Murphy’s day-in!! ~ From a Nomad’s diary

(written yesterday)

3^rd April 2014

Some days are just not meant to be smooth. They are not meant to be satisfying or rather, 80% flawless (a big deal!). Today was one such day for me! I won’t say that it wasn’t fine at all. But it did test my patience. Nothing seemed to be going right. And then I realized, it was Murphy again!

It was 6 AM. I got up in a cheerful mood. The ambiance outside was very inviting with a cool breeze blowing. And considering that, Summers are in full swing with the use of desert coolers having become imperative, I decided not to miss the morning breeze. After watering the plants, I started with my daily grind of what is to be made for breakfast. And simultaneously and usually, I prepare for lunch as well. I already knew what I had in mind. It was going to be aloo mutter sabzi and dudhi kootu (a South Indian cuisine with lentils and bottle gourd cooked in home ground spices with coconut). I had made the preparations. And then, even before I realized it was time for both husband and son to get ready for office and school respectively. So starting with breakfast, I quickly fixed a sandwich for both and packed my son’s Tiffin with the same.

Getting my son ready for school is a mammothian challenge every day. And each day, his tantrums vary and as a mother, I am on guard as to what is it going to be today. I dropped him on my activa at school where he cried his heart out, wailing at the top of his voice, instigating a few other cheerful toddlers to join him in his jugalbandi. And as I started to leave, he spurted on me all the milk he had in morning. Too much of crying can do that. Thankfully and knowing him, he was careful enough not to spoil his own clothes. And so, I rode back home smelling of vomit. Then as soon as I entered home, I remembered I had forgotten to go to the ATM. After all, it was payday for all and most bills had to be settled. And then, I searched for my activa keys. I couldn't find them! I frantically searched my home turning every room upside down, when my maid called out to me as she entered, “Memsaab! Aapke keys activa pe hi lage hue hain.....lekar aun?” And suddenly, there was a gush of relief! After collecting my keys, I went to the ATM to withdraw money. It was a long queue.  After waiting patiently for about 15 minutes, I entered only to know that there was no cash in the machine! I The jinx had started and am sure, Murphy was smiling! I came back home and thought; it would be better to start with cooking. And, unusually I was done with all the preparatory tasks early in the morning, like dicing, chopping, grinding....all I had to do was cook. At that moment, there was this passing thought, “This can’t be jinxed at least!” And then, my woes started.....

And the first culprit was aloo mutter ki sabzi. This particular dish has never failed me and I always loved making this dish with a lot of tomato gravy, just the way hubby likes it. I usually make this in a cooker, but for some reason, I decided to go for a handi. And then as, I kept the pot on stove, I started with making the kootu for which I thought of first boiling the lentils and bottle gourd in a cooker. As I tried to stretch the gasket, it died on me by breaking! After some searching I found three gaskets, none fitting the cooker I had in hand. Being too lazy to remove any other cooker from my kitchen cabinet, I decided to search again for an extra gasket, should there be. And boy, this time I was lucky to find a brand new one that fitted the cooker lid perfectly. “This couldn't get any easy!”, I thought so! And then, the cooker lid wouldn't just fix! I tried hard and somehow managed to, but then I realized I had not fitted the lid correctly, as the gasket was new and tight. Mom knows best and so ended up calling her describing my situation. She said, “hey don’t use the new gasket. First time is always a trouble. Why don’t you use another cooker! You have so many!” I mumbled a sigh! After fifteen minutes of struggle, the cooker lid finally came off. As I sat on the kitchen floor heaving a sigh, my olfactory senses alerted me that something was burning! The sabzi was burnt beyond recognition and there was nothing I could do to scrap the black and charred mixture of once beautifully colourful vegetables! The handi was on high flame, something I never do as I always cook/boil/bake on sim. How could I forget a habit? And then, I looked at my cooker containing the lentils and the bottle gourd pieces. For a strange reason, I decided to give a try once more, a decision I was to regret soon! I again tried fixing the cooker lid and this time, the lid fixed or just I thought so. For the first time in the past four hours, there was a smile on my face which waned away as soon as it came, when I tried to open the cooker lid again, out of curiosity. This time, the lid was stuck. And it won’t just wriggle free! I tried all the tactics Bean uses in his movies and all attempts yelled loud at me, “This is just not your day!”

When hubby came home for tea break, I was listless. Thankfully, I had made his breakfast of boiled eggs and milk shake about which I had conveniently forgotten midst the self created chaos. After having his breakfast, he tried a hand in diffusing the cooker fiasco. But the gasket won’t just budge. And then, hubby sighed, “Get it done from some shop! Why did you have to use this cooker? You have so many!!” And, I totally deserved this! I decided, this was just not my day to cook!

Thankfully, I had saved some plain dal for my son and he happily had his favourite dal chawal without a fuss. No more kitchen ventures for today! But then, this day did teach me two things!

• First instinct is always correct and it never fails you! Follow the latter, you will be played for sure! 
• Remember the first point!

That is how my day ended with a lot of rants and learning.....Got to focus on Blogger challenge.....wish me luck, people!! God bless...!!