Who Ate My Tiffin !?

We have a strong affection towards food. If Satan was ever to punish us for the sins we have committed, gluttony would definitely top the list, followed by the greed to eat more and then envy for being a mad witness to someone eating a nice hot fudge chocolate sundae while you are holding a tiny cup of vanilla ice cream. Not to forget, we could become a sloth after indulging in to so much of food. But let me tell you something - you always fall into a good deep slumber post lunch when you have had heaps of helpings from your own plate and some from others too! Such a task it becomes to keep yourself awake then.

How we wish we could eat what we want at any point of time ! And this happens when you are extremely hungry, there is still time for lunch and you cannot help but think of food. Think of what is there in that lunch bag today. Oh I hope mother has made Bhindi and Roti! What if there could be Rajma and Rice just to surprise me? No wait, It smelled of tadka in the morning, could be Dal Makhani and Paratha! Your thoughts slowly escalate and reach the zenith thinking it is definitely going to be Butter chicken. Good lord! How hungry are you ?! But then,trust me, I truly understand how you feel when you open your lunchbox and find Tinde ki sabji and Roti without ghee because your dear mother wants you to lose that belly fat you have got yourself.

Your own food stares at you, wanting to be loved and eaten. Then there is you, staring at it with ‘oh oh! What do I do now?.’ in that same lunchroom, comes your colleague who is apparently your friend only because he brings umpteen tiffin boxes with lip smacking food everyday. And today his wife has sent him dal baati with motichur laddoos too ! why cannot my mother send me such good food everyday ? Is this her way of punishing me for waking up late ? I will never know.

Ofcourse I will hog onto the dal baati and from my other peer’s tiffin, slowly passing my dabba to the poor intern who gets sadder tiffin food than I do. He will happily hog onto my dabba as it reminds him of his own mother’s home cooked food. Life is much more difficult for people who leave their home to another city and hardly have survival cooking skills. They miss family, they miss friends, more than that, they miss their food. But atleast my dabba is all empty now! Hey ! I did eat too from my lunch.

There are people who go on to these food delivery apps, who are always fighting with each other with multiple discounts on their portals, ordering raj kachoris, pizzas, burgers, and much more! I sometimes open one of these apps, stare at the offers, drool over pictures, even have the menu by heart! I have almost ordered everything in my mind everyday. If I start actually ordering, I will end up being one of those order-addicted people who have outgrown their own chairs and have gained enough weight that it will take them a lifetime to shed it off. They can still lose some, but the core issue is that they have pretty much accepted themselves as they have become than bringing some positive change.

It makes me nostalgic to think of the times my mother used to wake up early and fill my lunch box with different items everyday and that’d surprise me all the time. And my friends used to hog on my tiffin like I do right now to my colleague’s tiffin. Honestly, somewhere, deep down, I do love tinde ki sabji because it is made with my mother’s love who really keeps a tab on my health. Maybe nobody can ever replace the dabba your mother cooks for you.