This morning, as I got the coffee going, I was thinking of our Mother’s Day celebrations, Mi. When I poured the coffee decoction into the milk in my tumbler, I saw it form into the shape of a heart that slowly became an M-ish wave and then just blended with the milk to become the perfect shade I love so much. It was as though you were smiling at me, telling me you’re right there enjoying my coffee with me. Oh yes it tasted good!
I was so thrilled to see Vidur’s greeting card, of course preceded by his loving cuddly Mother’s Day wish.
The other day while watching something on TV, Vidur asked me if I had ever had “afternoon tea” I instantly burst out laughing thinking of those days when we used to enjoy “High Tea” after we saw the elaborate ritual in a movie. We even dressed up sometimes as though we were out for a special occasion! Remember how we would go out on Saturday afternoons around the market, sometimes shopping and sometimes just window shopping while we checked off chores from our list – usually a trip to Saify’s after we had argued at length that it was worth getting the saree fall stitched by him after we bought it there. Oh, the pressure of those decisions! I also remember the days when we would sit up all night, determined to get those seven sarees ready – with the falls fixed and the edges hemmed.
So I was telling Vidur how we would return home, pleasantly tired and happy after our outing, bearing samosas, jalebis and those small yellow kesar pedas from Bajrang en route and then, bring out our mismatched tea set – the white teapot, the colorful mugs and those crazy dishes we’d picked up in a sale. We would settle at our tiny round topped cane dining table and sedately enjoy our mini-meal – our high tea! Or rather, high coffee. Subsequently we splurged on another sale and managed to get the Hitkari cup and saucer set along with a set of mugs and a closely matching tea pot. I still have it, Mi. Each time I look at it, I fondly remember how I used to crib about its size and expect at least three helpings! I now use the teapot to keep the coffee decoction so I can touch it every day.
Vidur asked me how we’d have dinner if we had such heavy snacks so late – 6 pm. I told him that you would usually skip dinner and make do with a glass of butter milk while I tucked into a bowl of curd rice. Gosh, how you used to hate to drink milk – saying it reminded you of udders. Eeks. That visual is making me crack up completely!
Today, Vidur has an entrance exam – which has a morning as well as an afternoon session – which means he’s out the whole day. I’ll make lunch and go along with Sury to meet him during his lunch break.
I really ought to treat him to a “high tea” one of these days, eh?
Happy Mother’s Day, Mi. One of my favorite photos of you and me is featured in a Mother’s Day slideshow here.
