Eid 2018

So today is Eid. A lovely festival of happiness joy and so much excitement.

And here is what I made today.

The first picture is of SheerKhorma. A sweet dish made of milk, dried fruits, dates and vermicilli.

The second picture is of the ethnic Hyderabadi Meat Biryani accompanied by curd chutney.

It took years for me to master the biryani. Crisp criticism from my inlaws perfected the flavours and texture.

The sheerkhorma was my first trial today. Turned out yummy except that I fried the dried fruits a little browner than I should.

It was an amazing day today altogether. Spending time with my husband and kids elates me to the core. It wipes away everything and I start fresh.

I did some henne/mehendi on my hand too.

Oops. Looks like I deleted the pictures. I shall take better pictures of my henna as it darkens.

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Nails…

I finally cut my daughter’s nails. After almost 3 years, she finally stopped chewing them. They finally grew and I could cut them.

It might seem so bane a though to be troubled by the little act of cutting nails.

But to me, a mother, it is a huge feat. When she was about one year and some months, I cut her nails (like I did every Friday since she was born) the night before I was admitted to deliver my son.

The next day I promptly left. She was shattered by my absence. I do not know what all my baby daughter felt and endured. But after 7 days, when she finally came back to me as I went home, she was constantly crying, a very rage filled child with so much stubborness, and she began eating her nails. Strangely, the nails of her feet stopped growing too. This remained all the while we were back in India.

Since we have come here, and she has begun school, she is back to being a calm, excited and a much more happy child.

My motherhood scored a whole point when I saw her nails growing neatly and I could finally cut them. Thank you Lord. Thank you for these favours upon me.

Random picture fron the internet…

Passing the time in pixels.

I saw my little sister doing this. It intrigued me to no ends. I did not get the time till this week to actually download the app.

Introducing colouring by pixel. So what we do is we are given a picture, we zoom in on it, and the picture is pixelised to alphabet and numbers that correspond to the colour palette required for the photo.

And we colour accordingly.

Helped me pass my time. Gave me the satisfaction of putting things in proper place ( a slight sense of ocd). Calmed me down among the chaos my kids and husband create. My thoughts somehow stop running in my head and all I am doing is digitally colouring.

I shall find an adult colouring book and grab some markers and begin colouring. I love that peace it gives.

Just among these lines, once upon a time I was a budding artist. I loved colour pencils and and I used to sit down and draw and colour lots and lots of pictures. I received a lot of appreciation for that at school. But my parents thought colouring was a childish hobby for a teenager and they often ridiculed me for it. And then my sister started doing the same and somehow I let go of colouring amd drawing. At one point I told her I let it so that she could excel in it. And man, has she excelled! My sister is an artist with a Pro level. She is this really amazing talented artist eho works both physical art and digital art. I hope someday she becomes famous for her work. It broke me to see she couldn’t pursue it as a career but she hasn’t backed down.

So I let go of it all. Once in a while, the artist in my yearns to do drawing and colouring once again. Maybe I might begin soon. I must.

Love for Chickpeas

I am not sure if one must have a reason to love something.

Presenting Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans or Choley/Kabuli Chana.

I have a mad liking to chickpeas. My mother is the one who deserves the credit for it. No matter how many different types I try, the one my mommy used to make back when I was home, fingerlicking good (spoonlicking actually).

I used to eat up more than half the bowl and had my siblings bawl over it. My extent of love to this particular food was so great, that because I (earlier) hated spinach, my mom used to add chickpeas IN the spinach curry, just so I would eat spinach! Love you mom for doing everything for me.

So the hubby and my kiddos are down with a horrendous spell of coughing. Hence no throat irritant iftar dishes. Less cooking for me! But I like to cook so it disappoints.

And hence I made choley!

When it rains…

Do you know what happens when it rains?

When the heavens pour forth their tears, they embrace the earth. They let go of the heaviness.

And on earth? The water seeps through the tiny passages and entrails every path it finds. It runs down lanes like water gushing through the hair during a shower.

The rain touches the roots of plants on its way, it entangles into the soil and lets out an enchanting odour. An odour so earthly, that can’t be found in any perfume on earth.

I used to be a poet. Somewhere down the lane, lack of recognition strangled my passion into a dead skeleton.

But each time I watch the rain, the poet in me arises. Poetry, romance, love, rainfall, beaches, cars and books…ahhh my weakness.

Each leaf dances in the rain. The flowers bend like dainty dolls.

My heart yearns to run out into the rain. To get wet. To let the water enter my body, my soul. My heart yearns to let the scent of rain smother my being.

But I get held back. By nobody. But my own fears. Fear of falling sick. Who will run the home and take care of kids if I fall sick? Maybe someday I may run into the rain and jump with joy and get wet thoroughly to my hearts content.

Till then, I shall hide in the shade, and long for the free run. Into the rain I so love……