In the kitchen, Mom was stirring something at the stove. Liz was happily eating a samosa -- a pocket of bread stuffed with curried potatoes and onions. Sunita's grandmother squatted on a small stool, singing loudly with the music. A sharp, curved blade attached to a piece of wood and a basket were on the floor between her feet. Holding a chili pepper between the thumb and forefinger of both hands, she pushed it against the blade. Her fingers moved quickly. The blade flashed through the pepper and pieces of the chili fell into the basket.
Sunita dumped the ashes from the incense holder into the garbage can. "Why can't she use a knife and cutting board instead of that thing?" she asked her mother.
--The Not-So-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen
