December 31, 2005

kitchen escapades, and new year wishes

the closer i get towards my 14,000-word coursework deadline, the more routes i seem to find to escape writing. one of them, to my husband‘s delight, is the kitchen.

dahi vadas, eggless banana-walnut cake, murukkus, palak paneer and alu parathas, crunchy bread-rolls, melt-in-your-mouth maladoos, ragi mudde with sambhar, methi mutter malai and puris, rajma and rice, kerala parottas with spicy kadala curry, or simple thairchadam …my excuses continue to surprise me.

the year has been a restless one by itself. my friend rupali and i were room mates again after three years. i was in india for two months and more; i went to kottakkal to get my backpain treated. i enjoyed the desert safari on the two-day halt in dubai on our way back in june. i enrolled myself as a full-time MA student. amma came home to stay for three months, and my father followed a month later. we got burgled, and thankfully received the compensation that was due. we lost the films we so lovingly shot though. praveen and i got our british citizenship. i discovered i had never felt so indian before. a school friend got in touch with me; i still remember standing next to her during our assembly prayers in the mornings, shiny shoes and blue socks lined against each other. i learnt to be more tolerant of the cold climate, and it only got colder. i missed bombay even more, i learnt to live with my memories. i have decided to change my name. i have begun to listen to my favourite music again. after four years in the uk, i think i even made a new english friend.

some things i know will never be the same again. but some things i know, will never change. today, i leave you all with a tune that still fills my heart with pride, and causes that painful lump in my throat. thanks rupali, for sending it to me.

click here to listen (2.1 mb)

may everyone away from home find a home in their heart. may there be a heart in every home. happy new year.

4 Comments »





  • reshma said:

    May Peace, Love and Happiness fill your heart and home. Happy2006!



  • Anand said:

    the audio track is moving indeed. you seem to be ill at ease with your adopted home.

    may you find purpose and meaning in the paths you take in life.



  • radhika said:

    dear dear reshma, wish you a very happy new year too!

    anand, thanks for your warm wishes and hope you have a great year yourself.
    we all have different experiences in life. i guess my adopted home is one of them…to you (or anyone else) it may seem like i am ‘ill at ease’ here, but i would say maybe these are just ‘growing-up pains’ 😉



  • Chakra said:

    HNY Radhika.


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