Happenings.
Sounds a lot like extra-terrestrial sightings, right? Well, almost.
Let me begin with the pleasanter things that I am now taking for granted. That heart when I pour water on the coffee powder in the filter. The moment I think of you, there it is. I mean, if I wanted to engineer it, I couldn’t! I’ve tried. Yet, it appears when I expect it the least and want it the most–subconsciously. Had you told me this I would have laughed it off.
Same thing with recipes. There I am, about to drift off to sleep as I mentally make a list of must-do things for the following day. There’s always something “i wish…” happening before I sleep. When I wake up, I have the answer. Sometimes I may dream about it–but of course that crystal clear dream has vanished from my consciousness before I even brush my teeth. Ha! Still. Have to be grateful, you know. These are like mini-hugs and pats and let-me-put-my-arm-around-you-and-squeeze kind of things. Welcome is one word to describe these.
Two days back, we were reminiscing about how we used to fry papads and store them in those two big steel dubbas. And what a chore it was to clean them, even though we placed a lining at the bottom. We stopped doing that after we bought our microwave–remember how fascinating it was to see it perfectly done? Best of all, Sury the papad-fan loved it. What a relief that was.
So anyway, back to the reminiscing. I had arranged four on the glass tray in the microwave and was standing there watching it. So dangerous to move away and forget it–I dread overdoing it. I turned off the microwave and opened the door. Out of four, three were perfectly done. The fourth, however, had this little heart in the center. I thought I’d run it again for a few seconds. Mmm-hmmm. Not cooking. The heart stayed. And I am thinking–there she is again, part of the convo! That’s you, Mi! We all laughed and yea…I suppose we’ll keep that papad for last. I won’t even be surprised if the parts around the heart are consumed and the heart is retained for as long as it possibly can be.
By the way, still looking for a good enough arisi aplam–the rice papads. Sigh. Miss the days when we made them at home.
And then, and then… the rotis! I was making phulkas and was thinking about how you’d be so dexterous about making about eight at a time–first flipping them over and over on the tava and then, one by one, on the fire into full blown bubbles before practically frisbee-ing them on to the plate where I’d smear them with ghee. So, here I am, transferring the roti from the tava to the flame and when I flip it over, what do I see? A full smile. There you are, I thought! ♥
We’re all mush at heart even if we put up strong fronts sometimes.
Signs. What can I say? Thank you for living in my heart, my being.
