The Momma Clan

Dressed in the traditional attire-
Yellow and white cotton saree;
She picked up the ceramic bowl kept aside,
Loaded with mouth-watering ‘jalpais’.

With shining, enticing green colour
Those tangy rounded olives, transport me to my childhood;
My granny’s store was always full of them,
Whenever I visited her cottage in the woods.

The shelves were full of glass jars and containers
On the table, the pestle with its mortar was enjoying some leisure;
The walls, cornered the baskets of leaves,
The room was emitting a mixture of delicious wild odours.

Today, that store, a hub of ayurvedic practitioners
Is held with love and great esteem;
Like the devoted mistresses of herbs and spices,
They are fulfilling their duties, working as a team.

-Shilpa Chakrabarti