When this is over, I’m ... (lockdown verse)

When this is over, I’m going to write a poem
One that captures the rhythm and rhyme
Of these three weeks I was locked up at home
Absolutely losing all sense of time.

Day 0 was when the announcement was made
And we were given four hours
To ‘prep’ to be indoors for 21 days
The command given by the man in power.

Day 1 was surreal, not much else to say
It felt like a good break maybe in some way.
Day 2 we took stock of grains, pulses and snacks
Biscuits and Maggi added to the list, many a pack.

Day 3 is when the seriousness hit
The consequences, we started to realise, bit by bit.
Day 4 was special, cos veggies I scored
Tomatoes, beans, bottle and even bitter gourd.

Day 5 was friends, family and Zoom
It was nice to see everyone from the comfort of my room.
Day 6, a Corona bingo I made
Before the commonalities I was seeing began to fade.

Day 7 I felt the start of some routine
Home stuff and work from home were more familiar scenes.
Day 8 I wrote a poem about that
In case I needed a reminder about how to keep things on track.

Day 9 I made the first of many lists
Of things learned, not missed, and missed.
Day 10 began with WhatsApp fights
Over the announcement about Sunday’s lights.

Day 11 I listed the things I hadn’t used
To see shoes and shades there left me amused.
Day 12 turned out to be a Sunday
Funday, it wasn’t, just more mundane.

Days 13 and 14 were crazy at work
See how that’s the first time I mentioned work. ‘Smirk’.
Today is Day 15 and I may read this out in class
If at all I’m graded, I hope I’ll at least pass.

I hope to continue this for the remaining time
If more than 21 days, it may be harder to rhyme.
Even though it’s nothing particularly deep
This experience, I want to keep.

21 days will never sound the same again
Let's hope it's 21, and the lockdown will end.

protest

hands held, chain formed.
united,
but many links missed,
chasm revealed.

A different perspective

It was the same space...the same four walls...or was it fourteen? Or forty? Everything seemed different, every movement seemed deliberate! Every corner seemed sharper, every angle felt more pronounced. The lights were brighter, the touch was firmer, the senses...more heightened? She closed her eyes but opened them immediately! She didn't want to miss out on the moments of clarity! She heard them clearly...flitting and floating out of her head...clearly! And yet, she was feeling a bit numb. Not numb...but just a bit like she wasn't in it fully. Even so, she floated in and out of this space, going about her routine, making sure that things were getting done, making sure that nothing was out of place, making sure that all was OK.

It was a good space to be in. A space that was warm, a space that was welcoming, a space that made her calm, a space that was filled with love, a space that filled her with love! Smiles, faces, voices...that's all mattered. That feeling of security that only comes when the heart is happy...when the mind is calm...when the body is relaxed...and open to experiences.

Yoga? You betcha!
:)

Festivals, fun and food! - Pongal

This year I've decided to blog about the million-odd (exaggeration...) festivals that are celebrated in India starting with Pongal. Not like an informative blog about the significance or anything (Wikipedia will have that) but about the different food that is cooked and eaten on those special days. And a little about my experiences cooking them.

Pongal is just about coming to an end. I don't think any other festival has this much food, especially the different dishes made with rice. I feel like I'm about to burst and we still have one more day to go. I've successfully (even if I say so myself) made vadai, semiya payasam, venn pongal, chakra pongal, avial and gotsu. Tomorrow's menu is thenga saadam and thakali sadam.
Reads like a whole host of dishes, but all very simple and easy.

Here are the lessons learnt from my experiment:

• Pressure cooking jaggery with rice, milk and water is not good. It alters the taste of jaggery as well as lengthens the cooking time (Read tart chakra pongal and complete waste of gas).
• Always put in a small 'blob' of whatever you're trying to fry in the hot oil and NOT a whole batch so that a quick taste and texture check can be done. (Luckily the first few pieces were used for the pooja so not eaten by us. Sorry God!)
• Anything that needs to be stirred should NOT be in the back-burner especially when there is something in the front burner also. (Burn marks...duh)!
• The pressure cooker must be closed tight. (It isn't really pressure cooking otherwise).
• All ingredients should be kept ready so nothing is left out in dish. (Raisins went missing in chakra pongal)

This post is a day too early you might wonder...we still have the last day of Pongal left and two more dishes to be made. The expert cook that I am, I'm supremely confident that nothing will go wrong with those. Maybe I'll post some pics to prove it.