Titles: Empty or Full – Two Stomach Sounds Chelvani) 'Jamwa halo' – the sweetest words in Gujarati language. 'Did you eat?' When a man hears words like this in a woman's sweet voice, in two minutes, good men feel heartbroken! They keep going to dinner-lunch on the occasion of wedding-engagement in the 'Bhukh-Numa' or happy season of winter. Then in his sleep he keeps saying 'Ola-ondhi', 'Ondhia-ol'. Also, 'eating' is not only a physical activity but also a social activity because human being is a social animal. Man does not enjoy eating by cutting grass alone or by hunting others or by swooping on someone's prey like animals. We black or dyed or bald people eat and drink together at home or in society. Every culture has glorified sharing food or dining. It is believed that if a Pathan eats there, he will remain loyal for life by saying 'uska namak khaya hai'. Salman Khan, one-time nemesis Subhash Ghai had dinner there, after which everyone in the film line was convinced that 'now Salman will definitely work in Subhashji's film.' And so it happened! However, in today's sensitive environment, going out to dinner with someone or not is risky. Who knows when the plates will spill or the relationship of years will end? , beer! Meet for a beer at 5pm?' So the other person will consider you a double or a drunkard! Or you ask 'Let's eat gram at four o'clock?' So the opposite will understand you harshly…or ask 'Skip dinner-lunch, meet for a morning-walk and drink lemon juice in the garden?' So? This may improve your health but friendship may deteriorate. There are two types of people in the world: one, who is strongly interested in food and drink and the other, who only wants to get enough work by drinking tea and coffee. There is a deep difference between love and mere lust. Some 'meet' to 'meet' while others 'meet' only to 'meet'. We also need a 'focal point' in business meetings, and that 'central point' is dining! So we can have a meeting while walking around the tree but the problem is that you will not understand when to settle the meeting? On the other hand, as soon as it is time to eat in lunch-dinner, the meeting can be settled by talking over it. Sometimes, when there is no answer to a question in a meeting, the man topic can be avoided by saying meaningless things like 'The sambar here is better than Idli, yes'. What would you say to change the subject in a garden meeting, 'Do those two trees look like distant cousins?' Or you can talk about 'nature' or flowers-butterflies-dew without knowing anything, but for that you have to be a poet or a thinker. (Better to have a meeting with a coffee-pasta breakfast than to take such a risk.) Interval: Hum to na chand samze, na suraj hain jaante, baba hamen to yeh nazar aati hain rotiyan! (Nazir Akbarabadi) Just as Gandhiji was born for a message like non-violence-unity, the incarnation of Jesus is meant to spread the message of love-compassion, some people's reason for incarnating on earth is 'to eat or to impregnate someone.' People who are constantly in the party or dinner party. If the present meal is still not in his throat, then he will start shouting in front of him that 'next week we all have to meet for dinner'. Some foodies even keep eating back to decide the 'menu'! People who decide while eating what items will be in the upcoming meal! In short, people look for reasons – to eat and drink. In big weddings, many big leaders and businessmen do big deals and discuss 'whose company to close', 'whose card to cut' etc. Once we went to dinner with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and one of the guests made small talk during the meal. Bhattasaheb immediately stood up from the bed and said, 'I will not eat bread with you because you are not 'well bread!' Here 'not well bread' means 'you are not well brought up'. From 'Breeding' to 'Uxher' and 'I will not eat 'bread' (roti) with you!' If it is found in the mass meal of the caste that there are only laddu-ganthia in the meal, then 'Sav, it is worthless to eat. And his uncle-mama-foi will collide. What goes into it?' By saying this, 'how futile blood relations are in the world' will also be proved. But if the same meal includes dryfoot rabdi, four types of farsan, etc., then people will immediately say, 'Let's go to dinner.' Relatives and loved ones will be found on that pretext. Where can we find our sisters these days?' It means that the dinner menu changes or our outlook on life changes. End-Titles: Adam: Shall we go to dinner? Eve: No, the plate will come walking from the front. }
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
Raag Bindas: Winter's Woolen Mine: Lessons in Preserving Relationships
