When anyone asks me what we do for a particular festival, I am always at a loss. To me festivals are associated with food. Each festival has its specialty. Okkarai and Inji lehyam for Deepavali, Thiruvadurai sees amma making Kalli-kozhumbu, Janamashtami results in seedai, and so on...
Today is Varsha Pirappu/Tamil Puttandu/Tamil New Year. And to me it is associated with the best of all- Manga Pachadi. Amma boils raw unripe mango slices with turmeric, salt, jaggery and gives it a tadka of red chillies and neem flowers. It is supposed to symbolize the coming year- sourness of mango, sweetness of jaggery, bitterness of neem flowers, the hot and the salty- all in balance. To me it is simply ambrosia. I wait for the entire year just to have this.
No lab meeting today as Sneha, my collaborator, is celebrating Vishu. Mac, my student, is happy. He does not have to do his journal presentation.
Happy New Year!
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