Election Year Tilgul....

Trust my friend Shruti Nargundkar of Melbourne to come up with an innovative tilgul, for Sankranti. Or what is our winter harvest festival, celebrated across the length and breadth of India, by different regions, in different ways.

Some thanking of the Almighty, some awareness of the best seasonal foods one could imbibe,some  following of age old weather determination methods,  promoted as fun kite flying for kids, and a general celebration of the rich bountiful Earth.

Shruti has created a Tilgul recipe that includes the cousins Quinoa and Amaranth, as well as  the flax and poppy seeds . In addition to the usual Til or Sesame seeds.  Jaggery gracefully gives way to Coconut sugar, which she gets in Melbourne.

Read all about her recipe here .   Which brings to mind some coalitions now happening in an election year in India, and what our esteemed candidates can learn from the Tilgul members.......

Some election first timers
popping in excitement,
some sesame veterans
crackling commands
amidst the heated conversation
with Flaxnathji,
much about
the revolt by the poppies
and their eventual return
to the kadhai fold.

Dada peanut and gram types
walking the talk as they
go hotly dark,
and crack up
talking about earlier campaigns.

This time
the Aam Quinoa types,
their misleading flaky demeanour
hiding some
strong peptide minds,
join in,
as first timers
learning the ropes.

It really is all about
everyone doing their bit
and giving pieces of themselves
as they come together
for the harvest parliament.

So many sweetened deals
from the
coconut and jaggery types,
sealed with
cardamom and nutmeg signatures.

When will our elected types learn
that their success
depends on how well
they mix
and complement each other,
and not
how well they
pull each other down
and crumble.

Very clearly,
some lessons
for our leaders
to learn from the Tilgul.