beliefs
MY DEEPLY pious mother prohibited the eating of any food she had specially prepared for a prayer until it had been first offered to God. But she made an exception for children whose milk or baby teeth had not fallen off.
In my biased view, my mother made the best vades and gulgulas – and there was no way I could suppress the urge to taste her savouries and sweets before they were placed before the deities.
Thus, I would tease my mother that many of my teeth had never fallen out since birth, as I gingerly reached into the large cardboard box filled with just-fried crispy vades. Knowing I was playfully manipulating the situation, she would smile, shake her head and continue labouring at
