You've the same fingers, I noticed, when
watching your Appa's deft fingers peel off
starchy plantain skin. Plantains, he says,
cause bloatedness that can be offset
by garlic. As for garlic, cook whole, eat whole, so
none of its health benefits are lost. For
today's lesson he had made his way to the Indian store
in Clementi. I had never noticed that our
supermarkets do not stock the full gamut of
what is necessary for your home cooked meals,
or at least, not the right bitter gourds, not
plantains, not the right sesame oil. I learn
that tasting is done by dabbing the gravy onto
the palm of your non dominant hand. This is the
first time I realize that he is left handed, stirring
the plantains coated in tumeric and chili,
though he gathers rice with his right hand,
sambar and yogurt holding the shape he gives it.
You've the same fingers, on the opposite side
of the table, only his are weathered by time
and countries and being flung far, by the choosing of
a different place his children will call home,
and yours are still smooth in the waiting of what
life will bring to us.