Jai & jai – my two sons, have spent most of their lives in Maharashtra & are fond of Maharashtrian foodfare;  The younger jai gets an unusual sudden pang of hunger when he is on his recently started twice a week travels by public transport for his drums classes. This is triggered by his love for vadapav- a habbit inculculated in him by the elder Jai. However I am never a fan of it or the fierry kohlapuri missal pav – the two dishes that Maharashtrians cannot do without.

I like the kantha pohe with  sev and a squeeze of fresh lime, sabudana kitchdi or sabudana vada for  breakfast,  the thalipith for dinner and Pune’s famous SPDP (sev puri Dahi puri) and bhel for evening snack.  Neighbours plates of Puran poli & Gudd Poli given to us  also disapper within minutes. But for this small menu, a big good bye for Maharashtrian food.

Sabudana ( Javvarisi in tamil )  in Maharashtra comes from Salem in TN. It is made from tapioca powder which is sundried on road sides in and around Salem.

Dresses and choosing sarees were beginning to be bore me for the last  2 years or so for the absolute lack of variety or freshness or for the confusion in choosing.

Last year my sis, like many of the sis & bro’s of our batchmates  celebrated her 50^th birthday. I wished to gift her a paithani saree on the occasion, not because I had seen one or liked one; but because it was the one that was always gifted as a prize in any women’s events in Pune.

After enquiring with Geetha’s friends, we went to an old time but popular thriving store named Peshwai. The person looking after us asked what our budget was. I had no idea how much a paithani would cost, and just asked him to show some good one’s to be gifted.

As he started showing us the sarees, I was beginning to get thrilled. What a fresh set of rich colours and bright sheens!! I realized then, that what I had seen the womenfolk of our building wear every Diwali evening was nothing but a paithani.

Paithani is all about peacocks (95%??) in different sizes & colours and modes weaved or embroidered into the silk saree.

After a long, long time, I was getting interested once again in sarees; Silk Paithani’s start at 5k and gets more and more exquisite when you go up the price ladder. You get  classy & excellent one’s at 13K or so.

If kanchipuram silk is the divine queen of silks ( there can be no king in sarees), I would not hesitate to rank paithani as the charming teen princess of silks. All other variants of silks just do not have the royal blood in them like these two.

I settled for a dual colour one with the colors of a peacocks neck. On one angle it showed its greens and when slightly tilted it showed its blues. At 8K it was not what I thought would cost, but I was never complaining as the princess bowled me over with her freshness.  Only Geetha was gasping at my sudden affordability on dresses for my sis over her. Doesn’t matter. After all, one’s sis or her 50^th birthday is always  special.

I live adjacent an university complex in Pune. Just behind the university, the entire community is of the university students. Where students are there, can food be far behind? The main street behind the university is a veritable mix of foodie shops and restaurants at student prices. Name any variety and you get it there.  The best time to visit would be on Sunday evenings, as students are out at their relaxed best and you feel rejuvenated with so much youth teeming around.

The part of Maharashtra I live in – from Pune to Kohlapur is a fertile and well known sugar belt. Whenever people from TN – relatives, clients etc- come visiting, they  see the fertility and their though invariably goes to the cattle that feeds on the juicy green grass and start imagining how delicious meat would be in Maharashtra. It is then that I get reminded what’s amiss in most parts of TN – flowing rivers and fertility.

They are not wrong. Any Maharashtrian would never miss a bhakri ( jowar bread) with mutton. A vegan might get tempted to try, going by how people drool over it.

I would recommend Dhruvankur for authentic Maharahstrian Thali ( Veg & Nonveg), Dutta ( Pune- Mumbai expressway) for Maharashtrian tiffin; Kalyani Bhel & Kailash Bhel as the choicest choices for Maharashtrian food.

Must bring home a paithani – this Diwali.