THE CRITIC

Madhumathi was born in Pondicherry. She was the daughter of a Srilankan refugee father Saravanan and a Tamil mother Selvi from Tuticorin. When her mother was killed from honour killing, her father took her to pondicherry to start a new life.

Saravanan starts to work as a tourist guide, Madhumathi starts her schooling.

Her father used to bring varieties of food from tourists. Her father would explain about each food and what country it belongs to.she tasted foods from all countries by sitting in their one bedroom apartment.

Her father once brought a French women "Annette" to home. She stayed with them for a couple of week. Madhumathi enjoyed her company very well.

Annette would tell her stories of the Eiffel tower, fine wines, about her life, about her job as a fashion designer.annette would make them Pot-au-feu which is the national dish of France.

Madhumathi would tell her about their story, their culture, their god stories the version which was told to her.

Saravanan and Madhumathi would make idly, sambar, pongal, aviyal to her.she would call Madhumathi's tea as divine.

She woke up to find her father and annette missing.she waited for days for them to return.but days turns to week to months then years.

Madhumathi graduated in journalism and worked as journalist in a weekly magazine "weekend's gossip".

On her travel to write interesting story for her article, she met a travelling cook Ahiga from america, not exactly but an native american from alaska.

He travels around the world, eats the food from the country he is in, makes food from other countries that he has been.he is specialised in fry bread, the popular native american dish.

She starts coming to his shop often.she fell in love with him and love with his food.

She gets an idea to approach him.she asks him his help on the blog that she is writing on foods.

He agrees and introduces her to different types of food, its making, its ingredients, the smell, the life it brings on, the secret recipe in foods.

As her food writing starts to publish in the magazine it meets a good audience.she finds her path in food writing.

Ahiga and Madhumathi starts to travel a lot, learns a lot.he fell in love with her.both shared love and bed.

Once in bed, she asks, "of all the dish that he makes, he is best at Fry bread, why is that?"

He says"Fry bread represents a survival food that kept many of his ancestors alive, but it also a dish that was born from one of the most unpleasant periods in Native American cuisine history.

She looks questioned.

He kisses her and tells, when flour and solidified vegetable fat were issued by government to Native Americans who had lost access to their ancestral homelands.the foods associated with these lands, and the knowledge around them created a recipe from these imposed foods, which is now known as fry bread.

He also says a food should represent a culture and respect paid to their ancestors.

Her tears with a tight hug shows her love.

On their travel, he teaches her the beauty of food making.

She once made her mom's dish, kanyakumari fish curry.he hugs her and puts his mother's chain on her neck, showing an extreme expression of love.

She walks out without any words.

Next day she goes to find him gone with the shop.none of them could find where he went.

As days passed, she become alone and depressed.one thing she couldn't forget was their love.

So keep that love alive she started her own blog "Diary of a foodie".this blog could remind him to her.

On her blog she would call review based on food quality, taste, presentation of the food, as well as the ambiance of the restaurant and the service provided by the staff.

She becomes known for her ability to "make or break" a restaurant with her fierce attention to detail and her adventurous spirit.

She often choses small, traditional immigrant restaurants, under-the-radar restaurants for her reviews, although she covered all types of cuisine.

She has won acclaim with both readers and writers alike for her honesty through an outsider's perspective.

She would often go in undercover to each restaurant.

Once she travels to her native.finds her mother's home address in Suchindram.travels through the car reaches the address, gets down finding a closed house.

She asks for the family of her mother's.she came to know after talking with people around that they have died in tsunami.

On her return back, she walks in to the hotel to find it an authentic with two old people welcoming her.greeting her with a smile.putting the leaf in table.splashing water on it.keep all the side dish, hot rice, fish fry and curry.

She looks around while eating at the photo's hanged.

She eats it to find the exact taste of her mother's.she never felt such taste in her life, with all the ingredients to the exact quantity, intrinsic making.

While she is eating power goes off.the old lady struggles and picks up a palm leaf visiri walks towards her and starts to move it to bring her some air.

Madhumathi after having food, while paying the food tells them the food was excellent and it felt like home.

Old lady says all credits must go to her grandson who made all this.Madhumathi requests to meet him.

Old lady calls him when a young man in his early 30's walks out.

Madhumathi appreciates him tells him that she is a writer and wants to write about him.

He thanks her for the kind words.she asks if he could meet her this evening.

He says, that he wanted to go home and cook for his family.

She requests him if his wife can manage today as she is leaving back today.

He says, she passed long ago in tsunami.

He also says"I don't think there's one thing more important you can do for your kids than have family dinner".

Madhumathi stunns by his words.she decides to stay for the night and meet him by tomorrow.

He asks her if she doesn't mind, she could join them for them dinner.

At dinner, the man introduces her name as ashok, two children, sindhu and raghavi.

Two children finds the gift that Madhumathi bought was fascinating.

She feels like home when she is with them.ashok tells her about how he took over his parents shop and runs for money for the children's education.he has learnt his craft from his grandparents at the shop.

She plans to stay a day but it turned to weeks learning his craft also about him.

On his personal life he tells about his love to his wife.she found it beautiful.

She tells her story of life and love.which he felt sad for her.

On discussing further, knowing about him more, she felt something in her that made her feel more alive after her heart break, so does to him after her wife's death.

She feels him like the father she misses, the love she lost, can be found in him.

When she was about to leave, she asks him if she could be a part in his family.