Remembering a not so 'Chinese' Grand mother

There are days when I go back to a particular food item, not because I was craving it, but I am missing the people who like to have it. This sometimes makes me eat things that I dont even like. Strange, isn't it? Do you ever do that?

One of the most common dish that fall into this category is noodles. This reminds me of the grand, old lady with whom we used to share a house because we were too poor to afford something of our own. I just moved back home after college. I was depressed about not landing on a job and we were struggling to survive without having a single income in the family. But this 70 year old grandma, with her incessant talking and stories, made my life a little bearable. Others found her too loud. As someone who love to listen to the stories of others, I couldn't have asked for a better company.

She was born in a Chinese family and ended up getting adopted by Indian couple who were settled in Singapore at that time. This might be in 1940s. She got married to an Indian and after some years moved to India with her typical husband and kids. In a place where almost everyone is dark skinned, her pale skin, small eyes and silky soft hair grabbed more attention. In all other ways, she was just like any other person from that place. She prepared the conventional Indian food and was fluent in the native language. But people were more concerned about her physical appearance and addressed her as Chinese Lady. She moved to India when she was 20 years old and lived here for more than 50 years. Still she was a Chinese Lady! Local newspaper used to feature her every once in a while mentioning her "Chinese" roots. It used to upset her so much.

I was amused by her life. Her children used to visit her once in a while. But she managed everything on her own. Every day she will go out to buy fish and groceries. I wanted to grow old like her. A sassy old lady! She loved spicy food and made curries with a ton of chili powder and garlic. One day she showed me how to make authentic Chinese noodles with maggi. I was all red after eating that noodles. But the aroma of that noodles still stay with me and is intertwined with the memories of her. Even during my short stay in China, I used to make her type of noodles. It has become a way of remembering her.

Almost a decade had passed and we shifted many houses during this time. Meanwhile she also grew older and had to move in with her son in another city. I hope she is still the kickass Lady she used to be. I need to make a hot pot of noodles today!