Happy Pongal/Once upon a time in Springfield

I love Pongal; the festival. Cool days in Chennai, sweet Pongal,  dressed up cows and best of all the sugarcane. Sugarcane is unpredictable , you don't know till you have taken the first bite. But when its sweet and right; its heaven. 

So I took a trip to Tana street in Purasawalkam where all the Pongal hustle and bustle should be . Unfortunately the street vendors are being replaced by supermarkets. But there are  a few hold outs. The vegetable ladies from whom I used to buy are still there, but my favourite, I learnt had died in the past year. She used to save the best mangoes when they were in season and would sell them only if I didn't visit her that day. In later years I would always visit her during my trips to India and last year introduced my children to her.

Now for  a trip to Springfield. I have been a fan of  The Simpsons for a long time and learnt that the TV show is celebrating its 20th anniversary. More recently I have been buying Simpson comic books and enjoy them immensely. The combination of high brow comedy, silly antics, satire of current events, as well as political humour is sublime. My favourite character is Chief Wiggum- the donut eating police chief. After spending quality time  with my children watching  cartoons, I have become a fan of Sponge Bob and Chota Bheem as well.

I  believe that comics and cartoons should be added to the school curriculum; I for sure would have been a better student.

I hear that there has been snow and a cold front in the UK and people are not coping very well. Panic has set in - is one of the news headline from the UK. So UK docs send us pictures, post them on reminisce2009. My advice , wear several layers.

Prabhakar