Gratitude List- February 2019

Dear February,

You have been awesome. All your 28days were packed with something amazing. Well!!! maybe other than a couple of days. So, let’s say there were 26 amazing days and a couple not-so-good days. So let me first talk about the ‘not-so-good days’.

Pulwama Attack and Aftermath: It is a condemnable attack and it also hit us on a family level. How??

My brother-in-law is in the Indian Navy and he is supposed to get married in the first week of March, but the moment India hit the JEM camp in Balakot, trust me, our first thought was ‘what will happen to the wedding?’ We were scared that he would have to cancel/postpone the wedding and go back to duty. For the following two days, we were feverishly following the news channels and after they released Captain Abhinandan did we breathe a sigh of relief.

The Gratitude list begins here….

Write Tribe Blogger’s Meet: It is always a pleasure to meet fellow bloggers. This time seven of us met at a beautiful cafe in Powai. The morning was spent laughing, chattering and eating. I especially loved the gifts that I received. The bookmarks in the following pictures are handmade by one of the bloggers and we couldn’t stop admiring them). These meets are always like a breath of fresh air. Hope to meet again soon.

Write Tribe Reading Challenge: As you must be aware that I am taking part in Write Tribe #readbravely writing challenge, this month I finished reading two books and continuing the third. The books that I read and reviewed are Ikigai and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Third one that I am yet to finish is Mossad.

Saraswati Puja: Every year I worship goddess Saraswati at my home on the auspicious occasion of Vasant Panchami. This year was no exception. I was delighted to welcome friends and family members at my place for the puja. I especially enjoyed the presence of my son’s friends. I was impressed at their dedication while offering the pushpanjali.

Joynagar er Moa: My valentine’s gift this time was Joynagar er moa. This is a special winter delicacy that is found in Kolkata during the winter months. While living in Kolkata I used to not like it, however, ever since I shifted to Mumbai, I crave for this sweet dish every winter. This time the better half was traveling to Kolkata and on his way back he brought this moa, it doubled as a Valentine gift (wink! wink!)

Trivia: Jaynagarer Moa is made with Nolen Gur (jaggery made from date palm tree extract with exquisite taste and aroma), Kanakchur khoi (a form of popped rice made from a special variety of aromatic rice), Gawa ghee (a type of clarified buttermade from cow’s milk), elach (cardamom), and posto (poppy seed). Both Nolen Gur and Kanakchur rice are winter products (available around November to January) and hence Jaynagarer Moa is available during this period only. The ordinary or common Moa is a small crispy ball made of puffed rice (“Muri” rather than “Khoi”) and jaggery. This variety of Moa originated in Jaynagar city of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.  Purnachandra Ghosh is considered the pioneers of Joynagar’s moa with Nitya Gopal Sarkar from Sri Krishna Mistanna Bhandar at Joynagar. That original shop is still there which is now run by Asok Ghosh, S/O Purnachandra Ghosh. There are over 250 sweetmeat shops around Jaynagar city, which produce Jaynagarer Moa with the original ingredients. It is now a popular sweet, being produced in Kolkata and elsewhere, sometimes with cheaper ingredients and chemical flavors. Jaynagarer Moa was given a Geographical Indication tag in 2015 which will enable the product to be protected from unauthorized uses and piracy.  Source: Wikipedia

Racefor7: Those who follow me on social media are aware that I was part of racefor7, a race to raise awareness about rare diseases. The race took place in Mumbai on 24th February along with four cities in the USA. I am extremely delighted that the race was a huge success and we received support from people from all walks of life. The race will take place in different Indian cities till the 17th of March. If you wish to know more then please click here. (The green logo in the extreme right is our PAG)

Gully Boy: After ages, I went to watch a movie with the better half. My mother-in-law was visiting us and she volunteered to look after the son so we could manage a little bit of a ‘couple time’ after eons. We went and watched Gully boy and also had momo. I loved the performance of Ranveer Singh. This boy is gradually crawling into my list of favorite actors.

Chitol Macher Muitha: I am usually not fond of cooking but there are few dishes that I love to cook, especially the ones that my Ma and grandma used to cook. Chitol Macher Muitha (a special Bengali fish delicacy) was my Grandma’s signature dish. Many a time, I tried making it in the past but each time I failed, but this time I could finally make it with the perfection that I am sure would have made my grandma proud. I almost had tears in my eyes when I tasted it. The taste reminded me of her and for a moment I could almost feel her presence. I realized food is something that can take you back to your childhood.

 

This was my February. Let me know how was yours.

 

Linking this post to #MondayMusings hosted by dear Corinne.

Happy to join Vidya Sury and her Gratitude Circle

 

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