Making home – 1

Our spirits ebbed yesterday when the stay-at-home directive was extended to May end. We had our tiny fanny packs packed and ready for a long stroll as soon as we could get out on May 3rd…or so we were thinking.

But I decided to recount the good things we have been doing for the past month indoors. Ro poked at me, saying this is probably a good chance to write something about “home” and make this blog a true home blog, rather than a space for penning thoughts from our travels and outdoorsy wanderings.

One of the things I was uncomfortable with, in our current house was the presence of bare white walls staring down at me. It was like sitting in a big white box with a fuzzy carpet. Slowly we added some color with furniture, chairs, TV, and some of my sketches framed awkwardly. It is always self-conscious for me to look at my own art hung in front of me while I work or laze around…but we did it anyway 😉

And this time provided an opportunity to dress the walls even further! We mulled over days to select a wall for the makeover, and then for the “ideal” wallpaper. Ro wanted something modern, I wanted eclectic. He wanted “masculine” colors and patterns, and I failed to have a concrete image in my mind with this description. I was tending towards blue, and he wondered if it will be “too much”. Oh, I should have totally documented the random discussions we had about wallpaper. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought that wallpaper will make us reflect on the phenomenology of the space that we live in!

Finally, a delicate balance of all our expectations from a wallpaper as if dawned on the horizon. The process of putting up the removable peel and stick wallpaper was easy, and oh, it makes this space feel more like home. And suddenly I started believing in the effect of material possessions and transformed spaces on the inner spirit…

My this week’s home read is “Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces you Never Want to Leave“. What is this week’s read for you?

D.

A week in North England

The cobbled streets in North England made Calgary feel like a young, new city once again. And also made me realise how approachable the distances really are in England, between two towns nd so on… Landing in England, I was greeted by a dull canopy of the clouds and my spirits almost ebbed, thinking that the entire trip will have “London weather”looming over… However, the very next day I was in for a pleasant surprise from boring grey weather to radiant sun shining in the sky!

Another relief was to see cars driver on the “correct” side 😉 of the road, once again. And this little tweak in the traffic situation suddenly made me feel more at ease navigating through Durham, New Castle, Darlington and Hexham (and London, if the airport communte counts).

The “English welcome” was indeed warm, and I personally think that the people in theNorth of England are nicer than the Southeners (from limited interaction with folks at Southampton, Reading and area). I regret not visiting Edinburgh this time… But that’s on the cards indeed! I mostly had Lebanese food, conveniently dodging the plates of English food…

On the day I was wandering in Newcastle, clueless about the places to eat around, I joined in the “cult” of Starbucks. When my mobile phone gave up on me, I walked on aimlessly, and was delighted to see a petite Starbucks nestled in a corner of a crowded street. It was my quantum of solace, as I knew what to expect in terms of food and drinks, how to navigate through placing the order and so on. The “franchise” enterprise is indeed a boon when it appears like an oasis in the desert of ignorance and anxiety. So my hearty lunch that day was caramel macchiato, muffin and a lovely serving of scrambled eggs, tomatoes and spinach.

First meal in England – at a North American place 😉

Durham, on the other hand almost appeared to be clairvoyant, offering me options of bookstores (yes, atleast a couple of those on every street), food from all over the world, and so on. Durham seems as a comfortable blend of being a university town and an old City preserving it’s ancient roots. The indundation on one of the days added some blush to the town, making an aesthetic appeal for the places old and new at Durham…

Blending the old and new : view of the tower in the town square from Prince Bishop’s shopping complex

I had my small allotted apartment by the Northern Bailey of the cathedral. The view from my window was stunning, straight out of a watercolor.

Walking by the cathedral every day, I felt as if I were a part of the living history of the place.

Durham cathedral basked in the glory of it’s architecture and ornate sculptural embellishments. The quaint town of Durham has pieces of history embedded in material culture at every nook as one promenades through the city.

Cobbled street of the Duncow Lane

Interaction with people, discussing books, work and current researches, I was in a different world. A visit to the Oriental Museum, the castle in Durham, and other places of interest (such as the part of Hadrian’s wall at Hexham) were a pleasant break from the routine. I felt as if I was back in my comfort zone of history and archaeology once again…

Needless to say, I left England with a heavy heart once again…promising myself to visit the country soon, with some more time at hand.

D.

P.s: Keep an eye on the updates in this post, when I plug in the link for detailed posts on places I visited!

Indulgence in gastronomy

The crisp smell of freshly squeezed lemon on poha has always been one of the intangible link to home for me. In similar vein, the smell of freshly fried bhaji, the crackling sound of Curry leaves in hot oil and spluttering of mustard seeds bring a feeling of kitchen at home. Not a cook by any stretch, I seek pleasure in these smells, sounds and textures of food, which recreate a world for me here in Calgary.

A simple cooking exercise of making biryani for friends transforms my day as I carefully proceed with each step, fully immersing myself in the various components of cooking. Winters are especially rewarding for this exercise, as they are an excellent company when I’m snowed in. The aroma of these gastronomic experiments fills the house and lingers on, recreating the warmth over and over again.

Recently, I have developed a silly habit of narrating the recipes to Kuro as I move about in the kitchen and he follows me around. “Two cups flour!… Understand?”, is a usual format of dailogue with Kuro, to which he responds with his tilted head and a bewildered look. I put on the apron, arrange the ingredients on the counter and begin my orchestra- beating eggs, mixing flour, sometimes grinding spices and so on…

My recent obsession with baked goods is essentially the gift of North America to me. Experimenting with cookies, I moved onto baking cakes and now loaves and pasteries. I am still a little conservative with my experiments with the basic instructions. However, I think I will soon move into “inventing” through tweaking, to better suit my needs. My friends, Malavika, Amanda, Aneesh and now Monica and Laura here, have been good cooks. And I have been on the connesseiur end mostly. Standing in different shoes does seem…different!

Banana chocolate chip loaf

Crusted pie

With time, I have discovered the joy of cooking for others and lovingly making them eat till they cannot have more. However, the role that I’m most comfortable with, is still that of a foodie; at the eating end…

Experiment with gulabjamun (2016)

I was in a phase where I promised myself to cook all that I crave for, and those dishes which I could have over and over endlessly. After multiple trials, only one reached the perfection of gulabjamun. Rest were either raw dough at the center or lumpy mess in the sugar syrup.

My attempts at Pav-bhaji on the other hand have brought solace to my mind. This no-brainer savoury dish, has been my faithful companion, almost crying out from the pan: “you can do it!”. Whenever I need a plate of feel-good food, I turn to Pav-bhaji. Both, because I love it and one cannot really go wrong with it. I console myself that if nothing else, I can cook Pav-bhaji for myself.

Pav bhaji -the classic that makes me miss home althemore

In the shoes of a foodie- trying new dishes whenever and wherever I can!

All variants of rice have been my favorite. Although trying “pottu” in Calgary has been a spectacular failure, avial, kadlai Curry, coconut curry, rassam and Dosa have been hits from the south-Indian cuisine shelf.

Trying desserts: mousse with granola sprinkles

I often announce of my cooking experiments to Rohan in a manner of ‘ breaking news’. Sometimes these announcements are responded with “you don’t cook anything for me!”. Probably because I don’t feel the need to “ape” an experience of being at home when I’m with Rohan…

My adventures with gastronomy have pulled me to farmer’s market in search of fresh produce, discover hidden spice stores to pin down “that particular spice”…and so on. That said, this food trail is often sporadic and a temporary engagement for me. My real indulgence still lingers at the feet of a drawing easel and the pile of thick books with yellowing pages…

D.

On Plants as reliving memories…

Removed from the cultural context, does one strive more to “recreate” the cultural microcosm around oneself? In order to “authentically re-enact the vicissitudes of cultural experience”, I probably embarked on a journey of teasing out tangible elements in material around me, to relate with my idea of “home”…

Although I did not “authentically celebrate” Diwali, I was struggling to recreate the experience of “belonging” more or less. Watching Marathi films, listening to Vasantrao Deshpande, Bimsen Joshi and Kishori Amonkar as I went about my day has been a part of the larger repertoire. And then I began recreating the atmosphere I associate with the feeling of being at home…

Aji’s garden. Although I do not have a particular liking for roses and the allied floral family, I took it upon myself to brighten up each nook in my house with plants. I had dipped my hands in similar “green revolution” at Pune and Baroda, but I had shaked off mulling over it… Now that my friends pointed out that I have a “pretty garden” in my house, I actually reflected why I got onto it in the first place. I often made jokes about this with Rohan as my indoor garden being “a way to impress my mother-in-law”. But to be completely honest, plants nourished the vacant seat of “having somebody home at the end of the day”. Pithy as it sounds, my plants made the rooms in my house come alive! I tried to have some plants at Pittsburgh with similar end in view, but I am not sure how well they are doing this “job”. Moreover, the small corner in my heart pulled me back to Aji’s (and now Aai’s) garden in Nashik.

Aai’s green finger has sprung flowers on stunted bushes, green foliage on dry branches and the garden has become home to birds and butterflies alongwith Osiris curled up under some tree! Aji’s garden from my memories was flamboyant with roses, and types of Jasmine bushes snuggled up near the Chapha tree. A familiar sight, this garden, for my promenade, aimless swinging, or playing with the puppies has its home  in my heart. Although I cannot have a full-fledged garden just yet in Calgary, a small part of it beckons me.

Pothos on my desk almost steals a peek to prompt me to get up from my “screen time” and to look at the green hues in my room. Orchid, now in bloom this summer, is almost a certificate of my efforts for nursing it for the entire year. Spider plant and Angel’s tears transport me right back to my childhood memories… Jasmine on my bookshelf reminds me of Aji, and our morning “flower picking” routine. Affected by sudden cold, I am nursing some plants, bent on salvaging them. Their tender green foliage again, would be my accomplishment.

Getting lost in the small wonders of planting, and seeing them sway with the wind, I reassure myself for not having a “black thumb” as I initially thought. In having them home, it is reassertion of self-worth for me!

D.

The Old Man called ‘Time’

Nagging to get things done, poking with a long worn-out walking stick; I imagine the bald-ish old man giving a ‘nudge’. In childhood, this old man walks slow. Probably because we are too young and frolic around speedily. However, as we grow older, the old man seems to catch up. He walks fast with us too. Travels with us in bus and train, scales hills and runs down the valleys much as we do. And in the night, when we lay on the bed to peer at the night sky, he rests too… Only to roll into speedy mornings with us – year after year.

In the company of this old man, what we fail to notice are the blooms on the tree, water that has flown down the bridge and to count the stars that have looked at us and set. The pile of papers on the desk seem to define our time. The digital footprints mark our presence… while the old man plods by.

The reason that I recall some of my childhood memories as if they took place just yesterday, is because the old man was resting somewhere, and I had the privilege to immerse completely in the living moment. Probably, as I child I cared less for this aging man, and did not see the fine lines on his cheeks or growing furrow on his forehead. I was not concerned of his presence or his stride length. I worry all too much about that today.

I often want him to stop, but he walks on with me. His graying hair remind me of my to-do lists and things I need to get done before I rest. In the colors on my palette I see the reflection of a ‘speed sketch’ instead of a painting which I would adorn with meticulous strokes and different hues. With my work, I see word-count and number of pages, but not the essence. Frankly, the old man is not asking me to move now. But his movement terrifies me.

B. R. Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’ envisioned a personified time, who popped out of the television set and made his home with me. Some say he moved in circles… but for me he seems to walk an uphill road, waiting to descend with me sometime. The clothing of ‘Yuga’ that he bears are just cloaks hanging in his closet. They son’t seem to change his nature or pace, or even the inevitable end.

Einstein added the attribute of space to this old man as we know it. It merely showed the magnanimity of this man, further belittling what we are or what we claim to be. Measured with moving needles, or digits, he puts a face of illusion. 0700 hours here just shows sunrise where I am sitting, while it means dusk where my home is.  60 minutes cloaked as ‘hour’ act as stop-watch for tasks to be done, without revealing his true nature. What then, really shows this old man in a guise?

To me, this old man shows himself through collective wisdom. Through our graying hair, wrinkled bodies, and bonded minds. Through our leap into the space, dive into the oceans and walk on this earth. This old man, I affectionately call “Ajoba”, sees through our eyes, listens through our ears but does not speak through our mouths. He likes to communicate with actions. With displacement, breaking and mending, rising and falling and finally, a long slumber.

Ajoba affectionately looked upon me as I played in the sun. And in my youth, he held my hand to take me to the right path after I had chosen the wrong ones, fallen and bruised myself a couple of times. In my adulthood, he watches by as I run… and sometimes speeds alongside, reminding me to halt. With a quarter century of aged body, having seen some seasons of sun and rain, I affectionately stand by him. As he stands by me.

D.

 

 

एक चित्र

शेवटी हस्ताक्षर केले : दुर्गा, पिट्सबर्ग  आणि आजची तारीख.

निळ्या रंगात ती पांढरी अक्षरे उठून दिसत होती. आणि त्यापेक्षाही उठून दिसत होते माझे ‘मी ‘पण .

गेले काही वर्ष हे पैंटिंग मी अर्धवट गुंडाळून ठेवले होते.

त्यातले आर्त भाव कमी झाले होते असे नाही, पण अधूनमधून डोकावणारा न्यूनगंड आणि इतर कामांना दिलेले प्राध्यान…

एकदाच्या माझ्या पंच कन्या कॅनवास वर अवतरल्या!

ह्या पंच महाभूतांच्या माध्यमातून प्रत्येक शक्तीची स्वाभाविक रूपे ह्या रचनेत आहेत. माझ्या डोळ्याला दिसणाऱ्या ह्या पाच शक्ती नारीस्वरूप आहेत. एकमेकांत गुंतलेल्या नसल्या तरीही एकमेकींवर विसंबून आहेत. पाण्याची खोलाई जशी पृथ्वी च्या भुपटवरच्या खाचखळग्यांवर ठरते, तसे अवकाश आपल्याला तेजाच्या साहाय्याने अनुभवता येते, व हे तेज वायू मुळेच आपल्यापर्यंत पोहोचते… एकाच मूलगर्भातून निर्माण होणाऱ्या ह्या पाच शक्ती परत तिथेच विलीन होतील अशीही कल्पना आहे. धरतीच्या बरोबरीला हात आहेत, जणू असे की पृथ्वी आपल्याला बाकी चार शक्तींचे आकलन करण्यास सहाय्य करते.

मध्ये मध्ये सुक्ष्म मानव प्रत्येक शक्तीच्या अवती भवती आहेत, ते आपणच! शक्तीला कवेत घेण्याच्या प्रयत्नात!

दुर्गा.

एकाच मूलागर्भातून येणारी ही पाच तत्त्वे – त्यांचे आपसाथचे अनुसंधान (आयुष्याचे पुर्ण वर्तुळच जणू )

जल

अवकाश (त्यात काही नक्षत्रे )

वायू आणि अग्नी – मागे आठ चक्र (ऊर्जेचे स्रोत )

वायू

पृथ्वी वरची सृष्टी

पृथ्वी