Gorgeously Glamorous!

Sweets of all kinds invoke a happy glow in most of us. For everything good or delightful or religious or events which are a harbinger of well-being, are celebrated in our country (as perhaps everywhere else in the world too) with some delectably amazing sweets.

Every state of ours has a specialty to die for. Over a period, the internal borders do not limit their availability. Nation-wide sweet shops chains and their next gen entrepreneurs have innovated and made the delicacies available pan India.

I remember traveling by train from Jhansi to Lucknow and a small quaint place called ‘Sandila’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandila) had the most awesome besan laddus (= small truffle sized balls made with roasted gram lentil flour, sugar, rarified butter, dry fruits and cardamon) sold in small mud pots covered with cloth at its mouth, tied with a rope which even doubled up for an innovative handle to carry the pot. An all-eco-friendly packaging. Small boys would come running onto the platform as the train slowed to a brief halt and we’d pick-up one pot for my granny.

Another unusual sweet made during the Bihu festival in Assam and is my forever craving sweet is the ‘Pitha’ (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Assamese_pitha.jpg). Made with ‘bowra sawal’ (= big rice, as pronounced in Assamese – Hope I remember the name right!!) – a kind of par-boiled rice which binds miraculously the minute it is spread on a hot skillet. The rice pancake is filled with sweetened coconut mixed with thickened milk and ground dry fruits and is then rolled into small white heavenly delights!! I got a friend of mine who was travelling to a nearby state to look for this rice for me and when it came, I tried the ‘peeta’ as I knew it and enjoyed eating it thoroughly. I do not remember the reaction of my hubby and my son, but it was my craving which I fulfilled myself!

The GULAB JAMUN, the PITHA, the MALAI MAKKAN – delicacies which are mouth watering!!

From the heart of our country and the Nawabs of Oudh comes one golden brown soaked in lightly sweetened sugar syrup lemon sized khoya balls called ‘Gulab Jamun’. An anytime, everyone’s favorite. And mine too so much so that its always part of my homemade sweets hampers for friends for occasions/festivals and no occasions hampers too.

Comfort foods always transport one to happier place as do beautiful places. Films like Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings could not be shot at a better and more mystical place than Glenorchy (https://www.glenorchycommunity.nz/). The place from where magic begins and never ends. On one of our innumerable visits beyond Queenstown to this enchanting town, we had a cute canine, who just would not give up in coaxing us to throw a twig, which he carried, for him to fetch. We had to do it a couple of times before his owner came running apologizing profusely about him being such a bother. We assured him that he wasn’t because my son enjoyed playing with him and it renewed his request for a pet dog back home!!

The breathtaking sights at the Doloman Park in Gore with rolling green lawn and sights which leave one spell bound, on every visit; The Gold Coast skyline leaves one elated in a vacation mood at all times; The mesmerizing sights at Glenorchy make me want to stay there forever; Lucky Sheep!! The road trip gorgeous!

Glamorous and gorgeous take on different meanings when the environments around are such. For me the experiences have been so wonderful and so enriching that each visit makes me yearn for more. The beauty is so profound that I feel the camera never able to capture the real magic of these places.

Anyways, I have captured it my heart!

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