Musings from India: The arrival

YES! I've made it on time for the mango season yet again this year ... and it's two good crops in a row! Oh, I forgot all about Swami and Niru's marriage: it's happening on the 17th in Chennai.

The journey this time was comparatively uneventful: no missed connections, delays or missed bags. Mom was mighty pleased that the stars were looking good during this trip when the last one was such a nightmare.

The halt at Singapore was fun - the duty free shops are aplenty, but expensive. It is a very clean city! We had a cruise at the Singapore river where I had a chance to show off my spanking new D40 SLR.

Since I had requested my "welcome dish" well in advance, there were no surprises! Urundai (round) kozhambhu and Malgova mambazham (mango)! Strangely enough I cannot explain either of them to my friends (yes, even some Tamilian ones). Urundai kozhambhu is composed of lentil dumplings dipped in tangy, tamarind-laden sauce. It goes well with plain rice, salt and water (for an even heightened taste, try old rice leftovers). Malgova is a special variety of mangoes that comes from Salem, characterized by it's unique texture and larger than average seed. It was a trip down memory lane as Periamma served it on my hand, much like the days when numerous cousins would sit at the terrace of our family home and the elders would place balls of rice and curry on our palms!

After 4 hours of sleep, we woke up the next day to a pooja at home. It was fun to see so many people at home - kids, elders and family - all doing their thing. Needless to say, the food was good! Then there was a power nap, shopping for clothes, and muscling your way thro' Bangalore's traffic crawls.

Hmm .... I'm tired now, got to sleep. Another long day tomorrow filled with more shopping, guests and pooja. And more food. If I manage to eat at this rate, I will be rolling back to Seattle in in style ... much like the beloved "Urundai" ;)