Why Me?

The Void and on filling it ! How do you define emptiness? The opposite of fullness? Not quite…   I’d rather say it’s stillness, a dangerous silence, blankness and having no hold – that’s my definition of emptiness. Today my heart is filled with emptiness. The death of a friend shook me and made me spill my grief here. The heaviest heart would be the one that enters a home after burying a family member, more so if it’s a spouse that has just left to heaven. Nothing can express the amount of pain and the depth of that sorrow that just engulfs one when they return home, only to find themselves more alone than ever before. The near and dear leave to return to their lives, children not sure of what’s in store for them next and all that’s left is the empty heart and life of the spouse. From the departed’s shoes, as you enter the home, to their belongings that lie scattered all over the home, each pulling one string of the heart! What to do to get over this moment, each second ...

Cook books, Coffee Spills, Oil Splatters, Scribbled Notes and Life! Here I am with this picture which beautifully captures the sum total of my unending love for cooking. I think I was 12 when I watched my first cooking show on DD, guess it was called Daawat. It was love at first sight, as to how simple ingredients came together to make something that looks and tastes delicious. My sisters and I s tarted to change our play to include a mic, tiny vessals, spoons and bowls of ingredients and thereby creating pretend cookery shows. We took turns to be the cook and the anchor. Mom used to chuckle at our creativity, little did she know that we were taking it seriously. Slowly we secretly got into the kitchen, when mom and dad stepped out. We started off with dosa, maaladu and some safe play recipes like the humble but deeply satisfying potato fry (which would be edible however badly cooked!) The spilt milk, flour, oil stains on the kitchen floor often gave us up and made mom go mad, but sh...