Food Junkie

Travelling on European trains taught me how to eat!!! For example, having milk and sugar free coffee with snicker bar or cake of some description. So strange harboring on 2 extremes! Either deprive completely or consume till it piles on you. What stops them from adding few particles of sugar to quench craving for sweetness or quick energy and avoid calorie bombs? I could notice such habit because of public display of consuming food on transport and roads.

Indians are great gastronomic enthusiast and we cant deny that there are plenty of people living on street and cooking under the trees. We also find shack and gullas every few metres. But what I have failed to find is people walking with their food in their hands in public places. I have travelled by 3 different category of buses from cheapest to AC coaches but I have not seen even a poor child moving their jaws munching. Certainly no chewing gums. Other day when congress shifted shashi tharoor to ‘cattle class’ transport I felt like objecting the word ‘cattle’ used for average public who take shower and comb their air and add jasmine to their long locks. Their demeanor makes you wonder if it is justified to call them cattle class? They are more civilized than many other global citizens. In india generally consuming food is considered private affairs as private as combing hair (especially if they are long), counting money. There is component of sacredness and respect attached to privacy. Also it is uncivil to consume food and not share with people who are watching. There could be element of ‘nazar lage’ if you consume something that others are not capable of having without sharing with them. Whats amazing is most are carrying tiffins to work but I have so far not seen one person discreetly trying to eat an apple or hot chips on utterly long and boring journey through the city roads. Which also means they eat at right time to their satisfaction before taking to road as second nature. Also roadside gullas have cluster of people consuming in those designated areas without walking away with it.

I must admit though snicker bar with milky sugar free coffee tastes really good! And in Banglur I find hot chips so irresistible it is difficult to wait till you reach home! Becoming civilized is slow process!