The Kitchen Routes

My latest obsession has been a constant need to cook. My passion for food has increased to the level where my day doesn’t feel complete without cooking something. Be it a simple tiffin item like a cutlet or a heavy meal like a side-dish and a main dish. I am driven by this desire to cook. Cooking is not just an act, it’s an art. There are so many cuisines, so many dishes and so many flavours in the world that it just intrigues and confuses you at the same time. It is an art that may seem difficult but is worth the perseverance.

I started trying my hand at cooking at a pretty young age. I started at 13 and cooked on and off. Though 13 is not that young by today’s standards of cooking where in Junior Masterchef, where kids compete from the ages of eight itself. But I started cooking properly and regularly only recently. This interest must be all thanks to the channel TLC which is one of the best channels and has amazing shows that present the best of the world of cooking. For someone who just started cooking with full force I have learnt a few important rules to the kitchen, such as:

·         Start with the basics: always always remember to start with the basics. Make simple dishes at first. Start with a normal dish that you eat everyday. My cooking bandwagon started with the humble dosa. The thing is this rule helps build confidence. When you start with small dishes the less chances you have to fail and so you will have confidence to try again.

·         Always maintain hygiene in the kitchen: if you are not well then do not cook. Do not ever take chances when it comes to hygiene and food. Always make sure to keep your hands clean, your nails cut, you sleeves rolled up and your hair tied. Food cooked with good hygiene will automatically taste so much better.

·         Experimentation is the key: never be afraid to try a new dish. Once you have a hold over the basics, move over to the next level. Try a main course dish or try a different cuisine. I expanded by trying my hand at baking and desserts. Once you start experimenting you will catch on the interest on your own and make the best of your talents.

·         Always stick to the recipe: when it comes to conventional dishes and especially baking it is always better to stick to the recipe. You cannot experiment on your first try. Then you will have no recipe to compare it against. So as a beginner it is better to stick to the recipe.

These are a few golden rules for good cooking. Stick to these and soon you will also be converting your kitchen to a gourmet restaurant and making your way to becoming the next Masterchef in your country.

Change is the only constant in life

It seems like just yesterday, rather it seems like it happened just a minute back. But it has been 6 months now and yet I cannot come to terms with it. I do not know how it is that way, since I was right there holding her head as she took her last breath. I felt her pulse stop under my fingers yet I cannot believe it, rather I cannot accept it or simply that I just don’t want to.

My ajji, my grandmother, has been there with me always, right from the moment I opened my eyes and entered the world. She was, is and always will be ‘my everything’.

She is the one who held my hand and helped me take my first steps, though those were almost the only ones I took. She would not let my toes touch the ground, would carry me everywhere, and treated me like a princess being the queen she was.

When I came into the world, they placed my hand inside an old wrinkled hand. It is a hand I caught and never left. It is a hand I can never dream of leaving. But when nature intervened and snatched her hand away, I could do nothing but watch.

Never have I felt as helpless as I felt as cancer chose to prey on her for the second time. The only thing I could feel was undeniable anger and hatred towards life. I felt as though the world was conspiring against me by taking away the person I love the most. She is the best person on the planet and she did not deserve that. It is completely unfair and I feel worthless that I could not do anything. I tried a lot, I prayed with all my heart for me to be taken instead of her. For me to switch places with her. I would still do it in a heartbeat. I would have sold my soul to the devil if it meant saving her.

Ajji lived a full life, she wanted to keep living. The most important thing I have learnt from her is ‘the will to live’. Till her last week she only dreamed of getting better.

Her eyes would crinkle and she would laugh and say, “God gave us life to ENJOY IT”.

Yes, she is the coolest grandmother on the planet. The only 72 year old I have ever know to have eaten pizza, gossiped about my classmates in the middle of the night, snatched a piece of chocolate and ran from us, watched animated 3D movies and the only one that made me who I am today.

They say when people leave they go to a better place. I believe, with every fiber of my being that she is happy wherever she is, because I know she is right here with me. People say you have to move on, but I know it is impossible, you can never move on from losing someone who is the essence in your life, I know it will never stop hurting, that gap will never fill, and that emptiness will never go. But maybe someday I will be ready to move forward, move forward with that pain and accept it.

Ajji,

Words cannot explain how I feel about you. Words are not sufficient to describe my love for you. You define love for me. In short, to me, YOU ARE LIFE.

“If my life was a photo album, you would be there in every single picture” and I know you will continue to be there forever till my heart stops beating and even after that. Now I live just to make you proud and happy and live with the faith that someday we will be together again.

Dated,

Till the day I join you.

This beautiful feeling

Always shielded, buried, hidden behind the pillar,

Like the hidden nature of the pearl,

Even a flicker of it will make life swirl.

Brings joy in the darkest times,

It is perennial yet at times lost,

Once found, it is never given up at any cost.

Seen by none so easily,

But entitled to all,

It is nature’s way to uplift every fall.

Created within the mind, it penetrates deep

Planting its way to a permanent place,

This feeling Helps you overcome every phase.

Within the deep trenches of the heart it resides,

Connects every inch of your soul,

This feeling Supports your every action, your every role.

It is the feeling of hope, the best of all

Its beauty so unique and wonderful

Strong and rooted is its perpetual pull.

Beyond Disheartening

As I watched the singe run roll by that made the score 122, it struck me that India,my country, is out of the Semi- finals for the T20 Worldcup. It struck but it did not sink in . I did not want to believe it. I am not a sports person, I do not get all the technical aspects of the game, but there is something about supporting the team where you are from. It is a feeling that comes from within. I understand the basics and I do not agree that you need to know every technical aspect to be able to appreciate the game. I watch it for the team and today my team did not qualify for the Semi-finals. I have always felt really horrible whenever this happened with India, but with this world cup, it was different. I followed it more closely. It was like a dam broke within, the force of it hit me slowly. I kept denying it until I had to pass the message. I have never followed the game entirely but there is a connect I have to this game, maybe because of my origin, but it is still there.
If India had lost all the matches and gone out because of its inefficiency I would not have felt this. In all reality it was due to the unruly tricks of the Pakistan team due to which India is unable to qualify. It is unfair and our team does not deserve this. WE DESERVE SO MUCH MORE.

It was painful, the truth, but it is the reality. It has such an adverse effect on me now, leaving me questioning it. Why? It is like when a parched man is shown gallons of water but is pushed back from drinking it. That is the injustice that my team faced.
The sands of times may not take away the loss soon,
but a brighter chance is as clear as it is written on a rune.

A loyal Indian,
Parvathya Sripadhan

Tiny Happy Package

 

                                           

                                                   A little package so happy and sweet,
                                                    is what you will notice about this girl
                                                                                   once you meet.
                                                    her smiling face so hard to ignore,
                                                    inscribed  in your heart and in your
                                                                                         very  core.
                                                  She feels as warm as a summer breeze,
                                                  comforts your pain and brings you ease.



                                                    Her memory strong and crystal clear,
                                                   helps her succeed without any fear.
                                                   She is smart and bright in every aspect,
                                                   will help your way with utmost respect.
                                                  She is picturesque and fresh like a flower,
                                                  underneath this face is her strong willed power.




                                                  Great things come in small packages,
                                                  and this is one you will hold on to for ages.
                                                  Rare kindness like hers and beauty undefined,
                                                  imprinted in every thought that crosses your mind.
                                                  She is the goddess of help and the angel of grace,
                                                  who fills your life with bright, joyful days.



You don't have to be related by blood to be family :')
Always and forever
Parvathya

A speck of the sun

People say when someone feels strongly about something you can see it in their eyes. I never really understood this until recently. When I saw it when looked down at her and I always have to down to see her given the fact that she is soo tiny. 

As the finished magazine came out and she looked at it, I saw it. The sparkle, the pride, the emotions of having her efforts turned into results, the unexplainable joy.

She tried so hard to pretend it was nt in her eyes but I could see it. I have always been able to that with her, read her mind almost. It used to freak her out at first but now its as easy as breathing. I just needed to look at her to understand that this was more, much more than anything I have seen in her eyes. 

The feeling of seeing that emotion in someone that close, reflected in my eyes as well. The conviction and depth of what she was shone in her eyes, if not to the same extent, reflected in my own. It was like seeing a tiny speck of brightness, like a part of the sun itself. Yes it was tiny but it was enough to be imprinted in my mind for years to come. 

Forever and More

It is everywhere you see, you just have to clear your head to see it .
It is a sight everyone longs for. A sight the reminds one of all that is happy. It is different. It comes and goes. It varies from person to person, nature to character, place to time. It changes with situation, changes in degree. It is something everyone has, deep inside, whether they want it or not.

It is not something you can get rid of. It brings happiness in the darkest of times.But the thing with it, is that it has the bad habit of hiding itself, not showing itself until you need it the most.
But when you do find it, there is no feeling like it.
It is like how a blind man sees the sun for the first time.

This feeling is none other than LOVE. It is the best feeling in the world, it is something that will stay with you Forever and More.