Today 16/12 happens to be the first day of Margazhi. While some Sabhas started their programmes in the first week of December, the more traditional ones like Music Academy and Parthasarathy Sabha had their inauguration only on 15/12. The first morning Kutcheri started today, it was a Nadaswaram recital by someone. More importantly it is the first day the Academy canteen opens for lunch. I don't remember seeing it last year but this year there was an ad in The Hindu giving the lunch menu at the canteen, image above.
The menu was tempting and we skipped breakfast and headed to the academy around 11:30 am. the otherwise elusive parking slot was available considering it was too early an hour for Sunday or for lunch. We headed straight for the canteen. The price had gone up to Rs170 from Rs 120 (or was it 130?) last year. Anyway who cares as long as the food is good.
The items were laid out one by one on a plantain leaf starting with Badusha more or less in the order in the image above. What a lovely sight it was! I did not waste time and delved into the ensemble. While the Sambar and rasam could have done with some more improvisation, maybe a touch of pineapple in the rasam, the taste was still very good. The Vatha kozhambu was a pleasure to the taste buds and the Semiya Payasam was special but the real stand out was the Badusha. Iyengar had maintained his reputation and did not disappoint. Great start to the music (food) season!
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