Mom's Whistling Kettle and tea-time chats

Every day is not equal, neither does your brain and body work in same pace and efficiency on each fine day. We can be happy, sad, emotional, upset on any day without us having any control over it. But, come what may, the tea-time ritual is a discipline. My kettle whistled late today as we were running late. But, now we are sipping into our afternoon/ evening tea, we are busy enjoying our recent goodie bag from Netherlands. Koffiekoeks, stroopwaffels are adding a new dimension to our tea-time chat. Missing the Dutch summer, the Tulip festival at Keukenhoff, the Tulip fields by the highway in Bollywood Silsila style.  Stroopwaffels are typical Dutch goodies, where in, two thin layers of waffels are sandwiched with very sticky caramel sauce and come in circular shapes, stacked and packed for convenient gifting and carrying on travel. Koffiekoeks on the other hand are one type of caramel and coffee flavored cookies that Dutch would often bite into with their fra...

In an otherwise coccooned life on a highrise in Gurgaon, the only contact we enjoy with outside air is in the morning these days till the Sun decides to shine too bright, right over our head. Braving the sun, heat and dust, day in and day out, the sudden exposure to the somewhat cooled down air or a look at the setting sun or a sudden overcast sky makes you choke with emotion, fleeting memories, incidents, moments of life. A look at the sky on a quiet Sunday evening does a prompt overchurn of emotions. Nothing more apt to describe the feelings than the famous Sumon Chattopadhyay song...." Mon kharap koraa bikel maanei megh korechhe. Durey kothao du ek poshla brishti hochchhe....." While I enjoyed the sky over a tall cup of lemon tea and Sumon's songs pouring from my ipod, I dedicate this post to all Calcuttans missing the afternoon shower and Kalbaishakhi.