#mga writes

When you grow together in love, sometimes you pause to watch the person next to you and feel thankful for life. You may wonder where it all started. For me, that moment is our first date, “the pellichupulu date” – the starting point of the trajectory of our love. Ayyira and I met at a traditional pellichupulu, spoke there, and connected on Instagram. We hadn't informed our parents of our decision yet, as we thought we should take some time. We texted for a week, and one weekend, I decided to go meet her in Hyderabad. I still recall that day when I stood in the Tatkal line to book a ticket; my hands were trembling not just from the Tatkal pressure, but also from thoughts of how the day would go when I met her in Hyderabad. I texted her the Saturday evening when I was boarding the train, and she had plans for Sunday to visit her parents. However, she cancelled her plans and decided to meet me. She asked about my plan for the day, and honestly, I had none. My whole intention was to me...

Ram and Ayyira's engagement dates had been announced, and their hearts fluttered with happiness. As part of the engagement ceremony, Ram's mother wanted to send a saree to Ayyira. Ram immediately texted Ayyira, “Ayyira, I wanted to see you and give you the first saree with my own hands. Would it be okay if I come on Monday?” “I will be more than happy, Ram.” “I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'm not sure if you have a work shift on that day, so I thought of giving you a heads up.” “Ram, your visit itself is a surprise for me, so don't think, just come over.” Ram boarded the train. It was a double-decker train with sitter compartments, and the seats were so congested that Ram knew he would be awake all night due to the uncomfortable seating. He texted Ayyira, “Hey, I just boarded.” Ayyira was on her shift, yet she replied to him, “Good, take some rest. Dad will pick you up in the morning from the station.” It was one in the morning when Ayyira texted Ram, “You didn'...

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...

chinaapudu nenu ma inti bayata kurchoni homework rasukuntu untey kitchen lo ma amma chesa sambar guma gumalu ke entha intensity vundho same intensity ma vurlo dhaba ke vundhe, Sunday roju biryani time ayyindi pushpa ane aromatic vibrations tho ala pilsuthundhe. edhego vastuna ane na cycle vesukone, manche endalo eppate laga velli special chicken biryani order echa, phone pe transaction fail avuthunde emo ane cash kuda backup petuukone full prepared ga vella, can't wait to taste biryani level of excitement, dieting peru tho week antha kadupu madchukune cheat day kosam wait chesa pranalu dhora, what can I say. Hail veggies and oats!. na parcel vachey time lo IG, twitter, reddit ane ala oka pattu pate, suriyuduu na parcel yekkada ra ane adega, inthalo merupu thega laga dhaba lo chotu na parcel thesukone vachadu. Rao garu enti parcel size and shape ekkado thedakoduthunde ane adigithye chef maripoyadu thamudu ane pedha bomb pelchadu donga sachinodu, godava padde udhesam ledhu inko res...

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...