Khaane mein kya loge?-1

If life was a film, food would be the intermission. Food is one of the most important and one of the best parts of life. There are two categories of people in the world- those who eat to live and those who live to eat. I fall in the latter. Food is the bright color in a dull room. It is your favorite scene of a T.V. serial. It is like your favorite actor or actress; you need to see it every day.

For Indians, food is more than just a word. Indian food reflects this view. I don’t think that there is even one Indian who can live without eating Indian food. Food is very important for us Indians.

Let me give you some common examples. When a child comes back from a birthday party, he is asked two things—“How was the party?” and “Khaane mein kya tha?” Even when a person hosts a birthday party, food is a major element for its success. Even the criteria to judge a wedding is food. I have seen in movies, when the hosts ask the guests about how the food was, the typical nakchadi aunties answer, “Dal mein namak zyada hai aur bhai ye gulab jamun itna meetha kyu hai?” This salty dal and oversweet gulab jamun become their top gossip stories and they talk about the hosts in a nasty way. I am sure you can visualize the over made-up faces of these aunties with flashy, their bit-too bright sarees and their nasty tone.

When a guest comes home, the first thing that is discussed is the food items that will be present. Even the guests come with high expectation. So, if the guest doesn’t eat properly, the host gets really disappointed. Also, if the food if not good, the guests also show an awkward face to the host. Basically, during few situations, food is regarded as self-respect. There was a chapter in my last year Hindi textbook, Tum kab jaoge, atithi, which describes the misery of a host and how frustrating his duties towards his guest are. The author mentions how he had to turn his raat ka khana into a ucch-madhyam vargi dinner. Food is very important.

Food at school and office is yet another example of how food affects our daily routine. You eat your dear aloo parathas from your friend’s tiffin. You actually feel happy when you see some junk food or any of your favourite food items in their tiffin boxes. Stanley ka dabba is a movie that actually shows our dependence on others lunch boxes. I personally ask each friend of mine about their lunch as soon as I enter the class.

Food for us isn’t just rasmalai, kaali dal, rosgulla, fish curry, vada pav, chola bhatura, malai kulfi, gulab jamun, idli-dosa-sambar.  Food really means a lot to us. Food is our pride.