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LGBTQ Rights: Will the Rainbow of Tolerance rise in India?

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I know there has been no new year post and we are already standing in the beginning of the second month of the year. This period has been particularly uninspiring and busy. I choose to write today not about anything sweet. This post is laced with bitterness. Today is the day the honourable Supreme Court of India will decide whether or not the rights of the LGBTQ community will be recognized or whether being in love with another human being will continue to remain a criminal offence warranting a life sentence in my country. I am an Indian. I was born here and have spent my entire life here. But I am a tiny minority in this country. Why? Well I belong to a tiny fragment of the population who were raised to be liberal and tolerant individuals. I was among the fortunate few who were told from very early on in life that, who I was in terms of gender, religion, caste, race, sexual orientation, political views, taste in literature, financial status or educational qualification does not d
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Christmas Dessert Spread

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Hello my people!!! Welcome to Boxing Day!!! ^_^ A belated Merry Christmas to you all and my apologies for the late wish, but then again you know how the life of a hotelier is. :/ So without much ado, I present to you our Christmas dessert spread from yesterday. Cheers!! Christmas Plum Cake Black Forest Gateaux Slices Fruit Mince Pie Blueberry Cobbler Spiced Pumpkin and Pecan Pie Eggnog Cheesecake Yule Log The Cookie Tree
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Feels Like Christmas Again...

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Yes it has been quite a while. I have been very busy and tired. I am sorry. But Christmas is the time for forgiveness. So forgive, forget and read this new post. ^_^ This post is about this year's Gingerbread House that my colleagues and I made at the retreat. It was very hard work and the house stretched our patience to the strangest limits, but all said and done, I feel like a proud mother. :) This year I have a new recipe for construction gingerbread. This one is even more durable and sturdy, but DO NOT make the mistake of eating it. It tastes just like sawdust. In my next post I will give you recipes for edible gingerbread. The delicious, rich, gingery, spicy kind. Wait for that. Also have a royal icing recipe which sticks like cement. CONSTRUCTION GINGERBREAD Ingredients: Flour                       13.5 kg Sugar                       3.4 kg Eggs                         10 nos. Butter                      900 g Dark Caramel          500 g Water                  
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Syllabub Sits Well

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Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell. Not many people have heard about her. Even I had not till today morning, truth be told. This particular woman caught my attention because it is her 128th birth anniversary today. 7th September. While it has been more than half a century since she has moved on from this world, she was quite the interesting character. Born in Scarborough (Instantly feel like humming Simon and Garfunkel don't you?) to very unloving parents, she was subjected to neglect and alienation all through her childhood. She spent most of her life living in a shabby apartment with her governess and fell in love with a homosexual Russian artist. Sounds pretty messed up huh? Well she was a poet and her style and subject of poetry reflects this disturbed nature very clearly. I read quite a few of her poems all day today and a particular one caught my eye. "Sir Beelzebub" (Made me think of 'Lord of the Flies'). The poem starts with the line "Well Sir Beelzebub cal
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From One Dark Place to Another

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"Everything went cold, like all the happiness had gone from the world." I start by quoting Harry Potter. My happy place. But I choose this reflection of depression because it isn't always that the Sun shines for you. A hypothetical situation has been providing fuel for my writing of late. Not a pleasant one though. Imagine a scenario where you are trapped. With consent in a way. You have a way out of physical abuse or being used by somebody. But you choose not to end the degradation and humiliation. You choose to let it go on because you want to numb all your senses to other, unrelated problems in your life. You stick to someone who neither cares, nor appreciates your situation at all. You are just pleasure on two legs. Something to give attention to for a few moments, as long as the enjoyment lasts. And then aloofness and dehumanizing you with actions. But you allow this. You throw up whenever you are alone. But you let it happen. Therefore consent. Therefore it
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Black Forest Fudge Brownies

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Hey there. After yet another three month long vanishing act, I am back (With a killer recipe this time. Not excuses.) It's a recipe for the most phenomenal brownie I have ever baked. You're starting to think "Same old. Same old." Let me stop you right there. Rich, gooey and fudgey these brownies will smother you with their buttery, chocolatey goodness. These brownies are for people who aren't afraid of ODing on chocolate and haters of brownie crumbs. I couldn't praise these brownies enough. And after they undergo the Black Forest twist they become a little too delicious. Obscenely so. So we brought back this cherry brandy from our Amsterdam trip. It's sweet and sour with a hint of alcohol. But fear not. If you cannot get your hands on this beauty you could just as easily pick any other cherry flavoured liqueur or cheat by adding cherry essence to vodka. If you want to do it the hard way you could also soak tinned cherries in vodka for a few days for the sa
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The Day After Easter

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Hello again to those who still bother to look in on my blog. With my two month breaks between posts I do not expect many of you do. I apologise once AGAIN. This internship and thesis is leaving me no time to write. I am sorry. The last few days have been Easter preparations and execution in full swing. Easter eggs, Easter themed cakes, Easter special brunch buffets....it has been a whirlwind of festivity rush!! The pastry shop at the hotel was customised to be the very embodiment of Easter with Easter eggs, bunnies and chicks topping everything from gateaux to cheesecakes to doughnuts. Hot Cross Buns were the Easter bread addition.  It was hard work but worth the effort. Chocolate Nest Doughnuts Chocolate Truffle Easter Cake Easter Carrot Cake  Chocolate Cheesecake Hot Cross Buns The brunch menu too contained traditional Easter fare such as the Simnel Cake (Yes I did finally get around to making my own complete with the decorations!), Carrot Cake, Chocola
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