The pleasure of cooking !

Originally published in my intranet site.

Who does not love food? Next to books and classical music, I have found that cooking is a great pastime. It is extremely relaxing. It is therapeutic (and I don’t mean my food tastes like medicine !!). It is a lot of fun ! Many times it is like reading a suspense novel ! You never know what is going to end up on that pan !!

It is a wonderful science, that, interestingly, can also be called an art ! It is a wonder, how, different looking, tasting and smelling ingredients come together to create something completely different and wonderful. Trying out new recipes is nothing short of an adventure!

Being a strict vegetarian, wherever I go, my vessels go with me ! And where most of my friends/ colleagues, return losing oodles of weight, from on-site, I always end up putting on more weight ! Now, this is not because I am a better cook than my mom. It is only that when you are by yourself and you cook your food and you are the only one privileged enough to eat it, you end up appreciating yourself on your talent and eating more of it as a mark of your approval!!

Cooking is like meditation, since you need to pay attention to what you are doing and you cannot afford to lose your concentration. It is like A.R.Rahman’s music ! You can keep adding small embellishments to make it taste and smell better !! And the great part about cooking is, the food never tastes the same every time ! Each time, it is a different experience !!

But the best part about cooking is when you see the look of satisfaction and appreciation on the face of the person eating it !! Even if the person does not express it in words, the satisfaction that comes from seeing a hungry person fed, makes all the effort spent in cooking worth its while !!

So what are you waiting for? Go into the kitchen and start practising this divine art ! If you cannot, atleast remember to appreciate the person who cooks for you - be it your wife or your mother or your cook ! After all, that is the only thing you can give in return to their effort !!