Creator albeit a mortal one

Adding up spices and condiments, imagining the end result and titillating the senses with smells is the wonderful art of cooking. Today after a gap of a short period, I ventured to prepare a chutney for dinner. Just making sure the ingredients are just the right quantity, salt and chilly powder not sprinkled in excess and the flame not too high or low, makes one feel like a creator -- A creator of fine food. My friend who enjoys cooking always remarks: Cooking is the only art where the creator is able to partake as well as enjoy the results at the same given time. It is a communion where the process is present continuous. 

Not everyone has mastered this art. It is but a gift to the ones who are willing to let go and lose themselves in the dish they are going to prepare and serve. Long ago I read a story which touched me: A mother always kept a jar and while the dishes were close to getting done, she opened the jar and sprinkled the ingredients to the pot on the stove. After her death, the children were curious to see what was inside that box. It had an old crumpled paper which read "TLC" and back of the paper were the words: Tender loving care. The creator knows that without TLC the creations are but a worthless bauble.

The end result was delicious. The creator relished as well as the others. Probably I was a bit romantic in describing the art of cooking and conjuring a nice dish. There are days when I just cannot lend myself completely to cooking and during those times the creator part does not fascinate me. After all one cannot be a creator always, isn't it?

Picture courtesy: Internet