Maida is here to stay in my life. I think I must have used thousands of kgs of maida in the last four months. In the bakery, whatever we make requires maida. You just can't escape from it. Actually I should say flour, but we Indians tend to call atta flour. Technically, atta is whole wheat flour and maida is called flour.
Anyway, maida with sugar; maida with butter; maida with eggs. There is maida in everything we make. It's intriguing how one ingredient can taste so different in different recipes and in different proportions.
I taste every product I make. Before joining my course I have hardly consumed maida. I have never really baked cakes, nor do we use that much maida while cooking. Except in pasta. I love pasta. Making and eating it.
My mom has been a friend for a long time now. I think it was three years ago, when she had accompanied me to Pune, where I had gone for an interview. Those three days I had her all to myself. After a long, long time. Those three days we bonded over cheese spread sandwiches and murku for breakfast. That's when she became my friend.
I am glad I am close to her. I am glad I can be myself with her. I am glad she doesn't judge. I am glad that she is so generous. I am glad she is my mom.
Memory is one of my favourite words. We all have a story to tell because we all have memories. And memories matter. What would you be without your memories. Think about it. And that is why Mneme is my favourite Greek Goddess. The muse of memory. I have named my laptop after her.
Monsoon is my favourite season. And it has hardly rained in Mumbai; this year. It has hardly rained anywhere ; this year. I miss rains. I miss getting wet in the rain. I know, it sounds weird; but I still love jumping in puddles.
Moody, is the first thing you will notice about me. Ok, maybe not the first thing. But if you know me well, you will know that I am moody. That I have no control on how fast my moods change. And if you are close to me, you have somehow handled my moods pretty well. My mom, my sister I, AK, A, Kaniti have all dealt with my mood changes with elan. Thanks!
Mixed bag. That's what this post is. There were so many things starting with M that I wanted to write about and I just could not decide. So I decided to write about all of them!
Lists and me have a long history. Very few people are list maniacs. Those who are, inevitably end up being compulsive list makers. I am one of them. I have made lists ever since I remember. Lists of everything under the sun. My favourite books. My favourite smells. My favourite words. The ideal guy. Things I need to buy. Things I want . Things I hate. My list of lists is endless. I even have a list of all the lists I have made.
In class 11, I met AK. Who happens to be another list maker. Imagine my joy when I found that out! Infact we made our ideal guy list together. We made quite a few lists together.
Last year, I reconnected with S (also known as Amateur at this.) She too is a list maker. There are very few list makers in the world and when one finds the other, an eternal bond is forged.
Whenever I am confused about the oh-too-many-things at hand, I make a list. And feel better. Suddenly the world seems more organised and less like a mass of confusing here and theres.
We list makers have lists tucked in everywhere. I sometimes make a list of things I want to say to a person, lest I forget.
I was over the moon when I found Confessions of a list maniac in the library. Even though it's written for young adults, I loved reading it. Just because it was about a compulsive list maker. The numerous lists the protagonist writes made it such a fun read. The author herself confesses that she absolutely adores making lists.
I am not organised, otherwise. List making is more than being "organised". It's fun. It's comforting. And one of my favourite things to do.
The first time I met AK, my reaction was- "What a nerd" Actually if anyone meets her for the first time, they think she is a nerd. But even though she reads much more than I do, she is anything but a nerd.
A newbie in GDB I was trying to find my way through friends and classes. I had humanities in +2, we all had different subjects and so we didn't meet all our classmates in every period. The next time i saw her was in economics class. Front bench, listening intently to what the teacher was saying. And I was in the last bench, hardly comprehending what the lady was talking about.
I met her again in the library. She was explaining eco to someone. I asked for her help, which she readily gave. And that was the end of that.
Then I became friends with Rajnandini through History class. I moved to the first bench to sit beside her. Eco classes came and went and somehow AK and I became friends. Sharing our love for lists, Harry Potter and zara hatke stuff. ( BTW we sat beside each other in class 12)
I remember I had painted my nails black as part of a protest. When I was pulled out of assembly for breaking the rules and told to remove the nailpaint AK arranged for a blade and helped me remove the two coats.
So there we were, outside class, trying not to giggle. My hands outstretched and AK diligently scratching at my nails, chipping of bits of nail paint. I don't remember if we managed to get it all off, all I remember is her brave attempts.
The thing is AK hates explaining. She hates too many questions. I ask a lot of questions. And she patiently answers all of them.
It is from her that I learned how to be more generous. I made a lot of friends because of her. I keep on learning from her, which is great. I am lucky to her as a friend. A kind of best friend ( I say kind of because somehow I don't like the best friend tag, but if I used it I would use it for her and Kaniti)
Remember that song from the movie Om Shanti Om? Jag suna suna lage...We translated it to English and danced to it and hence the title of this post. I think mine WOULD seem empty without her.
