World's best Besan Ladoos

I believe the world’s best ‘Besan laddos’ are made by Sameer and Nidhi's mom. We would wait for Sameer to return from Bhopal.. because with him will arrive the tins of delicious ladoos prepared by his Mom. On reaching before any one of us can pounce on the loot, he would divide them into two parts; one to be shared with us and one carefully hidden away; so that he can have them all by himself without any one of us grabbing them, specially Bidyut. Yes such are our friends !
These ladoos were the perfect bites - perfectly shaped, firm on hand and melts in your mouth. Not to sugary or greasy on your palate. Just the perfect mixture of gram flour, castor sugar and pure ghee, with a hint of cardamon.

Sameer was the kind of foodie you respect. Not that he just loved food or cooked some amazingly delicious items; but he also had a keen interest in the culinary art. I learnt many things things from him (beside being introduced to Hindi literature, which remained incomplete.. ) I picked up quiet a few cooking tricks from him. For instance, Sameer taught me how to knead dough right and roll chapatis. He always had some tidbits to share about how to cook this or that gravy. Once he made a Sabzi just with onions, for dinner and when I made a face at the idea; he said with a very straight face— This dish was Mudhabala’s favourite dish (..and I dare refuse it!)
I still wonder how that bit of information or recipe came down to him! But than of course, he also had a healthy appetite for a good laugh:)

Once when he came back from Bhopal and opened the much awaited bag of Ladoos; we found to our horror - half of the precious loot in crumble! After a momentary look at the spoil he said in his typical way- ‘Koi nay…’ - don’t worry we will re-make them. He gathered and heated the crumble in a pan and soon we were sitting on the floor rolling the the ladoos again.

Today was my very first attempt at making 'besan ladoos' unassisted. As I was rolling the ladoos in my kitchen.. I could sense Sameer pottering around- opening lids of this and that container, peeping inside the fridge, tasting something from there and all the while chattering about random things.
I could see both of us sitting there on the floor; the afternoon sun streaming in from the window- us rolling ladoos and laughing and chatting away.. as I said- Sameer loved to share little bits of wisdom- he told me, rolling 'besan ladoos' not only required skill but you have to be brave too- to put your hand right into that hot mixture that has just been removed from the burner; you’ll have blisters in your hand but sweet will be the result of your pain!
Who says.. we are physical beings? it is but a phase that we will all grow out of.. what will remains is the essence.. scattered all around.. in the smiles shared, hearts touched, fights fought, likes, dislikes.. my idiosyncrasies, my dreams, my beliefs, my angst.. they will be here, nestled - in memories, places, people, in things we touched, in stories we told. In that chair where I loved to curl up with a book, that little half chipped figurine which I refuse to throw away, my faintly fragrant handkerchief lying in the drawer..
What will fade is the image.
But will forever linger is the sense… the essence.
We will be the sugar in the ladoos- you can’t see it but you can taste it, sense it filling your essence with its sweetness..
As I say- Only thing real is forever.. Atom or Aatma.. we are, will be here.. all around.