I Am In Awe Of Padma Lakshmi!

Title: Love, Loss, and What We Ate : A Memoir

Author: Padma Lakshmi

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5

Each time I went to a book store over the last couple of months, I had my eyes on this book. Yet, each time I kept it back on the rack for a later purchase. I don't know why. Somehow other books found its way to my bookshelf, leaving this book behind. Finally, after many "maybe, later"s and "next time"s, I closed my eyes and bought it before I could change my mind. Once I had the copy in my hand, I was eager to get it started. And, once I started, I couldn't keep it down. This book is literally an open book about her life, her relations, her loss and how she coped. I loved the way it is written - simple yet elegant. 

The book gives you a glimpse into a model's life through her description about her modelling days. It tells you about the struggles and insecurities, the ambitions, and the elation that comes with a breakthrough. She speaks about the men in her life - the love, the fights, the disputes, the good and the bad, without swallowing bits and pieces here and there. Through the book, she tells you about her childhood days, her family, her support system during her dark days, and how she was still their little girl, Padma, despite she being a reputed model, host and an author of a cookbook. 

She writes about her stint with endometriosis - the pain, the misdiagnosis and finally able to give a name to the suffering. It was slightly upsetting to read this part, where inspite of the physical pain, she went through a distressing time mentally too with her marriage falling apart during the same time. When she wrote about her pregnancy, and her little girl, Krishna, it went straight to my heart. Although there were parts here and there where I could relate, there were others where I just wondered out loud, "how did she manage?". One can easily sense the joy and pride that the little girl brings to her life through her writings about her, and it was a joy to read about it. 

There were many parts in the book I could relate to as a South Indian - mostly about food and relatives - one of those being her description about the good old "thayir sadam" (curd rice) and her memories about it along with her recipe that left me with this huge craving for it that I had to make it immediately. One of the main reasons for me to pick up the book was for the recipes that it had. I love reading stories and memories associated with a particular food. It makes the recipe more interesting, relatable and endearing. That's exactly what Padma has done in this book, and I loved reading through it. I am yet to try out those, but I know, one day, I'll just pick up the ingredients, take out my pan and get through one of those simple yet 'close to her heart' recipes.

Padma was just the host of one of the few (yet my favourite) TV shows that I watch until I finished reading the book. Now, she is a person I am in awe of - for her perseverence and struggle to stand on her own, her courage to bare it all, and the fighter that she is!  

You can buy the book here!

For UK Residents: Love, Loss, And What We Ate : A Memoir

For US Residents: Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir

Hello!

Last couple of days have been tiring and lazy too. My weekend started on a bright and cheery note. I met a couple of new friends and had a lovely brunch with them. I had another lovely get together with the apartment friends in the evening, with us, mommies, chatting and chilling over popcorn, maggi and hajjis while the kids fought, played, and fought again. But what started off as a lovely weekend turned terrible with me feeling miserable the whole night, feeling feverish and nauseous. We woke up the next morning with the little boy coughing. 

Saturday was mostly on the bed, groggy and tired, with no energy to do anything else. As much as I tried to keep calm, there were times when I lost my cool on the little boy to the extent of him telling his daddy that "Amma is very cranky today", something that left me feeling guilty and ashamed. Everything felt overwhelming and all that I wanted was to lie down on bed without worrying about anything else. Yet, in the night, I had a lovely chat with one of my favourite girls, a right from the heart talk about our worries and happiness, the future and babies, and that was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits that despite a long night, with the little boy coughing all through the night and throwing up twice, I still felt a sense of calm. 

It was B's birthday on Sunday and although I had charted out a few plans, nothing worked out finally with the sleepless nights and feeling sick. Yet, we had a lovely evening that day. We went out with our friends to a puzzle place called The Escape Room and we had a wonderful 45 minutes playing Prison Break. It was fun solving riddles to find the next clue and finally to finish the game. And then we had an amazing time restaurant hopping, something none of us had ever done, having appetiser from Kria, main course from Nagarjuna (although I wanted to try out Shaap, but in the end, Nagarjuna and it's tasty meals won!) and dessert from Art of Delight. I did think I would bake a cake for the birthday boy on Monday but there was a huge pile of housework to finish (there always is and it never seem to finish!) and the cake still remains in the to do list. But, I did make his favourite breakfast today and got a bright smile in return. 

The little boy is still under the weather and I've not been sending him to school so that he rests  well for the infection to subside. A close friend is getting married today, and I was very excited to be there on her big day. But thanks to our chaotic planning and me expecting B to join me for the Trivandrum trip, I wasn't able to book my flight tickets and instead making last minute plans to take the train or  bus. But with the little boy not well, I was scared to do an overnight trip with him, and that meant skipping the wedding. Yet, it's sad when you have made plans to go home and have been eagerly looking forward to it only to cancel it in the last minute. But I'll not complain much since all I want is the little boy to get well soon and if that means, staying put at home, I'll gladly do it.

I am hoping to be more productive this week, although the weather is not helping at all. Our food routine too had gone haywire too in the last week and I am trying to get us back to clean eating. After a long time, I made a weekly meal chart (I may not follow it to a T, but this most definitely works as my reference guide), which has always helped me be more organised when it comes to getting food onto the table. I am trying to juggle the truckload of work that I seem to be having at the moment, but I am hoping to get past it one at a time, and I am trying to stay positive when it comes to that.

Amma's Hug On A Plate

It was a lazy morning today yet I had a pile of pending housework to finish. The little boy slept in late  - one of those days when he chose to sleep beyond 07:15 - and I didn't have the heart to wake him up. This also meant that he skipped school. The house was back to wreck mode as soon as he woke up yet I couldn't have been bothered. I already had my hands full and I didn't want to take up another round of cleaning too. 

Time was passing quickly and it was almost 10:00 when I realised breakfast wasn't ready still. All of a sudden, all that I wanted was Amma's Pongal along with a mezhukkupuratti, chammanthi, pappadam and pickle - something that was warm, comforting and an instant mood lifter. Although I would have preferred a ladies finger mezhukkupuratti, knowing the husband, I knew he would be happier with a potato one. And today, I decided, I would go by what he likes since anyway, it was one of those days where even I needed a carb overdose. 

This Pongal is Amma's hug in a plate, if I have to describe it to you in one sentence. It reminds me of home, the mornings were all of us sit in the dining table - Achan reading the newspaper, Amma walking in and out of the kitchen, having her ear in the conversation that Achan and we, kids, were having and eye in the pots and pans simmering away in the stove.  Taking spoonfuls of the hot pongal served as breakfast, along with chammanthi, pappadam, mezhukkuvaratti and pickle was my perfect way to start the day. This is despite my love for Amma's hot and crispy dosas or Ammumma's soft and fluffy idlis. To me, Pongal was happiness - happiness served on the plate.

Now almost seven years of being married, yet still being very attached to home and being there almost every other month, I don't miss Amma's food much. Yet, when things get slightly overwhelming once in a rare while, or something bothers my mind, or it's one of those cold days, like today, when I feel lazy and would love to be the daughter of the house rather than the wife/mother, Amma's Pongal smiles at me from the memory corner and I fall in for the temptation to prepare it and be engulfed in its warmth.

Every single time, as soon as I take the first spoon of the Pongal mixed with the mezhukkupuratty, I am in heaven and itbrings in the realisation of how much I missed it. Having said that, I don't make it as often as I should be and I wonder why. Maybe because, as much as I love it, I would rather have it when Amma serves it to me rather than me making it. 

Yet, there still comes one of those days, when all I want is Amma's touch and Pongal is my reminder of the carefree daughter days and not the responsible wife/mommy days. 

PONGAL

Ingredients

• Rice - 3/4th cup
• Moong Dal (without skin) - 1/4th cup
• Water - 4 cups
• Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 tbsp
• Ginger - a small piece
• Peppercorns - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - as required

Method

• Slightly roast the moong dal and wash it properly along with rice and keep it aside.
• In a pressure cooker, heat oil, splutter the cumin seeds, ginger and peppercorn and saute for a minute or so.
• In a mortar and pestle, grind the sautéed ingredients and keep aside.
• Add the rice, moong dal, turmeric, the ground ingredients and shalt along with four cups of water to the pressure cooker and keep it on medium-high flame.
• Close the cooker with the lid (don't put the whistle) when the water boils, and keep it on sim for another 10 minutes.
• Switch off the flame and wait till the steam goes.
• Serve hot!

'Cup'verted And Couldn't Be Happier!

Sometime around the time when I was 12 years old, one fine day I was told I was no more a little girl and I have 'come of age'. I was told I had to act so, mindful of my steps and my body, walk ladylike and so many other dos and don'ts, imposed on me by everyone around me, other than my parents (I am really grateful for them!).

Thankfully, I studied in a girls only convent school and 'apprehension' was a word none of us, girls, had in our dictionary. This 'bloody' monthly visitor was considered normal and we were still in a world where we jumped around, danced and did practically just about everything without any worries. "I am having my periods" was more often told as an excuse when we didn't want to participate in something rather than as a worry. We openly asked around for pads, and stains in our dress were pointed out by the other girls, mostly never as a whisper and sometimes even shouting out loudly from one corner to the other.

However, this relaxation and liberty existed only within the closed walls of the convent school. On other times when I was outside, and later when I shifted schools to a co-ed one and subsequently went to college, having your periods was a "shush" topic - things that you don't speak about loudly and definitely not to the boys. In case you stained your dress, your friend(s) would come behind you and whisper in cryptic language about the 'disaster'. 

It's been a long long time now with the "can you check my back?" to sitting awkwardly hoping against hope that you don't stain the seat you are sitting on to giving some stupid, random excuse/an awkward silence for stopping the car at a medical store to buy a packet of whisper because you ran out of pads to hiding used napkins to throw it away, covering it with newspapers. In between all this, and I hate the waste accumulation these napkins add up to, the stained bedsheets and worst of all, having to ask the host of the place where you are a staying as a guest as to where to throw away the waste, I stumbled upon this eco-friendly, reusable wonder called menstrual cups. I checked the various sites, came across various brands and types, but somewhere, I was apprehensive to take the plunge. I didn't know anyone who used a cup to wonder out loud my concerns, to turn to for answers to silly doubts of mine, which left me midway to wanting to give the cup a try and shying away from it. Finally, one day, as I got my monthly visitor just when an exciting, action packed day was about to start, I decided that enough was enough and I ordered my first menstrual cup from the Boondh site. It was easier to make the plunge with Boondh because it came in one size and I didn't have to rack my brain to figure out which size I should order. The only thing I was confused about was the choice of colours and zeroing down on one.

The cup came in two days and boy, it has literally been 'happy periods' ever since. I remember having a conversation with a friend and discussing how 'happy periods' is literally an oxymoron, but trust me, with the cup, it's as close to the truth as you can get. I was apprehensive about inserting and removing the cup, but there are lot of articles and videos out there to help you out and considering how much I was worried, it was indeed a breeze! The last two cycles have been a joy in terms of being active without any apprehension or worry, whatsoever. I even dared to wear white and walk around, something I've always been uncomfortable about. There were times when I totally forgot that I was on my periods only to jump, dance and do whatever that was possible to do. 

I have never felt this liberated that I haven't been able to stop gushing about it to my girl friends, 'cup'verting two close ones too in the process. It has been an amazing experience so far, getting to know my body better and regaining control over my life on all days without having to sacrifice a few days of my life every month to an 'awkward' visitor. And best of all, I am more excited about not having to shy away anymore from getting into the pool and water rides while mumbling some stupid reasons for the same. "I am having my periods" is no more an excuse either, rather I've started to associate it with empowerment and celebration. It is truly life-changing!

The Vegetarian - Book Review

Title: The Vegetarian

Author: Han Kang

Pages: 160

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 4/5

I welcomed 2017 buying books and this book was one of them. I was attracted to it by the title and was just going through it when my friend, who runs a beautiful concept bookstore told me that it is a wonderful read and I decided to pick it up. It was the winner of Man Booker International Prize, 2016 (not that it was one of the reasons) and supposedly a must read. For me, the title struck a chord and I picked it up.

This was to be my second book of the year after I finished Deepa Teacher's Kunnolamundallo Bhoothakalakkulir. Considering that I had just come out of a conversational and engaging book, I was  eager to pick up another interesting book and I opened this hoping that it would be as exciting as I thought, and I wasn't to be disappointed. 

There's no better way to describe the book than the summary provided in the back - "A beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts, about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soul". The book is a story about a girl, Yeong-hye, who turned vegetarian because of a dream, how she suffers due to non-conformity to societal standards and the way she is exploited. The book is narrated in three parts  - from the point of view of her husband, her brother in law - an artist obsessed with her body, and her sister, In-hye. The story starts with Yeong-hye's decision to turn vegetarian and her family's difficulty in accepting it - the part narrated by her husband, where you could sense his trouble in figuring out what is happening, the despair and angst. The second part of the book disturbed me, shook me out of my senses and left me uncomfortable.  It's violent and sexually exploitive, and it raises in you a sympathetic feeling towards her. This part of the novel is sure to stay in the back of your mind like a whir that affects you and gives you great discomfort. The third part broke me down, dividing my sympathy between a helpless yet doing whatever she can possible to bring back her sister to normalcy In-hye and a mentally unstable, totally oblivious of the normal world Yeong-hye. It was heartbreaking, worrisome and by the end of the book, you are sure to take away a lesson on empathy, in addition to challenging and questioning your thoughts and mindset.

The naive me thought the book would be about food, which was one of the reasons I picked it up. However, it was not anything that I thought the book to be. I haven't ever ready anything like this and despite it being dark, weird and odd, I am glad I did. It opened my eyes to a world that I was oblivious of, and more than anything it left me unsettled. This book renders full justice to all the credits and acclaims that it has received so far and it is a must read.

I don't think I've done justice to the review but I can tell you one thing, you will not be disappointed in picking this one. This book will surely feature in your list of books that has affected you deeply in a life-changing manner. It's intense... and dark!

P.s: You can buy the book by clicking the image/link below!

For U.S. Residents: The Vegetarian: A Novel

For U.K. Residents: The Vegetarian: A Novel