The Smile

The dentist worked on her
Like a carpenter at times
Like a mechanic at times
An electrian or a learned Doctor
Sometimes he was like
An architect or a designer
Trying his best to
Resurrect and re create her mouth
With functional, normal teeth.
Ceramic or zircon
The closest imitation
To implant was chosen
Chipped and ground
Chiselled and polished
And in time the teeth
Were set in their places.
Then the assistant dentist
Flashed a tooth shaped mirror
And her lips slowly contrived
Strangely into a characterless
New,silly curve!

Capsicum Masala

Capsicum Masala

Like many things from that remarkable city of my youth,Hyderabad,this dish too entered our home or kitchen,to be precise.It became an all time favourite and now reigns as a family legacy.

A hint of masala, the delicious flavour of coconut ( that must have hooked the Kerala genes!),the combination of onions,tomatoes , and fresh coriander leaves gives the capsicum a bright twist.A sure hit with hot phulkas,chapathis or a simple vegetable pulao or rice.

Ingredients 

Fresh green capsicums. 5 or 6 med size ,cubed and reseeded

Onions 2 juliene cut 

Tomatoes 4 cut into small cubes 

Ginger garlic paste 2 tsp

Coconut half

Cloves 2

Cinnamon a bit

Cardamom 2

Bengal gram dhal/ channa dhal 1tb spoon

Sesame seeds 1tb sp

Ground nuts 1tbsp

Red chilli powder 2tsp

Coriander powder 3tsp

Salt to taste 

Fresh coriander leaves,a bunch 

Oil to fry

Method 

Grate and roast the coconut in a tsp of oil till brown.Dry roast channa dhal,sesame seeds and ground nuts separately. Care should be taken to roast the sesame seeds well as otherwise the masala can taste a tad bitter.Grind it all along with cloves,cinnamon and cardamoms.Grind it quite smooth without adding water.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the  onions brown.Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a while.Bring in the tomatoes,simmer and close the lid for a while.Stir and add the dry powders.keep it closed ,alternately stirring until the oil separates. Now add the capsicums, stir and take in the coconut mixture along.Mix it all well,with a few bits of coriander leaves ,and cook on a slow flame until the capsicums are cooked and the dish well blended in a semi liquid gravy.Garnish well with coriander leaves.

Another Wedding

Her innocence is marred
Hurt by  garbed men,tradition, and
Her parents in her interest.
Her identity is now in
The chaos of a new order
Unaware she swims
Tired,lost, bewildered
Freedom entangles somewhere
In this search for security.
Has anyone found the meaning
In a system  followed simply again
Society's sanction makes
Every sin pure
Who cares for her
Her lost innocence, her lost identity!

The Ancient Lamps

                                                      To
the Chinmaya Mission of the 60"s, Kollengode.

In the barren drawing room

a gaggle of women

like flighty butterflies

in colourful silk sarees

quickly settled

at the arrival of the Pujari.

He came with bags of

old brass lamps,white wicks,dark oil

boxes of coloured powders

roses,chrysanthemums and basil leaves.

Soon, he began to draw

the coloured powders flowing off

his long fingers into intricate patterns

a warp and woof on the floor

for flower  decked symmetrical lamps.

As the women wheedled the petals of varied hues

from all the flowers, the Pujari

with his nimble fingers cajoled the wicks

and slowly lit the lamps aglow!

Bedecked with jasmine flowers

in her green silk gold embellished kurtha

my young daughter looked radiant

as she too lit the lamps

kneeling down beside them.

All set, the Pujari then went

into the room to change

into the barest of clothes

looking like a sagacious man of another world

to invoke the goddess,and surrender our prayers.

Sitting erect with eyes closed

He made the gestures of symbolic mudras

the manthras in his sonorous voice

resonated in the breathing silence of the room

even as dusk fell the women gathered there

felt pleasantly uplifted.

Soon they all joined  him

sincere in their rendition

a rhetoric studied

from another time,another generation

the names in praise of the goddess_

the sahasra namam or one thouand allusions

to the spirit of Devi.

As the chanting subsided

and the electric lights switched off

divinity seemed so tangible

amidst the piety  of the ancient lamps

that continously burnt

straight and steady

into our very souls.

                

Tasty Traditional Aappams

I tried quite a few recipes. I tried the instant ones too. They looked good but were not so tasty.  Now, there is no need to try anything else. Here is a very full proof method for the traditional kerala aappams.

You need

2 cups raw rice

1cup cooked boiled rice

1/2  a coconut grated

3tbsp sugar

3/4tsp yeast

water from a coconut

1tsp salt.

Method

Soak the raw rice for at least 2 hours.( Fermentation through the night is very effective. So it is best to soak the rice in the morning and grind in the evening.)Soak yeast along with 1tbsp sugar and 2tbsp of tepid water. As you break the coconut. collect its water and mix in 2tbsp sugar.

Grind the soaked rice along with the cooked rice, coconut gratings and  the coconut water. After it is ground smooth to a dosa batter consistency( a little water can be added if required),add the dissolved yeast and salt.

Let it ferment overnight. If the weather is cold, leave it in a dark ,closed place. I use the microwave(in the disconnected mode, of course) to keep this batter.

The next day pour a ladle full into the aappam pan,swirl it around so that a dumpling settles in the centre. Cover and cook. Remove after done as there is no need to reverse cook like a dosa. The non stick pans are the easy bets but the puritans swear by the traditional iron woks that you still get in Kerala!

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I was destined to read this book. A few ladies in my apartment joined to form a book club, and this was the first book chosen for reading ,followed by a discussion thereafter, the next month. The flip side of being a member of such a club dawned on me then. You are "forced " to read a book. This when my "want to read" book list still begged attention. On second thoughts, I argued that I joined the book club so that I'll be forced to read books. I decided that I'll read the book. If I find it boring, I can always not read it!
Next, I didn't have to work hard to find the book. It was just there in the library close home and a good friend dropped it home.You see,if I was destined to read it, the truth is that I didn't find it boring either.
The club discussed it last week. On a scale of five, the maximum rating given was a generous 2.5! Most of the ladies felt that it was a typical American perspective and so there was an extent to which we Indians could  relate to. There was a clear disconnect with the "Self" obsession for everything under the sun and above it! Personally, I was quite happy to hear this line of arguement. I was often given to think that, that disconnect was diminishing. Never the less some members did opine that our future generation may be able to relate with this obsession better than us. But that's another matter for another  day, may be.
However, I am now on a give- the- devil- her- due review.
 To begin with, I found an honest, genuine voice in the writer. Here is a woman who lays herself bare, digging up the whole gamut of her feelings through this art of writing---excruciating, pleasurable or theraupetic.It is no mean job to get the right words to emote your feelings. It is indeed a lucid style that communicates well with all kinds of readers.
 And that is why one lady said that she too wanted to go roam the streets and eateries of Rome like the author.
India ,is mostly represented in the Ashram . I am curious to know which place in reality was that?
For me, Bali came alive in all her charm. Also, the idyllic description of Gili Meno, the tiny coastal island.
The road trip with Yudhi is another skilful interlude in the book. Yudhi draws the Manhattan map on the white sands of Gili to talk of all their favourite haunts and foods. That young man's nostalgia ,loss , yearning and helplessness is so evocatively brought out there.
Well....the prayer, the meditation bits are ironically the dampeners. Like the Indonasian kids the author writes about, our tropical genes are so given to prayers that an adventure or roller coaster ride on it doesnn"t just ring true!
I am told quotes from the book are quite popular. I have not seen them as yet.
Eat Pray Love had its bits for me. And I enjoyed chewing on it. Felipe's signature line holds good for me too: "if you tell me slowly, I can understand quickly." 

Dil Se: Homing Pigeons: a photo blog.

Dil Se: Homing Pigeons: a photo blog.: The days of the homing sparrows are gone. They were so much part of my childhood in Andhra Pradesh. Their twittering, their nests, their egg...