As an indulgence-loving child, I’d run to neighbor Priti’s home. What can I say? Her gooey chocolate brownies could just not get past me. Today, we share a very different bond. We spent this spring working out together in quarantine on our rooftop. I ate school lunches in high school, but really learnt to appreciate the love that goes into steel boxes only recently. This story is one that everyone connect with deeply, in some way. 

Some memories remind us of how special they are, when they take us back in time. I’ve been fond of food ever since I can remember. Having travelled and lived in different places all over the world, I was exposed to different cultures and of course, food,  wherever I went. There was no such thing as my favorite food. I just loved it ALL!

I was in high school and we had to stay back unexpectedly for the rest of the day. Usually, we started school early and were home before lunch. So we were obviously unprepared and with no food when we heard we had to stay in school for the entire day! Having had only one short break in the morning and no money to buy any canteen food (which we loved), we were completely famished by around 3pm.

Looking Back

Unable to focus, we wondered how we would last till 7pm, when suddenly, someone called out my name and said there was a parcel for me. I went out and saw that my mum had sent a big basket. The basket had one of those BIG traditional steel tiffin boxes, stacked on top of each other. And there were two chilled bottles of nimbu paani (freshly squeezed lemonade), which was so refreshing in Delhi’s April heat. My friends and I gulped the nimbu paani and we gathered around the basket.
We started to open the tiffin box, one dabba at a time. I remember opening each box, slowly. And I will never forget the joint squeals of communal delight as I opened them. We had rajma chawal in the first one, butter paneer in the second, flakey parathas in the third and a cooling salad in the fourth. There was 6  of us, and enough food for all.
Once we were done, there was another box at the bottom. It was filled with kheer!! Opening that last tiffin box, I was overcome by a wave of emotion. At that moment it was really hard for me to express what I really felt. At that very moment, one of my friends correctly remarked, “This is one dabba that is packed with love!” For the first time, I realized how much effort my mum put into packing a snack or a lunch box. And more than the effort, it was the love that went into putting the food into those steel boxes! I learned to appreciate every packed lunch box I ever got.

Looking Ahead

Since that long, hungry day every time I eat rajma chawal, paneer or kheer, the staples of a Punjabi household, I’m reminded of this. And I realize that nothing can replace the feeling of simple, homemade food, especially if it’s prepared with love. And it reminds me to never take a mother’s love for granted. It shows in simple ways when we least expect it! I try to put the same feeling and emotion when I pack my son’s lunch box for school, every single day! I should probably make him read this story. Maybe he’ll appreciate my effort a little more then, just like I did, many years ago.
Written by Priti Chawla and edited by Jashan Sippy.

‘Food, the Feeling of Home’: A series of stories exploring nostalgia, the power of food, our memories and stories of ‘home’. Want to share your story? Send it to us at info@sugarandspace.in