chapter 10 -the likes and dislikes

It all started when i asked my mom on one fine Sunday morning,' what is for breakfast'. isnt that a perfectly innocent question, allowed in all parts of the world. may be 'all over the world' is a bit too much... wat if hitler had placed some restrictions during the holocaust! u never know, well my mom was a little Hitler herself and she completely forbid me frm doing it not in simple words but the following way:

me(sitting sloppily on a couch watching tv on a sunday morning): mom wat is for breakfast?

mom(from the kitchen shouting to be heard above the song being played in a channel): 'idly' and 'sambar'

my mom comes out of the kitchen, which is behind me, to see the song now on TV which is one of her favorites

me(without knowing she is right next to me begins to say): oh every sunday!... (now i notice my mom and most importantly the look on her face which meant if i utter a single word more the entire day would be dedicated to 'dealing' with me and i thought quick and said) afternoon 12.30 there is smrithilayam, my favourite program.

i sat innocently without daring to look at her... the sudden change in the sentence had made my heart to stop and brain, to work hard and i was feeling very tired. sudenly i heard laughter around me. my dad and my sis who where near me had heard me and were laughing at my quick wit to change it that way. and i tell u my mom went back to the kitchen defeated. that was one of my victory days after all!

even now seeing 'idly' early in the morning spoils my day. somehow i dont like idly when it is der in my house...but my mom's idlies are pretty famous... it so soft and smooth that i know people who have already had breakfast having a second one when they realise it is idly for breakfast at my home... but i love to eat idly during occasions... like on the day of marriage, for breakfast they would always make idly and i love to it... it would be as hard as stone and the sambar would be like water and the chutny 2nd rate still i like to have it there. there is a cook near our place. his name is soman. he is called for almost all marriages in our village... he also does the small feasts like the sadya for birthday, 'sanjayanam'(after death ceremony), the sapthaham(bhagavatham read and explained in 7 days) in our temple etc. one particular occasion is the 41. that is during the sabarimala season there are 41 days during which the sabarimala temple remains open. those days even in our temple we have special prayers, bhajana and all that. each day would be sponsored by a particular person. there are some specific days which is the right of certain families. my family is the one who takes care of the 41st day. my father's elder brother take care of it. on that day he would have arranged soman to make idlies for the people who come to sing bhajans. we would all gather in my dad's elder sister's house which is right opposite to the temple and all of us would have idlies even b4 the bhajans. my mom would scold soman saying 'if i throw it at u and it hits u, u will die for sure, it is harder than stone...' and will then turn to me devouring the idlies and stare at me angrily.... she would be reminded of my responses whenever she makes idlies. but soman in his characteristic way, smile and say 'if i make it soft those bhajana people would eat tons and tons, that is why... i know to make it soft but i dont'
my mom would retaliate saying 'we are making this for them to have so y do u have to think that way' but soman chettan will only smile.

the likes and dislikes are so difficult to find out. i wouldnt know wat i would want for myself. i would think for months if i have to give someone a gift. i am sometimes at a loss to find out if people simply dislike me or like me a lot. likes and dislikes change in two seconds. for example when i thought of this post i liked it a lot, but now i think i dont like it at all and that i have not been able to successfully convey my thoughts. well i t happens i suppose