India is the vast country with diversified foods and traditions. I have been through some of them. Every tradition has its own story and beliefs. My first junction was Haryana,3 months back. You can feel its aroma from a distance. Fresh farms just wave inside you and make you feel connected to your own country, your india. I can’t imagine my country without them. They have to be there. Afterall, it is the royal occupation of my country. Food without life is just unimaginable. I walked inside one of the farms. The beautiful greenery was so beautiful,bathing under the sun. as I walked inside, my legs almost submerged in water, touching half of my legs below knees. I bent down to pluck one ripped crop but then the farmer caught me and ran towards me with its thick wooden stick. I simply rushed out from there. Oh..i forgot to tell you. I have come to Haryana to visit my aunty. She is one of her kind. If you want to know what Indian culture is like, visit her place. You will be made to watch the whole picture and you won’t dare to forget that. So, I was going there to gather the information about the same. On my way to her home I recollected my memories about the bullock carts running on the kacchha roads. I used to travel on them when I was small. And today I got the chance again.. “oh bhaiya…can I have a ride?”- I asked one of the driver. “yes beta…sure.”- he agreed. He dropped me outside my aunty’s house. I thanked him. The house was made up of bricks but there was something that distinguished it from the city bunglaws. And it was the fresh aroma of the food cooked in an ecstatic way. Food cooked in patili, healthy and tasty. Yes, They cook food in patili. It is believed that patili provides the natural essence to the food that it requires to get cooked, which is almost absent in a pressure cooker . this is the reason why the food cooked in the former tastes better then the food cooked in the later. In patili, the food gets enough space to release its burning energy ,originated inside it while getting cooked. It needs to release it to provide all the nutritients to the consumer.. If any how this does not happen, the food will burst like a lava and its all the nutritients will go off. Hence, we will be left with the poisonous food. This is what exactly happens in a pressure cooker. in a pressure cooker, the food gets almost struck inside and is unable to release the negative energies. With this it exaggerates inside and all the nutrients go off. So, that’s why patili is preferred to cook food. As I walked in ,My masi welcomed me home. She offered me a glass of water in the big steel(gold plated) glass. Come beta, it’s a lunch time. Have some food.- she invited. A full plate of missi roti with aaloo-sabzi was waiting for me. Missi roti is the speciality of Haryana. It is made up of “chane ka aata and besan”. It tastes yummy. And since it is made in patili, it stays healthy for the consumer too. One thing I have noticed, Indians heartly follow the saying “atithi devo bhava” and treat them with care and love. This is the reason why they are always served with tasty and healthy food, made up of less amount of oil. Suddenly a phone rang up. “hello”- I said “hello…nikita”- caller replied. “yes..namaste mamaji, How are you? “- I greeted . “I am fine beta..you remember it’s prachi’s b’day tom? I am organizing a big b’day bash for her and you will have to be here. “- he ordered. “ok mama..i will come”- I assured. I didn’t want to leave. There was a lot that I was yet to encounter. But, since it was my uncle’s order, I have had to leave. My masi organized a farewell for me when I told her about my urgent need at mama’s home(new delhi). I left from there with some gifts in my hands. it was the nice time in Haryana, I lived my best of the times here. I took my flight to new delhi next morning and reached there after 3hours. My maternal uncle was there to receive me at the new delhi railway station. Delhi is very different from Haryana. It’s like second western country, but not exactly. Because people still possess their “bhartiyata” in them. They roam around pizza outlets and MC-D’s, but still love their traditional food. Observe them in any party or a marriage ceremony. You will find them nearby pizza stalls but they absolutely can’t complete their meal without chole-bhathure, paneer pasanda or rajma-chawal. This is their basic need. You will find the girls wearing beautiful frocks in parties but at the same time they prefer wearing lehenga-choli or salwar-suit on a traditional occasion. No matter whether they understand aarti or not, but they concentrate very well while doing the pooja. It can’t be true for everyone, but yes, many dellites does. You will find the youth partying in pubs at late nights. But, at the same time you will find them participating in the social rallies and NGO’s. you will find them contributing instead of yelling. I can say this because after the rising rape cases, many people initiated to teach “self-safety” to the youth, specially girls, instead of lighting candles on india gate. They understand their responsibilities. The true bhartiyata. I feel very proud being a dellite. I know people do not want to bring this sentence on their lips because of the series of rape cases happening in the city. But, I know , at the same time, people know how to deal with them. One day I was walking on the road or to be particular, on the running delhi street. I saw a young girl crossing the red light. Out of nowhere, one boy on bike came closer to her and touched her brutally. She yelled and throwed a stone on him that was lying on the road. The biker fell down . she beated him brutally and left him on the road as it is. This feeling is Indian. Dellites have guts to save themselves. It was prachi’s birthday today. All the family members were busy in the preperations. “happy birthday darling”- I wished her. “thankyou di”- she smiled. “di…I want to go to the temple…will you take me there? “- she expressed. “sure dear..come with me”- I said. I took her to isckon temple, greater kailash. She is the great follower of lord Krishna. She preaches him with whole heart. We took the Prasad and returned home. “are beta where did you go? “- mamaji asked “nowhere papa, di took me to the temple”- she said. “Oh..ok, come and sit in hawan. We have arranged it for your good and blessed life. Come my darling.”- he invited us. Doing pooja on birthday’s is no less then a ritual in delhi. It is done to give a blissful life to the birthday child. Hawan was carried out very well. I distributed Prasad to everyone. One of the guest said- “I don’t understand why people organize these hawans and all…we can celebrate this auspicious occassion without them also, and that too in a very efficient manner.” “we never forget to invite the great dignitaries on our auspicious occasions..(smiled)..” – I answered. The guy just stared me like anything and became all silent for a while. After this healthy conversation We then moved towards the hall where the food was been arranged. Balushahi, dal makhni, pakode, rajma-chawal, aaloo-poori, shahi-paneer were lined up on the table, waiting for their turn to come. But, our guests were no less then anyone. There was a long que beside the table. We people like party food a lot, no matter how hungry we are, when it comes to party food, we want to have it. Then a beautiful event was organized by the event managers. A group of dancers performed on the birthday theme. The whole life of a being right from birth to its oldage was being depicted. Then there was the solo performance by each of the couples. And then, a beautiful video film was projected on screen depicting the life of prachi, prepared by me and mamaji. After all the performances , there was the final performance by our show’s topper, b’day girl, and then cake cutting took place. With this, the birthday celebration came to an end. But, the day was still on. And in delhi, no celebration is complete without home –made food. So mamiji has prepared gajar ka halwa and gulab-jamun for everybody . really, after a day long tiredness, eating gulab jamun acts as a broom on all the exhaustion. With this my journey also ended here and I have to return to my hometown Bengal. Really, I realized one thing during my journey, no matter where you go , nothing feels like home . it’s your own place of residence that gives you that feeling. This is india, where one remains connected to its roots. My bharat.
