Pick of the Week - 2

My Dear CATS,

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Continuing with the chain of thoughts started last week with the Tagore Theatre incident, I am throwing yet another pebble in the pool of conciousness, looking inwards this time.

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All of us have been forwarded an email umpteen number of times where images of malnutrinioned children, some even living skeletons are projected at you, in a hope to evoke a sense of apathy in your soul, encouraging us to either to make a monetary donation or at the very least thank the Lord for giving us three square meals a day.

We skim through these emails, feel truly bad for these 'poor' children and then get busy with our life within minutes, forgetting their hunger in seconds.

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Worst is that not only ae we all guilty of forgetting about them, we actually go ahead and do something which should be considered a crime at the level of conciousness atleast.

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We go home, put food in our plate, eat what we want and then leave the leftovers for the bins! At times, the left overs are enough to feed a hungry belly. It becomes worse when we attend a social function, such as a wedding or a party.

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Given below are the photos from just one table at a wedding I attended last week.

You may say that there is not much left in this plate.

But what about this one?

Since we have paid our dues with a gift or a 'shagun', we feel that we have all the right to plunder through the food tables, even if our bellies are protesting and the seams of our shirts start giving way. Is overeating not a type of wastage as well?
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Trying out new cuisines is great, enjoying your food is even wonderful. However, could we make a concious effort to put only as much in our plate as we can comfortably consume?
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Basic idea is to stop wastage of food. If you do have any food left, it is much easier to feed someone who is hungry and would appreciate a little nourishment.

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The mother of a fellow CAT of ours, puts all the leftover food in a bowl every night outside their house, for the stray dogs and cats. Someone else I know takes along left over chappatis and bread with her on her morning walk, which begins by feeding the cows and the birds.

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If this leftover food can serve a few bellies of all shapes and sizes, imagine what cooked food could mean to a few hungry bellies?

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I am not asking you to start a community kitchen or a 'langar'; just a little thought for the food which you will be wasting by piling onto your plate, the food which could fill a belly. If having a party at home then ensure that you distribute the excess food either amungst the guests and the maids/servants. If having a party outside, then arrange with the organisers that you wish all leftover food to be delivered to a local orphanage or a community kitchen etc.

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You may have some other practical ideas to make food work for all.

CAT Supreet