Video Call

'Ma' had grown so old. Through the screen of the Dell laptop, the wrinkles of her face were evidence of the long lines of the chapter of experience that life taught her. But her smile was as evergreen, as rejuvenating as ever! What I understood was that-She was still a cutie pie, the one she had started to become from her forties. However, destiny brings us so far apart and time is so ruthless that the calls are always for some demand. Maybe ma misunderstood me, but these demands were well sought after, for the simple Video call! This time I had called her for the special coriander chutney recipe. Quickly I jotted down the recipe as she told me cautiously and strictly. In terms of cooking, we Bengalis are never relaxed! Then I went to the kitchen and started the recipe.

"1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro leaves or dhania patta)

½ inch ginger - chopped

1 green chili - chopped

1 or 2 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin),

black salt or rock salt (edible and food grade) or sea salt as required, " I anxiously murmured to myself.

Actually my boss was visiting me within an hour, for some homely Indians cuisine in Germany. I had prepared the parathas in advance, and as the western people like cheese in everything, I had made cheese parathas. The only fact I was angry about was the apple juice packs that I had to open. Ah, in my childhood the fresh smell of coriander would revive the house and even bore the evil spirits for sure! How my ma used to make that chutney at night when we had parathas, how effortless she was! But since I was the youngest, I always had one special demand, I wanted a glass of apple juice compulsorily. It really tasted great with that.

And for the coriander leaves, me and baba (my father) would go to the town market and buy some coriander leaves. It was really time-consuming- sometimes they were not green enough, or sometimes the cost was high!When we managed that we would quickly rush home before ma would say"Ki byapar ta ki!"(What is the matter!). Baba used to do it in such a funny tone that it would even set ma laughing hard and making faces like the cutie pie.

However back to the present time, my chutney was done. After half an hour, my boss arrived. I served him all that I made. And as I knew, he loved it. I knew it because I, who had been a choosy eater all my life, loved the cuisine. But after he left, there was excess in heaps! How I wished baba and ma to be there. Ma would clean the horribly messy kitchen with practiced expertise and baba would finish 3 times of the heaps! After all, it was them I missed the most, not the cuisine!