hope is everything

A teardrop that refuses to fall
Stories that refuse to stop
Winds of change that refuse to blow

Drink that tear
Swallow the bitter pill
Be that change
From tear drop to smile.

Stay positive

காலையில் கடிகாரம் முணுமுணுப்பில் தோன்றும் சிடுசிடுப்பு
மறையும் - இதமான காப்பியின் சூட்டில்

பேருந்தின் நெரிசலில் எழும் தவிப்பு
மறையும் - "பையை தாங்கம்மா" என்று நீட்டும் கையால்

தலைசுற்ற ஓடும் அலுவலக வேலை களைப்பு
மறையும் - எப்போ மா வர என்னும் மகளின் குரலில்

நகரத்தின் துர்நாற்றம் தரும் எரிச்சல் -...
மறையும் - ஒரமாக பூ கட்டும் பாட்டியின் பூச்செண் டால்

அடித்து பிடித்து முடிக்கும் சமையலின் களைப்பு
மறையும் அருமை என்கிற ஒற்றை சொல்லால்

பிடித்தது கிடைக்கவில்லை என்றல் கிடைத்ததை ரசிக்க கற்றுகொள்
மறுநாள் ஒலிக்க போகும் கடிகார ஒலி இசையாய் தோன்றும்

Baking as a disciplining tool

I never learnt to cook - I always had my Grandmom and of course Mom and Raje to take care of the kitchen - the best i could cook was roti, Dal and once in a while try out one of those recipes cut out from Hindu, Mangayar Malar and Femina.


After marriage ....there was a cook for almost for two years and then one day i found myself standing in front of the gas stove- maidless, aidless. THe cook had taught me the basics of south indian cooking . but i had no clue about measurements and the quantities to use..  i had to necessarily learn from Tarla Dalal - would somewhere lose track of it while cooking  and had to cover up adding something else - there would be more salt, or  the dish would be sour, or too spicy - I think even before i learnt to cook well, I learnt to adjust the tastes!!!!!


I have turned out to be a decent cook - but my cooking is never consistent, i take a recipe, never follow what it says.  MY mom absolutely gets flustered when i take her recipes and make my own variation to it. Not only have i managed to cook tasty food but i have also generated some laughs in the process and once in a while sadly wasted some food - (the one time i added vinegar to Biryani instead of rosewater!!!! - why do they have be packed in similar bottles).


And it goes on....


I attended Baking classes a couple of weeks back (i was critically challenged in the art of baking)and the cakes and biscuits turn out to be perfect at class and the samples i brought home were delicious.


Confident and excited - i take out the recipes and decided to impress Anish who was coming home and he like me has a sweet tooth -   so sinful..


Day 1- I make chocolate pudding and it was the best thing i had ever created - Anish. Asha and my nephew Buman devoured it..They requested another one


and now i take out the recipe again and the ugly devil shows his nasty horns - "youve done it once - you know the trick well...change the recipe" and i did exactly that - increased the amount of butter and milk and never put a thought to the flour - so now i have a superlicious pudding except that we had scoop it out with a spoon.


Lesson well learnt - you can not adjust the cake while its baking...coconut milk and salt are not going to help you here!!!!!!!!!!!


Day 2 - Now i try eggless sponge cake - was extra cautious to get the measurements  and ingredients right - wrote it down in a separate sheet of paper - the recipe said Bake for 140 deg for 1 hour..My oven had 170 deg and 155 deg only and so i set it at 155 deg for 1 hour ..Grrrrrrr again the taste was excellent but the cake not a sponge cake at all:


So Lesson 2 Learnt - Get myself an oven with different temperature settings..




I have totally understood that Baking is a different cup of tea altogether and the experiences of curry and pulao is not going to help me here = and now a days am training myself to read and listen to the recipes and give it the respect it deserves and hopefully i will have a good cake to share on my facebook wall..

4 teardrops and a Veena

Mrs. Jayshree - 60 years old, the last 39 of them as a  daughter in law, wife and mom, going through with the motions of life with absolute devotion and gusto - She is multi talented, can draw, sew, paint, cook and sing - her only regret - she had to stop playing the Veena because of various compulsions: the Veena used to make a formal appearance every Saraswathi Pooja and then back in the attic. Unable to bear the non use of an instrument that she was so eloquent and so well versed with, she decided to sell it off the day after the Pooja.




October 2, 2013 - A neighbour walks into Ms. Jayshree's house on Saraswathi Pooja to receive her blessings , sees the Veena and asks her Auntie do you play the Veena - Yes but i have decided to sell it away, it has been with me for the last 39 years without being played once - The woman asks Will you sell it me or teach me to play - I used to play the Veena too 25 years back, but gave up.


So began a new class - Mrs. Jayshree, the teacher,  and  the neighbour the new student - is me.




For her I am an answer to her prayers  - she never expected to play again, For me - it is a path to healing.


Today i know and accept with humility that each person in our lives have a role to play.

Parents =

Happy Anniversay...This day 1966.....two people who are extremely different in character, attitude and came together...today such a combination would be doomed as "not workable"..But they complement each other .......Even today they never agree on anything, their tastes are different, their attitudes to life still don't match..But they had one thing in common - their determination to make it through the ups and downs- Amma with her faith in Her and Appa with the classic MCC attitude of come what may life has to go on.

It is beautiful to watch what years of togetherness does to to people.. Their caring for each other is like a reflex action, one does not have to put effort into it. Their familiarity with each others likes dislikes, tastes in food and clothing, trivial as it may seem is seen to be believed. And now with cell phones, the grand kids today make jokes as to how many times they call each other. They are top in each others list of priorities. God Bless them with more years of togetherness..

They were strict with us when necessary but let go when we rebelled and allowed us to learn on our own. That is the legacy I am going to take forward for my kids,
As their children, we have not been "perfect kids", our share of complaints, we three have our own destinies and searches. They gave us the freedom to go look for it and always backed us up when we have not been successful.. We might have complained, we might have judged, we might have cribbed but one thing is for sure,, if we can be half as good parents to our kids as you have been to us..,we will be appreciated when we are older

haiku

Catwalk, make-up, lights, longing glances
million dollar smile &
camera spotted the smudged mascara
(my attempt at Haiku)

from my heart

இந்திரனக்கு கோபம் போலும்
இடியும் மின்னலும் என்னை மிரட்ட
வருடி கொடுத்தது ஒரு கரம்
இதமாய் அனைத்தது ஒரு கரம்

கேட்டது ஒரு குரல்
பட்டு திரைசீலையை நீக்கி பார்
இந்த இடியும் மின்னலும் உனக்கில்லை

எட்டி பார்த்தேன்
பக்கத்துக்கு வயலில்
குடிசை வாசலில்
கோமணத்துடன் மழையில் ஆடி களித்தான்
ஏழை விவசாயி -

இடியும் மின்னலும் மழையும் அவன் பயத்தை போக்கியதால்