Memories related to food are always special and often enjoys a very prominent spot in our hearts. Sometimes it is the memory of the incredible taste of a few dishes that fill our mouth with saliva. For some others, it must be the sad memory of a scrumptious meal that was missed. Ann Palee, in an interesting Facebook post, recalls a food memory that still makes her sad and excited at the same time.
Ann begins her post by commenting that there is no greater misfortune than not being able to taste your favourite food despite having them right in front of you. She recalls how she felt sad when her hostel mate's father brought them fried sardines when Ann was observing the Lent. And the time she was stressed watching her sister enjoy the ice cream while she had a tonsillitis infection.
"One of my unforgettable food memories goes back to almost a decade and a half. I had to shoot for an advertisement in Alappuzha. The director of the ad was an alumnus of the prestigious film institute in Pune and he was clearly more interested in making movies than ads. Though he grew up and studied until graduation in Kottarakkara, he would speak in Hindi, that too, and seemed annoyed by everything.
On the day of the shoot, I left for the location quite early in the morning as it would take at least one and a half hour to reach the place. When I peeped into our kitchen, I realized that the green grams were only starting to boil on the stove. So I decided to have breakfast on shoot location," writes Ann.
Ann recalls that her uncle, one of his friends, and a driver who apparently was a great listener had accompanied her to Alappuzha that day. Though she reached the set half an hour late, Ann arrived right in the middle of a colourful and vibrant scene with songs and background dancers. She was immediately taken to the makeup room where she says a makeup man had applied lighter shades of makeup on her duskier skin. Meanwhile, Ann's eyes were hooked on the delicious vada and poori that were served right beside her. Ann decided to eat breakfast after completing the makeup. However, to her dismay, the director announced that they were shooting right away. Ann sang and danced and did a fabulous performance until it was noon.
When the crew finally sat down for lunch, suddenly the sky grew dark and it began raining. The director immediately got up determined to complete the filming before it rained profusely. Ann writes that though she didn't have the heart to leave the pearl spot in her plate, she got up with the others as she didn't want to delay the filming. The filming got over by four in the evening. Though hot tea, puffs, and onions fritters were arranged for the crew, Ann didn't stay back to eat them as they didn't want to be late.
"I was so hungry and I asked my uncle whether we could grab a bit on the way. However, we were already past the town, and uncle asked me to wait until we reached Kottayam. Then his friend intervened and said that his sister was living close by and that we could drop in there. I must confess that neither did I have the sense to realize that someone who had had lunch wouldn't be hungry at that time or the courtesy to ask why we were going to the house of someone whom we didn't know," Ann writes.
The family invited them in and Ann was seated at the dining table which she remembers as quite large. On one end of the dining table, a girl, the couple’s elder daughter, was teaching a smaller girl who was her cousin. The two girls were busily preparing for the latter's admission test to LKG.
Ann noticed that the elder girl who smiled at her uncle and his friend chose to ignore her. The girl didn't respond even when Ann greeted her. The wife, Ann writes, was an excellent cook while the husband was a good farmer. The family even ran a decent nursery. Meanwhile, her uncle and his friend went out to see the latest plants in the nursery.
"The girl's mother first brought teacups in a tray and placed it on the table. Though I don't drink tea, I decided to wait as I could smell the aroma from the kitchen. Next, as she was bringing hot banana fritters on a plate, her husband called her from outside. She immediately kept the plate on the side of the table where her daughter was sitting and went out. The plate was far away from me and I couldn't reach for the banana fritters. I quickly understood that the girl wasn't planning to offer me banana fritters or keep the plate closer to me. I tried to brush aside the fact that she wasn't really impressed with me and tried to win her over with a smile. But she still didn't react. While I was beating my brains about whether I should lean and reach the plate or get up and walk to it, the younger girl touched one of the fritters. Suddenly the elder one hit her sister on the palm. I immediately saw that none of my plans would work," recalls Ann.
Ann's uncle and his friend came back with a few saplings and within five minutes they said goodbye to the family. She says the girl didn't raise her head even when they were leaving.
"I haven't experienced hunger in my life until that day. More than the hunger what I cannot forget is the insult that I experienced at the dining table in that house. It was already late when we reached my home in Pala. I found that my mother had made banana fritters for me. Not just then, my mother would often cook my favourite dishes even without saying anything. However, I was surprised when I saw banana fritters that day. It is the same surprise that I feel now when my kids Savan and Gami say, "Oh, it was only yesterday that I thought about eating neypathal" or "I wished to have rasam."
Referring to the picture she had posted along with the post, Ann says it was taken on the wedding day of one of her cousins. She adds that her mother's favourite hobby is to send her the pictures of old photographs from the family album. "In the picture, it is my mother who is serving me food. Who else would know what I need or how much I need more than my mother does?" concludes Ann Palee.
