what will our office look like after you leave".. Before it becomes
more centi, we move to Spicy section.
***Spicy Section: Dosa Mela ***
Finally I cracked the code
of making Curd or Dhahi or Thayir. Ofcourse with help of my mum. If you
laugh wondering it is the easiest thing to do, then I will categorise it
as "Cruel Joke".
Also thanks to my mum &
few of you, I learned how to make Wheat Dosa,but not without some experiments(as
usual!). One day I was making chappathi,when I ran out of wheat flour &
also I had poured more water into it. With no option, I poured more water
into it. Then I started pouring it in pan (New one!!) & making Dosas.
My mum reminded me the days I hated wheat Dosas.
As U know, after that I make
Onion Dosa, Tomato dosa, Paper Roast, Masala Dosa & .....(all with
Whear flour) giving Saravana Bhavan a run for their money. Hello! Who said
Cooking is Difficult ?!! Its another matter that I have not mastered Rice
Based Dishes..But soon I will.
Tips: For those travelling
to Europe, "Uncle Bens" will help a lot. Its actually a brand which makes
relatively good rice in packs, other spaghetti dishes.. Few in indian varieties..
Here you can cook with pack,cut the pack after cooked & serve it. Many
surprised when I told them that I dont cook with cover. Europeans &
their eating habits..
Thanks for Sree VidyaLakshmi
for sending the first ever recipe, "Tomata Curry" long back, simplest for
the reason that it can be done with what I get here.
Fotos:
Me in kitchen & in office..
One more from my album & Me
in Less-often-used room..
For those who dont read Polish
Times & instead keep working on & on & on & on.. Its time
to wish (or what else to do) tomorrow as its "Workaholics Day". Have a
great time at work.. OFcourse with break to read Polish times..
Your friend Chandru !
Editor, Polish Times.
