My favourite vegetable is the potato. Bengalis put it in everything, including biryani. It’s not that we’re biased. We don’t mind trying other vegetables, so long as they’re deep-fried. Frying is important to us. In Pramod Kapoor’s recently published book on Gandhi, which is excellent, he describes an encounter between Gandhi and the poet Rabindranath. Rabindranath was tucking into a plate full of luchi (puri made from white flour) and potatoes in rich gravy, when Gandhi popped in for a visit. As a strict vegan, he felt he had to remonstrate. He pointed out that this combination of white flour and oil was like slow poison. “Well I’ve been eating them for 40 years,” said the poet, “so it must be a very slow poison.” Who are we to argue with a Nobel laureate?
Therefore, although we restrict our consumption of fruit to small quantities during religious events, when it comes to vegetables, we are far ahead. Others seem to be lagging, though, because obesity amongst the middle class is on the rise in India. Some are saying that this is because we are becoming more like America, where most people are now gigantic, but this requires probing. Could it be that we prefer carbohydrates for economic reasons? In America, this is true. A box of apples costs 9 dollars, while a box of doughnuts costs 99 cents. Nine times out of 10, the doughnuts will win.
This is not the case in India. A kilo of apples costs about ₹150, around the same as a kilo of Good Day cashew biscuits, or a kilo of Jim Jams. Monaco is slightly cheaper. There is no economic reason for us to prefer sugar and fat over fruits and vegetables. It could be the lack of advertising campaigns. In the West, there have been many campaigns. Michelle Obama spent eight years promoting fruits and vegetables. An American school even installed a carrot-vending machine, and was surprised by its success. Others, who noticed that there were no other vending machines in the school, and nothing else to eat, were not as surprised. A trendy website called FNV uses celebrities to promote fruits and vegetables, using posters which feature Jessica Alba trying to stuff beetroot into her ears. In France, a nation where shoppers recently rioted over Nutella, the ‘Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables’ campaign run by a local supermarket chain convinced millions to pick up hideously misshapen fruits and vegetables at heavy discounts.
Perhaps we too need to be seduced. If Deepika Padukone eats a tomato, or nibbles a lady’s finger, we may not be able to resist her. Such things could well be imminent. The forces are aligned in their favour. Both the Ambanis and the Adanis now sell fruits and vegetables, through Farm-Pik and Reliance Fresh. Of course, Reliance Fresh also sells Jim Jams, so it could go either way.
In the writer’s most recent novel, ' Murder With Bengali Characteristics ', nobody actually eats anything, which is strange
