Red Polka covered pepper corns and some anecdotal receipes on the occasion of mothers day 2016.
Beautiful memories and eclectic receipes were both well appreciated.
In Bengali, the mother’s mother is called “dida”, another word for ‘naani’. My dida was a pretty lady, and I never saw her out of her white soft cotton saree with a coloured border (never black), draped traditionally, and with a bunch of keys hanging over her left shoulder. Dida with her quiet demeanour took all the decisions and made everything she wanted happen… every one of her offspring sought her approval, visited her whenever they had a window and were ultimately, crazy about “Ma”.
Ma and Dida’s relationship was one of ever reversing mother child relationship, and I used to watch these role reversals in fascination. As Premchand quoted in his ‘Budhi kak’ – “ Budhapa bahuda bachpan ka punaragaman hua kartaa hain”(Old age is often the re-begining of childhood). I read this in grade 6 and experienced it till the heartbreaking passing of Dida. I experience this now, as an adult with Ma.
Apart from love and a lifetime of advice, I inherited another gift from Ma and her Ma – their family recipes. Their hand-me-down to me is my love for cooking. On this note I would like to share a summer recipe.
Read more: http://www.redpolka.com/polkacoffee/Guides/making-memories-and-food-with-abhinanda-bhattacharya
