Author: Adi Sathe

  • Good food but not so much detecting – Book Review

    Good food but not so much detecting – Book Review

    My introduction to Japanese literary scene is pretty recent and obviously through the translated works. A few gems came to my way were a couple of short books by Haruki Murakami, Honjin Murder by Seishi Yokomizo and Easy Life in Kamasuri. I enjoyed all of them but, you haven’t heard my thoughts about them here. It’s been a long time I have posted a book review for my lovely blog readers. I hope to restart my blogging journey once again with this one.

    The Kamogawa Food Detectives came on my feed while I was casually browsing windows of labyrinth of Amazon. Being a sucker for crime fiction genre and a foodie, it grabbed my attention right away. Before I knew, I had got it on my kindle and already opened to read.

    What to expect from this?

    The Kamogawa Food Detectives take you on a journey of Japanese cuture, cuisine and short trips to a variety of prefectures across the island country. Though it’s about a father-daughter duo hunting for lost recipes for their clients, the book misses the mark about the “hunting” part. It’s a good book offering culinary and philosophical nuggets spread across its pages. Howeveer, if you are coming in with an expectation to read stories of sleuthing, you will be disappointed.

    From the blurb

    What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

    Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason to stop by . . .

    The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to forgotten memories and future happiness.

    From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love’s beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.

    About the book

    • Name of Book: The Kamogawa Food Detectives
    • Author: Hisashi Kashiwai
    • Publisher: Mantle
    • Publication date: 5 October 2023
    • Pages: 209
    • ISBN – 10: 0593717716
    • Kindle e-book Price: ₹ 499

    My ratings

    Stories: 3/5
    Writing Style: 3/5
    Cover Design: 4/5

    Overall Rating: 3/5

    Where to get your copy

    Should you read it?

    Overall, it’s a good “one time read” if you are interested in Japanese culture, food and some philosophy!

    For more about my views on books, click here.

  • Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, it's a wonderful world...
    Remind me, will you?

    Today, when I sat down to write this, I found it to be a nice coincidence. My last post on my blog is a free verse about finding joy in small things. It seems this thought hasn’t left my mind and I have something more to talk about. Being a poet, I have a habit of distilling thoughts into a concise and crisp form of expression. So, it’s very unusual for me. I haven’t felt an urge to write something more on a topic about which I have already written a poem.

    When I wrote that free verse, I was thinking about the possibilities of stumbling on unexpected happiness. The joy it sparks when you wake up to a beautiful symphony of birds singing from your balcony. As if it’s a private concert just for you! Imagine the happiness when you come home after a tiring day and someone offers you a chilled glass of sharbat in summer or a hot cup of tea or coffee on some cold day. These are the moments of happiness in this wonderful world on which we stumble upon.

    But today, I want to talk about us missing out on the joy of these small moments, which seem insignificant in our race to paint the “big picture”. In today’s day and age, we all live in a very competitive world. Everybody is chasing one goal after the other, trying to reach the next milestone as soon as you reach the earlier one. It’s such a rush that we forget to even take a breath and celebrate the achievement of reaching the milestone itself.

    Some added pressure to spice it up…

    I feel social media has added a layer of new pressure to track the numbers. Especially for the creators like us, who have not yet made it large. Numbers do matter to us, but sometimes, the traction of numbers takes us away from the joy we used to get from being creative. Sometimes, we feel stuck in a place where we can’t create anymore. Some say it’s our mind playing tricks with us. But today, when I read Yashavi’s post on her blog, I felt that I am not alone who thinks that creative block is real. We have to make a conscious effort to find that spark of joy. That too, if we are lucky enough to understand that we have lost it in the first place.

    For the past few days, I had been mulling over these thoughts. It feels that one should revisit his or her reservoirs of joy to get rejuvenated. These reservoirs are very personal springs or fountains of joy, exclusive for themselves. For some it might be a trip to the mountains or a wilderness. One might find his fountain just around the corner in shelves of a local library. A music festival might replenish someone’s canteen while others can get recharged just by an early morning jog. 

    Basically, the point is to remove that blockage and get that water flowing again. Remind yourself that it’s a wonderful world out there. Take a moment, and look out.

    For my other posts, follow this trail…

  • हो, जग सुंदर आहे!

    हो, जग सुंदर आहे!

    पावलो पावली जाणीव होते, हो, जग सुंदर आहे!

    जग सुंदर आहे जेव्हा तुम्ही सकाळी उठता आणि काही पक्षी तुमची गॅलरीमध्ये वाट बघत असतात.
    हे सुंदर जग शीतल होतं जेव्हा अचानक तळपत्या सूर्यासमोर आलेला एक कृष्णमेघ तुमच्या डोक्यावर सावली धरतो.
    कधी तरी दमून भागून घरी आलात की न मागता तुमच्यासमोर चहा/कॉफीचा वाफाळता कप येतो. किंवा अचानक पाणीपुरी पार्टी ठरते. तेव्हा जग खरंच सुंदर असते.
    अर्थात जग सुंदर होतेच जेव्हा तुमच्या जवळ तुमचा हक्काचा जिवलग असतो.
    आणि जवळ नसला तरी विरहाची सुंदरता फक्त तुम्हालाच जाणवते.

    सकाळच्या धावपळीच्या वेळेत ट्राफिकमध्ये नाही अडकलात तर! न आढेवेढे घेता कॅज्यूअल मंजूर झाली तर!
    आमच्या कोकणातल्या चाकरमान्यांना गणपतीमध्ये गाडीची तिकीटं आणि शिमग्याला सुट्टी मिळाली तर!
    अर्थातच जग सुंदर असतं!

    चित्तथरारक डिटेक्टिव्ह कथा सुंदर असते, मनाला भिडणारी कविता सुंदर असते.
    चुकून आलंच मित्राच पत्र तर तोच काय, पुढचे अनेक दिवस सुंदरच असतात!

    एकूण काय, तर  जग सुंदर आहेच, आपला चष्मा तेव्हढा स्वच्छ हवा..
    —
    आदित्य साठे
    २५-०५-२०२४ 

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  • दोस्त…

    दोस्त…

    दोस्त….

    आज तुम्हारी बड़ी याद आ रही है।
    अब याद भी नहीं की आखरी मिले कितना समय गुजर गया।
    पर वो याद आज भी ताजा है,
    जब पहली बार हम मिले थे।
    वैसे ये कहना झूठ ही होगा की,
    उस मुलाकात का हर पहलू मुझे याद है।
    लेकिन कुछ बारीकियां दिमाग में जैसे के तैसी बैठी है।
    हमारी माताएं दोस्त थी, हमारी दोस्ती होना तो लाजमी था।
    लेकिन दोस्ती निभाना हमारा अपना निर्णय।
    जिस पर सालों से हम कायम है।

    मां की उंगली थामे होती हुई अपनी मुलाकाते
    आगे पाठशाला की रह पर चल पड़ी।
    हर रोज कॉपी, किताबों में मिली,
    धूप में क्रिकेट खेलते ग्राउंड में पकी दोस्ती
    और गहरी होती गई।

    फिर आया वो मकाम,
    जब रोज साथ में चलते रास्ते में एक मोड़ आया।
    जिंदगी की रह पर चलने का समय आया।
    तुमने अपना रास्ता चुना और मैंने अपना।

    मुलाकाते अब रोज नहीं होती।
    अब सालाना दशहरा – दिवाली की छुट्टियों में मिलना होता है।
    ना, ऐसी बात नही है के मैं बिल्कुल जस्बाती हूं,
    और हमेशा पुरानी यादों को लेकर रोता रहता हूं।
    पर कभी कभार, कुछ गाने, कोई चित्र, कोई खुशबू,
    ले जाती है मुझे अतीत के सफर पर।
    आज वैसे ही, तुम्हारी बड़ी याद आ रही है।
    जब आज सुबह मैंने देखा,
    दो माताएं अपने अपने बच्चों को गोद में उठाए बड़े मजे से बतिया रही थी…

    —
    आदित्य साठे
    २२-०५-२०२४

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  • Nothing but Emotion Gatherer

    Nothing but Emotion Gatherer

    Our heart is always filled with emotions. Sometimes we are really happy, someday we feel a bit deflated just like a flat tire. The sun may rise someday with a very sad and gloomy mood while the other day might feel elated. Our mind keeps playing tricks on us with all of these emotions.

    As a creative soul, I nourish my creativity with a regular dosage of these emotions. I have been writing poetry for more than 15 years. Over the years, many people asked me if there’s a personal story behind every poem.

    No, we are mere gatherers

    So today, I will answer this question. There are poems which come out from a very personal space. But not every poem comes with a backstory. Not every love-poem is written for my girlfriend/partner and my heart is not broken for so many times to mach my ‘broken heart’ poetry. Many times, I draw inspiration from people around me. Sometimes I don’t even know them. A poem can come to me when I am sitting at a cafe and there’s a couple sharing a nice conversation over a cuppa. A thought can take root when I am in a garden where I see an old man brooding alone.

    I find an abundance of emotions to gather all around me. Copious amounts of joy, plenty of happiness, tensions, anxiety and many more. However, I feel, sorrow is the strongest emotion we humans can feel. And it’s said many times that we poets carry a sadness deep down inside us.

    केहते है, दर्द के बिना कविता पैदा नहीं होती।

    With this thought, a Marathi poem came to me some days before, which talks about the relationship that poetry shares with sadness. May it be a personal emotion or it’s borrowed from someone else.

    दुःख, भावना तशी अतिशय प्रभावशाली.
    कधी स्वतः अनुभवलेली, कधी सभोवताली बघितलेली.
    क्वचित पूर्ण गुरफटून टाकणारी, तर केव्हा अगदी नमुन्याला गोळा केलेली.
    अनेक दुःखे हाताशी घेऊन आम्ही कवी,
    गुंफतो कधी शब्द काही.
    ते कागदावर उतरतात तेव्हा लेखणीतून उतरत नाही शाई,
    उतरतात ते अश्रू, ओढून दुःखाची चादर काळी.
    आजही, कढ अगदी दाटून आलाय,
    बहुदा दुःख उतू जाणार थोडी.
    कदाचित, आज कविता घडेल थोडी…

    आदित्य साठे

    हिंदी अनुवाद

    दुख, वैसे तो बहोत प्रभावशाली भावना।
    कभी खुद का अनुभव, तो फिर कभी कही देखा हुवा।
    शायद पूरी तरह से गिरफ्त में लेती हुई, या कई बार, बस छू कर जाने वाली।
    वैसे हम कवि लोग, अनगिनत दुख अपने बस्ते में लेके घूमते है,
    कही किसी दिन लिख देते है कुछ शब्द।
    जब वो कागज पे उतरते है तो स्याही नही,
    आसू उतरते है, दुख की काली चादर लपेटे हुए।
    आज भी, कूछ ज्यादा ही गहरा हो गया है,
    शायद दुख उबल कर बह जाएगा।
    शायद, आज थोड़ी कविता होगी…

    आदित्य साठे

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z and this is the 5th post in my “Mobile Blogging” series. Do let me know what you think about this in the comments below.

    For my other posts, follow this trail…

  • It’s all about the dedication

    It’s all about the dedication

    It’s all about dedication, I tell you. It was a perfect 3 day streak of posting even when I was on vacation. It appears that my streak ended along with it. Yesterday on the 4th of April, I was supposed to write the post for the letter D. I can give you the excuse of being tired after driving a car for 5 hours in this burning heat. But that would be a lie.

    I faltered with my dedication to keep writing is the only truth. And I am not ready to give up. Wise people say, it’s not a bad thing to make mistakes, it’s bad to repeat the same ones and not learn from them.

    It’s time to relearn

    I am learning once again about the need and importance of dedication and determination to achieve your goal. And it’s not just about being consistent at blogging. This relearning is helping me with my other goal too for which I have made a social commitment in my earlier blog.

    But I am glad that I am a part of this thriving community of my lovely fellow bloggers, Blogchatter. Their constant encouragement keeps my morals high and I am here writing this one instead of leaving the A2Z challenge after this first hurdle.

    This post started with my understanding of the importance of dedication and determination to achieve goals for improvement but seems like it has turned into my appreciation of the lovely folks of the Blogchatter community! And I have no regrets about this.

    But wait, I think an idea is brewing in my head for my next post which is supposed to be the ‘E post’. Just to give you a hint, a lot of shout outs are coming your way!!!

    So stay tuned to know, if you’re getting lucky in this post or the next one.

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z and this is 4th post in my “Mobile Blogging” series. Do let me know what you think about this in the comments below.

    For my other posts, follow this trapil…