Sophia book event at the University of Johannesburg

As I drove off into the sunset yesterday evening heading back home, I couldn't help but ponder and reflect on the lovely afternoon I had at the Sophia book event held at the University of Johannesburg. What was discussed at the event was absolutely relevant and typical of what is happening to many women in South Africa including Indian women from rich and affluent homes. Gender based violence or violence against women is definitely a topic that society needs to bring to the fore. A few days ago a lady cashier at one of the shops mentioned to me that she was surprised to see a well known woman from within the community arriving at the shop with dark glasses on. Upon further investigation she realized that the woman was beaten up and hence the area around her eyes were blue. The abused woman however stated that she knocked herself into the door covering up for her husband. Hence, this woman has stuck in this abusive relationship for many years whilst her husband walks tall in society. Women are selfless creatures. God has made us this way to endure pain and to sacrifice for the sake of our families. But, then I wonder.. why should we be always sacrificing. No matter how powerful a woman is in terms of education or if she is a successful business woman, the minute a woman steps into her house she is immediately taken over by a patriarchal system whereby the husbands rules and regulations take over. Frankly speaking, I do not agree with this. Whilst a man is the head of the house, the wife should be his equal and she should have a right and a say with regards to the running of her home. This issue of gender based violence is prevalent across the globe. In countries like Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan women are abused to such an extent that acid is thrown on their faces, thereby disfiguring them for life. Hats off to Shafinaaz Hassim, for her involvement in gender based violence and for creating an awareness about this issue through her books. South Africa needs more women like this to support and encourage these abused women to come out of the closet. Every human being has a right to lead a happy and fulfilling life. If a man has dreams and aspirations so too do women. A woman's dreams don't just fade and wither away the day she marries or becomes a mom or a wife or a daughter in law. My advise to all women out there is this, if you are in an abusive relationship please please please, seek help. Talk to someone..go for counselling. We only live once, so let us all enjoy this life that God has blessed us with. Live your life to the fullest and follow your dreams.

A delicious Trifle Recipe brought to you by Rey's Kitchen Delights

A trifle is a dessert made from thick custard, biscuits or sponge cake, cut up fruits and sometimes cream. The ingredients are usually layered. According to Wikipedia, the earliest known use of the name trifle was for a thick cream flavoured with sugar, ginger and rosewater, the recipe for which was published in England, 1596, in a book called "The good huswife's Jewell" by Thomas Dawson.Sixty years later eggs were added and the custard was poured over alcohol soaked bread. Naturally as I am a Muslim, following the Islamic faith, none of our cooking or baking would consume alcohol as it is strictly prohibited from a religious perspective.

                                1. Buy a packet of Boudoir biscuits also known as finger biscuits

                                2. Lay out the biscuits in a pyrex dish as depicted above

                                3. Buy a tin of canned peach slices.

                                4. Pour the syrup from the tin over the Boudoir biscuits. The syrup
                                    will soak into the biscuits thereby making it soft.                      

                                5. Take apricot jam and spread it over the soaked biscuits

                                 6. Add as much jam as you desire

                                7. Now sprinkle dessicated coconut over the jam                  
           

                                8. Now chop up the peach slices that were left behind in the tin

                                9. Now sprinkle ground almonds over the chopped up peach slices

                                10. In a saucepan add 1.2 litres of milk. Heat it on the stove.The
                                      milk is required to make a nice smooth custard.

                               11. In a dish add 5 tablespoons of custard powder

                                12. Add some water to the powder and mix into a smooth mixture
                                      Not too thin and not too thick

                                13. Now add the custard powder mixture to the milk and stir
                                      making sure that there are no lumps in the mixture.Allow the
                                      mixture to boil until it thickens                            
               

                                14. Now pour the thickened custard over the rest of the ingredients

                                15. Add a small tin of nestle cream over the cooled custard. Decorate
                                    with crushed flake chocolate and sliced peaches as illustrated above.... 

Mystic India World Tour - A show not to be missed

After reading rave reviews about the Mystic India World Tour currently in South Africa, my family and I decided to grace the event at Emperors Palace on Friday night. The artists danced the night away to a capacity crowd mainly Indian of course, although I was quite surprised to see many White and African people enjoying the production as well. The producer and brainchild behind the show is Mr. Amit Shah who along with his entire world class team put together a show that enthralled and captivated the audience for the entire duration of the program. The show not only celebrated Indian Cinema's 100th anniversary but it also took the audience down memory lane showcasing Indian folk dances going back many decades in time. The narrator of the show Mr. Sanjay Sahni, who I had an opportunity of interacting with after the show, did an excellent job of taking the audience down memory lane. His voice quality and fantastic command of the English language mesmerized the audience as he related the story of the mythological Elephant God in Hinduism Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna and Radha's story and  the story of the legendary Moghul king, King Akbar who married a Hindu princess Jodha bhai thereby sealing the unity of Hindu and Muslims in India during the 16th century.Every story was accompanied with a beautifully choreographed dance sequence. We were taken to Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi in India.Gandhi arrived in South Africa  in the year 1893. It was a fantastic idea on the part of the production team to include the story of Mahatma Gandhi as it unites Indians from South Africa with the native Indians from our motherland, India.The presentation took us through various cities in India where different Indian dance forms originated from. Bharat natyam, which is a very erotic dance form originates from Tamil Nadu, South India. The movements of an authentic Bharatanatyam dancer resemble the movements of a dancing flame. We then celebrated the festival of spring in India commonly known as Holi. The dancers took to the stage with beautiful, brightly coloured outfits and danced happily with enthusiasm and grace thereby making the audience feel as though they are also apart of this colourful festival.I was really impressed with their eye and facial expressions. The Bhangra dance originated from Panjab and watching the dancers do the Bhangra made me want to get off my seat and join them. We then traveled to Uttar Pradesh where the Kathak dance form originated from. According to Wikipedia, a kathak performance is traditionally divided into two distinct formal parts. The technical part is full of intricate rhythmic structures woven around a preordained rhythmic pattern. They include swift and masterly footwork called tatkar and exquisite circular movements or chakkars. Rhythmic units are woven around sort of long patterns called tukras and toras respectively. The other part of kathak employs bhav or abhinaya which elucidates the emotive content of the subject matter. 

The highlight of the show though was undoubtedly the acrobatic act performed by Rajesh Mudki, Rajesh Amrale, Ashwin Rawal and Naresh Kashiramjadhav. Their performance was based on an old Indian warrior art of Mallakhamb. According to Wikipedia,originally mallakhamb was introduced as a supporting exercise for wrestlers. "Pole mallakhamb" was started by Balambhattdada Deodhar sometime between 1800 and 1810. Later on, his student Damodarguru Moghe realized that only major grips can be developed with a pole and used cane instead of a pole. Subsequently, the unavailability of cane resulted in rope mallakhamb. Almost 25 to 30 types of mallakhamb apparatus were tried and tested over the years. Up until today this technique is still utilized by the Indian army as part of a soldiers training program.

Prabhu Deva is undoubtedly one of India's best when it comes to dance and choreography and hence a dance show would be incomplete without showcasing his dance style. The dancers did a fantastic job pulling off every Prabhu Deva move effortlessly and flawlessly to the famous song "Muqabala Muqabala". Of course as we moved towards the end of the show, modern day Bollywood song and dance was showcased to an audience that witnessed Indian culture and tradition at its best. Hats off to the 26 member cast that performed with their heart and soul.

The female dancers were Kruti Shah, Hiral Shah, Rupal Joshi, Rachel Higbee, Andrea Palesh, Anjuli Bhattacharyya, Brielle Simonelli, Katerina Lott, Melissa Cammarata, Zimone Mincey, while the male dancers were Jack Tyler, Joseph Barnett, Raphael Niba, Reginald Webber Jr, Donnel Lewis, Bryan Soto, Adam Bourque. I was particularly impressed with the stunning hand made costumes that included traditional Indian clothes from the various regions in India. From what I heard over five hundred costumes were required for the show. The lighting and sound effects was definitely of a high international standard. No Bollywood show can be complete without professional musicians. Rohan Dahale and Manuraj Rajput played the tabla and the flute with absolute finesse and perfection proving to the world yet again that when it comes to music and song compositions India reigns supreme over the rest of the world. The only downside to the show for me was, it was too short.I wanted to see more of Bollywood.  The one and a half hours flew by like water. I guess time flies by when you having fun. :)))

                        Picture courtesy https://www.facebook.com/EmperorsPalaceResort

My niece Juhaina turns two

Last Sunday my niece Juhaina turned two, so we decided to have a small get together with close family and friends...May Allah grant her a long life of happiness and may she always be the coolness to our eyes.....Ameen..:))))))))))