Day Sixteen-NaPoWriMo-In the Kitchen Steam

NaPoWriMo: Today, try writing a poem that imposes a particular song on a place. Describe the interaction between the place and the music using references to a plant and, if possible, incorporate a quotation – bonus points for using a piece of everyday, overheard language.

Image from Pinterest. Credit to the respective artist.

This needed an understanding of the Ragas. I love music, and I do listen to Carnatic and Hindustani and other soulful music, but I don't have the prowess to use it in depth in a poem. So I had to watch a couple of videos to gather a sense of it. I am adding two videos below, just in case you are curious. Sooryagayathri is one of my favourites, an exquisite gem in the ocean of Carnatic music. Indosoul Academy of Music has videos on Ragas called Know your Ragas and I found them while searching about Ragas. The Raga I had in mind was Hamsadhwani and the composition in Vathapi Ganapathim Bhajeham by Muthuswami Dikshitar (one of the Trinity of Carnatic Music, the other two being Thyagaraja and Shyama Shastri)

My humble attempt:

Day Sixteen-NaPoWriMo-In the Kitchen Steam

-raga in a busy kitchen-

The onions hit the oil—
that’s the resounding shruti*.
A sizzle, a breath—
the first note held just long enough
to stir the soul and the dal.

She’s not singing, not really.
Just mouthing the lines, habitually,
as she crushes garlic
under the flat side of a knife.
Vathapi Ganapatim bhajeham…
like a prayer said sideways,
with her hands in motion.

The tap leaks in rhythm.
A pressure cooker whistles its own taala*.
Children argue in the next room
about who finished the Murukku*.
The tulsi* by the back door
leans toward the window—
its leaves dew-damp, still savoring the morning.

She tastes the rasam,
adds a bit more milaku*.
The raga shifts keys
as she hums past the coriander,
half-lost in thought, half-inviting
Ganesha into the turmeric and tamarind.

"Are you ready yet?"
she calls,
and the words land right on the Ga,
unintended but perfect.

In this kitchen,
the raga doesn’t need perfection.
Only warmth.
Only motion.
Only love stirred with a long-handled spoon.

And as the final note dissolves
into the clang of a lid,
the music lingers
in the breath of steam—
a hymn wrapped in cumin and care.

shruti, taala - musical references

murukku - crunchy snack, savoury

tulsi - sacred plant (holy basil)

milaku - pepper

Ganesha - Deity, symbolic of intellectual strength, adaptability, and efficiency. Remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck.

Vathapi Ganapathim by Sooryagayathri

Know your Raga - Hamsadhwani