Of Snacks And Leaving Tracks Poem by Gayathri Seetharam

Of snacks and leaving tracks
-Gayathri B. Seetharam
Last evening, I made an East Indian snack, papdis from a handed - to-me recipe by a girlfriend's mother
It reminded me of having taken the Saptapadi (the Hindu wedding ritual)
As a Rati, the Hindu Goddess of Love, in response to Kama's arrow of love
And I had prayed, that the wedding knot, not phati (tear):

I made the papdi plate with tamarind sauce and Maggie Hot and Sweet sauce
This made me pause and think that along with my beloved son, I would like my husband paas (near)
And he being a salad lover, would toss up a salad with Raspberry vinaigrette dressing, and that would also please my saas (my mother-in-law)and father-in-law
And I would tell him that the secret of my cooking success lies in the raaz (secret) , good recipes
And this I hope, would not make him naraaz (angry)for he is unreasonably short tempered at times;

Papdis are enjoyed by the Indo-Canadians and the Indians led by PM Narendra Modi
With whose name popping up, comes the desire for rotis and curry and the right sruti (pitch)
And the thought that Buddha became enlightened sitting under the Bodhi tree
And PM Modi's country is all about buddhi (intelligence)
And putting in years of study;

However, I do long for spicy soup and broth
Which is pricey and not dicey
And which makes me feel feisty
Hence I would like chana batura
And the time to read the book written by my niece, Lasya, Gold Datura;

This is enough about my belly
I also like watching the telly
And in India, during my days in Bangalore, it used to be Doordarshan
Which was enjoyed by the likes of the lovely lady, Noorjahan
And the mighty king, Prithviraj Chauhan, as live performances
And this is my chahan (my desire)
And all the other channels, my talented niece, Devika, says are her jaan (life):

If I am a little bit about belly dancing imperfect though my abs are
I am also about porcelain Bharatanatyam dolls in William Ashley, the store
And my own niece, Aishwarya, who is a new mother and a Bharatanatyam dancer
of the likes of Amarapali
And this is the satyam (truth) ,
But she is also a talented musician whom I hope Toronto's Bharatiya Kala Mandram will encourage and host for an evening's performance
And I will tell them that Goddess Saraswathi herself, has perhaps, written the Bijaksharam (the alphabet of knowledge)on my niece's tongue
For she is also a good Chartered Accountant who will use all her areas of expertise for labhyam (profit) .