8th October 2016.
“Rural Transformation and Changes in Living Conditions in not so Dynamic States of India”.
Food is what makes me happy. It connects people, leads us to different paths and exposes us to other cultures. It makes us feel welcomed and at home. My experience with varanasi food happened recently in a village called ‘Cholapur
With a population of about 2913 people, it is located 19.3 km away from the beautiful city of varanasi, I, along with three other people, not unknown, but not friends either, went to explore this village. Being a fun loving person, I wanted to make the most of the situation but wasn’t sure if I would enjoy as much with the peer group that I had. Even before the day began, I had made a few plans in my head which included hitchhiking, sitting on the top of a bus, meeting locals, peeping into their houses and most important, taking a look at their kitchen. I personally feel that it’s the kitchen where the heart of a house lies.
We (my co-fellows Amit) started the day at 7,30 am from BHU University varanasi ,To make the trip little adventurous, we decided not to depend on technology and rather chose the old school way of relying on strangers we would meet on the way. Since we did not know which direction to start walking in, and further which mode of transportation to take, two members of the team, eager to be more organised, didn’t seem happy with the plan. They suggested the conventional way of looking up the location on Google Maps and taking the suggested route. This made me upset thinking it won’t be as much fun.
Luckily, failing after a few attempts to find the correct bus, we managed to ask for lift. It was a mini carrier transporting goods. My co-fellows enjoyed the ride and wished to continue. For the next three days, as we repeatedly went to the same village, none of us wanted to take a bus or a cab. We preferred saving money that was given for commute and instead, relied on courtesy of strangers. Due to this, we met people from diverse backgrounds we would have otherwise not met. Almost all of them were welcoming and warm enough to tell us more about themselves. I was interested to learn more
! All in all, it was about meeting people in the village, talking to them, exploring different routes to our destination, walking through the farms, spending time with kids in a primary school and of course, trying local homemade food offered to us.
On day one, in the afternoon, the lunch was a memorable experience. We were lucky to meet Lata*, a woman in her 70s whom we saw while crossing a street. During our short conversation, she invited us to have lunch with her as she realised that we were struggling to find food. We were touched by her kind gesture and were excited to accept the offer but thought if all four of us would be a burden on her. She sensed our confusion and insisted to join. We followed this motherly figure who was keen on feeding the hungry.
At her home, she served us 10 huge parathas, gobhi ki sabji (cauliflower curry) and gud (jaggery) with ghee. Food has its own expression, combined with taste, touch, smell and imagination, which has the capacity to open doors of culture and stories about a place as well as people living there. As we ate, we got to talk a lot more with vimla ji.
Like a marinated dish gets better the next day, our trip was also more fun on Day two. We followed the same tradition of asking for lifts, meeting new people, walking through the fields and trying local cuisine at different places. We enjoyed drinking “Chaach” (buttermilk) and watching the sunset in the village, already feeling half touristy and half local. The same evening, we were again invited by vimla ji for dinner at her place. Until then, we had become quite friendly and she wanted us to taste some special dishes that she had prepared for us.
This time, we also got an opportunity to try our hands in her kitchen. She instructed us to make Corn Chapatis, which surely didn’t turn out to be as perfect as hers. We talked about her family, local community and recipes from different regions. She also spoke about parent-child relationship and her children but after a point, she was in tears. It took a while for us to discuss food again and then it went on for a couple of hours.
This four-day rural immersion brought us together and helped us learn about a village and its culture. Four days of nature, fun, sun and food gave a way to new friendships among people who were almost strangers before this.
We named our group, “bread”.
" The people that eat it are never rude
Because I never insult their feet
Once someone said to me “dude-”
“I can’t believe you can make beets!”
My cuisine puts people in a good mood
When they eat it’s like they’re glued to their seats!
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(With input from news agency language)
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