The last but one!

Today was the penultimate monthly ceremony we perform for my mother in law during the first year after her passing away.

As if to challenge my pride in having successfully done every single one at home so far, this one threw a surprise. The cook ditched us in the last minute - and we had to manage on our own.

The menu for this occasion is usually fixed - four types of curries, four chutneys, dal, sambar, charu, wadas, appams and the works. My father in law kept saying we should cut down and make it a simple affair.

But I was firm. Somehow in this, I always was, it was the last thing we were doing for my mother in law - symbolically or otherwise and I did not want to have to compromise on it. Thanks to my Mom being around, I was fairly confident of pulling it off and boy! Did we :) It was true team work - father in law and my Dad doing the last minute shopping, my Dad cutting veggies and offering to serve the Brahmins, Subhash and the parents taking turns taking care of the kid, and greatest of all, my mom helping out with the cooking!!

It left me a little tired but limitlessly happy! Just one more to go and it is the annual ceremonies in December. Hope we can pull off both.