पापड, कुरडई आणि खिचडी

काय मंडळी?

तोंडाला पाणी सुटलं की नाही, ब्लॉगपोस्ट चे शीर्षक वाचून? हे असं एक त्रिकुट आहे जे कधीच फेल होत नाही. नाही का? मी अजून एक दोन गोष्टी मुद्दामहून तिकडे लिहिल्या नाहीत. सांडगी मिरची, मिरगुंडं, चिकवड्या आणि पापड्या. ह्यातल्या अर्ध्या गोष्टी तर माहिती नाहीत बऱ्याच जणांना. आज संध्याकाळी जेवणाची तयारी करताना अचानक हे सगळे पदार्थ मनात आले आणि सध्या माझ्याकडे कुरडई, पापड, मिरची, मिरगुंडं हे सगळंच असल्यामुळे ते सगळं मस्त तळता तळता मी परत भूतकाळात गेले.   

डोंबिवली ला आमचं पहिल्या मजल्यावर घर आहे. त्याला दोन्ही बाजूला दोन मोट्ठ्या गॅलऱ्या आहेत. त्यात आम्ही लहानपणी भातुकली, पकडापकडी, घर घर असं बरच काही खेळायचो. झाडांच्या कुंड्या हि बऱ्याच होत्या तिकडे. आई ला खूप हौस होती. त्यातला एका गॅलरी मध्ये एप्रिल आणि मे महिन्यात हमखास माझी आजी आणि मी काही ना काहीतरी वाळत घालत असायचो. साबुदाण्याच्या चिकवड्या, तांदुळाच्या पापड्या, पोह्याचे पापड, एक ना दोन. उन्ह तापली की आम्ही आत आणि आमची मांजर राखण करायला बाहेर मस्त पहुडलेली असायची. कोणाची बिशाद तिकडे एखादी चिमणी किंवा कबुतर फिरकेल ह्याची! आजी सगळं अगदी आनंदाने करायची, जरा जास्तीच करायची, मग शेजारी पाजारी वाटता देखील यायचं. सगळे पदार्थ नीट वाळल्यावर ते नीट स्वछ आणि कोरड्या पत्र्यांच्या डब्यांमध्ये भरून ठेवायचं आणि आजीकडे लगेच खिचडी ची फर्माईश करायची. आजी काय सदैव तयार स्वैपाक घरात जादू करून काही ना काहीतरी मस्त खाऊ करायला. खिचडी मध्ये भरपूर कोथिंबीर, खोबरं हे असायचंच. काय चव लागायची त्या खिचडी ची, साधे तांदूळ आणि मूग डाळ ती पण जी काही चव असायची त्याला आह हा हा. खिचडी च्या सोबत नुकतेच केलेले पापड, कुरडई, मिरची हे ओघाने आलेच. कधी कधी तरी ते सगळं खायला मिळावं म्हणूनच मी आजी ला खिचडी करायला सांगत असे. पुढे पुढे मग आजी ला होईनास झालं आणि मग आम्ही पापड, कुरडई, चिकवड्या आजी च्या भावाच्या सुनेकडून, पेठे मंडळी करून महाड हुन मागवू लागलो! माझ्या बाबांची मामेभावंडं आणि त्यांच्या बायका, म्हणजे माझ्या काका काकू खानावळ चालवत असे आणि खूप सुंदर करायच्या त्या सगळे पदार्थ आणि स्वैपाक पण मस्त असायचा त्यांचा. घरची चव वेगळी कळायची. 

माझी मामी खान्देशी आहे. ती लग्न होऊन आली तेव्हा मी नववी मध्ये होते. ती एक प्रकार करायची खिचडी चा मस्त झणझणीत आणि तेल, दाणे घालून. तिच्याकडे गेले की एकदा तरी करायला सांगायचेच मी तिला तिची स्पेशल खिचडी. तेव्हा ही तळण असायचंच. त्याशिवाय खिचडी घश्याखाली उतरायचीच नाही. मग हळू हळू ते सगळे पदार्थ बाद झाले, अचानक तळकट खाऊ नये, वजन वाढते अश्या जाहिराती येऊ लागल्या आणि बिचारी खिचडी एकटीच खाल्ली जाऊ लागली. मज्जा येत नव्हती, पण काय करणार, भीती मुळे सगळे चित्रच बदलून गेले होते. वडे, भजी, ही सगळे पदार्थ लुप्तच होऊन गेले महाराष्ट्रीयन स्वैपाक घरातून आणि त्याची जागा घेतली कॉर्नफ्लॅक्स, ब्रेड अश्या पाश्चिमात्य पदार्थानी.

पण त्याने काय वाट लागली आहे आपल्या प्रकृतीची हे आपल्या सगळ्यांना माहित आहे. भारतीय आहार हा पौष्टिक आहे, त्यात समतोल असतो सगळ्या घटकांचा हे आता आपल्यालाच पाशात्य देश सांगत आहेत आणि ते आपण मान्य करतोय, काय विरोदाभास आहे पहा!

तर मंडळी, पुढच्या वेळेस खिचडी केलीत तर त्यासोबत पापड, कुरडई आणि मिरच्या तळायला विसरू नका! बाहेर मस्त पाऊस, डिसेंबर ची थंडी आणि घरी तुपावर केलेली गरम गरम खमंग अशी खिचडी! त्यात हव्या त्या भाज्या घाला, मस्त ओलं खोबरं आणि भरपूर कोथिंबीर वरून पाहिजे तर थोडं लिंबू!!! मी खिचडीत गोडा मसाला सुद्धा घालते.

खिचडी, पापड आणि कुरडई! 

तुमच्या काही आठवणी आहेत का?

नक्की सांगा मला! 

Happy birthday Baba!

The bond of fathers and daughters is an exceptional one; someone has said this. But to experience it in reality, you have to either be born as a daughter or become a father to the daughter. You can't fathom the depth and nature of a father-daughter relationship from outside. My father, whom I have always called Baba is a testimony to this, and he has pampered me to the core and taught me many valuable things in my life which I try to follow. Sometimes I am successful; sometimes, I am not.

He was born into a middle-class family. His father, my grandfather, had made a name for himself by his sheer hard work and dedication, and he tried to give the best to his son, my dad in whatever he could. My dad stayed in Pune and studied at the Bhosala Military School. The discipline and orderliness of the school got inculcated in him so much that even today if someone touches his things or moves things from his drawer, he immediately comes to know from the way the other person keeps things. He is a perfectionist when it comes to arranging stuff, packing clothes. Even today, when I go to India, he enthusiastically packs all the things in a bag and tells us to give him more stuff to pack. He can pack 100 kgs in one cargo bag without any hassles. He loves collecting books, pens, and his room is often filled with memories and things from the past. It is often like entering a treasure chest and experiencing a blast from the past.

When I decided to move to Bangalore for my job, he helped me bring stuff from Mumbai and helped me settle in the new house in Bangalore. Every home, I moved to, he was there to help me shift and arrange things. And he did this with love and enthusiasm like a six-year-old child. He never got tired or bored. He was always active and wanted to do something or the other. When I was in Bangalore with Tanay, he came to stay with me for a year. He entirely managed the kitchen and the house while I was working. He took care of Tanay, made him ready for school, took him to school, played with him, took him for a walk outside. He never scolded him or got angry with him. Why not? He was the grandson, after all. He formed a special bond with him, and that's the reason, Tanay considers him at the first position in his list of his favorite people. I am somewhere in the 5th position :-)

My dad had a medical shop in Dombivli West, and it was one of the first medical shops there. People of all ages knew him, and he was always ready to help people. As we stayed just above the medical shop, people have come at 2 am to get medicines in an emergency. My dad has helped many such people without any second thought. He always told me, it is essential to build networks and keep in contact with people. It is a virtue to help people in need. There have been times when he has given medicines for free because people didn't have enough money. Many people have taken advantage of this, and he was duped by many people too. But that didn't stop him from helping people and trusting people. He keeps on doing that even today and everybody knows my dad has a contact in some or the other office or hospital or department in public office and people often approach him for advice and help. 

Today, on his birthday, I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for everything he has done for me so far. Words are not enough, and I will be most happy when he visits me in Germany next year. That will be his right birthday gift, I think. I want to show him this part of the world, which is so different and which he has never seen or experienced. He is nearing his 70s, and that's the reason I want him to come here soon. He will be able to enjoy and see nature and beautiful things here. His grandson intends to take him to the city center in the tram, just two of them so that they can spend the day together and his "aaba" will let him buy anything he wants to.

So here's wishing you a very happy birthday, dear Baba!

You are and shall always be the "Rock" in my life on which I can lean on for support, help, love, and care!

Have a great day ahead and enjoy the cake that I have sent! 

Adios Amigo

The jinxed year 2020 is almost to an end. And Germany is gearing up for the second lockdown. All the non-essential services have stopped, and people are encouraged to be indoors and avoid unnecessary traveling and shopping. I was also in a low mood on Monday just like many others who have no answer to the question, when will the world be back to normal. When will this end? When will this massacre stop? 

The year 2020 dealt one more blow to all of us, the school friends, the 1995 year SSC pass-out batch of Kidland English School in Dombivli when we got the news of the demise of our head boy, who was just old as we all are. In our early 40's! We all were in rude shock, and many of us thought that it is a cruel joke someone has played on us. 

We girls have a WhatsApp group, and we suddenly were talking about this person, who was no more in this world. We never saw him after school. But he was a brilliant and sharp individual. He excelled in sports and was a school topper. He was the captain of the blue house for all the years we were in school. He was mischievous, frank, and ready to help others. There was often rivalry between him and the other topper in the class, and they sometimes got into a brawl which usually ended up in a scolding by the class teacher. He rose to a high position with his sheer dedication, hard work, and commitment. He was in the UK for many years, and he returned to India a few years back to take care of his aging parents. He ran marathons and was a very athletic person. He took good care of his food habits.

I had chatted with him on Facebook after he returned, and he had mentioned how he would start a new chapter back in India after not having peace and love back there. I was happy for him; we all were very proud of him and hoped to meet him sometime when we planned another get-together. But that wasn't supposed to be.

From the time he returned from the UK, he had complaints of stomach ache and digestion problems. He had issues back there, but maybe due to the work pressure and less time, he didn't get time to do a check-up. After returning here, he got married, and he seemed so happy in the pictures with his new wife. They both looked so much in love and made for each other! But destiny had some other plans, and he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he had to undergo chemotherapy on his first wedding anniversary. One of our school friends was in touch with him like he is with many others. And he watched him deteriorate from the time his health started dipping. We can't imagine how his parents and his wife must have coped with all this. Watching our loved ones die little by little in front of our own eyes is impossible even to imagine! His friends were with him 24/7 in his last days, and our school friend told me that he was holding his hand for two days and not leaving him at all. Perhaps he was aware that he wouldn't be able to survive all this. He tried his best to seek help, and if it wasn't Corona, he was even planning to fly to the UK for treatment. He was in great pain and distress, and he was very agitated and couldn't control his temper. He must be feeling helpless. God relieved him of his pain and sent him to a better place. His parents and wife must be inconsolable, but they will have to face the truth and believe in God for his better plans. 

The girl's gang in the school group were sad about the fact that we lost a good human being, an intelligent human being, and a good friend. I am sure the boys felt the same about our batchmate. We all have started taking people for granted. We also take relationships for granted. We don't find time to acknowledge people for their goodness and kindness. We ignore others and their lives. We have lost touch with humility, and we have stopped feeling like humans in this fast-paced life.

We all should value our relationships and be thankful every day for having good health. Taking care of yourself and your loved ones by eating right and healthy food, exercising regularly, not getting into negative self-talk, and doing regular health check-ups would help us all in the long run.

Dear Kidlander, blue house captain and the topper of the batch, 

We all will always remember you as an intelligent and athletic person. We are sorry, we couldn't share your pain and didn't know what all you went through. We will pray for you and may God give strength to your family to cope up with your untimely exit. May you attain peace and be pain-free.