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Diwali-sweet Or Sour

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, Oct 27, 2017.

  1. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    The cooking videos on youtube always fascinated me, bursting with tutorials of colorful lipsmacking snacks and its preparation. But I had to put a stop to my visual treats just there. My desire, either to purchase delicacies or make them at home, was not feasible, as all three inmates of our house were senior citizens with severe health issues, starting from dementia, dental problems, sugar, and cholesterol. Our conversations revolved around medicines, cures, bowel movements, doctors and hospitals.

    My house cleaner brought me back from the “patient” world to the world of reality by giving me an ultimatum for her continuing with her work in the house – 2 months salary as bonus plus home made sweets and a bag of fireworks for her kids. Her reason for home made sweets was that last year all the snacks presented by her respective employers, resulted in her family having a severe bout of food poisoning and so she would have none of the shop stuff. If I was not interested in her deal, she was ready to quit and join my next-door neighbor, a wealthy lady ready to welcome our honest cleaner, with open arms, higher salary, and tempting goodies. This was outright blackmail for me but I had no other means of escape!

    I had another emotional black mailer in my home, who was none other but my octogenarian bed-ridden mom. She demanded an entire box of ghee-laden KRISHNA sweets Mysore pa, threatened to complain about my lack of care if I refused. Sometimes, yielding to her temptations, I would hand over an entire box of sweets, that would lead to a surge in her sugar levels. A stay in the the hospital the very next day, where she got all the undivided attention and pampering, right from the nurse to the doctor, would rev up her spirits and would be back to normal. So to avoid such a situation, my daily shopping list included a big packet of milk Gova and packaged fruit juices which fulfilled her sugar cravings. For my mom, every day was Diwali to be celebrated with sweets.

    Savouries were not my cup of tea, what with my expensive dental treatments, causing a hole in my shrinking bank balance. I had to think twice before crunching on any hard savory, since I was not sure whether I was going to end up with a cracked snack or my tooth.. The dentist, an old timer refused to offer dentures, preferring RCT instead, leaving me with a bunch of sensitive old teeth, which were not ready for either RCT or sweets.

    Thus I was not in touch for a long time with making sweets or savories. But this time the cleaner had challenged me with her demand forcing me to come out of my comfort zone.

    With just a week ahead of Diwali, I was furtively searching the Internet for recipes of sweets and savouries, which would be less expensive and less labour oriented, due to the disappearance of my trustworthy long time cook book of Meenakshi, which had perfect measurements and tutorials of making any dish. With an unfriendly and tiny kitchen which lacked even a basic exhaust fan, I was terrified at the very thought of having got to stand in front of the gas stove for hours. Kaju Katli, Badam halwa, pistachio rolls and milk based sweets were less labour intensive, but high on the cost factor and low on the shelf life. So finally I settled for the seven cup cake and Thenkuzhal, which had just a few ingredients and would be stomach friendly with a longer shelf life.

    After toiling hard for two days in the kitchen, I could heave a sigh of relief when my efforts turned fruitful yielding a substantial quantity of sweet and a karam, the taste of which were satisfactory. I couldn’t but stop remembering my grandma and my MIL, both of them who slogged hard for days together, during Diwali time, making endless rounds of Badusha, Athirasam and other back breaking sweets, unmindful of the smoky kitchen and other inconveniences.

    A few days ahead of Diwali, I presented the cleaner with a gift hamper consisting of 2 new SS containers filled up with sweet and karam, an envelope with few crisp 500 rs notes and a bagful of Fireworks. Impatiently when she opened the SS container with sweet, the strong aroma of ghee not only filled the room, but also lightened up her face, the glow of happiness and appreciation, which could not match any of the fiery sparklers. Her tears of gratitude, not only cheered me but also wiped out all the beads of perspiration shed in the kitchen along with my troubling anxiety. Before I could bid goodbye to her I could hear my mom shouting at me, demanding her second course of Sooji halwa!
     
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  2. sweetsmiley

    sweetsmiley Platinum IL'ite

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  3. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

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    Ah! that was a lovely read on your pre diwali efforts. No doubt the gratitude for your efforts, made up for all the toil involved. Over the years, our quota of goodies have come down drastically - however we continue to make a minimum quantity of home made sweets and khara , as there can be no Diwali without it.
     
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  4. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    The sweet part is the sweets and tips but the sour part is you gave her fireworks in this era of high pollution. That is not even sweet but bitter.
     
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  5. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Thank you sweetsmiley!

    Agatha83
     
  6. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear joylokhi,

    Ageing brings along with it, a whole set of health problems including digestion. Though I toiled hard in making the sweets, I just tasted one or two pieces! More than gratitude, I can be assured of my house help’s service for at least one more year!

    Agatha83
     
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  7. sangeethakripa

    sangeethakripa Gold IL'ite

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    That was a lovely post. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it..

    [ Impatiently when she opened the SS container with sweet, the strong aroma of ghee not only filled the room, but also lightened up her face, the glow of happiness and appreciation, which could not match any of the fiery sparklers. Her tears of gratitude, not only cheered me but also wiped out all the beads of perspiration shed in the kitchen ![/QUOTE]

    Truly a Diwali Dhamaka..
     
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  8. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Balajee,

    In spite of scores of Sms messages on the mobile, ads in the newspapers, people hardly bothered about pollution. My rich and filthy educated neighbors were having a blast, the entire day of Diwali, bursting 1000wallahs non stop. Do you think I can educate my illiterate house help about the ill effects of pollution and thus loose her precious services. Finding a honest house help is like finding a needle in the haystack!
    Agatha83
     
  9. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Truly a Diwali Dhamaka..[/QUOTE]



    Dear sangeethakripa,
    Glad you could enjoy the finer nuances of my Diwali Dhamaka!

    Agatha83
     
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  10. PushpavalliSrinivasan

    PushpavalliSrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Agatha,
    It is very sweet of you fulfilling your house cleaner's wish.
    Our deepavali was bitter because we lost one of our close relative and the tenth day ceremony was on deepavali day.
    PS
     

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