Desert Rose

Off late, there is so much banter around the heat. This year, the summer has pushed us all to sweat it out without having to really sweat it out. After every such conversation, I think of the summers while I was growing up. I mean, we grew up in the Middle East so the “we know how hot it can get” sort of attitude does come across subtly!  These seasons change the nitty-gritty of our everyday life in such a significant manner, though we don’t really notice most of it. The summer was harsh where we grew up – like so hot. We were privileged enough to not experience the brunt of it with the comfort of moving into air-conditioned facilities. However, some things screamed summer and made life difficult. Picture this: exposed pipes running through our house like fiery serpents, heating up the water as it made its way from tank to tap. It's like the water itself was trying to stage a rebellion against our attempts to stay cool. The time it stays in the pipeline, it just heated up all the m...

I miss them. The salad bars in Pizza Hut. I often overthink it – why do they not have them in India?! You might tell – Aren’t the pizzas more their thing, then why worry about the salad?   Well. Go to the salad bar and then let’s talk! That plate of salad is what I feel is absolute education. In Pizza Hut, there is the scheme of paying for a plate and taking as much salad as you can in one short in that plate. As straightforward as it may sound, it is an exercise that challenges you and tests you on everyday skills! The presence of mind to hold a napkin in your hand with the plate before you start – Initiate with purpose. Holding it firmly and doing the mental calculation of what goes where and the approximate quantities – Planning. Starting the layering and making those calculative moves – Be it the base layer of lettuce to avoid the runoff from the coleslaw and pickled beet or making sure the olives are embedded in the salads; silently recollecting the errors tha...