Every family has a grandmother, mother, or aunt to back up our hectic days at work, boredom, emotionally weak days, or simply uplift the charm of any occasion by cooking some most desirable home-cooked meals. Isn’t it?
Food has always been the binding factor for all the thick and thin decisions of our lives but is also one of the most underrated tools when we feel low. In fact, we push the plater of comfort away from us when we actually need it the most. The starring Vegan and Keto diets of today’s time have changed the whole reason for our comfort being directly or indirectly associated with the staple food we eat. Since the lines have now become blurred we reach out for assertive options to guide us back home. Though the wheel keeps rotating, ever wondered how alone FOOD can win millions of hearts, become the show stopper, bring different nationalities together, and yet be grounded to its roots?
Well, that’s its beauty of being so poised, appealing to all, and binding relationships. For me, the comfort of being fed the simplest of food became everything after Marriage. This day in history will be marked as I share my stupid cupid love story with a man who declared himself as an avid foodie and almost ate everything that existed. Can you believe it? How wonderful that feeling would be to know that the guy you were to tie knots with had a sincere love for food, for it seemed to be an absolute shot to have achieved a smooth landing on Moon itself; nothing less than that.
Our family’s traditional food appreciation day was a Sunday, as we knew it since our early childhood days. The family members came together to cook and explore a new cuisine. While getting along with a casual chit-chat session with my fiancé I asked a very cliché question about his food preferences, ‘What a comfort food means to you? And he answered, ‘Dal & Rice’. And if this wasn’t enough, I also got a hinge about his obsession with outside food too. I felt jitters all over my body, wasn’t this a true match-made?
This was going to be amazing, thinking to myself! What can be better than having a partner with the same food choices? So, the day until we got married, there were no more discussions and questions been raised on the food, since the biggest hiccup in getting married to an absolute stranger was all sorted. Having been in a relationship before marriage too, I have witnessed how the right choice of meal served at the right time can uplift your guy’s mood, so, I wanted to be sure of the fact, especially with my prospective spouse.
Finally, I didn’t have to broaden my methods to deal with the stereotype of adapting new food habits post-marriage, like every other girl. Don’t we all think of Marriage as a routine of life that is bound to happen sometime in the future and get accustomed to the thought of it? I think girls take this as a leap of growth but boys on the other hand, always take it as a life-changing event. Why thoughts defer in male and female offspring mostly depends on the way they have seen their parents treat each other following the line of patriarchy and how they want to pronounce their marriage after that, and that’s precisely why not all relationships sail a smooth boat.
More than a change of place, it’s about accepting life as is. A girl comes a long way after getting married to the love of her life and his whole family, so it’s not just about winning the hearts of everyone at home but understanding their beliefs too. A lot of pretenses come into play, a role-play which gets passed on in the name of patriarchy, from being given a tag of comforter to the woman of the house; a girl has a whole new identity to live up to after Marriage. However, can getting aligned with the social norms of our society make any Marriage bloom? Or it’s time to step beyond the line that has always held us ‘Women’ back? As I still contemplate these mixed feelings, one thought has always come to the rescue, LET LOVE SWAY YOU THROUGH ALL THE SITUATIONS OF LIFE. Yes, it’s as simple as it appears. Let the comfort belong to you while you provide it to others too.
Sometimes answers to all such tedious situations of life can be drawn from the simplest of gestures, but often by the comfort of food. Have you ever wondered what a happily-ever-after couple looks like? When the days of steaming hot sex feels overrated, mushy attempts to please your spouse with the fancy massages and handholding get you thinking, what’s next? Well, in my opinion, the comfort of food brings back the warmth and security between the couple. As I say so, the Food is indeed symbolic to love when words are inadequate. This saying has been so true for me in all ways ever since I got to know my Mr. Right, I did realize what magic can a simple bowl of comfort food can do to the lazy, rough, or sometimes overwhelming nights of Marriage. It has always offered a cushioning to our relationship especially when you miss ‘Maa ke haath ka khana’. I remember the initial days of our marriage when my sobby nights mostly made my husband helpless, the only silver lining was his hug full of warmth and his reassurance of helping me plan a visit to my hometown very soon.
So, when the comfort was much felt in his arms, you must be thinking why I decided to bend my vote for Food being the game-changer?
The aftermath of every relationship depends on how observant and sensitive we become towards our spouse and if we can track the deal, we sure have hit a Jackpot. I didn’t realize my husband was a millennial in that line until he decided to surprise me with a lunch spread one regular day. I still don’t have enough leads on when he called my mother to check on the favorite staple meals I used to enjoy from her kitchen, but he rocked it completely. His gesture was as simple yet pure as what he intended to attempt, just a bowl full of Jeera Rice and Dal Tadka made my heart melt. Just, thinking of him stepping into my shoes and trying to make me feel at home quite literally made me believe that the comfort of food can shift stars in any relationship, it really has a magnetic effect to win hearts. That day he just didn’t change the whole definition of our marriage into a smoothing lullaby but also, made it effortlessly meaningful.
Since then, there were no sobby nights but just a bowl full of comfort. I gladly became his fan, six years and counting the magic of the bowl never stopped working.
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