What's cooking for Diwali ?

We are a multicultural family namesake, falling heavily towards on one culture for all occasions, festivals etc. i am fortunate that way for not being forced by in-laws to adhere to rituals with a 10 page long to-do list of what to do, what not to do, what to eat, what not to eat, what to gift and who to visit. Oh! Believe me we know of quite a few couples who get diktats of when to goto the loo. We are a very flexible and easy going family with no hassles, no expectations and no qualms about anything; the downside being that this casual outlook doesn't go down well with everyone! I know this was a digression but I feel better having got it out of my system for it ruined my Diwali evening partially! Its a bane in today's times to make others feel good. My wise husband said, "Never ever argue on Religion and Politics. Opinions on these are like a*holes and everyone has one." But you know how women are, don't you? You stand to win a Nobel if you can determine what they want. Seriously.The toughest species created on Mother Earth - it would have been a saner place without this species, so complex that it sends my head spinning! And men are transformed to women after marriage.

Alrighty, now to the Diwali part. One of the Diwali traditions when we grew up was to make sweets at home and distribute it to friends in the colony. I've continued this tradition even after marriage and didn't want to blame LG for my laziness this year. Making sweets and namkeen while LG is awake is a big task. It took a little effort and hanging out after dinner in the kitchen to get the goodies done, but I was determined to have it out of my way. Two namkeen and one sweet in three nights isn't bad, right? Coconut Burfi - a hot favorite wasn't perfect in its usual white, a little charred but tasted yummy. Thengozhal and tape came out crispy and tasted way better than any I've done before. I started making these delicacies a little too early ahead of Diwali or they were very less in quantity. Blame it on the husband who stays up late; sneaks into the kitchen; hunts for the hidden sweet dabba; fishes out a piece and restores it in its place for the wife to discover on Diwali morning that the dabba is a lot lighter than its original weight. Running short of home made sweets to distribute to people on Diwali morning, I just got them nicely packed gifts from a store nearby. The Rangoli ritual was an elaborate affair and the fireworks part very brief this year..pictures will come in soon.

The two day long Deepavali-Diwali; the first one for Lil General, went on well. We had a good time - dressing, eating, shopping and hanging out together!

Diwali Rangolis

Here are the two Diwali Rangolis that I put up in our house and some from the neighbourhood. Mine are kolams (patterns made by joining dots) while people here generally draw beautiful Rangolis. One of my favorite activities on Diwali's eve is to walk around the neighbourhood looking for the best Rangoli.

The week that was and the week that will be...

After the emergency incident, all I have been upto the past few weeks has been sleeping and eating. By sleeping I mean, for a good 15 hours everyday at any corner of the house that has a couch or a bed and is cozy/comfortable and this place has a lot of them. I look FAT now and heavily pregnant with just 7 more weeks to go when Lil General will make an appearance. I hope he/she is patient enough to stay in until then. A lot of people who are not familiar with the Indian laws have asked me if I know what the gender of the baby is. I don't and it is illegal here to try and find out. Infact, either I or Vivek have to sign a form everytime I go for a sonography declaring we will not attempt to find the gender. From experience all the oldies I have met till now believe it is a boy..lets see.

I have a whole bunch of posts sitting in the draft stage and a couple of sites waiting to be launched. Amidst all the craziness that ensued over the past few weeks, the only work I got done was cancelling a whole lot of flight and train tickets and rebooking them and planning everyone's itinerary. What a fun thing to do. And then there was Diwali on the 21st. I stayed away from the fun part this year - watching Vivek and his friends bursting crackers for the better part of that evening. It was fun nevertheless. Pune this year though did not have its usual enthusiasm and festive spirit as rains played spoilsport. There will be another spell of blogging hiatus as I travel to Trichy this weekend.