#mga writes

Ram was fixated on eating sambar and aloo fry all his life, and when he was a bachelor, he used to run errands around curry points. But when the lockdown was enforced, all the curry points were shut, leaving him with no option but to cook. As part of his cooking journey, he decided to learn how to make chapati. It took him nearly six months to master making a properly shaped chapati, at least one that was identifiable. During this chapati-making hustle, his attempts sometimes resembled a Chinese map, and other times, a Russian map. His roommates would tease him, saying, "Are you trying to send some corona genome sequences as cryptic messages to China or what?" Since Ram had embarked on his fitness journey, he preferred chapati for dinner every night, while his wife Ayyira preferred rice. Ayyira complained that if she ate chapati, her tummy would demand a second meal at midnight, and it would be Ram's sole responsibility to fulfill her hunger if he suggested having chapati...

Ram and Ayyira have been married for nearly a year, and in just 10 days, they'll celebrate their first anniversary. They both work in the software industry, but their work schedules are quite different. Ram's work hours follow the usual 9-5 routine, while Ayyira's shift begins at 9, but during a different part of the day. In the beginning, they faced challenges in finding a common time to spend quality moments together. However, it didn't take them long to discover the beauty of love within their inverted schedules. They did have their fair share of arguments and disagreements, watching the newly released movie on matinee or evening show, and going out for lunch or dinner, but the remarkable aspect of their relationship was that they always resolved these issues before bedtime. Netflix and chill, Swiggy and bill. Occasionally, Ayyira had the opportunity to work from home. Before she logged in, Ram would sit beside her, sharing the events of his day. In return, she would...

This evening, I was sitting in a salon that I always prefer to visit. Not because that anna does the exact cut the way I want it, but because he sets the whole atmosphere with a 90s playlist and discusses current affairs, movie reviews, cricket analysis, and more. Although I often find his views distorted and incorrect, I just nod and listen to what he has to say. Listening to people is my superpower, no matter what the topic. While waiting for my turn for a haircut, I decided to open my Kindle app and started reading a fictional spy novel series set in Syria. The first 100 pages I read earlier were a bit boring as they were just setting up the characters and context. Anyway, I continued from where I left off and found myself on a page where a Nazi official explains with pride how he used to terminate Jewish people to an Israeli spy walking in the old streets of Damascus. It felt a little bit odd that I was sitting in my comfort zone - with AC, music, and a cozy chair - while reading a...

I've been to Kochi recently and what’s fun if you are not trying the local cuisine? So I tried Parota with beef, Iddiyapam, puttu, appam and kappa. As someone who loves trying new foods, watching Malayalam movies has been a gateway to discovering Kerala's delicious and unique cuisine. From up-close shots of people enjoying their meals to pivotal plot points centred around food, these movies have genuinely influenced my taste buds. One particular scene from the movie Hridayam stood out to me. When Arun asks Nitya on a food date, he takes her to an authentic hotel where they enjoy Kerala's famous parotta with beef. Another scene from Vikram Vedha has Vedha instructing Vikram on how to eat the Parotta with beef 101. These scenes highlight the role that food plays in Malayalam movies, and how it can bring people together in different ways. As someone from Andhra, where beef is taboo and even talking about it can be culturally insensitive, I was curious to try it for myself. And...

Meet Subramani, the owner of a tea stall in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense forest for kilometres on end, there is just a bus stop along the ghat road and this tea stall. One must get down at this bus stop and walk 2 km into the forest to reach nearby villages or resorts. He's like Chellam sir from the Family Man series - if you need information about local transport, accommodation, or anything else, Subramani is your man. You just need to ask and he was like "oru nimasham thambi" and he's on the phone, making things happen in no time. The day I was leaving I found his stall torn to pieces. Locals said an elephant emerged from the jungle and destroyed the tea stall overnight. Locals started to help and I am sure he will rebuild his shop and start again. When asked how he was doing, Subramani simply replied "Ellām cariyāki viṭum thambi" (everything will be fine) with that same infectious smile.

A gift from my parents when I was in the 9th grade, more than a mere object, it holds memories much greater. I remember playing GTA Vice City and Hitman, we all wish we had those cheat codes in life, 'comeflywithme', 'fannymagnet'. I remember the nerves and excitement I felt, awaiting the results of my 10th-grade public exams while staring at its screen. I remember getting awe-struck by looking at photos of Dubai city that my cousin sent in an email. I remember burning DVDs with the photos, it's funny some people reading this might wonder why the hell they burn,lol I will remember today, as it rests in scrap, obsolete and forgotten, its purpose and function now long gone, Yet the memories it holds remain timeless, A treasure trove of moments to look back upon.