I think I fell in love with herbs and spices after I had a strange dreams; I was dreaming that an old woman teach me about herbs and spices. It felt so real, since I could smell the pungent of the fresh ginger and saw the yellowness of the turmeric so brightly in that dream.
Have you read the Mistress of Spices novel by
Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni? Here the excerpt of the review by
Shampa Chaterjee:
The spices rule. Tilo, the mistress, can only pray to them to release their magical powers but the ultimate power, the power to heal, cure and restore happiness and well-being, lies in them. In Divakaruni's 'Mistress of Spices', Tilottama (Tilo) the narrator is a woman born in another time and age and trained in the art of spices. This knowledge and initiation comes at a price. To serve the spices she must leave her own form and journey to another time and live in the body of an old woman in Oakland. Here she opens a shop and administers spices to cure and heal the people that visit the store. Each chapter in the book is the story of a spice --- turmeric, cinnamon, chili, fennel, peppercorn and so may more --- and of the people that consume it. I enjoyed this blending of the spices with the characters and their emotions. Turmeric, the hope for rebirth; chili, the cleanser of evil; fennel, to cool tempers; fenugreek, to render the body sweet and kalo jire to reduce pain and suffering.
 |
| Spices Image from Wikipedia |
No comments:
Post a Comment