HAPPY 2019

 Turmeric rhizome powder.

My maternal grandparents used to harvest tons of turmeric in acres of land in the small village of parimandal in today’s Nirmal district of Telangana.

The earthy aroma of the rhizomes while digging, boiling or drying them under the sun is nostalgic, still fresh in my memory.

As a child, I used to play around the multiple heaps of turmeric rhizomes arranged in the open field surrounded by a fence in the forest (the wall was protection from wild boars, which were very common.)

As a child, I ate less chicken and more meat of the wild boars big hearths made out of hearthstones, the large round, black bottom, thick aluminium boiling containers, the noisy hush discussions among the female farm labourers about the dinner And post-dinner activities, the men looking at the sky making predictions about the temperature or unforeseen rainfall.

The weather prediction was as easy as staring into the sky in all four directions with the palm horizontally placed between the hairline and forehead.

Every man was a weatherman, and all of them had a consensus in the prediction. Usually, one among them was a leader, and whatever he said was final, as his predictions came true.

 So, his opinion was always sought before putting the product to dry.

Childhood leaves many impressions on our minds. Those impressions will bring themselves to life when we are put in similar situations when we grow up.

Yesterday, while extracting, washing, and drying the rhizomes, I felt as if I was enacting the role of my maternal grandparents. I gave instructions precisely the way they used to provide them to their farm labourers.

My grandmother was so meticulous that she never allowed a tiny grain of any product to go to waste. Yesterday, I did the same, handpicking every piece left out of the mud.

I was making turmeric at home 30 years after I last watched it being prepared. It felt just like yesterday.

The past three decades couldn’t come in between my grandparents and me. Memory is so beautiful, and the mind becomes a valuable tool when we use it to store only emotions, making us feel happy, grateful, thankful and loved.

By the end of 2018, let’s leave all the trash and hurt in our minds behind and store only the happy, positive stories so that we derive strength and energy from them. Let’s build it on from here to a happy, positive, cheerful life ahead.

Creating good memories and impressions for the children moving around in our surroundings is very important. Our responsibility is to Set good examples for them to recollect and enact when they grow old.

If we can positively impact their minds, it will generate the most healthy, sound, and loving individuals in the future.

Happy 2019, friends.