Wednesday morning began with a special visit from my student Aparna and her mother. They have been calling my phone a lot recently because Aparna has been ill for the past two weeks. They visited to give me a bag of perikya fruit. I gave them a tour of my room and set a day for me to come visit their house. It was a really special morning surprise!
During breakfast, Mariamma Kochamma also had a surprise for me. Since I had no plans for the day, she decided that I would visit her house with her. I agreed, but I didn't quite understand the timing of when she wanted to leave. She rushed me to get ready after breakfast which resulted in some irritation. I thought she had told me we would leave in an hour! So I left for this adventure feeling a little perturbed, wondering if I was really going to enjoy the visit when I had gotten a little stressed about the speed of our departure.
The bus ride calmed me down. Feeling the air come in at me from all sides and seeing familiar towns and shops pass by helped me find my bearings. A place that was once so unfamiliar to me is now like a second home. That's a pretty cool feeling. When we arrived at Kochamma's house we were greeted by her son Santhosh and her new daughter-in-law Sunaina (Suni for short).
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| Suni, Kochamma, and Santhosh |
Suni and I chatted a lot and watched Hindi serials in the front room. They are on par with American soap operas in their cheesy camera work and dramatic plot twists. Suni was educated in Bangalore and is now taking classes to become a medical scribe. She is in a really good scribe program, but she had to put her studies on hold to adjust to life with her new husband. Suni also has a daughter named Achoo whose father passed away. I am not sure of all the details, but I know that they seem like a very happy and loving family. Suni's energy and wit really ties them all together. She can even cheer up the sometimes grumpy Mariamma Kochamma.
Kochamma and Suni started chopping veggies for lunch. They put together a special vegetarian meal for me because for Lent I have stopped consuming meat and unnatural forms of sugar. We then moved into the kitchen so that Kochamma could make her famous ginger curry. As she cooked she taught me and Suni what ingredients she used and when. It is the first time I have had a cooking lesson in India that allowed for me to pause and go....okay so what is that spice called in English again? haha. Let's see if I can tell you the gist of the recipe for all you cooking fans out there.
Mariamma's Ginger Curry
- Mustard Seed
- Chopped Ginger
- Curry Leaves
- Finely chopped onions
- Garlic
- 1 tbs Cumin
- 5 tbs Chili Powder
- Oil (any healthy variety you have available)
- Water
- Salt
-Add ginger and sear for some time until it becomes brown
-Add curry leaves, onions, garlic. Let the onions soften
-Add dry spices (salt, cumin, chili powder)
-Add water as needed. Bring it to a low boil. Cook until the mixture has thickened.
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| nifty striped orchids |
That's what I observed! Super proud that I didn't write it down but remember the ingredients still! We passed the time laughing a lot and sharing an excellent meal with ginger curry, cucumber curry, and toran (aka salad) of green beans.
I took photos as Kochamma gave me a tour of her flowers and garden. She let me pick some of her really cool looking orchids. The petals look like they have tiger stripes on them! Achoo arrived back at the house from her playschool class at 3 o clock. She is 2 and a half and after she got used to me being a weird white lady, she fell in love with me. I should really say that we fell in love with each other.
We shared enthusiasm for the simple things, like throwing hair clips across the room and going to get them, running and pretending like we are going to fall, shoving delicious mango, perikya and cherries into our mouths, and feeding the love birds that are caged at the house. We laughed a ton. Her laugh was so adorable and infectious that even I got sad when the time to go rolled around.
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| I finally got her to look straight at the camera :) |
We said our goodbyes and planned another outing sometime soon. Suni said they had two bikes and she would be willing to loan me one so that me, her, and Achoo could go to a nearby park. I am so thankful that I found her as a friend. Did I mention she has almost fluent English? That was another pleasant surprise of the day.
It was a great day trip that reminded me to always embrace surprise. You never know where it may lead you. In the case of this surprise, I also gained a key insight into the life of the mysterious, strict, and serious woman that is Mariamma Kochamma. It was good to see her joking and smiling. She is not returning to the hostel next year because she is needed at home.
After seeing her in her natural habitat, I am so thankful that God has given her and her son the opportunity to be so happy. I am also so glad to know this side of her life and her story. It has given me some closure and a bit of a change of heart now that I understand where she is coming from and more about who she is deep down.
"We can wait for circumstances to make up their minds, or we can decide to act, and in acting, live." - Omar Bradley
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