An Afternoon

It was a dry afternoon...there was no electricity. I was lying down on the bed with an intention to read the book I was holding, but my eyes resisted and I looked towards the window. The spotless, blue sky returned my gaze by its peeps through the canopies of branches that the trees have formed in front of the window. I could not ignore the intense gaze of the blue and got lost into it. I went on a voyage in the ether, not through the clouds as the sky was clear, but in the direction of the wind; sometimes anchoring onto the tamarind branches whose dry seeds have turned red now.

I know I am dreamy; but doesn’t the sky carry seeds of dreams that are borne by the air to be sown in the eyes of every being? My dreams lead to an escape to a place where every problem seems trivial.

My float was unending, as it only intended to stop if the earth agreed to stop rotating. But I had to halt in between, because electricity had made its appearance, and anchored on a branch of tree. I jumped through my window pane and entered my room. I looked back...the moving wind said good bye with the trees nodding to acknowledge my escape

Colonization Through Food

I was wondering, what comes to our mind when we think of dining out. Is it a meal in Mc Donald’s, KFC or Subway or is it paranthas, paneer, daal chawal, rajma, fish curry, etc.? Do we have much option for Indian cuisines in the cities when our streets are crowded with fast food joints? In Hyderabad, Andhra tiffin centres are abundantly visible but to find affordable restaurants to relish on cuisines of other regions of the country requires hunting with a microscope.

A couple of days ago, I was longing for some delicious Shahi Paneer and Paranthas but had to resort to eating a Turkey Sub from Subway. It was not that my appetite switched its mood but I could not find a place to quench my desire in a rate that would not hurt my pocket. A thought popped up, if it is a new kind of colonization.

The trend towards our perception of affordability is also changing. We can easily spend a hundred rupees for a Sub or a Zinger Burger, whether it serves our hunger or not is a different issue, but we hesitate to bear the same expense for a pair of paranthas or a Bengali meal or a Rajasthani thali. The food court of Inorbit Mall, Hyderabad, boasts of Tibetan Restaurants, Western and Mexican Food Joints, but not a single point, where dishes from all over the country is served, can be found. The grocery shops and super markets stock Kellogg’s Cornflakes, muesli, oat meal porridge, mayonnaise, oyster sauce, etc.. The extent of colonial hangover is evident in the Health pages of newspapers and magazines. A glance through these columns reveals consumerist motivations, where every diet suggestion labels desi food habits as unhealthy and junk, triggering the attitude of abandoning Indian recipes. The fact is, our ancestors never faced the problem of obesity as much as the youths today which resulted from the switching of appetite. But anything that has the tag of West rocks, and thus rocks the global market.