The God on our plates

Thirukkural with the Times explores real-world lessons from the classic Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’. Written by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Kural consists of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each. This text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love and is considered one of the great works ever on ethics and morality. The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across social, political, and philosophical spheres.Motivational speaker, author and diversity champion Bharathi Bhaskar explores aspects of this masterpiece. This week, she talks about what the Thirukkural says about the value of food and its makers.The most difficult decision in daily life often revolves around what to cook. In most households, a mother or wife starts her day by asking the family what they want to eat, only to hear the convenient response, "Anything is fine." But for the one cooking, the menu shouldn't be repetitive, must be nutritious, made with available ingredients, and tailored to individual preferences.Sometimes, I decide what to cook based on colours that inspire me. The vibrant red of tomatoes against green lettuce, the neutral hues of pasta with colourful sauces, or yellow dal against rice. Deep purple brinjals, red beets, and yellow peppers inspire me the way an evening sky inspires an artist. Cooking, after all, is an artistic endeavour.Only multi-taskers survive in the battlefields called the kitchen. The person there is parsing, mixing, testing, tasting, verifying flavour, adjusting consistency—the cook is almost like a virtuoso precentor. They make magic with their hands.Cooking is also a sensory experience, engaging all five senses – the eyes assess the browning potatoes, the ears hear the milk hissing as it boils, the nose catches the aroma of rasam, signalling it needs more salt. One touches the rice to check if it’s fully cooked and tastes a spoonful of sambar to ensure it’s just right.Yet, despite these efforts, meals are often not given the respect they deserve. Many households have lost the tradition of dining together. Instead of gathering at the table, people eat while scrolling through phones or watching TV. Often, the grown-up children order food or eat outside.When we don’t pay attention to a meal, we also disrespect the one who made it. There's a story of a king who, after spending his youth in battlefields, finally conquered a kingdom and hired a renowned chef. On the first day, the chef prepared a lavish meal, but the king, unfamiliar with such a spread, awkwardly peeled a banana and ate it whole. The chef took this as an insult to his culinary skills. “Oh king, even a monkey peels a banana little by little and eats in portions,” said the chef. “Not dining on a spread properly is a humiliation to the cook. I can’t take you as my master. I am quitting.”The court expected the king to punish the chef, but instead, the king humbly acknowledged his ignorance and explained that no one had ever taught him to eat properly, as he spent his life in war. The chef then taught him the art of eating, a lesson that transformed the king into a wise ruler. Eating is a necessity, but eating elegantly and respectfully is an art.‘Value the person who brings food to your plate,’ reminds Valluvar in the chapter about agriculture. Through the ten couplets, he lists the importance of farmers and one of the couplets hails those who feed others. Such a person asks nothing from others but provides for everyone.This couplet is also about the person in our kitchen who toils -- wives, mothers, husbands, and fathers. Respecting the one who cooks, is in essence, respecting the food itself.Iravaar Irappaarkonru Eevar KaravadhuKaiseydhu Oonn Maalayavar.They ask nothing from others, but to askers give food—ThoseWho make with their hands, the food on which everyone lives.