Sunday Special Sambar

This is soooo unlike me ! I have never felt comfortable writing on a topic given. All my blogs barring one have been on an impulse. And this is the other blog where I had planned it before publishing it. In fact this was not even supposed to be a blog. I have been attending Communication Training sessions for the past two weeks, and as a part of the weekend exercise, we were given the task of writing a skit. I wasn't comfortable writing it but still I was enjoying it. In the end, I am really excited about my first stint at writing out a short story of sorts. What follows is the script of the skit.

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Sunday Special Sambar

Characters: Salt, Chilly, Tamarind, Goddess Annapurna and Narrator

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Narrator: Its a bright Sunday morning and Rinchi patti prepares for a great South Indian breakfast of Sambar Idli for the Nair household. The vegetables are chopped, the lentils are boiled. For the perfectionist she is, she is used to having all ingredients by her side before beginning the preparation. She had barely got 3 spices out of the shelf - salt, chilly and tamarind when the phone rang to life. What follows is a short conversation between these three spices before they join the veggies, and the lentils into making that perfect Sambar.

Salt: I wonder if it weren’t for me what good would this Sambhar be? I am the king seasoning without which no food will be worth eating.

Chilly: Huh!! that is nonsense. I am the strongest of all. Indian foods is incomplete without me. Besides, without me Sambhar cannot claim its rightful taste. Don’t ever forget that they always call it Hot Indian Sambhar. Ha… Ha… Stupid Salt!!!

Tamarind: What is it that you two are boasting of? You are so common and unimportant; there’s hardly anything special about the taste or flavor you add. People crave for Sambhar because of the tangy flavor I give to it.

Salt: It’s your ignorance that you remain illiterate about my properties and uses. I help in regulating the water content throughout the human body. My Calcium part strengthens bones and improves blood sugar, thus helping to reduce the signs of aging. And if you dint know, I also support the libido. Ha… Ha… Ha…

Chilli: My guess is that you forgot to mention, your excessive presence can also take a man’s life because of hyper tension. Ha… Ha… Ha…

Talk of benefits and I will tell you what it means - I am excellent anticoagulant and aid in preventing heart attack or stroke. I increase the body metabolism and help in weight loss. A tea which contains me can help in clearing nose congestion and fighting cold.

Tamarind: And Chilli, my friend, looks like you also contribute is keeping people’s head HOT all the time!! It is I who helps in reducing body temperature and find best use when treating fever. And if you dint know, let me educate you on the fact that I have one of the highest levels of protein and carbohydrates in me.

Salt: So what’s the big deal with all that the two of you have talked so far? I am the most versatile amongst us. I am an excellent preservative and no food can sustain without my presence. Add me to the water, and I can bring it to boil at a higher temperature, thus reducing cooking time significantly. And on the other hand, I can slow down the melting process if you sprinkle me over Ice.

Chilly: You might want to redefine versatility after you have heard me speak. It’s a long and old tradition to powder me and place inside socks for those who are prone to cold feet. I am also an important rubifacient, which means - I cause an increased circulation to localized sites. Thus I find great use in arthritis creams. I contribute socially also. Rogues have forgotten the 2 words – Eve Teasing because of me. It’s needless to say - without me, pepper sprays wouldn’t be possible.

Tamarind: I can stupefy all you claim by what I am going to reveal to you now. When I am ripe, I am an excellent laxative (prevent constipation). My seeds, when crushed and mixed with water, are used to starch clothes. When mixed with water and salt, my pulp can be used to polish brass, copper and even silver.

Narrator: While these three spices jabber and fight it out, they have no clue who is watching them. It was none other that Goddess Annapurna – the goddess of food and aroma. She had heard the entire conversation and decides to impart knowledge to the 3 spices.

Goddess Annapurna: So which of you is the best?

Narrator: And they go out screaming almost in unison:

Salt: ME!!!

Chilly: ME!!

Tamarind: ME!!

Goddess Annapurna: Alright, I believe you. In fact, all three of you are worthy of holding that title just like any other spice which I have given birth to. All you of hold equal rights to that title or none at all. While you remembered your good qualities, you conveniently forgot your damaging properties.

Salt, do you realize that your excessive presence in the Sambhar can turn the entire preparation sour and ruin the taste of the dish as well as that of the person eating it.

And Chilly, you are present in a quantity more than required; you can set the person’s tongue on fire. And he will end up drinking so much water that he will have no stomach for any more Sambar.

Tamarind, while you impart an uncommon taste, your abundance in the Sambhar will make it so unusual that people will not term it Sambhar any more.

Narrator: As the goddess spoke, the 3 spices realized the importance of her wise words.

Goddess Annapurna: Remember it is not the individual spice that the people crave for. It is the combination of all your flavors that people relish. You can do justice to your individual flavors only when you have learnt to blend with each other’s to bring out that authentic taste of the famous South Indian Sambhar. Having said that I am sure you now understand your responsibilities.

Narrator: The 3 spices had learnt an invaluable lesson today. They pledged that they will give Rinchi patti her best Sambhar today; the Nair household will have their most delicious Sambar ever cooked in the history of South Indian Cooking.

That day, true to their words, the Nair household had their best ever Sambar and the entire family was complaining for more.

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Credits
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Concept    : Vishaal Janardhan a.k.a Bal HANUMAAN
Script        : Rahul Bhansali
Motivation : Yashvir Karki

Shine on Em'

Song : Shine on Em'
Artist : Nas
Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fFfFSX-D9w

{*Man Singing & Humming in Foreign Language*}

[Intro: Nas]
They wanna shine on 'em
Shine on 'em <-- 7X
Yeah

[Verse 1: Nas]
They dug me out the soil in the Mines of the Motherland
Now I'm misplaced, one hand to another hand
Illegal smugglin', people strugglin'
Wish they could just throw me back in the mud again
Yeah, guess that's how we got here
Slave Trade then the Diamond Trade
Every child's afraid
When his Mother and Father get sprayed
Forced in the Army, young killer Brigade
Gets a new name and then he give his nose glue
Til' his mind can't take what he's gon' through
Lookin' in that dirt for that ice so blue
Then The Royal Family, the ice goes to
And this thing has to change, feelin' half-ashamed
As I rap with my Platinum chain
When you shop for a gift for me
You think about the misery?
The same way we made Apartheid History
We can do the same thing to the conflict ice
But everybody wanna shine, right?

[HooK: Nas]
Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants Diamonds without the Bloodshed
Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants Diamonds without the Bloodshed
They wanna Shine on 'em
Shine on 'em <-- 7X

[Verse 2: Nas]
My VVS glimmers on my chest
200-thou-encrusted watch on my wrist
I wonder how people starve to death
When God bless the land that lacks the harvest
The stone's equality, but they homes are poverty
And the whole world ignores the robbery
Bought my girl pretty rocks when she's mad at me
Tear-drop shaped, uh, perfect Clarity
It shocks, so many are killed annually
'Cause of greed, lust, and pure Vanity
Stop talkin' and do somethin' about it
Every Holiday Season, Jewelry stores crowded
Kids snatched from their homes, Mutilated alive
Husbands separated from wives, keep a Jesus piece to be fly
But back in the day there was a time when they called us shine

[HooK: Nas]
Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants Diamonds without the Bloodshed
Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants Diamonds without the Bloodshed
They wanna shine on 'em
Shine on 'em <-- 7X

{*Man Singing & Humming in Foreign Language*}