Long time no see..

Been neck deep in work and more work, dont ask me what kind of dunno. Like all domestic work anonymous, no remuneration. Cant crib though as i hate to go to work anywhere except at home. cant stand commuting cant stick to regular hours. Had been a free spirit all along. Read a nice article in the Hindu about the big stuff and the tiny like keeping the garbage out. The big stuff is how the galaxy Andromeda is swallowing all the nearby galaxies and ones puny endeavour of doing household chores. It was quite funny. In the end home wins always.
I remember when we were children we used to sleep on the terrace in summer and my father used to talk about the stars and galaxies. its good to know and good to feel connected to all tose distant stars, thatswhy sifi fascinates me especially Ursula leguin.Being human is all the more important.

Garden is at its best, have been slogging there. late rains have helped immensely.The garden is chock a block with plants and flowers. Cant waste any space,Water melon has come up on its own. my g.sons alu plant is growing like Jack and the magic beans. Coconut tree drops its fruit in the night and scares all of us. Lots of rats in the garden, would not come if there is a cat or a dog. none here.Lots of millipede going in gangs everywhere guppies are happy in their pond and all the birds have enough to eat. Hope monsoon will continue till the lakes are full. Bye for now.

sabbatical Over!

i had taken time to attend to my garden. july is usually a hectic month. Expecting rains i had ordered manure, red soil, neem cake folidal ext. my help came and we cleaned the garden thouroughly and applied manure ext, hoping it would rain, i am still hoping it will come in august. better late than never. but one in five years is drought year,looks like this one is. in nature everything is cyclic, birth growth and death, so in nature. Gita says why grieve/'thatra ka Paridevana/'' nature teaches one patience. trees grow in their own time, one may apply manure to hurry up the proces but it will be done only in its own time.

picked up lots of plants, my gson and i planted them. garden is not looking too great as it is very windy and the wind tears the leaves. my husbands death anniversary came and went. my mom is here with us. She cooks and we enjoy her cooking. my daughter says amma you make rasam, nani can not make it like you! life is full of such small joys. i am back hope you guys are all ok. take care.ciao.

T twenty cricket.

Thank god indians are out. As if they cant or shouldnt. now one can read about other teams. i bet lankans are the champs this time around. they are one team i admire. bravehearts.Look at Jayasurya, at his age how well he sights the ball.One hell of an opener.

Now you must think grandma and cricket dont go. I am truely interested. I love tennis too. Big fan of nadal. Too much of cricket i dont like. i love test matches and the english crowds. Indians make a Mela of everything. long time back i met this couple from england in the world cup match between england and australia. She was english and her husband australian. It was good fun.If i remember correctly Australia won. In those days they won in almost all the matches.

River cauvery

Hi,

i have long association with cauvery. i was born on the banks of this river,grew up on the banks of the very same river though in a different place and went to college on the rivers bank in yet another city, all in Tamilnadu. the river was many different things in all these places. in the place where i grew there was a huge dam built across it. when we were children our lives were interwined with this river. when the monsoon came and fresh rain water swelled it it was red and flowed with great force and sound. we could hear the river in the night. When the dam filled up the surplus water is left out of sluice gates, the water would flow with great speed and every day my father would take us to see it. when you looked down it would seem that you are going at a great speed. then the month of adi the eighteenth is a festival. thanks giving for the bounteous river. we would make different kinds of rice preperations called chithrannam and sweets for a picnic lunch on the banks of the river. We never went alone. many friends would come with us. i still remember those carefree days. We never thought one day this river would the subject matter of dispute bet two states. I am reminded of a story. the king of a small state ordered not to give water to the neighbouring state. the wise minister knew that this is not done, he kept the watch four hours forward and it was time for the sun to appear and it was still dark, the king was alarmed and he asked his minister. he said because you dint give water to our padosi the caught the sun and dint let it to our state. the king realised his mistake and let the water. sadly the kings are not idiots and the neighbour is not always in the east to pull a fast one like this. shows even stories were simple in those days and we tought they were wonderful!

That river brings tears to my eyes whenever i think about it. i miss it as much as i miss my hpmetown, tiny though it is.

weather woes.

Hi There,

its unbearably hot and humid here. hope it rains tonight. i had this whole jack fruit to deal with. i had never cut it in my life, i know i have to use a lot of oil to do it. boy, was it difficult. it is very sweet, the fuit, and i made a little jam in the eve. In malyalam they call it chakka veratti.which can be used at a later stage to make chakka pradaman, payasam.My mother loves it, the fruit may not last for ten days, but the jam will if kept in the fridge.

G.sons school reopened. He was nervous as there will be a new teacher.should be ok in two days. Went to pick him up at the bus stop. The heat is killing.kale mega kale mega paani to bursavo. Made drumstick sambar for dinner. D.stick grows in the garden. Full of iron. Love.

lifes like that only.

Last eve it rained.but no pakodas were made as there were no ingriedients like my g.son would say.no onions, ginger and mood. we were so happy to see the rain after a long time.it was bliss. i usually like to sit in the front steps ofour house and watch the rain. i did a fair amount of gardening this morning. kept the coleas cuttings and removed the old plants. the garden is very messy.will take a long time to do what i want to do. my g.son planted all the coleas cuttings in the eve,he learns fast. he has green thumb.

it will be soon one year since my husband passed away. my mother is coming to be with us later this month. he died one day before his b.day and two days before our wedding day. Time is funny. memory is funnier. selective it is .Today is the only reality. I read a lot, i like murder mysteries, a good novel, biographies philosophy.take care and love.

Rains and hot onion Pakodas.

june is here,rains are detected and smelled,four in the eve high winds and lightning and thunder and the first big fat hot drops fall. rain water is not like watering the garden,its something else and the plants know it. Dust from four months are washed from the trees and the leaves shine. season for oleanders and hibiscus to bloom. some years i have counted thirty flowers in one hibiscus bush. time to go walk in the rain, though not the first one as it may contain lots of acid and carbon then its time to make onion pakodas. if one has a maid who can do all the cutting it will be jolly but if one has company one can do it. Cut onions ginger curry leaves finely. take besan,rice flour four to one proportion add salt, red chilli powder.Heat one ladle of oil in a pan pour it to the besan mixture add a little water, make a dough, not too soggy. heat oil in a pan deep fry the batterin small quantities. take out when they are brown let it cool. sit in a bay window overlooking yr garden or balcony with ketchup and eat with lots of banter laughter and conversation. Skip dinner..

Gardening.

waiting for rains to start work in the garden. one month of terrible heat without respite my garden is in a sorry state. after my husbands passing away in july last year, i had not given much attention. i love a chaotic garden, full of colours.Right now my frangipanis are in bloom. i am waiting for the purple lily to show itself ,its been two yrs since i planted it. impatience died coleus wilting, all of them waiting for the rains.

One year will come and go since my husband passed away and memories will remain,get strengthened and legends born in place of real things. if not for G my g.son who assists me in the kitchen and garden it would have been difficult. i am not computer savvy and type with one finger and take forever to understand. but i am curious about blogs. I don't think i have the patience to sit for hours together at the com. lets see how this pans out. may be very short lived. have to go.