Pooja Sodhi's Blog
May 2023 be the harbinger of hope, health and happiness ... Tennyson wrote: "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come. Whispering 'it will be happier'." After almost 2 years of Covid fear and restrictions, just when it seemed all is well, the scare of the virus resurfaced as 2022 came to an... Continue Reading →
Holi - the Festival of Colours is intimately associated with Thandai (a cooling summer drink) and Bhang (cannabis) in North India especially in Uttar Pradesh. The intoxicating combination heralds the beginning of summers in this part of India. As the name itself suggests, thandai means providing refreshing coolness from the summer heat. And consumption of... Continue Reading →
The heralding of winter starts my hankering for Banarasi chooda matar, but one has to wait till the prices of peas are in the comfortable zone. While many who are not familiar with this delicacy confuse it with normal poha with peas which is cooked in many households, but many states in India have one... Continue Reading →
The book would not have happened if not for Covid times. Like all other Sodhi family milestone Birthdays, we were also looking forward to host family and friends for a celebration over drinks and dinner – reminiscing moments from his life. After having been cheated five years before on his 70th Birthday because Chikungunya struck both... Continue Reading →
Last fortnight, I made the first leisure outing in one year, ever since the lockdown eased in 2020. I have been out running errands, to buy things not available through the e-carts industry or for haircuts but not for the purpose of going out to have fun. Me and my friend ventured out on a... Continue Reading →
Holi, the vibrant festival of colours is celebrated with gusto and merry abandonment as part of the spring season. Holi celebrations in UP (Uttar Pradesh) are not just a one day affair, but they start few days before the actual festival. Mentioned in many songs, poems and other writings, as well as depicted in the... Continue Reading →
The Age Of Pandemics 1817-1920 How They Shaped India and The World by Chinmay Tumbe is a well researched book to add to the must-read history of India that has been forgotten and ignored. A book written while the nation and the rest of the world was and still is in the grip of yet... Continue Reading →
As the year began, on one cold, rainy, and foggy morning in Del-NCR a conversation in one of the WhatsApp group caught my eye - discussing what else but weather. Someone described it as "raining cats and dogs here ... wretched weather" - and just reading those words plummeted the mood. The reply came from... Continue Reading →
They say Banarasi boli is sweet - the dialect spoken in the city. But what I miss the most is the chaat and the sweets of Banaras, and of course, the old world charm of exploring the city via its galis and gazing into the unknown across the Ganges while sitting on its ghats. Varanasi... Continue Reading →
Celebrating Diwali is not just about a religious significance, but a spiritual belief, a sense of celebration and of continuing the family traditions. The anticipation of festival is more intense with the cleaning of the home, buying new clothes and gifts for family and friends, scouting the market for diyas and new kind of lights,... Continue Reading →
At the start of Lockdown in February-March 2020 across the world, there was a huge hue and cry about scarcity of N95 and surgical masks in the market for the public. Slowly, the governments and other manufacturers geared up for the production and supply resumed. Other companies joined the fray in producing 2-3 layer cotton... Continue Reading →
Social media is abuzz with people posting photos of empty offices and their desks as they left them months back; it is with some trepidation that they are returning to the office - some because it is required and some people as an experiment. What is going to be the new normal post Covid Lockdown... Continue Reading →