Writing Task: Twitter

Twitter is really fun to use. My personal experience with this social media platform is that the tweets and re-tweets are unique and it's a platform which is not static. It goes way to fast and it's very informative. I followed BCC News and I found that it's one of the pages that is most up to date. I don't think anyone would miss any news after following its profile. I love the hash  tag and it's one of the coolest aspect on twitter. It allows us to have an overview of whatever other users have said about that topic in particular. Moreover, there is also the notifications which lets you know of recent activities such as who's following you or who replied to your tweet. It is one of the most used platform by celebrities and journalists. I found that celebrities use it to connect and create a bond with their audience and fans as well as to promote their upcoming films, music videos/ albums. They give their personal touch whereas journalists use it mostly to keep people updated of the most recent activities. It's like a sort of 'Express' news. The intriguing part of twitter is the 140 characters. Again this add to its uniqueness and I think that  everything has an aspect of duality. In the case of the 140 characters, it's useful in the sense that it makes us think before posting anything. This constraint limits us to say only what is most essential and skipping lengthy details. It attracts the attention of the users but on the other hand guess slaughtering English grammar is unavoidable when using twitter and its 140 characters. I find twitter as being somehow citizen journalism because these users post some information that some newspapers do not publish. And it gives rise to an open platform so as people can express themselves, share their feelings, beliefs and voice out to their mediated audience. When tweeting, my experience is that I feel there's that invisible audience, or that I'm talking to myself. Most people are into the stories and personal lives of famous personalities and for those who are still making baby steps in this fast paced world of twitter, I'm sure it's going to take a lot of time before one can engage in that participatory culture or to get known on this platform. One reason is because the minority of my friends are active on twitter as most of them use it as a secondary social media platform.  

Chinese delicacy

Fishy isn't it? hyyy hyyyy hyyyyyy sweet peeps...Except fried, rice, fried noodles, chop soy and sweet and sour dish, I'm certainly not a pro at Chinese delicacies. However I wanted to try out this traditional Chinese dish. It's actually vegetarian spring rolls from a no-cook recipe.

I'm sure if I want to eat Chinese food outdoors, especially veg, I won't find anything because the filling is always non-veg with few vegetables. So I tried to be innovative. I used tofu (also known as teocon here in Mauritius) sliced it in long slices then fried them in very little oil. I finely grated some carrots. That's for the filling, The main wrap is rice paper which can be found in any supermarket.

In a casserol, boil some water. As soon as it's warm place the wrap in it and remove it as soon as it becomes smooth and sticky. Before adding the filling, sprinkle some salt and pepper. You can vary the filling. This is the simplest method. Some people like it fried as a snack. And Voila, vegetarian spring rolls.

Generative Value

4 Reasons I'm Vegetarian and why you could do it.

1. Non-violence against animals

Non-violence against animals is a vital aspect of vegetarianism and Krishna Conscious Culture. As I mentioned before animals are part and parcel of the Lord and the animal slaughter will only entangle you in sinful activities. And one may not get closer to the Lord. In 2012 I went to Vrindavan, India and there cows walk freely on the roads. When looking in their eyes, I don't know why I could see sadness in there eyes. Maybe it was just my interpretation because Vrindavan Dham is the eternal abode of Lord Krsna and one can feel simply blissful there, even the animals.  Cow are sacred and considered to be our mother.  How some can be cruel and pitiless to our mother?

2. Non-veg food is not offered to the Lord

Vegetarian food cooked and offered to the Lord is healthier, tastier and cooked out of love. And I cannot see myself not offering food to Krsna at all. In case I feel hungry, I look for something that is pure veg to eat, but that's only in certain circumstances. Atleast twice a day, it is important for me to offer food to Krsna.

3. Saving Time and Money

One of greatest  advantage of being vegetarian is we don't have to spend  overly on seafood, meat and if like me, you don't have to spend on onions, garlic and mushroom. I get to buy a variety of vegetables and make a nutritious meal. On the other hand, we also don't have to spend long hours to cook. Obviously, cooking nice food demands time, but it's less time-consuming than cooking non-veg food. Cooking becomes easier, quicker and more fun when you have a great selection of fresh vegetables at your disposition.

4. Fat Loss

Vegetables are fat free and full of nutrients, fibres and vitamins. Unless we giving a break to potatoes and cheese, being vegetarian can help us to keep a healthy diet and maintain that eating habit. Since I became vegetarian, I eat any kind of veggies. Gaining weight is a problem only when I have fun on sweets or snacks. Well, no wonder models and actresses depend and advice vegetarian diet. Today the hype is going on celebrity Deepika Padukone and her advice in one interview about helthy diet is to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle, no rice and certainly no pasta. I tried her advice once and it did wonders in only a few weeks.

Vegetarian Time, the world's largest vegetarian recipes.

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/why-go-veg-learn-about-becoming-a-vegetarian/

Fruit...JackFruit!

Are u confused? No it's not chicken. It might look like chicken but no. It's none other than Jackfruit that I boiled and stir fried.I don't know if some people are fond of Jackfruit, but I certainly...without any doubt...adore Jackfruit. Whether it is fried or in any curry, it's simply tasty. On that note,  Jackfruit is also Caitanya Mahaprabhu's favorite. He is the incarnation of Lord Krsna  who appeared on earth 500 years ago and He was always in a benevolent mood and of kind nature. The true meaning of how to love and serve God can be inspired by Him.

To make the Jackfruit have a creamy texture and taste, I added a couple of potatoes in it. When cooking Jackfruit, you must always put it in the pressure cooker for a few minutes so as it softens. Else you'll be having semi-cooked Jackfruit on your plate. 

As you can see, there's neither bread nor rice in the dish. Dinner's plate should always remain light and I try to make sure I incorporate atleast one salad in the menu. 

I also cut the maize into slices as a change but depending on your choice, u can have it as a whole. You can also add butter, mustard or mayonnaise on it depending on your choice. And here you are, a light, tasty and pure vegetarian meal.

Introducing My Topic

Food…who can resist tasty, colourful and creative dishes? Well certainly not me nor do my friends. I love to cook for Lord Krsna and I’ve learnt that Lord Krsna’s consort, Srimati Radha Rani always prepares new dishes for Krsna. And while cooking, we’re only acting as Her helper, being an instrument to better serve Krsna. Through my personal observation, I saw that indeed, the majority of people are non-vegetarian. To be vegetarian, it is a certainly a life-changing decision and demands great willingness. It is a personal choice that aligns with one’s family, principles and lifestyle. There are so many models and actresses who are vegetarian for the sake of dieting but the real reason behind vegetarianism is non-violence against animals which, just like us, are also part and parcel of the Lord. The most crucial part is that non-vegetarian food cannot be offered to the Lord. The main idea of course is not to force everyone to become vegetarian but instead it’s a support to break the stereotype that vegetarian foods are tasteless. I sometimes cannot understand how certain people can tell me, ‘’what do you eat, grass?’’ I’m like, common, I won’t die by consuming fresh crunchy veggies. Even a genoise cake can be made without adding six to eight eggs. There is no harm in trying eggless recipes. On the contrary eggless cakes are sometimes of lighter consistencies. Recently I heard a friend criticizing our society for Krsna consciousness that we force people to become vegetarian. No! I would request my readers to be clear about that. We don’t force anyone. It is their personal choice whether or not they wish to become vegetarian. Obviously, if one wants to make spiritual progress, to please Lord Krsna and getting the blessing and mercy of the Lord then one should follow the principle of vegetarianism. However it is not right to claim that we force everyone to change, as we do respect others’ religion. Without crashing anyone’s believes, I want to show that vegetarian food is so easy, quick and fun to prepare. My topic is a simple one and I guess many people always look for different types of dishes. Even if my friends are not vegetarian, they were supportive and very eager to get hold of some easy vegetarian recipes. They are aware that meat and chicken is not healthy for them but the thing is some of them don’t know how to cook and some of them don’t know that vegetarian dishes can be very well delicious.

Personal Narrative

Wait! Don’t drop your jaw after what I’m going to reveal. In our society for Krishna Consciousness, we are very peculiar about our food. Yes you heard it right. There are numerous foods that we refrain from consuming. I guess most people are aware we don’t include onions and garlic in our foods. But the list does not stop here. Before you have a negative opinion that it is some sort of exaggeration, I believe that refraining from consuming those foods made me develop a sense of control and it demands willingness and faith. I like it that way, no matter what other people might say when I go out. The list is as follows, we don’t consume onions, garlic, mushroom, vinegar, tea and coffee and coke. Many people think that vegetarian means that eggs are allowed. Well no, eggs, sea food and certainly meat are not favorable for PURE vegetarians. I was not vegetarian before, but I was taking fasting seriously and I didn’t mind for how many days it would last. So when I joined Krishna Consciousness, fasting was not challenging. It’s in Iskcon that I learnt the real meaning of fasting. Fasting is certainly not for weight-loss and diet purposes! I still remember before I became vegetarian, I would never miss adding onions and garlic while cooking. I always liked it’s scent and flavor but now thinking about it and having the slight smell of it simply turns me off. When my mum told me that gradually we should stop putting onions and garlic in our food, I was at first worried that the food would not turn out tasty. But later I thought Krishna doesn’t eat these foods and if I sincerely want to please Him by cooking for Him and offering Him food that HE likes, then I should surrender rather than thinking about myself. Cooking without these foods became easier, quicker and tastier. The main ingredients that Krishna actually prefers in His food are Love, devotion, that special care in choosing the vegetables and I shall not forget, at the end Tulsi leaf on each preparation, else Krishna might not accept the offering. Our mind is so conditioned that we always think of our stomach. I learnt that vegetarian food offered with love to Krishna is in the mood of goodness and food containing too much spices is in the mood of passion.

Personal Biography and Visual Representation

Personal Biography

Hello there, my name is Jesina- hoping to get another name soon, and you must have guessed that cooking food is one of my interests. I won't hide the fact that I actually cook to please krsna rather pleasing myself. Whenever I'm in my Kitchen, I'm mostly at ease when there are few people and that's when all the creative ideas crop up. Besides cooking, I'm personally very talkative and I'm that kind of girl who has a lot of guts. My spiritual progress is one of my priorities and much of my time is devoted for that purpose. I'm doing my course in Mass Communication but at the end of the day I always see myself doing something more creative or maybe I am at a point whereby I feel that this journey is only the beginning for me and that I have much more to achieve. I like to preach with others and help them out when they are in difficulties but one thing that perhaps is somehow intriguing about me is that I feel the fact that one has a good heart often leads to being played, used and taken for granted. I strongly believe in 'Be good, Do good, speak good because proper behaviour is fundamental.   

Visual Representation

Your first reaction? I'm sure you'll be saying... They are beautiful!!!! Indeed, I choosed this photo of Sri Sri RadhaGolokananda as I always think of them when I cook and I wish that one day I'll be able to cook for them. This photo was not taken by me. It was actually clicked on the 10th of August by my friend Kunti Seebaluck who is devotee by birth and she gave me the permission to use her photos for my blog. She always posts the albums on her Facebook page and she also personalized the photo '@tikun' which is her photography name. The 10th of August was a very special date for me and this photo reminds me of that event. Royal blue is my favorite colour and I couldn't take my eyes from them on that day. With so much fascinating details and looking at their smiles I guess it's worth sharing. I didn't know whether I use my photo, the photo of some veggies or the photo of one of my dishes. Then I decided that the photo of the deities is best as it's after their name as they are non-different from their names.