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Ninad's Musings: The Arm And The Apple
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-arm-and-apple.html
Wednesday, January 21, 2015. The Arm And The Apple. By the time the Jew entered the train, the view from the windows had been blotted by the inky blackness of the tunnel, for the train had plunged deep underground, seemingly without a second thought, minutes after leaving East Falls Church station, ending its brief dalliance with the dimly-lit, rain-drenched, fog-shrouded, crack-of-dawn world above. He looked every bit the family man. Even if he were gay, it wouldn't have mattered, for he was already...
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Ninad's Musings: Not My Cup of Tea
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2015/08/not-my-cup-of-tea.html
Sunday, August 9, 2015. Not My Cup of Tea. I sauntered back to my office and gazed out the window at the gray cityscape from my perch on the twelfth floor, wondering who else had decaf coffee other than me and my colleague next door. There had to be others, for the cups had been vanishing like hot cakes. Gone were the days when a single box lasted for weeks. Would I have to forgo my favorite drink? Would I have to settle for tea, that too strong black English breakfast tea? I started pulling the large bo...
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Ninad's Musings: Recycling Is For Wretches
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2015/01/recycling-is-for-wretches.html
Tuesday, January 6, 2015. Recycling Is For Wretches. I do not recycle things. Be they paper or plastic, glass bottles or tin cans, Styrofoam or any other recyclable material, it gets tossed into the trash without a second thought. I know I'm not being friendly to the environment, let alone to recycling fanatics, but I do not shy from pointing an accusing finger at my environment for the predicament I find myself in. You'd think I was that person. But I was not. One of my colleagues remarked, as all of us...
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Ninad's Musings: Check This Out
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2014/11/check-this-out.html
Saturday, November 15, 2014. If shopping at a small Indian grocery store was eventful last evening, so was shopping at a large American one. I picked up a dozen or so cans - of lentil soup, black beans, dark red kidney beans, Roman beans, Pinto beans, small red beans, and what have you - and made my way to the checkout lines. Bean there, done that, you might say. Unknown item in the bagging area! Cried the machine even before I scanned the first can. "Please remove it before scanning.". Exasperated, I lo...
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Ninad's Musings: Menu, Please!
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2014/11/menu-please.html
Monday, November 24, 2014. As the flight attendants distributed dinner menus to the passengers on a recent Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Mumbai, I eagerly awaited my turn. Would the menu feature a sumptuous dish brimming with Indian spices? Or would it be cooked in the Turkish way? In either case it would be something to relish. I rubbed my hands with glee, eager to pounce upon the menu. The flight attendant had a surprise in store. "Can you please pass me a few menus? Never mind," I consoled ...
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Ninad's Musings: The Uphill Climb
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-uphill-climb.html
Friday, May 15, 2015. Last evening as I entered Rosslyn metro station to catch a train home, the indicator signboard said the next train to my destination was due in eight minutes, which I took to mean that the next train would be coming in just two minutes, as they run every six minutes, and I would be able to catch it if I made a mad dash for it. But imagine my disappointment to see that the first car was just as crowded. But at least it was better lit, with no malfunctions of the overhead fluoresc...
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Ninad's Musings: The Sambar Saga
http://ninadjog.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-sambar-saga.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2015. I had utterly despaired of getting hold of a box or two of frozen sambar, the spicy Indian yellow-lentil soup. It brings zest to the largely bland dishes I cook and it makes my meals less dry and more palatable. How I wished there were an Indian grocery store within a mile or two of my home! What if it had all been sold out? After all it was Tuesday, and fresh stocks came on Wednesdays or Thursdays. But I found myself in a wrong lane, couldn't make a left turn, was forced to make...