Chini mitti ki bharni

I was never very fond of pickles when I was a kid, and naturally so- how many kids do you know who like pickles, but I loved the huge Bharnis in which the pickles were stored. My mother had glass bharnis, but a friend's mother stored stuffed red chilli pickles in Chini mitti ki bharnis.

My generation has little time for making pickles- buying bottles from the grocery store is so much more convenient- and gradually, those bharnis disappeared. But my fascination with them never went away.

Which is why, when I saw some bharnis at an exhibition recently, I didn't hesitate before picking a couple up. When you have bharnis, you need pickles to put in them, which served as the impetus for making the gobi-gajar-shalgam achar.

Long may my fascination with traditional vessels continue!