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).