Uncategorized – Page 8

Aaloo Tiki – Dil se.

Aaloo Tiki; crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth inside. What India calls Aaloo Tiki, the world calls Potato Croquettes. Nothing against croquettes, but saying croquettes just doesn’t warm up the memories like Aaloo Tiki does. Dil se translates to “from the heart,” after all it’s Valentines 🙂

A staple street food in North India, Aaloo Tikki vendors, have this huge griddle or taws as it is called in India. Perfect for shallow frying the taws had a lake of boiling oil in the center. Yes, it was a lot of grease, and surrounding the grease were tikki’s – round patties of mashed potatoes an spices stuffed with spiced chana dal (Bengal gram spilt legumes) and molded into this perfect round.

The customer arrives and the vendor pushes the partially cooked tikkis into the pool of oil where it sizzles hot perfectly to a crispy brown goodness.

The Tikki has since evolved from the streets of Delhi to a gourmet delicacy. It’s yummy and versatile. Make them tiny, they are the show stopper at your next holiday party. Make them bigger and cater a vegetarian BBQ, make them just right and have a chaat party at home OR twist them a little, change the shape and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

Here’s how I make Aaloo Tiki. Again, these are my ingredient choices, the base is potato and honestly, you can’t go wrong with potatoes, the add on’s can be anything; from mixed vegetables to cheese, or just keep it plain. Either way, because you made it with love, it will taste amazing.

So here goes:

For the Stuffing:

If you want to stuff the tikki with the lentil’s (bengal gram dal) – Take about one cup of dry lentils and soak the lentils for about 3 hours,
boil them with minimal water so they are just soft and not mushed.
Add salt to taste, cayenne pepper, and a squirt of Sriracha sauce or any other hot sauce of choice.
Mix it all in and keep it aside.

You can use anything for the stuffing, cheese, paneer (home made cheese) Or even a dollop of sour cream and dill.

For the Tikki’s – Potato Croquette
Take 5-6 medium sized potatoes, boil them, peel them and mash them.

As a general rule – one medium sized potato will make two small Tikki’s.
If you want your Tikki’s bigger and thicker, then one medium sized potato for one Tikki.
(10 lbs of potatoes makes 45-50 Tikki’s)

Add a handful of crushed ginger, about a teaspoon of finely chopped green chillies (if you want to keep it mild, you can omit the chills. But do add the ginger)
salt to taste, a handful of finely chopped cilantro, a dash of dry mango powder and a tbsp of lemon juice.

Now Add about a cup of bread crumbs.

Mix them all to make a potato dough 🙂

Now let the fun start – take a handful of mashed potatoes, flatten it out,
add about a tablespoon of the stuffing, and gently wrap the potatoes around it.

You can either shape it as a pattie or go artsy and get those cookie cutters out.
Shape it the way you like.

Take a pan, add some oil and shallow fry the tikki.

You have yourself melt in your mouth goodness – Aaloo Tikki – An Imperfectly Perfect Delight.

Souse it with the chutneys of choice. I topped it with some spiced split peas, finely chopped onions, tamarind and cilantro chutney.

FullSizeRender-2 — Aaloo Tikki – It is sinful blessing. An Imperfectly Perfect Delight.

Unconditional Love

Like, Love, Compassion or is it; Like, Passion, Love and Compassion? Such are the questions popping in my mind. Why? Fickle is the mind and fleeting are the thoughts.

What do you think?

Lets start with the basics, like vs. love. How do we know whether we like someone or love someone? As a mom of a teenager, this question has been answered way too many times lately, and here’s what I think. Like is more about just hanging out with a person. It is the “getting to know” that person and more often than not, likeness often fizzles away for the slightest disagreement or a silly pet peeve. Like is when we make a concious effort to say the right thing and make our best appearances because we don’t know what the other person thinks about us.

Love on the other hand does not care about appearances. Love is much deeper. Love does not have the upper hand, love willingly says sorry. Love is about knowing how she twitches her nose or how he flings his hair. Love heals and yet hurts. As a general rule, I think when we love someone, we focus on the face – we know every expression like it was our own. So going forward, be it a friend, a child, a parent or a romantic interest; focus on the face, the mutual gaze defines the difference, and when the gaze is right, you will know. A talented friend recently told me, Love is also about action. The three little words, “I love you” are hard to say and once said need action as a constant companion. The tiny gestures that tell others, Yes, I know your likes and dislikes is all that it takes.

The emotional spectrum that starts from like, moves on to love, where does it go after that? Does it end with compassion and where does passion fit? Passion is the tricky one.

The problem with the word “passion” is that it is often tagged to love and then it’s all about desire and lust. But I think there is a purer side to passion. Passion to me comes after love and before compassion. It is the right love that gives one the passion to be and live. Passion to do what one believes in. When love is not right, the same passion takes a negative turn. Passion positive or negative is about self; it might be a desire or an ambition.

Compassion on the other hand is selfless. Compassion neither needs a relationship nor has any expectations of favors being returned. It is impersonal.

Love, has expectations. Yes, we may say that a parents love is unconditional, but is it really? As parents we may not demand a return, but in the deepest crevices of our heart, hidden under our aspirations and dreams is the tiny expectation that yes, they will return the gesture. It is the expectations that cause the heart to ache, it is the expectation that causes arguments, and it is also the expectation of I before We, that sadly can end it all.

Going back to the spectrum, how does love move to compassion. Took me half a life to complete the spectrum, but after I reached out to all my experiences,

I now know compassion is simply unconditional love. Compassion is the pot of gold at the end of the emotional spectrum.

This Valentine day and beyond, love unconditionally.

: Love comes in all shapes and colors. Don’t judge it.

Blessed I am – are you?

Very excited today to be sharing a guest blog post by a very dear friend. She had asked me to do a blog post on college memories…. and for me college was a mixed bag of emotions, happiness entwined with pain, mystic, confusion, anger and in the end amazing friendships. So I quickly turned it around and invited her to do a guest blog post.. and I have to say, her perspective and and capture of Techno is brighter than mine. So, here you go. The moments from Techno by a very dear friend Seema Abhale. While I was trying to understand why I took admission in engineering ( I still wonder how and why I ended up there :)) she had it all figured out and today is the proud owner of Prakruti Environmental Engineers. The girl has successfully established a business in an industry that has traditionally been dominated my men. She is everything you would a friend to be. I hope you enjoy the innocence of this post.

______________________________________________________________________

BLESSED I AM _ ARE YOU? by Seema Abhale.

“And there I stand in the centre square of the Faculty of Technology & Engineering of the renowned University The Maharaja Sayajirao Universtiy of Vadodara,wondering whether it’s a dream or really I am at the place which I always dreamt to be as a kid!! Ooouch… i am really there!!

10537325_10152562966368104_2786596305459924115_n — The entrance to the College. Little did I know that I will build lifetime of friendships here.

I had always known this place but today as I stand here I am totally lost; as though the place is flooded with same race; can hardly see anyone known! Timid, publicly shy as I am; started my stride through the crowd towards the steps that took us to the lobby where my class would be. My heart is pounding of anxiety; the most exciting day was about to turn to be the most gloomy for not having any known friends around and then my watery eyes saw a face that instantly brought a smile and hurray there I see a girl whom I recognised at once! Not that I knew her since long but she was the one who was ahead of me while taking the admission. We did exchange the names but I hardly remembered but did remember her face – how can one forget such a beautiful mysterious face. But the happy moments are momentary; we were placed in different classes!!! Anyways for a happy girl like me the fact that someone know is around was enough and so the journey began….

Few days passed and one fine day I see a little girl with bouncy hair in a frock and shoes coming to the class along with the boys. Not very clear what but something in my heart said that she is the one with whom I can be friends with. Shy character of mine restricted me from starting a conversation and so few days went by analyzing though started being friendly with the boys – classmates!! And soon made friends with most of the classmates and also with the one which brought smile to my face on the very first day!

I am still trying to adjust in the environment and the exams days were announced. Was astonished to see others getting tensed and I am like – so what! Like time waits for none; exams came and went but the actual fun is when results are out

1969409_10152562970443104_891339446768065412_n — The surveying lab, where we all gathered to TRY and learn. It was more of a break from sitting in the classrooms 🙂

I was never a studios student but always scored distinction in the school so was confident of it while looking to the result sheet on the notice board. And what; my exam number is not listed in for Distinction!! I scrolled down thinking maybe a first class but no I don’t see it…I keep searching for my number but didn’t find it in second class too…. I scrolled to the last grade Pass class and my face beamed like a sunshine – there it is – the very first one!!! Always contented and happy the way life placed me I was happy that I passed and so did my new friends. The days passed with a new learning each day and a remarkable one is that we have to open the window for atmosphere to come in!!! (which I religiously follow today also!!) While I Am still trying to adjust with the university environment, new friends, new learning’s and exploring the ways to find fun in load of term works and the tensed atmosphere; year end is declared and soon we had to face the exam. This time had to give my best shot so can get transferred to a better stream of engineering. Results are out and yes I passed out and also did get a change in stream from IWM to Civil (is it better is still a question) but then am happy as had made my own place in the lobby!!

The year started with the shuffle of students and I got separated from newly made friends. The new class had more girls then the earlier one but seems they didn’t like my face! Except for one tall slender beautiful girl sitting on last bench with a spark in her eye and slight curve to her lips which attracted me and I shared the bench with her unaware that she would turn out to be my friend for lifetime. I found a new friend but still I longed for the break time when I can meet the other two friends. Days passed by with routine sharing of hi hello and a smile and when did it turned into mingling for short and then long gossips, term works, group reading and sleep over; I also really don’t remember – maybe that’s what is called friendship! and so evolved a gang of four which turned out to be the notorious gang due to its mix flavor of being naughty hotty and intelligent! A gang that dared to challenge the opposite gender, played pranks with both the genders, engaged in day long discussions at times arguments and still managed to be friends with all.

But as we all know that what has started will come to an end and so did these carefree days too. We now gathered in the auditorium to receive farewell party from our juniors; felt as if it was just yesterday that I was standing in the center square of the faculty all alone and today we are seven – seven different individuals with diverse qualities woven in an invisible bond – Friendship: a relation that is created by us which is beyond any expectations. It’s the space where we can be ourselves, speak of our mind; see what we like to see and hear without prejudice; so very eternal. Blessed are those who are able to get connected in such divine relationship – yes I am!!

Seeeemmmaaaa … wake up its morning! Don’t have to go to the office…”

10505437_10152562969238104_4542440920703910958_n — FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING. M.S UNIVERSITY, VADODARA.

Dear 2014

Dear 2014,

It has been interesting getting to know you. Truth be told; at first I didn’t really like you, in fact the dislike moved into despise status very quickly. Today, I am not angry at you. You may find it strange but I think you brought A Christmas Carol alive for me this year.

Like the ghost of the Christmas past you took me down the memory lane only to make my fiction a reality in this space. You adorned the beautiful robe of the Christmas present and kept my faith alive by showing me how much I have to be thankful for and finally instead of being the wary ghost of Christmas future, you dressed like an angel and taught me that future is in my hands. It is my choice, I can make it or break it. You showed me that life evolves and being static and stagnant is anti-life.

Life evolves and that is the only truth. Being static, adamant and stagnant is the beginning of all problems. The adamancy leads to conflicts, unforgiving attitude and in the end isolation and bitterness towards all things beautiful. It is self defeating. Every time I took a step towards the static life, you gave me a jolt and woke me from the silent slumber to re-evaluate the life around me and like a good friend got me back on track.

There have been quite a few jolts this year, and every time you proved that no matter how tragic the event is, it is in me to come out of the event with a renewed sense of faith and belief. I am sure you’re wondering why am I thanking you when just two days ago I was blaming you for taking a perfectly happy person away from this world and today I am not. You know why? Because today you brought another wonderful person to our home… some one I had not met for almost two decades. This wasn’t planned, it was sudden. Amongst all the gloom, you brought in a fresh new perspective, you introduced me to a friend who is just as full of life, proving that no matter the stances, life always thrives. There is always a sign. We just have to believe. Believe I will.

Your friend 2015 is right around the corner waiting to knock and enter our homes. If you can, request 2015 to bring in some peace and positivity. The world needs it. There is so much unrest in this world today that reality often appears synonymous to dystopia. Let there be peace in 2015. Let the magic of Santa stay alive in this world. Let the mind believe in the transcendental thoughts of a North pole filled with little elves rushing to make dreams come true. This fiction makes our reality more beautiful and gives us the strength to believe again.

2014, I will not miss you, but always remember you for you showed that life is full of Imperfections. It is these little daily imperfections that culminate at the end of a day to make a perfectly beautiful life. That’s just how the world is. It’s filled with shades of bright vibrant reds to melancholy yet calming blues.

Life.. its Imperfectly Perfect.

Farewell 2014. Welcome Home 2015. It’s a New Year. It’s a new start. Let’s go…

Looking forward to it with new faith and hope.
Shilpa.

Fiction to Reality.

Today is special.

Today I got the best gift possible; I now have www.shilpaverma.com.

This space has been in the making for years. This is where I take the bright vibrant reds and blend them in with the calm blues to create the imperfect and yet mystical purple 🙂 Okay, yes I am a pink and purple girl. It’s more than a palette of vibrant colors, it’s a way to connect, aspire and create.

The blogposts, some thought provoking, some silly and some cribbing will continue, but only once a month. There’s a new kid on the blog, its called “Sans Recipes.” It’s my new baby, and so get’s more attention 🙂

Few weeks ago, I took you In My Kitchen. With “Sans Recipes” together, we experiment in a virtual space to share and create real hearty food from anything and everything in our pantry. There is only one condition, no recipes. Ever wondered, why cooking seems like a chore to so many of us. It’s because we limit ourselves to the recipes. Why does every Indian curry start with a tomato? Sans Recipes hopes to take the boredom out of cooking. It doesn’t matter what your pantry does not have, a yummylicious wholesome meal can always be made with a few basic ingredients. With Sans Recipes I hope we can break free from the slavery of recipe cooking.

Last year in November, you met The Shy Girl. Today the shy girl is feeling blessed and thankful for all she has. We are a product of our experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly; all of them make us complete. Every good fiction has a central character and every good story has a character that evolves and reshapes with the story to make it complete. The story of life is no different from the best selling fiction novel. It’s a fiction indeed ‘cos life happens one day at a time. Every day we take the fictitious tomorrow and make it a reality.

Today my fiction became a reality.

Happy Birthday to ME!

To Barbie or Not?

Barbie, it’s just a doll. You know it, I know it, We know it and yet we worry. Why? Why do we take an adult logic and perceptions and apply it to a toy designed for little girls.

We, the women are intelligent. We know that no matter how hard we try, it is humanly impossible to have her phyisque. That perfect neck, the toes pointed out and heels that never touch the ground.. come on, it would take the act of god even for the most accomplished plastic surgeon to give that to a woman.

We, the women sneer at those other women who buy Barbies for their daughter. We talk about how Barbie single handedly lowers and demeans our very existence and yet we crave for those flat abs and put ourselves to the mercy of green juices and detoxifications.

We undercover the muffin tops only to whisper a hush hush wish for the perfect curve. The long tresses, the flaunting stride and the perfect twirl; yes we have always admired them, but when a doll does it, we scorn and despise.

We who are doctors, lawyers, engineers, fire-fighters, astronauts, nurses, pilots, police-women, fitness experts, chefs, dentists, fashion designers and so much more choose to shun a doll and probably the only doll that has 150 careers on her resume allowing little girls to imagine and be anything they want to be.

We the women choose to focus our attention on a plastic doll’s over sized boobs and thin waistline and ignore the fact that the doll has embraced all the traditional male dominated careers and broken the plastic ceiling before the real woman did and then we stretch our vocal chords on how biased the corporate world is towards women and how under represented girls are in STEM based careers.

Come on ladies, be serious. Do you really think a 4-5 year old focuses on the anatomy of a doll or the fact that her doll is the perfect companion to be anything that she wants to be? Dolls don’t create women who are anorexic, it is us and the world around us.

Think about it, when we the women say that Barbie is ruining the self esteem of girls, aren’t we are undermining the female intelligence? Don’t you think your daughter is smart enough to know that Barbie is a doll and not a real human being? Unrealistic beauty images are all around us, starting from your own friend circle. Come on be honest, I am sure you know her; the one who starves and sweats daily just to slide into THE dress and then waits for the likes and comments to flow in.

Barbie is the least of our worries. We need to worry about ourselves, the women.

If your daughter likes pink, let her wear it. If she wants a twirly skirt, buy her one. If she wants a birthday with all the glittery stuff, give her that birthday and celebrate with her.

Allow her the freedom of being comfortable being a girl. Nature gave her the curves and the dainty look. Grant your daughter the permission to be demure. When she’s ready she will adorn THE lab coat with pride and ease.

In My Kitchen…

In my kitchen, there are no recipes.

Cooking for some is a chore with a sink full of dishes to clean, for some it is microwaving a pre-made meal and for some of us it is an art. I fall in the last category. A self proclaimed artist at soul, cooking is an art for me. I do believe that we eat with our eyes.

Art never followed any rules. The same holds true for my kitchen. There are no rules or recipes followed here. Yes, I do have a collection of cookbooks only because I love browsing through the vibrant colors and the brilliant plating.

Do you know that person who always chooses to bring drinks to a party because they don’t cook? Ever wondered, how they survive without cooking? I do. For most it is the fear of “what if.”

I was 12 years old when I made my first dish; “Baigan ka Bharta.” For my western world friends, it is roasted eggplant, mashed up and seasoned with carmelized onions, tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper, a dash of garam masala and tons of cilantro. The one thing that dish is not supposed to have is “turmeric,” and that’s exactly what I added. My Nani said, “you never put turmeric in Bharta.” Of course I knew that, but the damage was done. So I quipped.. really, I don’t know Mom always puts it…LOL. Blame it on Mom, that’s what 12 year olds do anyway.

What if I add more salt than needed, what if it doesn’t taste that good? These and more are kitchen fear factors. My answer, so what. So what if there is more salt, you can always add more stock or vegetables to tone it down. So what if it doesn’t taste perfect, a pickle on the side or a chutney on the top takes away the imperfections to make a dish that is uniquely perfectly you.

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure.

In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

― Julia Child

Throw out the what if’s and bring in the so what’s is the key to making cooking fun.

What does cooking mean to you?

Cooking is a therapeutic for me. It’s a stress buster, an escape from the world. Back in the olden days, serving restaurant food was a luxury, today serving a simple home cooked meal to your friends and family is a luxury. I am proud to say, be it a single family dinner or a multi-family holiday dinner, It’s only home cooked food in my home. Yes, I have been told I am crazy for making everything from scratch, but then its craziness in a good way.

Cooking is satisfying. My family gets treated to an a la carte menu every nite. As long as I have their requests in by 5.00pm, I can give them food of choice. When my son was little, I learned the hard way that food cannot be forced down a throat. It has to be relished and enjoyed, only then does it bring in the benefits of healthy and nutrient rich growing, and so started the tradition of a la carte menu. Crazy again, yes.. but the joy of seeing my kids enjoying their food and licking their fingers makes it worth the effort.

It may seem like a lot of effort, but its not. A friend once told me, “you make us working women feel guilty.” I told her, “I also have only 24 hours like you do, so don’t feel guilty.” All it really takes is a well stocked pantry and some imagination. I usually never plan a weeks worth of menu or grocery list. I buy what my eyes take fancy too and then when its dinner time, I open the refrigerator and make it work. Over the years, I have some staples in my pantry and these staples make it all so easy. Trader Joes Red Pepper Spread is one such staple. This little jar is magic.

A hearty delicious vegetable soup.

Every so often when I open the refrigerator there are ten different containers with left over food. What does one do? For instance, recently had lots of spinach dip and my favorite plain simple vegetable soup left over. I could have done sandwiches with the dip but the soup would still be the same. So instead, took the dip and made it into a cream of spinach soup AND took the soup, added some rice with a dash of some more spices and it made a scrumptious pulao. A completely new menu with the left overs. Yes, there is something about the upbeat jubilant homemaker in all this, but it is also very liberating to see an experiment come alive

Cooking is also love. My daughter always wants to know what the secret ingredient is. My answer has been consistent; It’s love.

So next time you are having a tired day, a blah day or a celebration day; step into your kitchen, take a look at your pantry, open the refrigerator and just stare at it for a few minutes. I am sure you will cook the most amazing meal your family ever had.

What did you say? You want a recipe.. free yourself of recipes. Through this space, I’ll show you how.

The Art of Annoyance.

Art of annoyance? Really, it is.

There is always annoyance in the world. She is annoyed at life, he is annoyed because there isn’t enough time to finish the to-do list, she is annoyed because things are not falling into place, he is annoyed at how work is and this week most of my neighborhood is upset because it’s going to rain on Halloween. As I write this post I am annoyed at how someone is turning the house upside down because someone said something about a project. Which project, who said what? I am not supposed to know, for he says he’ll figure it all out. Yes, he will. He has to, I tell myself to let go for he is annoyed too.

Reasons can be different, but how we deal with annoyance is the same for all of us.

So I take a deep breath.
I remind myself that there is nothing I can do unless I am told what the problem is
I want to react, but decide against it. Mom wisdom says to just let it go.

Anger, annoyance call it what you may but they are very interesting emotions. They bring out the worst in us and yet sometimes from that annoyance stems the most beautiful ideas. Every wondered who made Velcro? How did the idea originate? Google it.

Two days ago, I was pretty upset with things in general. It was a blah day when not much felt good. Retail therapy seemed the only option. I fought every urge to go shopping, stepped into my garage and just started at the 6 sets of candles waiting to be painted. Yes, I create in the most uncreative place. I picked up the bright red one, stared at it and kept it back. Instead of picking up the paints, I picked up the broom at started cleaning the garage. As I aimlessly swept the floor, I mumbled and jumbled to myself, clearly confused and annoyed. Then it happened. A kid in the neighborhood walked by with her grandma. The giggles of that unknown child snapped me out of the boredom trance. I kept the broom back and went back to stare at the candles. This time I picked up the purple candle and gold paint. Positioning my hands delicately on the candle, I let the color move, the sinuous strokes stayed small and looked dainty, I had just painted a rose bud.

This wasn’t something I had planned, it just happened. From annoyance came art that I had never planned for. After that it was pure bliss. Here I am today writing a blog and wondering why I was so annoyed that day. Today it seems so silly. This is what annoyance is. It’s a fleeting feeling at the core, however we as humans make a big deal out of it. We over process the information, imagine the problems and find solutions to problems that don’t even exist.

Before you start marveling at how brilliant I am, please make note that this wisdom is not age old. I am guilty of complaining or being annoyed at life for most of 2014. It has taken me a very long time to accept some moments, but I think I have finally conquered the feeling and lately I proved it to myself by forgiving and moving on.

Moving on is the key. It is a very hard thing to do, but yet is the key. The moment that has passed cannot come back or be changed, so why do we hold on to it so tightly? Why do we fail to recognize the magic of present and the hope of future? Why do we despair? I don’t have answers to all these questions, the only thing I have learnt in over four decades on this planet is that the key to most problems is better communication.

We all need a confidante, someone we can vent out at. It can be friend, a sibling, a spouse, a parent, a diary or maybe a blog 🙂

Just as we all learn differently, we all talk differently too. Some of us prefer to talk with words, some talk by exercising, some talk with gardening and some of us talk with art. Let it be YOUR medium of choice but find that one medium. This medium will release you from the most unpleasant situations and take you to calmer and peaceful places.

This medium will take your annoyance and create a poem, a flat belly, a blooming garden or a beautiful candle.

It is called the Art of Annoyance.

Happy Diwali.

Smile a little, it’s Diwali.

Forget your sorrows, it’s Diwali.

Forgive, it’s Diwali.

You may or may not get a second chance,

Celebrate, it’s Diwali.

The word Diwali conjures up the memory of lighting 100 diyas every year. My brother and I climbed roof tops and strategically placed the diyas. It had to be a total of 100. Why? No body knows, it was just one of those teenage fancies I had and my parents graciously obliged. Then we patiently waited for dusk, filled up the diya’s with oil, added the wicks and lighted them. I remember running out onto the road, standing far back and admiring the labor of hard work and love. What took 3 hours to set up, lasted for but an hour and on a windy day, maybe a few minutes. Yet the effort seemed totally worth it. Such is the magic of Diwali. It brings about a transformation unlike any festival in India, and India has a lot of them.

Diwali, to me was never the religious holiday. Yes, there is a story behind it, but then that’s what it is, a tale. I don’t necessarily wear new clothes or buy new clothes. I don’t necessarily make the umpteen dishes my mom used to make. I don’t necessarily follow the auspicious time announced by the priests, and yet the magic of Diwali thrives.

The magic of Diwali comes from reminiscing the carefree years of lighting diyas, jumping and dodging the sparkles from the Chakri and about all the love and laughter that echoed on every street, every corner and every home. The deafening silence of Diwali fireworks and diyas, the calorie watching and simultaneous eating of deserts, the helping hand of a stranger and the arrival of cousins from lands faraway is the magic of Diwali.

Today, I sit miles away preserving my memories. The house sleeps and I huddle in my corner realizing that Diwali to me is about celebrating my cared for past, content present and looking forward to future.

Diwali is about celebrating my roots.

Wishing You and Yours a Very Happy Diwali and an amazing New Year ahead!