Calendared Moodswings

Hate is a strong word. I don’t use it often. But in this context I am using it … or rather my heart compels me to do so….
No, not a person nor an object nor any food. I hate something abstract.. I hate a certain period of time. I hate three months in a year….for their bleakness, for their uneventfulness, for their all-work-and-no-play nature. I hate the months of May, June, July! And my hatred has almost reached a crescendo as I sit here, almost on the threshold of my days of sorrow……

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Our country is a land of diversities in everything one lays one’s eyes on. From languages to rituals, colours of its people’s skin to cuisines, traditions to local costumes, everything is in multitudes! So when it comes to holidays, it’s an assortment of the various religious, social, cultural celebrations, anniversaries and national days of pride thrown in, in full measure. The whole year or for that matter a major part of the year is sprinkled by generous servings of holidays! A saying in Bengali aptly describes this state of affairs “Baaro Maashe Tyaro Parbon” whose literal translation would be - Thirteen festivities in twelve months.

And that’s where my heartburn comes into the picture….amidst a plethora of holidays round the year, why didn’t the months of May, June, July get at least one or two! Why are the poor months stark, unwelcome, barren periods devoid of happiness ..ahem…holidays! Unfair, biased, deprived trio...my heart screams out!

Every year, during January, when the holiday calendar is first displayed, I take my first peek ...with anticipation and excitement….the first look would always be at September-October, to check up when Pujo would be and which day of the week the Dussehra/Bijoya Dashami falls. That triggers my mental holiday planner and from the first of January, my plans for the Pujo vacation starts taking shape. This is closely followed by the cheerful winter months and the summery fiesta.

In my personal context, the 'bright & cheerful' season begins in August! That’s when my very own happy days begin… when there’s a spring in my step, dreaming of the upcoming festivities, and of course, the patriotism induced glee (!). In September – October, my joy knows no bounds and again October – November, arent bad either, what with Diwali, Id, Guru Nanak Jayanti all tumbling around in the calendar, bumping into one another. And December, with birthdays (OK no holidays, but still cause for celebration!!), Christmas, New Years and of course the wonderful holiday-mood-inducing-weather, is a joyous month indeed! January isn’t bad either and in February, it being our organization’s birthmonth, we are privileged to have an exclusive holiday!!! March also has its share of colourful mirth and my foster-state’s new year’s etc etc! and April is just about tolerable with a day of holiday thrown in!

And then tragedy strikes!!! Gloom descends. And along with the sweltering heat and thereafter downcast skies, my mood also oscillates between grouchy irritability to utmost melancholy. There’s not a day to look forward to….stark barrenness stares me in the face making me dejected ….making me wish away the three months from the calendar…making me crave for the light at the end of the tunnel - the auspicious August when Vignavidhaata arrives to remove all obstacles in the path of my mental peace and gives me FREEDOM from depression & deprivation!

Statutory Warning : May you all not BURN in envy reading the list of holidays during my nine HAPPY months!

I continue to be, as informed earlier, an underpaid and overworked employee. But the red spots on the calendar do give me immense pleasure. And whenever SD & AD enjoy their holidays (which are many more than my measly numbers), I dont hesitate in indulging in a Casual Leave or two....joining in the fun!!!!

For your peace of mind, let me reiterate.....My Holiday Count, unfortunately, continues to be a depressing 10 per year! sob sob sob....

Shubho Naboborsho!

Shubho Naboborshe shokolke janai priti o shubhechha!

Today being Bengali New Year's Day, I wish you all

A VERY HAPPY BANGLA NEW YEAR!!

Picture : greeteasy.com

BRAIN JAM

A writer's block we've heard of!! But a blogger's block? What's that?? Well....When bloggers like me, who have nothing earth shattering to write about, who just blabber away whatever comes to mind, who love indulging their latest whim of blogging, are at a loss of things to say, that is, I guess, a BLOGGERS' BLOCK!! The problem is I want to blog but my grey cells up there arent co-operating...hence bear with me..indulge me please!!!!

Life has been terribly boring of late. Well, not quite. Friday - Saturday were quite different - exciting, if I may say so. Saturday was spent celebrating Saraswati Puja and especially AD’s ‘Haathe Khori’ or formal initiation into education with the blessings of the Goddess of Learning. Friday evening was spent in doing the preparation and groundwork for the religious fervour we were subjected to the next day.
Realisation dawned on me that I was growing old. How else could I explain, why all of a sudden I had become such a sucker for tradition and ritual!! Agreed, I never was an atheist or the ridiculously rebellious kind. But I don’t remember being a stickler for the intricate rituals associated with our Pujas and Prasad preparations. In the past I was quite happy being the onlooker. Was it the parenting bug within me which was making me do all this under its spell? Just to ensure that AD grows up with bits and pieces of tradition....who knows?

Well, all went well...except the fact that the three hour long puja ritual during which it was mandatory to sit on the floor cross-legged left my legs and feet numb and subsequently aching! Another proof of my advancing years!!!

Though winter was conspicuous by its total absence from this city, at least the last few months were pleasant. With February just having begun, one would expect a few more weeks of pleasant evenings. But Global Warming or sheer callousness of the weather Gods, whichever way one looks at it, Summer has set in!! Fans and Air-conditioners have begun their round the clock duties!!
Wonder if this trailer to the scorching summer months ahead, has anything to do with my dysfunctional brain cells!!

A First in my BlogLife....

This, as is evident, is not a FOOD BLOG.

This is a space where I indulge my WHIMS and WISHES...mollycoddle them and pamper them to the hilt.

While browsing through the blogosphere, I came across this food blog - Sudeshna's 'HERE I COOK' which had an event called 'HARVEST : THE FESTIVAL OF RICE'.

Suddenly a brainwave hit me and I thought 'Why not?'
I had a post on a similar topic (RAMBLINGS..) a week or so back....so why not just link it and give the recipe for the Patishaptas I successfully dished out.....

The reason why I chose to make Patishaptas on the Poush Sankranti, as I have already mentioned, was because it was the easiest of all the pitheys and I had all the ingredients at home
Patishaptas are folded Pancakes with coconut and jaggery filling (pur).

So here goes the recipe which is my contribution to 'HARVEST : THE FESTIVAL OF RICE' hosted by Sudeshna of 'HERE I COOK' :
WHAT I USED :
* 1 medium sized Coconut - freshly grated
* Patali Gur (DatePalm Jaggery) - 225gm
* Sugar- 1/2 Cup
* Flour (Maida)- 1 Cup
* Suji or Semolina - 1/2 Cup
* Rice Flour- 1/2 Cup
* Milk - 1.75 - 2 litres
Note:Khoa (dried or thickened milk) is normally used alongwith the Coconut and jaggery to make the filling. I did not have it at home and so thickened a litre of milk to half litre and mixed it while preparing the filling

HOW I PREPARED : Instructions are given in the sequence I prepared
-PATISHAPTA BATTER -Part 1:
I mixed the Suji and Rice Flour. Then soaked the mixture in adequate milk. Left it aside and got on to work on the Filling.

- PUR /FILLING :
Took the freshly grated coconut in a wok (Kadai) and added the sugar and 150 gms of jaggery. Stirred it around well. (Sugar provides the binding)
After mixing it considerably well, put the wok containing the mixture on fire and continued stirring.
Added the thickened milk gradually (I was thickening the milk on the other burner while I stirred the coconut, jaggery, sugar mixture) and NOT in one shot.
The stirring and mixing is the most important aspect of making the Pur.
I continued the stirring process for about 40minutes, till the coconut turned a rich brown and became sticky in texture.

-PATISHAPTA BATTER (Continued):Part 2
I added a spoonful of ghee to the Maida and mixed evenly.
Added this to the already milk-soaked mixture of Suji-Rice Flour. Had to mix it well as to ensure no lumps are formed. Added more milk to make the batter of medium consistency so that it spreads evenly on the tawa.
To sweeten the batter, add some broken pieces of jaggery. The batter should be of mild sweetness.

THE FRYING PROCESS:

1. I used a non-stick Tawa (a non-stick frying pan would do fine)
2. Smeared some oil/ghee (I used ghee....sinfully delightful!!) on the Hot Tawa. (I used the top of a brinjal cut horizontally, with the stalk intact..it makes the ghee smearing easy as the stalk acts as a handle)
3. Poured a ladle of batter and spread it in a circle by tilting the tawa.
4. Fried in low to medium heat to ensure the patishapta is crisp yet soft. Flipped it over.
5. Made a snakelike shape with a tablespoonful of Pur and laid it lengthwise as is shown in the pic.
6. Folded the patishapta and turned it around a bit to give a golden brown look to it.
7. Served hot!!!

Have a look at the pictures and also at the original post

Ramblings.....

At the onset wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! Albeit a belated one..

Had been away from blogsphere the past three weeks. Reason? Nothing in general....didnt have the urge to peep into my cyberden. Not that there weren’t any topics to discuss....
Lot of events took place, especially in the India Inc scenario..and the skeletons continue to tumble out even as I write.. but I guess more than enough has been and is being written and spoken about the same.

Frankly I have nothing in particular to jot down.
A holiday midweek (Pongal) is indeed a bonus. So I guess I'll indulge myself and just ramble ....

Yesterday evening, as is my normal routine, I was talking to my Mother over phone and she was expressing regret that we were not around to have the goodies she was preparing on the occasion of 'Poush Sankranti'. As I kept the phone down, and continued with the normal chores, I kept thinking of the regret in her voice.....

Ours is a family where cooking is considered almost fine art. And in both my maternal as well as paternal sides of the family, there is an unwritten rule whereby cooking is not considered a chore but an art form which is ‘performed’ by the 'Kortree' of the family. Coincidentally both my grandmothers were famous in their respective extended families as great cooks and hostesses. My mother and aunts have upheld the tradition to a very large extent. For that matter I guess Bengalis, in general, are foodlovers and Cooking, Feeding others and Eating a wide variety of great food are intrinsic part of the Bong tradition. I guess none but Bongs will spend hours debating, analyzing and in general discussing the finer nuances of the culinary experience.

As for me, I have inherited the love for good food but unlike my grandmothers, mother and aunts, I do not love cooking to distraction. However, thank God that the genes did not desert me completely and despite my lack of fondness for cooking, I can dish out edible and at most times moderately tasty food!!!
Whenever I delegate a portion of the daily cooking to my maid, I do feel a twinge of guilt at not being 100% sincere in carrying on the family tradition..!!

Well, coming back to where I started .... yesterday's conversation with Ma brought back memories of the 'Poush Parbon' celebrations back at home.

What is Poush Parbon in Bengal, is Bihu in Assam, Lohri in the north and Pongal in the South... Traditionally a rural festival celebrated down the ages throughout India, whereby the winter harvest is ushered in with joyous ceremony, now these are social festivities celebrated in moderation in many an urban family.

In Bengal, on the ocassion of Poush Parbon (also known as Poush Sankranti), sweet dishes made of inherently agrarian ingredients like rice flour, coconut, sweet potatoes, datepalm jaggery (patali gur) are used to dish out mouthwatering delicacies. In various nooks and corners of the country, variations of such sweet delights are served during this time of the year. It is inherently a celebration of India’s agrarian roots.

As families are getting scattered, extended families gradually becoming distant memories, our children are growing up in a nuclear world. Rituals and traditions which we took for granted during our growing up years are becoming rarer by the day.

While we are busy embracing the world and are becoming global citizens, we are gradually losing our rich culture, tradition, folklore which lend India its distinct characteristic so unique in the whole wide world.

Being the impulsive person I am, it struck me, that as a mother, I HAD to do something to familiarize my child with atleast glimpses of the traditions I grew up with. This being my maiden independent effort, I was not too adventurous or ambitious. Hence I decided to try out the easiest of the lot of pitheys..i.e Patishapta. And incidentally I had all the required ingredients at home. Reconfirming the recipe from my mother, I got down to work.

Well….the day is over, the patishaptas having been gobbled up and here I am rambling away aimlessly..
But the satisfaction that we all derived eating the hot, moist and soft patishaptas was worth every minute of the few hours spent slogging in the kitchen,

Long live our exotic local delicacies!!!

Bibliography

Poush Sankranti - Poush sankranti or Makar sankranti is a nationwide celebration to usher in the winter harvest. It also marks the Sun's passage from Capricorn to Aquarius and is a very auspicious day in the Hindu calendar.

Kortree - First Lady of the Joint Family who reigns over the inner domains of the home

Patishapta - A sweet dish. Pan Cakes made of Rice flour+all-purpose flour with a filling made of coconut and jaggery

Holiday Hangover...

First and foremost - Thank you all...for all the wonderful words of praise and encouragement that you've sent my way...

I had been away from blogsphere for almost a month....

A month which had started with the anticipation of Pujo vacation, followed by Pujo shopping. Then came the cleaning and washing spree - a must-do before the festive season sets in...so what if the festivities are not celebrated in this house itself? Moreover, I have this fetish of returning after vacation to a sparkling clean and tidy home..otherwise the already down-in-the-dumps post-holiday mood crashes into a state of severe misery and depression. My husband calls me "Baatik-grostho" which if translated into English would be something of a mild psychological disorder.

And finally came the week before the trip.

Last moment packing, last moment shopping, last minute office work, instructions to the maid...it was a week bustling with activities. To add to all the craziness, just three days before the journey, the cooking gas decided to get over at late evening 8:30pm. And what with the 21 days Gas booking cycle and all (as if the Gas Company has been authorised to ration the quantity of cooking I do at my home!!!!!), and as already mentioned in my last post, the microwave being stranded at the service centre, I was left with no fuel to cook!!!! I was just short of having a nervous breakdown when my husband walked into the house after office and was quite unperturbed upon hearing the calamity that had befallen us!! And that made me even more mad, if that's possible! Well not only was he least bothered, his very patronising suggestion of "we can always eat out the next few days" had me boiling mad! I left the house hyperventilating (I always do when I'm tensed and without a clue as to what is to be done).

Suddenly I had a brain-wave, patted myself on my burst of commonsense, went to the nearest local market, asked around for a "Chhota Gas" and finally said yippee when I could locate the right store. There stood only one set of locally made, crude mini-gas cylinder with a burner fitted to the top. To me it was the most precious and coveted object at that moment! Very unsafe, but in circumstances like I was, it was like a God-sent! Lucky me...had I been two minutes late in reaching the shop, I would have missed it. Another sullen faced man frantically entered the makeshift shop in search of a similar "Chhota Gas" just as I was making the payment and expressing my doubts over its safety! The sullen-faced-prospective-buyer must have been in the position of my husband...bombarded by the wife to take some proactive disaster management measures and was decent enough to actually make an attempt to do so ... in glaring contrast to my husband, who had found the situation and especially my condition, quite amusing. Well.. though I brought the "Chhota Gas" home with a lot of fanfare, I couldn’t rest in peace till I somehow got the Gas Boy to deliver a full cylinder before I left for vacation. Well ...at a price though!! This was one occasion when I had no option but to indulge in bribery!!

I wonder when basic amenities like cooking fuel will become a matter of right for any ordinary citizen instead of us having to resort to bribery or the black market!

Thereafter, reached Kolkata for the much awaited vacation without any further excitement or untoward events.

As usual, Pujo vacations are never long enough. So ten days passed in a jiffy. Short, enjoyable, hectic..with Momo's (my daughter) double birthday celebrations, Pujo rituals, Pandal hopping, Belur Math trip, meeting family, Bijoya Dashami lunch & dinner parties, Lakshmi Pujo, the vacation was chock-a-block with activities. There wasn’t a moment to sit, relax and let the holiday mood to seep in...Pujo vacations are nothing but a mad mad sea of hundreds of activities that just have to be packed in during the five days.

Durga Puja, I feel, is not only about religious fervour. It is a blend of art, creativity, skill and a celebration of our life in general! By art and creativity, one has to see to believe the awe-inspiring craftsmanship and skill that go into making the Pandals which are just temporary structures dismantled after five days of the Puja. It's a shame that they have to be dismantled. We should have a museum to preserve these masterpieces by the unsung master craftsmen. What is more fascinating is the conceptualization of the themes for the Pandals which are both topical as well as innovative.

For example, one of the Pandals I had visited was based on Global Warming and the entire material, colours etc were environment friendly.

Another Pandal was a prototype of Tata’s much-maligned Nano factory at Singur. This pandal, which looked like a factory from the outside was tied with a chain and a lock to symbolise West Bengal’s industrial doomsday. Wish circumstances were different and Bengal had had the opportunity of celebrating the launch of Nano from its backyard......

The variety, the beauty and the grandeur of the clay idols of the Goddess and her entourage leaves one speechless. They too are immersed, as is the custom, at the end the the Puja. If one happens to pass by the Ganges the day after Dashami, one finds thousands of remnants of the grandeur ... the carcasses littering the water and adding to the already over-polluted river.

As I said, THE PUJA is a time for celebration ...not necessarily and exclusively religious It is a social potpourri where the whole community and society, irrespective of religion, caste, creed get caught up in a festive gaiety so unique to this particular festival. I am not exaggerating when I say irrespective of religion - I have seen Muslim families in Kolkata dressing up, renting cars and going from Pandal to Pandal, enjoying the lighting, decorations, and in general getting immersed in the celebrations. That is what I feel is unique and the very essence of any celebration…where no one ought to be left out! Happiness should not be ethnicity/religion specific….it should be all-encompassing!

Lastly as I end this piece, I can't help but write about a section of the society we love to hate but without whose tremendous support, the non-stop travelling within the city, commuting between my two homes (parents and parents-in-law) in two corners of the city would have been nothing short of a series of nightmares. THE KOLKATA TRAFFIC POLICE!!!

I was amazed and very very pleasantly surprised to see their super-efficient handling of the enormous bulk of traffic. Fantastic manning of the roads, supported by widely publicized road maps leading to the Pujas, aided by SMS helpline resulted in smooth flow of vehicles. The whole scenario could have and would have turned nasty if this daunting task had not been handled deftly…Kudos to the Kolkata Police…

We're back in our Hyderabad home with suitcases bursting with gifts of new clothes and various goodies. Life has gone back to normal. Office, home, cooking, …the list is monotonous and common! The holiday hangover is gradually receding to the background and the orderliness of day-to-day life is coming to the forefront. Ordeliness is boring and commonplace...but that's reality, I guess!!!

Looking forward to next week’s festival of light …DIWALI!

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL

Bibliography :

Baatik-grostho-A Bengali terminology referring to a habit bordering on obsession/fetish for a particular characteristic/way of life;

Chhota-Small/mini;

Durga Puja-The most important festival in the Bengali calender celebrated during September/October;

Pandal-A structure made of bamboo, plaster-of-Paris, canvas and various other material meant for housing the Idol of any Hindu deity;

Pandal-hopping-Pandal visiting spree to have a look at the decor and the Idols;

Belur Math- Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda. Situated about 15kms from Kolkata on the banks of the River Hugli;

Bijoya Dashami-The fifth day of Durga Puja, after immersion of the Goddess, friends and family meet, exchange greetings and offer sweets to one another;

Diwali-A major Hindu festival celebrated all over India. Fireworks, Lighting of oil-lamps, candles and worshipping the Goddess Lakshmi /Goddess Kali are significant aspects of this festival