PMS, Cake & Crying
- Swastika HARSH JAJOO
- Apr 24, 2024
- 4 min read
I intended to work out post work, except my body decided to just say no after one set of bench press, so now I’m a sullen plum sitting at a cafe sipping on hot chocolate, thinking of my mum who has also recently developed a liking for the drink and sips on it in (mostly) healthy amounts. I love me a good hot chocolate, but it irks me if they’re too sweet. Fortunately, the one I ordered is perfectly balanced and goes well with the anko bread I got. I despise this time of the month; I know I’m PMSing which is why my emotions fluctuate like it’s nobody’s business and I either want to cry all the time because obviously, life’s innate meaninglessness will dawn upon me now like an egg cracked open on a bowl of steaming rice — except it’s a badly cooked egg (if it’s well-cooked, I can stomach, even revel in, the aforementioned meaninglessness because I don’t usually find it particularly threatening). Either that, or I want to compulsively eat candy (totally did not eat a whole packet of strawberry Pocky, a sweet potato cake and a giant cream-filled cookie for dinner, with broccoli soup as one must to retain some semblance of sanity). Sigh. It’s really annoying to know exactly why I’m feeling this way and still be completely helpless. I did get myself some medicine last month but it killed my digestion (like a friend said, after 25, we slowly start sinking into lactose intolerance) and I figured I’d be better without it, so I’m just going to ride it out till I feel better (read: sobs wretchedly into a pillow).
Anyhow, I think there is no better time than this to reflect on marvels from the last few days so I’m going to make an attempt and resist my impulsive urge to drink two, or three, more hot chocolates:
1.Showing my dadi the skies at Yonomori: The other day, I was heading with a friend on an errand to buy some baumkuchen for a dinner party we were invited to. We went to Yonomori Baum in Tomioka, a cake shop that opened in August, 2023 and uses locally-produced rice for its batter instead of refined flour. My granny video-called me while I was on the train and although I’m not usually one to receive calls on trains here, I took hers. Alright, maybe I’m lying a little bit; I’m a slightly spoilt gaijin when it comes to the etiquette of not making calls in public spaces in Japan but you can’t blame me too much because I’d basically be using all my commute time on the Delhi Metro to talk to family. Do in Rome as the Romans do, except Delhi people do everywhere as Delhi people do. In any case, despite my blasphemous disregard of public etiquette, I guess I’m still lovable enough for me to not have received any harsh looks or warnings so far. I try to behave. In any case, dadi doesn’t really call me often so I decided to answer. I showed her the scenery through the window, and the interiors of the train briefly, and how we need to press a button for the doors to open at the station we want to get off (a small-town oddity) and she was so impressed! Her excitement and joy made me look at trains anew, filling me with wonder despite the fact that I’ve been using these trains for nearly half a decade now. Sometimes we get so used to even the special things in our lives that we forget how special they are — trains, cakes, relationships with loved ones — one could apply it to practically anything. I could also argue how not being able to notice the specialness is also ode to the fact of specialness, but sometimes that approach results in me sidelining gratitude, which is why I’m fussy about trying to remember what I love. Anyhow, time for some baumkuchen trivia. This is a cake that was introduced to Japan a hundred years ago by someone called Karl Juchheim during his time in a prisoner-of-war camp in Hiroshima. After his release, he opened up a store in Yokohama that got destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and he relocated to Kobe, where the Juchheim shop still continues to be located. The sweet’s concentric circles signify longevity, making it a popular gift for celebratory occasions. In Tomioka, these cakes have become a symbol of the town’s recovery from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the consequent nuclear disaster. They even have a brown rice variant! I need to definitely take some back for my dad. My personal favourite, though, was the sakura-flavored spring edition. I am easily charmed by seasonal sweets, and this one had an actual sakura petal resting on it too. Big arigatou, Juccheim.
My granny & trains
Stock image of a yumyum baumkuchen
2. Seasonal tempura flavours that I learned about while teaching an English conversation class: -蕗の薹 or fukinotou: edible flower bud of the fuki, an early spring delicacy -タラの芽 or taranome: lusterleaf holly (What even? If I ever get into action video games, that’s what I’m calling my character. Lusterleaf Holly.) -腰油 or koshiabura: Acanthopanax Sciadophylloides (…go figure) -せり or seri: Java water dropwort, Japanese parsley
3. My roommate calling me and starting the conversation with “Bro, pata hai aaj class mein kya hua?” I love listening to my friends get excited about something. I love it. I want to hear everything! I want the juicy rants and the not-so-hot rants, and I want to be excited about what you’re excited about. It reminded me of how I used to come back from school and tell my parents about the events that transpired, not leaving out the tiniest details.
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