Upmaa

By Shankar Venkatesh

We love it. We love to hate it. It is our savior during desperate times. And yet, we are desperate to avoid it. When we are ill, it is a treat. And yet, we ill-treat it. I present to you, the hero of my story, The Humble Upma! Join upma in its roller-coaster ride as it transforms from a neglected dish to a heavenly delicacy. This is a story about overcoming insecurities, fighting for equality, conquering challenges and realizing one’s full potential. Pick up a bowl of upma and start reading!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
• Release date: May 8, 2023
• ISBN: 6580565809814

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Upmaa

Ultimate Porridge Make-it Anywhere Anytime

Author:

Shankar Venkatesh

For more books

https://www.pustaka.co.in/home/author/shankar-venkatesh

Digital/Electronic Copyright © by Pustaka Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.

All other copyright © by Author.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 - UPMA’S GROUSE

CHAPTER 2 - LORD INDRA’S COURT

CHAPTER 3 - SAGE NARADA’S MISSION

CHAPTER 4 - SUNDAR’S UPMA SURVEYS

CHAPTER 5 - SUNDAR’S SURVEY RESULTS

CHAPTER 6 - BIRTH OF THE UPMA PIONEER

CHAPTER 7 - SEENU’S MESS

CHAPTER 8 - REVIEW OF THE UPMA JOURNEY IN LORD INDRA’S COURT – REVIEW 1

CHAPTER 9 - UPMA STARTS ITS REALISATION JOURNEY

CHAPTER 10 - UPMA FOR CHARITY

CHAPTER 11 - UPMA BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS

CHAPTER 12 - UPMA LENDS MEANING TO RELATIONSHIPS

CHAPTER 13 - UPMA CANNOT BE BEATEN EASILY

CHAPTER 14 - REVIEW OF UPMA’S GROWTH - REVIEW 2

CHAPTER 15 - VOTE FOR FAVOURITE HOTEL

CHAPTER 16 - RESUMPTION OF UPMA’S JOURNEY

CHAPTER 17 - GANESH RESUMES HIS RELATIONSHIPS

CHAPTER 18 - PROPOSAL TO PARTICIPATE IN COOKERY COMPETITION

CHAPTER 19 - SEENU’S EXPANSION PLANS

CHAPTER 20 - REVIEW IN LORD INDRA’S COURT – REVIEW 3

CHAPTER 21 - SEENU GETS MARRIED

CHAPTER 22 - TRAVEL TO MADRAS FOR COOKERY COMPETITION

CHAPTER 23 - COOKERY COMPETITION – BEGINNING OF A NEW DAWN FOR UPMA

CHAPTER 24 - COOKERY COMPETITION – ROUND 2

CHAPTER 25 - HOME COMING FOR THE UPMA CHAMP

CHAPTER 26 - THE UPMA COUPLE GET TOGETHER

CHAPTER 27 - THE UPMA COUPLE GET MARRIED

CHAPTER 28 - GANESH CONFRONTS THE MISCHIEF MONGERS

CHAPTER 29 - CLOSURE OF THE FOOD POISONING CASE

CHAPTER 30 - UPMA JOURNEY RESUMES

CHAPTER 31 - SEENU’S SCHEMING PLANS

CHAPTER 32 - UPMA WINNERS BREAKING THE GEOGRAPHICAL BARRIERS

CHAPTER 33 - RESUMPTION OF UPMA’S DOMESTIC JOURNEY

CHAPTER 34 - UPMA – IN THE SERVICE OF THE NATION

CHAPTER 35 - SEENU GETS INTO A MESS

CHAPTER 36 - REVIEW OF UPMA’S JOURNEY – REVIEW 4

CHAPTER 37 - UPMA SERVICES DURING CALAMITY

CHAPTER 38 - MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR UPMA

CHAPTER 39 - UPMA REACHES THE NEEDY PEOPLE

CHAPTER 40 - GANESH TAKES OVER SEENU’S HOTEL

CHAPTER 41 - INNOVATION IN THE UPMA PREPARATION PROCESS

CHAPTER 42 - OTHER TIFFINS EMULATE THE UPMA MODEL

CHAPTER 43 - UPMA KING ESTABLISHES A LEGACY FOR POSTERITY

CHAPTER 44 - PRE-COOKED UPMA

CHAPTER 45 - UPMA JOURNEY REVIEW - REVIEW 5

CHAPTER 46 - GANESH FULFILLS HIS DUTY

CHAPTER 47 - LORD INDRA’S PALACE RECEIVES GANESH

CHAPTER 48 - STORY NARRATION COMPLETED

CHAPTER 49 - UPMA EPILOGUE

Glossary

FOREWORD

Ireturned home after a tiring day at work. As soon as I stepped out of the lift, the aroma of frying something in rich groundnut oil filled the air. I reminisced memories of my favorite Thanjavur food that my grandmother used to cook for me as I threw my shoes away near the door. I went straight to the kitchen and found it surprising that the gas was switched off. A casserole stood round and shining on the kitchen table. I opened it to find round and dry chappathis. I finished my dinner thinking about the wonderful Thanjavur samayal our neighbours would have had for dinner.

I picked up my phone as it beeped under the cushion. It was a message on one of the thousand WhatsApp groups that I was a part of. The forwarded message read:

Wife (to husband): Shall I prepare rava upma for tiffin?

Husband: Aiyoh! Always Upma! How many times should we eat Upma? Please give me some alternative at least today!

Wife: Okay, what shall we have then? Uhmm… Shall I prepare Oats upma?

Husband: Aiyyayyooo! Even If death is certain, I don’t want upma of any kind.

The message somehow touched me deeply. This is the era of food that is fast and furious- well, furious at least on our stomachs, it would seem! Back in the good old days, my grandmother used to make upma at least three times a week. It tasted divine. Why then is upma, a tasty and nutritious tiffin that can easily be prepared in under ten minutes, being side lined?

Probably, upma is like a lone good guy amongst corrupt politicians. No hidden ingredients. No riders like research has shown that consuming this product regularly can be dangerous to health. Silently serving the people who still respect it. But unable to advertise itself for lack of pomp, glamour and support. Such unnoticed gems may fall from their high standing temporarily. But, in the long run, they will emerge as stomach-sustaining winners.

Upma, an unsung hero, deserves a story. A story, much like a Bollywood or Kollywood movie, where a hero rises up from his humble roots, and reaches great heights. I present to you, the hero of my story- The Humble Upma!

This story is dedicated to my family. I would like to extend my special thanks to Srihari for his suggestions for this book. We are, what you could call, ‘above average’ consumers of upma. We too have cursed it and braced ourselves before eating it several times; but then deep inside, we’ve come to realize the value of a fresh, hot and healthy tiffin that you can instantly prepare when you come back home after a hard day’s work.

It is - at least in part- such frequent, thought-provoking upma preparations at home that inspired me to write this story.

INTRODUCTION

Thanjavur. A temple town synonymous with South Indian delicacies. Hundreds of restaurants serve piping hot tiffin items round the clock.

Aravind got down from the Rameshwaram express. He took a moment to adjust to the bright sunlight. He was thankful that the train had been delayed by almost three hours. The delay meant he did not have to search for rickshaws to reach his lodge at about 3.30 AM.

His insides were rumbling. He remembered the hurried meal he had at the railway hotel in Madras. Adding to his misery, the dosa had been as limp as a handkerchief. As he crossed the road outside the station, a statue caught his eye.

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It was of a man holding a ladle, preparing to cook in a giant cauldron. He was garlanded with fresh yellow chrysanthemum flowers, and a couple of incense sticks were respectfully kept on the side. A bronze plaque on the statue pedestal read The Upma King.

It was then that he noticed the neat little restaurant in whose compound the statue had been placed. Hotel Sri Ganesh Bhavan a board announced, white letters on a bright blue background. High Class Pure Vegetarian Aravind read aloud. Maybe I can stop here for breakfast first he thought.

With increasing curiosity, Aravind entered the restaurant, and sat at a table. The ambience was simple, yet well maintained- plastic chairs, wooden tables with mica finishing, and walls and ceilings generously dotted with tube lights and ceiling fans.

A couple of menu cards were already placed on his table, along with a jug of water and four tumblers. Helping himself to some water, he browsed through the breakfast section on the menu card. There were the usual tiffin items: idli, dosa, oothapam, poori, vada, idli-vada and other permutations and combinations like pongal-vada and so on. Hmmm, no mention of upma here, he thought.

Sir, what would you like to have? A neatly dressed waiter with a liberal amount of sacred ash on his forehead was smiling down at Aravind.

I saw the statue outside- of the Upma King Aravind smiled as he remembered the plaque, Then how come upma is not listed on this menu? he asked.

Sir, we have a separate menu for our upma specialties said the waiter. Oh, I see, you didn’t notice the second menu card. I keep telling these boys to keep the two menu cards side by side instead of one over the other. They never learn!

Aravind picked up the second menu card that was lying on the table, which he had thought of as just another copy of the first one. It was titled Our Upma Specialties. He scanned the menu, and was amazed to see upmas with every possible prefix imaginable: Rava upma, arisi upma, wheat upma, oats upma, bread upma, idli upma… he even saw quinoa upma and spl. cheese upma towards the end of the list.

Oh my God! So many varieties! he exclaimed out of excitement. The waiter’s smile broadened. I did not see this menu before you told me. Please give me five more minutes to decide Aravind said. OK sir said the waiter.

Aravind was having difficulty in choosing what to eat. Whereas he had never heard of some of the upma varieties, some of the other items listed reminded him of his childhood days, when his grandmother used to prepare those delicacies. He finally decided to give the vegetable oats upma a try.

I’ll take the vegetable oats upma. But tell me- upma seems to be celebrated in this hotel. You have a statue dedicated to an Upma King. You have a separate menu card for upma varieties. What is this romance with upma?

Ah, that is a long story sir! It is best if the current owner of this restaurant narrates it. For he is none other than the Upma King’s son. I’ll do one thing- I’ll serve your tiffin first, and then call my owner over to your table. That way, you can enjoy your meal while listening to our story.

In under five minutes, the waiter was back, with a liberal portion of steaming hot vegetable oats upma. He placed a big steel bucket each of coconut chutney and sambar on the table and asked Aravind to help himself to the sides. Then, the waiter went over to the cash counter near the entrance, and spoke with the person behind the counter. Aravind placed the man at around 40 years of age, balding and with a pleasant round face. It was obvious from his body language that he was in charge of the place. He came and sat down opposite Aravind.

Welcome to our hotel sir! I am Ramesh, and Ganesh, the Upma King, was my father. I hope you are not in a hurry?

No sir. I came to Thanjavur to attend a wedding. But the function is scheduled to begin only in the evening today and continue tomorrow morning replied Aravind.

Oh, then it is all good. Because the story I am going to tell you is a very nostalgic one, and I may lose track of time when I begin narrating it. It all began roughly seventy years ago in this very restaurant you are sitting in…

CHAPTER 1 - UPMA’S GROUSE

Thanjavur. Eighty four years ago.

It was the closing minutes of a typically busy morning in Hotel Sri Bhavan. About twelve of the twenty-odd tables were still occupied. It was mostly one or two people at each table- the families usually came for breakfast earlier. The owner was busy counting the morning’s collections, his head bobbing slightly to the tune playing from the radio.

The hotel served mainly tiffin varieties and coffee. The hotel had cement floor, with paint peeled off from walls, a kind of typical odour, faded table tops and old wooden chairs. Just near the entrance to the kitchen, there was a delivery table that was used to keep empty plates, plantain leaves to place on plates and serve tiffin items, a holder to keep spoons and small cups for sambar, chutneys and serving vessels. Items like sambar were usually kept in stainless steel buckets.

Smaller buckets were used to keep chutney varieties. The cashier table was at the entrance with a glass top, the drawers had stainless steels cups to hold different denominations of coins and beneath the cup holder was the actual drawer with divisions to hold different denomination rupee notes. On top of the table to the right of the cashier was placed a receipt holder with a long pin. The cashier used to receive the bill with the cash and place the bill on the holder that is used to reconcile collections at the end of the day. Behind the cashier on the wooden panel on the wall, a few photos of deities were hung and garlanded with fresh flowers on each day and an agarbathi was placed on a small wall mounted stand. The deity pictures were lighted with a small zero-watt bulb. The wash basin was in a corner on the way to the kitchen that kept generating smoke screen from the continuous cooking activities. There were two wash basins with taps. There was also a bucket with water and a plastic tumbler inside the bucket, which was used to wash hands in case water was not available in the taps. There was a parcel delivery desk where pre-cut newspapers and leaves were used for packing food items. On the wall was a bundle of thread that was used for packing the food parcels.

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There was a dreamy smoke screen arising out of constant cooking. There was a black cudappah slab based platform where kerosene stoves were used. One half of the platform had an inbuilt fire below the surface with a big rectangular black stone that was used for making dosas. Away from the cooking stoves area on another wall were shelves to keep the utensils used for cooking – big tavas, a stand to hang up ladles, big sized vessels etc. Along the wall on one side were earthen stoves that were used to cook bigger quantities of sambar.

A lone customer walked into the restaurant. He was evidently tired and hungry. He beckoned the lone server on duty and asked him impatiently, What is there that is hot and fresh?

The server rattled out the items at break neck speed: Idli, vada, Pongal, poori, dosa, plain dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, rava masala dosa, plain oothapam, onion oothapam, kuzhi paniyaram, appam-thengai paal, parotta, chappathi….-

Pongal-vada said the customer. Within three minutes, Pongal and vada were served with a bucket each of chutney and sambar placed on his table.

A couple walked in next. It was obvious from their attire and the basket of flowers and coconut they were carrying that they had been fortunate to get darshan at the Big Temple that morning. They too asked the server what was available.

The server rattled off once more: Idli, pongal, dosa, rava dosa, vada, poori, oothapam

The couple went for a plate of Poori and a masala dosa. Once again, within five minutes their tiffin was served.

Pretty much the same scene had been playing out at each table since early in the morning. Customers would ask for what was available, the servers would rattle away, in no particular order, but always starting with Idli, and the customers would choose an item halfway through the servers’ recitation. By now, the lone server on duty was on autopilot.

With that couple, the morning’s batch of Poori was exhausted.

Idli, vada, dosa, masala dosa, rava dosa, Oothapam, upma -

Do you have Upma?

The server stopped mid-sentence. He looked at the customer- an old, bearded man with sacred ash and kumkum on his forehead- with surprise for a fraction of a second, before regaining his composure and saying, Yes sir, it is there.

I will have Upma then.

Okay sir.

The server returned to the service counter where the dishes were placed. About ten idlis, less than three scoops of Pongal, and a single vada remained. The upma bucket, however, was three-quarters full. Smirking to himself, the server liberally doled out three full scoops of upma for the old man, although a plate of upma was only two scoops.

When the server was about to leave the counter to deliver upma to the customer, Upma asked the server "Sir, sir, why did you not mention my name in the list of dishes earlier today? Why are you so partisan in your approach? Now that there is a customer for upma and it is getting time for