Americanness III - Indian Groceries...

A surprising title to this post. Well, it is about the concept of Indian groceries in the US of A. This can very well be extended to Persian groceries, Turkish groceries, etc. The concept is the same. My being more familiar to the delicacies offered by the Indian cuisine, inspires me to discriminate between the various grocery options available here.

For the uninitiated alien, the newcomers to the US (say, me 3 years ago), all the prices of Indian foods seem totally alien. Isn't it ridiculous to shell out close to 4 USD for a ready-made bhel puri mix. Imagine, a whopping 200 INR, for something that would be available for 10 INR in India. But then, one tends to generalize. "Money is not everything. Why should one miss out on what the taste buds are used to?". It is an altogether different issue, if this would help alleviate or aggregate the inexplicable homesickness.

From what starts to be ridiculously high prices, one gets to better appreciate their pricing with the passage of time. Direct conversion doesn't help at all. For people in India, my own relatives and friends, it is a matter of shock that I need to pay 100's of INR to get basic essentials, which most of them would have taken for granted. Say, toor dal, channa dal, rye, jeera, methi, chilli powder, masala powders, garam masala, ready-made mixes, pickles, and what not.

Such is the lure and seduction of the sense of smell, and taste. One might go and try out the most exotic of cuisines. But then, finally, an Indian could find the greatest peace in having a simple meal of sambhar (known as lentil soup in American circles), rice (the Indian equivalent of the oriental variety), dhahin (amazing curd, available here, loaded with the richness of cream and fat), and the simple pickle. For the non-rice types, say, paratha, curd and pickle.

Such a peaceful dinner would amount to say, 4-5 USD. Wherever you go, whatever you eat, you end up shelling more. So, despite the fact that we end up paying 250 INR for a simple meal, it could be considered money well spent. The mind is a clever instrument, that is capable of bending all rules and degrees, when it comes to justifying anything. With a mere paradigm shift, the beautiful becomes the ugly and vice-versa.

And, importantly, shrewd people loaded with great business acumen and sense have rightly noticed the huge potential in the concept of Indian groceries. Be it the shop-keepers themselves, to the entrepreneurs, to the middle-men. But then, isn't life all about being opportunistic, and utilizing the opportunities that come knocking on one's doors.

PS: What is rasagulla or gulab jamun for the Indian, it is the baklava for the West Asian. In a land, where, anything about one's home country is enough to rise the nostalgia and the fervour in all of us, one doesn't object to paying more to have these "essentials", so as to lead a life as normal as one to the one's in the home country (well!!!, atleast when it comes to food).

Khushboo Welfare Society....

Causality in real life....

The football final of World Cup 2006 ITA vs FRA ended on a shocking note, last week. FRA, despite playing the better quality attacking football, after half-time, were the losers. Zinedine Zidane, on whom the previous post was based, delivered, on two counts - orchestration of the game from the midfield; and the vicious head-butt, courtesy the provocation. Such a sad way for his career to end.

This brings us back to the causal nature of the events. If there had been no cause (the provocation), the effect (the head-butt) wouldn't have been there. It doesn't make sense for Materazzi to end up on the winning side and be let scott-free. As Domenech had said, the true man of the match was Materazzi. Fair play needs to necessarily include both physical and non-physical forms of the game.

Zinedine Zidane.....

This post is dedicated to Zidane, and my landlady's friend, who was kind enough to give me a TV so that I can watch the matches.

The world is so fickleminded. The very same world which had been lambasting the French team and its coach Raymond Domenech, left, right and center (in a rare case of unity), has again made a shameless turnaround (again, displaying a remarkable sense of togetherness). A few were hoping against hope to help the French turn the tide against the world. As Richard Feynman says, "What do YOU care what other people think", seems to be have become the motto of this team, that has made it to the finals. It would be interesting to read these two clippings, spaced nearly a month apart[1,2].

Zidane, is on a swansong, more so during the match against Brazil and Spain, and ironically, it is more with the conviction that each match could be his last match. The world has been fortunate twice. If France hadn't qualified for the second round, then that was the end of Zidane's illustrious career. It would have been such a shame for the world. Second, he didn't get an yellow card against Portugal. That would have meant, the game against Portugal would have been veritably his last game. It would have been a great case of irony, if France were into the finals, and the inspiration behind the team was to sit out.

Coming to the subject of partisan fan following (perfectly justified), there are so many people with tears, now, read Brazilians (inevitably dosed with anger too), Germans (mixed with pride), Portuguese, Argentines, English, etc. The same German crowd that was jubilant after the narrow hard-fought victory over Argentina, was moved to tears after the match against Italy (that had to end in such a dramatic fashion). Football, for that matter, any sport, continues to unify people. Sport is one of the biggest passions of the world.

Despite my being very partisan in my support for the Les Bleus in the finals, may the better team win. Would it be one inspired performance from Zidane, or the hype, limelight, attention get the better of him. The stage couldn't be more perfect. Sadly for the world, his illustrious career is coming to an end. Importantly, what a way to end with the finals of the World Cup Finals 2006? Irrespective of the outcome of the match (well, victory would be more more precious and memorable), he has done his job.