Peoplesfood

Navigating my way through a maze of rickshaws, cows, and motorbikes with horns blaring from every direction. One would think sensory overload is a given, but somehow the heady scent of spices wafting from a street cart can still stop me dead in my tracks. It's almost a magnetic pull, as the aroma drifts into my personal realm welcoming me, the best suited guide I've ever encountered. Next thing I know I'm trying this that and the other thing, whatever the vendor is making that day, and i'm loving it. This morning its something I would coin Indian pizza, a fried chapati smothered in dal, sprinkled with chili and spice; fresh diced onions, tomatoes and cilantro accompany some crispy snack doused with a sweet and sour tamarind sauce all coming together just to make me smile for hours. It's amazing how with only a few words in common there can be so much shared. We may not be able to carry on a conventional conversation but something else has been conveyed in this interaction. Food is essential we all need it, and wherever you are it has it's own style, a mark of the people and place. More than words or even a picture, food is a window into culture. The food here is spicy and aromatic, fried and fresh, from the fastest made to the slowest that I have ever encountered. Everything is done with ones hands, the relationship is close between man and food. It can be loud and proud, while still having wonderful complimentary flavors unfold in each bite. I've also never been more full in my entire existence. I have had my share of the shaky stomach, been down and out a few days yet I just keep coming back for more. Food is life here, it gives and it takes. Food changes everywhere you go, a few days in the desert and you learn to love the heavy chapati balls that one can cook in the coals. In a families home preparing for a celebration of a new child's first hair cut the food again becomes central. All day the woman are in action cutting vegetables, frying, rolling, boiling, stirring. All the while building the platform of a party that will occur. In the end the food brings everyone together, the floor is covered with men, women and children all eating to their hearts content. Into the night sounds of the women singing and playing the drums rings in my ears, a music that perfectly accompanies a full belly, sleeping on the rooftop in the company of warm and caring people. I find food and good company tend to coincide, when you find one you are bound to find the other.