Shefali Shah Instagram – How many til ka laddus are too many laddus, there’s no counting here till you reach The one that’s meant for you or the ones you are searching for.
My mom and grandmom used to get a small sigdi specially for this. They used to put it onto the kitchen floor with a big kadhai and mix the sticky mixture of til (sesame seeds) and gudh(jaggery) with might and mind. The consistency couldn’t be too easy to manipulate neither too stubborn to not be malleable. And while it was hot they would roll it into balls of sweetness, festivities and celebrations.
I was allowed to be a part of this rolling with joy process, until it came to a special few laddus which only they made and I wasn’t a privy to. Mom and ma (I used to call my Nani Ma) would roll this mixture around a coin of any denomination until it was invisible. 1 rupee or 25 paise or a 5 rupee coin would be deeply embedded in the laddus no trace of it on the outside. And all the kids got one of those laddus as a surprise gift. Considering they were made and stored in my kitchen until they were distributed gave me enough opportunity to go through multiple laddus before I found one with a coin. Careful to not bite too hard, I didn’t want to break a tooth biting into the coin, chipping at it bit by bit, Hands sticky with a sweet fragrance of sesame, licking fingers and the coin clean before washing it and putting it in my piggy bank.
And then there was puran poli, or rassam and lemon rice or sarson da saag and roti. One of those few days in the year when various festivals are celebrated together. Pongal, makar sankranti, bihu, lohri. And what better way to celebrate than with food. Sharing the flavour of various homes and making it a part of your dna not very different from your neighbour’s.
Continuing in comments…
#HappyMakarsakranti #HappyFestivities #SheWrites #Festivals #unityindiversity | Posted on 14/Jan/2025 17:11:23
