Deepavali cheer

I welcomed Deepavali wearing a red saree. Have to admit am still a novice tying one neatly to enhance. But in the hands of my sis-in -law's Sri Lankan helper I had no worries. I remembered to wear some bangles but forgot the stick -on pottu.

Like on previous occasions, it was the time of the year to embrace almost all things Indian. Am not a purist but having picked up some practices and culture over the years, things do not appear so daunting. Yes, eating with fingers is one of them too! And so is wearing salwar khameez on the odd occasions.

It was great to entertain friends in the comfort of our house and be as great a host as we can be. Friends old and new mingled and we were happy to renew ties with some 'long -lost' friends as our daily routine gets packed with more than mundane affairs. The run-up to the celebration involved quite a bit of legwork to get things done as I liked it to be. 60 odd guests came and it was a comfortable setting as I had seats arranged in different parts of the house.

In the evening we lined the perimeter wall of the house with tea lights in colourful glass containers. As they flickered and danced in the gentle breeze of the evening, we sat down to dinner and recollected a wonderful time had by all, especially us. The laughter we shared is still ringing in our ears and the time we shared briefly still endures .Till another Deepavali, may the lights shine bright on you my friends.

2 oil lamps flank the kolam I made to greet everyone. Someone commented it was a kind of naive art.

My lounge taking on a festive look

I rearranged my lounge for friendly seating.

Vaani who used to dress brides made me feel like a million dollar gal in my red saree:)

I joked that my hubby was 'outstanding' to guests. Well, he was as he was dressed differently and stood out! LOL.

Happy to have my blogger friend, Ee Lynn (in green) and dear friends, May and K. Khee with us - 3 true animal lovers seated together.

It's lunch time chat and friendliness. A delightful crowd.

A sumptious spread - some home -cooked and a few catered. Glad to say the compliments flowed. The white wine complemented the curries well while the fruit punch was a welcome drink in the hot afternoon.

Glad to see an old friend

In the terrace - my sis-in -law and some of my buddies.

My youngest, sweet guest. Her mum received delicious compliments for the carrot and chocolate cakes she made.

I managed to find a waiter to help out as on Deepavali day such service is in great demand.

Brekkie with Friends

You know certain things connect you to a place /thing when there's a special request. That was the case when our guests from Australia came visiting en route from their European holiday. Having spent a good number of years in the Far East, it was time to retire and settle in Melbourne.

We had a late breekie at Raju's. Few locals will not know of this place. In fact, it is synonymous with a banana leaf meal 'al fresco.

Sit yourself under spready trees and canopies. Enjoy the open air. Watch the world pass by - morning joggers dying for that meal, happy hordes of school children laughing and chatting , office workers meeting for a quick catch up, family members having family moments and happily tucking in with their fingers to lick it all up! Just beyond the fence, in the wide open field of La Salle school, activities of the Boy Scouts etc make up the scenario as one indulges in a banana leaf meal.

The waiters were at the ready, almost! Eagerly we waited for the banana leaf to be placed - that signals the start of a meal. That morning, we wanted a straightforward thosai/ roti canai with sambar and chutney. Too much eating had taken place over the past few days. That morning all we wanted was some no frills food.

Smartly-attired to serve customers

G. enjoyed the thosai and specially wanted 'roti telur'. It's hard to forget those days in Brunei where the stalls beckon and the food is delicious, if you know where to go. With the food, we ordered our drinks - teh halia , teh tarik and limau - all 'kurang manis'. That important request to keep it almost sugarless!

I was too busy stuffing myself and didn't get round to clicking any pictures of thosai. As for thosai (many variations of spelling - dhosai, tosai ) it is a thin pancake made of rice and gram dhall which has been lightly fermented. Raju's is a South Indian outlet and thosai is definitely it. We were served dhall and coconut sambar as accompaniments. The four of us were pretty adept with our fingers tackling the thosai and roti canai. For the second round, we ordered paper thosai - extra thin . It came rolled like a important document! I would have loved to see it sitting high like a tent on a the plate, as some outlets do.

Well, G and M, Ravi and I wish you happy days in Melbourne. AirAsia has shrunk the fares for us to visit you and vice versa!

Flattening the balls of dough

Flip flops with dough and you get roti canai! I was asked to click the 'swing' of the roti canai.

Hot off the griddle

Help yourselves !Food comes in stainless steel containers

Wash your food down - with teh tarik/ teh halia

Hey! where are the pyjamas for this banana??