Partly Yours, Partly Lost

Image
Some places stay with you long after life has moved elsewhere. There is something strange about destiny. You just cannot overcome it, but at the same time, you cannot simply do nothing because something is destined to happen. In India, it is not uncommon to have your horoscope charted about a year after birth. Grandparents wait with bated breath to hear how well the stars were aligned, and what remedies might be needed to appease the Gods. So when I was a year old, my grandmother took my birth date and time to Dharmaraja Ghanapadigal, one of the most revered astrologers in Pudukkottai. He apparently told her that I would do reasonably well in studies, travel to multiple countries, and eventually live abroad. Here was an old lady asking about her grandson from a small town. My parents were then living in Gobichettipalayam. This was the eighties, long before economic reforms had changed the country. My grandmother thanked him politely, but quietly wondere...

What's cooking up?

So, here we are, a bunch of four gluttons, ready to devour almost everything in the world provided it is absolutely vegetarian. What do we cook today? is a question that gets our taste buds rollicking. To be honest, we are not bad cooks either. From Sambar to elimichapazham (lime) rasam, semiya (vermicelli) upma to godhuma ravai upma, everything has come out highly edible. We are getting the basic ingredients right to match our ever-demanding appetite. It was just a matter of a couple of days, and we were getting bored. We tried to shift the protocol to something slightly different and jeera rice it was. We were absolutely bang on target. It was perfect and different from what was cooking up every other day. What surprises all of us is that whatever gets cooked, doesn't last for more than a course of meal. The quantity does not matter, but the quality definitely does! No wonder it beats us as we tend to realise the quality of food thats being prepared. Is it that good? To top it all, we have got ulundu and arisi appalams that when roasted on the gas, adds a new dimension to the rich aroma of South Indian food. The ghee soaked ven pongal whet our appetites to new limits.

Talking about food all along, I am reminded of a wonderful quote by the legendary Mark Twain

Eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside!
And that's exactly what we are upto!

Comments