Kannamani said go green ,nayaki says cheese !

Its gonna be weekend very soon.”Can we plan the menu for the next week and the weeks ahead my dear?”….an anxious Kannamani asked the dutiful daughter-in-law.”Oh ! Yes Ma ! as you please,”replied an ever beaming and contended Vijaya.


It was Friday evening and Vijaya was lighting the lamp at the altar.The mother-in-law went about like a littered kitten from one room to another.It was also the practice to light incense and spread Dhoop fumes in all the corners……a practice that Nayaki follows till date.

“It lends an air of divine ambience to the home,and I like to do it.As you light the lamp, keep the entrance door open for a while and allow the Goddesses of Health.Wealth and Prosperity to enter”…she added.Nayaki was a small child and her mother’s words were very inspiring.

Kannamani in the meantime was back to her usual grumbling ways.”Remember we have just 10 days left for the Mahalaya Amavasya.” The Mahalaya paksha was being observed in the Iyer Home.Thr menu for fifteen days had been meticulously chalked out in the first week of the previous month.”No onions,no garlic,no drumsticks,no cabbage,none of the English veggies save the carrots”….Kannamani would mumble often and Nayaki would be highly amused..
:drowning
Come weekends and the toiling hands would take turns in rolling the grinding stones to churn out a steady supply of idli/dosa batter for the coming week.The daily lunch menu during the paksha boasted of all that was uninteresting and unpalatable…”Oh !Patti !Can we please do without the banana stems and the gourds?”…Nayaki would beg and plead.Her pleas went unheeded though and the seemingly merciless grandma had the final say every day…….that she would cajole and console a weepy child with bars of Cadbury’s chocolates is a secret that Nayaki would rather keep to herself.

Decades later...........It is the 21st century and the year 2012.September has been left behind and it is Mahalaya Paksha once again.A mod mami is back to old business.She plans and executes with perfection.Gourds,plantains and pumpkins are served for lunch.The senior citizens are a happy lot and the texting teenagers are irksome.With an aim to balance the old and the new,Pattu orders veggies online and pizzas are delivered on call.Breakfasts are a blend of TamBrahm and Continental veg……Aval ppuma,Rava uppuma,Pongal for the conservatives ........Noodles,Pastas and Nutella spread sandwiches for the youngsters.:hide:

"Its time to put on my thinking cap and gear up for the weeks ahead," mumbles Nayaki.Just another week left for the Navrathri celebrations…..The rooms have to be cleared,the lofts have to be emptied,the slotted angles to be put in perfect alignment for the dolls to climb,themes to be thought of,invitations to be sent out,gifts to be planned…….and the daily Sundal……….with three generations to please!!!!!!…..Nayaki groans!!!!!…her voice a lil inaudible ,a lil hoarse or has it begun to sound like Kannamani’s ?:rant

 

Dear friend,
Moments of life are so precious and when I recap, I feel like copying and pasting too. The present I thank ,and it becomes a wonderful gift