writeALONG! 24 May

A TUESDAY FEATURE

host: Muskaan Ahuja

"The tea is on the stove, waiting to boil and for the colour of the leaves to seep into milky water. My friends are waiting. I like making tea. My friends like the tea I make: less sugar, just the right strength and equal amounts of water and milk, boiled to that perfect brown and my signature two fully peeled and mashed cardamoms. Elaichai, a short form for Elaichi chai, as my friends refer to it.

I find cooking very satisfying, almost like writing. A cook blends vegetables and spices to get that particular flavor to their dish like a writer mixes words like colours to concoct newer expressions to convey what’s been lurking in their imagination. A writer is no different. After writing every paragraph, sometimes every line, we tend to read and reread, speak out loud, to make sure it sounds good to the ears, that it will be palatable to the reader.

My friends ask me if I were to choose between writing and cooking, which one would it be? It’s a difficult question, especially since both are so liberating, so fulfilling, but I choose writing. When asked why, my answer usually is: “The food I cook tastes best only when served hot. The words I cook taste best only when they pass the test of time.” The immortality of words wins the battle for me."

Today, I invite you all to share your experiences or poems based on cooking, age-old recipes or your signature dish that is unique to you and worth sharing!!

Before I leave, here's a quote for you by the writer Truman Capote: “Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way.”