IT DON’T MATTER IF YOURE BLACK OR WHITE……….

One of those rare days when yours truly, struck with maternal zeal, decided to spend quality time with Appu and teach him colors. It started off pretty well and we managed to get through the primary colors and even the browns and light blues. (Thank god for the teachers at the playschool). We then decided to move on to black and white. Once Appu had figured out those two colors, I teasingly pointed at my face and asked “What color am I? Appu answered “White”. (Yours truly did preen a little, lets be honest here!!) Next, pointing to Appu’s face I asked, “And what color is Appu?” To which he replied, “White”. To tease him I said “No, No, Amma white, Appu black!!” To which my over smart kid replied, “Amma white, then how is Appu black? Appu white!!” Not wanting to get into the intricacies of genetics I blandly stated, “No, Appu black.” At this, my son, clearly upset, went up to his grandmother to get her to refute my statement. Interestingly, he didn’t give up until his granny assured him he was “white” too. Is there a lesson in here somewhere? I guess I should have paid more attention when hubby dear once told me that Appu and Michael Jackson shared the same birthday!!!!

HOT AND SPICY!!

A nice lazy Sunday afternoon and I was enjoying a drive, (obviously hubby dear was driving) and I was letting my mind drift off when I heard it, and was brought back to earth with a resounding thud…..

Tere Ankhen Garam Masala
Tere Honth Garam Masala


Adnan Sami (I think) and his plaintive wail. Must be hunger pangs that bring so much anguish into his singing, what with his crash diet and his desperate bid to hold on to his lady love. I hope he knows that he has all our collective sympathies in his tough times.

The song set me thinking. Is this some desperate lyricists' last ditch attempt to make his song “hot and spicy” per the director’s (I am guessing that's the guy who has a say in such matters) instructions? We seemed to have moved from flowers, gardens, the moon and what have you to straight to the no longer dull and boring kitchen shelves. Talk about thinking out of the box err the carton/sachet that the masalas come in.

Or is this some new marketing gimmick thought up by the ad gurus to promote masalas? What with the myriad brands available, instant food and fast food, the dog eat dog world of massala makers and their marketing team had no other go but to innovate and dream up this song.

Or is this just an admonishment to errant home-makers(does this breed still exist?) from the consumers of their cooking not to forget to add the garam masalas(in the midst of their movie watching, serial watching or gossip session over the compound wall) and render everything insipid?

All said and done the humble garam masala has left the confines of the kitchen shelves to land on everyone’s lips and be the talk of the town. Mission accomplished!!!

TRIAL BY FIRE

Loading? What loading? Hubby dear’s reaction when I told him we had an invite to attend a Lohri party. The invite was from a close friend of mine, who called to say that it was on Sunday, the day before “you people”(she meant South Indians) celebrate Sankranthi. I thought that was rich, coming from someone who had married a Tam Brahm. I teased her about the “you people bit” and gently reminded her that I was a Mallu, and we celebrate Vishu in April as our New Year’s Day. (Mallus always have to do things differently!!).

All togged out in “ethnic” wear (keeping in mind my pal’s strict edict on the dress code) we set off to Patel’s Inn at R.T. Nagar and were faced with the perennial problem that never seems to stop haunting us Bangaloreans-lack of parking space. Once that was sorted out, we faced another problem. Where was this shindig happening? We could see hordes of silk clad people descending on the entrance to the place and all these people could certainly not be going to the “small” Lohri party. And then we heard it-the unmistakable bhangra beat and that was what guided us to the right party!!

There was an open fire, like in a camp; and everyone threw handfuls of puffed corn and groundnuts into the fire. I was told that since this was also when harvests came in, the ritual symbolized the giving back of a portion of the harvest to God. The fire, considered holy and cleansing, was traditionally made of broken sticks of furniture. I shuddered with horror when I imagined having to shop for new furniture every year. I have just finished the ordeal as a precursor to moving into our new home, and I definitely DO NOT want to think about furniture for a really long time-preferably never.

Some energetic dancing and some good food later, we made our way home. A new way to bring in the New Year-and tomorrow and day after, the New Year comes to our home again-in the form of yellu-bella and til gul!!

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

Garuda Mall-5:40 pm, Sunday. In a queue to try and get tickets to the movie we had heard rave reviews about. Nail biting tension-fingers, toes and every other available appendage crossed-the ticketing information showed fast filling-maybe, just maybe we would get tickets!! At the counter-disaster struck-no tickets. The billboard still showed fast filling. Sadists all, deriving such vicarious pleasure from making people come up to the ticketing window and then gleefully announcing that the tickets were all sold out.

On to Innovative multiplex. At least 10 people ahead of us in the queue. Disappointed faces turning back from the window. Hubby dear, just to make doubly sure, asked the man at the counter, “No tickets?” And hallelujah!! There were just two available!!!

After our photo-finish at the ticketing counter, we walked into the theater, clutching “pokorn” and soda, which Appu absolutely had to have. I was sure we were going to be spending more time outside the theater than in it. I simply could not imagine my 3-year old sitting through a 2 ½ hour movie. Yet another miracle… Appu was goodness personified. Apart from loud questions on “Why is Chetta crying?” and “What happened to Chetta?”, Appu not only sat through the movie but seemed to be enjoying it as well. Or was it just the popcorn and cola???