‘Fragrance of Childhood’

GULGULA-GULGULE

This is going to be sweet.
Leave behind the sour and savoury.
Come, feel the taste of this Haryanvi delight.
Monsoon special.
Teej* treat.
Take some wheat flour,
Add jaggery,
And a dash of fennel powder,
Leaving your hands and kitchen aromatic.
Give it a good mix with some water.
Keep your hands moving.
We don't want lumps in our gulgule. And in life, in general.
Glad, you noticed, they are called gulgule.
Gulgula in singular.
Gulgule in plural.
Packed with sweetness of dadi's* love and profound memories,
Deep fried in mustard oil and tossed in a huge thali,
Emanating the fragrance of childhood fondly wrapped in our hearts,
So that we may catch a whiff of love once in a while
Only to realise how loved we are.
Frantically moving and crossing various stations,
of remembrance and recollections.
Gulgule.
Embellished with tokens of toil, patience and warmth.
Never in a perfect shape
But evermore fitting for a perfect time.
Try it
For you will relish it.
And taste a flavour from the bylanes and dhaanis* of Haryana!


*Hariyali Teej is a festival of North India celebrated in the month of monsoon.
*Dadi -- grandmother
*Dhaanis are small conglomeration of houses located mostly in Punjab and Haryana