Magic in her hands!

This is a part of my life and something I go through every week. Having been away from home for the first time in 25 years (you see I pursuing my Masters), I have never missed home food like this. Usually it so happens that we keep getting a weekly off and that’s when I pack my bags, catch the first bus and wait for the next 3.5 hours to pass.

There are times when I give a surprise visit to my mum. But usually I decide to call her up. There is my own selfish reason for that and that is why I am writing this blog as well. The first thing that would come to anyone’s mind when they think of “Aroma” is food. So here I am describing one such moment.

The college mess serves food which is nothing less than pathetic. You may like it initially but then you get bored of it and after a point of time, you keep feeling as though you are chewing rubber.

Flashforward:

I get down from the bus and run towards my home just like a 5 year old kid. I knock on the door and I know what’s going on inside. The door is opened by mum and there it is. Something quite ambrosial, not relative to this earth. The entire house is filled with the scent of aromatic spices. You can never know how but a mother knows exactly what her son/daughter wants to eat on any particular day.Ma is preparing one of my favorite dishes – Pulao (A steamed rice dish with spices and mixed vegetables) and Raita (a yogurt base gravy with vegetables to be mixed with pulao).

The entire weariness of the journey just vanishes in a flash. I freshen up and wait like a salivating dog to pounce on the plate of pulao. Ma knows this and has already prepared pulao in excess. As I wait for the pulao to be served on my dish, I can just think of heaven. The first morsel of it and there I am – in some other world. Needless to say, the pulao was wiped off from the plate within minutes!

No matter how much you love the pizzas,burgers or for that matter any signature dishes of a famous restaurant, nothing can beat the taste of mum’s food. No matter how full you are, you will always want to have more of the lip-smacking dishes she prepares; because even a simple dish of hers can make your noses tingle from miles!

Image Courtesy: http://foodviva.com/rice-recipes/vegetable-pulav-recipe/

Conquering the elusive goal!

I can still not forget the day. It was the judgement day – the one which would decide my future career path. The results were out and my heart sunk. After all, it was the dreaded entrance examination for the post graduation course. My first competitive exam after graduation,it had been like 4 years or so, and here I was with a 33 percentile (not percent!). I was heartbroken. But I still had hope on the other entrance tests. I guess why not the better if not the best! But then when luck is not on your side, everything has to go against you! The other results were below par to say the least.

Continuing in the current workplace wasn’t that bad. I was learning and excelling. But I wanted a career boost; something that would really help me excel in whatever I do. Following the results, the reality sunk in. Another year down the drain. Considering the typical middle class situation, I really didn’t know whether  or not to give another shot. My goal seemed to be fading away from me. That’s when I read an inspirtational book. Something that made me realise, no matter what happens never give up! Try till you achieve your dream. You may need to work hard, lose some sleep but in the end with proper planning and determination, you can achieve the unthinkable.

So, I started next day with a plan. A two word plan – “Be optimistic!” and it changed things a lot. Not just within me but also around me. I was allocated to a new project where I got to lead a team for some months. I was put in a morning shift (unlike the earlier one where I worked 14 hours 24×7) which meant I had the entire day with me to study. The exam dates arrived and I appeared 4 management entrance exams. Now came the most difficult part of it – the wait.Finally the results season arrived. Exam one – 92.7 (good but not great). Exam two – 98.** (great but not awesome). Exam 3 – (96.**). I was as if was back to square one. The last exam results got postponed and suddenly one day while I was at my desk, my phone vibrates. I look at an email with the subject congratulations. I ignore it assuming it to be one of the email scams :P. Suddenly, my friend calls up and says the Exam 4 results are out. Thats when I recheck the email “Congratulations, you have been shortlisted for the Post graduation program at our institution”. The score 99.**. I had finally managed to achieve the elusive goal!

The purpose of sharing this small part of my life is simple – many people give up on their dreams thinking they can’t achieve it. But remember as someone has rightly said “The darkest hour is before the dawn!”.