A Space to Pause

The harvest festival celebrated in all four quarters of India is commonly called as  Makara   Shankranti.  Regionally, they are called by different names: Pongal in Tamilnadu , Sankranthi in Karnataka , Andhra Pradesh and Telangana , Khichdi in UP  and Bihar and Uttarayan in Gujarat . As always, the commonality lies in the purpose of celebration - Harvest! What else could be as big as this exciting event? The Tamil month of aadi (July 17th - August 16th) is a significant month for sowing and investing in land, followed by two months of calm weather that would help in germination and first-quartile growth of the crop. Then comes the voracious North-east monsoon that helps in the most expected growth spurt of the crops. It calms down by the end of November with gentle drizzles. The next month goes on without much excitement, and by the end of December, the busy preparations for harvest starts, and hence festivals, offerings and excitements begin!  The...

Before I get to the recipe, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to each and every one who visited my space, read and tried the recipes. I wanted to express my gratitude and love to those who left comments on my writing and also to those who strolled by my blog to see "What did she write today?" January 1st 2014, it was then I decided to post my first piece of writing at this space. Though I wrote, I did not have the courage to post it to public media, because I thought my writing was not up to the mark. However, I rolled up my sleeves and posted it to your sight. One post after the other, I slowly started gaining confidence. I have never written anything for myself. I wrote for my profession but with lot of help. When I started writing, back in early 2000, a pro in the field commented, "Your writing is awful. It is not articulated, no sense of grammar and it is a torture to read what you write".  A timid and naive Sharmila, then, started weeping. I did not ta...

Every child has an inclination toward his or her own interests that is quite visible at an early age. I am sure my parents saw that inclination in me, and that pretty much ended up in making me participate in every cultural event that came up in my little school. The school authorities and a few other parents tried their best to bring in classical dance teachers. Partly successful, they tried to retain the teachers for a long time, but somehow, for the teachers' own personal reasons, they left within a few months of teaching. I still remember a dance teacher by name Latha, a brahmin lady, with bright patches of marudhaani ( mehendi ) in hands and feet. Though I was in an age that would not give me a complete glimpse of how proficient a professional dancer should be,  I was impressed with her dance movements. When I was 13 years old, a classmate of mine, by name Latha (Lathas have had quite an impact on my life!!!!), performed classical Bharatanatyam for the song " Ninnaye ...

Badusha - Even the thought of it makes me drool! This was the first sweet I tried all by myself when I came to this country, and I treated myself with this scrumptious sweet for the kitchen queen in me. I definitely deserved it as I was an amateur cook then, and I treated myself quite often, sometimes with flaw and sometimes perfect! Badushas were hard to avail in my little town, back in the 90s. These days, there are numerous sweet stalls that sprawl around every corner of the street. Mommy was very particular about hygiene, which literally did not allow us to eat sweet from anywhere outside. Also, those days, sweets were meant to be festive treats. That too, a badusha was certainly an once-a-year treat. A week before Diwali, mommies would convene at their favorite spot to discuss about sweet and savory items for Diwali. After it was all decided, a day was chosen, materials were bought, children were put asleep, and the embers were set. A few curious kids would linger around to have...

Hope you enjoyed reading our roller coaster ride to Salt Lake City (SLC)! This post is going to be a bit relaxing, a much needed, dampened break before we set to the Park. Before we started to Big Sky, Montana, a hill station, we visited an Indian & Pakistani store in SLC to gather some snack and food. It was a beautifully arranged store with a small restaurant at one of its corners. As we were aware of the scarcity for varieties at Big Sky, we packed 25 oil-free rotis , a few curries, Indian noodles and a few other ready-to-go food items. We had a good lunch that would fuel us for the next 400 miles on the road. We took I 80 and then I 15 N for about 280 miles. The roads were empty, mostly straight, but winding in some places along the edges of the bald Rocky Mountains in Utah. Drive in Utah The drive was spectacular along the vast expanse of plain valleys between the mountains. A few peaks were covered with snow and many bald with a just-dried-up look. There were m...

This is going to be a long one, probably the longest so far. I am planning to narrate it into three or four parts. I am highly excited about this as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. After being there, I realized that this place is so close to my heart, a feeling that was not guaranteed when I set for the journey. I have heard from people about the specialty of this place, but least did I believe that I will be left marveling after visiting there. When Shailesh told me that we were going to Yellowstone, I was a little excited for the fact that I am going to see something new, a change of place, new people and so on. I had many office chores that I had to finish before preparing for travel, but the travel preparations were running in the back of my mind, though I did not initiate it practically until the day before. We ran a whole lot of laundry, made a pot full of idli batter , scoured the stores hurriedly for essentials, gathered snacks and baby essentials, borrowed stro...

I woke to the cooing of a singing bird on a Saturday morning. We slept off past our usual bedtime the previous night, but I was surprised to have opened my eyes at the usual time. I was enthusiastic and vibrant to the thought that it is going to be a beautiful day. I set off immediately to the farmer's market, a junction for fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. The road was empty, and I just whished ahead, consciously oblivious to the speed limit. I was happy to have grabbed a few bags of Okra, a highly scarce vegetable at the store. I reached back home to hear the " ammaaaa " cry of my Liliput. Happy I was to see the empty and clean sink with the fully loaded dishwater splashing around water quietly! The perfect helping hand of mine had already set off with preparations for the fun-filled day. After nibbling our favorites hurriedly, we happily arrived at the Linvilla Orchards, located a few miles away from our abode. The empty parking lot said it all, "You gu...