Fresh Starts

 

After being away from this blog for a whole year, it is time to bring it up to speed. 2025 was quite transformational as we switched cities.... again! 

Only this time it was a return to the roots. To known haunts and familiar places. Except that we didn't realise how much our city had changed in the intervening years...

Every new beginning comes with its challenges.

Can you spot the rising sun in the smoke-filled sky?

Being in the most polluted, and the most densely populated city, are certainly tribulations not to be taken lightly. Both the human congestion and the man-made smog have been overwhelming to deal with.

Add to that the extremes of temperature, and one has quite a cocktail on hand.

However, a new year is meant to instill hope, and that is what floats our boat in 2026! Looking forward to a happening year that connects us to old friends and new experiences.

Upholding Culinary Traditions

 

Growing up, my mother always made something special for the Republic Day holiday. Most often it would be the winter staple koraishutir kochuri (a fried flatbread with flavoured peas stuffing). This would be accompanied by aloor dom (a tangy preparation using boiled potatoes), a favourite in most Bengali households. 

This was a tradition that Ma carried forward from her growing-up years in Shimla. Back then Republic Day had even more significance since the previous generation had lived through the freedom struggle.

After she left, I kept craving the koraishutir kochuri through the winters but could not gather the confidence to try making them myself. The meal required some work, time and patience, and all were in short supply in the intervening years.

Finally this year, a whole seven years after she went away, my craving got the better of me, and I resolved to try making koraishutir kochuri. Making the peas stuffing is fairly easy. Filling up the dough balls with the right amount, and then rolling them out perfectly is the tough part. The first attempt went by better than expected and so, on Republic Day I finally prepared a second batch of my favourite meal of winters. Along with aloor dom, of course. And some halwa for dessert.

Thus upholding a much-loved culinary tradition started by my amazing mother. 😍 Needless to say, the family loved it. 

Catching Up

 

Can't believe four months went by without me even thinking about this blog, leave alone posting. Goes to show just how mentally occupied I was with a thousand other things, right from a much-needed family vacation to a wedding in the extended clan.

But as I scroll through the photos on my phone, I realise there are things I'd like to document for posterity and share with the world. So here goes... a month-wise update seems appropriate.

August

Was a momentous month as the first-born started college.

September

After a long hiatus, I painted bottles again for a local fair. Zero sales notwithstanding, it felt good to reconnect with the old art form again.

October

Was the month of festivals, right from Durga Puja to Diwali. The youngest wore a saree for the first time, and loads of bonhomie and good food marked the various celebrations.

November

As we celebrated two decades of a life spent together, the much-awaited family vacay finally happened.

December

A wedding and get-togethers meant lots of occasions to go out and soak up some fun in the sun. But the real pleasure lay in a flower-filled home full of fragrances from festive year-end baking.

At the end of the day, it is the small joys that give the most happiness! 😊

Backyard Bonfires

 

Earlier this month, as the Sun-worshipping harvest festivals of Lohri and Makar Sankranti or 'Poush Parbon' arrived, the hubby decided to light a bonfire in the backyard as we had a large pile of twigs lying around after our autumn tree chopping. And guess what, his impromptu plan turned this into one of the most memorable celebrations ever.

We first started attending the community Lohri bonfire since the time our kids arrived, just to make them experience it firsthand. Now with restrictions imposed by an oft-raging pandemic, doing our own bonfire made sense.  

A celebration of the frosty cold weather involving sun worship

The festival days were cold and grey, with low maximum temperature and the sun barely visible through the dense layer of fog. Windows remained frosted for a large part of the day. As we shivered through the day, we prepared the token specialities that were associated, just so the kids got a feel of the festival.

Plateful of patishapta with kheer fillings

Growing up as a kid in a typical Bengali household, I never much cared for Sankranti because it involved eating certain delicacies I wasn't particularly fond of, and I'd see my mother slave for hours in the kitchen after a tiring workday, and that didn't really seem worthwhile to me. However, time and age have wisened me enough to find workarounds or easier alternatives, thus ensuring that everyone can enjoy.

Lohri/Sankranti bonfire

So on Lohri and Sankranti evenings, as our bonfire crackled, we had a chance to get together as a family and add our special twist to the traditional celebration. We were novices at keeping the fire going, and used every combustible material on hand - right from oil and camphor, to newspapers and dried leaves from the mango tree. 

The second day we even baked veggies in the wood fire. Had roasted potatoes with sour cream for breakfast the next morning, along with roasted tomato/eggplant and garlic bruschetta.

And all these things made it a 'Poush Parbon' worth remembering!

The First Winter

After one of the worst summers (that you can read about here), winter came early this year and was particularly harsh, with grey sunless days lasting well over 2 weeks. The newspapers say that December 2019 was the coldest since 1971.... that is way before I was born!

Well, here are a few of our favourite things that helped us get by this cold and gloomy season. Flowers brightened up our home, of course...

As did some sumptuous food. Making our own plum cake for the new year only added to our joy.

As did roasting a whole bird for my man's special day. Thankfully, our culinary experiments turned out well.

Despite rain and fog overwhelming our days, we enjoyed the jewels of nature.... like the string of pearls on nasturtium leaves.

And some pretty evenings.

Now looking forward to warmer days ahead as Spring should be round the corner.

The First Winter Blossoms

Yes, they are out.... the first winter blossoms of the season, just in time for Christmas. :)

It is amazing how these pretty Nasturtium blooms gladden my heart every time they bloom. Their bright, cheery faces are nothing less than food for the soul.

Here is wishing all my readers a merry, merry x-mas and a fabulous, exciting new year.

Another New Year Already?!!

It has been such a roller-coaster for us in 2009, that I'm almost surprised at another new year catching up with us already! :)

2009 was a big year for us, with a lot of new experiences, a lot of firsts. And the new home was just a starting point.... This year our daughter started 'big school', our son learnt to stay away from his most favourite person- grandma- as we moved into a nuclear family set up, my husband who used to hate the very idea of driving in chaotic city traffic actually learnt driving well enough to drive himself to work (I still pinch myself sometimes!). Well, the list seems endless but I won't bore you with the details.

I'll remember the year most of all for making me connect to something that I waited a long, long time to do. Yes, this was the year I started painting again. It was like a breath of fresh air, a new lease of life to be able to find my way around hitherto unexplored terrain. You can see my artwork on my other blog, Creative Rumblings.

Here's hoping the mad rollercoaster ride continues in 2010 as well, as I bring you more interesting vignettes from our home.

And wishing all my readers a fantastic 2010 where all your dreams come true, and you get the courage and confidence to dream even bigger!

Happy New Year...

Here's wishing all my readers a happy, peaceful, and safe 2009!

Happy New Year should also spell "Happy New Home" for me and my family. So I will be away from my blogs for the next few months as I will be moving houses.

Hope to be back with you all, dear readers and visitors, in the middle of 2009 when I share fresh snippets from my experiences of turning the new house into a real home.

Leaving you with a make-believe image of our living room that I created using the very interesting Arrange A Room tool on Better Homes and Gardens.