Serene Sunday - Skype, Sun, Snow and Salad

*This post is part of The Chennai Bloggers Club's Serene Sunday series initiated to keep the spirit of blogging alive and challenging.*

My Sundays mostly would start of 4:55 AM to jump off the bed only to have my 5 AM alarm going off looooouud when I am in the middle of some active morning business in the washroom. I had been part of some physically active social life getting off for my early morning bicycle ride with my fellow buddies all the way to Mahabs, Kalpakkam or Pondy. Will be back home around noon for a cold shower (Do you even get to have cold shower at noon in Chennai??)  and then blow off some Sunday special like veg pulav or bisibele bath from my mom's kitchen to refill all the lost calories. The late evening is mostly filled with some beach bajji or Express Avenue window shopping or a Sathyam movie followed by Onion Rava dosa and Kasi halwa in ID!!.

As I dream of all that rolled under my blanket back here in Detroit, my phone goes off ringing as my sister calls from India at 9 AM on my Sunday morning today. Took some time off for the regular duties and logged on for some Skype video chatting with my sister and my entertaining niece, Shrutheka. With little talking to my sister, played some hide seek in the webcam with the little one as I still struggle to sort her character who is a sweet devil in action and an angel when still.

As the hunger starts mooting at around 11 AM, made some dosa and emptied the last spoon of vathakuzhambu that I got from India (rolling tears..). Spent some time window shopping on Amazon as the day gets better with some bright Sun out there. The weather.com still suggested cold temperature (-6 C) that I got myself out spending over 10 mins to dress up with 3 layers above the waist and 3 layers below.

Just that the day was sunny, but still had chill winds and uncleared pedestrians' pathway that had turned icy. Was thinking of a short run, but chose to walk crushing the snow instead of skidding on the ice. Picked some groceries from the Indian stores and a veggie delite salad from Subway walking back home thinking of what would I write here today. A late afternoon salad lunch and a short nap with Illayaraja music, I am awake again to write the post of my Serene Sunday.

Good morning India. Miss my Chennai Sunday.

The Economy 'Glass'

This is my third overseas travel in 6 years and to the same place again. But what is so unique is about this one is that I am traveling without a return ticket. This time, I am off to Detroit, MI, USA for a new position offered by our organization's US wing, LMS North America. Having lived a very social life outdoors in Chennai recent years, it was an opportunity to shake my butt off the lazy routine and get some serious learning and little savings. While I lift my life from a happy life to comfortable life, there are lot of others I encountered in the travel going from struggle to self-containment or conflict to peace.

As you can see, the Economy class travel is a transparent glass with not much concealing as the First class or Business class. I had over 24 hours to reach my destination and filled with lot of entertainment out through the glass. While I jumped a long queue of 20+ passengers waiting to check-in, just because I checked-in already online, I had other factors to slow me down. While I filled in those immigration forms, started helping a barber flying to Muscat all the way from Kambam. Soon landed up helping fill forms for half a dozen of them flying in Emirates Airlines to Sharjah or else where through. All of them helpers, drivers, carpenters and masons from Trichy, Orathanadu, Cuddalore, etc. That is what I defined as struggle to self-containment.

While I cherished the 'extra leg room' upgrade offered for free on the fly to Hong Kong with a Indian student on the route to Los Angeles who slept for most of the time, I did not miss the young mother with an infant on her lap for 90% of the fly time and even managed to eat holding the heavy tray of food in one hand and the baby still sleeping on her elbow and lap. No cribbing. No smiling. Just a neutral face all the way.

Got an extra 30 mins on what was supposed to be a 50 mins layover in Hong Kong. Huh.. a 14 hour fly is still pending! Happy to have the adjacent seat empty and a comfortable aisle seat. My first conversation was to help a totally confused young lad in the other aisle seat when he was handed over the Immigration and customs declaration forms. The boy was 21 from Bangladesh, traveling with his mom to US and could not even express what Visa he was traveling on. Initially degraded down on my English to help him understand what those forms are meant for and he was so ignorant that he said that his sister in Chicago would come and fill the forms for him after reaching the destination. Later he got to know that I am from India and we agreed to communicate in Hindi that we both agreed to crusade by the end of the travel. The younger chatterbox was downplaying Bangladesh all his talks and told a lot about his family with brothers settled in UK, sister settled in US and his dad who took treatment in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai 10 years ago and passed away later in Dhaka. Only while reading his Passport to fill the immigration forms, I realized that he was traveling in an immigrant Visa and his old mom already had a Green card. This young lad wants to get settled in US, far away from Bangladesh where their family had been through catastrophes. This is what I defined as conflict to peace. 

The long 4 hours layover in Chicago turned out to be a 5.5 hours layover. A whole lot of respects to the mothers who travel all alone with hyperactive kids managing to feed them, convince them and walk/roll them from one gate to another every time it is changed. The little I can do was to help pull their extra cabin baggage from one gate to another.

After celebrating Christmas across 4 cities, here I am in Detroit finally!!

'ழ' - தமிழரின் நாப்பழக்கம்

"சித்திரமும் கைப்பழக்கம், செந்தமிழும் நாப்பழக்கம்."

'ழ' கபே: சுவரும்  சுற்றமும் சித்திரமாய் தமிழ் மணக்க, சுண்டலும் சிக்குக்காபியுமாக நாவிலும் தமிழ் மணமே. 

போரூர் 'ழ' கபே: நண்பர்களின் 'ழ'-கரத்தை பிழை திருத்தி நா-பிரண்டு போக, நாக்கு வறண்டு விட்டது என தமிழ் உணவு பரிமாறல் தொடங்கியது. முதல் தட்டிலேயே கல்லூரி காலத்தில் அந்த டீக்கடையில் அகவுன்ட் வைத்து ருசித்தப் பதார்த்தங்களும், பள்ளிப்பருவத்தில் எட்டணாவுக்கு பாட்டி கையில் வாங்கிய பண்டங்களும் அடுக்கடுக்காய் அணிவகுத்தன.

பொறி உருண்டை, கடலை மிட்டாய், அரிசி மிட்டாய், பல்லி மிட்டாய், எள்ளு உருண்டை, ரஸ்க், பிஸ்கட் வகைகள் என ஒரு புறம விரல் இனிக்க; வாழைப்பூ வடை, மிளகாய் பஜ்ஜி என சுவை சுரப்பிகளின் தேவைகள் சமன் செய்யப்பட்டது. கூடவே நொறுக்க கடலையும் பட்டாணியும்.

நாவுக்கும் விரல்களுக்கும் சிறு ஒய்வு தேவை எழ, ஆங்க்ரி பேர்ட்ஸிலும், எக்ஸ் பாக்சிலும் தொலைந்து போன சிந்தனைகளுக்கு ஆறுதலாக பல்லாங்குழி, ஆடு-புலி ஆட்டம், பரமபதம், தாயம் - என கிராமத்து விடுமுறைகளை நினைவு கூறிய சில விளையாட்டுகளை கை பார்த்தோம்.

• இசைஞானியின் முடிவில்லா - திகட்டா இசை..
• கரகாட்டக்காரன் "சொப்பனசுந்தரி", வைகைப்புயல் வடிவேலுவின் "கைய புடிச்சு எழுத்தியா?" - போன்ற மறக்க முடியாத முத்துக்களை நினைவு கோறும் கலை அமைப்பு..
• "ஜலபுல ஜன்க்ஸ்", "டிக்கிலோனா", "ஸ்பூன் லிங்க்ஸ்" என பெயரிட்ட குளிர்பானங்கள்..

- இவை வேறு எந்த நவீன "Coffee Shop"-களிலும் கிடைக்காத தமிழ் சினிமா ரசிகர்குளுக்கான தாயின் மடி சுகம்.

 பேச்சுக்கும், சிரிப்புக்கும் இடையே, அடை - வெல்லம், இனிப்பு/கார அவல், அதிரசத்தில் வாழைப்பழமும் தேனும் சேர்ந்த இனிப்பு என பெயர் மறந்து போன பல பலகாரங்கள் அணிவகுத்தன.

தமிழ்நாட்டு உணவுப்பண்டங்களும் நொறுக்குத்தீனிகளும் தேநீர் கடைகளையும், தட்டுக்கடைகளையும் தாண்டி சுகாதாரணமான முறையில் பரிமாற வேண்டும், இளைய தலைமுறைக்கு கொண்டு சேர்க்கவேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணத்துடன் இந்த உணவகத்தை தொடங்கியதாக கூறினார் அதன் நிறுவனர்களின் ஒருவரான அரசி.

பேச்சும் உணவும் சேர்ந்து தாகம் தொடங்க, நீண்ட இடைவெளிக்குபிறகு "நன்னாரி சர்பத்". நாக்கை பல், உதடு என கிடைத்த இடைவெளியில் எல்லாம் விட்டு சுவைத்துத் திளைத்தேன். ரோஸ் மில்க், பனங்கற்கண்டு பால், சுக்குக் காபி, கருப்பட்டி காபி, என பானங்களின் அம்சங்களிலும், நகர வாழ்க்கையினின்று வெகுதூரம் பயணித்த உணர்வு.

குளிர்ச்சியில் கிளர்ச்சியாக குல்பி!!

பாரம்பரிய மற்றும் சிறுநகர உணவுகளோடு, காட்டி ரோல், சுண்டல் சாண்ட்விச், மாகி நூடில்ஸ், சீஸ் பால்ஸ் போன்ற நவீன மற்றும் கலப்பு செய்யப்பட உணவுகளும் கிடைக்கின்றன.

'ழ' - நீண்ட நாட்களுக்குப் பிறகு, ஒரு கிராமுத்து விடுமுறை அனுபவித்த பரவசம்.

Aaha!! - r

2 weeks due since I had to write down the feelings of my tongue then on that day.

Got to visit Aahar, the new veggie dining option added to the authentic veg crowd of Mylapore along with the fellow folks of Chennai Food Guide.

The long list of menu varies from South Indian to North Indian and overseas to the Indo-chinese options. The dinner started with a rich spicy Mulligatawny Soup and then a platter of salads and starters running through all varieties of the cuisine.

 

 Noodles salad

 

Paneer Tikka

Paruppu vada

 Podi Idly

 While every one of them stood good by taste a couple of items stood longer on my taste buds. Noodle salad and Podi Idly. True that the restaurant had a special recipe for the 'Podi' used and the one of the signature dishes they claimed, the 'Podi Dosa' is a treat when you crave for hot spices.

 

Podi Dosa

The North Indian  name of the restaurant has no disappointment across the Bread Basket or the accompanies Rajma Dhaal, Paneer Shahi Korma or Mili Juli Subji.

 

Many of the long tongued friends across the table felt that the Veg. Biriyani was as good as a well made Chicken Biriyani void of the chicken. I loved what ever it was as is with no other Biriyani in my mind to compare.

Nishanth and couple of others who had been already there kept on talking about the 'ghee floating' carrot halwa they had during their previous visit. We tried out Carrot halwa and Gulab Jamoon - warm to to warm up the dessert course and cooled down the evening with Basunthi.

The quality of service and challenging pricing in the menu card will soon put Aahar as a place of choice over just being another option for veggie food lovers of South Chennai. 

The place also offers South Indian meals for lunch and open from 7 AM to 11 AM. The banquet hall is already busy with a lot of parties and functions and the biggest plus of the building is full exclusive space for parking in the ground floor.

Location: Just opposite to Sathya furniture and adjacent to Scientific publishers on the road from Luz to Royapettah.

Not to miss: Podi Dosa, Podi Idly, Veg Biriyani and Carrot halwa.