Turmeric

Before my grandmother fell seriously ill, she used to live alone. She loved gardening and the home we have in the city doesn't have a garden. She was bedridden for 9 years and only last year when the tenant was clearing the garden, he unraveled 10kgs of turmeric roots from the lap of the garden. My mother sent me 2kgs of powdered turmeric. The turmeric smells like turmeric but it tastes like my grandmother's love.

I am using turmeric from the past few months and yet there are three jars of turmeric still with me. During this self-quarantine period, when I am miles away from my family, my grandmother's love is with me, which I can taste in my food and milk. I believe the love for gardening was passed onto me through my grandmother via my father. In times like these gardening, seeing buds unfold into beautiful flowers, succulent plants popping new leaves is a sign of hope and growth. I have planted some plants in my tiny garden and every day I try to paint a tree or leaves or flowers to keep the hope and growth alive within me.