Chapter 4-NCHM-JEE & Aunty Lucy

NCHM-JEE
National Council of Hotel Mgmt. Joint Entrance Exam... 
One exam that every Hotel Mgmt. student aspires to crack, putting in months of preparation and hard work. Getting through NCHMCT (National Council of Hotel Management & Catering Technology) was nothing less than a dream come through.
But it did come at its own cost.
As mentioned earlier, I was never intended to join the hotel or hospitality industry. The time when I realised about joining hotels, the application forms were out and the last date to submit had already passed. All I was left, was to opt for some local or private institute, or wait for another year to appear for exam. 
But that year something astonishing happened, that never happened in the history of IHM or NCHMCT, the forms were out for the second time.
This news reached my Mom, when an announcement was made at the Church on one of the important occasions in holy week of lent. It felt more like a divine plan was making its way.
My God- mother, Aunt Lucy was suffering from a terminal illness, Brest Cancer, that was engulping her every single day. The environment at home was stressed, she was getting more and more weak every single day, every single moment. she began to loose her memory, her sight and also her weight. One thing she never lost was her smile. She kept smiling, not letting us realise the harsh pain she was under going with every chemo-therapy. We watched her fade, with every single stand of her hair, but couldn't do nothing. She had to be admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (I.C.U.) at Bombay Hospital.My parents were busy and stressed at the hospital, it wasn't right to disturb them. There were only few days left to submit the application form. Since, the center was far off from my place, I didn't have the courage to go there by my self.
One fine evening, the doctor discharged my Aunt. I thought she would come the same way she went as usual, but this time it wasn't. She came back in an ambulance on a stretcher. I never knew what was happening, around. Tears had filled my home, and she smiled as usual. My dad, knew tomorrow was the last day of my form submission, and told me, "We shall leave early in the morning,"."Yes" I said.
The next morning I spoke to my Aunt, "I am going to submit my form", gathering all the strength she had, she nodded at me and responded with a sound. I took her blessings, kissed her on her forehead and left.Since I was a kid, she being my God-mother had the moral responsibility to take care of me, my spiritual and ethical well being. She made it a practice for me to say a short prayer, everytime I left to home, for what so ever reason its as simple as this"Take me safely Lord, bring me back safely ".
That very day I said the same prayer, because I believe in that prayer and has always worked for me till today.
I reached "IHM-Mumbai" to submit the form.There was a correction to be made in my friend Adrian's form as pointed by the clerk.Adrian wanted to apply for the exam, just to accompany me. We were looking for a stationary shop, to buy a correction pen but nothing seemed to be nearby. While Putting all the documents together at the desk and finally submitting it. My dad'd mobile phone rang. The person on the other end, never knew what to say. Yes indeed the moment I submitted my form, my Aunt took her last breath. It felt as if she was waiting, for me to complete the submission process, and then submitted her self, into the hands of the almighty.
"Aunt Lucy, Aunti Lucy or God Maa", were the words she wished I could call her by. But she was such a passionate teacher that all her life I called he "Lucy Miss". She was very diligent and devoted in dispensing her day to day duties as a teacher, till her last breath. She believed in me, more than my parents ever believed. She predicted much more things about me, that today when I look back have come true in due course of time. She always told me "Life is short, enjoy it before it melts"

Chapter 3- Education...

Education... 
I grew up studying. Being an average student at school, was not certain of what to do? However, becoming a Chef was never in the list. I studied Science at Higher Secondary level and appeared for entrance exams in various fields, Management Studies, Medical and Engineering.Management studies was an emerging market in 2006, providing good well paid jobs, Medical on the other hand was a great option, but yes getting admissions called for extraordinary marks or extra ordinary bank balance, Engineering was a great option, but the markets were saturated enough with,  lots of them ending up jobless or very low pay.

One fine day I was introduced to a career councilor "Mr. Prakash Almeida", he has been my personal mentor since then. He is a highly knowledgeable gentleman, with huge number of degrees and accolades to his name. I used to visit him frequently and ask him how to go around with admissions for various fields and colleges, and he would patiently talk to me. He stongly believed and advocated, nothing is impossible, all one needs to do is try.

One fine day I asked him about Hotels& Hospitality , that's where the journey began. I was trained well to secure positions, in Maharashtra State Board Entrance test for Hotel Mgmt, and  few other college entrance test.

Chapter 2-Getting Inspired..

Getting inspired..
There use to be a popular T.V. show called  "Khana Khazana by Chef. Sanjeev Kapoor". Earlier it used to come just on weekends and runs today on a 24x7 chanel called "FOOD FOOD".Sanjeev Kapoor,is one of the Chef, whom I will always be grateful to, he managed to bring cooking from the walls of  five star hotels to home kitchens,  that has made the show a success hit for more than 20 years and counting.  
It used to be my Mom's favorite show, no matter where she is, she always got the timings right, we used to watch the show together with the rest of the family. I was a kid, but unlike other kids who ask their mom "Can you make this for me?", I used to look in the eye of my partner in crime, my maid Shabana, "Didi(elder sister)can we make this in the evening? ". We would quickly go through a checklist of what things were not available in the kitchen, to prepare the dish and buy them from the grocery store nearby.
Apart from T.V. shows, something that use to catch my eyes were, mouth watering dishes in "Womens's Era" magazine that I used to sneak into, I used to read the recipes and then judge its complexity, then decide to try to make it or not.Me,Sneha (my sister) and Didi,
used to have fun together. My Dad used to prepare us a meal once a week, mostly Saturdays where Mom had a half day at school and Dad used to be off. This was my childhood, all filled with flavours, colours, aromas, authentic tastes and house where cooking and eating was nothing less than a celebration.

Life before kitchens......

Life before kitchens......

My name is Tanish Thulsidharan Kesavan,

However the kitchens baptised me with various names like buddy, chefe,bobo,champ,Mario ect.

Food has always been something that I could easily relate to. It all began when I was just 6 years old I cooked my first dish, a packet of Maggie noodles, 2 minutes with the help of my maid, such that Maggie ended up sending an appreciation on the newspaper.

I loved cooking since then, and would look for every opportunity to cook, as simple as my own breakfast. I never realized how close I was getting to cooking. My Mother and Grand mother used to hunt me out of the kitchen and ask get back to studies.My Mother had concerns;everyday evening, after a hectic day of teaching at school, the first question she used to ask my maid,"Did Tanish, enter the kitchen today?"I had a wired habit since my childhood of studying the menu first and then ordering the most wired stuff on the menu in any restaurant I went.So I was never afraid of experimenting and tasting. Cooking was more than an hobby by then.

Cooking was rather hereditary as well I must say,My grand father Mr. Patrick Mendes was a well known cook ,though he never accepted it as a prime profession, being a school clerk. He was well known for creating elaborate banquets in the church during various occasions. His flair for using continental dynamics in to cooking during those early times is highly appreciable.However, for him cooking was something divine, personally choosing the best of the best ingredients,cooking with great love and compassion.He never made cooking a business, and hence never charged or looked for monetary gains. My Grand mother too was equally supportive to him and ended up developing the same flair of cooking with more traditional techniques.I still wonder even in her old age, she used to personally go the market with a big black resin bag, that used to end up being full, and heavy. She preferred walking all the way home.  Grand ma used to run a school canteen, the same taste and the legacy continued for time. The most appreciable part of this journey is that I learnt the love and flair for cooking, the art of choosing the freshest ingredients among the best of the best and putting in efforts and time to attain perfection.

Apart from cooking the best thing I did was dreaming, day dreaming that actually was a high concern to my parents and teachers alike. Looking outside the window, appreciating the blue skies, the birds near the window, people walking are few of the things that could easily distract me. The last page of my notebook, was one of my best friends, with whom I could share anything, any time, any moment.It had few drawings of my imaginations and few lines of my thoughts, when put in a rhyme, called poems.