Article in Print Media

A year ago I was interviewed by a young journalist from Dainik Jagran, Oliver Frederick, mainly about my Braille writing. Based on the interview, Oliver had written a feature on my Braille pursuits, which was published in City Plus edition of Dainik Jagran (English edition), which is the most widely read newspaper journal in India. Sharing it with you all. 

Mouthwatering Dish – 1

I have been a mother for fifty years and during this period my house has been visited by thousands of people, mostly friends of my children and their families. As any mother I love to cook for my sons and according to them I am the best cook in the world; a sentiment all children nurture for their mother. To indulge and satiate the culinary buds of such a diverse range of people, visiting me from nearly all over the world, I had to literally think and cook on my feet. I had to delve deep into the traditional recipes of my birthplace (which I had learnt from my mom and grandmom) and the ones I had learnt while growing up and when none sufficed then I invented my own recipes. After all I was cooking for my children and their friends so I left no stones unturned to make sure that they were not only well fed but kept returning for more. Hundreds of them down the line have been asking me to compile a book of my recipes, which I finally completed in 2011. My son is right now editing and proofing the book and hopefully it would be internationally published in a year or so. Since the book would take a while to reach the market, I thought of sharing some of my special recipes here so that you can start tasting the dishes that I have been cooking in my kitchen. The first one below is a traditional prawn’s preparation that I learnt from my mom (since I couldn't make it right now, the picture will be put up later).

Chingri Bhate (Prawns cooked inside rice) –

Ingredients:

Prawns – 500 gm                                             Turmeric – a pinch

Coconut – 1 (grated)                                        Salt to taste

Green chilli – 3                                                Sugar – 1 tsp

Mustard Seed – 1 tbsp                                    Mustard oil – 40 ml

Banana leaf – 12 inch long

Rice – as required for the members

Method

1. Shell, clean and wash prawns. 2. Grind coconut, green chillies, mustard seeds to fine paste. 3. Clean the banana leaf and wipe it with a wet cloth. Hold the leaf on the flame for few minutes till the color of the leaf changes. Keep aside. 4. In a bowl marinate prawns with ground spices, sugar, turmeric, salt and mustard oil for fifteen minutes. 5. Keep the marinated prawns in the center of the banana leaf and cover it by folding all the sides and bind the leaf with white thread. 6. Prepare rice, when done remove from flame. And then remove half the rice. Place the stuffed banana leaf on the surface of the remaining rice and cover it with the previously removed rice ensuring that the leaf is covered with hot rice from all sides. Keep a lid on the rice. 7. After 40 minutes remove the banana leaf, open it and serve it on a serving bowl with plain steamed rice. 

Paper Magic - Collage

Collage is a form of art (a paste-up) in which various materials like pieces of paper, photographs, fabric, wool; woods, etc. are glued to a paper or canvas to render an artistic image. It is also a collection of ‘diverse’ things. In that sense my life itself is a colorful collage.

The idea of collage was buried deep within my mind since my childhood like that of a seed beneath the soil before it grows into a plant. Then one day in early 2007 when my son has been absent for a long duration I thought of making a collage; my first collage. Prior to this I had never seriously contemplated of making one; neither did I have any knowledge of how to make one. I only knew its dictionary meaning and nothing else. When an idea strikes me, which is often, I must immediately get it into action, be it writing, singing or painting or anything at all. My mind is like that, it gets excited like that of a child and then it cannot rest till I have succumbed to its bidding.

I had a collection of old magazines, which for a while my son had been asking me to get rid of. I didn’t read them but I had a vague idea that one day I would be able to use these magazines in some productive way so had kept them safe. With few hazy images in my mind I started going through these magazines, eyeing their pictures, text fonts, etc and slowly but surely a larger and firmer image gathered momentum. On 4^th of Feb 2007, exactly five years ago to this date, I began my first collage compilation. I had to sift through ideas as collage must begin with just that, an idea, which then needs to be translated into something tangible and visually appealing and then one needs to search and collect relevant pictures and cut them according to the mosaic. I wanted to rely mostly on papers so I looked for picture within pictures and where I found none I filled up gaps with watercolors.

Here I present an ensemble of my collages, few of which are framed and hang in my drawing room greeting visitors, others remain within my shelves. They are colorful; they depict some aspects of life and this beautiful world of ours. I haven’t seen or been to many places physically but my mind can still conjure such images since I live exactly the way my collages are – vibrant, colorful and always youthful. 

Collage with a message

My first collage - 04 Feb 2007

Man of Words

Pipal tree similar to my village

I was around eight then with vivid imagination and day dreaming was my favorite hobby. My father being the Headmaster of a renowned school, our house had a constant flow of visitors of all types. Villagers seeking advice, students, academics, VIPs visiting the area, musicians, etc all came to our house seeking my father’s erudite company and my mother’s delicious cuisines kept their gastronomic cravings happy. No matter who came and who they were I was always curious to know them and being a child they all indulged my curiosity. Over the years I met many such people, many of them I don’t recall the names or faces, and each of them were remarkable and unique in their own ways. Of all those that I do remember, today I will tell you of a man who literally was a ‘man of words’.