I woke up to a very light mood today and thus will lighten the mood of my readers and followers as well. For me cooking great food (that’s what people say about what I cook) for my family and friends is my ultimate detox. It actually gives me immense pleasure. This is something that I learnt as a child while observing my mom and cooks/helpers in our house cooking meals for us. I distinctly remember couple of them, Daulatram in Dholpur, when I was in 2nd standard, Nivreti in Deolali, when I was in 9th grade and Madu also in Deolali, when I was in 11th grade and so on. 

My first tryst with cooking came by helping Nivreti, our cook in Deolali, when he taught me how to make “Upma”, a typical south Indian breakfast delicacy made out of Semolina in year 1983. The joy was profound and happiness galore. This was actually much before the likes of making tea, milkshakes, eggs, sandwiches, cakes etc. That actually happened much later for me. My second achievement came by couple of week later when the same gentleman made me cook, “Poha”, a Central Indian breakfast delicacy very popular in a town called Indore, made out of flattened rice.

It all started there and then continued while in college in Pune, where I used to feed my MBA room mates to some lovely breakfast. My love for cooking and invite friends took a new turn when we moved to Delhi and I did some serious cooking with my father-in-law and his maternal uncle. Both in their early seventies but roaring to enjoy every moment of their life. We used to plan for our evenings well in advance, take a trip to “Kalu Meat Shop” in Hauz Khaz in Dehli to get some fresh “Mutton” to cook “Mutton Stew”, pronounced as “Mutton Ishtu”, and then enjoying it with a glass of beer. I must give credit to my mother-in-law as well, as sometimes we delegated the task to her to cook for us while we enjoyed our beer. We, as trio had some extremely beautiful moments of our own. But sometimes we forget such moments when we try very hard to drive your CART-WHEEL of life struggling to balance our so-called Pro & Per. 

So much to cherish in life and be thankful for. Gratitude…

My today’s blog is not about my passion for cooking but is a reminder for all of us to go down the memory lane and remember what we forgot. We pushed our LIFE towards materialistic things seeking pleasures, which were unfounded while racing our CART-WHEEL like a F1 driver. Remember those beautiful moments that we spent as a child,as growing kid, remember your friends, teachers and hundreds of people who contributed to our being. Aren’t these memories refreshing whenever we think about them?

Oh my God! Those blissful days! when our apprehensions and fears had not seen the sunlight of the day and our thoughts were pure. So why not share those stories, talk about them, write about them and feel happy. Though we don’t need any reason to be happy but if we need, then we have trillions of those reasons. 

Today, I have taken opportunity to thank few people who contributed immensely towards my passion for cooking. I am sure you all will also have many such people in your lives whom you can thank and feel happy about. Why should we wait for the Thanksgiving Day?

So, let’s make this day joyful by sending our thoughts to everyone who have knowingly or unknowing contributed towards our well being and also to all those who are at the forefront leading the fight on our behalf with COVID 19.

Stay Home & Stay Safe