Sitcom Sitters Chat Club #3 - Page 112

Originally posted by: Kwerky

The days leading up to the visit home are always the busiest...with shopping and then some more shopping..and then packing. They just fly off in a jiffy and then you are staring at the departure date...😊

It is not feasible/possible to fast on all the days of Navratri if you are working. 😳 I have never done fasting over all the 9 days...usually it is only Ashtami during both navratris (as it is the grandest day of the navratri period at my in-laws...they are Kashmiri Pandits..) and Ram Navmi during the Chaitra Navratri.

Originally posted by: Wisian

Haan... meri maa ne bhi mujhe yehi kahaa...

I work with very sick people. If I don't eat well, I'll have weaker immunity... I'll see how I can manage...

You fast during the ashtami? That has been different for us...

My mother's family is from Kumaon, my father's family was from Lucknow - and between the messy mixing up of Arya Samaj and Sanatan Dharma, in my family the tradition followed was to fast from the first and seventh Navratri. On ashtami, it was required to invite little girls to our home and serve them poori-halwa, which is what we ate as well to break our Navratri fasts...

Consequently, we never fasted for Ram Navmi.

It is interesting to learn that Kashmiris have a different tradition...

Originally posted by: Wisian

True, I remembered - but almost 20 days too late. I'm still beating myself for it...

Had I wished you on the day - it would've made you more happy, nahin?

Anyway... 🤗 🤗 🤗 ... thank you for being so awesome. 😃

Originally posted by: Wisian

@Suits: It is a show based on a law firm...

I'm quite sure law firms don't operate like they do in "Suits", but with some suspension of disbelief, I can watch it for Patrick Adams. 😳😳😳

@Anil Kapoor: Did you watch his remake of 24?

I also have a crush on Kiefer Sutherland [Do you already think that I am very reckless? 😆], and I could barely have imagined the desi version of 24 to come close to recapitulating the awesomeness of the original. [Kiefer's replacement is Anil Kapoor; bolo - how can anyone even imagine that travesty!]

Do you know - which role will AK be playing in the desi Modern Family? Jay Pritchett? Doesn't he think that he is too young to be playing that part already? 😛😳😆

And you are absolutely right... At most, if Jay has a gay son in India, the son will be closeted, and all jokes involving gay people will only reek of regressive standards that the modern state of India upholds (vis-a-vis homosexuality)...

I guess, you are right... he's probably just trying to make a show in the mockumentary format...

@PC: Naah... I have no patience for that. I had already guessed that all the gushing amounts to nothing... 😆😆😆

I checked out Patrick Adams online and he is very handsome. 😊 I might check out "Suits" sometime soon...and see if I like the series.

And no, I don't think you are reckless because you have a crush on Kiefer too. 😆😆 I think that holds true for all of us...we all have multiple crushes on actors at different points or even at the same time. These TV shows are devious 😈...they present the actors in such good characters that it is impossible to not like them. 😆

Originally posted by: Kwerky

Navratri ki shubhkaamnaayein!😊 May the Goddess fill your life with happiness.

What a coincidence, Wisu!! My parents are from Kumaon too...😆😊...my father was born and brought in a small place near Almora and mother's family was based out of Agra but they are Kumaonis. And your mother is right - you can't go on fasting for so long, considering your work environment. As they rightly say, work is worship.

We have never had the tradition of fasting on all the Navratri days...mainly due to the immensely busy schedule that my parents had while we were growing up. Now that they are semi-retired, they do follow the fasting rituals but not for all days. However, at my in-laws the Navratris are a bigger deal - till a couple of years back, my father-in-law fasted for all seven days leading up to Ashtami during both navratris (since he isn't well for sometime, he has given up the fasting..). Durga/Devi/Shakti and her various forms hold very high importance for the Kashmiri Pandits (KP)...so they break their fast on Ashtami (and just like at your place, invite girls to their place and serve poori-halwa or kheer). In fact, every month, we fast on the Ashtami that falls during the shukla paksha...underscoring the importance of the Goddess.

Yes, the KPs have slightly different traditions than the other Brahmin communities of the North. Shivratri is as big as Diwali, if not bigger as they are chiefly followers of Shiva (Kashmiri Shaivism). Ganesh Chaturthi also holds a lot of importance - we make sweet breads called "roth" made with a dough of wholewheat flour, sugar, cardamom and dry fruits...and they are distributed to family and friends. All other festivals are celebrated in the same way as the other Hindus do.

Originally posted by: Kwerky

Now you are embarrassing me. 😳 The way I see it, you remembered it..even though a few days later...that makes me more happy. 😊

Waise...good for you - you will be celebrating your birthday with your family in Delhi! 😊 Last year too you would have been in Delhi...since you were recuperating from your injury, nahin?

Originally posted by: Wisian

How often do you go back for vacation? And when? [Do you also have a preferred time?]

Originally posted by: Wisian

First of all - Happy Navratri to you too, Kwerky! 😃 Thank you for your kind wish; I also pray for Maa Bhagwati to bless you with good health and happiness...

@Almora: Really, Kwerky? Who could have guessed this?! My mother's maternal family is also from Almora, her father was from Nainital. 😃 Is this why we have such a natural affinity? 😆😆

@Fasting: My mother fasts from the first navratri to the seventh one... the standard fast - no cereals, no spices, no legumes - so, just some potatoes, and some yogurt every night. I've kinda decided to also attempt something similar - I will eat something for dinner if I am hungry and unable to sleep. 😆

The "roth" must be delicious. How thick are they? Do you bake them, or do you roast them on an open flame? My grandmother would only just make "singhal" (I'm sure you know what they are) for all festivals. For Holi, we'd get gujiyas in addition; but for every other festival, she'd only make singhal. 😛😛

Kashmiri food is so delectable - what with all the dry fruits, the anise and fennel, and of course all the saffron that you use... I've only once had (what was touted as real and genuine) Kashmiri Pualo and Kheer. They were absolutely amazing.

If you have tried and tested recipes for either of them, please kabhi (when you have time) mujhe savistaar bataana... 😃

Of course, I know what singhals are. Indian festival/pooja food is the best. When we were young and my father used to go to his native village or Almora..we used to eagerly wait for the baal-mithai and the singauri...are you familiar with them? Yummm...it's been years since I had these sweets..and my mouth is watering right now.☺️

Originally posted by: Kwerky

Yes, the weather in Delhi will be nice at this time.

We always go back in December...usually around 20th/21st and are back in the first week of Jan...just over two weeks...because that's when we can manage the most number of leaves as it is generally the holiday period around the world and business is slow. My parents keep asking us to drop in around Diwali..but it becomes impossible to go down for just a few days at that time. Btw, did you know that Diwali (or Deepavali as it is called here..) is a public holiday here in Singapore...because of the substantial Indian (Tamil) population! 😊

You had asked this earlier too and sorry..I couldn't respond at that time. 😳