ChinmayC Blog

His house was less than hundred meters from ours and in the same lane, that is to say, in the immediate neighborhood, and therefore, he could pass as one of our neighbours in the strictest sense. However, our relations with him hadn’t been as good neighbours, it was a doctor-patient relationship . Per our information he rented this flat for his practice while his family lived in the parental house in a nearby locality. Unless in an emergency, he went back to his family every night. At times, his wife and son came over to live with him. The flat is a one-bedroom affair: a small lobby greets you in from the main door and as you turn to your right to enter his little chamber you find straight ahead the kitchen slab which looks hardly ever used staring at you while the room on your left you’re sure is the bedroom; as you pass the door of the chamber you find a few chairs and a table propped up against the wall on your right and in front is the interior of the room containing the doctor’s p...

That evening in end-July a Bangla family friend came to our house in Kolkata profusely sweating and drenched in it from head to foot. However he was carrying with him a packet of smoking hot beguni (Brinjal fritters) and Chops (Cutlet fritters). Before he could cool himself enough under the full-speed ceiling fan he commanded us to partake of the items before those cooled off! And yes, we had those gobbled up quick in extraordinary gourmet delight and also supported by hot steaming cups of tea! Well, in our traditional belief that ‘heat neutralizes heat’, particularly when the heat (like May) is oppressively humid (like monsoon)! This dictum is of the utmost importance now, because the supposedly wettest months of the South West Monsoon, June and July, have gone with absolutely no rains in South Bangla and Kolkata city. In fact, the month of July has proved to be the driest July in history in the Eastern and North Eastern regions of the country. And into August now, there’s hardly any...

The ‘festive’ thought as mentioned above could be interpreted as controversial after the words that follow are swallowed up, and therefore I clarify at the outset that there is no malicious intention behind this thought. There is only the spirit of celebration. The Indian festive season starts around September every year with various non-religious, religious and intra-religious festivals taking place almost every week. Since all such events of worship or otherwise are now called ‘festivals’, these get naturally opened up for everybody to participate. Like the quintessential slogan given in West Bengal by the Chief Minister during the Durga Puja ‘festival’, ‘Religion is mine, religion is yours; festival is for all’. For example, in this year’s Christmas ‘festival’ on the streets of Kolkata you would hardly find a ‘religious’ being among the thousands of intense merrymakers. So then, everyone waits for the occasion from September to New Year Day to participate which translates into roami...

In the Paleolithic age humans survived on edible plants and hunting of wild animals. They lived in small groups, made rough stone weapons and killed animals for food. The use of fire in the Lower Paleolithic age revolutionized the act of eating as they began to cook their foods finding wonderful ways of having vegetable dishes or mixing vegetables with meat. The survival instinct of eating got gradually replaced by the gourmet approach. The point to note here is that vegetarian and non-vegetarian ways of eating existed on planet earth since pre-historic times. - Please Click to See more Here:   (This article was first featured in newskarnataka.com's print publication 'Karnataka Today' Volume 1, Issue 1) 

Repeated food safety tests across India confirmed the presence of poisonous lead and a chemical monosodium glutamate, widely known as MSG in the famous 2-minute Maggi noodles. First the capital Delhi banned the noodles for 15 days and then state after state of the country started following suit. On Friday, the 5th of June, 2015 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ordered Nestle, the company producing Maggi, to recall all nine variants of the noodles from the Indian market. After that branches of FSSAI got into action in states like Maharashtra, Meghalaya and others too where the ban was not yet announced pending test reports or non-conclusive results.  Even after all these serious developments Nestle refuses to admit that their noodles are not really fit for consumption, particularly for the innocent children who were too fond of it, or that at least some serious problems could be present. Obsessed perhaps with the need for damage control to prevent huge losses the...

If you have already given up the smoking and drinking habits you have hardly done enough. You find yourself in a greater and debilitating dilemma about what to eat or drink or what not to from the fast diminishing options. If you thought only plain simple fats had been making you fatter all the years, now you had to worry about trans fat too. If you have loved the fast foods now is the time to go slow. Fast foods are also called junk food. You must be aware what junk food is. Well, it means foods without having enough nutritional value, but scoring high on fats, salt, sugar and calories. You must never fall prey to the mouth-watering smell and taste these foods have. The Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE) , a public interest organization of India, had only the other day come out with its devastating report on junk or fast foods. All of such foods or soft drinks marketed in India by the multinational companies contain much more trans fat, the worst kind of fat, than is advisable...

Article first published as Ceremonial Eating! on Technorati. Eating has been and is vital to the Indian way of life. If religious eating is a little subdued, ceremonial eating is extensive and expansive. Indians just do not need an excuse to eat! Main ceremonies are the weddings where eating arrangements are always huge. In earlier days there used to be snacks and teas, but now a belly filling, rich and full meal is the norm. There are various functions or rituals spreading over a maximum of five days within a marriage ceremony and each of these are never complete without sumptuous meals. Even two days after the formal wedding the bridegroom’s family hosts a feast for near and dear ones in some sections of the Hindu. Eight days later the party is repeated at the bride’s place, though with limited invitations. Other ceremonies where eating is central include birthdays, anniversaries, initiating at least six months old babies to staple diet, sacred thread function for Hindu Br...

Article first published as Religious Eating! on Technorati. Indian people have certain religious rituals associated with eating. But due to resurgence of modern times and thinking people are getting secretive about such rituals. The crux of religious eating is simple to decipher. Just before embarking on your dish you think of God and thank Him for being so kind to provide such benefits. I witnessed my grandfather doing those rituals elaborately whenever and wherever I had the privilege of having meals with him. He would always sit on the floor and make a circle of water drops around his plate of rice and other items. Then he would offer grains of cooked food on the water drops at the central point. This simply meant he was offering to God whatever he had access to eat. I used to wait eagerly for the rituals and enjoyed a lot.  Everyone present started eating just when he was ready. These rituals are disappearing fast with the onset of modern lifestyle and people who know are beco...