माँ By Tripti Pandey

माँ

माँ प्यार है दुलार है,

ममता का वो संसार है.

वह धीर है गंभीर है,

नदियों सी वह अधीर है,

 शीतल सरल समीर है.

                    ज्वाला के जैसी फटती है,

                    रक्षक के जैसी डटती है.

                     जीवन कठिन संवारती,

                     उज्वल भविष्य निखारती.

वह पुष्प बनके है खिली,

खुशबू हमें उससे मिली.

वह दीप बनके जलती है,

दुनियां को रोशन करती है.

                      माँ प्यार है दुलार है

                      ममता का वह संसार है.

Sacred relics of Buddha - How close can you get to God?

How close can you get to God? The answer to this question can depend who is answering this question. It has been always been philosophical subject for me to know about God. I have asked this question to my mother when I was a kid and to myself when I grew up. I am not an atheist and believe in god. My belief in god has been a feeling very close to my heart and has given me strength to me in life. But closest I could get to god in physical sense in my life was when I visited any Hindu temple being a Hindu. I am writing this to share my experience of my visit to National Museum in New Delhi. I had not expected it to be a divine experience. I have a fondness for museums but have never gone to one to seek any godly encounter. This visit to National Museum changed my perspective towards Museums. Let me give you more details what I am talking about. It is my visit to National Museum specifically to the Buddhist Art Gallery. It turned out to be a spiritual Journey as it has sacred relics of the Gautam Buddha unearthed from Piprehwa, Distt. Sidharth Nagar in U.P India. The gallery also has other Artifacts (according to the museum website it has - outstanding specimens of Buddhist Art as a global movement, is illustrated through 84 exhibits in stone, bronze, terracotta, stucco, wooden sculptures and painted) Now why do I say it is a spiritual experience? Because Buddha is generally included as an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism.  Buddha was declared an avatar of Vishnu in several Puranas. So looking at something so closely can get you a feeling of getting close to god. Even if you find this a exaggeration but I am sure you will feel different being so close to sacred relics of the Gautam Buddha. You can look to them very closely take photos so this is a must visit which I will recommend to anyone who is in Delhi.       

Thukpa

So am I a Gourmet or a connoisseur of fine food. “No” infect I am writing about something which I have eaten for the first time in my life. So if you are looking for some expert advice I think you are at a wrong place and you will be wasting your time, you should try zomato.com or some other place. I too am not sure about these websites except zomoto as I am not a foodie types. So why am I writing this? I am writing this as I conceder myself from a class who wants to taste exotic food but will not go to a “exotic” place with 5star tag for oblivious reasons. 

This Dish was “Thukpa” and the place was DILLI HAAT INA market New Delhi. I am going to give you a firsthand report of a layman tasting this dish for the first time. There are stalls for different states selling different foods from their respective states. Cheap and OK standards, at times food is good. It can be a very good outing with family on a weekend if you belong to my category that looks at the right hand side of the menu card first in a restaurant. So let me start on my experience of eating Thukpa. I had a friend who had suggested me Thukpa which he told me is a Tibetan noodle soup, which it is. I was at Dilli Haat and wanted to try this, Wikipedia on my mobile told me --Thukpa is a Tibetan noodle soup. The dish became popular in Bhutan, and the states of Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. It is also popular in the Ladakh region and the state of Himachal Pradesh. 

Wow!! This information got me excited and could not resist this call to adventure. 

There are few stalls of food at dilli haat where you can get Thukpa.

I went to Manipur food stall as my friend had told me about this stall, but I am not sure which is best out of them, I don’t think I can make out a difference between a good Thukpa or a bad one. I ordered one chicken Thukpa, you get differ Thukpa including a pork and even vegetarian Thukpa. I loved the dish and for sure this will not be the last time I am eating this. So what it is? It is what Wikipedia had told me - a noodle soup. Let me ask you few questions? Do you like clear soups specially clear chicken soups? Do you like noodles? If the answer is - yes. Than this dish is for you. The soup is spicy but not very hot. You can try this with a fruit beer which had very sweet test so if you don’t like extra sweet taste go for normal coke or Pepsi. I have liked the Thukpa… not only liked it but now I am a fan of it, will try it again if you have any suggestion for me, I will be more than happy to know anything you tell me about Thukpa.