8:00 am : You hear the significant bhut bhut bhud….of the Yezdi whizzing past the by-lanes, onto the road and off to steel plant. That is my father going off to office with a two-course breakfast and tea. The office is 8 miles from home.
12:00 am : The by-lane is again coherent with the Yezdi one swift turn and the beast goes vroom vroom at the backdoor. That is my father back for lunch and his super quick power nap.
12:30 am : The simple lunch spread is devoured and he goes off to sleep and there is pin drop silence at home until we the hooligans arrive from our bonded labour. (Psst…thats school)
1:15 am : My father is up ! I have never seen a more accurate biological clock which never misses its timelines. He dresses up again in his full attire for office and is back on his dream machine.
6:00 am: We are back from school long back at about 2 o clock. We raided and drop a boulder on the silence of the house. The numerous pleas to sleep have fallen on deaf ears. We have been shoved out of the house to play at the playground. You have the most awesome time playing things which are unheard of in the current world context. Ting…our ears get alert, almost trained by now that Yezdi is back and so we need to go back. No before you make any assumptions it’s not fear but rather the arrival of the man of the house signifies some delicious snack brought in or some delicious snack prepared by the woman of the house. 😉
Yes to surmise, my dad worked nine to six as a subject matter expert on coke ovens and blast furnace which serves as a core functionality of any steel company. This is no less glorified job than a software engineer, chartered accountant or a businessman. But the highlight of the times-cape is the ability to lead a no rush and complacent life. We are all hamsters-on-the-wheel today. The mundane of everyday life is broken by Facebook and whatsapp but just imagine being able to take a power nap without the prying eyes of any administration is classified bliss. I am sure the working pattern mentioned above will not be conducive to any corporate giant in today’s cut throats competition world where every second is measured on the profit margin scale. For that I can only leave a heavy sigh…..
Well food’s character has never changed so far. I am praying that it should remain the same. The satisfaction to any hungry soul whether rich or poor is the same. Going back to those dusky evenings drenched by occasional rains would inspire mum to prepare butertala as a snack for papa, which I throughly enjoyed. This was boiled bengal gram served with a tempering of onions,curry leaves,green chilli and a dash of lemon. It was outright blissful. I have done the similar thing today with mixed beans called the warm bean salad to add an extra punch of nutrition. Hope you enjoy it as its pouring cats and dogs in london now.
- 1 cup mixed beans, soaked overnight (Green Beans, Red Kidney Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Borlotti Beans, bengal gram, Haricot Beans, Chickpeas)
- 1 cucumber, finely sliced
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- salt to taste
- a sprig of curry leaves
- a sprig of green coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 lemon
- 1 green chilli, finely mined (optional)
- The beans should be boiled and drained.On cooktop it takes 90 minutes and in pressure cooker 5 whistles is good.
- Heat the oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, let them splutter.
- Add the onions and shallow fry the onions.
- Add your drained mixed beans into the wok.
- Quickly stir fry with beans with salt and chilli powder.For about 3-4 minutes.
- In a bowl mix the stir fried beans with cucumber, tomatoes,green chilli and chopped coriander.
- Serve with a dash of lemon juice. There couldn’t be anything more satisfying on a rainy cold evening.
Love your writing and i am a big fan of your photography, which you know already!