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! 

ñān pēāyiṭṭ varāṁ

As I was closing my eyes and mentally preparing myself to actually wake up and write my thesis, on the other tab that was open since a long time a sentence popped, it said
Dear Kochi, nan poyitt vara! I went behind that thought and this is where it led me..

I had read stories, watched movies, heard people speak about this God’s own country and thought to myself what’s so special about it? In the 14 months I’ve lived here, I’ve asked myself this many times, why so charmed by Kochi – Ernakulam – Kerala, Avanthika?

I don’t know, I mean I’m one simple person da, I thrive when I’m left on my own without anyone’s kirkiri. If you let me be, I’ll gladly let you be; all up for drama but just not in my own life kinda vibe, one might say it’s a lazy mentality but I like to think of it as Queen’s way of living! Lemme explain, I know it’s a very big responsibility to take care of the entire citizens, to live up to the expectations of the kingdom, so many things to think about but do you think when the queen is taking a long relaxing shower or slipping into sleep she’ll think about all this?! I don’t think so, I mean of course she’ll defend and protect and do everything in her power for her people and their good but that’s only if and when she has to, otherwise she’s chillin only. No ? For some reason, I feel this queen of Arabian sea lives the exact same queen’s life!

Just another day at work!

There’s room for everyone here, she’s blessed in terms of beauty, on her watch, the leaves are never covered in dust, there’s enough for everyone and more, she’s compassionate, she’s kind but she’s a Queen who’ll not go easy – there’s consequences but most importantly, she’ll let you be!

There are just so many incidents that are very normal, everyday scenes that feel like it’s from some movie or a book! That’s what I like the most about this place – the extra- ordinary!
The thing about this place and its people is that they are simple – Stand near a chaya kada with a cup of chaya, munch on pazham pori\ parippu vada or kappalandi and just watch life happen!

There’s protests, crime and fights but there’s also unity, joy and immense pride for the roots they belong to and a tree grows only when the roots are strong and healthy!

Cheta’s on a break!

Here there’s place – to sit and do nothing, streets to walk without any purpose, so much backwaters to turn to while turning your back to the real world, to stop everything and watch not just the setting sun but also the sky after!
Here people know the art of doing nothing – at least for a short while, taxis and autos stop under huge trees, two feets crossed over one another pop out while the brain peacefully shuts up! People make a living out of lottery either selling or buying (subject to market risk), from small fights to major issues get sorted over a cup of chaya and there’s always love in the air, always!! Because couples are just everywhere!! There’s parotta and beef, putt and kadala curry, appam and stew and the Sadya to feast! Oh! There’s absolute love for football, Onam and Christmas like nowhere else!

‘Tis the season to be Jolly!

You’ll not even know when God’s own country slowly seeped into you, making you feel it’s own and being a part of you in its own subtle ways!

Like elsewhere, there’s chaos here, life’s tough, living isn’t the easiest and everyone’s got their own shit going on but The Queen takes you under her wings, she’ll let you be and there’s space so you learn to give it some time, Buddy, be it Sulaimani tea or kattan chaya unless the powder settles, you won’t be able to savor the real taste! And Kochi taught me that!
For me, it shall always be Dear Kochi, ‘ñān pēāyiṭṭ varāṁ’
Now I better sleep because Avanthika needs this degree and a real job because she isn’t really a queen in the real world.
So, what’s your thing about Kochi? Shall we talk about that over a kattan chaya and beautiful sunset backdrop, whatsay ?

PS: Not converting, Mangaluru is Mangaluru.

Note: Wrote this few days ago, done with defending my M.Tech dissertation work, submitted my thesis and on my way home to my dog!

Onam Alle

‘Hold the rope,’ NCAAH ready? The whistle blows, and all the cheer suddenly becomes background noise. Before you realize what is happening, you are putting all your weight on a rope, either walking backward or defending your stance with your dear life on the line until the second whistle is blown and if you see everyone around you jumping with joy, yayy!! More power to you; you just won the tug of war. Lessgo!!! Maaannhh, I had no idea tug of war is this intense sport. I mean, just stand on the side and watch a bunch of Malayali guys from different departments having a tug of war – the power, the faces turning red, the energy all around, the cheering, the screaming, you can see the veins stiffening, the single focus in everyone’s eyes… Uff!! It’s too damn intense! For someone having played this sport for the first ever time in life (I mean for real, full seriously. Of course, I’ve played for fun, friendly tug of wars, but this was no less than an actual war!) with the fast-paced beating of the heart and all that heat radiating from my own body, I felt like Naruto haha. The body pain that kicked in the next day gave me the much-needed reality check and reminded I’m no ninja. (yet) 

For the over-excited kid, that I am, experiencing ONAM in God’s Own Country was no less than a dream come true. I’ve been telling everyone about it since, shall also try my best to describe the whole scene but again, I don’t know how much you’ll enjoy it because frankly, you just had to be there da! 

Pookalam in Railway Station

Even the weather, sky, clouds, plants, and dogs get excited about Onam! The whole city comes to life; every gate will have beautiful ‘rangolis’ outside it, a vast ‘mela’ right in the middle of the town, fairy lights, sales, and Sadhya special boards catch your eye everywhere. The railway stations are filled with people, and train journeys have a lot of kids running around, excited about meeting their grandparents! 

Onam is the only time you’ll find research scholars obsessing over cutting flower petals rather than their unfinished experiments, Ph.D. scholars worrying about the geometry of the ‘Pookalam’ and not one of the objectives of their work, and you’ll also find M.Tech/MSc. Students who barely put Rangoli back in their homes sincerely cutting the whites off from purple petals to help their department achieve the color gradient of their dreams. In short, for about 24 hours, everyone switches to a creative mode where gradient refers to only color and not PCR. So, on the previous night of the ‘Pookalam’ competition, the whole lab will have spreads of different flowers; everyone sits together, playing an old OG Hindi playlist along with evergreen Malayalam melodies, talking, laughing, and bonding over a bunch of flowers! (some watch football too :P)

All that hardwork put into use, beautifully. Artists: Team NCAAH

With the catchy ‘Nadan pattu’ (Folk songs) and graceful ‘Thiruvathira kali’ (a traditional dance around the lamp), people from God’s own country ought to be somewhere at the top in creative aspects as well! No surprise there. 

Don’t get me wrong, but they all look so pretty! Ladies wearing the traditional saree or sett mundu, the jhumkas, the jet-black hair with white mullappu (Jasmine flower), the kajal in their eyes, and the sweet smile on each face completes their look. There’s no way out; you have to simply appreciate the beauty! The men are no less, the white Mundu paired with the Kurta or Shirt, the neatly folded sleeves and well-groomed hair, beard; it is difficult to leave all this unnoticed. (No, Amma, I do not have a Malayali boyfriend :P) And if you look at the small kids in their small Mundus and kurtas, your heart will melt. No doubt about that. 

Now coming to the best part – The ‘ONAM Sadhya’. So many varieties of dishes, each one with a different flavor; just tasting will fill your stomach, heart, and soul. Yeah! Drink the Palada off your banana leaf, and you’ll be in the hangover instantly.
Petition to make Onam sadhya a quarter-yearly deal. Please? Thank you! 

The OG – Sadhya

It is believed that ‘Bali Maharaj’ (Mahabali) from the ground below (Patal Lok) visits God’s Own Country once every year, and the people of this land show him that everything is going good in the hood! They are happy and celebrating life so he can go back feeling peaceful. Therefore, this celebration is taken quite seriously, irrespective of religion, caste, and place; everyone from this land celebrates this in the best possible way! 

Now that I was part of the Onam Celebration in a college in Ernakulam, I can vouch that the scene we all saw in ‘Premam’ happens very much in real life! With all the beauty, the happiness, the ‘chendey,’ the Sadhya – total Onam vibe casts its spell on you! Before you know it, you’ll be dancing with your juniors, smiling at unfamiliar faces, making new friends, laughing, and enjoying with everyone around. That, for me, is the true sense of celebration – including everyone and making some great memories! You can’t help but feel like you’re in a still from a Malayalam movie; at least that’s what I felt 🙂 Don’t take my word for it. Experience it! 

Maybe I’m giving too much hype; perhaps it is totally justified the hype. I don’t know?!
I know that no matter where I am, I’ll think of this Onam memory with a wide grin on my face on every Onam and try to celebrate this festival in my own way, involving people around me, making them eat palada and slip into a food coma. Until next time, Happy Onam, people! 

PS: I missed hiding behind my DSLR and taking pictures of beautiful strangers (with their permission, of course!) But I was so busy living that I forgot to document it with pictures. 

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? 

Ennavale

No doubt I am being educated on various scientific techniques. Still, the most valuable lessons I have learned while working on my final year project are – Patience, dealing with disappointments, trying again, putting effort, troubleshooting, and that sometimes you do everything and still fail, accepting failure, and the most important one – most often than not things don’t go according to your plans, many things won’t be in your control, so all you can do is accept and respond because how you deal with a situation is mostly the only thing in your control. Haha. I took time and haven’t mastered it, but I am still a beautiful work in progress.

Recently realized that when nothing is going according to my plan, I feel like running away to a mountain far away, but again can’t afford that in reality; I like to go back to things I used to enjoy doing when I was a kid, something simple, something that I have fond memories of, something that feels familiar but still adventurous, exhausting but exciting. So, I decided to go cycling in the early hours of the morning. A friend of mine was supposed to accompany me, but I didn’t wait after 3 unanswered calls.

I rented a MyByk and started peddling. Manh! My eyes are accustomed to Kochi and its distantly placed dim street lights; now, I like them that way. So, at this hour of the day, I could go in the middle of the road, and no one would question me; not many street dogs, not even birds chirping; it was like being in the middle of nowhere! The advertisement board sheds some light, oh! The trees seemed happy I think they were greeting me with those tiny droplets they had saved from the scattered thunderstorms of the previous night! The roads were still fresh from the rain, with no joggers or walkers, but I did spot 3 teenagers on their bicycles, doing a photoshoot for their social media under a streetlamp; there were mutual greetings through the sweet sounds of cycle bells. At this point, I was hooked. High energy, the adrenalin rush from peddling, the thought of how worried amma would be when/if I told her about my this adventure, the breeze making my hair fly wildly, the sweet smell of sweat, the occasional fear of being a girl on a bicycle on some stretch of the route, the feeling of freedom, the chance to hum, whistle and sing like I’m the lead singer of this moving orchestra, Ah! Such a happening morning it was!!

I reached this beautiful stretch, water on one side with a Chinese net, a walking track with lots of trees and resting benches, and in the end, a board that read ‘I heart Kochi’ an athlete stretching right in front of this sign. No, the sign was not lit up. Took a moment to look at the beautiful view and cycled back, with skyscrapers with watchmen rubbing their eyes to see who this crazy girl is?! on one side. By now, there were some dedicated walkers on the road, some chetas with mundu folded up to knees; sitting by the water with lit beedis and soft music, the birds had woken up and made it very evident that there was a bird sanctuary on the way, some big trucks, many bikers, equally curious but minding their own business, then I heard the adhan from the distant mosque, passed through a church as well. At this point, I was so happy! It was like closing all old tabs that were open in my brain for months, like pressing a refresh button; I stopped and took a picture of MyByk to remember this short, much-needed cycling trip and continued. Passed through a temple, morning raga playing while a cheta was cleaning the angana.

On the corner of the street, people were squatting on the roadside but luckily fully dressed, with a beedi and chaya! At this point, I wished my Appa would have accompanied me because then we also would sit there with chaya, or at least a guy friend or a larger group but we ( Me, myself, and I) just shrugged and peddled on. I heard the song ‘Ennavale Adi Ennavale’ playing, and it was nice to see a man with white hair, a white mustache, and a beard sitting next to his old green cycle, keeping the radio right next to his ears! I told myself that I need to see more of this beautiful city in the morning hours; the small scenes like these have made me read ‘I heart Kochi’ as I love Kochi!

On my way back from Queens Walkway, feeling like a Queen!

I reached my apartment, googled the song and its meaning, and liked the initial part that said,
‘Oh, my dear! Oh, my dear! I’ve lost my heart. I’ve even forgotten the place where I lost it!’
Sometimes, it is best to take a cycle and just go somewhere, maybe you’ll find your heart or at least the ‘I heart the name of your city’ sign :p

Tried writing about this on the same morning but sleep won!
Today happens to be World Bicycle day! Thank God for cycles! Can you imagine a world without cycles? forget the world, a childhood without cycling memories?!
Also, take a moment to think about your first ride on a bicycle. Thank the people who taught you how to cycle, and I’ll leave you with the memory of you cycling downhill in your cycle!

Wander Wonder

If I ever get a chance, I would want to visit the shipbuilding yard and sit on those high-raised ladders connected to the cranes, building those massive vessels.
A pictorial representation would have given you a better idea; maybe next time.

I usually spend my evenings by the lake, observing people and their habits, ships, water, sky, and birds to the sound of vehicles passing by, sometimes I end up typing my thoughts out or quickly phone a friend to get some news of some other town, or I go on walks. Walks without any purpose, just looking around, to know the place and people, mainly to find good food joints :p I even had an idea to start something called ‘Walk with me,‘ where I walk and talk about everything my eyes are seeing, the brain is thinking, and the mind is commenting on, random but all in real-time. So that the listener can imagine walking with me, experiencing a walk without any purpose.
Anyway, here’s a gist of what that looked like this evening-

The sun wasn’t very bright because the clouds were apparently taking center stage; the sun was only doing a cameo, but he did light up the screen. There were dark clouds on one end, slowly moving towards the other, while the sky on the other side looked like a happy spring evening; it seemed like I was not the only one confused. Haha

There’s a church that is a shortcut we usually take to reach the small Kada with pipping hot aloo bonda, parippu vada, and the red chutney. I feel prayer places do have some positive energies, maybe? Oh wow! The Malabar chips counter along the corner is more crowded than usual today; this weather does make one crave something crunchy, spicy, or hot. It is convenient to blame the weather for things, isn’t it?
Okay, so what are my options here? Hot filter coffee at ‘Ambiswamy,’ the usual bonda adda but cold ones because it’s way past 4pm, the super bakery, bread world, Milano ice cream, or something else?!

By the way, when was this watchman culture popularized? I know it feeds families and keeps so many families safe, but I wish I had the option of entering some high-raised building’s roof and just sitting there for a couple of hours. Is that too much to ask for?! I am a student waiting for her stipend to be released, so, though I wish to sit in cafes and chill or work, I can not afford to pay for the iced tea and a quick bite – three times a week. And I don’t want to sit in the library or my class or my room; I want to feel like I’m part of the real world, street noise, ordinary people doing their usual activities, maybe chitchat with Cheta about what he does, why he likes this place, and so on..
Why is there no system for something like this ?! I was walking, forming a business model of places that charge a minimal fee, don’t ask you to buy anything, don’t promise you any amenities but let you pass a couple of hours, like a hideout.

Maaanh! There’s the Cochin Shipyard! What would happen if I seeda ran inside? How would I explain to them that I am just here to see? I started gathering words in my broken Malayalam. Why are there so many cycles parked here? Oh! So many people work here, it would be fun to build a ship, no? I wish I could do an internship here; I would somehow manage to climb on that high rising cranes and feel like Simba from The Lion King!
Back to my search for buildings that don’t have any guards, and are not totally abandoned cause, I am a lady who has confidence in her self-defense but “boss, Playin it safe“. I was now at another junction; there was a building across the road; it looked just right, not in regular use, so no one would bother, it didn’t have a spooky look, and there was some board that said it was some kind of godown. I stood there for a good five minutes, making a quick pro and cons list of the steps I would be taking next. Ah. Dang! The good, rational girl in me won over the rebel. But the pan wala bhaiyya stationed below that old gray building definitely thought I was up for some fishy business.

Let’s walk. I’m here; on one side is KFC, Domino’s, Frozen bottle, and the other has the street menu, happiness on a stick, and the Belgian Waffle.co, I don’t stop, not yet. I see a man with a cup of chai, uncombed shabby hair, some brown, some white, and a few in black, a shirt with checks that have seen better days, the lungi that once was orange, and Hawaii slippers that look brand new. He’s standing next to his cycle equipped with a board to sell people the ticket that could change their whole life and a speaker; both covered in plastic – the OG protector from rain, playing a Melody probably sung by Jesudas. I stood next to him, enjoyed the song, passed a friendly nod, and walked back. I could see the lady sipping chai, trying to forget about what happened at work, three girls enjoying yellow, orange, and grape-colored candies, and one of the waffle makers sitting outside the store, talking to his dream girl on a video call. Now, the smell of this store lures me in; I walk in like a puppy following its favorite treat. Order one and make myself comfortable on a high chair in the corner. Yellow walls, mat finished, neat wooden table, temperature-rather hot but manageable. I sat there, with a glass door showing me the outside world, road, vehicles, and people on my right while on to my left, the noise of some random Hindi movie making the chef laugh out loud; he minded his own business – making the waffles.

The warm, sweet smell of something getting baked while I sat there reading my book. Ruskin Bond describing Winter while I sat in a place that looked like spring and smelled like sweet summer on a rainy evening was something that I considered worth documenting.

On a not-so-empty stomach, while walking back, I decided that it isn’t the best of ideas to let some random stranger go to the rooftop; what if they are snipers, shooting people for no reason? What if they kidnap children? Beda, idella scene beda.

Chisssss! There’s this small Kada where Cheta is making an omelet on a shapeless aluminum pan, but the aroma says it’ll taste great. The uncle in all white with paragon chappal and poppy umbrella approves of it. Oops! I just tripped, and that’s how I know we are now at the end of this walk.

So, would you like to walk with me, some other place, some other time?
I’ll take that as a maybe.

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,

Fruitful?

After what seemed like a productive day in the lab, I joined an online class, sir was explaining about marketing and when he said ‘shelf life of tomato is four days’ It struck me! Oh, shittt!! the Guava in my room must have totally turned yellow and become that soft version which my Anama (grandma) used to like! Damn you avanthika! how hard is it to get the hang of managing fruits ?!

Two over ripened yellow guavas of the recent batch!
(Shades of green just for comparison :p)

Trust me, It is hard.

It’s been around 2 months since I’m away from Girimane (my home) and living in Kochi. This isn’t really the first time I’m staying away from home but technically, during my hostel-life of B.E, I had the privilege of going home every weekend hence, there would always be fruits in my bag when I got back. Now, I no longer have that perk, and that my friend, makes a huge difference in this entire story.

Do you know what I miss the most? I miss Annu, the way he would shop for fruits, rightly ripened, from their colors, texture to the taste! The way he would cut them and bring it in a plate to my table when I would be busy studying, the way after dinner each one of us would have a plate of our own with a variety of fruits plated with salt and pepper and also the conversation we would have along with the fruit plate! Ah! I can’t believe on some days I would deny this amazing offer.

I strongly feel, just like adulting, managing fruits is something that becomes better as one grows. I sincerely hope it does. I mean, It’s just two months and I have already spent a lot of money on butterfruits yet had to throw half of it cause it went bad! I have almost eaten at least two yellow soft guavas every time I bought them! I have eaten tasteless chickoos, dried musk melon, and sour pineapple! Oh, please don’t get me started on the banana and the trick it plays with beginners like me?! Frankly, even though science has advanced to such a level that we can legit artificially produce offspring, Why do we still not have a device that could exactly tell us when the fruit is to be eaten, an algorithm that warns me about the progression of the rotting of fruits bought in-spite of the cash crunch! An app that reminds me about the state of my fruits! All this really makes me question myself, is any of this even fruitful?

In short, of all the things that I want to learn from my Annu and Amma, the beauty of this fruit – life cycle tops the list!

Oh yeah, the apples are out of reach now, ask a student they’ll know!

PS: No, I do not have a fridge in our apartment yet. and no plans of buying one anytime soon, Thank you very much!

Look Up!

‘Kolambe Javan’ in my community, is a small family function on the night before the onset of actual wedding festivities. ‘Kolambo’ is Sambaar and ‘Javan’ means meal. Its basically a simple meal with rice and Sambaar. I normally abscond from this function because, according to me only Idli and dose are to be paired with Sambaar .. and here I am, the same girl eating Sambaar at every meal for over a month! Welcome to living a student life in Kerala – where Papadam, boiled rice and Sambaar is the basic meal on any given day, at any given place!

I used to be that girl who felt it’s simply dumb to not get a complete eight hours of sleep, lately, I’m functioning quite well with six hours of quality sleep and no caffeine! Yep! I’m shocked too

I can’t even believe I have become that lady who craves to eat green vegetables, fresh fruits and something healthy! Suddenly nachos feels empty without guacamole! Oh yeah, I now like exercising or doing any kind of physical activity, I also like to keep my room neat, be on time and most of all, I like being busy!!

To be frank, I still can’t believe I’m changing at this rate! Don’t really know the root cause or for how long these new habits, favorites and rituals are going to last but to think of it, this all feels like “May Flowers in December!” Right?! Like you, even I thought that’s something impossible. Yet, here we are walking on these tiny beautiful yellow flowers that reminds us the warmth of May in these cold winters of December!

“Look Up!” The climate is changing and so are you – one for the worse and let’s hope the other for the better.

May flowers – Adding Magic to the mundane

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!