#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#silk #kanjivaramsilk #kanjivaram

#SS 69/100/2020

My last post of the year.
Unless I squeeze something in tomorrow. Or squeeze myself into something tomorrow.
Did not get to saree #100/100 due to a difficult year.
A lot has happened, to me, to others, to each and every one of us.
Have we grown? Learnt life lessons? Had, having ups and downs? Dealing with equal or disproportionate amounts of gains and losses?
Haven’t seen my mum or sisters. My sister has not seen her husband, son and older daughter. My youngest sister has not seen her daughter.
Socialising is infrequent.
Lots of health issues with loved ones.
Massive heartbreak over sudden, unexplainable losses.
So many whys, wanting closure.
Unable to offer solace or comfort.
But then,
Am grateful for technology that has brought us ‘virtually’ closer.
Am grateful my husband and daughters are with me.
Am grateful to be working, and to have worked throughout the different lockdown alert levels.
Am grateful engagements happened,
Am grateful for the recent Saree Speak Meet.
Am grateful for having had a lovely long chat with dear Shivi Ravindran at midnight my time and mid day hers.
Am grateful for music, home, garden, walks, the beauty that surrounds me.
Am grateful for friends who are family.
Drove down to Hamilton, a 2 hour drive away, to spend the day with close friends. Other friends drove down too.
Spoilt for choice with the graze table of cheeses, crackers, dips, nuts, fruits.
Followed by a pull-out-all-stops lunch that had me loosening my saree blouse and petticoat.
I must tell you what lunch was – cabbage and jackfruit thoren, steamed tempered beetroot, bitter gourd salad, arachu vitta sambar, onion raita, cucumber mor kuzhambu, french beans, okra curry, rasam. Sakhis who were there too, please let me know if I have left anything out.
And then, decadent desserts. Ras malai, kesari, wattalapam, lemon cake, nut slices, ice cream.
Ended up snoring on the sofa,
Until a steaming cup of chai masala was placed in front of me.
Got home pretty late.
No dinner, just green tea.
Draped a simple light Kanjivaram silk in arakku red with mustard orange gold borders and pallu. Arakku is a term for a specific reddish maroon, much like the new flavour added by the culinary world umami 😎. Wonder what its equivalent is in our language..
Photos taken by dear friend Vanitha Sarkkunan at Melanie Jeyakumar’s home.

$sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#silk #kanjivaramsilk #kanjivaram

#SS 70/100/2020

Yesterday, I declared to all and sundry that it was the last post of the year.
Well, that is not to be.
This is the last last-post-of-the-year.
This day is in preparation for the tomorrow of New Beginnings.
Arose not early.
Took almost everything out of the fridge. Mixed this and that, a rasam, sambar, paruppu and came up with
A Rasam Sambar Satham,
An avatar of a paneer curry,
Pre-loved brinjal curry,
Pickles, Achar, Potato crisps, fryums,
And of course, thayir satham.
Ran the dishwasher three times.
To clear the old, to make way for the new, tomorrow.
Planned our upcoming sunny beach retreat, and discovered it would be raining all through our trip.
Told the girls to
Vaccum, dust, draw the kolam at the entrance of our home, hang, fold clothes;
Pack Articulate, BalderDash, Cluedo, Monopoly (at the risk of breaking up families and marriages);
Download some thrillers, comedies, chick flicks;
(Horror of horrors, no Wifi at the place we’re going to);
Checkout nearby activities, supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, treks, trails, mountains, beaches;
And pack raincoats along with beach wear.
Wrote a checklist for myself – toiletries, food, clothes, essentials.
Argued with the family about something or the other.
Settled down to work on my class today.
Then decided to continue writing.
About Gratitude.
What is an end of year, last last-post-of-the-year without being grateful for..
2020 – however sad or bad it has been, there has been so much I have imbibed from so many experiences;
This group and dear Vini, for letting me literally regurgitate (I wanted to use a more polite term than vomit), my all, especially during this year, when we need friends, counselling, therapy.
What better therapy than to drape a saree, write a heartfelt bare it all post, and receive such love from all of you.
So with a lot of love, emotion and gratitude, head bowed, palms together, to dear Vini and each and everyone of you 150k++ sakhis, sareeing sisters, here’s wishing sincerely that you will have a beautiful blessed 2021 and many more to come.
Aptly, my sister sent me this poem which I share here.

“May Light always surround you;
Hope kindle and rebound you.
May your Hurts turn to Healing;
Your Heart embrace Feeling.
May Wounds become Wisdom;
Every Kindness a Prism.
May Laughter infect you;
Your Passion resurrect you.
May Goodness inspire
your Deepest Desires.
Through all that you Reach For,
May your arms Never Tire.”

Staying up to make absolutely sure 2020 is out the door, and 2021 comes in with no fanfare.
Draped in intense colours – black, red, gold checked Kanjivaram, the colours of Bhavani, my namesake,
The embodiment of Ferocity and Mercy.
Yes, we needed both ferocity and mercy to have taken us through 2020, as we will, going into 2021.
Stay merciful, compassionate, fierce and firm, dear Sakhis.
Happy Last Day of 2020 and Day Before New Year 2021.

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#silk #kanjivaramsilk #kanjivaram

#worldsareeday

#SS 66/100/2020

Monday. 21st December.
World Saree Day 2020.
It’s a little past midnight in my corner of the world, but that’s ok, it’s 7.5.hours behind in India and a half or full day, behind in other nooks and corners of our world.
Treated myself to a grey roots hair touchup and pedicure. No, I could no longer get by with the “if i can’t see it, neither will you” routine.
Got home, cooked lunch, then got stuck into laundry.
One daughter at work, the other and husband busy with household chores.
Rested, prepped rottis and some curries for dinner for the rest of the family as I had a Christmas get together with a group of friends that evening.
Awesome dinner at a Thai restaurant overlooking the harbour, followed by Secret Santa surprises at one of their homes. My gifts now sit under the Christmas tree. Dessert was a decadent Trifle by a friend.
Draped in my favourite weave, a simple Kanjivaram silk. Why my fave? Easy comfy drape, simple yet elegant. Two toned light grey striped body with maroon, gold borders and pallu. With green and gold leaves on borders. Wore saree’s matching maroon blouse. Purchased ten years ago when in Chennai on a music trip.
A simple post to commemorate World Saree Day 2020.

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#silk #kanjivaramsilk #kanjivaram

#worldsareeday

#SS 67/100/2020

Disclaimer – No offence intended by poem. A must share, though. Edited from a previous post of mine.
Saree is freshly draped.

My husband, like his father, has a rather quaint but endearing habit of maintaining a scrapbook of sorts. A hard cover exercise book, in which he’d note down important dates, events, milestones, poems, and stick articles, letters. A year and 3 days into our marriage, he discovered a lovely poem about the Saree which had been published in the New Straits Times, Malaysia on the 11th of December 1992.
Because of my growing fixation, obsession with the Saree, he reminded me of this poem. Yesterday, I saw him rummaging through an old sports canvas bag while I was getting ready to go for a Christmas meet with friends. He kept pulling out various old photos and memoirs from his childhood. Suddenly, he extracted his old scrapbook, leafed through the pages excitedly and found this poem. He read it aloud, then asked me to share it on our Saree Speak page.
So here it is. A beautiful bitter sweet poem. I shall reproduce it here to ensure it is accessible for one and all. Will post photo too.
The article with the poem reads as follows :
‘To the organisers of The Kuala Lumpur (why not Malaysia?) World Poetry Reading, we commend the following poem titled The Second Skin by Satyendra Srivastava, from London, by the way :
This one is not
The Sita of Ramayana
Nor from Ayodhya
She is Sita from Chapel Street
Hounslow Middlesex
Sick with
Chronic heart disease
When the nurse asked
her to change
Into something more comfortable
Sita replied
This is the most
comfortable thing
Next to my skin I have
The sari is my second skin
I would like to die
wearing it
It is my pahchan
my identity
Her husband standing nearby
Smiled happily and
Told the nurse
‘My dear
Not very long ago
But certainly long
before you were born
Some strange
Englishmen went to India
They wanted to turn
Indians into
Dark coloured Brits
But they miserably
failed
You know why
Because the
Sitas of India
Like this one
Never discarded
Their second skin’.

And so here I am in My Second Skin, a mustardy orangey gold Kanjivaram silk, with maroon and gold borders and pallu. Borders are in gold followed by a border of maroon and gold checks while pallu has gold mangoes below a large portion of maroon and gold checks. Am seated against an orange cushion, bad move, so the cushion does look like a huge extra roll of fat😜.
Clicked for #worldsareeday.

Embrace your second skin, Saree Sakhis.

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#silk #kanjivaramsilk #kanjivaram

#SS 65/100/2020

A Sunday. Like any other. But not really.
Classes, supposedly from 8.30 to 2 but had a function to attend. Stopped at 12 on the dot.
My dear friend, sakhi, Geetha’s mum’s 31st day passing on ceremony.
A beautiful service, lunch and was gifted a lovely tulsi like lavender plant. Aunty loved gardening, and I had gone to her home to pluck some gorgeous white flowers for Anusha’s nichyathartham ceremony. What a beautiful way to remember dear Aunty.
Got home. Rested. Got some food organized for home and my evening outing.
Invited to another dear ex work colleague/nun friend’s home for dinner. A lovely catchup with work colleagues old and new at her beautiful residence. Crab apple trees, fig, plum trees, organic composting, bird feeders, roses, pohutukawa trees, green lawns. Heaven on earth. A friend brought along her gorgeous extremely well behaved  pomeranian puppy. Now seriously thinking of getting one, hope daughters don’t read this. Daughter#2’s lock screen photo which she unlocks with face ID, is that of a corgi’s bottom, so you can understand the love.
Food was crackers, cheese, dips, salads, Maori bread, oven roasted veges, pizzas, Desserts were doughnuts, salted caramel cashew nut icecream, pavlova, mangoes, cherries, strawberries. Conversation flowed, laughed so much. Have been invited to visit and stay with her in Wellington where she’s moving to. Definitely taking up that offer sometime with another friend.
Got home tired but so happy and content. Nothing like some cheer and joy with friends.
Draped a simple kanjivaram silk, deep purple mgenta with light stripes, bottle green, red, orange gold, magenta borders and green gold pallu. With matching green gold blouse. Bought years ago in Chennai when on music trip. Managed to get Daughter#2 to click some shots, poor lighting so salvaged just one.
However she had sneakily taken some shots during our senior class that morning. Featuring those shots as the saree’s colours look great. Ignore the wearer’s varied expressions. The bright blue veena cover draped on the chair behind me was gifted by a dear sakhi jayanthi.

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak

#cottonsilk #themeofthemonth

#sayitwithflowers #SS 64/100/2020

A Saturday. Continued.
No, first let me take you to yesterday.
Friday.
Last day of work for the year.
Client calls, out of office email replies,
Paperwork, appointments for 2021.
A light work lunch with colleagues.
Had smashed avocado with dukkah, spices, on toasted gluten free bread. Very light. As I had a birthday dinner to attend that night. No bloating being a gluten free choice.
Ran errands, was going to take my neighbor to get some vegan shopping  done, but she had to cancel.
Home, masala tea, showered, got ready for friend’s birthday dinner.
Great food, company. Had a delightful paan icecream for dessert. Photo.in comments.
Took some shots outside restaurant. Photos in comments.
Had got Daughter#2 to take some clicks in the garden before we left. And she went berserk. Have heavily censored most of the shots.
Draped in a kantha cotton silk lilac saree with green and gold borders and pallu. Body has embroidered diamond buttis of gold and green.
Note my pose attempting to hide the garden rubbish behind me.
To continue with today.
Long long walk with husband. Christmas gift shopping. Had overbought. Called Daughter#2 to come fetch us. Asked her if we could get some takeaway.
She remarked that the roles were reversed – She was driving us home and was asked permission (or so she thought) to get takeaways.
Decided against takeaways.
Got home, made some quick rottis while he wrapped gifts. Had rottis with lunch’s curries. Showered, saree speak posting, dozing off, erasing post, reposting. The cycle continues..

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak #handloom #cotton

#SS 63/100/2020

A Saturday.
The first morning of our work hols.
Plans galore. If I’m lucky, 2% may materialize.
Got up late.
My mum (hope you’re not reading this) would have a fit.
When we had just got married, we’d spent our first New Year’s eve with two other newlywed couples, my sister thaya and a dear friend renu. Got home after ushering in the New Year in the wee hours of the morning. Overslept. Answered Mum’s call and got a good dose of how she hadn’t brought me up to behave like this on good occasions.
Learnt my lesson. The next time I decided to oversleep, I’d promptly answer the phone, provide satisfactory answers, and climb back into bed.
Coming back to the Now.
Declared to all and sundry that we would not do any housework or chores today. We would keep that for next week.
Conjured up a lovely Nespresso latte,
Oh alright then, it’s a 2 minute task with the little contraption I own, which incidentally, I bought for husband’s birthday some years ago as he mentioned he’d liked those coffees and which he later said I’d bought for myself.
Gingerly brought it to my corner of the sofa, to start a facetime call with an overseas friend when my hand, yes, MY hand, spilt some of that lovely potion.
Spent the next 10 minutes cleaning the carpet spots and wiping down the sofa.
Made another latte.
In the meantime husband had non verbally agreed to this being a no chore day. Has lost his voice, a spate of lectures, and is resigned to writing answers on envelopes, tissues, my diary. Not a good thing because yesterday he had the audacity to write ‘Why are you asking these irrelevant questions?”.
Had stared him down, then realised that I was in the vantage position of speaking my thoughts aloud, which I did. And he wasn’t going to retort back.
Got around to starting on lunch, and I see husband washing outside windows of house.  Daughter#2 cleans inside windows, Daughter#1 hangs clothes, does the rice flour kolam at the entrance, being the month of Margazhi. (The girls take turns on alternate days).
So much for a No Housework day.
Post is getting rather long. Will continue tomorrow.
Draped a cotton saree, a few days ago, for a class, a soft purple thin striped body and orange gold pallu and borders. Gifted by a dear friend Mangai akka  20+ years ago.

#sareespeak #womenofsareespeak #handloom #silk #tussarsilk

#SS 62/100/2020

Internet Issues.
A little Leprechaun sits behind my TV hangs onto my modem and toggles the Wifi on and off.
That explains why my Disney+ movie freezes just before the happily ever after scene
Or
My sister’s mouth remains wide open mid sentence during a video chat..
Last night, the family assembled in the TV room.
Stared at the modem.
Believing that The Stare would load their videos and stream CSI Miami.
Turned off modem.
Turned on modem.
Unplugged cables.
Replugged cables.
Pleaded with the modem, cable, fibre network.
Turned off modem.
Played the Blame Game.
Who watched the entire series of Emily in Paris in one sitting?
Turned on modem.
Lo and behold!
As if Leprechaun Man was listening, and had decided to be obliging,
The Wifi “came on”.
Devices connected.
One by one, family snuck into their hideouts,
And Papa Bear got stuck into his YouTube videos,
Girls, Netflix and Disney Plus,
And Mama Bear got back to the Happily Ever After ending of Disney Plus’ Godmothered.
Twinning with the behind-my-TV Leprechaun in a Green tussar silk with Vermillion checks, pallu and borders. Leprechaun colours. Pallu is covered with large gold peacocks. Saree’s vermillion blouse. Saree gifted by a dear friend overseas on the occasion of her daughter’s wedding in Malaysia early this year.
Photo credit – the Imp in Hibernation in her Yellow Room as the Wifi’s Sorted.

A Simple Lunch.
French beans, steamed, tempered with mustard seeds, cummin, hing, white lentils, yellow split peas, curry leaves, dried chillies, turmeric powder and grated coconut.
Brinjals, sliced, steamed  added to a tomato red chilli gravy laced with onions, garlic, ginger.
Mushroom kuzhambu/gravy.

#therapy #foodtherapy #healing

#onepotmeal #lockdownsimplemeal #minimalisticmeals #recyclefood #leftovers #NoJudgementPlease is this even a hashtag? #servelovegive #cookwithlove #cooknoairs #vegetarian #vegan #eggless #mykitchen #simplefood #kitchendiaries #comfortfood #bitesbybavani #bluffsbybavani #inmykitchen #kitchendiaries