“What are you making for us, Amma?”a curious Nayaki asked her mother Vijaya.
I am making a yummy dish for
the two of you she said.”
“Ooooh, what is it? Is it
sandwiches and omlette?!”little Nayaki asked her mother as she grinned
sheepishly knowing pretty well that the orthodox mom would rather keep the
little mouths hungry rather than feed them on eggs.
Subbu was a sporting Dad.
He reprimanded his wife Vijaya often, rather lovingly, chiding her to give in to his little
girl's whims and fancies..
"Do what you wish to !" Vijaya would retort back once in a blue moon.
It was the year 1975. Subbu and Vijaya lived in Kolkata with their
two sweet children…Nayaki 10 and Ambi 5 years old.
The mom daughter conversation continued and yet Vijaya was very much focused
on her work. Her fingers moved deftly and as she stirred the contents of the
bowl, Nayaki was getting more curious..
"Oh ! What’s it that you are making for us Amma?" She pestered her
mother and cribbed...
"I am hungry, amma"..saying she ran into her study room. It was midsummer, a warm Sunday morning and past breakfast time.
"Sweetie ! Kannamma ! Come here my dear. Breakfast is nearly ready," Vijaya called out to her little girl.
In a loud but loving voice…she repeated…."It is healthy, it's special. It’s something
Grandma is not too adept at making." Can you guess my dear, said Vijaya before breaking into laughter
Grandmother Kannamani was away on her annual holiday to her native village near
Villupuram and Vijaya had donned the temporary role of the official cook of the
Iyer family.
Hearing her mother call out, Nayaki came running back into the kitchen.
The family of four lived in a two bedroomed second floor flat on R
B Avenue…As was the practice as much as possible, they dined together and sat down on the floor to eat. Eating times
were fun times when amma served with love and the rest helped in passing around the dishes.
“Can I help?' asked Nayaki.
"Can I pour the stuff into the bowl? Mom let me pour the stuff into the bowl. I have washed my hands." she said…Vijaya was a cleanliness freak..Oh! My ! the septuagenarian is still obsessed with
hygiene…
Vijaya would oil her little girl's hair, comb and put her hair in a high ponytail.
Nayakui used to wonder…"Oh ! Why does amma have to do this to me whenever I
am hungry ?"
Hmmmm. You don’t have to..I
cant trust you…Where have you been ? Colouring with crayons..Uh ?” a doting mother spoke much lovingly .
“Okay, I’ll leave it to you , "Nayaki replied with a huff. "This is so much fun!" she said.
"What’s that, what are you doing now?”
Amma dearest.
“Chopping onion and chillies, dear" amma replied.
“Cool, that’s cool. What else
do you have? I see butter, is that the natural unsalted home made butter ?”
“Yes.”my dear…..Vijaya looked
and smiled at her baby…Her little girl was growing up fast…
“Mom let me stir this…Is this
curd ? and before I can taste the final dish can I have a small cup of curd
please ?"…Nayaki loved milk and curd. And what’s that?” Nayaki went on to ask her mother.....even as she was puzzled....
Her dad made the best omlettes but he never used curd or milk..."Strange are the ways of amma,"...she thought...
“This is milk. Listen, once
I am done with this work, you are going to have this without complaining…”Right
my dear”, a stern loving mother Vijaya was heard telling her daughter Nayaki.
And all the while Ambi thambi was a silent specatator, too busy to
get involved as new ideas were brewing in his naughty mind….
"Please don’t- don’t tell amma," he had told his elder sis…just
a little while ago…." I used it, okay?”
Nayaki was waiting for an opportunity to spill the beans and ensure that thambu got a good scolding. Thambu was always landing her in trouble.
She was hungry. "The
complaint can wait."…she told herself." Let me fill my tummy first and later with a
clear mind, I can complain about bro to amma ." She waited patiently....Eggs were still out of her sight....
In the meantime, Vijaya came out of the kitchen with a bowl which
contained water. Slowly she poured the greyish pearlish coloured water into another
container.
Ma…what’s left in the vessel ?….an innocent Nayaki, asked her mother
With a broad beam on her face, Vijaya replied…"That is yesterday’s left over cooked
rice my dear, " saying she mashed the rice well with her hands, added a glass of thick
milk, a bowl of thickly set curd and mixed the rice well. She added the finely chopped onion and chillies, butter and
salt to taste even as Nayaki looked on in disbelief…The tempering done in fresh ghee, curd rice was ready to be served.
"No…this cannot be my breakfast, screamed the little girl..."No Amma...This is not fair," she cried much to the glee of a younger brother who looked on innocently. Nayaki shut her eyes tight to make sure that she was asleep and this was only a dream...
Alas it was only too real as she heard her mother's voice again..."Ambi…Come here my boy,"….Vijaya called out to her son..
With visions of toast butter and omlette clearly in front
of her eyes, Nayaki sat down, disbelievingly with her mouth wide open. Vijaya slowly and
lovingly placed the first urundai of pisinja payaethu thayiru sadham ( curd rice prepared from the previous day's left over rice) into Nayaki’s mouth……With her mouth sealed and tummy soon to be filled pondering on Omlettes whether maybe next Sunday or not, Nayaki swallowed the rice balls with much difficulty....She was an obedient child...
Forty years hence...nothing has changed much on the milk and the curd front. Nayaki, no longer an eggetarian, seated on the floor with cousins, inherent traits remaining the same, yet another chat session was coming alive with renewed energy and the same enthusiasm……..
“Ambi, what are you
doing?Just you wait till I catch ya " Nayaki was heard yelling at her brother. "Are you taking a picture of amma giving the thayir sadham urundai(ball of curd rice) in my hand and don’t tell me now that you have already sent it to our family groups on
Whatsapp?!” exclaimed a furious fifty something young woman.
"Just you wait, six footer fella till I post yours…of amma feeding straight
into your mouth. Let me tag you with the pics of curd mulagai, green mulagai ( Mulagai is chilly)…and
the kadugu (mustard seeds) and the ginger and the kothamalli…Just you wait till I make a
collage and I upload it for the public to see right on your FB Timeline…..!”
