How time flies. It felt like the new year was just yesterday. In a blink, it’s already time for Sankranthi!
The biggest festival in south India and the first festival of the year. It’s time to taste the first harvest.
But before the Bhogi night, I warned Amma and Appa, If I didn’t have a bonfire, I would not celebrating my Bhogi this year.
Appa took this warning so seriously that he woke me up at 4 a.m.! Gosh! I don’t want him to be so sincere, yaar!
I want him to wake me up at 6. a.m.
Seriously, the night was so dark that the stars were still sparkling in the sky, with the king of the night still watching the city from above. How could he have the heart to wake me up?
I just turned around and slept, covering myself with the blanket. And he waited and again, he woke me up at 5 a.m. I slept again. He woke me up at 5.30 a.m., warning me that I would miss it if I didn’t wake up.
Sigh! Forget it. He won. I woke up.
My dear, cold breezes, have mercy on this lady. I prayed before getting out of bed. I quickly brushed my teeth and ran out.
Appa has already made preparations for the bonfire. It didn’t light up at the start, but it did in the end. The fire was pretty. The contact between the fire and the wood lit up in a blue flame but the outlines were coated in fiery orange, while the middle flare was in orangish yellow. What a beautiful phenomenon!
As the road was empty, I forgot about being a female and sat down in my sukhasana. Just then my brother walked in, “Why are sitting there like you are going to do some sorcery? Sit on the rock.”
I was dumbfounded hearing him say those. Like seriously? How could he even say that? I can’t even kill a person or something! I gave a nasty stare to him and complained to Amma, who was sweeping the yard where we daily put a rangoli. “He is not wrong,” she said with a giggle.
Appa walked in just then. “Appa, look at your son!” I complained. “I have been looking at him for two decades,” he said, cracking his usual dad-joke which made me scowl. Seriously, these are the times that make me feel like I can’t deal with this family! Hmph! These people are so biased!
After the bonfire, I and Amma put on rangoli. Our neighbors joined us for a little chit-chat. And she also ‘complained’ about how badly her seven-month-old ‘grandson’ was tormenting her, who came to her home three days ago.
Seriously, why don’t these people admit it if they like it or are happy about it? Why do they disguise it as a complaint?
After doing the chores in the house and being done with lunch, it was already 2 p.m. What!?!
Well, forget it. When our loved ones surround us. Time flies! We don’t even notice.
When we are alone, time crawls like a snail.
What a strange thing! Both times, the time is the same, yet the feelings we feel are so different.
Of course, it’s Bhogi! How can it pass without cooking some dishes? We made those chakralu, ariselu, boorelu, and those appalu, which we call chekkalu. Amma, Appa, Anna, and I—all four of us—surrounded the stove. Yeah, I transferred the kitchen into the hall for that day. How can the kitchen fit four of us?
We cracked jokes, talked, laughed, and cooked at the same time. It’s more like family time. Amma was the one who worked hard. I felt sorry for her back pain and for doing more work.
The last dish we were cooking was chekkalu. Appa was taking them out of the oil, while Amma was making the appalu and leaving them in the oil. I was sitting on the diwan, watching them and listening to them talk about random things.
I suddenly spoke to them about the book I was about to publish. Amma loved the Changing Seasons story too much; even though she didn’t read it, she knew the story. Her friend, who read the story, cried to her on the phone, saying how beautiful it was and how relatable she felt to the character ‘Kaivalya’. She was so proud of my story.
I decided to go with ‘Anvikshiki Publications’ to publish. But the site provided no contact information, leaving me no choice but to meet them. The Google-provided address is Hakimpet. Well, the next day, I decided not to go with it. As for why, it’s a story for another time. When we were done, it was already late at night. We had dinner, and it was time for good sleep! Adios, let’s meet in the next blog!