Lakhmai Atya Baarki Bai

Note: I had written this on FB after Lakhmai atya passed away reposting it here for my cousin Prashant. She was the only child of Mothi Ajji Demai (your grandpa Dashrath & Nathuram’s elder sister) and Narayan Ajoba. Narayan Ajoba had passed away while Lakhmai atya was still in the womb. 

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15 May 2019

Saying Goodbye and Farewell to my Eldest aunt, Vijaya (Lakhmai) Gangaram Bundke. She made my vacations in Thal interesting always. Memories flooding me of going to the Monday market under the banyan trees in Poynad selling fish in humongous quantities and eating at a Khanaval and returning with baskets full of goodies, especially the famed Poynad cha Narlipaak and khapti.

Going to her vaadi and climbing chikoo, mango trees and felling tamarind was something we never missed. We would sometimes carry a lunch in a topli and have a picnic there then lie under the trees and make bakuli gajras. Such an amazing world it was!

Her brothers, that's my Dad, Uncles and younger aunt called her Baarki bai which means small mother. 

She lived a good life as a Naval family. Quite a bindaas and badass woman who stood side by side to my Moti Aai and ran our fishing business. She loved her indulgences and she had quite a few. 

Moti aatya we will miss you.

Here she is wearing the मानाची साडी during my Halad that I gifted her since she couldn’t travel to Mumbai for my wedding reception. 

A Leaf From The Past

Don’t grieve at the unkind words of the world. Is it possible to please the people? There are so many tongues, so many talks, so many opinions, so many remarks. This world is a strange mixture of the forces of sattva, rajas and tamas. Tamasic people are in abundance; and, it is their second nature to find fault and pronounce unnecessary criticism. They experience the world through their primitive emotions; their judgement is prejudiced; their natures are small; they are a prey to the sins of sense and perversions of will; they are more governed by ignorance and egoism than by intelligence and light. Therefore, follow the dictates of your own conscience and the promptings of your soul. If you are satisfied, the whole world must be satisfied.

Satiation or Burn Out? Seeking Blessings.

Since 2021, I have been conscious about my food intake. I try to eat millets 90% of the time and use good fat in the form of Toop / Ghee and Coconut oil. So my observation is I feel satiated quicker than when I am on a heavy carb and sugar meal. This is about food. 

Similarly about materialistic achievements. I did well in my corporate job whether it was my environmental stint or the IT stint. I achieved faster than average people my age. 

Later through my blog I had exposure to print media, TV and Online broadcasting. I even did an IT project for an online Food Network.

As far as business is concerned I did everything, owned and ran a successful Eshop for traditional Maharashtriya masalas and kitchen tools. Exported Diwali Faral. Did weekend special dabbas. 

I am a speaker about my Koli community, food culture and history. Have done several such sessions for young and curious minds. 

My ‘experience with me’ sessions saw me conducting Demo & Dines for Foreigners and connoisseurs. It gave me an opportunity to meet wonderful people and some became friends! 

Friends like Dr. Pradeep Rao who provided strong support and took my father under his treatment for the last 6 months of his life. He brought in a very good spine surgeon Dr. Uday Pawar. Accommodated my Dad at Global hospital in challenging COVID times. Two emergencies that were so harrowing. Who would have thought that this blog made that possible ! 

I keep posting on all the social media, FB, Instagram and YouTube TalkativeAnjali. So many online friends. Some who I have met in person and many yet to meet…

I have been writing almost every day for more than two decades now. 

I am deeply grateful for everything I received in life. The people I met along the way. Each one who made my life beautiful. Some who accepted my love and those that rejected it, taught me to live without reciprocal love. I survived to tell.

While I have done enough in the material world I feel a complete burn out in the Corporate world. There is a point of satisfaction in the Creative world but still not satiated completely. Creativity also leads to higher purpose.

I have no urge to earn more money. I have enough to take care of my needs and medical expenses. I have a little more for my travels. I am not greedy. I share what I have generously. 

Yet I am resolute and unswerving! I will see to the end all matters on hand. No one should ever be under the impression I will drop them in all consciousness. 

On 27 July 2024 I completed 54 yrs. 

I seek the blessings of all my deities for growth on the SPIRITUAL path.

Shree Ram 🙏🏽🌷

Shree Brahmachaitanya Gondavalekar Maharaj 🙏🏽🌹

Kalkai 🖤 my Koli family’s fierce force that protects me

Malhari Martand 💛

EkVeera Aai ❤️

Ahura Mazda 🌸 from my marital Zoroastrian family

Grace

Grace has so many meanings and I love all of them. It is a beautiful word. 

Showing Grace is being elegant. To be courteous at all times. To show mercy, kindness, love etc. 

It also means accepting the love given, considering it a gift. Accepting kindness. Not everyone is capable of showing grace. It can definitely be learnt. 

It is not a sign of weakness but infact a powerful trait to have. 

Nature has grace in the form of flowers that spread their fragrance and huge trees that canopy over and provide shelter to the tired soul. 

Do you show grace mindfully ? Do you show it to the unmerited? in the hope of bringing improvement in people? 

UNFATHOMABLE अथांग

That’s the view from my village Thal, Alibag!

Recently my cousin Prashant and I were nostalgic about our childhood vacations and our loving Koli people. Why are we so loving? We both wondered. 

Then he shared something really profound. His grandfather Dashrath whom we affectionately called Raja baba once told him the secret to a Koli’s loving heart. 

रोज समुद्र बघून बघून आपलं हृदयही अथांग झालंय ! 

VIEWING THE OCEAN EVERY DAY HAS MADE OUR HEART UNFATHOMABLE !

Prashant then went on further to say, every community is influenced by their surroundings. Like a Marwadi saves since he comes from the dessert. A Brahmin is dominating because historically they have been scholars.

I am blown away by this statement, the perspective and realisation that dawned on me.

लाड

कधी काळी कुणी तरी खूप लाड़ केले होते. 

आयुष्यात असे कधी झाले नव्हते. 

पुन्हा व्हावे असं वाटणं यात वावगं काय? 

नाही म्हणायला माझे मीच करते. 

पण बहरणं, त्याच्या शिवाय शक्य नाही ! 

🌹२०मे२०२४ चा सुखद क्षण त्याच्या आवाजातील उत्कटता !🌹

Deleted

Last night I wrote a blog post.

Then deleted it instead of publishing it.

Feel relieved.

Until There Is Obligation

Found these two wonderful, usable quotes. 

The first one by Shree Brahmachaitanya Gondavalekar Maharaj which states the fact about this world. Until there is obligations or indebtedness relationships survives. How plain and simple. There is a purpose of the relationship for movement in life and therefore it is present. Once that purpose is fulfilled there is nothing to hold together. 

Selfish people understand this well I think. As long as the relationship benefits them they stay in it. It is the stupid emotional people who stay entangled in relationships that have lost its purpose. This is not just about romantic relationships but all relationships. 

The second quote is a very workable solution. 

A Delicious Focaccia Sandwich

A bite into this sandwich and I feel proud of what I created on the go. A multi grain multi seed focaccia from Oven fresh. 

Ingredients & Procedure 

⭐️A Muhammara made with cashews. 

⭐️A mango and dried cherries salsa.

Cut up a ripe mango 🥭 and dried cherries. Chop onion 🧅 plus 1 green chili. Put everything in a bowl, sprinkle chopped cilantro and mix with salt. 

⭐️ stir fried white onions and yellow pepper. Chop onions length wise and yellow peppers too. Add oil to frying pan. Heat it up. Follow in with onions and yellow pepper. Salt to taste.

 

⭐️ Cut up a large round brinjal into slices. Salt and rest for 5 mins. Deep fry brinjal slices. 

Now bake your own focaccia or buy like I did. I used multi grain multi seed focaccia. Now cut focaccia into squares for sandwiches. Slit across so it can be filled. Toast the focaccia in the air fryer. 

Layered on the toasted focaccia. Start with Muhammara. Then add the salsa. Followed by the stir fried onions and yellow peppers. Finally fried brinjal slices.

Excuse me but food writers and makers must tell you how good it was else how will you know 😇

Now dig in. A very toothsome bite!

Bookmarking this to create for visitors.

Peanut Power Snack

I made Tender peanuts power snack for dinner last night. The first time I ate it was at Pegasus. After a rigorous military style workout this and tea super recharging. 

With that I have gone back to a memory. Should we go back to memories? Is it possible to forget these memories. Seemingly we don’t attach value to it we might. But this is a physiological thing not just psychological. What is DNA 🧬 if not memories? It gets passed generation to generation. How intrinsic that is to life! 

Also memories carry over births. A new born brain is blanked out but associations and experiences as the child grows into adulthood make the memories resurface. So wondering how easy is it to forget? How to delete that data? Especially selective data? 

A simple snack and a heavy rambling. 🤔🗯️

Ingredients 

500gms whole groundnuts 🥜 

Boil and shell them. 

1 red onion 🧅 chopped fine

2 green chilies chopped fine

1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

A generous pinch of asafoetida

Salt to taste

1 small lime

A handful of Fine chopped cilantro 

Optional 

Chaat masala

Pomegranate arils

Heat ghee/ coconut oil. Tip in the mustard seeds, splutter. Add the hing, a pinch. Once fragrant topple cut green chili and the shelled tender peanuts. Salt to taste. Toss well. Add the chopped onions. squeeze 1 small lime over it. Garnish with fine chopped cilantro and fresh grated coconut. Toss again. 

Sprinkle chaat masala before serving. If you like a hint of sweetness top with a handful of pomegranate arils. Enjoy ! 

AUTHENTIC

As AUTHENTIC as you get!