I have never been interested in reading classics and pure literature and tend to enjoy fictions and thrillers. As a student, I hated memorizing lines from Shakespeare and from great works of Charles Dickens which were part of the curriculum. But Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens was an exception. I enjoyed the story and not having a great memory for quotes, the line "Please Sir, I want some more" by Oliver, the orphan asking for more gruel is still etched in my memory. It was a touching line in the novel and somehow has stayed with me all these years and recently had a profound impact in my personal life.
I underwent a surgery last month and was asked to be on liquid diet for three days prior to the surgery. Never the type to observe fasting even for ritual sake, I found this to be a tough task. I was tempted to give up and start on my routine diet several times before the surgery. But the strict instruction from the surgeon held me back. Once the surgery was over, the first thought after the anaesthetic effect wore out was that I could go back to my normal diet. But the doctor felt that I needed to be on drips for couple of days before resuming normal diet. My mind was quickly calculating the number of days I have been starved of solid food. Almost five days........that was just too much. I was even ready to walk and jump just to show the doctor how fit I was to resume normal diet. My craving for rice and hot rasam was increasing by the hour. I realized that I could never be one of those women who can go on stringent diets, with no rice, no solid food for days together just to stay slim. I would rather look my plump self and have my regular diet of dosas and sambars and chutneys than starve and look slim.
If I could not stay away from food even for a valid reason, I was wondering how kids and adults alike in countries like Somalia must be craving for food. It also makes me feel ashamed that we are wasting tons of food that is being prepared in excess in marriages and social functions and how many times we throw away food even at home.
If I felt like begging like Oliver just for couple of days , how many millions in this world are asking for more every day. This surgery has been an eye opener for me at least in terms of experiencing what hunger for food is. I have promised myself to take that extra step to provide something to eat for at least one starved soul other than my kith and kin.
I underwent a surgery last month and was asked to be on liquid diet for three days prior to the surgery. Never the type to observe fasting even for ritual sake, I found this to be a tough task. I was tempted to give up and start on my routine diet several times before the surgery. But the strict instruction from the surgeon held me back. Once the surgery was over, the first thought after the anaesthetic effect wore out was that I could go back to my normal diet. But the doctor felt that I needed to be on drips for couple of days before resuming normal diet. My mind was quickly calculating the number of days I have been starved of solid food. Almost five days........that was just too much. I was even ready to walk and jump just to show the doctor how fit I was to resume normal diet. My craving for rice and hot rasam was increasing by the hour. I realized that I could never be one of those women who can go on stringent diets, with no rice, no solid food for days together just to stay slim. I would rather look my plump self and have my regular diet of dosas and sambars and chutneys than starve and look slim.
If I could not stay away from food even for a valid reason, I was wondering how kids and adults alike in countries like Somalia must be craving for food. It also makes me feel ashamed that we are wasting tons of food that is being prepared in excess in marriages and social functions and how many times we throw away food even at home.
If I felt like begging like Oliver just for couple of days , how many millions in this world are asking for more every day. This surgery has been an eye opener for me at least in terms of experiencing what hunger for food is. I have promised myself to take that extra step to provide something to eat for at least one starved soul other than my kith and kin.
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