Mouthpiece #61

मन के मोती...

एक पथिक मैं किसी राह की, एक मुसाफ़िर अपनी ही धुन की | कूद-फाँद के कभी संभल के, फ़ूँक-फ़ूँक के या मस्ती में, रुके नहीं पग थमे नहीं पग, था भी कहाँ कोई और विकल्प ?

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For that Glimpse from the Past

(This I wrote for another platform, posting it here…) Bags were packed, weighed, not once but multiple times. Not more than 24 hours were left for one more journey to begin. In fact, one of the smaller journeys within a bigger journey of life. Where did the last few days fly away, she didn’t realise. Now with a cup of tea in her hand, she could actually feel the frantic pace at which she had been working for the past week or so. Her mind ran through all the lists that she had made as she prepared for her impending journey to meet her children in USA - gifts for each one of her children and grandchildren, her signature delicacies for every family - various sweetmeats (especially besan laddoo), a medley of pickles and what not. Not to forget innumerable things that needed to be taken care of before closing the house for 3-4 months. continue here...

Mouthpiece #60

Say 'yes'

During any single day, the kind of activities we indulge in, has a big component of our own interests, preferences and likings. This is because, our inclinations comprise our basic innate nature and we tend to drift towards what feeds them. However, there are times when it feels that the demands of people around us (usually our dear ones) are expecting some adjustment in the way we want to spend our time or energy. I call it a classic stage setting for a mental conflict.  continue here... Hide and Seek There is something very strange about grief. With time you feel you have overpowered it, you notice that perhaps grief has left your side after what seemed like just a big blob of time barely resembling days or nights. A daybreak starts getting noticeable again and so does a nightfall. It doesn’t go unnoticed that your mouth has not lost its ability to stretch itself into a smile after all. Once again you naturally start participating in the conversations that happen around you without the same getting phased out completely. continue here... What's cooking? Dahi-bhalle Story behind dahi bhalle? Yes, in fact there is one, though a very small one. As I have mentioned earlier, there are some foods which get associated with certain places and certain occasions. Dahi-bhalle fall in this category as they were strongly associated with astami-puja at our home. Ashtami kanya pujan is done with traditional poori-chana-halwa combination and I remember how the same were prepared with highest degree of cleanliness and purity. Mummy was very particular about a few things. The kitchen should be sparkling clean before this puja, not even a single unwashed dish should be anywhere in the kitchen. The cooking used to begin pretty early in the morning so that puja is done well before school/office time. Along with the regular combination of poori-chana-halwa, dahi-bhalle were a part of the meal too. I did not much care about dahi-bhalle on any other days but they somehow held a great importance on these days which fall twice in a year. Though this was not the tradition in my marital home but dahi-bhalle as chaat (with tamarind chutney) has been a regular feature on any special meals. The perfection of the bhalle is in their softness while retaining the shape intact. recipe here...