Dear Reader,
If you’re new here, then hello to you!
And if you’re someone who stayed on – welcome back!
Whichever the case, I’m grateful to have you here.
Now, I know what you’re wondering – June? What happened to Part 2 of April-May?!
I’ll tell you. If you remember Part 1, I had mentioned I’d be taking some time off for myself, since I was quite overwhelmed with everything that was going on in my life. Part 1 was also a fairly heavy newsletter in terms of certain topics I touched. So, I decided to release Part 2 after a break.
However, life is unpredictable.
June is a very special month for me in general. And when I sat down to write, I couldn’t help but want to share June’s newsletter first. But could I do that without sending Part 2 of the previous newsletter? Sure, I could.
Again, if you remember Part 1 – I mentioned that Part 2 would be a list of content that I had consumed and got solace from during those two months. So, keeping that in mind I thought – Why not share my life updates and other interesting tidbits from June, first? And then share Part 2 as a bonus later during the month?
So, that’s exactly what I’m doing!
(Told you I was moody.)
Anyway, as I mentioned earlier – June is a very special month for me. It’s my favourite month in the year really. Why? It’s the beginning of summer (even though it starts earlier in India), my parents wedding anniversary falls in June and most importantly – it’s birthday month!
Fun fact: It’s also the month I started my blog “The Moody Marshmallow” in 2017!
So, I’m going to share the significance of all these events I’ve mentioned in my life:
My Parents Anniversary
The month started with my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary! On this occasion, I had penned something down when I made the quintessential social media post wishing them.
Here’s what I wrote:
“If you’ve met my parents, then you know that they are as different as chalk and cheese. Plus they had the quintessential “arranged marriage” during their time. As a kid, I’d sometimes wonder why they were a couple? But hey, opposites attract? As I grew up and gained a little more life experience and a bit of wisdom, I realised something. Before anything else, my parents were friends first and they continue to be. They’ve grown to understand each other and there’s also a basic level of mutual respect that they share. I’ve seen them argue but I’ve also seen them talk things out and try to work around issues. It works because both of them want to make it work. It works because no matter how different they might be, they share the same core beliefs about family and relationships. They’re not the most publicly affectionate couple but one look at each other from across a room, and they possibly do know what the other is thinking. So, thank you to my parents for showing me that it’s ok if you have differences, that open communication doesn’t mean it’s the end of things, that a relationship/marriage is an important part of your life but it’s not your whole life and that love is honestly whatever you and your partner want it to be - roses or no roses. Happy 30th Anniversary!”
We had a small dinner (everyone was vaccinated) and it was a classic Menon household evening – good food, music, wine and a whole lot of laughter! And we had the most delicious milk chocolate salted caramel cake!
Summer’s Here!
Now, I know summer technically begins in May for most of India but I do love the whole hype of the summer solstice and the official ‘first day of summer’ excitement.
But the best part of summer is mangoes! So, that’s pretty much sliced mangoes every other day after lunch or dinner, aamras (mango extract), my mother’s mango milkshake and a whole lot of other delicious things you can make with this summer gold! I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen, and though I haven’t had a full-blown success yet, I think I might have a fun mango recipe to share with you next time. (Fingers crossed I get it right!)
Speaking of cooking, there’s this really cool cookbook I got a couple of months ago called Jikoni written by Ravinder Bhogal and published by Bloomsbury.
Bhogal is a food writer, chef and journalist. She started her own restaurant called ‘Jikoni’ in London in 2016. Jikoni means ‘Kitchen’ in Kiswahili. Bhogal was born in Kenya and later moved to London. Her immigrant life with her Indian roots is what gave way to this beautiful book that celebrates cooking without borders. She’s also woven in personal stories, which talk, about her relationship with food, belonging and identity. Coming to the recipes, you’ll find some really interesting dishes like kimchi parathas, smoked mackerel & potato dosa, truffle kichdi, espresso rasgullas, ovaltine kulfi and a lot more! Though some of the ingredients may seem tough to source in certain places, I recommend mixing it up and substituting them with ingredients that are available and have similar flavor profiles.
Summer also reminds me of holidays when I was in school. This would mean spending at least a month at my maternal grandparents’ home in Kerala along with my cousins and their family. There would be customary family visits, impromptu road trips, going out for Malayalam movies, visiting the city zoo, playing badminton and a whole lot of board games and most importantly stuffing our faces with my grandmother’s incredible food! She used to make the best biryani, cutlets and chocolate pudding! (She used to make a whole bunch of other things too!) I never really thought much of these vacations at the time but now that I look back, I really miss those days and I’m glad I got to live them.
Twenty-Eight
And finally, I turned a year older by the end of June. It was mostly a quiet birthday but I still had fun thanks to everyone who reached out and my friends who dropped by to spend time with me - some of them also planned this really sweet virtual dinner. Also, I got the best birthday cake ever!
If you know me well enough then you know that birthday cake is a big deal for me! I mean, is it really a birthday if you don’t eat some cake? But jokes apart, there is a story behind this:
Honestly, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my birthday for the longest time. While growing up, the one thing I always wanted was to fit in and just be accepted. I was shy, socially awkward (still am) and definitely had an inferiority complex. Birthdays were a way for me to get attention and some importance (as sad as that sounds). And there was one year in school (maybe two) where no one really remembered my birthday inspite of having social media in one of those years. Did I feel bad? 110%. But I also thought I was being silly for feeling bad about something like this. So, I always repressed what I felt and never really spoke about it.
As school got done, I sort of became indifferent…possibly bitter towards my birthday and celebrating it. I mean, what was the point? In fact, my friends in college would find it a bit strange that I had this attitude. After all, how does one explain something, which seems frivolous but still affects you? I was very detached when people wished me or did something for my ‘special day’ at that time because I was just scared to keep that expectation and disappoint myself again.
However, as time went by, life happened and I grew up a bit; I realized I was trying to get happiness from external sources. And though that’s great when you get it sometimes, it doesn’t help fulfill you unless you love and celebrate yourself. I believe my 20th birthday was the start of that realization - a story I’ll share another time. (No fun telling you everything in one shot. Plus I need content for future newsletters.)
So now, there are years where I feel like celebrating and some years where I don’t really feel like doing anything. Whichever the case, I make it a point to get myself cake, blow that candle and cut it – a reminder that I got through another year in one piece, but also I didn’t do too bad - and whatever happens, whatever stays and whatever doesn’t, I’m still worth celebrating.
Now, moving on to one of my favourite parts – books I read!
So, I’ve been going through a pretty bad reading slump, which I’ll talk more about in the bonus newsletter. I’m just about managing to get out of it and back on track to finishing my reading goal for the year. In any case, here’s what I read:
The Loneliness of Hira Barua & Other Stories is written by Arupa Patangia Kalita and translated by Ranjita Biswas from Assamese to English and published by Macmillan (an imprint of Pan Macmillan). This book is a collection of 15 short stories, all taking place in different regions of Assam. I loved the sensory feel of the stories as the writing truly transported me to the interiors of Northeast India. Be it the fragrant malati flowers, the taste of pitha with black tea and the chronicling of cultural nuances and festivals; I felt like I was there. The stories offer humanistic views on the lives of people in Assam on themes like patriarchy, gender violence, caste and others. I specifically loved the six stories under the series heading of Her Stories in this book: The Call Girls at the Shelter Home, The Girl with Long Hair, The House of Nibha-bou, Ayengla of the Blue Hills, Suagmoni’s Mother-The Storyteller and Surabhi Barua and the Rhythm of Hooves. I also enjoyed the story A Warm Jacket for the Son. This book won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2014 and I can see why. Patangia brings her own experiences of life in Assam and really gives you that lived-in feeling with her writing here while giving some very powerful commentary on social issues. Patangia is also considered as one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Assamese literature. This book is a great read if you’re curious about Assamese writing or Assam or if you’re someone who enjoys reading short stories.
The Little Prince is written by Antoine De Saint-Exupery and translated by Irene Testot-Ferry from French to English and published by Wordsworth Editions. The edition I read also had illustrations by the author. The story is about a stranded pilot who discovers an alien, The Little Prince who narrates tales of his intergalactic travel. Though this seems like a children’s book on the surface, it’s pretty much an allegory of the human condition. Saint-Exupery talks about greed, conceit, sadness, purpose and more through the eyes of this outer space character. This is a book though simple, really makes you reflect and think about certain things in your own life. It certainly did that with me! This book has been translated into 300+ languages and dialects and has also been adapted to stage, audio, film, television, ballet and opera! You can find a movie adaptation of this story on Netflix.
Fun Fact: I share my birthday with Antoine De Saint-Exupery!
Nonsense Rhymes (better known as Abol Tabol) is written by Sukumar Ray and translated by his son, the equally phenomenal Satyajit Ray and published by Writers Workshop. This is a book of absurd and nonsensical poems accompanied by illustrations. Sukumar Ray says these poems are written in kheyal rasa or the imagination so to speak. Of course, this isn’t an official rasa. Though these poems are supposed to be surreal and imaginative, they have an eerie representation of reality. Based on my understanding of the writing, there seem to be poems that relate to stigma attached to depression, the freedom an abuser has to roam in society and even themes of patriarchy and societal image. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and must have finished it in less than hour. This book really brought me out of my reading slump and I’m so glad that it did! Highly recommend this if you enjoy poetry, want a light read and want to explore more of Sukumar Ray’s work.
Sukumar Ray was born on 30th October 1887 in Kolkata, West Bengal right in the middle of the Bengal Renaissance era. His father, Upendrakishore Ray (Chowdhury) was one of the luminaries of this period. Upendrakishore was a writer, artist, photographer, violinist, a pioneer of printing technology, entrepreneur and an avid learner of science. Creativity clearly ran in this family’s blood! Sukumar Ray wrote his first poem Nodi (River) at the age of eight, which even got published in a popular magazine at the time. He even wrote a translation of the famous nursery rhyme, ‘Hickory, Dickory, Dock’. which was called ‘Tick, Tick, Tong.’ He went on to graduate with double Honours in Physics & Chemistry from Presidency College. He took an interest in printing and studied the same at the London School of Photography and Engraving, went on to study at the Manchester School of Technology and became a member of The Royal Photographic Society. Some of Ray’s articles even got printed in The Penrose Annual! He later helped run his father’s printing press: M/s. U.Ray and Sons (along with his brother Subinay) and a children’s magazine called ‘Sandesh’. Sukumar Ray had a penchant for fantasy writing and is considered as the pioneer of the humorous ‘literary nonsense’ genre in Bengal and possibly even India as a whole. His work is said to be on par, if not better than Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland! In fact Ray even set up a ‘Nonsense Club’ while studying in college in Kolkata. Though on the outset his work seems to be catered to children, it’s truly satire and social commentary told through simple but powerful writing and a wild imagination! Some of Ray’s well known works are: Chalachittachanchari, Pagla Dashu, Ha Ja Ba Ra La, Khai-Khai and of course Abol Tabol. Sadly, Abol Tabol was released 9 days before Sukumar Ray passed away from black fever in 1923; leaving behind his wife and a two year old Satyajit Ray.
Fun fact: Rabindranath Tagore was one of the bigger influences on Sukumar Ray as he was a good friend of Sukumar’s father - Upendrakishore. Sukumar Ray also took part in a play with Tagore for the latter’s 50th birthday at Santiniketan!
And with that we are now at the end of this month’s newsletter! Here’s a heads up that I’ll be combining July & August’s newsletter, which you’ll mostly get during the first week of September. In the meanwhile, keep an eye out for the bonus newsletter (April-May Part 2)!
Till then - take care, stay healthy & happy and get vaccinated if you haven’t been already!
Love & Light,
Sangeetha
a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow
P.S.- Signing off with this song called ‘O Sangeeta’ by Daniel Hart because it’s birthday month and also because I can’t believe there’s actually a song with my name in it haha.