Upma in the making…

I’ve written many a posts about my patti. She lives inside me, giving me strength and the resilience to carry on life, even during turbulent times. With her trade-mark onbadhu gajam pudavai (9-yard sari), her brilliant smile and big bhindi, she was the woman whom I yearned to be and still yearning to be. Its been 4 years since her demise and there’s not been a day, when I don’t remember her for something or other.

When I turned 18, the whole household woke up to the fact that I need to get married. It all boiled down to the fact that I had the difficult nakshatram and hence they need to look for a partner asap and the groom hunt- ha ha, yeah, that was how it was treated – began.

I used to lie down on patti’s lap during those summer holidays and she used to gently caress my hair. Her soft hands were incredible as they gently put me to sleep.

On one idle afternoon, I shared with patti my most kept secret. “Patti, I want to marry someone who is an equal partner in all the things I do. Like, if he’ll cut onions, I’ll make sambar. If he’ll peel and cut potatoes, I’ll make potato fry”. What made me say such a thing, is something I don’t remember much. But my patti’s reassuring hand on my head made sure that my wish came true.

Yesterday, as my husband chopped vegetables showcasing his knife skills at the cutting board, I happily roasted the rava, humming this song – “nee katru…naan maram…enna sonnalum thalayattuven”. Somehow, this song felt so apt for the mood in the kitchen and the upma was made. A simplistic tiffin became a feast💗

And, of course, I was thanking my patti!