April 26, 2009

Vani's Masala Chai

Ingredients:
2 Cups Milk
Good Clean Water
A Whole Cardamom Seed
A Small Thumb of Ginger
1 Heaping Tablespoon Black tea

Boil about two cups of milk with a little less than a cup of water. Reduce heat and add a heaping tablespoon on any loose black tea. Crush the cardamom seed to smithereens and add it to the mixture. Do the same with half-inch thick piece of ginger (no need to remove the skin). Let it sit for a minute and pour through a strainer.

I am addicted to masala chai. Just totally, completely in love with it. While out to lunch the other day, I picked up a dozen cookies for my maid, Vani. She was so delighted by the small gesture that she taught me how to make this tea and then made me breakfast the next morning. I call Vani my maid because I'm not exactly sure how else to explain her. She looks after Kate and David's house when they're not here to make sure everything's in order, and she cooks for them when they are in India. She stops by three times a week to sweep the floors, etc., but I'm usually too shy to really strike up a conversation or ask her for anything. I'm grateful for this new tea knowledge she gave me (must bring her cookies more often). I'm going to make the tea with a little cinnamon and clove mixed in.

Linda and I went to a march and group meditation at the ashram on Friday for the anniversary of Mirra Richards coming to stay in Pondicherry, oh so many years ago. After the march, a band played and it was the most out of tune group in the history of bands. Linda warned me of it, but it still made me laugh. She asked, "How can everyone remain so serious for it?" I'm a sucker for out of tune musicians and bad dancers, though. It's endearing to me and I thought that the off key band was the perfect microcosm of India - all the instruments and fanfare are there, but nothing's played quite right. Linda said that when she came here 33 years ago, it was all villages with just a few cars and televisions. Suddenly, all of this new technology and this new way of living was just plopped down in their culture and they've had to deal with it. According to her, they're just doing the best they can with businesses and driving, etc. They're sort of in culture shock of themselves. Linda drove us back to our place on her little electric moped and we had to suddenly stop because this giant beast was in the road, eating garbage. "Is this some sort of cow?" I really didn't know. She told me it was a buffalo. A buffalo. It surprised me, for some reason. I guess I sort of thought buffaloes were on the edge of extinction, or something. It's also surprising to think that I was three feet away from this massive beast and not afraid in the least that it might eat me, or something. When in India, you just assume that everything's a vegetarian. That all animals are garbagetarians. The animals here - I can't believe I haven't mentioned all the animals here, yet. Animals share the road with the bikes, cars, buses, and walkers. The traffic is anarchy; everybody drives on whatever side of the road is convenient and pedestrians do not have the right away, so it's tough to cross the road sometimes, especially since there are no stop signs around. Animals definitely have the right of way, though. I hear that if you hit a cow, people will practically maul you. Back to the animals (most of which I've encountered on the streets), I've seen cows, buffaloes, goats, chickens, roosters, dogs, cats, big daunting crows with their green sheen and massive beaks, wall geckos that live in my bathroom, many bugs and one monkey that was just relaxing under a tree at the ashram paper factory. My walk anywhere is like a trip to the zoo.

As beautiful as it is in Pondicherry, I'm growing tired of the scenery. I should be going to Sadhana Forest in Auroville next week. Yesterday, I went back to the Savitri Bhavan hall in Auroville to listen to Professor Aravinda Basu share his memories of Sri Aurobindo. He was such a beautiful old man. Funny as old men usually are. As captivating as any old yogi must be. He smiled and nodded at me as he shuffled out the door. I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home with me.