It was quite an amazing co-incidence that most of us at our school reunion had decided to gift foodstuff to one another. Smita came bearing homemade chivda all the way from Bhopal to Bengaluru; Nita brought fruity chutney that she’d picked up at an ashram along with some aam papad; Sutapa carried sandesh from Haldia; Patricia brought cake she baked and Chaitali gifted me a handsome chunk of patale gurh… I carried sambar and gun powder I had made to give my non- Madrasi friends.
Gifts of food are the best, don’t you think? I love it when someone brings me a present that I can eat. My friends Latha and Krishnan always do that. Grated coconut (they know I hate grating coconut), karuvepillai, pepper, golden ghee and turmeric, all from their organic farm. When another friend Narmada came visiting, she gave me homemade preserves — gongura and a delicious sweet-and-sour-lime chutney. It was a God-send that time I served it up on hot buttered toast after a long day’s work. For those of us guilty of stocking up on shelf-bought stuff, boring and repetitive, not to mention bereft of any good health, something like Narmada’s pickles is a special treat. My friend Deva couriered Paanch Phoron to me because I went on and on about it, all the way from Kolkata!
Hot meals are welcome too. That bliss when someone says, “Don’t worry, I will send you dinner,” is difficult to describe. Anyone from the armed forces will vouch for this. When we are busy packing, and the gas cylinder is surrendered and the fridge is disconnected, nothing is more welcome than a friend coming calling with a tiffin carrier filled with hot food. This pampering does not stop till we actually leave the place and we get a hamper for the train too. In my book, that is the best send-off.
I have wasted money on buying gifts I am not even sure people will enjoy. And we all already have countless idols and flower vases and lemonade sets languishing in our cupboards. Most times, we can’t remember who gave them to us. What we don’t get enough of anymore are homemade vadaams and podis, jams and pickles. These are heart-warming gifts that will not bankrupt you and that are always well received.
Everything else is available to everyone everywhere. If it is not, there is always online shopping. But, that particular thokku your mami makes or the vadaam that is lovingly prepared and dried on the terrace of your grandmother’s house, or the paruppu podi only your mom has the secret recipe to…These are gifts money can’t buy. They are my favourite ones.
