Stephen Hawking ..... who I am to utter single word about him? Do I at all have material in me to do that? ... "podartho bigyaan niye katha bolbo shei podartho ki bhetorey achey?"..... I am enjoying watching people celebrating his life, work.... So far it's fine.... What worries me is some dissecting his personal life .... that too within 24 hours of his death.... they went ahead with dramatic short stories about when he got married, who he went off with, again came back.... I really could not digest such insult of magnanimous persona.... its irrelevant compared to his contribution to world.... at least he should not be made material for dramatic novel.... a movie was made during his life time is okay... it must have included his work too .... but separate note on his love life is totally unwelcome! When no more best friend but a close one gets back home from office, this lady screamed.... "yeh kya hai yaar... Stephen Hawking ke niye premer golpo cherey diyechey bazaarey"..... He says "cool baby, celebrity lives are always public property"....
This lady who sits far from Science, Technology loved Hawking's take on alien life made easy to her.... haha... a major part of her heart is still that of an eight year old or fifteen! There is another memory that popped up on the death news day before yesterday! Our monkey was 7-8 years old when our mother noticed he watches Stephen Hawking's show! Obviously this mother's chest will swell like elephant's feet or like our gym going big brother from college "buk folano dada".... She made "International Maritime Satellite Call" to husband .... "Boss our boy is watching Stephen Hawking Show consistently for sometime and not taking any interest in the Chota Bheem CD mumma got for him! The boss as usual did not show any interest, hung up phone!..... Eight years passed, now that boy plays car games in that box, tells his father one day he will make those Games .... courtesy his 'mamujaan'... my brother .... there will be no meat share today too! Our boy, the teachers' A* student got 75% in Physics last week while rest of class perhaps got 95%! The father does not say anything to his son but shouts at mother.... "how many times have you watched Three Idiots, you will not take its essence!".... How will I? I do not qualify to be a Kolkata mother anymore is true but I had been one....
Earlier I have witnessed how friendships break because of mothers!.... No, I have no intention to take dig at the ones for whom we are here on this earth.... if only the then mothers, who claimed themselves to be friends could feel this way...."our kids" and not "my kid" alone.... may be I looked back few decades back while saying this... it still hurts to see your own becoming strangers....force you to conclude they were not our own ever! Some ten years back... we were in better position than before, still tore off teachers' hairs for one or two marks which won't matter later in life! It always feels good to see when my clan use the term "our kids"..... A good criticism, a good cause should always supersede "me."....
I think my beliefs will leave me even lonelier in future... yet, I cannot love something I do not have faith in! Coming to "me" again, not that I do not weep out of stress thinking of approaching board examination on May, yet I have stopped enquiring about marks obtained by other students of his class, husband does not allow me to gather much of information about what goes on inside classroom! I only confide in my beautiful friend Piali Maitra .... her daughter is our boy's classmate though they are in different sections.... Her daughter gets frustrated if she gets anything less than 90% while our boy watched television the entire day yesterday which was supposed to be his study leave! No.... no I am not comparing our son to others.... I have watched Three Idiots about five, six times, just that thought of the son making Car Games is giving me sleepless nights.... but he is mumma's baby... she had to make some OATS DRY FRUITS TIL CHIKKI for him and his contemporaries!
As I told earlier, oats could not be healthy breakfast or lunch option for me... however I tried, it was helpful too, yet I could not have oats with banana, yogurt, milk! One that does not align with my taste bud cannot be in my palette. I am not in the habit of wasting food either, so I had to make use of them in parathas, idlis and the last batch in this OATS DRY FRUITS TIL CHIKKI! The shameless self could not resist herself from having one! So you know this home could never be a good example of a healthy home! The ice-spice game continues... but I made a Bengali style chicken stew day before yesterday which I enjoyed, which was our boy's staple for few years just like many Indian homes.... chicken stew is considered a part of a sick man's or kids' diet! It's three days now I am on carb diet without any exercise .... this evening I must!
Health Expert Rujuta Diwekar says microwave cooking is bad for health, there is truth in it... How much I scolded one poor lady for reheating food every night in skillet, not in microwave!... Why?... May be because she does not earn in lakhs, may be because she lives in extreme suburbs of Kolkata, may be because we are used to negate our own, "dur tumi kichu janona!" I do not cook much in microwave, I am that primitive "hata-khunti-korai zindabad types!".... I cook Bengali, I love to share them, not when forced to! These chikkis energy brittles take no time, in turn you get to see happy faces around.... Mumma of this house prepare, stack variety of food, someone loves "refrigerator hunting".... If I could be strict enough to say no study... no food, then I would have been all smiles to see 95% overall grade!
INGREDIENTS :
Oats : 1 coffee mug
Sesame seed : 1/4 coffee mug
Chopped Dry Fruits : 2 tbsp [includes raisins, pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds]
Grated Jaggery : 3-4 tbsp [I used date palm jaggery]
Lemon Juice : 2-3 tbsp
Green Cardamom Powder : 1/2tsp
Water : 2-3 tbsp
METHOD :
Dry roast oats, sesame seeds, chopped dry fruits in heated wok for 4-5 minutes at low heat!Transfer to bowl....
In same heated wok... add jaggery, sugar, water.
Bring it to boil, throw away scum if any! No I could not translate.... "moila fyana ta alga korey tulle feley ditey hobey!"
Add lemon juice, continue to simmer until jaggery gets sticky! Add green cardamom powder (I did not use), stir, continue to cook for another minute! This may take 7-10 minutes at low to medium heat!
Add roasted mixture & fold in well! Transfer immediately to plate, preferably square or rectangular in shape! Press to even out, later cut into desired shapes, enjoy the snack bar!
Transfer to plate, let cool! You cannot allow palms to burn.... they might be poet's imagination.... I meant both here! Do not tell me boys cannot make laddoos... not all are like my men.... the world renowned chefs are male too!
Once cool.... take out small portions, shape as you wish!
i liked the write up 😊
ReplyDeletethanks... the food is better..
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