Good company? Food definitely tastes much better. And some memories

Think about it for a moment and you will understand exactly what I mean.

Food plays such an important role in every aspect of our life. For instance, if there's a celebration we try to come up with the best or as may be the case the most appropriate menu for the occasion. Alternately, if someone dies anywhere in the world, the close family and friends organize a 'wake' where good food and drink is served while people gather around in memory of the departed soul.

Food is also something that can really taste best when eaten in company. For me, the term 'breaking bread' with someone beautifully depicts a scenario where good food tends to taste even better with good company In fact, I'd go so far as to say that even a pastry  and coffee or a croissant and a coffee had with a friend is something that becomes really pleasurable and many a time, truly memorable. Top of my head, I can recall at least  ten instances when I've enjoyed the meal/coffee so much more because of the company on a particular day.

Shared with family

Shared with  friends

Then there are some food memories which are very dear to one's heart by virtue of the fact that they centre around the food that either someone cooked for you in a way that was really special or then it could be about a  savoury or sweet dish that you cooked  for or shared with someone and he/she loved it best just the way you made it.

Which then leads me to  a chain of bitter sweet thoughts.

For instance, I can never eat sweet rice,  or better known in Punjabi as 'Meethe Chawal' without remembering my grand mother in law, 'Beeji'. For Beeji made the best Meethe Chawal in the world as far as I was concerned. And always, always made it for me whenever I asked for it. Never mind that I was a grown up married lady and she was already in her seventies when we first met..

I can also never eat 'Kadhi Pakore and Chawal' ( a yogurt and gram flour based Punjabi dish) without remembering Jairam, my parents'  cook for over thirty years who makes the most delicious Kadhi on earth.As also my friend Amrita in Muscat who makes sure she personally delivers a box of her special home made Kadhi to our home whenever she makes it.

I can never eat a peppermint without drinking water  right after it to check if my mouth really feels cool because that is exactly what my 'long lost and never found again; friend Christine Bose from my school in Calcutta used to do.

I can never drink 'Elaichi' ( cardamom ) tea without thinking about my mother because she always drinks hers that way.  

I could go on and on but I find  that I actually have a pain in my heart remembering  some people close to me who are now deceased, so I think I will stop here.

But not before I say that what really brought on this chain of thought in the first instance was when I was making Rajma Chawal  (a North Indian delicacy made with red kidney beans cooked in thick tomato based gravy) this morning specially for my daughter Neha  when I remembered a friend of mine Akhila, who passed away in the prime of her life last year.

For whenever I made Rajma or Maa Ki Daal,  I would always send her a big bowl, or better still, drop it off to her place personally because she said that it was the best she'd ever eaten.....

Thoughts on Approaching Autumn

Beautiful Mashobra

"There is a harmony in autumn, and a lustre in it's sky.
Which through the summer is not heard or seen.
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!" 

(Percy Bysshe Shelley)

And who would not agree?

Autumn- When summer leaves us, and we approach the year's end.

When the leaves on the trees start changing colour, and there is that very slight nip in the air...

Autumn in France

Or did we imagine it?

When sunsets become even more beautiful, and make us want to watch them just that much longer....

When we start debating, do we need to delve into our wardrobes again, for could winter really be far behind?

When a Caramel Machiatto with cinammon scones is just irresistible....

When festivities abound..... wherever you may be in the world.

When every photograph you take has just that "teeny weeny" sharper edge.....

And finally, as George Eliot once famously said, "Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." 

Stratford on Avon, Shakespeare's cottage, Raksha Bandhan and one of my most memorable dinners

Today is 'Raksha Bandhan' or 'Rakhee' which is a very significant day for Indian brothers and sisters.The name 'Raksha Bandhan' suggests 'a bond of protection'. On this auspicious day, brothers make a promise to their sisters to protect them from all possible troubles and the sisters pray to God to protect their brother from evil. The ceremony involves sisters tying the silk thread called 'Rakhi' on their brother's wrist and in return brothers generally give them a  small and interesting present. 

My brother Navtej and myself have always shared a close bond and today when I was thinking about some significant moments in our lives this particular incident came to my mind as extremely memorable and so I've decided to write about it in some detail.

For that, I have to go back in time to an earlier visit to the UK where my brother is based.We were there for about a fortnight and high on the agenda was a trip to Stratford on Avon which is the birthplace of Shakespeare. It was a regular working day and since Navtej couldn't join us, we decided to make the train journey to Stratford. The plan was to spend the day out and get back by dinner. 

So off we went and caught the right train and reached Stratford. The weather had changed by then and soon we were dogged by intermittent rain which lasted through the day. But did that deter us in any way? Not in the least as we moved around as we were reasonably well prepared for the possibility of rain, any day and all day.

Standing outside Shakespeare's cottage, Stratford on Avon

The untouched interiors

Shakespeare's Birthplace in Warwickshire has been welcoming visitors for over 250 years. This is the house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564, grew up and wrote a lot. Shakespeare also spent the first five years of married life in this house with his new wife, Anne Hathaway. By 1592 he was in London working as an actor and a dramatist. Between 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and collaborated on several more. Many of these plays were very successful both at court and in the public playhouses. In 1613, Shakespeare retired from theatre and returned to Stratford-upon-Avon. He died and was buried there in 1616.

For millions of Shakespeare enthusiasts worldwide, the house is a shrine. Inside it, one truly discovers the world that shaped the man and one can also find out what other famous writers thought when they visited here-Charles Dickens, John Keats, Walter Scott and Thomas Hardy. Close by is the enchanting cottage of his wife, Anne Hathaway, who is believed to have been a few years older to Shakespeare and came from a very well to do family.

Anne Hathaway's cottage

This is the original cottage where the young William Shakespeare courted her  and finally got her to agree to his marriage proposal.It is a thatched farmhouse with beautiful grounds and gardens, which overflow with fragrant blooms and traditional shrubs.The cottage is in Shottery, a hamlet within the parish of Stratford-upon-Avon. It was absolutely delightful to see many original items of family furniture, including the Hathaway Bed, crockery, cutlery and even some dresses and shoes that are believed to have been worn by her!

Walking around in the rain had finally taken its toll and despite all the wonderful things and places we had seen, by 5 pm when the place closed, we were all cold, tiredand  hungry.We stopped at a small tea shop and had a quick bite but when we reached the station, learnt to our dismay that the train to Worcester had just left and the next one would only come an hour later. By the time it did, we were exhausted and by the time we finally arrived in Worcester, even more so!

But every cloud does have a silver lining and this is the best part of that day. Navtej was home when we arrived  and as we entered, the aroma of a delicious 'Tandoori' chicken and 'Rotis' and 'Ma Ki Daal' was probably the most delightful thing that one could have hoped for! All he told us was to wash our hands and settle down to the delightful Indian meal that he had put together for that evening- needless to say that is exactly what we did and as my brother insisted on serving me with the 'chest ' piece( which is what my mother always does)I realized two things that day.

-The fact that Navtej had observed how my mother served me and had actually replicated the same in his own home..

-And the most important fact- that family really does mean a great deal... 

That memorable dinner