Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The flip side

"Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar..."

~ William Faulkner

Only this is just the beginning of August and yet another of life's little ironies happens. Seems like only yesterday when I was choking with euphoria and slathering my joy all over the cyberspace upon finding ilishi in Seattle. That indisputable king of fish, or at least that's what we East Indians think. Now call it preoccupation or mere forgetfulness of the taste buds, we haven't had, or for that matter even searched once for the dear old fish after our return home. Instead, we were on the lookout for our Western favorite - salmon. And what's more, we finally got it! Straight from the Scottish Highlands, although frozen and therefore not at its pretty orangish best like what we used to get in that seafood heaven called the Pacific Northwest, it still tasted good. Just like the ilishi did last year. 

Regarding our little "American" grocery store, I always knew it existed but never cared to visit it. And that was before my life as a foreigner. But now, once back with another world throbbing inside me, continuously reminding me of its riches and beauty, it was a must visit. I can hardly express my emotions, that gush of warm familiarity that rushed through me after stepping into the tiny store last Sunday. Let's just say if nostalgia was a river, I would have been kayaking on it. That's how high I was! Just like I used to be when stumbling upon my brand of curry powder in an Indian grocery store back in the States.
 
Even the once monotonous and ridiculously familiar box of Cheerios made me do a little dance! 


10 comments:

  1. Hello Suman:
    Oh dear, we are seriously concerned that a bowl of Cheerios can bring such joy!!! Indeed,we are rather of the opinion that there is more of nutritional value in the cardboard box that the Cheerios come in rather than the cereal itself!!!!

    We have to say that we enjoy life as foreigners and rather enjoy the anonymity that this brings. Somehow one can have the luxury of living in a foreign land with all the new excitements which that brings without being too involved in the petty politics that really do make one's life so annoying when in one's 'own' country.

    The quotation from William Faulkner is enchanting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jane and Lance, haha! I need to check that box now, no wonder it tastes sweeter than usual!

      I couldn't have justified that foreigner feeling more beautifully. True, it's that anonymity that counts, that freedom of mind that is so lacking in one's home country and as you say, the 'petty politics' somehow finds a way into one's lives.

      I'm glad you loved the Faulkner quote.

      Delete
  2. I love your post :) This is the irony of life! Now that your are back home, do enjoy the "ilishi". And btw, which store is this in Hyderabad, to which you are referring to?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for dropping by once again, Swati. This store is Q-Mart, located in Banjara Hills. When you guys come back, we can go shopping together for all things "foreign"!

      Delete
  3. I love this post ! Food is a way to travel or to remember places we love. I go to an Asian shop to buy chutney or miso soup.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, food and books are the best way to travel the lanes and bylanes of the world. And chutney seems to be our most popular fare on the international culinary map, beside the tikka of course.

      Delete
  4. Your post made me think which things I will miss when I go back to India.. The one thing I am going to miss is the joy of finding something Indian in this foreign land.. Like you said books and foods are the two best ways to know a different culture..nice post..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that's the very joy I'm missing - the thrill of being a foreigner and yet finding the things that you were once fond of. It's all about the sides and unfortunately the other one ends up being the greener, always!

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...