It's that time of the year again! Such hustle and bustle, such activity and beautiful smells wafting about seducing the senses. A few burns and cuts are absolutely nothing. You brush them away and bury yourself ankle deep in your dough/batter/mixture again. These are wonderful times.
Side by side with Mother Dearest, two stoves, having a chat over boiling pots of oil, laughing and sharing cooking tips, gossip and frivolous banter, frying kokis in competition with the other and laughing at each other's blunders, these are memories in the making. Precious moments to cherish for a lifetime. When the time is right, I want to make such memories with my daughter too. These are intimate memories, more precious than what one could buy. When the flesh, blood and the bones are gone a long, long time, these memories are what will remain.
Skin smells of spices - cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg blooms upon warm skin. Even after a nice cold bath on this unbearably hot and humid day, I raise my hands to my face and breathe in deep. The spices linger, middle notes, top notes, bright bold and ending sweet, serene and mysterious. What bliss! I could linger in this moment forever, but alas, forever in such moments are so awfully short.
Beautiful days. Even the sun takes a break from its hegemony every once in a while. Still it is far too hot for comfort. Between iced teas, frozen yogurt and ice cream, life goes on.
Posted the recipe for kevum today. Do have a look! There will be more on its way from tomorrow onwards. Special Avrudu treats.
Life isn't perfect but one cannot deny that there are perfect moments. I don't attach much importance to superstitions of these festivals, but I do believe that we must celebrate these and celebrate these in essence. This is heritage, this is tradition. Without these, we will be shells. Just empty shells.
Call me old fashioned, but I am a wee bit old school like that. I want to celebrate all traditions, I want to revel in my heritage. I want to get married upon a poruwa. I want to wear all seven necklaces, the sun and the moon in my hair and the traditional grandiose attire of Sri Lankan Kandyan royalty. I want to be escorted by a royal procession, booming royal drums and somersaulting royal Kandyan dancers. I want to boil a pot of milk on New Year, I want to eat, light the fires and start work for the New Year at the auspicious time. These things are special. It makes living worth the while.
Exhausted yet happy. Pumped up would be the word actually. There is much more to be done tomorrow - more cooking, more frying, more baking. Hello more blisters! Ah but they will be happy little blisters indeed!
Await more recipes, essentially Sri Lankan, wonderfully unique.
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