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Journalism of Courage
Food culture, or preferences and tastes of a nation take hundreds of years to develop and are inextricably linked with the economy of a country. Our attitude to meals is an indication of who we are and where we8217;re going. A world food crisis looms ahead and our nation, historically, has a very complicated relationship with eating. In India, adults, even those from the most privileged backgrounds have grown up on the line, 8220;Finish your milk, you don8217;t know how lucky you are, people in this country starve all the time.8221; This stems from centuries of deprivation and insecurity about the next meal. A lot of us carry around some guilt at not finishing what8217;s on our plate, considered a sin in India and probably, most struggling economies.
However, there8217;s some seriously flawed logic here. We, the lucky Indians, aren8217;t helping the poverty-stricken by stuffing ourselves with food we don8217;t want. Ideally, we should help ourselves to just how much we want to eat, but that8217;s not always possible. Especially if you8217;re an unfortunate kid whose parents think of food as the magical answer to every ailment, and grab any opportunity to feed your face. Traditionally in India, a wedding is judged by the food, and your social status is largely determined by how lavishly you entertain.
In India too, for some of us, our food habits are slowly evolving, for better or worse, into the Western way. The concept of doggy bags, popular in the 8217;80s, is outdated now. Lifestyle diseases like obesity and anorexia have seeped into popular culture. Who8217;d ever heard of bulimia in 1980? Believe it or not, these are all positive signs of a changing India.
