Food For thought
There is something about food memories that stays with you; overwhelming you at times, but then again, giving you the joy of remembering those moments with a taste that never leaves you.
You must have a lot of them by now.
A taste that has never left me is of that box of kajumi barfis that my mum gave me before she bid me good-bye on the doorstep of my hostel dorm when I was just twelve. I shared the box of barfis with all my new friends, while I myself chewed on a small piece relentlessly, because the sadness of leaving home weighed in more bitterness in it. It was an empathetic consolation that my mum wanted to part with; and what better way than by leaving me with my favorite kajumi barfi?
Nowadays, every time I munch on kajumi barfis, mostly during happy occasions, I have helplessly tried to retrace that taste of bitterness. The bitterness I am trying to find, I guess, is an invaluable memory that has shaped some parts of who I am today. Because food is a larger part of who we are, and it revolves around the minute details of our being, giving meaning to our odd lives.
For me, the lingering taste of that kajumi barfi still reminds me of the loneliness I am scared of, while at the same time, it wraps me with the wonderful memories of my independence. The point is—food isn’t just a basic human need that we respond to, it’s a pleasure that gives us memories. It’s what provides us opportunities to make friends and mingle with them; at times, it’s also what reminds us of our loneliness, but it’s also something that gives us adventure in our journeys.
And, therefore, we bring to you a food special ECS NEPAL. In our cover story, ‘Salt of Life’, Kriti Rijal invites you on a journey through her years to remember certain tastes and moods; her friends and the corresponding memory of food. We also bring you a local anecdote by Anuj D. Adhikary of his raksi adventure in Kiritipur. There is more to this issue, and we hope you enjoy reading them.
But, most of all, we hope you make lots of food memories in Nepal, and if you still have not grabbed that opportunity, we hope this issue will help you to make those memories.
Srizu Bajracharya
Sub-editor
