The end is near - 2
The next day Ruhi woke up, she looked through many recipes and finally gave in. She called up her cousin Naina, at her maternal aunt’s to ask for her recipe. The same stuffed Karela bhaji that she had made a week back that had changed her mid about this Crocodile like vegetable she had despised all her life.
“Naina, can you ask your mom for her stuffed karela bhaji protocol”
“It is called a recipe Ruhi. And tumhe to wo crocodile jaisi chiz pasand nahi bilkul bhi, ye sudden hriday parivartan kidhar se aaya”,Naina chuckled.
“Dear sister, you don’t understand. I am getting old, I have made peace with my early onset of oldage”. Ruhi was dramatic by now, good enough for a sleazy opera.
“Maami told me your new found obsession with early onset of oldage, you think a minor shift in taste preference means youve suddenly downed forty years of your life. What a crazy monkey are you anyway”. Naina anyway humoured her and called her mother on line to talk to Ruhi.
“Hello beta, Kaisi ho? Karele pasand aaye tumhe mere banaye.”
“Haan namaste bui, main thik hun aap kaise ho?” Basic courtesy exchange was a must. After which Ruhi explained why she had called and what exactly had she wanted.
“Beta, tujhe pata hai na I will make evrything you like for you, Karele kya badi baat hain. Kyun pareshaan hona hai, main bana k bhejungi apni Ruhi k liya Karela bhaji, karela chipps, bhajiya jo bhi mera beta khaye. Tu bata”
“Naa bui, I want to make it on my own, and I want it to turn out just like yours. Jaise maa k recipes. I just have to have them” [This was an inherent trait in Ruhi. Anytime she liked something someone made, she made it a personal goal to learn to do it or make it on her own]
Ruhi’s aunt explained the recipe she had followed in detail for her. From the spices to the cutting style, from the number of minutes for each cooking step to the color of onions and amount of glaze. No point was missed and Ruhi attentively took notes on every aspect as if her life depended on it.
“Beta, koi dikkat aaye to mummy se karwa lio, hath na jalwaio bas. Aur jab banaane lagey to call karlio, I’ll guide you”
“I’ll do good bui. Sachchi. Chalo bye, this will be a long haul”
“Okay beta, khush reh bachcha. Bye!”
In the kitchen, Ruhi worked tirelessly in the kitchen, cutting, peeling and deseeding her crocodile vegetable; The bitter gourd. The stuffing preparation turned out to be another mammoth task with onions and garlics and stone ground whole spices for flavour and texture. And if all this torture of being slit opened and hollowed was not enough for this sleezy vegetable, the recipe required stuffing it back up with spices and tying up with thread for optimal cooking.
“Smells good, Ruhi you sure don’t need my help. It’s almost tea time now. You’ve been there for two hours now”
“I’ll be fine Ma, I’m old now. I should know how to cook food without needing you to stand on guard all the time for me”
“Oh Ohoo, then make roti also na. I’ll go watch some new show. My kid is grown up now”
“Maaaaa” [Ruhi whnes from the kitchen while turning her stuffed bitter gourds]
“Ready. Dekho. Look I did it.” She snapped a few pictures to share with bui, so she knows her recipe worked out fine.
*Typing*
By the time you come back to India, I shall be white haired and have a face full of wrinkles. Attachment- Image of stuffed Karela bhaji plated [Ruhi sent an image with the caption to her brother overseas. Travel restrictions had lead to postponement of his summer trip back home]
*Sent*
Hahahahahahahahahaahhaha, are we still on this? Kido take it from me, life hits you with these little realizations. It is fine, totally fine.
In the meantime Ruhaan orders some Jalebi and Gol gappe to be delivered home and tells Maa to pretend like it was her idea to enjoy it since Ruhi is old now and would only eat healthy foods. The snacks are delivered shortly, courtesy Zomato. Maa tells Ruhi she’d be swapping her evening tea for some gol gappe and later have the Jalebi (Funnel cake).
“But Maa, i made such a pretty Karela bhaji.”
“Ya honey I saw it, your social feed is plastered with it. Even though you have not taken a single bite so far” Maa giggled.
Ruhaan called up Maa, and they were both on video now, enjoying some tempting snacks as Ruhi pouted.
“Maa, ye to ab budhi ho rahi hai na, gol gappe kahaan khayegi. Iss umar mei kahan yeh sab jhela jata hai.” [It seemed like Ruhaan and Maa had boarded the Ruhi bandwagon of hysterics and were truly enjoying the drama]. But the tables turned once again as Ruhi broke into a medley of her own, mixing two iconic songs into one.
“Sheila Jawaan hui, Darling tere liye!!”Main bhi khari hu Golgappe I’m getting old, but not so fast.
The trio laughed carefree and ended up enjoying their pani puri snack. Dinner scenes were colored with praise for Ruhi’s stuffed Karela bhaji.
Ageing may be seen as a taboo, especially by those extra conscious of looks, but in hindsight it is one of the most beautiful gifts bestowed upon us by nature. Getting old is testament to us growing, having lived a full life, those who die young often miss out on a lot. Each day in our lives is a precious gift, no wonder we call it a present.
❤️
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