The ball that set the feet rolling again!

Vibha was worried and rightly so! Her pre-teenagers, along with their friends, were becoming lazy, tech-addicts and lonely.

One day she found her son hiding the remote behind the sofa cushion, because he did not want to share his T.V. time watching his friend’s favourite show. She tried to convince him but all her logic fell into deaf ears.

“Mama, he does the same when I go to his house!”

Vibha wondered if the kids were growing up right. She realised that to get them outdoors and moving, she would have to get the entire neighbourhood kids on their feet!

Luckily, a new sports academy was set up and a few sports were introduced. Vibha went home with a new basketball.

Her children were eager to begin their basketball coaching at the new sports academy. Vibha initially accompanied them. One by one, all her children’s friends wanted to know about the academy. She spread the word passionately and told parents how playing a sport can help the children in their academics too.

Her efforts paid off and the children from her neighbourhood started playing basketball.

Vibha knew that the children had become fond of basketball, but she did not know that they were absolutely in love with the sport until, one day, the old ball had a burst bladder!

R.I.P., basketball!

What followed by way of posts on the face book pages of these children stunned Vibha!

Her children posted a picture of the disfigured ball and almost instantly, there were about a dozen mourners. Some even wrote comments like, “R.I.P. our favourite ball!”

Vibha was moved and in spite of a tough day at work, she took the children to a sports shop to replace the flattened ball!

The happiness on the face of the children made up for Vibha’s efforts.

The next day when she woke up she saw the old ball sitting pretty, near her bedside. She took the ball in her hand and inspected it. The tear in the bladder was stitched by rough and crooked stitches by her son the previous night.

The crooked stitch gave a new look to the flattened ball...

It was then that Vibha had realised how the old ball had become an integral part of her children’s life!

Gasping Freedom!

Freedom flew up above in the form of birds,

Freedom grazed the green grass as cattle herds.

Freedom touched the expanse of earth as water,

Alas, freedom went to man to make sun hotter!

Freedom gave light to the night sky as moon,

Freedom, by its very nature, is life’s greatest boon.

Freedom gave the wet firmament the coloured hue,

The freedom to build skyscrapers ruined the view!

 

Freedom moistened dry earth as rain showers,

Freedom blossomed on the green plants as flowers!

Freedom stood towering above the land as mountains,

Alas, they stood shortened by man-made fountains!

Freedom made the earth rich in precious metals,

Freedom enriched fragrant flowers with colourful petals!

Freedom filled the forest with green trees and wildlife,

But freedom reached mankind as sword and knife!

Sheetal’s pumpkin, for the kith and kin!

Before Sheetal got married, she grew up in a nuclear family. So nuclear was the family, that anybody in the name of a kith or a kin was taboo at their house. Her father wantedher to excel in as many fields as was humanly possible!

Her mother, being the traditional Indian woman, supported her father to the hilt (though it beats every fathomable reason as to how a culture can make second-fiddles of highly talented women, just so that they don’t outgrow or out-shoot their men)!

Post her marriage, she found herself no different from her mother, yielding to her husband’s wishes and demands, though she did most of it to avoid any unpleasant situation, rather than out of conviction. Many times she would point out to the gender bias that plagued the Indian society, whether or not her husband supported the argument.

Though Sheetal came across as a head-strong individual, she was family centric and if there was one area where she listened to her gut feel, it was cooking! Her husband was as much a foodie as she was a health watcher!

She loved cooking and refused to compromise on nutrition to accommodate an enhanced taste. Her husband’s side of the family would not miss an opportunity to meet up and have food together. This culture, though alien to her, was a welcome change!

But due to the excessive love for food, most of them had health issues. She would try and make different items, consciously avoiding coffee and fried papad, inclusion of which would have fetched her the tag of ‘an awesome cook!’

During one of the get-togethers, she decided to include white pumpkin in an unidentifiable way, so that all and sundry were made to consume it raw! Now, most of you must be thinking what a devil she was and by Jove, she loved being the known devil as her husband was detected of diabetes.

I was surprised at the conviction with which Sheetal spoke on feminism and suddenly changed positions to care for her husband, putting behind the bitterness that she had for men in general and the conservative ones in particular.

I realise that women are the natural care-givers of a family and therefore, to get themselves out of the bonds that curtail them, they have to take care of themselves first, before they begin taking care of others! When women realise this they can switch roles with ease.

Here is a simple recipe of the pumpkin raita that Sheetal made for my kith and kin!

In a bowl take curd and beat it to homogeneity.

Grind white pumpkin (remove the thick outer skin and cut it into small cubes), 2 small pieces of coconut, a small finger length ginger, salt. Mix the ground paste with the beaten curds.

In a small pan, heat one teaspoon ghee. Splutter a few mustard seeds, cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida, one green (or red) chilli (slit), curry leaves and coriander leaves (the curry leaves and coriander leaves may also be ground along with other ingredients) and add to the raita.

Decorate with mint leaves on top.  

Pumpkin raita, for her kith and kin...

The latest news is that, not only does her family and the extended family relish the raita, her husband's sugar levels have reached manageable levels!