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What’s Cooking? My Culinary Fiascos and Triumphs

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Where it all started From my younger days, I've been randomly obsessed with cooking—like a moth to a flame, except the flame is from a gas stove. It kicked off helping and being my mother's "Sous Chef" with the grunt work: manually wet grinding (ರುಬ್ಬುವುದು), pounding (ಕುಟ್ಟುವುದು), and dry roasting (ಹುರಿಯುವುದು). Soon I was her Gokulashtami sidekick, churning out Kodubale,   thengina kaayi mithai and kadale kaayi mithai . When she got seriously ill during my engineering days, I stepped up—entered into the kitchen and it was no optional. Kitchen jaunts have been my chaotic hobby ever since. I adore it, or so I tell myself. Traditional sweets and savouries? Nailed them—mostly (According to me). My carrot halwa once bowled over friend MS Mohan's family; his mom recollected and mentioned it for many years later. Corporate Grind: Kitchen Exile Corporate life as a young engineer? Forget cooking— I was too busy working in the day, studying evenings or lecturing at ICWA(I...
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A Random Act

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An AI generated image This incident happened many years ago. Why remember it now—after all these years? I don’t really know. It surfaced suddenly as I was walking through Munich airport, on my way to Tangier via Madrid. Perhaps a voice triggered it. Perhaps the atmosphere of an airport did. I’m not sure. But the memory came back vividly. This happened at an airport—one I can’t quite remember. Possibly in Germany. When I say many years ago, I mean the BC era: Before Cell phones. A Phone Call to Be Made Back then, making an international phone call meant hunting for a public telephone booth and using what were called calling cards. These cards were sold in 24×7 tobacco shops across Germany and much of Europe—this was before the Schengen Treaty, when borders were sealed and every country had its own currency. Armed with my calling card, I approached a phone booth already in use. The man inside seemed deeply engaged in conversation. Expecting it to end soon, I sat down on one of the near...
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Ego vs. Self-Respect: Navigating the Fine Line

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I have always been intrigued, when do we cross that thin line between an act of self respect and when does ego set in? Do we disguise our ego as self respect? This topic has occurred to me many a time and recently, I faced a situation where a long time friend of mine started to “cold shoulder” me. I have a choice to a. either reach out to him and seek to understand the reason for this behaviour. Ask if I did something wrong? If yes, I could have been blind to it and would not hesitate to apologise and make amends. after all we are childhood chums. b. or stick to myself and shrug it off by telling that it is his problem and why should I bend over backwards and reach out while the other person is not willing to (according to me) accommodate me.  I even wrote a poem in Kannada (as it is easy for me to express myself in my mother tongue)  ಸಂಬಂಧಗಳು Even at work I have often wondered if I am transgressing that thin line between self respect and ego. I have even justified that the “P...
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