“What is the
tastiest food in the world?”, asked Thomas master. That was how he was always.
He would post some questions to get the whole attention of the class. It’s needless
to say he badly wanted such a question in that Friday last period to agitate
the students.
7B got animated!
“With prawn roast, I
can eat a pot of rice…”, everyone chuckled for Johnny Mathan’s answer.
“Sambar is the best
curry in the world”, Siddhu, son of Appaswami, had no doubt about it.
“Mutton Chops”
“Appam with Chicken”
“Rasam”
“Curd Curry”
Christina was describing
about lobster that nobody knew about.
“Tomato Curry”
“Fish Milk Curry”
“Chicken Biryani”
“Choclate…”
Known and unknown
aroma of tempting tastes invaded their senses, making their mouth water.
“Tell me Radha…?”, master
pointed at pappat maker Santhamma’s son, Radhakrishnan, mockingly or tenderly
called ‘Pappat’. He was poor but good at studies.
With heavy eyes, for
helping his mother the previous night, he stood up. All those indolent eyes
were on him. He looked straight at the eyes of the master and said without any rush.
“Hungry, Master…”
“Hungry is the
tastiest food in the world!”
For a second, Thomas
master was thunderstruck. He raised his hands to his spectacles…
Those words made no
sense to those students. So was I.
Having hailed from
the outskirts of a village in Kerala, I had never thought that a bottle of
water had any value. Neither in the sophisticated life of Chicago did I. Even
when I paid Rs 50 for a small bottle of water in Bangalore, it didn’t really
mean to me anything. Perhaps, because my company is paying me more than that
for the 15 minutes that I play table tennis.
But, in the midst of
a very delicious potluck luncheon, the award winning picture of the African
child and vulture flashed in my eyes. And popped up a question. What is the
value of a bottle of water?
It may have no value
for me. Or maybe just Rs 50.
But, it’s different
for that child, for whom the hungry vulture waited for.
I think the value of
a bottle of water for him is HIS LIFE.
I saw a lot of lives
in the waste basket, after the potluck.
It also made me deep
dive into some definitions.
What is food?
My Google guru said,
“Any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants
absorb in order to maintain life and growth”. And it’s very evident that food
is for our growth.
What are the
attributes of food?
My common sense says
there are mainly two. All others can be grouped into these two, I believe. And they
are:
Healthy! Tasty!
The very definition
of food explains and it’s very evident that food is to be healthy. It needs no elucidation.
We all know how
important the food is to be tasty too. Some people love eating food. Some others
love to prepare and feed others. Whatever it is, taste is something indispensable
and uncompromisable.
What do we pay the
food for?
Obviously, it’s for
health. But, mostly and unfortunately, it’s for taste. Don’t yell at me, if you
are a health conscious foodie. All I meant is that the food we take is this
expensive, mainly for its taste. Again are you not happy? Let me put it this
way. Typically, taste adds complexity (good or bad) to the food we intake.
If I’m right in
reasoning, my next question makes sense to you.
Should we really account
for taste?
As per Wikipedia,
taste is defined as the sensation produced when a substance in the mouth reacts
chemically with taste receptor cells located on taste buds.
That means that you can
taste any delicious food in the world, only for a minute (if you are a slow
eater like me). Once the food is down to the taste buds in your tongue, it
makes no sense to you. All that you feel after that is just trick of your brain.
Yes, this little thing cheats us every now and then.
Now, should we
really pay for taste?
Again, the answer is
very personal. No.
However, I can add
another dimension to it, why my answer is a ‘No’.
Health is objective,
whereas taste is subjective.
You can objectively
measure your health, thanks to latest science. On the other hand, taste is
individual. For few at least, even the bitter gourd is also tasty. It also
means that you can train yourself to make any food tasty, up to a good extend.
No offence to
foodies! It’s just a loud thinking. Everything is subjective.
But there is
something nobody disagrees, at least. The value of a bottle of water is not
just Rs 50. It could be a life too!
Let’s not waste
food!
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