I made potato curry today because I wanted to summon you.
Peel the potatoes, rinse, dice into small cubes.
Add finely chopped ginger, chilies and kadi patta.
Add water. It is supposed to be watery.
A pinch of turmeric, and salt to taste. Let it boil.
When the scent of gingerturmericpotato rises,
you come. Like the Amar Chitra Katha stories of gods
rising from yangnas... only you come and it's easier.
I spoon a mouthful and when I shut my eyes,
I'm enfolded in the soft pleats of your cotton saree
Your pale, soft belly is cool with a sheen of sweat on it. In real life these moments were but fleeting. But I held on to them, hold on to them.
One, brief moment of safety Stretched. Wrapped around me like a shroud.
Potato curry, potato curry fragrance
Summoned whenever, wherever I went. Homesick. to sooth my tumultuous heart.
Vinitha is a flaneur, a forever-hungry-story-devourer and a story conjurer. Also, an author, editor and columnist, Vinitha has written 25 books for children, two of which are part of CBSE curriculum and one, part of ICSE curriculum. Now that her stories are being used to torture children in school, she feels her purpose on earth is complete. Yet she continues to wander and to write. Her book Sera Learns to Fly, won FICCI’s the Best Children’s Book of the Year Award in 2019. She lives in Mumbai with her two teenage kids and a non-stop chattering-voice-in-her-head, writes poetry for a lark, and is in the midst of writing a food memoir. Check out her work on her website and Instagram.