There are people who live to eat and there are those who eat to live. Food, simply put, is a necessity for them?having it is just another task. There?s no thought put to it, no elaborate planning done, nothing is good or bad?all is well. That briefly captures the attitude of people living in the villages towards food ? something the urban population is so fussy about. For them to answer how their platter has changed over the years needs a lot of thinking.
And yet, one discovers that by default they are far better off than their urban counterparts. Most of the fresh stock is organic produce from their own field. They need not worry about expiry dates, trans fats or feel guilty about food miles! Consider the diet of 60-something Ram Niwas, a resident of Aniruddhwa village in Uttar Pradesh, for instance: It?s milk for breakfast, roti-sabji for lunch, as well as dinner. And it?s the same for the entire family. Children aren?t indulged either. ?But there?s been a big change yes,? Niwas says. ?When I was young we used to have bajra and makki (maize) ki roti. Wheat was an expensive option back then. The tables have turned now?bajra and makki are five times more expensive than wheat now. Ghee cost just Rs 2.50 for a kg. We could buy one quintal makki for just Rs 20. My mother used to grind the flour herself at home back then…the women folk nowadays are lazy.? However, the family, like most other in the village, uses home-produced mustard oil as the cooking medium.
Niwas complains that his son and grandson eat a lot less than what he managed to in his youth. It?s not just his perception though. NSS household expenditure data shows that per capita consumption of cereal between 1972-73 to 1993-94 declined from 15.26 kg to 13.4 kg in rural areas. Niwas might consider himself lucky if he?d know that increased rural prosperity in neighbouring Punjab has seen it mark a shift from sarson saag and makki roti to pizzas and burgers. Tarlochan Singh, a resident of Himmatgarh village in Punjab, visits McDonald ?s at least once a month on the insistence of his children. ?But we don?t compromise on the quality of wheat and milk we consume?it?s from our own field and cattle,? he says.
?With inputs from Charanjit Ahuja