MYSTICSPICE

Love this story, wrote it in an email to all the siblings while cherishing memories of my dad... It has been a month since I got back to the US from my fieldwork in India. I was just having coffee with famous butter pista biscuits from Ellora's that I got when I was in Dehradun. Yes, I still have those biscuits, I have been very measly about them, as I want them to last long!  Anyhow, the whole reason why I'm writing this is because everytime I eat those biscuits, it reminds me of an incident of Papa ji with my professor (HOD; Head of Dept) at Delhi University. All of you know how frequently Papa used to go to Delhi for work, he always made sure to meet me during his visits. Since I did not have a cell phone then, there were times when I was not even aware that Papa was in Delhi, and some random day I'd just spot somebody from afar looking exactly like papa and then hit myself on the head and say 'silly, that IS Papa'! It was amazing how without any inform...

When I was about 11 years old, my dad used to forcibly send me to a didi (young women older than me) who lived in our neighborhood to learn Hindustani music. My dad was very particular about his morning walks, he would wake up every day at 4am to go for walks. There were times when on his way back he would hear this didi doing her riyaaz (rehearsal/practice). He was totally mersmerized by her singing. So one day he went to her and asked if he could send both my sister and me to her, thinking maybe we could also learn to sing like her. Unfortunately, that didi agreed, as a result my sister and I had to wake up everyday really early to go for our music lessons. We both hated it, getting up early in the morning, taking bath and getting ready at 5am to go for music lessons was something we weren't too happy about. But then, no sooner would we start our riyaaz, than we would completely overcome our grogginess and get immersed in the moment. That didi was a well trained and a talen...

This is one of the incidents, or I would say accidents that is popular amongst my friends and family. As scary it was for me back then, it has never failed to make people laugh in surprise. You know how when you tell people something and they don’t believe you and then they exclaim –WHAT???!! and just go crazy laughing at it? Yes, this is one such incidence. I prefer to categorize it under the section ‘My adventures in the US’. I should also mention that I’m writing about it not because I’m proud of it, no, not at all, it makes me feel embarrassed and stupid, but the reason I’m sharing the story because it’s made a remarkable imprint on my memory and if at all you are new in the US and have come from a country that does not have such an organized traffic system, then this story might be a lesson for you.   So, I start with the description of the story as one of the scariest experiences of life... It was during my first quarter at OSU, Fall 2009. I was studying for the mid-t...

I wrote this few years ago and whenever I read it, it never fails to warm my heart, hence sharing...  This time Rakshbandhan was a very different experience, different in a very special way. It was raining very heavily so we (my sister, younger brother and I) hired a car to visit our relatives in town.  For those of you who are not aware of Indian festivals, Rakshabandhan is one of the festivals where sisters tie bracelets (Rakhi) around their brother's wrists, upon tying Rakhi brothers give gifts to their sisters. I've always loved this festival, and I'm certain that my fellow Indian sisters love it too! ;) Just like any other festival, Rakshabandhan too has a relevance, a meaning to it. This festival is a symbol of bond between siblings, of brother's vow to protect his sister and sister's prayers for the well-being of her brother.  Although its always been fun tying Rakhis and accepting gifts from brothers, for some reason while performing the ritua...