"What are you doing?" asked my mother-in law- as she saw me leaning over the kitchen window."Oh just two slices of bread...the kids don't eat these..they are the first and last slice of the loaf.I was keeping them for the crows.They eat it." I informed her.She was slightly taken aback."You put bread slices for the crows?" "Yes,"I said,"Why is there anything wrong with that...with bread selling costlier than cakes,it would be shame to dunk into the dustbin......."Ok," she elaborated,"traditionally crows represent our ancestors and our ancestors never fed on bread.Don't do that.You could anger them!!!!" Ah I said.......of course we had a proud lineage.Just consider the people in question...my husband's paternal grandfather...the village priest:the most respected man around.Next my husband's maternal grandfather...a prosperous hotelier of his times.Chariots adorned his compounds.Then my paternal grandfather, the founder principal of the SIES group and my maternal grandfather, a business baron in Pune.Oh did I suddenly feel small and humble suddenly being surrounded by such luminaries..but why the grandmothers never came down as crows continues to puzzle me......anyway coming back to my story.....,"so," she declared "you need to feed them rice or at least something South Indian...an idli , a dosa etc but not bread...."
Ok so lets not anger the ancestors campaign had begun.The next morning after steaming the idlis, I religiously placed one on the window sill.
The first crow flew down...ah possibly one grandfather has come...he looked hard and long at the idli and went away.He came back with another one..goodie...one more grandpa has come.They both now stared at it.Was the shape wrong? Was it overcooked? Was it undercooked?I was as nervous as a new bride!!!!!
The third one came along.They almost seemed to be having a meeting.They kept looking at the idli and then flew away to their perch. None of them touched it.I thought they are probably waiting for grandfather 4 to come along too.A good ten minutes were spent in just checking the idli.I was almost a nervous wreck.
"My colleagues at the office would have devoured this by now.Whats taking these guys so much time......then they began CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW...all three of them.
I decided to be naughty and slowly slunk in the regular slices of bread and VOILA there was a flurry and the slices just vanished
Even as I type this out,the poor idli waits to be savoured by any willing forefather!!!!!!!
