Cat

Wayward about Poetry, Randomly.

An idiotic conversation with my best friend lead to the serious topic of poetry and its moods. We realized that it's almost always the darker topics in poetry that trap our minds. You don't get goose bumps from jovial poems about the weather no matter how beautifully they're written. Perhaps because when you're happy, there is nothing that makes you think hard. You're just in the moment enjoying what you're reading and you don't want to waste time thinking about it. If you're in a bad mood, then a happy poem may cheer you up; but it wouldn't  make you say "Whoa!"

Now on the other hand, those serious and deep topics have a fish-hook-effect on you. A dark poem forces you to sit up and listen. You either appreciate the poem for its depth or it shakes you into thinking about what the poet's talking about.

Anyone with an affinity for poetry would have been affected at some point by a hard-hitting poem. When a poem hits you- BAM- like a truck, it's not going to be because the sky is so blue or because the birds are chirping in the trees. If the poet speaks of war or suffering or sadness or deceit or even love, the poet is forcing his opinion and emotions on the reader, pulling him into a web of questioning thoughts.

But these ideas or explanations for why hard hitting poetry or even literature tends to be dark are disturbing. Why are our brains wired to be 'entertained' by crime, sinister thoughts and sadness? Why do our brains feed off it? It cannot merely be a result of desensitization of our generation for literature of this kind has existed for centuries. Does thinking hard about a topic or situation always result in crookedness? It's unsettling to think that there's a dark person hiding within each of us, that if instigated enough, that darkness shows itself. Sometimes I feel it's best to stay away from depth. There is no need to analyze everything, to look for a hidden meaning, to read between the lines. Sometimes meeting things at face value is appreciation enough. Blissful ignorance and peace of mind, perhaps?

I shall now indulge in some shameless plugging. The aforementioned best friend is a brilliant artist and as is evident from our conversation, brilliant in the head as well. This best friend has a blog of her own which you really ought to visit. Check out Mallika Bhandari at  Random Outcomes of a Deranged Mind. 


(The title to this post is an inside joke. Heeheehee.)

Man and Cow

The YUMMY cake that was.

YUMMY CHOCOLATE CAKE

1.5 cups of flour
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2tsp vanilla essence
2 whole eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsp baking powder
150 gm butter

Pre-heat oven. (~180degrees)

Mix up all these fellows in a nice big bowl. For this you will need a spatula and stamina for continuous, vigorous mixing. Ideally, try to get rid of all the lumps, even though it may seem impossible. Whisper to yourself, "You can do it." If no one's looking, give yourself an encouraging fist bump and carry on mixing.

Once mixed, transfer into a greased and floured container for baking purposes. Then bake for around 45 minutes at 180 degrees. The timing may not be accurate- so just stick a knife into your cake every five minutes or so once you cross half an hour and turn off your oven when it comes out clean.

Do not be over-excited. Do not forget oven mitts or a thick towel. Do not start touching or kissing your beautiful cake yet because it will be hot.

But woohoo! It's now ready. Upturn and keep it ready on a flat plate for icing.

YUMMY CHOCOLATE ICING

500 gm dark chocolate
400 ml fresh cream
Pinch of salt

Make while your cake bakes.

Melt the dark chocolate. It looks beautiful, believe me. Simultaneously heat up the cream in another pan. Add the melted chocolate to the warm cream and mix it up with a pinch of salt. This looks even more beautiful. Watching the white cream turn to dark brown will make your mouth water. Try not to drool into your mixture.

Try not to eat it up before your cake finishes cooking. To satiate your watering mouth, you can lick up the residual chocolate from the melting bowl.

Woohoo! It's ready.

 

YUMMY CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH ICING

1 Yummy chocolate cake

1 Bowl of Yummy chocolate icing

1 ladle 

1 flat spatula to spread

Dollop the icing GENEROUSLY over your cake and cover it completely. Spread it and make it look pretty.

Serve with extra icing to use as chocolate dip. This is MUCH tastier than chocolate sauce. 

TaadaaA! 

 

Remember, it's CHOCOLATE, so it will ALWAYS be yum (even if you mess up the recipe). Happy baking!

PS- this recipe was the result of messily following two separate recipes.