Kollu Paati

 This artwork from the 1920s-1930s, still in its original frame, was made by my Padmasini Kollu-Paati (great grandma) - died 1958. She was quite the entrepreneur, ran her small home based milk business, and has even made speeches to mobilize other women to join the Indian Independence Movement. 

Some of the relatives from that branch of the family run the Gandhi Ashram in Selam, Tamilnadu. Another aunt of my grandpa went off to live and do social work with Harijans in the villages, which is pretty progressive for a femail from a conservative Brahmin family of that era.

Fossil

 My late Raghavan Thatha liked to collect fossils. This is not a piece of wood but actually a fossil and as heavy as a stone. How cool is that. 

Harrapa Artifact

My late Raghavan Thatha (grandpa) worked in archeology for a while. Replica of an artifact - Harappan seal from the Harappa archeology digs from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization. 2600BC-6000BC

Tongan Kava Bowl

My late Raghavan Thatha (grandpa) also spent many years in Tonga. Tonga is one of the last remaining Polynesian monarchies in the world. This is a Tongan Drum and a Tongan Kava Bowl. Thatha & Paati (grandma) have been to many traditional Kava ceremonies.

Lunch Appetizer

 Lunch Appetizer was Corn Soup made by Paati

 

 

Watching Paati prep the soup. 

Tree Cup

Afternoon snack of Dosa with Muruga Sambar made by Paati, accompanied by Green Tea with Lemon and honey in a cup that's shaped like a tree trunk.

 

Remote Instruction, International Edition

So I'm in India for a few weeks. 

Remote Instruction, International Edition

Remote Instruction at the table your parent used during their schooling. No laptops back then!!

A Variety of Kozhukattai Experience

The tiffen scene in Chennai is quite interesting.

I had multiple varieties of kuzhutattai for breakfast. Kuzhukattais are traditionally steamed rice balls with sweet or spicy stuffing inside. They just got more creative. The white one is made with palm sago, there were ones made with Ragi (Millet) and also upma kuzhukattai.


A variety of spice and sweet Lip-smacking and finger-licking varieties.

Murunga's Three Feet Long

Freshly harvested Murunga Drumsticks (Moringa Olifera). Murunga's are loaded with good nutrients right from Vitamin C to antioxidants with many parts of the plant used in ayurveda meds. I've never seen a muruga drumstick this long before - its over 3 feet long. And these look fat and juicy too, when cooked.

I'm think I'm getting a yummy Murunga dish from Paati (grandma) tomorrow. Can't wait.

Competitive Cats

The cats at my grandma's place are seriously competitive. It saw me hugging grandma and demanded - as in meowing away loudly and pawing the rug and couch - to be be given room on the couch so it could get in on the love.

There are actually 2 cats here, one on each floor and each possessive about its territory. The downstairs one (Chinni) never goes up and vice versa for Feather. The upstairs cat is quite old and decides to meow away in the middle of the night for food.

And did I mention the visiting fellows. A couple of cats turn up at the backdoor several times a day and meow for food. My Paati promptly feeds them. These cats never venture inside else they face the wrath of the house cats.

They are too funny. LOL

Lifelong Learning

My Paati (grandma) likes languages and at 82 doing courses on conversational Sanskrit. Got distinction in her last exam too.

No cats competing for this Paati's attention. Lol

Healthy Idly's

Breakfast today was healthy Bajra Idly's

The Ubiquitous Masala Dosa

Evening tiffen was Masala Dosa with sambar and chutney served on a banana leaf

and filter "Kapi" (coffee) served in a tumbler and dabara (saucer)

April 15 - Tamil New Year
Happy Tamil New Year Everyone. Its the herald of spring.

My first Tamil New Year in Tamilnadu!!

An elaborate and delicious naivedyam lunch made by Paati (grandma) and Athai (aunt) with mor kuzhambu, kootu, 2 karamadhis, vadas, green mango pachadi, carrot payasum and more. Delicious and served on on a freshly harvested banana leaf from the garden.

It usually rains on Tamil New Year and the weather did not disappoint. Complete with Thunder. Rain is considered auspicious, means things will go well.

Banana Leaf Lunching

Warm delicious Paati samayal (grandma's cooking) on a freshly cut banana leaf from the garden.

Eating traditional style on an organic, eco-friendly, biodegradable plate with extra nutrition thrown in.

Extra nutrition? Polyphenols (think micronutrients in plant based foods packed with antioxidants) in the banana leaves get stimulated from the warmth of the food and get absorbed into the food along with Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Ca and Carotene in Banana Leaves. 

Can I get a banana leaf every meal?

Eating with fingers? Its a natural exercise and builds dexterity for the fingers and the hand (kind of useful for someone like me actually with poor fine motor skills). It's slows down eating and brings about greater awareness of texture and taste, a.k.a mindful eating. 

And isn't seeking sensory experiences an autistic thing? LOL Using silverware actually lends to faster eating. 

Faster eating is linked to Type 2 Diabetics. Silverware actually lends to faster eating.

Ayurveda says nerve endings on the fingers stimulate digestion and improves blood circulation. Incorporating the five elements represented by the fingers - starting with thumb - space, air, fire, water, earth - is holistic eating. Somehow the Colonial legacy has meant that such indigenous cultural practices were frowned upon. That such things were "inferior" and made you "less than"

This sound familiar? - that the disabled mind-body is somehow "less than"

Image Description: Young male of South Indian origin eating food served on banana leaf. Also seated at the dining table is his grandpa with his grandma serving them food.

#PaatiSamayal #GrandmaCooking #EatingOnBananaLeaf

 

Nungu Time

Chewing into delicious water-filled Nungu's

Nungu in Tamil, the Palmyra palm fruit is a wonderful dehydrater for the 99F heat of Chennai, packed with  Vit A, B7, C, K, Fe, Na and minerals. 

I have absolutely no idea why the Brits wanted to call a Palm fruit as Ice Apple. This is not a fruit I would associate with an "Apple" on any level. 

I got to Milk a Cow - How about That!

I got to learn how to milk a cow at a dairy farm on the outskirts of Chennai. How about that!!

It felt a bit strange but some milk did squirt out.

I'm hanging out with a 1 month old calf named Raja.

Topped off with some tasty Nongu's

Aadi Frenzy

Crowds mill the corner at Pannagal Park in Chennai, India. The traffic crawls, stopping intermittently for the pedestrians, who choose to cross the street at random, weaving their way through traffic. Enormous banners hang on storefronts with pictures of models in attractive clothing. Window displays are a study in color and design. TV ads have already promised potentially unimaginable discounts on clothing and goods. The psychology of the individual is whipped up to a near frenzy. If the discounts are not availed off, a near catastrophe would well prevail.

It is the Tamil month of Aadi in Chennai. The focus is on prepping the fields and sowing. Festivals and weddings at this time would be a unwanted distraction. It is considered an inauspicious month for festivities and therefore, traditionally, a slow month for businesses.

A brilliant marketing strategy - a mad dash for discounted goods is the frenzied result. Loads of shoppers, throng the streets, with full shopping bags in their arms. To avoid the rush, shoppers arrive earlier and earlier to a level that, it matters not if its morning or night on the Street.

Insane traffic jams are the result. A lone policeman waves his baton in attempts to control the traffic. He is easily able to walk in and out of the crawling traffic. He aims a blow at an auto-driver who tries to a take a short cut. The auto, falls back in line, at least for the time being.

Progress; Thy name is Commercialization!

Contradictions and Contraindications.

Contradictions and Contra-indications. 

How many does it take?

The face of the old woman was pressed beseechingly against the window. The lines of age were etched deep into her face and her skin was a dark chocolate leather, from years spent in the hot sun.

Her face was just two inches from mine. Here was I, in the cool comfort of an air-conditioned car, while she was out in 100 F heat. The traffic signal had turned red and the assortment of traffic that plied the roads had come to a halt.

She was wearing a floral blue saree, but it looked worn and was torn in a few places. She had made her way through the traffic and was piteously gesturing with her hand.

How does one respond? And, was I in a position to respond and help her? A feeling of helplessness washed over me. The signal changed and the car moved on.

Another was a cripple. The brown shirt was torn and the khaki shorts revealed that one leg was a mere stump. He was seated on a board with wheels, which he used to drag himself around. He made his way across the signal. The light changed before he got across. Horns blared from impatient drivers, while the bicycles and assorted 2-wheeled vehicles just went around him. The beggar made his way across the street to a fruit stand. The vendor rudely shooed him off. His presence would surely discourage potential buyers.

A frail woman wandered up, carrying a tiny bundle in her arms. That bundle was a tiny nursing infant. The woman looked ragged and worn as she held out her free hand to ask for money. In despair she wandered from car to car.

What about the countless other beggars in the city? Were they reduced to begging due to circumstances or was begging a carefully planned occupation.

As a child, Buddha (then Prince Siddhartha), had been carefully protected from old age and sickness by his father. A chance sight of a beggar put him on the path to achieving harmony and realization.

How many beggars will it take, before society wakes up to the path of realization?

(written during a visit to India)