Cause We Live To Eat

One of the most happening phenomena in a youth’s life is fast food chains. Yummy food and variety in the same is all they ask for. In this fast paced life, a person desires tasty and pocket friendly food which fast food joints offer. Unlike many Indians who still carry their lunch along, others now prefer grabbing a bite at McDonald’s or Subway. It satisfies their tummies and is tasty at the same time.

Western chains of fast food like Domino’s, KFC, McDonald’s when first entered the Indian market, they had to compete with the spicy Indian street food and the much adored home-cooked repasts. Adding more spices and a little tadka to the traditional menus, creating more vegetarian options made these restaurants more accessible. The youth now prefers the new fast food chains than the old Udipi restaurant because a burger tastes better than vada sambar.

While these fast food chains adapt to the Indian food chain, they face another obstacle - real estate which is difficult to find in over-crowded Indian cities. While the international joints face this hurdle, the fast food chain stalls in the Indian cities settle themselves on the nooks and corners of the streets giving us our favorite dishes that we resort to when we are short on cash and when that’s the only thing our stomach hankers for.

The market of fast food chains in India is competitive. Indians are food lovers. The chain of fast food in a way binds them together. A new fast food joint implies new savor and variety. Apart from being foodies, status symbol also plays an eminent role.  Teenagers might pick up Subway compared to a local vada pau stall because eating a sub is cooler than eating a vada pau.

So, one shouldn’t be surprised to see the remarkable augmentation of the fast food chains in India. 

Eid - Then And Now

The fresh aroma of shirkhurma was mouth- watering. As a child, I used to keenly wait for this time of the year. I walked into the kitchen to get a peek at the various items on the menu. My mom was taking freshly fried samosas out from the frying pan. I could hear my stomach grumble. I didn’t have enough patience to wait for her to serve it to me. But then again, didn’t have a choice either.

Except for the royal delicious breakfast, nothing about the day was extraordinaire like it once used to be. I had my day’s schedule in place and so did my mom and dad. The day had its significance when we were young and most importantly when we were in Udaipur. We all used to frenziedly wait for the 30 rozas to end. And then it would be all about smiles and laughter and colour.

The eagerness I had to wear the new apparels and grab the fanciest looking purse and walk out elegantly holding my dad’s hand to visit all the relatives and friends. The proud feeling I experienced every time someone would complement me or my dress. And of course Idi. How can I possibly forget that? That was the core reason to carry the purse.

The whole morning we used to spend visiting and greeting people. Then in the afternoon, we all used to gather at my maternal grandmother’s house for a fancy lunch. I must tell you, she is an awesome cook. I used to meet all my cousins there and we used to devote the entire afternoon counting our idi and showing off our dresses and doing other girly stuff.

In the evening we used to have a friend’s rendezvous. Usually, we used to go to some resort or someone’s farmhouse. Just like the breakfast and lunch, the dinner also used to be imperial. Wondering why am I mentioning food so much? Well, I’m a foodie and believe me on this, these food items tasted much better than what they cook at MasterChef (I am obviously exaggerating here).

It used to be one of the finest and the most awaited days of the year. Something I always looked forward to. We moved to Mumbai eight years back and I don’t miss anything about Udaipur as much as I miss this jamboree. Here, the only thing that hasn’t change is the food. I get the noble courses here also. But I miss my friends and my cousins and my grand mom’s hand cooked food. Still waiting for that year when I’ll be jammy enough to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr with everyone with the same excitement.