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Manu

Review: Anex Monkey Smart Watch

Hello Readers, Welcome back. While browsing through a weekly flyer by Canadian Tire, my eyes got hold of a smart watch, primarily for its name - Monkey Smart Watch. It's original price was $89.99. On account of Father's Day, the price was slashed 70% and offered for just $24.99 (from June 9th to June 16th). As it was listed on Canadian Tire website, I thought the product should be genuine and googled to know more about the product. But there weren't sufficient reviews online. So I decided to try it myself and booked it online. This smart watch was launched in the last quarter of 2021 as Anex Monkey Smart Watch. Last year, it had been sold for just $19.99 as part of Black Friday deal. Even after 5 days of waiting, Canadian Tire didn't process my order. On the other hand, the stock was vanishing real quick and only 80 watches were available in our near by store. When checked with their customer service executive, I was told to cancel my online order or wait until they p...

Rutabaga: An Underrated Superfood & A Delicious Indian Recipe To Try!

Trying something new can feel uncertain, whether it is a new routine or new job or new city or even a new vegetable, as we often find comfort in the familiar. I had reservations about this particular vegetable until I cooked and tasted it. Let me introduce you Rutabaga, a lesser known vegetable (at least for a person from tropical region like me). It is nutrient-rich, flavourful and incredibly easy to prepare. When I first saw Rutabaga in the grocery stores here, I thought it would be from the yam family and ignored it, primarily because of its starch content. In addition, Rutabaga's sheer size always made me think twice to try it. In India, grocery stores sell small portions of vegetables like yam, cabbage or pumpkin, allowing customers purchase only what they need, which is...

Recipe: Idiyappam | Sevai | String Hoppers

Idiyappam, is a well known break fast item in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. It is also known as sevai or string hoppers (in English) and is primarily made out of rice floor. Like idli, idiyappam is made through steaming using no oil, making it very easily digestible and light on stomach. When I think about idiyappam, I remember 2 instances from my childhood. One of my friend's mom, used to feed her 2 year old with different colourful sevais for evening snack - white, yellow, red along with a liquid version of it too, almost 3-4 times in a week. Later I learnt from her elder daughter (my friend) that they are coconut sevai (sweet version), lemon sevai, tomato sevai and rasam sevai. Though born and brought up in Chennai, we aren't much into idiyappams. I don't remember eating them until I crossed 10 years. Whenever we visit a doctor with fever, our doctor used to give a list of food items - kanji, bread, idli, idiyappam and rasam rice, which I was usually averse to even...

Book: The Joy of less by Francine Jay | Why I turned Minimalist

More than a decade ago, one Saturday morning, my brother casually started to discuss with me about a documentary he saw. It was about the lifestyle of a person in Japan, who had very limited material possession - wardrobe with couple of formal pants and shirts in shades of grey, few t-shirts and shorts, couple of foot wear, a table, chair, bed and very few essential cookware to meet the needs in his daily life. Upon my brother's insistence, I too watched the video and his apartment (though very tiny) looked pristine and simple. But growing up in a society which believes more stuff = more joy (or power or status), and already living in a house full of items (2 sets of sofas, 3 beds, tonnes of clothes (in different sizes), dozens of footwear (mine alone) etc.), many of which we seldom use on a daily basis and most the items which we don't even remember exist, I simply laughed away saying "the minimalist lifestyle is a hoax" and doesn't work in the real time. That w...

Did Kate Williams Read My Mind? My Review of How to Stop Trying

I am sure we all would have heard this statement more than once in our lives from our parents, teachers, siblings, friends, spouse or even a boss: “Try and try till you achieve your dream or target.” It could be finding the job of your liking, marrying the person you desire, or earning that long-awaited promotion. For many of us, these words become the script of our lives - pushing us to always chase the next milestone, to measure our worth by achievements. But what happens when the constant “trying” becomes exhausting? That's the side of the story untold. What is this book about? This is what Kate Williams’ "How to Stop Trying: An Overachiever's Guide to Self-Acceptance, Letting Go, and Other Impossible Things" talks about. The book isn’t about throwing away ambitions or giving up on our dreams. Instead, it’s about recognizing the hidden cost of endless striving - the burn out, the inability to rest without guilt, the constant sense of “not enough” and learning how t...

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