A new role for my mother during the lockdown days

At our home, during the early days of Covid lockdown, my dad had a problem. It was time for him to get his hair cut and he couldn't do it since no hair saloons were open. Even if they had opened, he wouldn't have felt comfortable in going to the saloon.

Finally, my mom took up the issue in her hands (literally), saying it was not a big deal. Her argument was - all one has to do was pick up the scissors and give him a hair cut. Simple, isn't it!!!

The first month she did mess it up a little. Gradually, she understood what had to be done and started doing a decent job.

I guess this was the case in many households post the lock down.

Conversation last afternoon -

Dad (looking at me): your mother has taken 500 bucks from me today.

My mom (smiling): you did not pay me for your hair cut. think of it as payment for the job I did.

Dad: 500 bucks for a hair cut!! this is atrocious. I pay the experienced barber only 120-150 for one hair cut. You are not even experienced as my barber.
And this 150 bucks per hair cut includes greeting me when I enter, giving me a chair to sit in an air conditioned room and wrapping a cloth under my chin so that the hair does not fall. You did not even do that!!!

Mom (trying very hard to put a serious face): this is not for one hair cut, this is for the 4-5 times I gave you an hair cut. second, you are getting an hair cut in the comfort of your own home, don't have to walk to the hair saloon.

Dad (laughing at my mom): even the scissor you are using is the same one that you use in the kitchen.

Mom (giving my dad a death stare) : Iam not like you. che!!! this is a new scissor that I took just for your hair cut.

Dad: you know, yesterday when I had gone to get some stuff from a store, the barber called me and asked me to come into his saloon. Told me he takes all precautions to stop spread of the virus. I should have gone to him.

Mom: go to him if you want. don't ever ask me to give a hair cut.

I kept my mouse shut during the entire conversation, watching both of them talking. Why stop them when I was being entertained, free of cost 😁😂😆😂

Why do we have this beauty mode in phone camera

I have not fully understood or used most of the features in my new phone. Last week was a learning in using the camera on the new phone.

When we took our photos, they all came out well. However, when I took a selfie, the picture came in very different. It looked as if my skin was clear and smooth. It was not natural at all. I did not understand what went wrong.

The next few days, as I kept looking at those snaps, I felt my skin looked so odd. Yesterday, I tried to check if anyone else had the same problem on the internet. And that is when I found this stupid setting that is activated by default in the new Samsung phones called - beauty face mode.

From what I read, this "beauty face" mode is activated by default only for selfies and the bloody idiots don't even put on any indication on the phone that this mode is activated while taking a selfie. What does this mode do - it does what they call as "air brushing" (a new word I learnt yesterday!!). Basically this feature edits the photo, by making the skin look smooth😡.

Samsung apparently tries to justify it saying, they being a Korean company, had added this setting for their people who want their face to look perfect on a photo. Right, so why did you add it in phones that are sold overseas?? And why activate the feature by default.

I think this is a problem with any new device - lot of unwanted things are activated by default. Ever since I have started using the new phone, I have discovered so many such unwanted features and have switched them off by default. Phew!!!

So what did I finally do - I did not have the mood to take another snap and there was no way I could change the photo that was already taken with this mode. Being a lazy person, I decided to keep that photo for now.... until I replace it with a new one!!!

Wild mushrooms and tender bamboo shoots!!!

Mushrooms -

I had gone to the local store to buy mushrooms a couple of days back. That brought back memories of the wild mushrooms that were cooked in my native place.

The wild mushrooms taste so different from the cultivated, store bought mushrooms. The wild mushrooms are small and are slippery to touch, which is not the case with the store bought mushrooms.

The wild mushrooms (called kaalaans) are seasonal and are usually found in small quantities just after the rains. At my native, when someone finds the edible mushrooms in the nearby hills, they collect them and sell it to families who are ready to buy these local mushrooms. They are cooked immediately for dinner or the very next day for breakfast.

They are delicious and have a distinct taste that is completely different from the store bought mushrooms.

Bamboo shoots - 
Another local seasonal produce that is used in cooking are the tender bamboo shoots. They are called moongkuruthu in our native village. These are usually found in the nearby forest. They are found in abundant during the monsoon season.There are people who go looking for them in the forest, slice them into small circles and then sell them to people at their houses since they they cannot be sold in the open markets.

The fresh bamboo shoots are then washed in water and stored in steel containers to be used in dishes the next few days. I remember my grand father used to make the trip to our house in Chennai and to my aunt's house in Bangalore, just to give these bamboo shoots that my grand mother bought the previous day. There was a traditional curry that was made with these bamboo shoots and we all loved them.

This is one of the few recipes that is local to our native village.

Fresh moongkuruthu - 

Cooked moongkuruthu -