Friday, 25 November 2016
This is how I imagine myself flying...
the reality, however, is usually very different!
HBC Barbie, available at HBC Trading Post at the EIA.
This post is the second in my series for Edmonton International Airport (EIA). In my first post, last year, I talked about the forgotten magic of flying and about my experience with the eateries at the EIA. I was invited back this year to check out their shopping experience and as someone who is an avid shopaholic (and trust me, I make no apologies for that), I was pretty excited to see what the EIA had to offer.
I've been lucky enough to travel a lot, and in turn, experience airports all over the world. From the busy hustle and bustle of London Heathrow to the cramped discomfort of the tiny out-of-the-way Charleroi in Belgium, from the upmarket, almost intimidating Middle Eastern airports, to the recently renovated and colourful Sahar Airport in Mumbai, flying to me is synonymous with the start of vacations, or the excitement of seeing family and friends after a long time. I am an unashamed romantic when it comes to airports and railways stations, and the arrivals scenes from the movie 'Love Actually' always gets me emotional (please, ignore my love of corny British romcoms).
Saturday, 10 September 2016
I recently read an article, 50 of the World's Best Breakfasts, and was pretty pleased to find my all-time favourite, the Full English, at the top of the list. Let's face it, there is nothing like a greasy fry-up of eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, black pudding, fried bread and a cup of strong, hot, sweet builders' tea to start the day. Except, of course, for the impending heart attack that will probably show up shortly after. But as a broke graduate student, it couldn't be beaten for value.
Sadly, however much I wanted to, there was no way my grad student diet could continue without some serious health issues, so I had to reluctantly grow up, and make those changes that would led to a reasonably healthier lifestyle. One of these changes was cooking at home more often. Of course, this led to my current food writing career which has taken off a lot more than I could have hoped for, and it was that one small step that helped me along the way.
Breakfasts have always been an important tradition in Indian culture and families. Since I was little, as far back as I can remember, every morning has started with a hot breakfast. We started school at 9 AM, and my mom had to leave for work at 8 in the morning. So a lot of the breakfasts we had were either prepped late in the evening, or I would hear my mom up at 5 AM in the kitchen, making sure the family was going to be fed. A hot breakfast usually meant a pretty elaborate set up. Dosa batter was ground and fermented overnight, with chutneys and condiments already made. A hot potato bhaji curry would be made in the morning, simmering on the gas stove next to my mom who would be frying up hot, crispy dosas. Once we'd grumbled our way out of bed, we would get dressed in our school uniforms, make sure our backpacks were packed and then sit down for breakfast. The dosas, or rotis, or hot pressed sandwiches would come flying out at us, and we gobbled as much as we could before racing out of the door behind our mom to get to school on time.
Friday, 18 March 2016
Photo used with thanks to Sean Neild
Chef Vikram Vij, patron of Vancouver's famous Vij's Restaurant, Rangoli and Railway Express, and I share a fascination with Indian railways and their ubiquitous blue and red trains. Mine was honed through years of travelling around India with my family, and my own adventures on the trains from Delhi to South India. Vikram's, on the other hand, was all about the food.
"Were the pedhas worth it?" I asked him, after he recounts a particularly hilarious train story. "Yeah" he says, laughing, "but if I had missed that train, I would have lost everything, so maybe I need to rethink that answer". Vikram was travelling from Mathura to Bombay, and decided, underestimating the stop times on the train, to head to a nearby pedha shop. Pedhas, for the uninitiated, are deliciously milky, soft, fudgey Indian sweets that melt in your mouth. He got his pedhas, but as he approached the train station, realised that his train was pulling away from the station. As he recounts, "I ran, so hard, yelling, and finally managed to jump on to the last carriage of the train, where I waited till we got to the nest stop, so I could get to my seat". This story is familiar to a lot of us Indians, who love our railway food and drinks. From banana podis when approaching the Konkan coast, to vada pav in Mumbai, hot chai and lassis everywhere, everyone has a story about a near missed train incident. But in the end, the pedhas or the bhajiyas or the vadas are always worth it.
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
In India we have a saying that all one needs for a comfortable life is roti, kapda aur makhan (food, clothes and home.) It is one of the truths of life that you can be pretty comfortable with very little and with the basic necessities of life, and there are a lot of people in India and in the world who live with just that.
I was chatting with my mum about money. As she put it, she worked all her life, and while she made enough money, she also spent it all on us and our education and to give us a comfortable life that lacked for nothing. Now that she is retired, she made a conscious decision to travel and stay with us, and to spend any money she had on experiences and family. It made me think about my own life and the role of money in it. I am a lucky woman. I have a husband who makes enough money to provide me and my family with a wonderful living, and I also have a job that enables me to have luxuries like being able to attend conferences, spending money on props and eating out, and generally having a very comfortable life. I also understood that I take this very much for granted, and talking to my mother about this made me understand how privileged my life really is.
It also made me realise how important it is to be grateful to the people who make our lives comfortable, happy and fulfilled.
Monday, 9 November 2015
About a year ago, I was at Adz's school, talking about Diwali to the Grade One class. I talked a bit about India, and how we celebrated many festivals among all the faiths that make up this incredibly diverse and secular country. When I was talking about Diwali, the celebration of light in honour of the Lord Rama's return to his home town, one little voice piped up - "India sounds awesome, Adz's mom. Can you please take me there?"
India has a tradition of celebrating festivals with the kind of joie de vivre that is almost over the top. When Adz and I visited about a year and half ago, Christmas was being celebrated. Adz, who was used to the classy, restrained lights of Canada, was overwhelmed at the colours, music and lights that Indians celebrated festivals with, and to me, it reminded me of India at it's very best.
Diwali, in particular, has a special significance in India, and is one of the biggest festivals in the country. When I was talking about Diwali to the kids, I found this really cute video online, that they loved.
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