When was the last time I had a perfect meal ... the one that made me so happy , that I had nothing but blessings and gratitude for the person who made it, or the person who paid for the meal or me if i happen to have made it. Well, this definitely is not one of those life's profound questions, but I still had to think hard and search my entire lifetime to pinpoint one perfect meal of my lifetime so far. Some may think its too simple a question to spend so much time over, while others may opine that its simple and stupid.
Well, I am entitled to my simple thoughts,stupid is just an opinion. So while my mind wandered through the events of my lifetime, I realized two things...One, that its not just one meal and Two, the definition of perfect meal for me changed over the time as mind grew from innocent to complex-ed !
So as i grew in age, and my mind grew in complexity, and fortunately my personal finances grew from zero to some , I got opportunities to eat food in various restaurants in cities, bigger cities,metros,some international cities...expensive meals, international, gourmet, local and whatnot. But like many others, my favorite and always comforting meals were found at my home... courtesy mom's cooking, if your mom is able to cook up fairly decent... of course there are mothers who cant cook to save their lives, Its not a mandatory skill in mom's resume..!
So that elusive perfect meal or meals were those simple ones that cost me nothing , had no fancy names, weren't laid out to me in a stylish manner....they were like every meal in my life that satisfied my hunger but with one difference,they made me so happy that i would remember them always.
I was about 10 years old, went to an old woman's hut in my mom's village with my cousins.she gave us one of my life's perfect meals. We sat crouching in her small mud kitchen near the chulha (mud oven),also ducking the dense smoke from the burning wood enveloping the low ceiling.She gave us simple dal, rice and potatoes right out of the chulha in a big thali. Perfect meal !
I was about 16 years old, went to an adventure camp in Uttarakhand hills with friends, while coming back me and my friend had to stop by at an Army transit camp to wait for our train.The camp was virtually deserted and both of us starving. Found one soldier, so we asked him where we can find food , he offered to cook for us as there was nothing available around. So in his small room where he was lodged temporarily,our saviour cooked us tomato tinda(round gourd) curry over a small heater and roti rolled by using an empty beer bottle. Voila, another perfect meal !
And yes those countless times , when we moved to new house on account of my father's job postings, and we weren't unpacked or fully unpacked, and ma would still make that wonderful meal with whatever was available and served in whichever utensils we could pull out of the box.
I remember all of these meals , all of them made me very happy. All of them were made with love !
So all those times when i dressed up my best and went to those fancy upscale restaurants and burned a hole in my pocket to satisfy my base desires with those really tempting looking dishes, i couldn't even recall them ...forget about them making it to my list.
Makes me think, All the perfect meals in my life were simple , basic, without any pretense , no frills ... just like the blessed souls who fed me and feed me.
Well, I am entitled to my simple thoughts,stupid is just an opinion. So while my mind wandered through the events of my lifetime, I realized two things...One, that its not just one meal and Two, the definition of perfect meal for me changed over the time as mind grew from innocent to complex-ed !
So as i grew in age, and my mind grew in complexity, and fortunately my personal finances grew from zero to some , I got opportunities to eat food in various restaurants in cities, bigger cities,metros,some international cities...expensive meals, international, gourmet, local and whatnot. But like many others, my favorite and always comforting meals were found at my home... courtesy mom's cooking, if your mom is able to cook up fairly decent... of course there are mothers who cant cook to save their lives, Its not a mandatory skill in mom's resume..!
So that elusive perfect meal or meals were those simple ones that cost me nothing , had no fancy names, weren't laid out to me in a stylish manner....they were like every meal in my life that satisfied my hunger but with one difference,they made me so happy that i would remember them always.
I was about 10 years old, went to an old woman's hut in my mom's village with my cousins.she gave us one of my life's perfect meals. We sat crouching in her small mud kitchen near the chulha (mud oven),also ducking the dense smoke from the burning wood enveloping the low ceiling.She gave us simple dal, rice and potatoes right out of the chulha in a big thali. Perfect meal !
I was about 16 years old, went to an adventure camp in Uttarakhand hills with friends, while coming back me and my friend had to stop by at an Army transit camp to wait for our train.The camp was virtually deserted and both of us starving. Found one soldier, so we asked him where we can find food , he offered to cook for us as there was nothing available around. So in his small room where he was lodged temporarily,our saviour cooked us tomato tinda(round gourd) curry over a small heater and roti rolled by using an empty beer bottle. Voila, another perfect meal !
And yes those countless times , when we moved to new house on account of my father's job postings, and we weren't unpacked or fully unpacked, and ma would still make that wonderful meal with whatever was available and served in whichever utensils we could pull out of the box.
I remember all of these meals , all of them made me very happy. All of them were made with love !
So all those times when i dressed up my best and went to those fancy upscale restaurants and burned a hole in my pocket to satisfy my base desires with those really tempting looking dishes, i couldn't even recall them ...forget about them making it to my list.
Makes me think, All the perfect meals in my life were simple , basic, without any pretense , no frills ... just like the blessed souls who fed me and feed me.
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