Family

Apr 11 2013

Tasted, Smelled & Heard

Tell us about a sensation — a taste, a smell, a piece of music — that transports you back to childhood.

A taste – The taste of shawarmas or good khubus, not the crappy ones you usually get in Cochin, reminds me of my childhood in Kuwait. Shawarmas are one of my favourite foods to have and I just love it when it’d done just right. Our family weekend dinners back in Kuwait would be my parents, my sister & I joining my uncle (my mother’s brother), my aunt and later my cousin for a large dinner of khubus, hummus, shawarmas and falafels (my aunt is a vegetarian). And ofcourse pickles soaked in vinegar and olives. Big family fun and big family food. Ofcourse a movie or some good tv shows would follow.

A smell – You’ve got me here. I can’t think of a specific smell or smells that remind me of my childhood. Maybe smell of certain food? The smell of the olive oil – since that’s what we used a lot of in Kuwait as opposed to coconut oil which is predominant here in Kerala – in particular is linked to my childhood. For some reason the smell of glue reminds me of doing Arts & Craft projects in the school. The smell of the ocean reminds me of the beach we used to go to in Kuwait during my childhood.

A piece of music – It’s more theme music of tv shows that I watched & loved as a kid that brings me back to that time. The A Team, Remington Steele, Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica (this one in particular is highly nostalgic), V, Gimme A Break & Misfits of Science.

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By Roshan • Family, Nostalgia, Personal • 0

Feb 13 2013

Pizza With A Cousin

I hadn’t had pizza since late December and I was hungry for some. Yesterday it so happened that I forgot to pack a lunch for work and ended up eating just a few biscuits in the afternoon. So I was hungry come 5pm and decided to meet up with my cousin Sujith for some pizza at the Dominos outlet in Palarivattom.

Well, I couldn’t pick up my lunch and actually Sujith & I had planned to meet up for pizza well in advance – we planned it the past Sunday and agreed to make it on Tuesday. Me not having had lunch was just a coincidence! But yes that did leave me famished by 5pm and so I quickly left the office and made my way to Palarivattom junction where Sujith would be waiting for me.

So we met at a half hour past 5 and went into the outlet and perused through the menu. We ordered a Zesty chicken and a chicken pizza with golden corn something. And two 600 mls cokes. It was a hot day, the weather turning a bi mean these past few days and we were happy to sip our cokes but not happy that there were a few flies in the place. A couple of them were bothering us!

So our boxes arrived and we tucked into our medium pies. we also shared a slice each of the other’s pizza and I must say that I preferred his better to mine. Anyway, we were happy to munch on our slices and chatted for a while.

This is his pizza!

And this was my pizza!

By Roshan • Family, Food, Photos • 3

Dec 30 2012

Evening With Sarath & Sujith

I was working today. I left early and went to Cafe Coffee Day in Pallimukku to wait for my cousins Sujith & Sarath. It took me an hour to get from Padamugal to Pallimukku. I went in to CCD and ordered my coffee and in 10 minutes Sarath & Sujith joined me. They (brothers) are my second cousins and although I have been spending many hours with Sujith online and in person for drinks, food and discussion, I had never met Sarath – his older brother – except for online and a couple of times on the phone.

We drank out coffees as we sat in CCD for 90 minutes and chatted about movies in general. Later we walked over to Golden Dragon for some beer and good food – different beef, prawn & chicken dishes with fried rice. We have long conversations and finally left there at around 9:45 pm. It was a really great evening and I hope we have more soon.

By Roshan • Drinking, Family, Food • 0

Dec 27 2012

Which Food Transports You To Your Childhood?

It’s more than just one type of food for me that reminds me of my childhood. It’s not very complex food because as a kid you don’t usually like complex stuff. I’m just gonna list out the various food I loved as a kid and which when I eat now, or even see them, instantly reminds me of the good times I had as a kid.

The first and foremost has got to be the Arabian staple shawarma (not surprising as I was born and raised in Kuwait till I was 11). As a kid I usually had them as rolls, or sandwiches if you please, rolled inside the pita bread along with cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, usually with hummus as dressing or mayonnaise. In Kuwait I believe we had the choice of either beef, lamb or marinated chicken but here in Kerala it’s mostly either beef or chicken. I remember many evenings when we as a family would buy and eat shawarma for dinner. My uncle, aunt and later their daughter Shalini, my cousin, also lived in Kuwait and many weekends were spent together and we sit together in front of the tv and enjoy a big meal of shawarma, khubz and hummus. Hummus is ofcourse the very popular Middle eastern dip or spread made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic. My aunt being a veggie used to not have shawarma but enjoyed falfals – a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans- with khubz and hummus. Whenever I have shawarma now (I can’t seem to find a place that will serve the other stuff but shawarma is very popular here in Kerala as well) I always think back to the old days.

Kentucky fried chicken is another reminder of the days gone by. We used to order the buckets for family dinners during the weekends in Kuwait and we still do as a family now. Although it’s either KFC or an Indian owned alternative like Chick King or Chicken Chicago in India. Why we just had some Chick King last night although I opted for just a veggie burger and fried since I was a bit ill. That with Coke or Pepsi and French fries. Come to think of it Pepsi is a great reminder of my days as a kid. 7up and Pepsi and there was a even a Lemon Pepsi with it’s cool cartoon fish add. I also loved Hungry Bunny hamburgers although I only had that for the last year that we lived in Kuwait. It was a frequent meal for me after I came back from school. Half boiled eggs, cheese sandwiches, tuna sandwiches (oh my sister and I loved the canned tuna we used to buy a lot), fish fingers (that we used to buy frozen) and ofcourse – McDonald’s the very epitome of globalization and corporate capitalism!

Funny enough I don’t remember having pizza in my childhood days even though it’s my favourite now. My obsession with pizza came much later by the time I was 15-16. I’d love to hear what were your favourites during your childhood days and which trigger nostaglic memories for your whenever you eat them now.

By Roshan • Family, Food, Nostalgia, Personal • 2

Oct 18 2012

Meet Barfi The Pug

My sister and her family have expanded their numbers from 5 to 6 with the new addition of a 30 day old pug puppy who they have named Barfi. After work this evening I went over to her place to visit my new…..nephew! He’s a lively little monster who seemed to be attracted to my socks. Here he is searching for my foot.

It’s my niece Geethanjali, who is now 6 years old, who named him Barfi after some stupid Hindi movie that she saw in the theatres. The pup is kinda hers more than my nephews. She kept playing with him and cradling him like a baby and hugging him. The pup meanwhile is just so in love with her.

By Roshan • Family, Photos • 3

Sep 30 2012

September 30th Cousins Reunion Dinner

Once again my cousins and I met for some drinks and some good food. It was a very fun affair and a lot of jokes and fun with memories created. Again Lotus Club rooftop area was the venue.

By Roshan • Family, Food, Photos • 2

Aug 26 2012

Family Getogether 26th Aug 2012

We had a nice family get together this evening. All my cousins in the city were able to join with the exception of one or two who fell sick after a tourist visit to Munnar.

By Roshan • Family, Photos • 0

Jul 20 2012

I Call This Cheating & Lying

If you haven’t read this post & then this one, I’d suggest you go and read them first and then come back and read on here.

This happened very recently. A first cousin of mine who is about to turn 39 later on this year has been on the marriage market for quite a few years. By that I mean that he & his family have been searching for a suitable bride for him, as per the traditional and usual way for Hindu people. And that means, looking into your horoscope (or horrorscope as yet another cousin of mine calls it) and family status and if those match then the family of the two meet and then the prospective bride & groom meet. If they feel like they like each other then the families of the two will then proceed with making arrangements for the marriage, seek the “services” of an astrologer and find a suitable date from him (after he looks into his stuff and declares a date & time as being auspicious for the wedding) and then the bride’s family goes about booking a hall and making arrangements for the wedding. And that’s exactly the way that my cousin’s wedding was to be done. Only thing is because of the dependence on matching horoscopes he has been finding it difficult in finding a suitable match.

So while I hate this arranged style of marriage and haven’t found a suitable mate my way either, I’m still single. His case is different. Anyways, it had seemed that his folks had found a suitable match and with a woman, around 34 I think, who works in Bangalore. The families met and my cousin and the woman met and everything seemed to be going right. My uncle, this cousin’s dad, also informed all his family members who were happy to hear about it. A few days later however on not hearing back from the bride-to-be’s family, my cousin’s family contacted them. Turns out that they weren’t really sure and that they might not actually going to go ahead with the wedding of their daughter to my cousin! Fuck what is wrong here? So we were all informed that, hold your horses – looks like we started celebrated too soon and there wasn’t going to be a wedding. Fast forward a couple of weeks later the family contacted my cousin’s father and said that they had decided that my cousin was indeed the best match for their daughter and could they go ahead and decide on a date for the wedding? Well – my cousin was happy and so were his parents and they said yes. So start planning. Once again we were all informed and we were happy for my cousin.

2 day, just 2 short days later – the wedding plans were off!! You know why? Cause that stupid good for nothing bitch who had told her parents that she was ok to marry my cousin, emailed my cousin and told him that she wanted him to back out of the wedding as she had an affair with some guy and she wanted to marry that guy instead!!! But ofcourse she doesn’t have the cojones to speak about this to her parents – she wants my cousin to say that he is not interested in her!!!! So she can weasel out of the arranged marriage! Of all the fucking nerve. This fucking cunt came to my cousin’s house, spent time with her mother and father pretending to “bond” with my cousin and his mother, hugged my aunt when it was time to leave and called her “mother” and then she does this! Fuck you bitch! I hope you never get married as you don’t deserve to be happy. Bitch aren’t you ashamed of yourself? You are 34 and not 20 or 18! Grow up!

By Roshan • Cochin, Family, India, Kerala • 1

Apr 24 2012

Share A Favorite Summer Memory

I remember one summer holidays which I spent in Coimbatore with my cousins Manoj, Sandhya & Navin and their parents. They lived in Coimbatore for a few years between 1986 and 1991. The summer I was with them must have been 1989 and that was the also around the time that Manoj & I discovered Guns n’Roses. We were both huge hard rock fans; I still am but I am not so sure about him now as I really don’t know what all stuff he listens to now. I spent around 4 weeks or so with them in their rented place in Coimbatore. Which was a 3 bedroom plus den kinda apartment house. Manoj & I slept on mattresses in the living room as we watched movies till all hours of the night.

I have fond memories of those days. The four of us kids would spend the day yakking our heads off probably driving their mom nuts. She was a saint, always looking for goodies to cook up for us while we either played games or watched tapes of recorded music videos that they got from their friends in the UK (my cousins were all born in the UK and raised there with the exception of a few years that they lived in India). So we sang in harmony (badly at that) with the songs that we loved and must have competed for air guitar solos and rock god poses. The only reprieve we gave their mom was when we went to a local library nearby – I distinctly remember reading a few Astrix comics that year and some novels. But during the afternoons and evenings post dinner it was movies.

My three cousins introduced me to the brilliance of the comedy duo Abbott & Costello and I love them for that. When I recently watched some of the movies towards the end of last year I remembered those days spent in that apartment living room, laughing our asses off, rolling on the sofas with laughter filling the air. I also remembered some of the silly kid stuff – Manoj & Sandhya fighting for the nth time and he insulting her with “You are so dumb, you don’t know what 2+2 = is?” and silly girl (she was 12 at the time) haughtily replying “I know, I know…..5!” (no Sandhya) and all four of us laughing at her dumb mistake! Good times, I will always hold those memories close to my heart as long as I have life in me.

By Roshan • Family, Nostalgia • 2

Apr 8 2012

Homegrown Fruits & Vegetables

Well, in my folks home, which we have since sold, we used to have mangoes, gooseberry, bananas, breadfruit, coconuts & jackfruits. That’s right mango trees for both the ripe ones and the ‘kannimanga’ type, gooseberry trees, kadachaka (breadfruit) coconut trees – 3 large ones under which my dog used to fertilize with her droppings – and banana trees as well.

The banana leafs also had a purpose ofcourse – when we had sadhyas for Onam or any other special days, we’d cut the leafs, wash them in water and serve the sadhya on them (rice & various curries). Coconuts were for us as well as for selling; mom would use what was needed and sell the extra ones. The same goes for the jackfruit; to tell you the truth we rarely had much of the jackfruit and would instead sell them for a good price. After the first few years my family got tired of jackfruit and we rarely ate the fruit and only used it sparingly in some curries. The one who enjoyed it the most was my late dog Shawny – she had apparently attacked an over ripened jackfruit when she was 2 or 3 years old and seemed to like the taste. She would often eat some of the jackfruit that would fall from the tree when they became ripe and then she wouldn’t be hungry when I’d go to give her her normal food. Funny thing is is how she would leave the big seeds all piled up in a corner and also burp & fart a lot after eating jackfruit (oh it is terrible for gas) and look quite embarrassed about it as well!

My favourites towards my late teens were the breadfruit bajji or fritters which my mother used to make. I’d telling you that there is no better evening snack than some hot home made breadfruit bajji with coffee. Hmmm, hmm. With some ketchup – which you dip the bajjis in and not in the coffee!

By Roshan • Family, Food, Kerala, Nostalgia • 0

Mar 31 2012

Saturday Chat

I went for a long day out with my cousin Sujith. We hadn’t seen each other for around 6 months so it was high time we had a get together for some good food, drinks and a long chat/discussion. We arranged to meet today at around 11:15 at Fort Cafe for some coffee. I reached first and waited as he made it through a bad traffic block and we then went into the cafe. We both ordered Butterscotch coffees, he has a mozzarella sandwich while I had a beef burger.

We sat there and chatted for almost 2 hours and then left to go get my new pair of glasses from Lens n’ Frames. I wanted to try a different style of frame but decided finally to go for the one that I am used to. I think it’s still a good pair.

The beef burger wasn’t as good as I remember. It had been a good 7 to 8 months since I had a burger from here but I remember it as being as juice & delicious. This one was dry as dust and the bun was crumbling badly. I think they either have new personnel in the kitchen or their standards have fallen badly. Sujith’s sandwich looked smaller than the ones we have had before too.

Can’t complain about the coffees, they were very good and refreshing. We enjoyed them and Sujith had another one too as he was really disappointed in his sandwich. Much later we went to have a few vodkas (with ice & 7up) and some late late lunch & continuing our very long talk. By the time we were done it was 5:30 pm ~ good golly Miss Molly, where did the time go? It was fun.

By Roshan • Drinking, Family, Food • 2

Mar 23 2012

Dad Falls & Gets A Cut

I was at the bank today afternoon just before 1pm and then went to get a haircut. I was almost back home when I got a call from my mother. Since I was on my way to the apartment, I cut the call and pressed the doorbell as soon as I reached home. Then mom dropped the news to me – my dad had fallen down while walking on his way home for lunch from his office and hit his head. As there was a cut & bleeding, an auto driver who my dad’s company occasionally calls for his service and some guy who worked in an office nearby, took my dad to the hospital nearby. Once he reached the hospital he asked the driver to come and get me.

I went with the auto driver to the hospital where my dad was in the Casualty ward and I had to wait for 30 minutes before I could see him. There was a nasty gash on his forehead, not too big but deep and he had to get 3 stitches on it. Also he had a cut just below his nose as well. What had happened was that on his way home he was looking for a van to carry equipment and books for an event that the non-profit organization he works for is going to conduct tomorrow. So although he walks on that same road that’s just in front of the building we live in everyday he failed to be careful while walking on the big hole in the road that was hastily & badly covered up with some rocks, granite & tar by the stupid fucking road & transports workers as a fix-up. He hit his shoe against a rock that protruded out and fell. At the hospital I also called my sister and she came to see him as well. We paid for his medicines and stitched and brought him back home where he had a light lunch talked to my sister for a bit before she went back home and then took a long nap.

He is rested and feels better. He has to take medicines and rest more and in 2 days has to go back for changing the dressing. Man was that a scare. I just hope he is more careful when he walks.

By Roshan • Family • 4

Mar 13 2012

Family Vacations From My Childhood

After my parents, my sister & I moved from Kuwait back to India and settled down in our house in Thrikkakara, we went from being just the 4 to a huge extended family. Mostly on my mother’s side – a plethora of uncles, aunts and cousins plus my grandmother. Every vacation time we would get together, usually at my grandmother’s huge house in Mattancherry. Every year school kids get a 2 week vacation during Onam (in September) and Christmas and then ofcourse a 2 month summer vacation once your school year ends. During the first couple of years, 1987-88, we’ve gone on a family trips to different places.

We’d hire a couple of mini-buses, called tempo travelers seating 14 people, and if needed a car or two (to fit all the folks in) and go on these long road trips and see all the places. Riding in the mini-buses which come equipped with a tv and vcr so you can watch a couple of movies during the long hours on the road. Or play songs on the stereo system and sing along – I pity any of my uncles & aunts who would have the misfortune of sitting in the vehicle with a bunch of us at our loudest. We’d stop at places on the way for drinks, tea and food and then get back in to enjoy the trip once again. I remember us going to Palghat, Coimbatore, Mysore, Madurai and I think Mangalore & Bangalore. I can’t remember much as it has been all these years but I do have some photos in a couple of albums, which I will have to hunt and find.

Staying in hotels, 4 to 5 kids in a room, fighting over the pillows, playing board games or quiz contests till late in the night. Those were awesome times. At that age we didn’t care of the sights & sounds in the cities we went to but I do remember a memorable visit to an art museum.

By Roshan • Family, Nostalgia • 2

Mar 9 2012

Old School Memory – The Sandwich Boy

I recently joined a Facebook group for alumni of my old school, Hill Valley High School, and have been enjoying posting and reading posts/comments from my old friends, classmates, seniors & juniors from school. I studied in that school from the age of 11 to 15, grades 6th to 10th. After that it was off to a college for my 11th & 12th, known as pre-degree, which was the common education system back then. Anyways, all the waxing eloquent about the good ole days some of us shared during our school days brought me a lot of memories from that time. Someone also went to the school a few days ago and took a few photo to share with us. It has changed a whole lot.

Anyways, one of the memories I had today made me smile a lot. 3 of my cousins have also studied at the same school. Arun who is 3 years older to me, Sandhya who is a year younger and her brother Navin who is 5 years younger to me. It was when I was in the 10th grade that Sandhya & Navin joined Hill Valley after their family moved from Coimbatore back to Cochin and this was the summer of 1991. I was glad for the company and you know it’s kinda nice to have your younger relatives in the same school when you are the top gun aka in the senior most class and a school leader (one of four). And yes it was fun as I was/am very close to them. And I bring you a memory involving Navin majorly and with a supporting role by Sandhya.

Navin, in class 5 at the time, suffers from chronic asthma, although I think in his mid to late 20s he had it much under control. Since I also have bronchitic asthma, if he had a problem while in school, I would be called to help him out, give him his medicine and take care of him until his dad or mom came to pick him up. One such day while I was in class, the school clerk came to our class asking for me as Navin had fallen ill and had a breathing problem, so I was needed. Just behind her was Sandhya and one of her friends waiting for me. I swung into action after taking permission from my teacher and went to the teacher’s lounge room where Navin was resting on a chair. I went up to him, made him take off his shoes and loosen his belt, made him remove his uniform tie and unbutton the top two buttons of his uniform shirt so he breathe easier and relax his breathing. I asked him where his medicines were kept and he replied that it was in his lunch box. So I took his school bag, took out his lunch box and opened it and stopped!

Now, I’m bending on one knee near Navin who is sitting on a chair (or was it a wooden bench, I can’t remember), right behind me are Sandhya & her friend. When I opened his lunch box we could all see what was it it – stacked row after row of sandwiches. So many of them and each had a different filling – some were cheese, some butter, some ketchp etc etc. I was astonished as to how many there were – it was like the counter of a sandwich shop!! And I started laughing, Navin started laughing, Sandhya & her friend started laughing. To anyone else who saw us, it would have been weird “Why are the laughing out so loud when that boy is sick?”

That was a hilarious for us and something special that I remember about Navin and Sandhya and will always keep that memory with me!

By Roshan • Family, Nostalgia • 1

Dec 12 2011

Cooking In My Teens – Nostalgia Unbound

I know I have mentioned this previously but not blogged about the whole thing – back when I was a teenager, somewhere between the ages of 15-17 if I remember correctly, my cousin Manoj and I made some pizzas for the rest of our cousins. Yes we two teens actually cooked a few pizzas for the rest of the bunch.

What we had were pizza bread base that we used to get here in India at some supermarkets, more like khuboos, not too thick and about the size of a small pizza base. The other ingredients were grated cheese that we also got from the menu, tomato ketchup from a bottle (since we didn’t have any real tomato paste), chopped up tomatoes & onions, mushrooms that his mom gave us, green peppers and some kind of shredded meat which his mom had already cooked (I’m not so sure about this). Ok, now “cooked” is a big stretch of the imagination! It was more like Manoj & I spread the tomato sauce on the bread base, sprinkled the cheese that we shredded and then placed all the toppings that we had chopped up along with the meat. And we’d heat it in the microwave oven.

They were a great hit and our cousins hungrily & gratefully ate up all the pizzas. I think each person had atleast 2 and some possibly 3 each. The mushrooms were delicious and so were the rest of the pizzas. Unfortunately – we ran out of the stuff by the time everyone else had eaten and the two of us didn’t get any and we were starving. So we ended up with just the bread bases and eggs that we cooked and ate them up. Still it was a fun experience that I remember so fondly from my teenage years.

By Roshan • Family, Food, Nostalgia • 2

Nov 10 2011

Summer 1999 With Cousins

I was watching an interview on Youtube and for some reason something the interviewee was talking about reminded me about a few things from years ago, involving my cousins Sree Harshan & Aswin aka Sree & Awa. I spent a lot of time with these two cousins of mine back in 1997-99, when I was 21-23 and they were 6-8 & 10-12 respectively. Although they were much younger than me I loved spending time with those two nutcases, watching tv and playing games and general goofing off and teasing the girl cousins. I haven’t seen Aswin in ages and I last spent some time with Sree in 2008 when my grandmother passed away.

Anways, I remember that the two of them spent a few days in my parents home in Thrikkakara around early 1999 I think. I was not working or studying at that time having just completed a 2 year computer diploma course and was awaiting the results of the exams. So while they were at my house, we spent almost all of our time playing video games on my old computer and watching cartoons. Well, although I still enjoyed cartoons, I would go listen to rock records in my room while they watched tv. I remember I was listening to Meallica’s Reload a lot during that time. Anways, I just remember enjoying my time with them playing a bunch of games like some F1 & Indy car race games, some football game demo that only allowed you to play USA vs Russia (doh!), some funny cartoony race game called Wacky Wheels and lots & lots of DOOM!

Well I played Doom; they were forbidden to play Doom by their older sisters and hence I played it while they cheered me on. They liked it that way but would get scared when some monster came rushing! LOL, and we would play it between 9pm and 1am and when I needed a break to go take a leak, they would be too scared and ask me “take us with you”! Hahaha, also another funny incident took place. The three of us slept on this big bed in my room – Aswin at one end, Sree in the middle and me on the other end, crank up the air conditioner and huddled under a large thick blanket. One morning, I woke up and stretched and felt my left foot’s big toe go into something wet and hear a “plop” sound. I lifted the blanket and – LOL – it was Aswin’s mouth. In the night he had woken up perhaps to go to the loo and came back to sleep the opposite way, with his foot near Sree’s & my feet. We had a big laugh over that one!

By Roshan • Family, Nostalgia • 0

Aug 22 2011

Family Dinners

Family dinners for me is of 3 types – 1) when my sister & I were younger, 2) when my sister comes home for dinner with her husband & kids 3) when we have a big family dinner with lots of relatives and 4) the majority of dinners are when I am just home with my folks.

When we were young my sister & I had dinner with our parents it was usually around 7:30pm – 8:30pm and we’d be parked in front on the tv in our small apartment in Kuwait, plates balanced on a coffee table situated in the center of the living room. We watched all the great tv shows that they would air during those years – the A-Team, Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica, Moonlighting, Remingston Steel, magic shows like from magicians like David Copperfield or Paul Daniels etc etc. Or even wrestling! We stayed back on the sofas with our plates until the show that we were watching ended. Those were some fun times. When we moved back to India, from 1987 till 1991 we didn’t get cable tv (hadn’t been launched in India yet) so if not for some sports event on the national channels, we’d watch some songs or stuff. At times we’d have our dinner at the big dining table at one end of the living/dining room of our house.

When my sister comes over now, along with her kids and at times my brother-in-law, they all crowd in front of the tv. Usually it will be a movie, which is fit for the kids to watch as well or some award show. I am usually in my room and at my laptop and will only come out for the actual meal and will eat it quickly and then go back. It’s funny to see how fussy my niece is about food, cause her mother was one real fussy eater until her 20s!! Like mom, like daughter!

When we have family get togethers it’s usually a noisy, unfocussed & fun affair. Drinks will be part of it and there’s a lot of jokes being bandied about and private conversations between 2 or 3 people going on in separate corners. Food is plentiful and plates being passed around and usually a small kid will come crying in and then it’s a group effort to pacify it, with only the parent being genuine; the others are just vague attempts with some humour thrown in. The percentage of humour increases if there is alcohol consumed and increases even more as the number of drinks increase. Towards the end is the usual goodbyes and promises of meeting real soon and the hurrying into vehicles.

98% of the time it’s just me, my mom & dad in our little apartment. Mom calls for dinner, I come in, sit at my usual seat at the table. If there is a football match on or if I want to watch a movie, I’m usually on the sofa near the tv and my folks are at the dining table. We eat usually in silence unless either one of us has some news to pass on. I finish my dinner, keep my plate in the sink, wash my hands & mouth and then head on back to the tv or my room.

By Roshan • Family • 0

Jul 30 2011

Chatting With My Cousin

I’ve been chatting with my cousin Raakhee a bit these days. Chatting with her reminds me of the old days when she was here; she’s been living in the US for the past 13 years with her husband and they have 3 kids now. I’ve seen her 3 or 4 times since then, whenever they are able to come down for a visit. She & I have been reminiscing about the old days, which brings a big smile to my face. Like

When I was around 16-17 (she is 2 years older) she noticing & commenting on something between my sister & I; Raakhee used to define “irony” as my sister Sherine, going to the bottom of the stairs and yelling at the top of her voice and straining her lungs “Roshan! Stop SHOUTING!!!!” My voice was no way as loud as my sister bellowing at me.
I remember having a nightmare when I was around 18 – me going into this dark & damp grey house. Straight outta a horror/slasher movie. I was creeped out and then looking around found my sister & Raakhee sitting at a table, sharpening huge butcher knives with sinister looks on their faces and calling me “Wanna play?”
The two of them also wanted to make dinner one evening when my folks were out. I said ok and they proceeded to concoct some sticky ash grey matter with lumps that stuck to the sides of the cooking pot – it was supposed to be Chinese Chilli Chicken. And next to that was a smaller bowl filled with, what looked to me like dried up shampoo or conditioner that had been rinsed – that was supposed to be a souffle!!!! In no way did either of the dishes look remotely like, I dunno, food!! The two of them looked exhausted and messy and well, we ended up eating it.
When we used to get up early in the mornings for studying for the exams, I’d make her coffee (she loved my strong, black coffee) and she’d drink it, claim it to be great ….and then go back to sleep right away!
And my favourite one – one night some cousins & I were sitting in my room in my house and Raakhee decided to tell us a ghost story when the power went off. So sitting with a torch light, she proceeded to tell us a story at as the suspense build and I was engrossed in the tale, she flashed the torch light on her face and screamed out loud – scaring the living crap outta me!

I miss her, not her cooking though!!! Oh and Raakhee was the one responsible for naming my dog Shawny, suggesting it as at that time we used to watch Baywatch and blondie babe Erika Eliniak’s character was named “Shawny” or “Shawnee” in that series. That will forever be the most endearing fact about her for me.