A Valentine's Collaboration: Regional South Indian Cuisine with Seema Pai

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we are collaborating with our friend and chef, Seema Pai on a prix fixe dinner featuring homestyle South Indian cuisine.

Seema and chef Surbhi have curated an exciting menu with dishes rarely found on restaurant menus. This regional food (with its many sub-regions and culinary techniques) offers a taste and understanding of coastal cuisine from across India’s southern shores.

We spoke with Seema about her upbringing, culinary background and what makes this menu collaboration a rarity, even in New York City’s vibrant dining culture.

Seema (right) at a homestay in Chettinad, Tamil Nadu where she learned recipes from a local chef (left).

TAGMO: Where did you grow up and what foods shaped your palate?

Seema: I grew up in Mumbai (I still call it Bombay) and I was raised vegetarian, so I grew up eating lots of fresh vegetables, lentils, all that kind of stuff.

My family is originally from South India. They are from the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. South Indian flavors with tamarind and coconut, are still my favorite foods in the world. But after I moved to the U.S., I gave up my vegetarianism and started eating everything, because I wanted to get into food and cook for people. I felt like I will have to taste everything before I can do that.

What’s your professional background and how did you enter the culinary industry?

I'm an ex academic. I have a PhD but no culinary training whatsoever. I’m completely self taught. When I was teaching at Boston University, I started seriously thinking about how to get myself into food. A close friend of mine called me up. She said she wanted to quit her job at Microsoft to start a food truck, and asked if I wanted to do it with her. So, I moved up to Seattle and we ran a food truck for two years. We both got third degree burns. I have a skin graft to show for it. Haha.

We worked out of this 15-year-old UPS truck that we rigged into a food truck. We were these two tiny women in a big truck driving through Seattle selling kati rolls, or frankie’s as they're called in Bombay. it was essentially a kati roll truck and we would do specials. After two years, we kind of both plateaued and dropped the thing. She got married and I wanted to do more food stuff, so I moved to New York City and started working in restaurants.

My first job was at a wine bar in Union Square. I wanted to see if I can actually work in New York restaurants, you know? To see if this is what I want to do with my life. After all, I quit academia for it. I quit a very cushy situation to do food, which is so hard as you very well know. I knew if I could survive New York restaurant life, I felt like I could survive anything. I did that for about 3 1/2 years which is when I met Surbhi.

Saar had just opened and I went there to dinner with my partner. I wanted to taste the food, of course, but I had heard so much about Hemant and Surbhi. After dinner, I just straight-up asked them if they were hiring. And they said, “Sure, come in tomorrow.” And I did. That's how I got to know Surbhi and her cooking.

Now I work at a nonprofit, so I'm excited to reconnect with Surbhi and to be in the kitchen with her. It's been a while.

Seema (left) with her mother (right), who she goes to for most of her recipes.

What was it like curating this collaborative menu with Surbhi? What inspired the dishes chosen, and do they have any significant meaning for you?

Surbhi reached out to me saying she wants to do South Indian food for Valentine's Day. Firstly, who has ever done that in New York City or anywhere else? I was extremely excited because I think people are only aware of such a small portion of Indian food. There's so much diversity in our food that people just don't even know about. The menu features food from Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India, which is a quite large region.

Our thought process was to showcase dishes that you can't get anywhere else. These are flavors that I've grown up with and miss eating. If I want to eat these dishes, I have to make them myself.

The second part was to give people an experience. It's a special day, so we want to give people an memorable experience where they discover flavors that they are not super familiar with. It’s not paneer and butter chicken. It’s really unique.

We also wanted to make sure that we have a vegetarian version of the menu and that it feels equally fun. It’s important to have harmony between the two versions of the menu so that one person doesn't look at the other person's plate and say, “God, I wish I could eat that.” We don’t want couples fighting on Valentine's Day, haha.

The dishes we chose are typically only eaten in people's homes — even in India. Surbhi has been on this journey where she is trying to showcase that kind of food that’s not available in restaurants within India. The whole time when she was doing home meal delivery during the lockdown, I think it gave people so much pleasure by bringing that kind of food to their home. And I think that's partly why she's so beloved by people. So, I wanted to compliment that when she asked me for suggestions.

Can you talk about any particular dishes on the menu?

My favorites is probably the Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu, which are lentil dumplings in a tangy flavorful sauce. It’s an unusual dish. A lot of people think if there’s a vegetarian dish it has to have paneer. But paneer is not what we eat in South India. Koftas are also we don’t eat in South India. So, I wanted to come up with something that is equally hearty, fun to look at, and fun to eat. I'm looking forward to seeing people's reaction to it.

The recipes we’re using are specifically the recipes I grew up with that come from my family. My paternal grandmother was a fabulous cook. So, it's her recipes that I keep trying to recreate and hopefully have some success with.

Okay, now we’re hungry! Thank you and we can’t wait for this special menu.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Coconut-Orange Burfi

Originally published in the Food52

The perfect winter treat with bitter chocolate, bright citrus and sweet coconut. It’s Surbhi’s take on a classic Indian mithai, with a desi diasporic spin. There is no oven needed to make this mithai, but you’ll need khoya (solidified whole milk) which can be found at your local Indian grocery stores or can be made from scratch by cooking down ricotta cheese.

by Surbhi Sahni

PHOTO BY ROCKY LUTEN

Makes 75 2-inch pieces

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 oranges

1/2 cup sugar

1 pound white chocolate (chopped)

1 pound khoya (grated)

6 ounces unsweetened coconut powder, plus 2 tablespoons

1/4 teaspoon powdered green cardamom seeds

5 ounces semi-sweet dark chocolate

2 ounces butter

Instructions

1. Spray an 8x12-inch baking pan with non-stick spray and cover the bottom with parchment paper cut to size.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat, bring milk and cream to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and stir the mixture continuously until it is reduced by half and has a thick consistency. This milk reduction is called rabri.

3. Zest the oranges, and add the zest and sugar to the rabri. Increase heat to medium, and cook until the sugar has melted and the rabri begins to bubble.

4. Reduce heat to low, and add white chocolate, khoya, and 6 ounces of coconut powder. After the addition of the coconut, the mixture will get quite thick and will look like it is about to set. (If it is at all thin or runny, add more coconut.) Add powdered cardamom seeds and mix well.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Spread evenly, and level the top. Refrigerate for 6 hours.

6. Once set, use a knife to loosen the burfi, but keep it in the pan. Temper dark chocolate and butter in a double boiler, and pour over the set burfi. Sprinkle remaining coconut on top.

7. Return to refrigerator and allow chocolate topping to cool and harden. To serve, cut burfi into square or diamond shapes.Let the dough cool completely, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Recipe: Cardamom Kaju Katli

Originally published in the Washington Post

Kaju katli is a favorite sweet throughout India, one that I treasured as a child. For a dessert with such lavish ingredients, it's actually very simple to make and doesn’t require any special equipment or laborious techniques. Kaju katli is by default vegan and gluten-free, which makes it a sweet that many people can enjoy.

by Surbhi Sahni

Makes 48 pieces

Ingredients

6 cups (800 grams/28 ounces) whole unsalted raw cashews

2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 milliliters) water (filtered, if your tap water isn't neutral-tasting)

2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom (the seeds from about 40 pods)

2 tablespoons avocado, pecan or walnut oil (may substitute cocoa butter or vegan butter)

Food-grade edible glitter or luster dust (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a small (9-by-13-inch) rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, spraying the pan with nonstick spray to help keep the parchment in place, if desired.

2. In a food processor, process the cashews in small batches until finely ground. Be careful not to overwork the nuts, to avoid leaching oil or turning them into butter. Sort through the powder with your fingers or sift through a wire mesh strainer to remove any large pieces.

3. In a large, deep nonstick skillet or saucepan (deep is important since it will be a lot to stir by the end) over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the water. Whisk the sugar continuously until the mixture comes to a rolling boil and thickens into a syrup, which could take as long as 10 minutes. (Try to use a silicone whisk to avoid scratching the nonstick coating; a silicone spatula is also okay.)

4. Add the ground cashews to the syrup, reduce the heat to low and stir continuously with a wooden or silicone spatula until the mixture resembles a soft dough, 4 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the ground cardamom and avocado, pecan or walnut oil. Stir very briefly, just until the dough is well-combined and fluffy to the touch and takes on a glossy shine, 1 to 2 minutes. If you overcook, the mixture may end up on the dry or crumbly side.

6. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet and let cool until you can work with it, but it is still warm, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Using greased hands or a rolling pin, flatten the dough until it evenly covers the entire pan. Smooth down the corners using your fingertips or the flat side of a butter knife. The dough will be about 1/2-inch thick.

8. Let the dough cool completely, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

9. Invert the pan onto a clean, flat surface and peel off the parchment paper.

10. Use a clean ruler as a straight edge to help trim the edges with a sharp knife, then cut the dough into the desired shapes with the knife or a cookie cutter. (A good size is 1-by-2-inch bars.)

11. If using, dust the top of each piece with food-grade edible glitter and/or luster dust in bright colors for a festive shimmer.

Cook’s Note

• You can use different kinds of oils for the added fat but avoid anything with a strong flavor. Opt for a good-quality, neutral oil with high saturated fat content, such as avocado or nut-based options, such as pecan or walnut. You can also use cocoa butter or a good-quality vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s.

• Storage Notes: Kaju katli can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month or frozen for up to 3 months.

• Where to Buy: Food-grade edible glitter or luster dust can be purchased online or at cake/baking supply stores.

Recipe: Dahi Bhalla

Originally published in Food Network

Dahi bhalla is a chaat (street food) popular in Delhi with versions all over South Asia. It’s creamy and filling with a kick of spice and a hint of crunch. The fried lentil dumplings are soaked in a tangy yogurt sauce, brightened by two chutneys that perform a balancing act of sweet and savory. It’s vegetarian and gluten-free and can be made dairy-free with vegan yogurt and nondairy milk. Home cooks can adjust spice levels to their tastes.

Some advance planning is required to prepare the dal (lentils) for the batter, but no special kitchen equipment other than a deep-fry thermometer is needed to make the recipe. This version is inspired by my aunt who used to make dahi bhalla for nearly every special occasion, and we couldn’t get enough of it.

by Surbhi Sahni

Makes 12 to 14 dumplings (serves 6 as a starter)

Ingredients

Bhalla Batter:

2 cups urad dhuli dal (split black gram)

Raita:

1 quart plain yogurt or vegan yogurt

1/2 cup milk or nondairy milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon dried mint

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Fresh ginger, peeled and minced, to taste 

2 teaspoons toasted cumin powder, optional (see Cook’s Note)

Pinch rock salt, optional

Dahi Bhalla:

Vegetable oil for frying

Kosher salt

1/2 cup tamarind chutney, store-bought or homemade, recipe follows

1/2 cup cilantro chutney, store-bought or homemade, recipe follows

1 tablespoon chaat masala

1 tablespoon toasted cumin powder (see Cook’s Note)

1 cup aloo bhujia or sev (crispy dried noodles, available in Indian grocery stores)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Finely chopped fresh green chile, optional

Tamarind Chutney:

1/4 cup seedless tamarind block (available in most Indian and Thai grocery stores)

2 cups sugar, or to taste

One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 teaspoon red chile powder, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon rock salt

Kosher salt, to taste

Cilantro Chutney:

1 bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

2 or 3 fresh green chiles

One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chaat masala

12 ice cubes (to maintain bright green color)

Kosher salt, to taste

Instructions

Special equipment: a deep-fry thermometer

1. Make the bhalla batter: In a large bowl, rinse the dal in cold water, rubbing the dal really well. The water will turn milky white. Drain the dal and repeat 3 times, or until the water is clear. Add 6 cups of cold water to the bowl, add the dal and set aside to soak for 6 hours. 

2. Reserve 1 cup of the soaking water, then strain the soaked dal. Transfer the dal to a blender and add 1/4 cup of the soaking water. Blend until completely smooth. Add a little more water if the mixture is still chunky. The batter should have a thick consistency like a dense pancake batter. Leave the batter covered at room temperature for at least 2 hours or refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature before using.

3. Make the raita: Stir the yogurt, milk, sugar, mint, black pepper, and ginger together in a bowl. Stir in the cumin and rock salt if using. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. Make the dahi bhalla: When ready to fry, add oil to a depth of 5 to 6 inches to a deep pot. Place over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer.

5. Stir about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into the batter. Fill a medium bowl with water. Wet your hands in the water, then gently roll about 1/4 cup batter into a ball. Hold the ball in the center of your palm and make a hole in the center with a finger.  (If you are unable to make a clean hole in the dough, just make smaller discs of about 2 tablespoons and no thicker than 1/2 inch.)

6. Working in batches, carefully place the formed dumplings into the hot oil; the dough will sink and immediately bounce back to the surface. Fry the dumplings until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack or paper towels. (We love eating dahi bhalla freshly made, but they can be finished later by cooling them completely, then freezing them in airtight containers.)

7. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add a generous pinch of salt and switch off the flame. After 5 minutes, place all of the fried dumplings in the water, cover and let sit 5 minutes. Remove the cover; the dumplings should be swollen. Take the dumplings out one at a time and use your hands to gently squeeze the water out of them.

8. To serve, pour a third of the prepared raita over one large serving platter or individual serving dishes (shallow dishes are preferable as you want the dumplings in a single layer). Place the dumplings on top and then cover the dumpling with the remaining raita. Drizzle with tamarind chutney and cilantro chutney. Sprinkle with chaat masala and cumin powder, and garnish with aloo bhujia or sev and cilantro. If you prefer the dish to be spicier, add fresh green chile to taste. Serve immediately.

9. Tamarind Chutney: Place the tamarind, sugar, ginger, chile powder, black pepper and rock salt in a saucepan and add 4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours over medium heat until the tamarind is dark in color and the mixture has thickened. The chutney should be thick but pourable; add more water if necessary.

10. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender and puree. Taste and add kosher salt to taste, and more sugar if the sauce tastes very sour. Return the mixture to the pot and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

11. Cilantro Chutney: Blend the cilantro, chiles, ginger, lemon juice, chaat masala, ice cubes and salt together in a blender until smooth. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Cook’s Note

• To make toasted cumin powder, put cumin seeds in a dry pan and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan, until they are fragrant. Cool the seeds and crush into a powder. 

• When blending hot liquid, first let it cool for five minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender, filling only halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth.

Recipe: Besan Ladoo

Originally published in Food Network

Besan ladoo is an iconic Diwali mithai. It is first mithai recipe I perfected and has been my favorite since childhood. As a kid, my dad used to surprise me and my brother by bringing home a small box of besan ladoos from the local mithaiwala. Made with just five ingredients (chickpea flour, cane sugar, cardamom and gold dust), besan ladoos are naturally gluten-free and easy to make at home with minimal kitchen equipment. They can be hand-rolled instead of pressed into traditional domed molds if you don't have them.

by Surbhi Sahni

Makes 12 to 14 pieces

Cook time: 3 hr (includes 2rs chilling)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) ghee, plus more if needed

2 1/2 cups (20 ounces) fine chickpea flour

5 ounces cashews, finely ground

2 teaspoons cardamom powder

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

Pinch kosher salt 

Edible gold dust or glitter, for decorating

Instructions

Special equipment: dome-shaped molds (optional)

1. Melt the ghee in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to low and add the chickpea flour. Keep the heat super-low while you stir the mixture with a flat-bottom spatula. Continue to stir until the mixture looks like wet breadcrumbs; if the mixture looks very dry, add an extra tablespoon of ghee to moisten it.

2. Continue to cook the mixture on very low heat for about 40 minutes. Don’t stray too far; it's important to stir the pot frequently to prevent the flour from burning. Within the first 20 to 25 minutes you will smell the chickpea flour, and the mixture begin to soften as the ghee melts into the flour. When the mixture is deep golden brown in color, add the cashews and cardamom. Cook for another 5 minutes to remove the raw flavor of the nuts.  

3. Transfer the batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt and mix thoroughly. (You can also mix this by hand if you allow the batter to cool enough to touch.) 

4. At this point, you can either press the mixture into dome-shaped molds, or scoop about 3 ounces out at a time and roll the mixture in your palms to make rounds. If using molds, put the molds in the freezer and then unmold the sweets when firm and refrigerate.

5. Refrigerate the sweets for at least 2 hours before serving. Remove them from the refrigerator about 5 minutes before serving to bring them to room temperature. Sprinkle the tops with gold dust. The besan ladoo will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a month or frozen for up to 6 months.

India's Ancient Sweet Tooth

DIVING INTO THE ORIGIN OF CANDY

The story of candy starts in South Asia where sugarcane originated.

Sugarcane was first cultivated by the Indus Valley civilization in what is now India.  When you think of candy, you might not immediately think of India, but modern candy making owes its craft to the innovative art of refining sugar that was invented 8,000 years ago on the Indian subcontinent. 

Today, India’s bustling mithai shops, elaborate mithai culture, and jaggery production are mainstays of the country’s inventive past. 

BEFORE CANDY THERE WAS KHAANDA

The English word candy comes from the ancient Sanskrit word khaanda, which describes sugarcane juice that was boiled and dried into small hard pieces. The first proto-candy made with sugarcane was distinct from desserts sweetened with honey and dried fruit elsewhere in the world. 

According to candy historian Samira Kawash, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that sugar was introduced to Europe from Asia and India through colonization. It took awhile for candy to become a developed culinary practice and for a long time was a luxury only available to the wealthy. 

In the 18th century, candy became a vehicle for herbal medicines or sometimes prescribed as a remedy all by itself. A spoonful of sugar really does help the medicine go down. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the apothecary and confectionery started becoming separate professions in the U.S.

SAVOR THE TASTE OF HISTORY

Next time you eat a piece of candy or bite into a luxurious mithai, remember that it’s a piece of ancient Indian history that has carried its sweetness across the world. 

Making Mithai a Household Name

This time of year, desis everywhere from Jaipur to Jackson Heights head to their local mithaiwala to stock up on boxes of mithai that will be given as Diwali gifts, or unboxed as dessert for the holiday’s weeklong festivities. Our own mithaiwali, chef Surbhi, is hard at work with our team grinding nuts into powder, filling molds, and dusting mithai with sparkling dust. 

Mithai, the Hindi word for sweets, represents a diverse array of confections, each with their own regional distinctions and culinary techniques that date back thousands of years.

Mithai are given alongside prayers to the gods, gifts at weddings, births and festivals, and are a daily snack with tea time. They are distinctly South Asian but have evolved with the spice trade, colonization and global trade, with influences from Persian halva to European pastries, and even share traits with deep-fried fair food across the Midwest — fried dough unites us all. Yet, outside of communities on the Indian subcontinent and here in the diaspora, many of our most beloved South Asian sweets are still fairly uncommon.

In recent decades, food from the Indian subcontinent has permeated the U.S. culinary landscape beyond chana masala and butter chicken. A taste for regional South Asian cuisine is growing, and along with it, understanding of its evolution as it crosses over into the diaspora. But among the pillars of our expansive cuisine, sweets are still largely unfamiliar to non-South Asians. 

Everyone knows what Turkish delights and petit fours are — why not mithai?

That moment when you bite into a fudgy Pistachio Burfi or crack the thin shell of a Besan Ladoo is unrivaled, and the floral fragrance of kheer sends us down deep portals of childhood memory. We want everyone to experience mithai. By eating our food, you can better understand South Asian culture’s particular language of love and ongoing rebirth. 

The Indian subcontinent is overdue for recognition of its confectionery legacy. Sugarcane has been a staple crop on the Indian subcontinent for millennia, and the Indus Valley civilization invented the process by which sugar is refined more than 8,000 years ago. 

“Mithai comes from mithas, meaning ‘sweet'. The root of ‘sugar’ is from the Sanskrit word sharkara, and even ‘candy’ (originally khanda) is derived from this ancient dialect. Just as French dessert and Italian dolce house a myriad of tidbits laden with sucrose and fat, so too does the wonderous world of mithai,” writes Deepi Aluwalia. 

Composed of base ingredients like toasted nuts, curdled milk solids and fried dough, mithai are versatile with a wide range of textural and aromatic characteristics. 

Our mithai resemble bite-size pieces of art thanks to chef Surbhi’s eye for detail and influence from her father, who is an abstract artist.

Each piece is hand-decorated in various glittering jewel-tones with dried flower petals, candied ginger, whole nuts or seeds. They are packaged in colorful gift boxes that we design in-house (shout out to Lynn!), and are made to be gifted. 

The cost of each box reflects the care that went into it, from the quality of ingredients to the labor of our staff. We value every component of the process and don’t cut corners, making each piece all the more precious. 

Sugary, dairy-laden sweets can be off limits for some people, so we cater to dietary needs like vegan, gluten-free and nut-free, and we don’t use preservatives. We use less sugar than traditional mithai shops, allowing the delicate balance of our ingredient pairings to shine: Toasted coconut, pecan flour, black pepper. Carrots, almonds, calendula petals. Moong dal, saffron, pistachios, and more. 

This year, we are ringing in the Diwali season with six new gift boxes including our Desi Collection of nostalgic flavors, an expanded Vegan Collection, and the star of the show, the Diwali Collection with sixteen flavors. Our handmade collections feature classic mithai flavors as well as unconventional creations like Lavender Burfi and Salted Pecan Burfi, and veganized favorites like Kaju Katli and Badam Narangi. 

Okay, now we’re hungry. 

We hope you’re inspired to share mithai this Diwali — whether you buy it from our small business or make it at home with your loved ones — and learn more about the history of this ancient confectionery. 

Happy Diwali!

Rakhi is for Everyone

An open box of TAGMO’s Rakhi Collection filled with handmade mithai.

WHAT IS RAKHI

Rakhi (Raksha Bandhan) is a Hindu ceremony that celebrates the bond between siblings and chosen kin, with a lot of street food, mithai, and music. Rakhi is like an ancient take on the modern BFF bracelets from childhood.

Traditionally, sisters give their brothers ornate bracelets that symbolize protection the brothers vow to give their sisters. But today, Rakhi is evolving to include everyone, especially trans and nonbinary people, and is a great opportunity to unpack outdated ideas of gender and family.

A hand-painted Rakhi bracelet

SWEET TIES OF LOVE

It's fitting that Rakhi falls during Leo season, because this festival represents bold love + fierce protection.

Rakhi bracelets are a signature part of the gift giving. Versatile and beautiful, our Rakhi wooden pendants are fixed onto ribbons to wear as jewelry around your wrist, a bookmark in your summer novel, or hang from your rearview mirror for good luck while driving.

Inspired by East Indian Madhubani folk art, our Rakhis are made by students at Ahan Foundation, a nonprofit that provides occupational therapy for the special needs community of Jaipur. Your purchase supports their important work!

Surbhi (right) and her brother Saurabh (left).

CELEBRATING INTERDEPENDENCE

Surbhi grew up celebrating Rakhi with her younger brother, Saurabh. Despite the seven year age gap between them, Surbhi and Saurabh have always been close siblings who looked out for each other.

When Saurabh was a small child, Surbhi visited him at daycare every day after school to watch him play. As he got older, Saurabh returned the sibling kindness by saving his treats like instant Maggie noodles to share with Surbhi. Knowing how much she loves to sing along to the radio in the morning, Saurabh would take the family's boom box to the balcony with the volume turned all the way up so Surbhi could listen to music while she walked to the bus stop.

That’s the spirit of Rakhi — vowing to show up for the people you love, and to be there for them when they need you. Regardless of gender, we all experience moments of vulnerability and need support from each other. This is a sentiment that goes beyond biological siblings and includes cousins, friends, intergenerational bonds, and romantic partners.

Many of our holidays and festivals have troubled origins. They come from a time when notions of gender, sexuality and one’s role in society were a lot different than the possibilities we have today. We approach old festivals with new ideas and playfulness, expanding them to be open and loving for everyone. Happy Rakhi!