Winter Vanishes- Spring Bids Adieu- Summer is Almost Here

Hello All,

The four day sojourn in Goa last weekend was a relaxed affair.Lots of Goan cuisine, mainly fresh catch from the sea, sleep, and generally " Sushegaad" (leisurely- a Portuguese word) which describes Goa's ambiance. The annual "Carnival" pageantry in Panjim added colour.A gentle 7 hr cruise on a " Catamaran' well stacked with food and drinks was another high point of the holiday.

There is truly no other place in India like Goa with breathtakingly beautiful vast stretches of golden( Salcete) and silver ( Bardez)sans beaches south to north. Over the years, these have been dotted with shacks serving possibly the best in Goan and Continental cuisine mainly to cater to the hoards of tourists hanging out to catch the sun, surf and laze under the shades. The amazing variety of dishes are very pocket friendly, even by Indian standards.What is more intriguing is that none of them seem to have the well equipped kitchens and cellars/ pantries as back up.But you order your drinks and in about 30 mins the mouth watering dishes start being served.

It is not the same Goa where we had spent three of our happiest years, over thirty years ago, when there were no 5 Star hotels- just two 3 Stars- one in Panjim ( Mandovi) and another in Vasco ( Lapaz)and just one North Indian restaurant in Panjim( Good Food / Shere Punjab).But happily, the quintessential Goan spirit remains in tact.

"Basant Ritu" or Indian spring marked by strong winds, and strangely,leaves falling off from evergreen trees like Neem greeted us on our return to Delhi.During school,this was referred to by us as the "Exams Warning Winds" reminding the less serious students like me to get focused on the books as exams were knocking on the doors.Simultaneously, the winter woollens were being washed and dried to be be kept in steel trunks for eight long months with dried Neem leaves to act as insecticides, till Diwali.Preparations began for making the traditional Holi sweets and savouries like, Gujiyas, Papads, Samosas, which were a treat for the kids.We would eagerly await Maa's permission to start devouring them no sooner these were out of the Kadhai ( deep frying pans).i would specially devour the "Keema Samosas" with home made coriander Chutney. What a contrast from the spring season in the western hemisphere which is a long awaited event after the long and harsh winter.

In the years gone by, Holi was celebrated with gay abandon when young and old, rich and poor all hugged each other , smeared Gulal and sprinked Coloured water among neighbours . Our mixed Christian and Muslim neighbourhood in Meerut also joined in. The festival has lost much of it's charm now and degenerated into excessive drinking of "Bhang" ( a drink made of Milk, almond paste, rose petals, ground with Cannabis India leaves) and alcohol and hooliganism on the roads, giving a tough time to the local police. I recall that during my ASP days in Gauhati before the day was over, the city Police Station lock ups were full with inebriated revellers creating nuisance at public places.

The winter annuals in the Delhi parks, round- abouts and home gardens are are at their peak. But as the temperatures continue to mount,and the sun becomes stronger by the day, the blooms have started wilting. Today, I went and bought packets of seeds for the summer variety of flowers- Kochia, Portulacas, Zinnias, Gomphrenias, Gillardia, Amaranthus and Cosmos. Have sown them in mixture of Soil Light, sand and manure in seed pans. Will await the seedlings to come up before planting them in beds cleared of the wither annuals.Carrying a few pictures of the wither annual blooms in pots and beds in my home garden.

Let me see how many of my blog readers are able to guess the correct names of the varieties. Pl give it try and I shall reward the one who knows all the names correctly.

That's it for now till my next blog.

Happy Holi to all.

Desi Maali