Food-The greatest pleasure of life

    Seema  Goswami’s article in the issue of Brunch dated 13^th May describing food as a mood changer couldn’t have been more appropriate.  It’s something all of us experience, atleast I do (which won’t be that surprising considering I am a gourmand). Just the aroma of coffee rejuvenates me. I couldn’t have asked for anything more satisfying in the middle of a hectic day comprising of 2 hours of class, 5 hours of college and another two hours of tution , in quick succession, excluding the 3 odd hours of travelling, which would include travelling by bus at peak times. Even before the first sip touches my lips, the aroma dutifully begins to supply with me with the required dose of energy, enough so that my fatigued brain can understand accounts. Food , like music , if paired well with your mood, can do wonders for your state of mind.

And it’s also a wonder, how you won’t settle for anything less. Personally for me, my cravings depend on everything to my day, the way I’ve dressed, the T.V.  programme/movie I’m watching, the type of conversation I’ve had with someone, the atmosphere at home, and sometimes, very rarely, in accordance with healthy eating. A French toast to complete a day I am dressed to kill, a burger at mac if I have lots to do, (it adds to the thrill of leading a fast paced life), anything fried and dipped in salsa for the angrier moments,  chai and pakodas  (complete with the epiphany of a book and rains). If I happen to be in one of those dhinchak moods, I experiment, if I am depressed it has to be something chatpata, preferable roadside food… being a vegetarian greatly restricts my pleasure, but I am glad I eat egg, or the winter would feel incomplete without ingenious home-made omelettes.  The whole family eating together has to include a traditional gujarati meal, complete with pickles and farsan and Indian sweets.  And the same goes for situational temperament, if I don’t want to eat something, I won’t , no matter how much I relish it otherwise.

Actually, if you notice, food and music, do a great deal to add rhythym, to your step, stomach, soul. At the end of the day, its all about your happiness, extra calories and deaf ears notwithstanding,.  

The Power of Thought

It may seem like a small and silly event to draw a conclusion from , but the power that our intellect has was realized by me after giving a test of maths , on my way home. It was my first prelim, and I had skipped quite a few of them simply because I was too bored to think or because I was completely blank about how to go about them. I have mostly been the academic geek , throughout most of my school life. After the test , a couple of my friends discussed the paper with me , and I was taken aback by the simplicity of the test. On my way back, in the bus , I couldn't help but look back at myself two years back , miss little who topped mostly all exams . I realized that in my quest to let go of the tag of being a bookworm, which I was not, I had totally given up on studying. But the problem lies, that in doing so I had altogether given up on thinking - as a process. I strongly believe that for all the flaws of our education system - the books, the matter, and content - ignite our imagination, our thought process. It's like oiling a machine. And the moment you adopt an attitude of ignorance, stubbornness, you also thwart this process of thinking. Your ability to do so isn't lost , but gets rusted with time. This passing thought was backed by proof when, after pondering for long enough on the unsolved queries of the test , I reached answers, correct ones at that. It helped me realize what a huge mistake I was making. Also, that our mind, power of our brain is never less than others. Its just that many a time , we don't try enough.
I learnt this valuable lesson , trying to solve maths sums. But in reality all of us may have experienced this - our ability to find out a solution to something that we 'think',is out of our reach. Put your mind to it, think hard for a solution , go ahead , implement it, and if you get lost , come back and try again . But never let your mind get rusted , keep it fuelled always ,no matter what !