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Dal,chawal and other plain things in life.


On Sunday morning, I woke up to fresh breeze slipping from the room’s door. As I walked towards the balcony my face brightened with rain showers. Well, quite poetic beginning of Sunday. Ever since I have started living in hostel, my morning thoughts are not about what I would do this day but what would I eat this day. Food is the biggest issue. In morning, in afternoon and in night (I skipped evening intentionally.) ,I only think what would I eat. Sundays are even worse –you have to cook, clean, do dishes and in between lay on the bed and stare at ceiling fan aimlessly and mindlessly
After breakfast,I decided I cook Dal ,chawal . Easy to cook and digest and eat. My eyes looked at the translucent box with purple lid which has cereals in it. I tried getting over the food, for a while and resumed reading The Caravan’s culture issue. Bliss it is to read it. But I could not ignore the translucent box with purple lid for a long, getting over laziness I decided to move to kitchen to rinse dal and chawal one by one put them to boil over gas.
I come back and read Hartosh Singh Bal’s ‘Misplaced stress’ over farmer suicides. My mind was sad for farmers and stomach was sad because it was empty. Pressure cooker’s whistle coming from kitchen reminded me ‘food is ready’. No principles in empty stomach. No breathing in and out in empty stomach, I wish right wing understood it. This Sunday the people who could afford to do yoga, did it and those who didn’t, think of what would they eat, like me.
Anyway Bal’s story argues with liberal economist thoughts according to which farmers subside is not the big issue. The way these guys are ignoring agriculture in the name of development, I think one day we would eat bricks and concrete. There is already So much development in the air that I can’t even breathe.
While I was still wondering about agriculture crisis, I served myself with dal and chawal, along with pickle. The moment I stared eating, I could see the glow on the dal’s face and rice was bit pale.
Rice stared speaking, it was not in good mood “This anti-agriculture government for a second consecutive year has made a minimal hike in our minimum support price (MSP)of Rs 50.
“In our good days” it continued “we received an average annual increase in MSP of Rs 76.UPA’s 10 years were bliss for us.”
It appeared slightly envious of dal and complained “Only pulses are at advantage, they still enjoy higher MSP”.
Dal couldn’t take it and replied with discomfort “Our situation is not great to be envied, though they have been generous to us but if compared to previous years even we are at loss. See they have given me(arhar/tur dal) and urad(black gram)MSP of Rs 75 per quintal .My sister moong (green gram )got MSP of Rs 50.”
The real greatness is not in being superior to others but superior to your previous self, I murmured
Coming back to nostalgia and delight of eating dal rice .Its plainness and simplicity soothes the eyes and calms the stomach which has been eating anything and everything on the weekdays. The joy of plain things is just supreme.
Other plain things in life.
Coming to other plain things in life, well there are many .I have always been the person who has seduction for plain things and plain people. I hate tantrums and I can’t handle them or anyone having them. No wonder I have a few friends with whom I talk, otherwise I prefer solitude. Solitude is plain too .Beauty and simplicity of sitting alone, walking alone. A space of one’s own where you pamper yourself as outside word is cruel.
Plain face-I love the plain faces and plain eyes, because I can’t stand the face that appears less a face but more a canvas to paint. There are so many things I can’t stand, therefore I prefer sitting far away from them.Person who loves to walk rather than dreaming of sitting in huge car and add to the already pathetic traffic on the roads.
I dislike the company of pseudo intellectuals and complex personalities who try to teaching you everything but their own principals are hallowed.
When you are fed up with complexities of life, take a break and get in touch with plain food, plain people and plain thoughts.



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