The food revolution
By: K S S Pillai
The migration of people to other parts of our country and even outside has been going on for years for different reasons. The COVID-19 epidemic revealed how people no longer stick to their native land and work in other parts of the country.
I remember seeing one of my uncles, who had migrated to Malaya, visiting us wearing a pair of trousers carrying a basketful of apples. Apart from filmy heroes, it was the first time I had seen a man in trousers or eaten apples.
Those from my native Kerala state living with their wives in other states were fortunate that traditional food items were cooked at home. On holidays, they used to get numerous bachelor guests, who had their meals from restaurants, mainly to partake in those dishes.
Those who had compounds would bring seeds or cuttings of plants like tapioca and some varieties of banana from home and plant them there. There were almost no shops outside Kerala to get those items. Toilet soaps like Chandrika, coconut oil, jackfruits, bath towels called ‘thorthu’ and dhoties were usually brought by those visiting home on leave.
People like me, who had migrated to a North Indian state years ago, would visit home at least once a year by undertaking long journeys in trains with steam engines in unreserved compartments. We carried the luggage in sturdy steel trunks that doubled as seats in overcrowded compartments.
We would rush to the tea shops on the platforms as soon as the train entered our state and gulp down food items not seen for a long time. Our bodies and dress would turn black from coal soot when we reached the destination. Apart from meeting relatives, another reason for the yearly visit was the traditional food items.
The new generation, without the restrictions we had, does not believe in local food. They consume pizza, pasta, hamburgers, noodles, kebabs, spaghetti, sushi, hot dogs, and other items that originated in countries like Italy, Japan, Mexico, and America. They can be ordered online and are delivered hot by uniformed delivery boys on motorbikes in minutes.
It is said that these dishes have undergone changes here as people prefer more oil and spices. They have no qualms about eating non-vegetarian food available even in roadside eateries till early morning. As some of the items, like chicken, are injected with hormones for quick growth, they have fallen prey to new kinds of diseases and untimely death. Their physical dimensions have also become much more than those of the earlier generations due to their food habit.
With the mushrooming of restaurants, women wish to be free from cooking food at home and cajole their men to eat out frequently, where all family members can get the food of their choice.
In the past, all food items were prepared at home. Some were prepared days in advance and stored. At the place where I had settled, women neighbours would visit each house days before Diwali, prepare special dishes and store them.
Now, as women don’t want to sweat it out, feasts are ordered from restaurants on festivals and other special occasions, which will be delivered hot and served on traditional banana leaves. Many restaurants and bakeries also get certain food items from the same supplier.
In Kerala, I have seen restaurants announcing that the food of certain Gulf countries is available there. With the whole world turning into a big village with the help of modern technology, and people constantly moving from one country to another, those belonging to the new generation no longer stick to the traditional homemade food.
In my native state, there are security guards, hotel workers, construction workers, barbers, and even those climbing coconut trees hailing from other states. In one city, the common language has become Hindi due to the large number of people from North India. I was also amused to find that it was the migrant workers who prepared ‘traditional local food served on banana leaves’.
(The author is a retired professor of English. A regular contributor to ‘The Kashmir Vision”, his short stories and articles have appeared in numerous national and inter-national publications)
