Mundane Musings

I do this all the time... this last minute scrambling. For weeks I have been seeing ads, and more ads of the Great Indian Festival, Diwali sales and what not. I didn't budge. I snorted in disgust at this blatant attempt of conning people into spending their hard earned money. I was not going to sway. There was no necessity to, in the first place, I told myself. I don't celebrate Diwali and S was not very picky himself. So I sat through it all, until suddenly the Gang decided to come over to our place to watch fireworks for Diwali. That turned things around. From sitting on the side and smirking smugly at the whole jamboree, I now suddenly seemed to have become a part of it. I was now pushed to being a hostess. Our building is best suited for this pass time as it was bang in the center of a large North Indian population and the skyline on the days leading up to Diwali is generally lit up in giant sparkling colours. It is such fun watching the fireworks from atop th...

With Christmas last year, we have come to the end of a delectable line of festivals that come in the latter part of the year. I associate festivals with food, the making and serving of it and the indulging of the various delicacies that is synonymous with these celebrations. It’s easy to live this dream in a multi cultural, multi ethnic country like ours. There are so many festivals to celebrate; so many excuses to eat...unapologetic-ally if you please.   For Eid ul Fitr or for Ramzan, I get asked if I would invite people over for mutton biriyani ; I remember asking my Hindu friends for kozhukattais during Vinayaka Chatturthi and sweet pongal for Pongal; I have forgotten the number of times I have asked my mother to make her trade mark paruppu payasam for Onam. You see, it had to be prepared during the said festivals, even in a non-participating household or else it never really got made.   A small Onasadhya, with my favourite dal payasam I credit my d...