Then and now.

Switch back a decade, I was still in school.
I used to visit my grandmother s house.
Maybe a few weeks prior itself the festivities would have begun. Me and my granny would visit the local market and buy the first dosage of jaggery, kobbri and sugarcane.

Sugarcane, that was the best. Afternoons were not in any way boring. I was always waiting for afternoon.
The faint smell of melting sugar tickled me out of sleep, only to find my granny in the kitchen making the Sakkare achu. Just when the instant was right I would swoop in or be called for to hold the wooden framework to make this sugary delight.
And the one that broke while carefully pulling away the mould was reserved for me.

This was a habit that gave me great joy, and at times I simply devoured a tasty treat without my granny noticing.

Also at my command was the lines and lines of sugarcane stacked against the wall, tall juicy and vibrant , inviting me to bite into their sugary richness.
And so we did like elephants drawn to sugarcane, tearing away the tough skin with our bare teeth and then competing with each other as to who made the tallest mound of sugarcane fibres.

It was a childhood delight i miss most these days.

Then i would be given chores like cutting the jaggery into small refined pieces and then mixing them with previously fried groundnut.

Then a lot of people from the locality would come over and simply talk on random things. These people brought along with them an assortment of young kids to play with.

And thus the festival was a ritual, a celebration of sorts that had a charm to it that nothing could beat.

Nowadays there is hardly a flicker of excitement for festivals, preferring already ready made ingredients instead of the home made, stereotyped wishes over a small little conversation...

I think with technology we have grown and Sankranthi is happy !

Images rather than wishes. I hardly can say, the motive behind the wishes have in any way diminished but the personal feel has definitely taken a hit.
Forward messages sent in hordes of 100s and images have taken courtesy wishes to a whole new level of artistry.

Well then that's that.
World is changing, so should our rituals.

But then old school has a charm of its own...

Happy Sankranthi.
(Irrespective , Sankranthi will be happy)
But it should bring a smile on your face and others around you plus fun and excitement in the day , then it has truly been a happy day of this festival for you...

Until the next festival over and out.

Best Regards,
Pungi

First book blues

This first book has tested my patience a little.

I had one definite thought in mind, This was going to be difficult. Infact it has always been difficult. And that's why it took me five long years to compile , sort and find answers to all the questions of how , why and what to do ?

Frankly  i don't have all the answers.
Its still a discovery in progress.

And every time there is a review comment, a comma missing , a lack of rhythm, no title and maybe no proper indentation, i feel like i am that dude who realised he is in love with the girl after she got married.

Well that's life.
Everything needs to be perfect. Atleast that's what everyone tells.

It hits hard when reviews are not about the content but about the presentation.

This is one thing i had considered.
But it hit really hard.
As hard as the fair and lovely advertisement and the fogg body spray when compared to the reality of it all.

There was another question that seemed  to catch me off guard.

Why should i read your book ?
No why ?

What makes me different  from all the books out there.

For me, its my brainchild.
No one is bothered about my brainchild. They have their own.

Phew. So much to digest in so little time.

And the journey has just begun.