Lockdown The Undisputed King

Lockdown is the darkest phase of everyone’s life. It was 2 am in the night and I woke up from my slumber all drenched in sweat, throat dry. The power had gone off and the fan was rotating at a slow pace causing more noise and hardly circulating any air. I rushed to quench my thirst with the divine fluid necessary for the existence of life– no prizes for guessing! As I walked up to the fridge, and then I heard someone speaking in hushed tones. Alarmed and a bit scared, I strained my ears to decipher the words. OMG! It was paneer from the freezer bragging.

Look, this lockdown thing has made me the blue-eyed boy of the prince and the princess of the house. A once while of foodstuff belonging to the party genre adorning the dinner plate. Quite so often even the aloo has been put in the kitchen basket and has lost its starchy vigor. The tomatoes in the tray gave a smug look, which probably meant you are nothing without us. You need our support to make you colorful and enhance your taste. We add to the glam quotient, you pale insipid fellow. Paneer’s cousin from the dairy family, cheese wasn’t far behind.

Bro doesn’t forget me, I have almost displaced you in every snack and dressing, adding a little taste. And loads of calories to simple healthy dishes, as butter watched with disdain, it had lost its position in the fat race. Their healthier-than-thou counterpart, the tofu had fallen into disrepute because it wasn’t considered quite palatable. The bhindi and palak looked in dismay, green with envy, thinking “Apna time aiga”. Hence, it wasn’t long ago that they were considered the healthiest veggies in the kitchen. The Maida, an all-purpose flour, stood pompously in the freezer. Yes, it was promoted from the hot and humid kitchen to the cool comforts of the refrigerator.

Hey guys! Cut that crap, if you believe in Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook, I am the most wanted ingredient in all baking recipes. I have reason to believe that this long holiday is called a lockdown. It was implemented just so that all the people in the house, especially the younger ones could hone some baking skills. How proudly they flaunt the pictures! If only the images could tell the taste and the texture of the outcome.

I heard that people stand in serpentine queues outside grocery stores in scorching heat just to have a kg of my smooth self. So much for putting me down as an unhealthy ingredient all these years. The Cokes and the Sprites weren’t far behind. Hey dudes! It’s summer time and none of you can beat us here, neither the Reals nor the Frooties. We easily mingle with the welcome drinks and the mocktails. But now with the free availability of our big hard brother, even the cocktails.

But as I opened the door, there was a pin-drop silence. I longingly picked up the water bottle and drank heartily to soothe my parched throat. The water bottle uttered without an iota of arrogance, friends! Now we know who is the undisputed king, the Be Taj Badshah of all times. Finally, there is no life without water, save every drop as each one counts.

Dr. Manisha Shembekar
MD, DA
Joint Managing Director
Omega Hospital, Nagpur