The joy of togetherness

With Easter around the corner, many Bengalureans in the city are looking forward to a grand celebration. Starting with an early morning church service, they are ready to feast on some delicious food. However, each family has their own traditional way of making Easter special.

Valentine Athaide, a hotelier, says, “While growing up, Easter meant two things — Easter eggs in the morning and new clothes. Now that I am an adult, I understand the true meaning of Easter and try to make the most of it. I look forward to Saturday night’s mass and also attend the service in the morning. Being a hotelier, it is not always easy to spend time with my family as I wish but this year, I hope to be there with them.” Though he says that his wife Sneha is in charge of the kitchen, on special occasions like Easter, he pitches in too. “As of now, I have decided to make stuffed chicken as the main dish with a lot of side dishes to accompany it. Maybe I will let my wife decide that! But this year is going to be slightly different as my son’s birthday also falls on Easter. This year’s Easter will be a big celebration with a lot of food, fun and friends coming over,” he adds.

For Prakruthi K, a psychometric analyst, it’s the time she gets to spend with her family that she looks forward to. She says, “Easter is the ultimate victory over death. Every year, celebrations are different. What we always do is attend the church service, buy new clothes and have a grand lunch with family.”

“Usually, my mom, sister and I head over to my aunt’s house for lunch or dinner, or to a fancy restaurant. We have a family get-together and chat a lot. But the exciting part is when my aunt gets someone to prepare ‘biryani’ on her terrace (in large quantities), invites friends and family over and distributes it to the domestic help and those in need in the neighbourhood,” she adds.

Being a foodie family, Anne and Rakesh are excited to celebrate the day with food and music. Anne says, “We are excited to start the day with hot ‘appams’ and creamy ‘chicken stew’.

Lunch is always a feast with ‘biryani’, fried rice or any other flavoured rice with a variety of non-vegetarian accompaniments. ‘Duck roast’, ‘Fish moilee’ and ‘Mutton mappas’ are some of our favourites.” Apart from this, it is also the time to spend with family and friends.

Anne adds, “Rakesh and I had an inter-faith marriage, so we are privileged to celebrate the festivals together. We are   introducing the tradition to our daughter Megan and that’s why we are looking forward to Easter eagerly.”