Time Flies

I am left holding on to the memories of the past wishing I could have made them last. I find myself rejoicing from thoughts of how everything used to be.

As a child, my daughter was a delight and now as an adult she is very very special. My daughter was born in Chennai 24 years ago and I can still vividly remember holding her close to my bosom, rocking her gently and looking down at the most beautiful baby. The various phases of her life through childhood, kindergarten, high school, university and work flashes through like a slide show and it all seems to have just happened yesterday. Just goes to show, when you enjoy something, time flies. I think back with fondness and wish I could have spent more time with her.

Now that she is 24 years old, I can already see that she is trying to break her wings and fly away. There is a tug in my heart which seems to hold on to each and every precious moment with her and not want to let her go. I should learn to not let go of the things that helped me learn and grow with her.

I think back with fondness and wish I could have spent more time with her. I want to savour every moment so I could cherish and hold on to the wonderful memories when she leaves our home. I have taken our time together for granted and now desperately trying to hold on to the measly moments that gets thrown my way.

Jaanu, here's a poem dedicated to you -

I was busy through the day;

I didn't take the time to be there

I cleaned the house, I'd iron and cook,

but, when you wanted to go out

Instead I'd say to you,

"I have too much to do".

I'd come to kiss you good night;

And when I came to say good bye in the morning

And you wanted a hug, I wish I didn't say,

"that would wake you up".

Life's much too short;

I should have stayed a minute more.

My little girl grew up so fast,

With no time for me to give her all she wants

I wish I could go back and do,

All the things you asked me to,

I wish, I wish, I wish to be there

Always for you.

Festivals of India - Vishu

Vishu festival is the astrological New Year of people of Kerala. Vishu is celebrated on the first day of the Medam month of Malayalam calendar. Vishu is the harvest festival for welcoming the spring season and it falls on 14^th April.  This day is celebrated as New Year in different parts of India, very significant to their own traditions. Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Baisakhi in Punjab, Rongaali Bihu in Assam & Naba Barsa in Bengal. Although we lived in Tamil Nadu, since Appa & Amma were from Kerala, we celebrated Vishu.

Since Vishu is the starting of the New Year, I believe this day is significant for the coming whole year. The previous night, I remember Amma decorating the Swami room with all the festival arrangements. There was a big mirror placed in the forefront and rice, pulses, vegetables, fruits, flowers, gold ornaments and coins were all strategically placed in front of the mirror on a plate covered with silk cloth. Silver and brass lamps were polished and kept on either side in such a way it imparts a golden yellow hue to the kani-ambience, when lighted the next morning.

On the day of Vishu, Amma would wake up around 4 am to see the Vishukanni  and light the lamps. The lighting of the deepam welcomes God into our lives and is also symbolic of spiritual knowledge – the remover of the darkness of ignorance. Amma would then wake us up one by one making sure we kept our eyes closed so that the Vishukkani was the first thing we saw. I remember hearing P.Leela’s “Kani Kaanum Neram” and “Pularaan ezhara naazhigayil” song in the background. Amma helped me down the stairs carefully, holding my hand, so that I wont trip or bang on the walls. Once she brought me right in front of the arrangements, I was asked to open my eyes and visually take in everything. I was overwhelmed by the brilliance of all the colourful decorations. The subdued yellow splendour of the lamps, the brilliant reflections of the brass and silver lamps, the luster of the gold ornaments, the abundance of the yellow clusters of flowers and the beauty of the yellow clad divine Lord Krishna seen through the mirror is a sight to behold. When one opens the eyes for the first time to look at this glorious image, where is the chance that any thing can go wrong for the rest of the year?

Vishukkaineettam, the distribution of wealth, is another aspect of the festival. It should be given freely and accepted with reverence. I love this part of the festival. We visit friends and relatives and fall at the feet of our elders to do Namaskaram so we can get Vishukkaineettam. As youngsters, since we were not given pocket money on a regular basis at home, we looked forward to occasions like this where we get our own money to spend.

Vishukkani points to a year of abundance - both spiritually and materially. Food, light, money, knowledge - all should fill our life. Taking in the Vishukkani we should pray that the vision remains with us throughout the year. With the auspicious start of the year that has come to us due to the grace of beginning it with a divine vision, and the joy we take from viewing the Vishukkani, we can continue to spread this love, happiness and hope to everyone around us.

No Indian festival is complete without the exotic food variety consumed during each occasion. Vishu is also a day of feasting and Amma usually made all our favourite Kerala dishes like Ada Pradhaman, Avial, Kaalan, etc. and a traditional feast called Sadya is set up.

Ada Pradhaman

Ingredients:

1 packet Ada, 2 cups milk, ¼ cup sugar, 1 can condensed milk, 1tsp crushed cardamom

Method:
Cook the ada in water and then rinse well in cold water to make sure that the flakes don't stick together. Boil the milk with sugar & add the cooked ada to it. Cook until it thickens and add the condensed milk to it. Add cardamom.

Avial

Ingredients:

2 cups vegetables (carrot, beans, potato, cauliflower, peas), ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ cup grated coconut, 4-5 tbsp yoghurt, 2-3 green chillies, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 1tsp coconut oil, Salt to taste

Method:

Boil veggies in water with turmeric powder. Grind the coconut, chillies, & cumin seeds. Add this to the boiled veggies. Add yoghurt and salt to taste. Top with coconut oil.

Kaalan

Ingredients:
½ winter melon - peeled, deseeded & cubed, ½ tsp turmeric powder, ½ cup grated coconut, ½ tsp pepper corns, 2 green chillies, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ cup yoghurt, ½ tsp fenugreek, 1 tsp mustard seeds, curry leaves, salt to taste.

Method:

Boil the melon in water with turmeric powder. Grind together the coconut, peppercorns, green chillies & cumin seeds and mix it with the yoghurt. Drain the melon. In a pan, add the melons, yoghurt mix and salt and heat. Again, do not bring to a boil. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and crush them and add them to the pan. Add tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Festivals of India - Sri Rama Navami

Sri Rama Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama to King Dasaratha and Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya. Rama is the 7th incarnation of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Sri Rama Navami falls on April 12th, this year.

I have fond memories of all the different festivals celebrated in India growing up as a child. I distinctly remember a dance drama troupe from the north coming to the Sai Baba temple in Mylapore to perform the Ram Leela Katha. I was only 8 years old and it was the highlight of all our activities during that week. I lived in a very contained South Indian Brahmin community in Mylapore, and seeing so many North Indians who couldn't even speak Tamil itself was so bizarre and a different experience for me. Each evening, I couldnt wait to get back from school, have some tiffin, wear good clothes and off to watch the dance drama troupe perform. It was beautiful to see in live action, over the course of the week, the entire Ramayana, from the time of Rama's birth to Rama coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile and finally completing it with Rama Pattabishekam. We had no TV in those days and entertainment was a totally different form. Each year on Rama Navami, these wonderful memories come clouding back and never fails to bring a smile and a sense of happiness.

At home, Amma made specific dishes for each occasion or festival. The cooling effects of drinking glasses and glasses of Neer More and Panakam and eating Chundal, is something I always associated with Rama Navami. Recipi can be found below.

Panakam, Neer More & Chundal

PANAKAM (in Sanskrit means sweet drink).

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of water
½ tsp ginger powder or 1tbsp grated fresh ginger
2-3 tbsp grated jaggery
½ tsp crushed peppercorns & 1 crushed cardamom

Preparation:
Dissolve the grated jaggery in water and add fresh chopped ginger or dry ginger powder to it. I prefer fresh ginger to the dry powder as it gives more fresh taste and zing to the drink. Boil the mixture and filter it. Add crushed cardamom and peppercorns to it. Now its ready for Neivedyam.

NEER MORE (or Sambharam, as Appa calls it:)

Ingredients:
Curd - 2 table spoons Drinking water - 2 cups
2 green chillies & Curry leaves finely chopped
A pinch of salt, hing

Preparation:
Beat the curd well adding all ingredients.

PAYATHAM PARUPU CHUNDAL

Ingredients:
1 cup moong dal
2-3 tbsp grated coconut
1-2 chopped green chillies
1tbsp lemon juice (optional)
Salt to taste.

Preparation:
Fresh chopped cilantro to garnish. Preparation The moong dal should be soaked in warm water for about half an hour and drained. To this, add all the other ingredients and mix well. This dal is eaten raw and uncooked.

The Next Gen

Generation Y born between 1980 to 2000 is the new generation now entering the work place. They are smart, adaptable, energetic, skilled and eager to make their mark. They are confident, ambitious and achievement oriented. At the same time, these young people do things differently and enter the world of employment with great expectations and a culture that are so different from the previous generations.


As a parent of two Gen Y young adults, I have had the privilege and challenge of observing the rising generation up close. Understanding their use of language has taken some adjustment. It is "cool" to say yes; if something is "wicked", that's good; if you want to compliment someone, just tell them their clothes are "sick". LMAO in text messaging and other abbreviations are completely foreign to me. Yet, I still have a lot of admiration for this growing generation.

They are better able to get along in a diverse, global world than any generation that has come before. They grew up with friends and neighbours from all over the world speaking many different languages.They believe everyone should have their place at the table regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation - or age.  They don't care about hierarchy and years of experience. They value teamwork and seek the input and affirmation of others. They are loyal, committed and wants to be included and involved.

The new generation of employees is well-educated and technologically savvy. There's a logical reason for this. Gen Y grew up with digital technology - most importantly, the Internet. They believe they can learn whatever they need to know very quickly. They are impatient to start applying what they know and they're not terribly concerned about what they don't know. They also understand that how things get done will constantly change. They don't care how things "were" done, but are able to anticipate and adjust to how things "will be" done. They have high expectations of employers, seek out new challenges and are not afraid to question authority. They want meaningful work and a solid learning curve.

Generation Y is poised to make a big impact on the world. For one thing, there are a lot of them. They have already transformed global entertainment (You Tube, iTunes, video games). and communication (cell phones, text messaging). Armed with BlackBerrys, laptops, cellphones and other gadgets, Gen Y stays plugged in.

Business and how work gets done is next. We need to be prepared for the task of engaging, inspiring and productively channeling the energies of the Next Gen.