Who Made my Dish?
In recent days, i have a discomfort in my mind when starting to consume the food. The quality of the ingredients is bothering me on one side. On the other side, mind is questioning constantly whether the mood of the person who made the dish matters towards my health/welfare.
Another after thought is, Am i really qualified / worth for consuming that meal?
What great thing did i do, in order to have a delicious meal. I completely understood the items in my plate did not come just like that. What i am taking in, is the effort of so many creatures in this world right from the seed which transformed into plant then to bunch of seeds, the nature which provided the right nourishment, the farmer who did the right action, the merchant who made it available to buy, and the cook who made it right for my tummy.
I remember one higher caste woman used to come to our house on business trips. She carries 5/6 meals in her bag. Never eats outside in hotel or even in our home. I thought it was because of caste discrimination that time. But now I started having a second thought. How to swallow something, which may not be right for my tummy. The contents of the food, the mood of the person who made it matters. Is it so?
I generally consume heavy meal / Tiffin when going to hotels. My mom used to comment on me when I was a kid. May be the dining table, brighter lights, bigger plates ,ghee roast dosa and 3 different chutneys might have made me to eat so. Even now my wife complains, how I get this much capacity only in hotel but not in home when taking buffet / unlimited meals.
I saw and see each cook as a divine personality, from my Grandmas, Chittis,Athais, Amma, Appa, friends, wife, hotel chefs and I.
I want to kiss them, hug them, fall on their feet and pray them since they made my tummy happy. Wait a minute. I have this much attachment on the people who made the food for me. What kind of attachment should I have got on the persons who helped in ensuring the food reaches my home, my market, the godown, and the farmer's effort.
I am not for sure ignorant, but negligent.
I am proud to say that I was/am not like few of my friends/colleagues and relatives who always overfill their plates in parties / marriage ceremonies. Finally, most of the items from their plates go to the rotten seepage. Is that for, it was made on first go?
Prizing the food and praying who enabled it to your plate, really make sense... Isn't it?
Still the question wandering in my mind, "Who made my Dish?"
- K Vijay Anand
- 17.11.17