‘Har ghar tiranga’ campaign created awareness and generated support for the tri-colour, the symbol of national integrity and aspirations in India. The flag just couldn’t confine itself this time. The roads were flooded with jubilant citizens mounting the national flag atop their vehicles to celebrate Independence Day. After watching those fanfares, I too felt inspired to do it in a different way. So I got into my SUV and drove off on the National Highway to Tezpur in the wee hours of the day. It was no drive aimlessly for hours, but the reason I rushed there was to pick up our daughter from her hostel on a short vacation.
Papa wants to move from caring father to full-time buddy. I discovered the streaming services of Spotify through her favourite numbers. The subwoofer reinforced the bass and richness of the music while I set the cruise control to 80 kmph. The co-driver had a day of relaxing after her didactic lectures, laboratory sessions, and clinical postings. Their classroom presents a cheerful, busy atmosphere, but she is tired of boring mess food and keeps reminiscing about hostel life without mentioning food miseries. Puris aren’t always crispy, fluffy, or soft, but a hard rectangle chapatti lookalike. Love them or hate them, there is no ignoring potatoes. The humble ingredient is readily available at all times.
So she toyed with the idea of having a full mug of chai and her favourite non-vegetarian recipes during her stay at home. A vegan diet at grandma’s lunch, followed by a leg of mutton at her cousin’s, passed the first day. She got together with her friends at City Centre the next day and tantalised their taste buds with imaginative pizzas in scrumptious flavours. We booked our table for a Chinese sizzler at dinner. We heard a loud hiss and crackle, and there was so much smoke coming off the loaded platters. It was a most loving dish served on a hot, sizzling plate.
Who wants to forgo the McDonald’s Burger and leave Guwahati these days while on vacation? The digital transformation from the drive-thru to self-service kiosks has interacted with virtual reality in restaurant dining. Youngsters find it fashionable and exciting. But my wife took it in another way. The pizza is all about flour, yeast, and water, and the burger is all about a sandwich of cooked patties placed inside a sliced bread bun. South Indian dosa makes India’s wholesome fast food obsession so dosa. Pav Bhaji is placed in Mumbai for the ultimate street food. Then why couldn’t Assamese think of making our own desi recipe at home.
And finally, a dinner served at home It was a sweet and salty recipe from Kola Joha (black Joha rice). No matter what the colour does. Black doesn’t always signify bitterness, but the taste of another khalosapori pitha (a rice pancake), which outsiders call Assamese dosa, After tasting food at one restaurant after another, I decided to make a simple desi menu at home. For a tea lover, it was another full mug of heavenly delight. We had karakchai (masala chai). Is drinking tea right after meals good or bad? No matter what, green tea or herbal tea both have benefits. The desi pithas from Kola Joha have colour.
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