The Sweet Spot

While walking my dog around the neighborhood, an unusual looking object caught my eye. It could have been an Easter egg considering it was around that time. Though the shape wasn’t exactly right for an egg. Curiosity got the better of me, and I knew the neighbor well, so I stepped closer into their yard to examine the intriguing object. It was a smooth flat rock covered with some fun art and an uplifting message. “Paint your worries with Happiness”. It instantly brought a smile to my face. I remembered a conversation on our community chat group about how a group of girls, let me call them the Rocking Fairies, were painting these rocks and leaving them in yards for people to find them. They call the rocks the kindness rocks. In a world full of gloom and doom and worry, what a beautiful way to make someone’s day! A small rock brought a big smile on my face, wiped my worries for a little while, and changed my mood. It relaxed the muscles on my face and brought warmth to my heart....

Every time I returned from visiting my family in Toronto, Canada or Indore, India, I was all pumped up about doing more for the environment. In both these places I am reminded of the importance of separating wet and dry, recyclable waste. Rotting of food or organic wet waste in landfills is the third largest source of methane emissions in the United States. Half of the landfill gas is methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that causes way more harm to the environment than carbon dioxide. And there is a simple way each of us can contribute - by composting our food waste, so it doesn’t end up in landfills, generating tons of methane. I had experienced the Canadian system tens of years ago. Though Indore is a recent star. Only five-six years ago one could see heaps of trash at road sides all over the city. There was no trash collection system from homes, let alone recycling or composting plants. In the past few years there has been consistent, exponential growth in building ...

The crabapple trees in my yard are awake after being dormant all winter; now covered with bursting buds and fresh young green leaves, where only recently their bare branches were adorned by white powdery snow. I bought this pair of saplings in a sale, some ten years ago, after the associate at the store narrated how the berries on these kind of trees attract birds, among many more of its virtues. The trees haven’t disappointed, starting to flower in spring with pink buds, blossoming into fragrant white flowers. The flowers are a magnet for bees. The leaves fill up into a lush, darker green into summer, as the flowers peep through, slowly turning into clusters of pink mini apples. Towards the end of summer the berries turn red and become glossier and shinier through early fall. True to the associate’s story, it attracted all sorts of local birds. The first few years of having the fruit, I assumed the berries were ornamental, and at best food for the birds. With every passing year, t...

With each of our visits to India, we bring a little piece of the culture back - favorite sweets and savory delights, an ethnic outfit or two, a saree in a classical weave, a stylish piece of jewelry , terracotta toys or bell metal figurines, tribal art and paintings, hard to find CDs or records. Indians living in the US, more traditional in some ways than Indians in India, holding on to the India from decades ago, can find almost anything Indian they need, right here in the US. There are enough businesses and stores catering to every Indian need. Moreover, these days all airlines have weight and size restrictions on luggage, so traveling light has become more of a requirement. But nostalgia sweeps in while walking your favorite streets, pulling you towards your favorite shop, towards that one thing you can’t resist. Before you know it that special thing ends up in your luggage back to the US.  A few years ago, wandering the markets in Lucknow, my daughter spotted the ideal ...

Anyone who has ever wanted to make a good time on a long distance road trip must have encountered the “Pacesetter Companion”. This is that one car which speeds up behind you when you are in the fastest lane, possibly tail-gates you, and if you maintain speed, accompanies you until your next rest stop. You make way for them, but you keep pace behind them. And as you both maneuver the highway traffic, sometimes you stay ahead, sometimes they catch-up and overtake. Both have the same goal, possibly the same destination. Total strangers, they keep you company and help you set pace until you part ways. This past February, I was faced with a challenge. In the middle of winter, I was to drive my daughter’s car 1200 miles, from Iowa to Boston. There would be two of us driving, but I was looking at myself as the primary driver, as my daughter was a reasonably new driver. For many people it is like “meh”. For me it was a challenge! We had done many road trips before, but I had never b...

I recently read a post by a doctor which said the best help from all us non-essential workers would be to stay home and follow precautions as best as we can, and try our best to stay healthy for as long as we can. Our goal is to not overwhelm the healthcare infrastructure, and inundate the frontline heroes, who are already working on a war-footing. The idea is to flatten the curve, by self-isolation, quarantine and social distancing. We all have read or heard this message hundreds, if not thousands, of time in the past several weeks. I am writing about it again.  I am a proud Indori (for those who don’t know, Indori refers to a person of Indore origin; Indore is a city in central India). When I see the work done progressively by Indorians to retain the title of “The Cleanest City in India”, not once, but four years in a row, it makes me proud! Today it was disappointing to see Indore in the news again - a footage of some miscreants, or maybe some misled people, pelting s...

I was a little concerned to hear that my son routinely orders takeout during the stay-in-place order in California, sometimes using doordash, sometimes the restaurants deliver. He convinced me it was safe. Moreover, thanks to the technology industry workers’ ability to work from home and continue to be productive during the pandemic, he said it made sense to support local restaurants by ordering takeout and supporting the economy. So far, I had been apprehensive in ordering restaurant food during the virus outbreak. On his insistence, I looked up safety precautions connected with takeouts, such as ordering hot food, requesting the delivery people to leave the package outside, using gloves to bring the food indoors, wiping clean the containers with clorox, removing the food into personal containers, discarding the takeout containers and finally microwave/heat the food before consuming it. These days the longer the list of precautions, the more comfortable I felt. Takeout seemed like an...

The grocery store was out of ginger root today. Usually ginger is a grocery item I can safely find in abundance, always filling up its designated area to capacity. On regular days, it seems like I am the only one stuffing my produce bag with four or five large roots. Ginger is an essential ingredient in Indian cooking. And those fond of the real Indian chai (tea) won't have it without a generous helping of ginger; it is known to fight colds and coughs and is supposed to bring warmth. I wasn’t surprised that today, with everyone guarding against COVID-19, the produce aisle which normally carries ginger was full of artichokes. If stores could be out of toilet paper, being out of ginger made way more sense. The sudden popularity of this root, which is such an integral part of my Indian roots, started me thinking of my roots. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I sit here, about 7500 miles away, across most of the Atlantic ocean, Europe and the middle-east, concerned abou...

The strict border enforcement brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic reminds me of a time when I got into trouble for not paying attention to the rules of customs and border control closely enough. In these worrisome times, it is also a fun, sweet story, of a lesson to pay attention to border and customs rules. During my dozen or so trips to Canada, I had been stopped and pulled aside a couple of times at the border, for rather unexpected reasons. Once it was when our family happened to be traveling separately on two flights, and on entering Canada with my son, they asked for a permission slip from my husband. I found out there had been multiple occurrences of kidnapping and absconding to Canada, so they had to be sure. The second time was due to an expired Canadian visa. But this third time, I did not expect to be pulled aside for a beautiful, albeit a little wilted, due to a week of travel, bouquet of red roses!  That day, I checked into my flight back to the US and pass...

The Difficult Choice : From Politics to ice-cream I walked past Trumpland, the big chain store, which had a new flavor advertised on the window. “Go Bananas” with our “Monkey Chunky Banana” flavor! I had gone down that door once just to check it out. It was disappointing. They really only had one flavor - a rather murky looking Vanilla with an orange tint. Every week they introduced a new topping. Then they would go big on advertising and many people would swarm to it.  I was loyal to the local store, DemCream, at the end of the street. They had a rich variety of flavors before, but since the chain store opened, it had been difficult for them to maintain their flavors. I could already taste my favorite flavor, “Kosher Koffee Delight”. It was an acquired taste, with its smooth blend of nuanced flavors. I could, of course, taste the coffee with its perfect blend of bitter and sweet. There was a hint of rock salt and just enough cinnamon. The almonds gave it enough texture to...

A Treasure in the heart of Burlington “The Treasury”  announced its grand opening on March 1st, 2020. For many, it is yet another Indian fine-dining experience. Though for me, the announcement meant the culmination of the never ending wait to experience the culinary masterpieces we were anticipating... ever since we first heard about a fine-dining restaurant, many many months ago. “The Treasury” has been a dream for its founders, Archana & Prakash Khot and Sujata & Devendra Patil, to bring a unique fine-dining experience in the Greater Boston area, and boy, have they delivered!!! It took its time opening, but like  every project that requires perfection, these partners did whatever it took to plow through the hurdles to bring to us foodies, what they had promised to themselves. The restaurant is opening in the Wayside Mall in Burlington, MA. When I first approached it, I was pleasantly surprised to see an entrance with two doors- one that opens to a trendy c...

Keeping our hands where they belong Our hands - a marvel of natural engineering! The human hand can grip, grasp, hold or get finer with our motor skills to pick up things and use tools with precision. We touch, feel and express ourselves with our hands. Sometimes in the quietness of words, our hands can speak more than we do. We cannot start to imagine what we would do without them and empathize with people who are unfortunate to lose them or marvel at those who find ways to live productively despite losing them. While we can do so much with our hands, the one thing we are reminded of time and again is to keep our hands where they belong! Curious little babies and kids! As they learn new ways to use their hands, they find the diceiest places to poke and prod. It is like they are a magnet to anything dangerous. Sharp objects, electrical outlets, and anywhere they can stick their hands and fingers into are very special, including but not limited to their little noses and ears ...

The Sweet Spot within the chaos of the Iowa Caucuses “Oh my God! Oh my God!! They called me back and I really want to go to Iowa”. Ever since my sweet, nonconformist daughter decided she wanted to take a Gap year before going to college - a concept alien to many desi* parents - I always sat on the edge of my seat to grasp what was coming next. So far, she had worked as a refugee resettlement intern, helping new entrants to the country find a foothold. She worked at the local cafe, learning coffee brews, chai lattes, taking breakfast and lunch orders and being patient with sometimes irate customers. And her favorite job had been walking and caring for rather rambunctious dogs. Just when I thought things were falling neatly in place, I hear Iowa.  She was very very excited to spend the coldest months campaigning in the cold, midwest state of Iowa. Again a concept alien to a desi parent. Campaigning for a “caucus”! The first time I had heard the word, I thought it was a...