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Harbour Coursebook 6

Harbour Coursebook 6

Farida Niazi, Indiannica Learning

ICSEClass 6
English

Pickling Season

Anju Makhija

About Anju Makhija

Anju Makhija is a poet, playwright, editor, and translator. Born in Puna, Makhija holds a master's degree in media from Montreal. Her poems appeared in The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India and in Anthology of Contemporary Indian Poetry. She won the Sahitya Akademi English Translation Prize in 2011 and the BBC World poetry prize in 2002.

Every summer, we laze under the mango tree
discussing unpatented recipes. When raw mangoes
drop on our head, we pause
to appreciate nature's bounty.
Then on to peeling, chopping, salting,
boiling, spicing, bottling...

Will the sorcery work?
By year's end, we hope, when
the pungent brine matures to its prime.
The zing depends on turmeric balancing the tamarind,
the chili complementing the amchur,
and if the asafoetida poured in candle light
late one night works for pickles
as it seldom does for couples, apart
since the first picking season.

The alchemy has rarely bewitched,
jaggery sours, vinegar sears the tongue.
To change the recipe we've tried
with old ladies' advice,
but nature moves inexorably,
and life proceeds predictably
beneath the mango tree. 

−Anju Makhija

Available Answers

  1. 1.

    Tick the correct options.

    1. What drops on the poet's head?
      1. raw guavas
      2. raw mangoes
      3. raw figs
    2. What are the two pickling steps after chopping and boiling the raw mangoes?
      1. peeling and bottling
      2. slicing and spicing
      3. spicing and bottling
    3. The zing of the pickle depends on balancing which two elements?
      1. turmeric and tamarind
      2. tamarind and oil
      3. asafoetida and tamarind
    4. At the end of one whole year, what reaches its prime?
      1. pickle
      2. pungent brine
      3. tamarind and turmeric
    5. What complements chili?
      1. turmeric
      2. tamarind
      3. amchur
    6. What is poured into the pickle one night in candle light?
      1. asafoetida
      2. jaggery
      3. brine
    7. What sears the tongue with sourness?
      1. amchur
      2. tamarind
      3. vinegar
  2. 2.
    Name the things mentioned in the poem that are required for making the pickle.
  3. 3.
    Describe how the various elements and spices balance one another in the pickle.
  4. 4.
    What happens to the pickle at the end of the year?
  5. 5.
    Is the poet able to change the recipe?
  6. 6.

    Every summer, we laze under the mango tree

    1. Who are 'we' here?
    2. What do they do while lazing?
    3. What happens when they laze?
    4. What do they do then?
9 more answer(s) available.

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