Tea O'Clock - Brew #7
Do you know that feeling when you rummage through your old clothes or bags and stumble across some cash? I experienced something similar when I went through my Substack drafts and found a fully written post from almost a year ago. It felt like the jackpot.
From the shelves:
Don’t you love books where the title(and the cover) is subtly tied to the story. You reach a point when suddenly everything falls into place and you have a big ‘aha’ moment? Pachinko by Lee Min-jin is exactly that. It chronicles the journey of Korean immigrant family in Japan against the backdrop of world war II to a modern day Japan. There is a point in the story where you finally see what’s in front of you all along. It is so meta! Another similar book is the marvelous Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag. The complex family drama slowly turns into something else. You sit in a shocked silence as the meaning slowly sinks in. It is the most subtle and ominous smack in the face ever. Interestingly both the books are about families that stick together!
From the kitchen:
Adulting is realizing that Pumpkin is the most versatile vegetable out there(Sorry Potato!). You can make soup, delicious gravies, pasta sauce, CAKE, halwa, pies and coffee. I have probably tried everything other than the pie and pumpkin spiced latte. My favorite is the shorba recipe from Chef Deepa which also doubles as a pasta sauce. And also because everything that can be made into dessert needs to be baked into a cake, here is the pumpkin cake recipe from Archana Pidathala. It eats like a cake. Tastes and smells like halwa. What’s not to like?
From the playlist:
I am always a little skeptical about listening to authors. I have a certain narrative voice for them in my head and I do not want reality to ruin it. But I absolutely loved Amrita Mahale’s interview on The Books and Beyond podcast. She talks about her writing process, inspirations, her intriguing career, and Bombay. I loved the sections where she talks about drawing inspiration from people around her and the city she loves. In case you haven’t already, I would recommend that you catch the episode after reading Milk Teeth.
The highlight of my weekend has been the visit to the Chennai book fair. I came back with five carefully picked books and now I am ready to write a book about self-control.
Ciao.