The Humble Upma

My mom used to prepare Upma often for breakfast or quick dinners and on most such occasions, me being myself, used to strike. I would make smart alec comments about why we shouldn't be eating upma. These used to toggle between 'Ohhhhhh...', Uggghhhhhh.....',' Oh no! Not again!', funny facial expressions and more. Exasperated at times, my mom used to unleash upon me her own thoughts about why I would be better off minding my own business and eat if I wanted to or else forego the meal. It has been three years since I moved away from home and I had forgotten all about upma until about 1.5 years ago, I chanced to watch a movie where the hero chided his lady love for not sharing her upma with him. The heroine kept having upma for lunch in that movie! Oh dear! The upma had made it to the movies; it seemed to be screaming "In your face yo!!!" to me.

After the movie, I had this sudden urge to make upma, which I did and attacked with gusto wondering why my preparation did not look as inviting as my mom’s. Since that day the humble upma came to my rescue often when I was lost for menu choices. It could be concocted in about 15 minutes and ready to go. Today as I cooked this for lunch-cum-dinner wondering like always as to why it did not reach the bar set by my mom, fond memories of me bugging her and intimate family dinners came to my mind - those were fun days. As funny as it seems this simple dish helped create some good memories. To those who take upma for granted (am sure many of you do) you can run, but you can't hide! This one will get you!