Yup!. Nandini cooking butter is back on the shelves, after a not-so-brief hiatus. In the meantime, we mourn the passing of Gary Coleman, the loveable Arnold Jackson of Diff’rent Strokes – the thoroughly enjoyable series we grew up with, back in the 80’s when TV was limited-hour Doordarshan, that we eagerly waited for, and real entertainment was going out to the cinema, reading books or meeting family and friends. Ah, what memories of watching “I love Lucy” – nostalgia sure feels good – especially when I think that the special people I grew up with – through school and college are still there in my life. Life has changed, but they remain the same in their own wonderful ways.
The last week also saw a few more bus and train accidents – and this morning, it was really sad to read about a 17-year old girl who died, crushed by a wall-collapse. Reminds me of one of Kondu mama’s verses:
Since scamps and sneaks and snakes
So often undertake
A plan that does not thrive
The world still wags on…..alive.
I still have those Rugby joke books he used to bring each time he visited. What fun those were. Then when the gang came over, or when we had time between classes in college, we’d sit and laugh our heads off. Ah, incidentally, it was thrilling to chat with Priya. What’s more, she lives in Bangalore now. So one of these days – I am hoping to see her. As part of our Wonder Years – I had a great time recalling the fun she, Tanu and I used to have. The morning walks, the pauna chai, then topped off with the coffee at home! One of the funniest things was how Tanu would arrive with a huge birthday cake on the wrong day! Made it all that much more special.
Big news is – I finally cracked the dal code. It turned out exactly the way I intended it to – and it was very simple, really!. Amrut made dal like this; then Shuba’s cook made it like this. Somehow a particular flavor would be missing from it even though we always made it quite well. But last week was a eureka moment. Relief! 😀
Yesterday Uma, Manchu, Vidur and I finally made it to Mantri Square Mall – and had great fun. Massive place with practically every brand name represented – the top floor is full of eateries – and we had no notion of how we managed to spend so many hours there. On the way back, there was a freaky dust storm followed by rain. Now this morning, we’ve got to go back to the dentist – to actually start the preliminary process before braces for Vidur. Just hoping that everything goes smoothly for him. Reminds me of the time when he was 3 years old – and we had to go check a tooth after he bit into a bhutta – he prayed “mata pita guru devi” I am still amazed when I think of the lovely things he would come up with!
And here’s a beautiful song Vidur dedicates to you, Mi – remember watching Anmol Ghadi together? We would sing this song everyday on the way back from school, when you were in hosptial…
Got to get moving now.
