Mom's Whistling Kettle and tea-time chats

This year Ma Saraswati decided to visit us on a weekend; Thank you Ma, else, being out of Kolkata, it is too great an effort to work out a visit to the Puja with son decked up Bangali style. Jan 31st, an usual Saturday morning for us in probaash. Hence no sound of conch shell or no smell of the auspicious aggarbatti or a puja yagna around us. On our first visit to the Community hall for a recce in the morning, we found 12 noon should be the puja/ anjali time and hence time for us to come back. Being an irregular visitor for the Saraswati Puja, I prepared a back up lunch of Khichuri, Beguni and kool-tomato r chutney at home. Since little sonny R would soon be moving to Grade 7, we are about to appear for the final(IInd Term) Exam for Grade 6.... hence, blessings of Ma Saraswati are little too critical at this point in time. In our true Bong upbringing, the prayer must boil down to " Bidya daao, budhdhi daao, porikshay jeno bhalo korte paari". We had good fun in giving anjali ...

It has been long since I penned down something in this blog. in fact I almost felt that my blog was stone cold and dead, looking for a fresh breath of air. Sorry, but with my daily routine of hard core office work, meetings, presentation, managing a house without any full time maid, and a growing 11 yr old son and his hectic schedule of studies, Taekwondo classes, Keyboard classes, Football activities in and out of school, there is no scope of 'thinking'. Before, even I took a deep breath, we are in the tenth month of the calendar. Off late, the core attention point is to decide on an alternative afterschool daycare for my son. Very cautiously and carefully, and obviously intentionally I left out the word "creche" the most abused word in Indian homes.As always, I love walking up the hill, against the public motion and hence second time round I am on the search. And I am proud to have found the first one 4 and 1/2 yrs ago. For some compelling reasons, the existing outf...

Happy Holi. With Spring,( or may be summer)setting in, its time to type in my next post. Had there been an award for the most irregular blog, I am sure, there would have been no better contender than me. Jokes apart, Holi, Easter weekend being a specially lo....ooong one, got some mental space to do something beyond the regular daal-chawal fare. But please understand this is my first ever entry to RCI, or any other blog event. But just to celebrate Sandeepa's return from hibernation, decided to re-cast an old post of mine for RCI Bengal. For those like me, caught between priceless memories of childhood, or growing up days in Kolkata and the fast(er) paced mundane life in another megacity, this should bring back some memories. Some of you might have already tasted this wonder before, some have never. But, this dish is very special for me....as I cook this for my hubby and my son, who can drool over this, but I can not even taste it.... as I am very allergic to crabs. Fiery Hot Crab ...

Kucho nimki, narkol naru, malpua, mansher ghughni, keemar shingara, mishti r thalaa, dhok dhok pronaam aar kolakuli.... the childhood memories of Bijoya are too vivid, more so gastronomically. Days have changed, so my son, who is at least 98% clued on Bong was surprised to find, kucho nimkis are manufacturable in Mom's kitchen as well beside the Chittoranjan Park Sweet shops in Delhi. So this time, while I prepared to embrace and entertain a large group of family, Mr D prepared for his France visit for an unavoidable workshop. Little sonny R, upset with his Dad's funny tour plans was trying to find solace in visiting paternal Grandparents from Kolkata. Saptami was chaotic. My Mamashoshur( Husband's Mama) and family had planned a surprise for his sister.... they were visiting us. So even though I prepared a pick up for them from railway station, my in laws were completely in the dark. Even my ten year old son was party to the conspiracy. Chaos bloomed post lunch, I had to...

India is finally the Champion of the 1st T20 World Cup. Those of us who grew up basking in the glory of 1983 Cricket World Cup win, it was a moment of reliving the past. Gone are the days of 120 overs a match, formats changed, its pace accelerated, and final structure is an accelerated entertainment crescendo, with an outcome quick and smart, win or loss. 20 overs is like picking up a fast food tray from Mc Donald driveway vis a vis a sit down meal, while appreciating the ambience and services and enjoying a well laid meal. It is therefore a matter of choice. I love Mc D meals as much as I cherish a quiet sit down dinner by poolside of a classy restaurant. Hence absolutely no contradiction and the two can co-exist in my list of favourites. All said and done, we Indians, who eat, sleep, drink, love, curse and swear cricket can rightfully celebrate the win and congratulate the fresh turks who beamed and jumped in glory last evening. So, CHEERS!! to all fellow Indians, who think Cricke...

Hi! Happy Independence Day to u all...... Twenty years back, did I know that we had to wish each other on the Independence day? Or rather we believed it had to be celebrated with sombre respect and pride by hoisting the National flag and singing the patriotic songs. The serious event had its share of parades and guard of honour, a few lectures and finally the a familiar pack of dry food, with Poori bhaji, sweets of different size, texture, type that mix and embrace each other in the packet and in course of time, lend taste and flavour to each other, so that at the end. Time has passed by, so no more visiting school on independence day to take part in the prestigious celebration with some special guest of honour. Any way, coming back to reality.... On our trip to Neemrana, along the enjoyable NH8, we stopped over for a quick breakfast at Jungle Babbler, a Haryana Tourism Motel with a great property. Another 40 mins down, as we snail through the steep and narrow village roads to the Neem...

Today, we woke up to a cool breezy cloudy April morning. Felt like being back in the autumn or spring mornings in Europe. While the chores happen in its own speed, I put on the TV. The usual ones, I suppose, Post Mortem of Cricket, Election results, and Nandigram. The last one made my mouth go sour in the morning. Zipping through channels I found on one Bengali channel, a popular cookery show happening. Cookery shows in India are just over a decade old, with Sanjeev Kapoor today, being a star TV Chef. In fact, if you all visit India or Dubai(no idea if he has a franchisee in US), you can drop in at any of his outlets. Coming back to our breakfast, after a long time, we decided to have just sweet and crispy Malpuas for breakfast. In Kolkata, at least a decade back the roadside shanties selling samosas(shingara) and kachoris (Kochuri), often fried some malpuas as well along with the usual jalebis. Unhealthy, unsanitised, yet yummy... close but un matched is the new avtar in my sanitised...