Manu's Medley

When we are away from home, almost every meal we make brings back the memories of home. Festivals are no less. That too when we are from that wonderful generation who has witnessed and experienced festivals at their best, undoubtedly our hearts get full with those fond memories.  Deepavali is celebrated with much pomp and show and is considered the biggest festival in Tamil Nadu. Undoubtedly, festivals bring in a different vibe and of course new dress(es), good food and family gatherings. But Deepavali is much bigger than this because of the brightness it brings along with it, yeah the fireworks undoubtedly. When I was a kid, we start prepping for the festival for almost a month before - thorough cleaning of the house, shopping for clothes and crackers and the most interesting aspect for me was preparing special sweets and savories. Mom and I used to make at least half a dozen varieties of sweets and snacks. The constants used to be muruku and mixture.  A week before the festi...

Ugadi, also known as Samvatsaraadhi is celebrated as New Year by people of various states in India like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur etc. It is also regarded as the spring festival, which falls in the Hindu lunisolar calendar month named Chaitra. So usually, Ugadi falls in the late March or the early April as per the Gregorian calendar. Ugadi is observed by oil baths, new dresses, rangolis, ugadi pachadi, sweets, a lavish festive spread, special prayers at temples and panchanga sravanam. At our home, Ugadi is celebrated with lot of festive cheer, with all of those listed above. Times since I remember, on the day of Ugadi, apart from rangolis, we decorate our home with toran made out of mango leaves, symbolizing prosperity. Mango leaves is known to keep out the negative energy. My father/ brother head out and bring fresh raw mangoes and neem flowers required to prepare the festive special Ugadi pachadi, while Mom and me work on the festival delicacies. ...

White Christmas..... sounds so dreamy. Doesn't it?  This term was alien to me until I heard for the first time when I was in the States. It was the month of December and snowing quite a bit. Everyone started speculating it could be a white Christmas that year, while many wished silently it shouldn't be coz of an upcoming project go-live on the New Year eve.                                    So what exactly is this White Christmas? If we wake up to a blanket of snow or snow fall on the day of Christmas, it is considered White Christmas. Since ages, the very thought of Christmas brings the picture of Santa riding on his sleigh over snowy mountains carrying loads of gifts. Though I grew up in a city, which could never get a speckle of snow, Christmas always made me think of snow. Many songs and novels associating Christmas with snow, like the classic by Charles Dickens, Christmas ...

             To all those who celebrate, wish you all a very happy Bhogi and Sankranthi. May the Sun God bless you with abundant prosperity.  Makara Sankranthi is a harvest festival celebrated by Hindus across India. It is celebrated on the day on which Sun transitions into Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path. This day marks the beginning of the spring season. Predominantly, Makara Sankranthi falls on 14th January every year and occasionally on 15th January.  This festival is celebrated with different names and rituals in different parts of the country. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana it is known as Sankranthi or Makara Sankranthi; Tamil Nadu as Pongal; Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Goa and West Bengal as Makara Sankranthi; Maghi in Punjab; Bihu in Assam etc. As it is a harvest festival, farmers worship the Sun God, as a way of saying "Thanks" for blessing them with good harvest and prosperity. Bonfires, rangoli, kite fl...

We attended a Halloween party, organized by Schneider Haus National Historic Site along with our friends, in their neighborhood. Entry was based on pre-booking, with timed slots and limited to only those who are fully vaccinated. They decorated the place with haunted forest, cemetery, ghosts, witches and vampirinas. You can find few photographs from the venue, here. It was held outdoors and due to heavy rain, the place was muddy and slippery. But it didn't stop the kids from enjoying the evening. They put up their best show in spooky costumes and played trick-or-treat.  Just to give a little background, Halloween is celebrated by many countries on 31st October of every year. It is the time of the year dedicated to remember all those dead. Initially, Halloween was celebrated in Ireland and Scotland. As people started migrating, it was brought to the US in 19th century and to other countries in 20th and 21st centuries. When it originated, Halloween's rituals were influenced by an...

It was 6am and the sky was pitch dark outside. I woke up to another lazy and gloomy day. For those who are wondering why, it is currently fall season here at Canada, followed by winter. So the upcoming 4 to 5 months will be so, except for a very few sunny days in between. If it had been India, by now I will be in the kitchen helping out mom for Durga Pooja!! Since it is Vijayadasami at Canada today (though we are nine and half hrs behind India, almost all the festivals arrived a day in advance at Canada this year) per astro-calendar, I pushed myself out of the bedroom and got ready.  Initial plan was to make a small portion of sweet for prasadam and pav bhaji for lunch (as it is quick to make). Another reason is the guilt of eating lot of sweets and cakes over the last couple of months.  Before entering the kitchen, I texted my friends at Canada and US. Surprisingly everyone responded the same - "Thank you. But it is tmrw". We exchanged couple of texts, mostly me explaining t...