What Fruits and Vegetables Teach Us

 Maybe we can learn from 

- a Pumpkin how to be well-rounded.

- a Brinjal (eggplant), that Purple can drive away the blues

- a Custard Apple (Seetaphal), that you can be sweet in spite of having Pock marks

- a Bitter Gourd on how to survive and thrive by combining with an onion to drive away your bitterness

- an Orange on how to be sweet and tangy at the same time, just like Life.

Maybe you can add a few more.. 

Cooking is Fun

 Note I said cooking, not cleaning up.. that is not as much fun. But cooking gives you scope to experiment, and be creative. Of course, being spoilt by having Mom and Maids do most cooking, I never properly learnt it until I went to live abroad. Learnt by watching other Indian students and hearing from people- those were pre-Youtube days.

Some of my creations

Now I can fend for myself. Had learnt buying vegetables from my trips with Dad to the Andhra markets in childhood. So I can get veggies, can cook a decent rice, dal and chicken/veg meal. Also, eggs of two or three kinds. Dosa if I have the batter. Poha, and a couple of things more.

In short, I can survive. With Youtube, it should be far simpler.

Organic Food Mela

Went to an organic food mela (gathering) that happens in Indore every Sunday, thanks to a friend in the know. For anyone interested, it is just off the bypass, close to Vidyasagar college. Good time to go there is around 9.30 am, though it is on for a couple of hours after that too.

Organic vegetables are available, from growers who travel some distance to be there. There are also packaged organic products such as spices and grains, honey, etc..in an indoor display. A band also played a range of songs while we were there, some good and some not so. But the ambience is nice, and you can always have some breakfast (poha, thalipeeth, bhajiya) and tea, or cane juice. And some home-made goodies. Or exotic juices. In fact, you could go there just for the food, though the range is limited.

I think the fruits range sold can be improved to include some more seasonal ones (we got some Ber, which were nice), but otherwise a nice place to chill out for an hour or so.

Feel Good Stuff

What makes us feel good? Try some of these for size.

A road that was full of pot-holes being made up like Hema Malini's cheeks (to use a Lalooism). Had this feeling recently on the Rau-Pithampur road in front of the institute. It was languishing in a lunar crater syndrome for a while.

The sight of vegetables in a market, neatly arranged.

The sight of a shady tree on a summer afternoon.

The sound of rain, and the smell.

A cup of tea on the boil.

A long-time-no-see meeting with a friend.

A beach. A lake. A river. Particularly when it's deep blue water.

A poori fluffing up in the kadhai.

I guess I am hungry!