What Easter means to me

               

             In India, the Lent season starting on Ash Wednesday and ending with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday was precious to my heart. In so many ways, I miss the revival meetings through out the lenten Fridays that prepares our heart toward the Holy week.  I miss the seven sermons preached on a hot Good Friday afternoon-one sermon for every word spoken by Jesus on the Cross. Not to mention the early morning Easter services complete with communion. Great beautiful memories! 

        When we had moved to the US and my kids were much younger, they came to me a few days before Easter and asked if the Easter bunny was going to bring goodies. They had heard kids in school talking about it. Really? I had recently adjusted to the concept of Santa and his gift bringing. I had even programmed my senses to embrace the tooth fairy but this Easter bunny was just pushing my limits. So I banned him. "NO!NO!NO! You want goodies, I will take you to an Easter egg hunt", I said. We have not missed an egg hunt ever since. It was such fun to watch the kids go crazy! Not so much the parens who willfully bring the kids to the egg hunt and complain about too much sugar in their systems. 

              I have wondered why we celebrate Easter with eggs and bunnies in the US? To such an extent, some kids think the eggs hatch bunnies! The bunny is a mammal, thank you very much! and no there is no connection whatsoever to Jesus and bunnies and eggs and chocolate. I hate the fact it is all pooled together with Easter and we royally miss the point of this glorious day. On the third day after Jesus died on the cross, he rose again from the grave. Easter is the day we celebrate to remember that he rose from the dead and forgave us of our sins.  

              I get it, eggs and bunnies signify Spring and new birth. Is it just a convenient marketing strategy for retail stores and supermarkets to combine it with Easter since they all fall close to each other? But, come on. Between the time change last week, the incessant snowing this week, I have had enough anyway.

               I celebrate Easter for what it is, Jesus. His death, His resurrection, His Love and His forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus. 

The day I ate Mexican!

            Several years ago, when I visited the United States, I went to dinner with some of my friends. The group of friends I had gone with was a funny bunch. The whole time while we waited for the waitress, they laughed about their time as a waiter/ waitress. One guy said how some people would order Quesadilla as "kwesadiLLaa" and the whole table erupted into laughter. Soon enough, the waitress showed up and we began placing our orders. When my turn came, I promptly checked my menu, like what I saw and said, "I'll have the "chicken faJEEtaas". Said it like it was written and my table for some reason became absolutely quiet. The waitress was polite but hey! I knew something was up.

               Sooooo, I came to learn how to pronounce Juan and tortilla, Jose and sopapilla with the silent j's and l's. And still knew enough to say John, Jesus and Joseph. Knew my difference from a Margarita and a Martini. When my son started learning Spanish, I picked up a few words and tried striking up a conversation with anyone that I was sure knew the language. Once I forced my child to say "Muy Bien" to a waitress , when my son whispered that she was asking what my daughter's name was in Spanish. Awkward!!! You think?

                Did you know there is a TV show called India in Spanish??? What are chances?? Did you know the Spanish they speak in Spain is different from the Spanish spoken in South America, Central America or Mexico? When I am in a pinch for Indian groceries, I walk down the Hispanic aisle in the store and am able to gather most of the stuff  I need. Cumin and dried chillies are such an intricate part of my cuisine as well. Salsa is almost tomato chutney and tortilla is an easy chapati.

              My favorite dinner to bring to a friend is, naturally a Cheesy Enchilada casserole and they look at me wondering, "Nothing Indian?"     Nope! Sorry, I seem to lean toward Mexican cuisine over Indian myself. I'd rather make Tacos in a jiffy or a Taco salad for a campout. It's pretty much always a toss up between Chipotle and Qdoba. Go figure!

            With all this talk of immigration, and deportation and building a wall, I really do wonder if America will survive without Mexican food.  Is it possible to love the food and hate the cook? I guess anything is possible.