The Ghost

As a child, I lived in Kolkatta.
One day as I was having dinner all alone, I felt something pulling my toe from under the table.
I couregously looked under and got a fright to see something big and dark moving to and fro.
I panicked, took to my heels with all the strength I had crying out, " A ghost", and ran to my parents room and collapsed.
My mother, a courageous woman, wanted to prove that ghosts did not exist. She carried me to the room and looked under the table and lo and behold!, it was a mosquito net freshly dried that had dropped off the chair and comfortably settled under the table. The rope had got entangled on my toe, so as I moved my leg, the net too had moved to and fro.
Even now, this incident is narrated to children and they have a good laugh.

Linking this to 100 words on Saturday at Write Tribe prompt of ‘I knew it was my last day there’.

Also linking this post to the Ultimate Blog Challenge and October’s NaBloPoMo.

I saw a lovely light afar
Clouded in mystery, heavenly glow
Appearing near, an angel
Wand in hand, smile on lips
Messenger of God
Coming closer
A slight touch
Filled with
Wonder

An unforgettable day

The incident took place in Delhi in the 90s.
My husband was invited to a Parsi lunch hosted by Mr Irani from The Statesman.
He took me along to the sprawling venue which was guarded by Black Cats.
Upon entering, I noticed Mr TN Sheshan, his wife, Late Mr. Madhavrao Scindia and  BBC news reporter Mark Tully.
I got friendly with Mr Sheshan's wife and it was a pleasant surprise to know that she hailed from my native place in Kerala.
She narrated how Mr Sheshan had given up coffee when she chided him for excessive drinking when I noticed that he was not accepting coffee when served..
Then it was time to gorge on the delicious Parsi spread.
There was this gentleman sitting next to me describing each and every preparation.
I relished the dessert which the gentleman said was called rabadi and proceeded to give the receipe.
A very friendly person.
After lunch, as I was getting up, my sari got caught under the chair. Mr Madhavrao Scindia who was sitting two chairs away, quickly got up, pushed back the chair so that I could retrieve my sari.
A true gentleman!!
Before leaving, I bade goodbye to Mrs Sheshan and she did the same cordially.
In the car back home, Venu was really shocked at what happened.
He told me that the person sitting next to be was the host Mr Irani, and I was very casually talking to him. Not only that, he told me that I patted the back of Mrs. Sheshan before leaving like she was some well known friend.
Overall it was an unforgettable day.

A scary but funny incident

Yesterday, while working on my computer, my 87 year old mother came and sat on the bed near me covering her face and shaking all over.
I panicked and on a closer look saw that she was doubling up with silent laughter.
She was finding it difficult to speak with all the laughter.
Finally, when she was able to talk, she narrated how when putting all the vessels in order in the kitchen, she tripped and had a fall which made her fall with a thud on her back with her hands and legs up  like some four legged animal.
Luckily, she had no broken bones and was able to get to her feet and narrate the incident to me.
I am really grateful to the Almighty for having protected my mother from a nasty fracture at her age.

Ayurveda - Traditional Knowledge, Natural Growth!

Ayurveda is the traditional Hindu system of medicine, a form of alternative medicine that is the traditional system of medicine of India, that preceded and evolved independently of Western medicine, and that seeks to treat and integrate body, mind, and spirit using a comprehensive holistic approach especially by emphasizing diet, herbal remedies, exercise, meditation, breathing, and physical therapy. Incorporated from Atharva Veda, the last of the four Vedas, which is based on the idea of balance in bodily systems and uses diet, herbal treatment, yoga and yogic breathing.

 I belong to a family of Ayurveda doctors. My mother, now aged 87 years makes her own herbal medicine whenever she feels unwell.I can say with pride that it is her homemade products that she forces down my throat whenever I feel unwell. I can proudly say that I fall sick very rarely, never suffer from headaches, knee problems, stomach disorders, my eyesight is still good and I can walk long distances without getting breathless. I am going to complete 60 yers in March, 2014.

 I used to suffer menstrual cramps every month and that too very badly.I used to dread those days when I used to be confined to my bed with unbearable stomach aches and bouts of vomitting.My mother prescribed ASHOKARISHTA, a remedy for mentrual problems and taken only by ladies and girls. A few bottles of this medicine cured me.

As a child, I used to fall sick very often. Only the ayurvedic kashayam DASHAMOOLARISHTA cured me.
I have even been forced to eat tender curried neem leaves for health.

When my son had jaundice, my mother suggested herbal leaves called "Keezharnalli" to be ground into a paste along with the roots and given to the patient.It proved beneficial.

I remember once after a minor operation when I was convalescing, my mother made a kashayam of goosberries and jaggery and give it to me everyday.

I used to give my son a spoonful of Chavanaprash, both Dabur and Kottaikal when he was a tiny tot and refused to eat anything when going to school.A spoonful of the ayurvedic wonder and a glass of milk was all he had.I had also taken chavanprash for many years before going to bed.

The ayurvedic oil and tablets "Mahadanvendaram" I applied on my body during the 7th month of pregnancy and the tablets taken with JEERA water after bathing prepared by my MIL everyday proved very beneficial.

 Even now my son  enjoys a good hair massage with Dabur lal tel every week at the massage center.Recently my husband bought some pain relieving aurvedic oil from kerala and it proved useful after he applied it on the aching leg.

It is with pride that I can say that once while travelling from Delhi to Kerala, my co-passengers were to Spanish ladies.I noticed them eating Chavanprash and then drinking milk before bedtime. They explained to me the benefits. I told them them I came from a family of Ayurvedic doctors and knew about the benefits.I should have kept quiet becaue they wanted to know more about Ayurveda, the temples of Kerala, the rituals etc.I explained whatever I knew.

I really think Naturopahy treatment is the best form of treatment. Aurvedic massage centers are a boon in todays world full of stress and tension.Children from their formative years should be made to know about Ayurveda and its miracle on human body and mind. The advantage of Ayurveda medicines are that they have no side effects and even children love them. My son loves to take DASHAMULARISHTAM saying that it tastes like wine.

In conclusion, I can say that this school of medicine is good for mind, body and the soul.

This post is written for the "Traditional Knowledge, Natural Growth" contest on Indiblogger sponsored by Dabur Lal Tail

The cooking experience

Though I was supposed to be a good roti maker and other snack and sweet items, I was a novice at making string hoppers, idiappam as called in the south.
Without having learnt the method, I thought I was good at it and told my husband of a few months that I was making idiappam and mutton curry for dinner.
Venu, my husband, was elated and waited impatiently for the delicious dinner.
Unfortunately, the rice dough refused to come out from the mould after I used all my strength to press it.
I called out to Venu for help and in spite of both of us trying together, the idiappam refused to come out. Venu ran to our dhobhi, a young and healthy young man who joined him in the Herculian task.
Somehow both of them managed to gather some amount of idiappam. Later when Venu went to the room, he saw the dhobhi waiting.
Venu wanted to know what he wanted and pat came the reply. " Sab, Eisa cheech mai ab tak nahi dekha, mughe to is cheech khana hi hai! (I have never seen such an eatable, I surely want to taste it.)
All said and done, now I am good at making idiappam.

In fact idiappam flour has to be cooked, and I had tried making with raw flour, so the hardship faced.