The Sevai Story!

I opened the door to enter my room and was instantly transferred to so many places at once?! Nope, don’t worry, no black magic is happening in our humble adobe; it was just the side effects of my roommate’s Eid special!  

Who is the star of any Indian festival? Yep, that’s right. The food. She was cooking ‘The Kimami Sevai’ hero of UP’s Eid, a counterpart of Biryani – the heroine in Eid elsewhere. Ah! The rich smell of elaichi blended in with the chashni (Sugar syrup), while the thinnest of sevai fried in ghee to golden brown sitting there waiting to jump in at the right time, to be topped with Mawwa, milk in its most concentrated form and not to forget dry fruits – Whatte royal feels!. 

Kimami Sevai in all its Glorry

These smells first took me back to childhood when my anama would sit in the kitchen to make undo (laddus). Not just Akka and I, but everyone in the house would come and sit with her under the pretext of helping her but end up eating more than half in the name of failed attempts. Haha
It then took me to my good friend’s childhood, her culture, and how making Kimami sevai was a beautiful part of their traditions and something that is considered no less than a skill, something that a mother teaches her kids and is proud of when they succeed!

Then I traveled further back to the era of kings and queens. Nope, not the current social media titles, the actual royal dynasties! How every invasion might have bought a new way of cooking, a new dish in a festival, and how it got modified over time. If I could, I would want to go and eat like Kings, taste a bit of every dish from the kitchen of Akbar, Krishnadevaraya to Alexander! 

Then the thought of Who/How did one human even think of cooking a specific dish came to my mind. Still, I didn’t think much because I was suddenly pulled back to my present tension – The mess being closed for a month and having to manage the duty of filling my stomach from various sources. But that didn’t last for long as my mind started slipping into thinking of what might happen in the near future? With the soil quality depleting, population explosion, pollution increasing daily, and climate change! I hope the Save Soil movement works – it ought to if we all actually talk about it. But then Kimami sevai came onto my plate, entered my system, and Bam! Everything else got blurred. Thankful for this minute is what I was! 

Food does make you grateful. Don’t you think?

On the Eve of Eid, I suddenly got reminded of a peculiar taste, a taste of Kimami Sevai. It’s been a year since I savored the last spoon of this delicious delicacy prepared by my roommate on her induction stove with just one pot. I remembered this piece I had written on that day, and Thanks to technology, it was safely saved in my drive. Thought it was time to revive this write-up, the thoughts, and the celebration of Eid with one special human. A lot has happened since then, and my perception of food has evolved tremendously. I’ve learned to appreciate what is on my plate – quite literally. A year of staying on your own and trying to fill your stomach makes you appreciate home food much more. I’ve thought more about the sources of my food, shifted from eating chicken and fish to not eating them to just eating the gravy to now eating only fish that’s in season and obtained sustainably. Spoken about Soil and how important it is to save Soil. Right now, though I’m partly having a nostalgic trip down the numerous meals I’ve had, I am thrilled thinking about the diversity India has to offer regarding food! Give it a thought, just stroll in your neighborhood any morning, and you’ll taste different cultures just by the aroma! Don’t take my word for it. Try it! 

Some friendly people might even offer you a seat at their table for a happy meal! 

Post It?

Letters are like pictures but only better. A photograph captures a moment, while a letter is simply a bouquet of different moments, incidents, and feelings, like different versions of you, safely wrapped in an old leaf. It’s like a platter of ice creams with all your favorite flavors and sometimes even the flavors you don’t prefer. Oh! I should have been a tad bit clear; here, I refer to letters that you write simply for fun, to your Annu, Amma, Akka, friends, maybe to yourself, or just some open letters. Some get sent as emails, some as actual physical letters, while most are still saved in your drafts. (maybe all this is just me, anyway.) 

If you know me, you already might know that I like writing letters; likely, you may even have received one! I write long emails updating about what’s happening with me to even my parents because they sometimes are so busy for a call, and I have many vishayas to tell! But mostly because I feel letters are a much better way of giving an entire story. 

Here’s why –

1. When you are having a conversation, it usually gets diverted depending on the answer given by the other. But in a letter, you have the entire stage, full limelight, and undivided attention of your audience. 
2. Letters often are not based on real-time, so you have the total freedom of enjoying the event by fully being present and then re-live it while you describe it to your intended audience. And it’s not a given that the person will receive the letter right away or that they will give it a read and reply in a jiff, which means, by the time you receive a reply, you might even have forgotten about the letter altogether! 
3.  You also get enough time and chances at trial and error; you can translate your thoughts into sentences that have a high resemblance to your thought. You can choose the tone and the words. Basically, you control what to tell, how to tell, and how much to tell! 

Other than these, it improves your language, imagination, understanding, and, most importantly, patience. So, yeah, Letters are simply awesome! Oh no, I don’t have a problem with telephone, text messages, emails, WhatsApp, social media, and recent advances because they are very much a part of our everyday lives now and necessary. I do not deny their power and need at any cost. They do make life easy. But I would like to bring to your notice that letters have an old-school charm, something royal and the most personal touch. 

Now that I think of it, I have always been a fan of the Indian Railways and The Indian Postal service. They connect the most rural parts of our country. It gives me so much joy to receive or send a letter that will travel through so many states, cities, villages, by air, by rail, by road, in train, in van, in ship, bus, and cycles to finally reach the destination – doesn’t it make you feel special, like some important being?! To me, it does. 

In a world where we are running to save time while ending up wasting all the time that we manage to save, I think letters take us back to a time where we can feel like that old self who wrote it/received it, at least for a short while and that brings me joy! Letters are not like a time machine because they are a present that reaches someone in the future carrying a past. In short, Letters are simply the best, and we should bring them back. 

Would you be willing to post something? 

Fest>>>.

It was a very usual Saturday, nothing to look forward to. I was just re-watching ‘The Office’ for I don’t know how many-eth time and waiting for dinner. When I opened WhatsApp, I had a video call from one of my childhood friends that I somehow missed; I called back, and Manh!!! Most of my UG friends were in college, attending the annual fest – ‘Incridea’22’! I saw everyone through the rectangular screen, saying, “Heyyyy! How’s it going, dude?” and jumping onto the other person’s hand. Oh! how I wish I could be there in person and not just virtually, in spirits. I had to let them go as the performing artist was ready to set the stage on fire!!
I wasn’t a huge fan of my college; however, I enjoyed being part of the organizing committee of the annual fest. I was also the co-ordinator of Incridea’20, which changed my life in so many ways! Those days of our fest came back to me in a flash. I did what I usually do, went to the lakeside, sat there looking at the distant lights, the sky, water, and just breathing.. A cute little dog came and sat right next to me. It had just rained and was a little windy. She shared my warmth, with a red collar around her neck, giving me the cutest looks and small licks. I think we became friends pretty quickly. She seemed lost, just like I was! She went around smelling the tires of different parked vehicles and then came back to me and sat with me. I sat there, petting her, talking to her, and then realizing maybe she would understand Malayalam better than English; I asked her, ‘Veet evde?’ Got no reply. I didn’t have anything to feed her; I apologized and told her to find her way back home or find shelter from the rain and that I would get her some bread slices or biscuits tomorrow morning. We sat there for some time looking at the same view, and then she went on with her journey. I hope she finds her way back or remains safe and makes it!

My brave brown, ta(I)le wagging traveler friend!

I felt like I was back in my UG college for a moment. It was just like the fest days, giving belly rubs and love to our favorite star wars doggo! There was a reason we called her that, and she was such a sweetheart. Ah. She was a part of our team. I was in the ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’ zone most of the time, and I used to just sit and give her belly rubs and feel okay!

Star wars getting pampered by two MVPs!

Today seemed a lot like that, and like always, a dog came to my rescue. Hence proved, dogs are the bestest ever. And yeah, memories actually make so much of who we are. Thanks to the years of fests, I’ve made some great ones along the way! But yeah, they are an excellent place to visit, not to stay.
I sighed, smiled, and came back to the present.
Did what I could – had dinner, played ‘The Raghu Dixit project’ playlist, finished some errands, did laundry, took a cold shower, dancing like I was at the concert in college! (Yes, he was the artist) saw the aftermovie of Incridea’20 with teary eyes and a broad smile, went through my gallery, and felt all the feels.
Aaahhhhaa.

Do you remember your college fest? What was that like? Take a train down memory lane and connect with old friends; it’s totally worth it!
#Those were the best days of our lives! Isn’t it?
Stay in university, kids. Go take part in fests and make some memories!

Until next time,
PS: Yes amma, I washed my hands later.
No amma, I don’t touch every dog I see. (I try not to:p)

Pinned it for later.

Someone has put a pin on it

Has it really been that long ?!
Today, a person asked me if I stopped writing my blog, though I was shocked and thinking, ‘wait, you read my blog?’ I played it cool. I couldn’t believe that in a new city, a not so familiar face asked me about my blog! As happy as that made me, it got me thinking, thinking about why haven’t I written in so long?! Well, obviously there’s so much happening, so many new observations, so many new rants and just soo much vishaya I have pinned in my head saying I should write about it! In Fact there are so many drafts in my head but the only draft that is getting typed on word is a review paper. More like dying to make it to the deadlines, get it ? Haha

Sitting by the lake, with the company of mosquitos, light breeze, distant lights, random playlist playing in my ears – I’m smiling like a fool maybe because I realized that I write because the whole feel of observing, thinking, framing words and typing is an experience! (Blog is just a byproduct:p) Maybe writing is my way of processing, coping, remembering or just feeling!
Yeah, I’ve been a bit busy but I’ve had so many moments that I’ve written about in my head, someday, they might make it to my this little blog, who knows ?!
For now, I’ve decided to take some time to write. My busier brain = lots of content, some objective, some subjective and hopefully some fresh and creative!

Damn!
Did I just write about writing ? Haha that’s how long it’s been.

I should write about it!
I’ll write about it.

So, what have you put a pin on ?

Until next time,

Cheta, Oru Masale Dose

It’s very true that inspiration comes at weirdest moments, it doesn’t see time, place or the mindset you’re in, just like pee – when it has to come, there’s nothing that can be done! 

Quick life update, after months of being a slave to the couch, I finally bid goodbye to my master – the laziness. After feeling like a queen while actually riding a horse on my own I am finally a fingerling in this beautiful queen of the Arabian sea. Yeas! For real. I was imagining this for over 13 months and it’s almost 13 days since I reached this beautiful land of coconuts. Well, I just moved from one land of many beaches, tiny backwaters, coconut trees and kind people to a land of more beaches, many more backwaters, lots of coconut trees and literate, nice people who speak Malayalam. Truth to be told, I feel like I’m in some malayalam movie! 

Okay, the rain was pouring down heavily, and I had this urge of going somewhere on my own, eating something hot and just being not in my apartment thus began my walk. 
You know, walking when it’s raining is a mixed feeling, it’s like eating a tub of cheese – caramel mix popcorn, you’ll like the experience but some moments make you love it more! 

It’s Friday night and tomorrow happens to be the day I complete another round around the sun. I reflect on the past 12 months and pat my back for not making myself the centre of the universe :p. I ponder what my wishes are for the next few months and I am just blank! Oh no! A water splash! What do these posh car owners think of the people walking on the roads?! Anyway, I cross the road and there it is a glowing board of a typical south indian restaurant. I place my order in Malayalam, but no matter how much you try, the locals know who the locals are, as I sit and wait for my butter masala dose, I look around, in a place that’s so new to me, the sound of water splashing the hot dosa pan ‘chissss’ and the sharp sound of broom being passed on it to prep for a dose feels very familiar. A family of four having dinner in that corner table reminds of me of my own family, the lemon tea reminds me of the time I had a beautiful conversation with a good friend in some random small tea stall, a young lady covered in raincoat that’s drenched reminds me of my best friend, the guy who was clearly criticizing the bhaji inside his masala dosa reminds me of my another friend who is now in UK yet occasionally cooks dosa to feel at home! The couple in the corner reminds me of all the incidents where I wished I didn’t have to third wheel, the group of friends laughing reminds me of my set of friends who actually laugh more at the way I laugh than the actual joke oh, the chef makes me think of my chaddi dost who is the best chef in making! 

There comes my masala dose! Hot and stunning, shining with the butter and smelling delicious! I forget about everything else and just dive right in – until I get carrot and beans in the masala! 

I couldn’t have been more wrong! Land of coconuts do not serve standard masale dose and chutney! It varies. It has to! 

Oh! I can see my reflection on the glass, I remember a line I had just heard from my roommate this evening – ‘Barish iss duniya ka sabse mulayam sach hai’. 

I was hungry and the carrot and beans were big so I could keep them out and still enjoy my masale dose. After a good dinner, I was walking back in the empty streets, thinking of all the moments and people who have made my little life such a beautiful one and Thanking the universe for all the blessings oh yes, also thinking of this write up, 

Because sometimes, when you go alone and eat a masale dose in a place that you’re just getting to know, you’ll know that 
‘Musafir hai hum bhi, Musafir ho tum bhi kisi mod par shayad phir mulakaat hogi’,

Until next time!

Saamne waali Khidki

Without the constant dog hauls and the grinding noise from the hostel mess in the distance and soft music from the room next to ours, that night was awfully quiet, suddenly there was a crashing sound, both my roommate and I heard it, we could even see something fall off at once from the floor above! I asked her, did you see that?! She was just as startled as me. It was that time of the night – the time when most of the hostel adventures began, a time when the warden would be fast asleep, mesh from the windows would be slightly opened, for the cool air to seep in and hot air to slowly crawl out, a time when only the dim fairy lights or screen brightness would be on, a time that was crucial study hours during exams, a time for good conversations, scary stories, the maggie making or just passing out – if you know what I mean :p 

Na Tum Jano Na Hum

What if I were to tell you that, If you have an idea that you truly believe in, something that might or might not be your dream, only purpose of your life, something that makes you look at the bigger picture, gets you going every morning and you actually start working towards making it happen, invest your energy and put your efforts then, eventually things fall into place! Trust me, when you don’t know how to proceed, there will be a hint that’ll show you the way, if you feel you’re at the end of the road, suddenly someone new related to what you’re doing will help you look at it from a new perspective, If your intention is good, you’re ought to get lucky!
No, I wasn’t really referring to the AI which sneaks on you and recommends you what you should buy or watch. In a sense it is true, you search about your idea on google and find someone who’s working on it on linkedin, you read more about it in so many websites, see a whole different perspective on the social media site, though you know it is the artificial intelligence, the social dilemma that’s behind it, if you believe, it feels no less than a mysterious magic!
My point is, If you consider this whole universe as a vast bundle of energy with different nodes and strings, actually believing in your Idea, no matter how small, putting your heart and soul into it has ought to make a shift in the energy and the dots will connect on it’s own!
You might have read it from ‘The Alchemist’ or heard it from King Sharukh Khan, If you choose to believe, it truly is no less than a magic, the Universe will definitely help you in making it happen!
So, is AI inspired by the Universe or is Universe nothing but just a giant powerful network?!
Gonna think about it in the shower, aren’t you?

You are last seen ?

There was a time, a person would travel from town to town reading news from other parts of the country – it was how people would know facts and stories, some inspiring, some heartwarming, some giving them hopes and of course the ones which would make their bloods boil!

Times have changed, there’s so much advancement, now within seconds we are able to know about the happenings across the world and I can’t help but wonder – what is happening?! Are we actually cherishing stories while we try living one to leave behind ? Or are we just being taped on, waiting to disappear in just about 24 hours!

Did you call home yet ?

I couldn’t reach my mom’s phone this morning so, I called my sister and like every other older sibling she did tell me “mom doesn’t have time for you,okay let me sleep now, bye”. Somehow I got mom on call and she went like “what happened? Why’d you call?” I said, Happy Birthday amma! Had an exam this morning and it was a short call which came to an end with all of them at home wishing me all the best and reminding me to not carry the chits I had prepared with all my heart :p.

Until Tomorrow.

There was a day when I was all alone at the river bank, helpless, scared and just a tiny kid in search of her family who took quite some time to realise she was missing! Well, that was a long long time ago. Since then, a lot has happened! Days have turned into weeks, weeks into months and months into years that have passed like a fast moving train leaving a trail of memories behind! I have had a lot of conversations, some effortless some after a lot of practice, I have experienced extremes in countable fields, learned so much, grown so much and maybe lived a little too! Today, the bank of that river is one of my favourite places, today, if I’m physically lost, I can survive and I’m really glad I have my family and a good set of friends who’ll bring me back when I fail to understand that I’m lost (in thoughts). Well, I have heard people say, ‘ your life gets a new meaning when you hit the lowest point you find a purpose, your perspective changes’ pardon me, I beg to differ. I have had some rough patches, I still am confused as ever and of course have no idea what I’m doing, but I do know I haven’t hit the lowest point of my life, yet.
Guess what ? I believe we learn everyday, we grow as we face various situations and perspective is just a way of life, you can’t master the life. Because, dear friend, Until Tomorrow, all you have is Today!