Have you ever come across people belonging to one region of our country laughing at the food of another region? I have, and that too many times. There are few foods in some regions of our country that I don’t like too, but I never say anything derogatory about it.
I have always taught my children that never judge anyone by the food he or she eats, also never criticize any kind of food. Our food habit doesn’t come to us by choice, though it can be changed later, when we grow up. Everyone’s food habit comes from the family he or she is born in. When I was born I didn’t know what is food, same with every human being. But later on I was fed whatever was consumed in our family and in whatsoever way.
This article will be easily digested by those people who have traveled across India and have lived in those places for some time. I’m pretty sure many of them have come across one or more of the examples given below.
Have you come across people of one region criticizing someone from another region/state because he uses their hands to eat? I’ve heard this particular line “oh my god!! how do they eat with their hands !!”, as if children are born with a spoon in their hand. Think about human species of the ancient times, the evolution happened with time and need. They used to eat raw vegetables and meat too, and we’re talking about how someone can eat with bare hands!! All of us changed, rather evolved as per our society, need and convenience. You eat with spoon, but if I eat with my hands, you have no reason to crib about that. All of our forefathers used to eat with hands before a spoon was invented.
There are some places or states in India where people eat potatoes in most of their dishes and some guys of another region are very sarcastic about that. They are eating what they’re habituated with, they’re not forcing you to eat, then what’s your problem?
In some of the states the dishes have a dominant sour taste, people from other regions have problem with that. I would say just go and get what you want to eat, no use of wasting time commenting about their food, that’s none of your business.
Actually, I’m a food lover and I try any food that I consider good. In that effort I go to restaurants of different regions in the city I live in and many times with my friends. As expected, some of the food items I like and some I don’t. But for those I don’t like, I don’t go to a person of that region to make fun of his/her food. Rather I eat what I like and don’t what I don’t like. But I have seen people telling on the face of the other person something like “this tastes sweet, I can’t tolerate it even slightly”; he should rather have given some other reason, if anyone asks.
Similarly, there are vegetarians passing their comments on non-vegetarians. I’m a non-vegetarian and I have heard many comments on ‘how can I eat meat or chicken’ from some of my vegetarian friends. I just tell them I have no grudge on that chicken, my food habit is just a result of my family and surroundings. My family is non-vegetarian so I picked up that and your family is vegetarian and you picked that up. If someday in future I realize I shouldn’t eat non-vegetarian food, I may give it up on my own.
We just forget that if we’re making fun of the food of another state, they could also be doing the same with the food of our state. After all “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. So let’s be responsible, handle such situations better and don’t make the other person feel ashamed just because we don’t like his food or the way he eats.
Friends, we have progressed a lot in many things but not much in some; some of you may not agree with me, but that’s fine. I would just love to read your comments, no matter you agree with my thoughts or not.
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