Culinary trends at home
When I think of food at home, I remember my grandmother’s fiery curries and my aunt’s cooking. Those flavours became part of family itself, and stayed with me especially during my years away at boarding school.
When I think of food at home, I remember my grandmother’s fiery curries and my aunt’s cooking. Those flavours became part of family itself, and stayed with me especially during my years away at boarding school.
An examination-day assignment unexpectedly takes me back to my own school years—to examinations, anxieties, teachers and the people whose presence quietly shaped those years.
I remember the long train journeys between Nellore and Anand—the unknown stations, passing landscapes and the strange excitement of imagining where every road beyond the window might lead.
I once thought of Sankranthi mainly through Bhogi fires, sweets and my mother’s enthusiasm. After my parents were gone, returning to my father’s village made the festival feel more deeply connected to family, ancestry and belonging.
I remember how a meal from home, or an occasional Andhra lunch in Madras, could suddenly reconnect me to my roots. Perhaps food tasted different because affection was as important as flavour.
I still remember my first hostel dinner in Chennai, the unfamiliar food and the homesickness that came with it. In time, those same Tamil dishes and small street treats became part of my growing-up years.
I remember Mona Madam as a cheerful, generous teacher who loved children instinctively. To me, she was never merely a teacher; she showed how naturally learning and affection could belong together.