FOOD - THAT ULTIMATE EQUALIZER

I was reading a book on the life and times of Sai Baba of Shirdi. There  is a section in the book that talks about how he used to cook food himself and serve it to his devotees. The food distributed by him varied from vegetarian food like “Sheera” ( rava kesari)  “Ambil”  (simple millet porridge) to  Mutton Biryani. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian  dishes were cooked and distributed side by side . People ate what they were used to!! There was no system of segregation- food and eating together in this case being  what united all his devotees!!!  This was in 18^th century  India in a village in Maharashtra. Though a lot of people who were close to Baba were Brahmins never did anyone question about non vegetarian food being cooked and served in the same premises!!  

But today I find a certain degree of intolerance creeping in with regard to food.  I was told that the management of a popular English daily based out of Chennai had recently issued a circular saying that employees could not bring non vegetarian items in their lunch box!! It was a bit shocking to hear  about this because the newspaper holds a very balanced view in terms of issues that it reports and writes about!  

While it may be something new where this newspaper is concerned, it not uncommon among many of the so called “popular” schools in Chennai where the rules do not permit the students to bring any non vegetarian food!!  We do not hear of such instances of “banning food groups” in schools in the rest of the country. I grew up in Calcutta and ate my curd rice quite happily sitting together with groups of friends who brought fish curry and rice or chicken sandwiches. As a vegetarian I did not of course share their food but I had no objections to eating with them  or sharing my lunch with them. The school management though very strict about every other aspect never really interfered with this. People tell me that was because it was a “convent school” ( “Christians are non veg aren’t they?” ) . I don’t think friends in my colony going to schools run by Hindu establishments, Kendriya Vidyalayas etc faced any such restrictions either !! Thankfully my daughter’s school, despite being in Chennai does not have these restrictions! The only instruction that was given to us when she joined school was to pack lunch that “the child is used to eating and is able to eat by himself/ herself” 

What surprises me most about these food restrictions is the manner in which people accept them meekly. Whether it is an office or school management or a landlord who enforces it, no one actually questions it as something that infringes on our rights as a citizen.  People just accept enforced vegetarianism thinking it to be “superior”!!!!

My husband is probably the only person I know who has raised this issue at his work place. He works for a diplomatic mission in Chennai. Though there is no official rule here about food, the Indian employees tried to segregate tables as “vegetarian” and “non vegetarian”!! While in a social function  it might be alright considering it helps in the serving of food by the hosts, in the office dining hall,  he found it smacking of  casteism. He had to bring it to the notice of the Head of the Mission and relate it to him using international parallels like the 1950s segregation in the US for them to understand. Needless to say, hubby  is one of the most unpopular members among the Indian staff  there today!! He undergoes what he humorously terms as “social boycott” during lunch time by a large majority of people from a certain community. His only lunch companions being foreigners or Indian staff who work as drivers and gardeners. But he is not complaining !!!

You might wonder if my “tolerance” to non vegetarian food emerged out of my Calcutta days or post marriage to a Christian. I would say it is neither. I have just been taught to accept it as a food preference by a person or persons or a community. My parents have never tried to inculcate in me a sense of my superiority of being a vegetarian person. They have always told me to accept what people eat as it is their culture.  And I think my parents were progressive because these ideas were dinned into me decades ago before it was “fashionable” to hold such “liberal” views.  

 While I do attempt cooking non vegetarian food, I think I do not do justice to these dishes. So non vegetarian food is often bought from outside. But we eat at the same table   because we believe that a family that eats together stays together.  When we accept   people with their culture we accept them totally. Food, as we know is an essential part of culture!! It is unfortunate that educational institutions are enforcing food restrictions that smacks of cultural chauvinism!  The canteen in an institution or a restaurant are well within their rights to serve a certain type of food. But no institution has the business to tell anyone what they should  bring as packed food to school or to office!!

Food can be used to promote inclusion or  indicate exclusion!! It is the ultimate equalizer!  It is probably the reason why Islam preaches that people should eat together out of a single plate. It is also why Sai Baba cooked and served food to his devotees and ate along with them. Though I have many reservations about the way his philosophy has been taken over and “sanskritized” over the years, one of the few things that still impress me about the Sai temples is the way Prasad is served. Everyone stands in a queue and receives the same plate of food- whether it is a  lady dressed in silk and diamonds or the beggar outside the temple!!

But what leaves me very disturbed is the way we are training our kids to develop ideas about people’s food habits. Is it any surprise that our society continues to remain fragmented despite the efforts of religious and social reformers over the years? 

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