Friday 16 November 2012

Stories on a plate




Meal times are usually conversation times, if one is at home and everyone else is also at home. Slowly the first mouthful is swallowed and the stories begin.

You know what happened yesterday . . .

Ears perk up and the mouthfuls become slow and steady. Sometimes, I find it extremely difficult to concentrate on the food and on the equally delicious talk. I love both to bits. Then to add a flavour from times of yore, my mother adds her bits to the conversation that was started by my sister. She adds colour and antiquity to the interesting string of stories. Me, being the teacher starts a string of related student stories.

The conversation flows.

The food slowly but surely finds its place in our tongues. We savour the flavours of the food and the talk.

The plate goes empty. The stories run.

The juices and the remains of the food are slowly polished off clean. The act of polishing serves a double-fold purpose: It cleans the plate and it prolongs the act of eating.

After the plates, it's the turn of the fingers. In between hearing stories that leave us asking for more, the fingers are licked clean. And I don't know why the remains of the food sticking on the plates and the hands are the tastiest bits. The chatter continues non-stop.

And, in a moment of brief silence, the first person who has had enough tries to get up. NOOOO. PLEEEAAASSSE, we protest. Don't get up to wash your hands. If you wash your hands, the mood and the chain of conversation will break. 

My mother always remarks, "The drier the hands get, the juicier the conversation gets."

The person eventually gets up. Ah, we lose interest. The conversation breaks off. The bits of food on the hands and the plate are viewed with distaste. The magic evaporates. We return to life and that is clearing the dishes away and washing them.

(I guess the same happens even while eating with forks, knives and spoons. But somehow for me, eating with spoons does not create the same magic. I have to use my hands and in the end lick them clean. Wow!)

What happens in your meal times while at home with family?

Image 1: Internet

36 comments:

  1. CHAOS happens :)

    arguments which i wud not like to get into he he he

    Bikram's

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    Replies
    1. What kind of chaos, Bikramji? Pyaar ka chaos?

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    2. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh secret hai :) he he he

      well if we are sitting around a table having food so LOVE is always there .. had it not been then no one would sit together :)

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  2. ha i look forward to this over the holidays...having everyone together....used to be story time was our play time but i graduated up years ago...we will sit around and talk for sure and see members of the family we have not for a year...

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    1. I wish you wonderful days of conversation, Brian. Smiles :)

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  3. We chat at mealtimes, but most evenings, the t.v. is on if there is something light - no news while I'm eating!
    Great story you shared here, Susan!
    Blessings to you!

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    1. Meal times are fun, Martha. Whenever I am at home, I can endlessly chatter and coerce others to do so too.

      Blessings back at you, dear Martha :)

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  4. My husband, who loves food, usually talks about food and recipes he plans to make. If we're together with daughter and her family the conversation is spirited with lots of laughter.

    Nice topic Susan.

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    Replies
    1. Lovely husband, you've got, Myrna. Happy to see you here. Love.

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  5. brilliant post!

    family dinners tend to decrease...it sucks.
    what happens you ask. well, we often fight over food!!
    i agree with you...using hands it is much better!
    i still eat potatoes with my hands!

    big hugs to you suzan, and thank you so much for your always lovely comments.
    highly appreciated:)

    xx

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Betty, work schedules and working far away from home tends to decrease the family dinners. But sometimes we do find family wherever we go and hence the conversations go on.

      Big hugs back at you, dear Betty. I love it when you visit here.

      Joy always :)

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  6. That was great!! I was smilling all the way through!))

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    1. Thanks friend. After a long time. Hope you are well and smiling. Have a good day and week.

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  7. I like to do one thing at a time - Either eat meals or talk. I would rather eat meals :)

    Destination Infinity

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    1. How boring. Even while at home after a long break, do you silently eat? I don't believe you.

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  8. i love conversation at meal time..only thing is that we eat more and start licking our hands!!if its friends and family ..no prob!!

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    1. Welcome here Muthiah. Glad to see your insights. Licking the fingers is an awesome exercise which rids you of your status and ego (albeit in a funny way).

      Keep coming back.

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  9. Absolutely meal times are noisy at homes. The two boys keep competing with each other to tell tales, their decibel levels rising to our alarm. And, I love eating food with my fingers as well!

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    Replies
    1. With kids I can understand. It must be a fun time, though. Never experienced that though my sister and I sometimes fight and never talk to each other while eating ;)

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  10. Well written Susan! This is truly a magical experience that I had went through time and again with family and friends.

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    1. Hey Harish, I'm seeing you after a very long time. Hope you've been well. The magic is certainly there. I wish you many such magical moments :)

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  11. Lovely post Susan! Enjoyed it thoroughly! Meals times are chatting times at our place too. And agree, when you get up from the dining table, the magic of the animated and the lively conversation simply vanishes!

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    1. I know. the magic just disappears and no matter what we cannot capture those moments even if we sit down again and start talking. I think there is a spiritual connection between food smeared fingers and conversations ;)

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  12. Wow, I LOOOOOOOOOVE this post! How eloquently you have put this common communal dinner experience that I only feel but could not articulate!

    These are words of wisdom from your mom: "The drier the hands get, the juicier the conversation gets." (I wish I'd see her in your photos too, as you have seen mine, hehe.)

    I eat to have conversations, actually. Left alone, I eat quickly and straightforwardly, more as a necessity than a pleasure. Maybe food for the body tastes better with food for the soul. :)

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    Replies
    1. Age, thanks for that charming comment. Yes, same here. If I am left alone, then I either switch on the TV or music or open a book.

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  13. Meal times are chatting times at our place too. It's a nice time to listen and share all the happenings of the day...
    Its a great time to bond too! :) Loved reading this post! :)

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  14. Dear Susan, I recall when I was a kid, meal time with my family was my favorite time of all. We would sit at the table and talk, all of us - at diner time it was all about our days. In the weekends, breakfast would slowly turn into lunch time before we cleared the table.;)
    Now I enjoy similar time with my new family and it makes me realise how much i have missed the unity at meal times, when I was single.;)
    Hope you have been well, I am trying ver hard to find some spare time for blogging these days, but it is quiet an undertaking-;)
    Have a great Sunday,
    xoxo

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    Replies
    1. Ah, breakfast has never turned to lunch in our home. Only dinners turn to mid-night coffee sessions! How nice to see you here, Zuzana. I have missed your presence here.
      Yes, when life is busy happening sometimes our blogs face a crisis. Hope you somehow crunch time for blogging. I would miss you otherwise :)

      Joy always, dear Zuzana.

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  15. I would any day pick
    to eat with my hands and then lick
    though some might say it is gross and sick
    there's nothing else that gives such a kick.

    Yummy, give us some more Sus.

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    Replies
    1. When you comment, I refrain from attempting to say anything eloquent. Thanks for the wonderful words, dear Govind. A pleasure to see you stop by here :)

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  16. Put a broad smile on my face...:)
    Meal time is the most awaited and loved part of the day for me. Talking and listening to how the day had been with my family, is a blessed feeling. Brings back such lovely memories this post. Thank you Susan!
    love,
    Ruchi

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    Replies
    1. Ruchi, my dearest, as I always say, you always make me smile and this comment is no exception. When we sit down to eat, we don't feel like getting up at all. Wonderful times.

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  17. Meal times are wonderful the things you hear and those you don't want to hear about, then you can always use the excuse of 'mouth full' to not comment...
    Of course there'll be some bickering about 50% of the time... as long as food does not fly...but then who says family conversations had to be dull.

    I do agree with you about using your hands to savour your food.

    BM

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    Replies
    1. Dear BM, words cannot express how happy I am to see you after a very long time. Hope you've been well and happy. You made my day today. Thanks for coming by. Ah, we also have our share of bickering but somehow it gets dissolved. And, Indian food is best eaten with the hand. Easier that way.

      Take care and lots of you to you across ether.

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  18. There was a time like this. Today, the TV has taken over and we have conversations during meals only during festivals. Nice post.

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