I also like the extra attention I get from patti when I wear the veshti- She constantly goes “Enda antha sreecharnmathae innum nanna ittukakodatho- Raja madhiri irrukada” (Why can’t you wear that Sricharnam properly- You look like King”) – (I am as surprised as the folks reading this). It is also the day of raksha bandhan- the day I get to act extra protective to my little sister. It is a day of overall happiness. There is a unbelievable amount of feel good factor when you celebrate these Tam Bram functions- I don’t know what it is – maybe the food or the day when everyone in the family actually forgives each other for all the mistakes we have made through the year. Trust me, coming from a joint family of nine people we constantly need these functions to keep us going- It gives a chance to forgive and re-start the wonderful journey (Man, I am sounding like Oprah suddenly!)
Having decided to go home for Diwali basically meant that I couldn’t be home for Avani Avittam (S, huge and sincere apologies for missing your wedding but my best wishes are always with you). So it was avani avittam at Panaoram Hill in Hamilton Parish, Bermuda. Being the god fearing patti’s little boy that I am, I woke up early in the morning took a shower and diligently sung all 5 slokas that my mom taught me when I was a kid and changed my poonal. It’s unbelievable how you forget the lines if you haven’t even thought about any of them for 2 years. I still remember the dialogues from Rajini’s Moondru Mugam even though I haven’t watched that movie for close to 15 years.
I was thinking that I could have done a even elaborate thing if only I had the “dharbai” as K had ellu and other requirements while chennai online was having an online version of “parachu” at one thousandth of the cost (our vaathiyar in Chennai for close to 130 years who used to charge a million bucks for bringing 4 poonals and mouthing off mantras so fast that sometimes we had the feeling that he has shifted to the Karunanidhi’s school of thought and translated all the Sanskrit mantras into tamil!) Damn, I miss that man- God bless him!
Anyhoo, I had renewed my pledge to uphold to my vedic duties towards humanity at large
K and S being the wonderful souls that they are had invited me for lunch. I managed to reach their place by about eleven. They hadn’t finished cooking as yet and once we exchanged pleasantries the conversation inevitably reached the menu part. I haven’t seen so much food since B and L’s wedding. S had apparently started cooking at eight this morning and I was surprised that she hadn’t started earlier. I am bloody sure that her mom had fed her with Red bull instead of milk when she grew up and all the energy refuses to leave her body. K was his usual self trying to correct every minor error that cropped up and trying to perfect the art of cooking I was still wondering how they come up with the energy to cook so much stuff so early in the morning not only for themselves but for an outsider. Anyway, I am just thankful that such kind souls exist and I get to eat any food beyond Maggi and the magic pastes made at Grand sweets.
We enjoyed the brobdingnagian meal which included Kesari/ Parrupu Payasam/ Vadai (I hate it when people call it vada)/Mooru kozhumbu/sepan kazhungu/parrupu/thaakkali rasam/thayir pachadi/Maanga orukai. It was only fitting that we had such a meal in a vaazhai elai- So K plucked a few leaves from the garden and we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the food. It was unbelievably tasty and aesthetically pleasing! It brought back wonderful memories of avani avittam at Pattamal Street. Home away from home!
It also reminded us of a rant by M at Orlando where he cribbed about how Bermuda was such a horrible place to live and how we are unable to get most of the stuff at Bermuda at times when we needed it most We disagreed with him then, but now I know what he means- How can you not have Ganga water on Avani Avittam day????? It just spoiled the whole experience! – (Sarcasm anybody?????)
Cheers
S
PS: M, I am sure you would have enjoyed this day to bits if you were around in Bermuda. We do miss your wonderfully flawed logics and your innate ability to argue about absolutely everything under the sun, not to mention your gift of being able to speak first and then think about what you said! Good luck with everything you take up back home and wishing you the best in everything!!!!!
7 comments:
Thats pretty good da...sounds like you did a good job with Avani Avattam! The food looks great, I would not have said it is Bermuda looking at the menu and the vazhai elai!
Nice nice. I was perfectly amid civilisation and was sitting with a Corona!! Arguably, thats way better than a non-mom cooked feast!! Then again to have actually taken the effort is commendable in itself! And that looks like a total feast! Agree, i wouldn;t have guessed too but for the wooden flooring i guess!! :P :P More importantly, how it it taste???!! Really???!!
That was a big feast for sure and i do take back the words i had to say about bermuda given that i have seen Vazha Elai and what not in the menu. So hats of to K and S for making something of this sort.
Between those werent flawed logics, but instead word of wisdom which kind of worked out well most of the times :)
That was pretty cool yaar...U dunno how hard it was for me to convince and make VAK wear a dhoti..(Supposedly our thalai avani avittam)
first time passerby....nice post...i particularly like the "vaadhiyar who has been around for 130 million years"...its sooooo true... :)
Ola Princess,
Glad you liked it! Keep visiting
Cheers
S
In principle, a good happen, support the views of the author
Post a Comment