Nom Nom Stories!

"Like momma, like son " she squeals as I lick clean the last spoon of ragi porridge! Duh Mamma - if all you were fed through your life - the entire 6.5 months- is that breaastmilk am sure you too would lap up anything that comes near your mouth.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that am missing the party! I see my ammamma(thank good for her!) rue "Add at least a spoon of sugar in that kurke.... Poor kannan, it's so tasteless ". As if my  bull headed amma will lsiten. Instead she gives a long lecture on "no salt, no sugar, no honey until he's one"! Anyways I wonder what this "sugar" is.....

Looks like if I let this mamma have her way, my taste buds would be dead by the time am one. So I have decided to take things into my hands - errr into my tongue I mean. I now lick things off the floor :-D. I have managed bits n pieces of this n that! But as luck will have it, ammamma is not being my partner in crime - instead she keeps flicking off my prized possessions from the floor! Hmpf! Looks like its time to up my game people!!

Mamma wants me to add that I was started on solids at home from Aug 20 and the first morsel I was fed is Kunan Kaaya that my velye-ammama lovingly sundried, powdered and sent it all the way from Guruvayoor, Kerala.

That's how first meals look - messy n yummy :-D

Linking this to Write Tribe’s Monday Musings. I write cause these memories are priceless to me!

Momziila!

"Overwhelmed" can be the only word to describe my emotions now! It took so long in happening, that even today - a good 100 days later - the emotions have not yet settled in! Yes, am talking of my wonderful darling who completed our family earlier this year....

Pregnancy and motherhood has been a roller coaster ride - from threatened abortions to hospitalisation, from a horrendous first trimester to a surprisingly smooth delivery, from a baby who didn't cry immediately after birth to  a baby who doesn't stop delighting us with his easy smiles and gurgles !

It's a long story that will be told in the days and weeks to come! N yea I have turned into a momzilla - so momzilla stories it will be :-D

Do you Have 750 INR\13 USD to spare?

What can you do with a grand amount of 750 INR (app 13 USD)?

Get a  new pair of Jeans? How about those new goggles? What about a drink with friends over weekend? Or maybe order in a pizza? catch the latest Blockbuster? I bet, most of these will end up costing you much more than 750 rupees.

Now tell me, can you once a year skip any of these aforementioned events? Doesn't seem a biggie no? But wait it can make or break a child's life! No am not kidding.....

For a mere 750 rupees, Akshayapatra can feed a child for one whole academic year! Maybe its the promise of this one full meals that's making your maid send her child to the school! Maybe that's the only nutritious meal that child has through the day! Maybe that humble meal is the only thing the child has to look forward to through the day? Maybe this lure for food may see hm through school and help him break the vicious bond of poverty?

Can you afford to keep aside just 750 rupees for a child in a year? Considering Akshayapatra has been in this business for quite a while now, I think we can rest assured that our money will reach safe hands.......

Or maybe you could  Blog To Feed A Child - For every blog entry, BlogAdda will feed an Akshaya Patra beneficiary for an entire year! I nominate Pheno, Pixie, Museum Piece, Ishithaa  to take this forward......

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.Are you?

A Jungle Safari To Remember.......

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers.....   

This happened a good year ago on a wild life safari in the jungles of Bandipur. The vehicle we had booked in, happened to be one of those closed jeeps. The seat we were allotted was right behind an obviously newly-married couple - didn't need much guessing what with her dressing and the way they were all over each other! Errrr we have done our share of PDA - but a jungle safari van was indeed a novelty!

As the safari was about to begin, I reminded them the fact that some lesser mortals were behind them not to take up the lion's share of the window space. Very reluctantly, they let us use a teeny-weeny window space through which Pravs could barely fit in his camera!

As the safari started, my ever-sharp ears picked up some gentle growls which were growing in intensity with time. A very excited us started looking around wide-eyed.... but alas! Our bubble burst soon when we realized that those gentle growls were emanating from our "honeymoon" couple who chose that moment to go away into snoozeland! Of course, who could blame them - sleeping in the lap of the jungle should be an experience in itself right!

This doesn't seem like a safari I will forget in a hurry huh . Here is one of the many clicks from that day that Pravs managed when he was roused out of our co-passengers siesta-induced stupor.
This doesn't seem like a safari I will forget in a hurry huh :-D. Here is one of the many clicks from that day that Pravs managed when he was roused out of our co-passengers siesta-induced stupor

Destiny...

"Destiny" they called it. "Like Mother, Like Daughter" others sighed. But all Latika felt was lightness as she signed those divorce-papers.

Well who was she to argue with destiny... She was just glad her "Destiny" didn’t include putting-up a facade of a "Happy-Married-Life" even as she suffocated within its walls...

 Linking this to Fiction challenge 15-50,Moving Quill.

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers.....   

A father's Gift

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers.....   


I was bought up in a home where my parents were always "equals". There was no question of one leading the other - it was always a mutual give and take.

Yes, they have had their fights. Yes, they have raised their voices against each other! But the very idea of my mom giving up an argument just to soothe my dad's "Masculinity" is a thought that would make me fall on the ground and laugh! Maybe his "Masculinity" didn't wane away because he lost a argument with his wife.....

There was no task that was too "menial" for my dad - from helping out in the kitchen to polishing our shoes and even making our beds (oh we were a pampered lot!) to helping us with our homework - nothing was too big a task for his "Masculine" ego!

My mother was a working woman who has had an odd brush with "sexual harassment" at her workplace. We were teenage girls who have had a few "unpleasant incidents" traveling by public transport. Oh yes! we have also had our share of "Uncouth Boyfriends" (Well it’s a different matter that our father didn't think any man is good enough for his daughters). Every time, it seemed a very natural thing to discuss it out at home. No! I didn't see my dad flying into a rage - instead every time he would go and have a straight talk with the "offending party". And surprise! surprise! It seemed to work just fine! Maybe his "Masculinity" was more than about "boiling blood".....

We come from a family that's always been more on the "orthodox" side. But today when I am "old enough" to see the world - I realize we have had among our family-friends whom the "moral police" would term as "unsocial elements" - from unwed mothers to couples in "Live-in" relationships (remember that I am talking about a conservative Indian society two decades ago); but they were accepted without a blink of the eye. Maybe its that which has made us less judgmental today - maybe he was "masculine" enough to trust his family and not worry about "Unsavory influences"!

Maybe he was "Masculine" enough to realize that his "Masculinity" was beyond all this. And that truly is the best gift he has left behind for his daughters... When you have seen a gem of a role model in your dad, it gets very difficult to respect a man whose "Masculinity" is ruffled at the slightest of the pretext! May all men soon grow to be "Man enough" to accept strong Ladies.....

This post was influenced by yesterday's "SatyaMeva Jayate" episode on "Expression Of Masculinity"

The Perfect Wife.....

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers.....  

 I pottered about doing the final touch-ups for tomorrow's early morning pooja. It was the start of Mandala-maasam, an auspicious day in Kerala's religious calendar. I cant help chuckling  at the expression on my children's face when I declared there would be no non-veg or cakes for the next 41 days. Ha, after all they are too young to realize its religious significance....

Unconsciously,  the mind drifted back to my childhood. Indeed how different was my upbringing.... I couldn't remember my mother ever undertaking a religious fast or banning non-veg from our house! How our neighbors in that small town in Kerala disapproved of my mother - Indeed I and my little brother struggled to be accepted by the society! Maybe this desire to be the "Perfect housewife" was sowed then.....

Now only if she I could wipe the frown of disappointment that clouds my mother's face every time she meets me !

"Did your childhood rebellion with your mother, take the shape of this conformist that you don't even identify with" asked the Satan in me as I slipped into snooze-land.....

Bingo Reading Challenge - An update!

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers..... 

Here's a update on the Bingo Reading Challenge I signed up for earlier this year....

1. More than 500 Pages: 
2. Forgotten Classic: Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
3. Became a Movie: Hitch: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide, #1)
4. Published This Year: Be Careful What You Wish For
5. Number in the Title:  3, Zakia Mansion
   
6. Written By Someone Under 30:  Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
7. Non-Human Characters: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
8. Funny Book:  I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
9. Female Author:  The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes
10. Book With Mystery: The Silkworm by J.K. Rowling
11. One-Word Title: Chef by Jaspreet Singh
12. Book of Short Stories:  Shikhandi and Other Stories They Don't Tell You by Devdutt Pattanaik
13. Free Square: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 
14. Set on a Different Continent: Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton 
15. Book of Non-Fiction:  Bong Mom's Cookbook by Sandeepa Mukherjee Datta
16. 1st Book by Favorite Author: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
    
17. Book Heard about Online: The Guardian Angels by Rohit Gore
18. Best-Selling Book: The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K. Rowling
19. Based on a True Story: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai,
20. Bottom of TBR PIle: Brick Lane by Monica Ali
21. Book Your Friend Loves:  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
22. Book That Scares You: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
23. Book More Than 10 Years Old: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
24. 2nd Book in a Series: Tears of the Giraffe  by Alexander McCall Smith
    
25. Blue Cover:   The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

Ha ha so I have finished all except one :-D Now to catch hold of a book more than 500 pages ... any suggestions?

Foodie Woes.....

There was no way we could let our blogs just sit and rot, while we blamed everyone but ourselves for not writing. Deciding to put an end to the hiatus on writing, me and Ishithaa have decided to write on every day of November on alternate days. Today if the post is on my page, tomorrow it will be on hers.....

  I am known to gloat over my eating habits. Throw me to any corner of the world and I will not starve. In fact, my excitement is directly proportional to the "exotic" quotient of the food! I will be one of those who when handed over a menu card at a restaurant, will order the most "unheard of" item on it. Of course it helps to have a "partner in crime" right at home in my hubbs! In fact I may even be guilty of turning down my nose on everyday Indian food (and people who prefer it)..... ***Evil Grin****

So imagine my surprise, when all I wanted to eat were good old "comfort" food. From the humble Kerala veggie dishes that my grandmother used to dish up in my childhood to discovering an unheard of craving for Andhra food and sweets. Who had imagined my Hyderabad roots were so strong. The biggest shock was when non-veg food started going down the preferential list- I’m sure my grandmother must be having the last laugh! **Ohh the horror**

 Can you guess that I am in absolute shock and dismay. Hopefully this is a phase that will go away soon! So here's sharing a recipe of one of my current favourites - the ever favorite Kerala Dessert "Ela Ada". The recipe is courtesy my Ishi who is an expert on Kerala Cuisine (or at least claims to be :-D)

• Boil 2 cups of water and add a spoon of salt to it. When the water starts boiling, add the roasted rice powder (approx 3 cups) to it and mix well. Knead well, making sure that the dough is not too dry or watery. The consistency of kneaded dough for making rotis works well for ela ada as well. 
• Cut plaintain leaves in such a manner that they are the size of a notebook. One whole leaf can make upto 4 or 5 such pieces, depending on the total length of the leaf. 
• Make one lemon sized ball of the kneaded rice flour and spread it in the plaintain leaf, using your hand. Spread evenly and then into this spread the mixture of coconut and jaggery that are grated. You can also make a simpler version of this by replacing the jaggery with sugar. 
• Fold the leaf along the stem. Arrange all such folded leaves in an idly steamer and steam for 10 to 15 minutes.

The Coin....

As Monish stepped into the church yard, his eyes fell on the water fountain at the center. He had no idea how the memory came unbidden and he silently flipped a one pound coin into the fountain.

Ahh, those Sunday afternoons by the Hooghly river - as his 'gang' frolicked under the railway bridge, strategically poised to dive and collect the 25 and 50 paise coins that the train passengers dropped into the holy river as the express trains zoomed past. the very thought of those puchkas and kala khata golas that they relished later with the collected 'bounty' made his mouth water

So lost was Monish in these thoughts that he didn't  see the church cleaner walking up. The next moment a five dollar fine receipt was thrust in front of his face for vandalising the premises!

This piece of fiction is in response to the below pic prompt at WT

Linking this to last day of WT  write fest. Task of the day is to tell a story