Pyaar Bhari Barni

Being a 90's middle class family kid we had food items divided into three categories : 

1) The regular daily food aka "GHAR KA KHANA" , the food that satisfies not only your hunger but also satisfies your soul, This is the most important food but also this pretty much goes unregistered and unnoticed "ab daal chawal ka kya hi special hoga".

2) Special food items aka "REWARD", this is what your mom cooks when you have either outperformed yourself or bhasin auntie's son, "rajma chawal pakke, kabhi kabhi chocos bhi milte the".

3) Family dinners at restaurant aka "AAJ BAHAR KHANA KHAYENGE ", it is some thing which requires a lot of planning atleast 2-3 hours of discussion, as of where to go, what to eat . It use to happen every saturday, we almost always went to same restaurant, ordered the same menu and no one ever complained . 

I still remember as a kid it used to be a status symbol to have maggi in your lunch box, mom would speak 3 magical words on some days "aaj maggi hai" and you knew that you just couldn't have lunch with others on that day, you have to go and find a secluded spot and eat it hastily before any one finds you and take a slice out your precious maggi cake .School years were precious from food point of view, "2 rupay ki imli" in front of school, that magenta coloured sweet and sour tamarind preperation for 2 rupees was a bliss & was my first love, School "chowmin" which never tasted the same on two different occasions, on best of days when you feel way too adventurous you go and eat golgappe/ panipuri/puchka all by yourself, spending all the money you had saved, it gives you a sense of being grownup, "arrey yaar tum ni samjoge" its a huge thing to eat golgappe all by yourself. Recess periods were special as classrooms smelled different before and after the recess, like all the moms came during recess and prepared fresh mango pickles, that peculiar smell of mango pickle, carrom seeds, mustard oil, fennel seeds, god every Indian student can recognise mango pickle fragrance from a valid distance. If you have ever travelled by train no matter shatabdi or garibrath and you haven't experienced the entire compartment, filled with aroma of "PURI, PICKLE AND SUKHE ALLOO" then my friend you have a lot to experience yet.

A kitchen is a sacred place it has seen more raw emotions than any other corner of the house. As a kid I have this beautiful memory of sitting on the kitchen slab while mom worked, I would talk to her or just look at her cooking I think that is when I started loving food, As I grew a little mom would make me stand with her and would talk about school, about my anger, about spices and how every human and spice has a different flavour. It is a magical moment when you have your younger sister standing by your side in front of the stove and she begins to follow your recipe, all of a sudden you realise how happy your mom must have been when you first told her that you want to learn that recipe from her as no one makes it better than her, that feeling is more valuable than any thing you possess.

When a child In India goes to hostel, the biggest crisis for our mom is food, all of the sudden she thinks "MERA BACCHA KYA KHAYEGA" specially if you are a picky kid. I still remember I use to recieve 10-12 calls a day throughout my college years, 6 of those calls would be before and after all three meals I had, first to remind me I have to eat and then to confirm if I ate well or not, You begin to realise its love, and your mum won't eat till she knows you are full. When you move out things change proper meals are lost in transit, all of the sudden food that you called sullen and boring at home becomes really special, it tethers you to your roots "GHAR KA KHANA" becomes an emotion. You miss that perfect chapati, that steamed rice, daal and sabzi. Home made pickles are still with you, they are like little jars full of love "PYAAR BHARI BARNI". 

Food can do wonders for your love life, trust me, I think a major proportion of love stories begin with conversations surrounding food and dogs, all of the sudden you begin eating what your counter love interest likes, your taste buds are happy, you gain weight and you never complain, you try out the stupidest of recipes & when they fail you both have to eat the disaststrous outcome and laugh about it, you have your own kind of pizza topping, jalapenos and pineapple for instance, a particular kind of coffee, "MAGGI AND SAMOSA" become the most romantic dinner dates. In long distance relationships food really matters, pictures of what you ate and what you cooked become point of discussion. Some times while cooking something she loves make you smile remembering how she would end up eating your portion too.

Food nourishes both body and soul, it is love, It is special, it is not just about satisfying taste buds and getting nutrients, it is about cooking and savouring some thing after several eons and reliving the entire story all over again.