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Introducing my "other" set of pals who don't judge me, are ALWAYS there for me, never question me and are completely at ease with my craziness!!!!
Muuuuahhhh ma lovelies. Yesterday, a very strange thought struck me as I sat reading Gordon Ramsey’s “Great Escape Recipes” on my Mumbai veranda. A thought that had to do with this “other” set of pals that I have, who don’t judge me, are ALWAYS there for me, never question me & are completely at ease with my craziness!!!!
They actually share my Zen space, no…let me re-phrase, they create it, in fact! Sounds too good to be humanly possible na? So let me introduce you to 10 of my “non-human” besties.
First up, in alphabetical order, has to be my stainless steel induction-bottom pressure cooker. I just cannot do without this one! In fact, do not laugh, at one point in time not too long ago I actually had 11 cookers of various shapes and sizes right from a cute half-litre Miss Mary to make quick khichdi for my little one to a 3-litre Prestige giant for the mandatory Sunday Mutton Curry. In between was a fancy Futura I snitched from my mom and some beat up hindolium monstrosities. Eleven? Coz as an expat then I realised what a lifesaver a cooker can be. Above all, it handles my mood swings brilliantly from rustling up a nourishing quick-fix sambar on off-kitchen days to giving my spicy chicken curry that melt-in-the-mouth finish on cheery weekends.
Next, we have the clothes rack I picked up from a rustic Sukhumvit Thursday bazaar in Bangkok. It’s a very straightforward piece of metal but perfect to hang the washing in neat and compact rows, which then makes ironing that much easier. And we are talking pure Indian cotton and linen here that make the hardiest of iron-men break into a sweat.
D is for my dear diary! A constant companion, loyal and dependable! Takes care of my “Ghajini quotient” and I am spared the painful full body tattoos as selective amnesia takes over with each passing birthday. School meetings, guitar classes, coffee mornings, to-dos, tennis matches, grocery list, birthdays, car servicing… Dear diary has it all marked out according to date and time. It even has a “comments” corner to pen in last minute action/reaction!
Then comes one of my favourites: the IKEA brush! I get my ya-yas from this little buddy. Take it from me, it is the world’s BEST, flexi as hell and a true “friend in need” especially when the maid goes AWOL, which is pretty much every other day. I met this one seven years ago, and we’ve been inseparable since. In fact, I have it in every colour IKEA offers (what are you smirking for? didn’t I mention “craziness” somewhere haan???)
Coming up next is my induction plate – handy, quick, easy and perfect in all ways. And since I have over time loaded up on “induction friendly” bottoms, anything and everything is made on the Iplate with the fans on full blast! What utter relief & cooking is a pleasure once AGAIN!
Next we move on to “jammies” and I use the word very loosely here to include every bit of comfortable clothing that I own including a ridiculous purple skirt from one of them typically touristy shacks in one of them typically Thai beach resorts – was it Samui or Koh Chang – don’t remember, but its second skin! Other totally tacky but comfortable to the core stuff is a bundle of super fake Billabongs and my collection of black shorts – so old that I think the elastic has actually DIED somewhere within & they say plastic is non-bio-degradable! Bah!
One..two..three..four..five..six… ok … super pal #7 is this adorable beast I am tap-tapping on – my Lenovo Z570. What would I do without you sweetheart! Poor fella’s choked to capacity with my quirky pictures, home videos, down(over)loads, Microsoft drafts, you name it… But on-wards it trudges unfazed with me wherever I go crossing continents or plugging and unplugging it in bedroom and balcony sockets! Sharing my thoughts and feelings with “Big L” comes so naturally now that I feel it types a few words even before I think them — Times New Roman, 20 pt font size – PERFECT!
#8 is my newest buddy: the Big Bazaar (Rs 899 only) super mop in fluorescent green! Bought it three years ago but it is only recently that I realised it’s really worth (yes yes when the maid ditched me BIG time in my new pad). This bringer of positive vibes and cleaner of everything negative is PURE delight! Just watching it soak up the mildly perfumed water and then do its merry little dance on the dryer is cathartic! What comes next is nothing short of magic as it effortlessly sweeps away every little speck of dirt and along with it my sorrows! Where is the Nobel Peace Prize when we really need it! The slogan for this company can easily be Keep Calm & Mop On…
After M for mop we come to P for “pillow” actually pillows, my very own cotton stuffed babies, all-weather friends I just fall into when I feel like resting body and soul. They cushion my contours so cosily, that just the thought of my pillows in fresh sea-green paisley printed covers is so very soothing. That’s like rest with capital “R”, no wonder I’ve carried one along with me on several road trips. It’s like the kid had his giant-headed tweety and me, my paisley pillow!
Which brings us to besty #10 and that is no doubt my food processor. Another recent addition, but I cannot imagine my life without it! How the hell was I managing till now? It’s new days yet and so one of my favourite parts of the day is watching the dough slowly swirl and take shape in the see-thru container. No sweat! No strain! No kich-pich!!! & the dough for roti, poori, paratha, mathi – just about anything is ready in a jiffy. These are rare moments when my deep-rooted “Bachelor of Arts” personality bows its head in gratitude to Science! Long Live the nerds! Now that I am at it, I can think of a few more soul-mates — my favourite knife (never lets me down, even though my unconventional chopping and slicing may give Gordon Ramsay a heart attack), the washing machine, my chest of drawers, my oven, my non-stick pans, my Collins dictionary, the Ipad mini I lovingly call Padmini, & the sofa I am perpetually plonked on — “important ingredients in the recipe of life!” Cheers to everlasting friendship, may we all live happily ever after!
Image via Pixabay
Published short story writer-Feature Writer-Blogger-Author-Mother-Human-Work in Progress!! Gunjan Pant believes she learns her lessons mainly from travelling across India & the world, and by interacting with interesting people she meets read more...
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