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"Happy Valentine's Day! We wish all our customers and friends a very happy Valentine's Day filled with love and happiness. This is Rasa Restaurant's 30th anniversary, and we have been celebrating this beautiful day with our loyal Rasa followers all these years. We are ever so grateful to all our customers for their continued support for Rasa's growth and inspiration for cooking with passion and love. As usual, this day is always the most exciting day for restaurants, and everyone makes a special effort to make it memorable for all the guests. Thanks to our chefs for preparing a special menu to surprise our regulars and service team for their imaginative work to make our restaurants colorful. Food represents tenderness and care for our loved ones, so a meal cooked by passionate people will bring more affection and warmth to the occasion. Pure love brings crucial harmony and excitement in a fluctuating life with fast-changing fortunes. February 14 reminds us about this valuable purpose and duty to love unconditionally and make your dear ones feel special. Roses are very expensive today, still get them for your partner. Delivery drivers are striking against Uber Eats and Deliveroo, so run to the restaurants without delay. Our heartfelt Valentine's Day wishes to everyone, and hope you have a wonderful and romantic day with glorious and tasty flavors of love and joy."

🙏 Welcome to Das Audio Experience, where each episode is a voyage through the flavors of life and the stories they tell. In today's episode, 'New Beginnings and Culinary Journeys: A Kerala New Year,' we embark on a reflective journey with Das Sreedharan, exploring the vibrant celebrations, heartfelt encounters, and the serene touch of nature that marked the start of his year. Join us as we dive into a narrative that intertwines culinary delights with spiritual quests, set against the backdrop of Kerala's enchanting landscapes.

TRANSCRIPT:

My New Year

As usual, I started my New Year trip to Kerala with great enthusiasm and hope. Rasa Gurukul was reasonably busy, and reservations were building up. The anticipation of my VIP guests' arrival got me really excited; I was more than happy to travel to the airport to receive them. Unusual traffic was frustrating. We reached the airport just in time, then it was waiting for them to come out.

After a long delay, the family strolled out without disturbing my curious eyes. I was anxiously searching for the boss. He was missing, and the rest of the people arrived safely. Finally, he touched ground too by late afternoon. Everything went well as expected, and I saw joyful faces as kids were loving the birds and cows as they played with them.

On the other side, I kept watching the progress of our New Year party. Ahead, we had a few useful meetings with the team. News about Pani Puri lady in the village was a surprise. After tasting her preparations, I was inspired to include her for the party to express her skill, along with a 95-year-old Nair.

In between, I had serious 5-minute meetings with an important guest. All went well as planned; they seemed so happy with Gurukul and their stay. On 31st evening, some friends and a lot of others showed up for the evening get-together. The venue looked so colorful with lights and settings, especially live cooking.

Aparna and the team were brilliant with their music, followed by exciting DJ with everyone on their feet with tremendous enjoyment as I silently watched next to snoring Suraj. Fireworks went well with spectacular sound and glorious colors in the sky. We wished everyone well and ended a fantastic evening with absolute happiness.

My mornings were superb with a variety of breakfast dishes kindly cooked by Chef Asha, and lunch at Gurukul was always so tasty. Though I bought a new yoga mat to utilize my extra free time, I never managed to practice or even open the mat, shame on me!

My guests went back after positive words on our ideas. Later that day, my sister joined me with her 5 friends. It was a beautiful two days talking to them and sharing my life. On 5th January, I set off for Tamil Nadu. I was at Thiruvannamalai to share my optimism with sage Ramana about my 5-minute interactions. It was indeed a fulfilling trip.

After completing my slow-paced remaining days, I returned to my cold, depressing London. My mind was full of the splendid feel of Indian days and people I met. I will soon come back once more to share my mixed January events and changing fortunes.

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Thank you for joining us on 'New Beginnings and Culinary Journeys: A Kerala New Year.' If you found solace in our stories or inspiration in the culinary and spiritual explorations, we invite you to share this journey. Subscribe to Das Audio Experience for more episodes that blend the art of food with the essence of life. Share your thoughts with us, and let's continue this conversation. Until next time, embrace the flavors of life and the journeys they unfold.

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✨ 🌺 If this episode resonated with you and you're intrigued by the fusion of culinary art and spiritual well-being, we invite you to explore more. 👉 Visit Das's website to discover our unique coaching sessions and embark on your own journey of culinary wellness and spiritual exploration. Your path to mindfulness and joy through the flavors of life awaits.

It was early Saturday evening; I was listening to lbc as usual. If it’s a silly political discussion, normally I move  on with other things. 

Today I was hooked on this debate on loneliness. Fascinating calls from people and shocking revelations, it seemed loneliness is a reality with many.

Though a lot of people visibly look disturbed behind their carefully decorated smiles, it's hard to believe the extent of sadness in our society due to this feeling of being isolated.

As someone who lives alone and never disturbed by this problem, I was keen to think deeper into this issue which bothers many in our world.

Apparently, it causes different health worries and in most cases people slip into a depression mode, even when they are surrounded by people. 

Let’s look at the opposite  spectrum, visualise  our life’s full of happiness,sounds and beautiful lights.

Ideally we should wake up everyday like children, full of fascination and acceptance of the world as it’s.

Imagine you are a star in the sky, spreading your shine and vibrance everywhere, presume, you are being attracted towards someone all the time.

Now you realise, there’s no reason or time to be alone, you are complete only with your surroundings, everything is important and inseparable. 

It may sound like. too good to be true,  but with practice many people have done it and made life simple and joyful in any situation. 

To share this remarkable life formula , i am going to start an initiative with Das’s happiness club, i believe its imminent for our time.

Everyone's seeking your compliments and a sense of reassurance as we are in and out of mixed events every moment, maybe you can change somebody’s life and destiny. 

will you be kind enough to share your thoughts on this and how do you think you could contribute for the betterment of this universe by doing something like this?

Many people are unaware of their power and importance in this world, maybe you could influence so many with your brilliance and purposefulness. 

In a world where time’s hard to buy easily, i made a timeless voyage along the lively streets of Dubai

Though the purpose was very official , i surpassed it very quickly and the officials left me in the hands of hotel staff and my wonderful mates.

In spite of her busy flat hunting schedule, flowmny  took over the time navigation as she effortlessly  engaged us into a culinary tour of ever famous restaurant district of Dubai. 

Being a vegetarian doesn’t come easy or helpful, especially for my companions who graciously tolerated my humble crime of looking for a vegetarian place every time.

It was five days of vigorous run through a fantastic variety of eateries on offer. To me, every new restaurant  was better than the previous one and finally we concluded, it was a wholesome experience all together.

Walking through Mina bazar was remarkable, it was so typical and reminded me of all the busy streets i ever came across in India. 

So fascinating with heat,  the smell, the noise, street food and all other ingredients that make an Indian street complete.

Loud, tempting interactions with street vendors make you feel so involved and negligent about what you are or where you came from. 

Every cab driver happily  narrated their stories and dreams, they reminded me about New York taxis with similar vibe 

Juggling in and out of his important meetings, Vinay squeezed in with us and guided us to explore his familiarities with excellent street food and midnight teas.

Looking down from the 71st floor bar we relished the feel of business bay area and even talked about opening a Rasa,  to bring in a London flavour of India to this new Dubai hub.

In the middle of a taste filled tour, it was a significant time with Sama, the wonderful and charming real estate manager, we shared an enriching spiritual conversation from nowhere and as always it was meant to happen.

Anush and Rema silently followed the journey, though heavily contributed to all the romantic story telling in the late-night coffee sessions.

As I packed my bags to say goodbye to all tasty food corners, wonderful warm weather and ever so lovely friends, Dubai gave me a very sweet and emotional impression unlike other times.

Thank you, Dubai.

Today India celebrates its Republic day. Music, dance and speeches, all over India.

Since January 26, 1950 India has celebrated as a union coming into force of its own constitution, guiding and uniting the whole country through democratic means.

More than half a century has passed, in spite of all achievements, sadly, DR. B r  Ambedkar’s remarks still stay valid.

How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life ? and live with contradictions.

Let’s hope everything will change with the next generation, as we shall do our best in our lifetime.

By the way, it's my birthday as well. Today best wishes to everyone who's born on this day since the whole country rejoices with us.

Since we talked about the constitution, on a personal level, it's an opportunity to remember body constitution.

Body’s metabolism, functioning and structure of organs, all these matter as we get closer to landmark ages To resist from various uninvited problems.

Remembering those valuable views on my well being, I decided to cook a healthy lunch to mark  the occasion.

Thinking of my late mother, I made a dish from organic sweetheart cabbage, Amma’s special white buttermilk curry  and I ate it  with typical Kerala rice.

At a gentle paced afternoon, I ran through messages from all my friends with best wishes, i guess it's easier to remember my birthday as it falls on Republic day.

As always, I decided to enjoy every second of my life doing things I like, going to places I always wanted and eating my heart out wherever I love to.

Most importantly, continue to enjoy my own company as my work would help and influence the world around me.

I wish everyone a happy Republic day and love to remind our individual happiness and contributions matter for the future of the nation.

JAI HIND

Before the end of last year, I thought about two places I wanted to visit in 2023.

a visit to Thiruvannamalai to feel Ramana Ashram and taste Ramasseri Idli.

I slept off on 31st night with dreams of wonderful events about to happen in the New Year.

I couldn’t have asked anything better, both of those wishes happened together decision was made to travel with my friend Suraj.

I’am one of those people who think about food before any travel, this time, for a change food was the real reason to travel.

If I tell you the story now, I love Idlis, the savoury, steamed rice & lentil cakes, the most common breakfast dish of South India.

Whole world does it the same way but at Ramasseri they offers a completely different style of preparation, it's flat, round and fluffy , a bit like a mini Dosa.

After a never-ending journey to find this sleeping hamlet, we reached one of those three remaining outlets to find our desire come true.

We sat down after a cold reception from the so-called boss. It was a very run down tea shop, and the wall opposite was full of pictures of famous people who visited the place.

We had to wait a little bit, then the star arrived on our plate, so soft and white they looked. It was even hard to count  how many fell on my plate.

Shortly accompaniments served in the middle, the runny coconut chutney was feeling fresh,  the lentil sambar was steaming hot and the red chilly sauce looked fiery.

I could only remember the first bite, it tasted heavenly with its feathery, velvety texture, an unforgettable sensation as the tongue softly embraced it. We never felt like having Idlis anywhere like this.

We had our stomach full and happiness just  like in a dream. We had to thank the people in the kitchen, so we requested permission to enter their workspace.

Kitchen looked simple and clean, we saw a line of women standing together and making these wonderful Ramasseri Idlis, we could see them enjoying a chit chat as they worked.

We asked the girls many of our doubts and eagerly watched the live demonstration of their art. They silently and politely spoke to us.

Finally, we took some pictures, especially the main man who was kind enough to narrate the story of Ramasseri Idlis, sipping delicious tea while we listened to the history.

About 200 years ago, a small group of mudaliar community from Tamilnadu arrived in Kerala to pursue their weaving career, their wives followed them too who happened to be excellent cooks.

The women began cooking these special Idlis for their own folks to start with and then continued commercially due to demand from locals and followed by people from everywhere.

The journey was a bit of a hassle. After we experienced the magic, we were super thrilled about the trip and honestly, I can't wait to go back for more.

2022 The Year of Bliss \ An amazingly  blissful year is coming to an end.

After the pandemic subsided, life slowly got back to its old state.

During covid season, many people lost lives, businesses closed, jobs gone, we had to isolate ourselves in small spaces.

It was sheer luck, a lot of us survived, unlucky ones had to go, let's be grateful for this new life.

This year, 2022 has seen  a beautiful revival of markets and people steadily gathered in streets, we seem to have overcome the shocking memories of covid  times.

As we get closer to saying goodbye  to this year, let’s remember how insignificant we were made to feel until we reached here , we were controlled by some unknown force.

At rasa , we have been progressing well this year and blessed with a new  branch, we named it rasa street

Rasa street ‘s exciting with new design, imaginative menu and wonderful team of staff, obviously we were supported by rasa’s loyal customer following  in stokey.

At the staff gathering tonight,  as we thank everyone for being part of this team . We tried discussing  the importance of passion and self discovery.

One of the main highlights of the year was the football world cup  and echoing appreciation for the genius of Messi and finally him holding the cup for Argentina.

With a very ordinary look and gentle movements, he amazes us with his spectacular mind application in his game, so much to learn from that art.

Every successful person becomes the guiding light for others, so we learned to apply the same spirit as we continue to serve good food and get our customers closer to the rasa family.

Majority of our team are below 25 and it was important to remind them to take Messi's story seriously as they are  starting their career from here.

At the same time our message was clear, to grow within yourself and to become the best of yourself. as we know there’s only one of you , shine tirelessly and apply your mind in all actions.

As we concluded the evening and let 2022 rest in our mind’s memory archive , we expressed thanks for our life this year, all the blessings and  the opportunities.

We wish everyone a fantastic new year with the warmth of our own compelling light and love.

in the beautiful summer of 1985. i landed in new delhi’s connaught place and started my new life as a grown up

life was challenging as expected in every way, one thing was more complicated for a village boy like me

It was food. finding mom’s food was one big issue but biggest of all was getting used to local north indian food

on a boring sunday morning. I was strolling along the street next to my hotel and stopped under regal cinema

I saw a huge crowd outside a food counter and there was  fresh smell of spices, I could see someone making fresh food and another passing them to waiting people on the road

out of hunger and curiosity, I stood there all-day watching people eating with so much fascination and love

I found out, it was the most popular breakfast dish called chana bhature and cost 5 rupees per portion. obviously, I had no money to experiment a new taste on the day

that dish kept me awake all night; i had many imaginations of its sparkling flavors that attracted all those people

I couldn't wait for the day break or the city to wake up properly, after borrowing money from my roommate. I ran towards the cafe and waited for the shop to open

even after 37 long years, I still remember that first bite of chana bhatura, soft bhature was hot and melting away as the spicy aromatic chickpea filled my mouth with innumerable taste sensations

ever since that day, this became my favorite north indian food and my weekend trips to famous chandni chowk for chana bhature was regular for years

years later I was introduced to kartik sweets on cmh road in bangalore by  ganesh, a very popular sunday brunch there with chana batura, so delicious it was

I remember, ganesh and i planned many india trips just to be at karthik sweets on sunday mornings

now you can imagine how much i love chana bature all thru my adult life, though you don’t get it nicely made all the time in many places

am excited to introduce this dish at rasa street for sunday brunch from this week, more than anything i would love to watch people enjoying it like i did those years

lasting memories or taste imaginations of chana batura don’t stop here, i would love to cherish it all my life, probably few more trips to those streets in india

spare a sunday after noon for us, am sure you won't be disappointed at rasa street!

HELLO AGAIN

WE HAD THE HOTTEST DAY IN ENGLAND LAST WEEK AND WE WERE MELTING AWAY IN THE BURNING DAY LIGHT

WE PROMISED TO TALK ABOUT MIND AND I WAS WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT. IN FACT, THE MINDFUL OCCASION AS WE COOL DOWN

BEING THE PROTAGONIST IN OUR LIFE’S JOURNEY, MIND NAVIGATES ALL ACTIVITIES, GOOD BAD AND THE UGLI

FEEDING THE BODY WITH INNUMERABLE DESIRES. MIND TRAVELS TIMELESSLY IN AND AROUND YOUR WORLD

IT HAS NO SOLID FORM OR ANY PERMANENT STRATEGY, WANDERS AROUND WHILE YOU ARE LOCATED HERE AND MAKE YOU RUN AFTER THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE A CLUE ABOUT

OFTEN TIMES, MIND’S BLAMED FOR YOUR WRONG ACTIONS AND CONVENIENTLY IGNORED AFTER THE RIGHT ONES

IT MAKES YOU DREAM AND STAY AWAKE EVEN IN YOUR SLEEP, YOU NEVER GET TIRED OF IT EVEN WHEN THE BODY FALLS SHORT OF ACHIEVEMENTS

MIND’S IMAGINATIVE AND ROMANTIC, IT’S A TASTE ENHANCER AND AROUSE FEELINGS BASED ON ITS CLEVER SCRUTINY

GOOD TASTE BLOSSOMS OUT OF TIMELY INTERFERENCE OF A SOUND MIND AND APT SURROUNDINGS

LIKE IN FOOD INGREDIENTS CONVERGE IN COMFORTABLE HEAT WITH RHYTHMIC MOVEMENTS OF FINGERS EXTRACT FLAVORS LIKE YOUR MIND IN REAL LIFE

AN UNSETTLED MIND INVITES AND COMBINES WRONG TASTES, IT COULD RESULT IN OVERALL BAD EXPERIENCE

A SIMPLE SOLUTION’S, TO KNOW YOUR MIND. TO KNOW YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY LET IT THINK LIKE THE BODY IN SITUATIONS

AN IDEAL, HAPPY MIND’S A DREAM COME TRUE, ONCE YOU LEARN AND MAKE IT A HABIT, LIFE WILL BE EASY AND YOU WILL MANAGE VERY WELL

LETS BE PRAGMATIC, SIMPLY FOLLOW YOUR LIFE PATH IN ITS REALITY, APPRECIATE YOUR OWN UNIQUENESS, LIMITS AND POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE. MIND WILL ALIGN MAGICALLY AND FOLLOW THE HAPPY ROUTE

The connection between our whole beings and how Food is the link between all the elements of life.