With the shrill call
of mom’s
Hawkins Classic
five litre pressure cooker,
the aroma of mutton
cooked in a coarse blend
of ginger, garlic,
onion
and fresh coriander
would flood
our entire house.
On this cold winter afternoon,
as I walk past
an Indian restaurant,
somewhere
in the heart of Antwerp,
I hear once again
the tuneless whistle and,
like Pavlov’s dog,
I salivate.
*
Priyamwada Redican Chakne (the daughter of a Catholic Canadian father and a Maharashtrian Chambhar mother), a spoken word poet born in Pune and raised in Jejuri, is now based in the Netherlands. Her debut collection of poetry Children of the Mountains is forthcoming from Panther’s Paw