A Lazy Daisy Deepavali
Posted by Lakshmi
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Monday, 31 October 2011
For the first time in as many years as I can remember, I spent the first part of the day watching TV and I couldn't believe it myself !! It was a special Deepavali programme on ASTRO -an hour long Oddisi performance by the famous Ramli Ibrahim and his troupe of dancers. That was at about 7.30am in the morning when I should have been having my traditional oil bath and preparing to go to the temple ! Mesmerising and utterly utterly captivating..... I was so in awe of his fluidity of movement, his nuances, his precise and exacting step work, his grace and stamina, his perfect timing .... .... Gosh, I'm still not over him yet ! (Sigh ) If only I could dance like him and dance with him !! I couldn't take my eyes off and was transfixed with my eyes bulging out of my sockets..... ... By Jove! it was that beautiful an experience for me, to put it mildly.
I was feeling guilty of " wasting time " as there were so many things to do but yet couldn't resist the lure of Ramli Ibrahim's masterpieces of dance ( there I go again !) And so, against my better judgment and with 2 manipulative kids who i ) 'advised' me to enjoy myself for once without prancing around the house bugging them and ii ) told me that this was a one off ASTRO special and no repeats , I sat through the 1 hour show and was thoroughly and truly in a world of my own.
Now, that was a smashing great start for me on Deepavali
Later after fetching my youngest sister, Poonam, from the train station, we all went to offer our prayers at the temple and had a leisurely breakfast/brunch/lunch all rolled together, sort of a "three-in-one" kinda of thing. My sister had us in stitches with her tales of office happenings and I was glad of her presence. That was a 'first' too. Normally it would have been friends pouring in from the word GO at 9am and me bustling frantically making thosai after thosai after thosai and hollering at my kids to refill the chutney, the chicken curry, the cakes, cookies, traditional sweetmeats etc., etc. No wonder my kids were smiling all day . I didn't realise I had made them all stressed out all these years until my daughter told me what a difference it was this year. " For once we enjoyed ourselves" they said ! Didn't know that I was such a dragon ... dear me !
The torrential rain made its appearance in the afternoon and gave us all a respite . Watching the rain pouring down as I sat down in the cosy wing chair with my feet on the footstool and a cup of ginger tea clasped in my hands, a feeling of gratefulness of the blessings I have enveloped me - a roof over my head, food on the table, 2 lovely children and a husband who loves and provides for us. A contented and warm feeling came over me. My thoughts then strayed to the families in the low cost apartments/houses I had visited with my kids - those who were struggling to make a living, whose houses leaked and were often flooded by the same torrential rain that I was enjoying watching ; the countless children of struggling single parents who had nothing to celebrate about; the children stranded by bickering and abusive parents; the abandoned families which I have seen on the streets.............. and the corners of my eyes became blurred and a small lump starting rising in my throat. " Is this what we call 'karma ' or is this because of man's greed ? I couldn't figure it out. I finished my tea silently and offered a prayer of gratitude to GOD for what I have and a prayer for the those who didn't.
My sisters-in-law, spouses and their family members came for dinner at our home. Since I'm the only Hindu in the family and they are all Catholics, I make it a point to invite them for Deepavali dinner every year. It was a warm and happy occasion with lots of food, jokes and laughter and family/holiday discussions. For aperitifs, I served Bailey's Irish Cream for my sisters-in-law and the men, Scotch . As was usual, I served hot thosai and iddly with chicken masala, mango chutney, coriander salsa, fried chicken, my " once in a year mutton varruval " ( dry and spicy mutton ) which I really cook only once in a year ( it's too time-consuming and tedious ) and cucumber and pineapple yohurt raita to balance the spiciness.
Desert was traditional cookies like murruku, achi murruku, pineapple tarts, a sugee cake and a traditional a rich " whiskeyed " fruit cake ( there was no brandy so I sploshed my husband's whiskey in the fruit mix when he was not around ). Hmm, I'm just realising that I didn't make the frienzed variety of cookies, cakes and pies that I usually do when I'm on the baking spree........ Geez, ! Now I understand ... this was part of the stress build up with my kids !
( Just to digress and elaborate a little, the hallmark of a good fruit cake is to have the chopped fruit mix - raisins, sultanas, cherries, apricots, dried figs, nuts,) soaked/macerated in a cup or so of brandy for a minimum of 2 weeks and up to a month before it is added to the cake mixture. The aroma of the fruit mix will fill the whole house and everyone will know that the festive season has started . The slowly baked cake is then covered in greaseproof paper and foil and kept in an airtight container to mature for a minimum of a month and up to 3 or 4 months. This brings out the taste and rich flavour of the cake and you only need a small slice of it to enjoy with a good cup of coffee/tea . This is how a traditional fruit cake is done.
Those who are prohibited from using alcohol can substitute with fresh orange juice but it cannot keep well and has to be consumed within a week. )
Everything went well, I guess because they left only at about midnight with containers of my special mutton dish. ( They had already informed me a week earlier to cook extra and 'ta pau ' { pack } for them ) After clearing all the dishes, wine glasses, plates, cutlery and what not and putting away the leftovers in tupperwares for consumption the next day (!) , I slumped into bed around 1 am.
Not dead tired as I was used to but pleasantly tired this time. I think I'll do the same next year !
Happy reading and painting
Lakshmi
