The Missing Ingredient

Eating out is a culture in all countries.  We enjoy going out and having a good time with family or friends or colleagues. At times we like the food and at times we do not like the food. I have heard people complain many a time - we went to that restaurant and the food was greasy or was too spicy or the salt was not enough.

We grow up eating the food made by our mom and our taste buds are attuned to the food that is served to us by our moms...that is why we hear people say - nothing like mom's food.  As we grow older, we also get used to the food cooked for us by our spouses and children. My wife and kids like my cooking and I like theirs. So, did our taste buds change over the years?

While we complain that the food was possibly spicy at the restaurant, if our mom or spouse did the same, we smile, say that the spice could have been reduced slightly but actually enjoy the food served.

I was wondering what makes the difference between the food at home and that in a restaurant that we prefer home food.  While we do need the change and go to restaurants, we still prefer home food at the end of the day.  What drives the difference? What is that secret sauce? I know of an ingredient and I believe that when that ingredient is put into food, the food becomes absolutely delicious.

As I added oregano seed to the Indian dish, I wondered how it would taste. This was an Italian seasoning but I was adding it to an Indian dish that would typically have had a different seasoning.  Guess what...my kids loved it!!! They not only liked the taste and the aroma, they felt that I had done something completely new and different.  The hug that I got from them, made my day.

I had found the secret sauce...the ingredient that is available in home cooked food that you will rarely find in restaurants - it was LOVE!!! 

The love that goes in to the cooking of the mom, of the spouse, of the children just cannot be substituted. That love makes the food tasty even if there are minor errors...that love makes the food even yummier when it comes out perfect...that love not only fills the stomach but satiates that taste buds...the perfect meal!!!

So, if you have been eating out most of the days, try cooking or try home made food - it will definitely taste better - no one can match the love that family gives!!!

The 4 Idiots

Those who are familiar with Indian Cinema, would have heard of the movie 3 Idiots. The movie was a blockbuster and won immense acclaim from all viewers. The director of the movie has tried to tell the audience that they must follow their passion and not study for the sake of just getting educated in order to get a job. He says that true happiness comes when you follow your passion.  The story is told through 3 young men who meet at the University and decide to follow their passion..hence the title, 3 idiots.

The American education system has been doing this for decades now. They have offered students various options and the ability to follow subjects of their choice.  So, while in India you can do a program in medicine but need to take up science and maths from the 8th grade, you can choose your subjects up to the time you do under-graduate education in the US. So, I have seen children take history or philosophy along with biology in the US or even study music.  These options are not available in India today.

I was reminded of a society that lived thousands of years ago and was highly advanced. They had split their society in line with the needs of their lives. They had broken their society along 4 lines. They realised that all people were not born identical. Some preferred the intellectual path, some where more aggressive, some had a very good inclination for commerce and some liked working hard. Based on this and the need of the society, they split the society in to 4 types of people - the Thinkers, the Warriors, the Traders and the Workers.  They laid down rules of how each of these types of people will behave so that their society lived in harmony.  For eg., they realised that the Thinkers could get a bit arrogant because they were intellectually better off than others. So, they were asked to go house to house and request for their food. The others in the society were told not to refuse food when they were asked.  It was also possible that in a house you could end up having a Thinker, a Warrior, a Trader and a Worker. Society, was driven on the lines of specialisation and aptitude of the individual.

Over years, this society morphed due to the greed of individuals. The Warriors ended up having a leader - the King. The King was always supposed to be the most worthy leader.  Over a period of time, the King realised the power he wielded and so started working to see if his son (if he had one) could become the next King.  The Thinker realised that the society consulted him on all their day to day problems and the King also consulted him/her on complex issues. The Thinker also realised that if he was close to the King, he derived significant power in the society. So, he started aligning with the King and just like the King, he started trying to get his son/daughter to be a Thinker whether he was one or not.  This gave birth to the caste system that we know off today in India with so many castes and sub-castes.

However, all that the society wanted those days were 4 Idiots - a way to create specialisation in line with the aptitude of the people.  Greed morphed it to become something as deadly as what we see today. We are willing to kill each other in the name of caste. We discriminate each other in the name of caste. Discrimination over the years has given rise to reservation for the so called lower caste for decades in India. This has resulted in the marginalization of the forward castes in India today.

I am sure that when these 4 idiots were created by society, no one would have wondered that it could take such ugly turns to become a monster that it is today. 

In India, we struggle to change our education system and keep talking of following our passion when our ancestors had actually created something for us thousands of years ago.  It is unfortunate that we let greed get the better of us and instead of creating a system that changed as society became more and more complex, we created a monster.