Green are the wide bay leaves,
carefully selected from our grandmother’s garden, sent straight to the kitchen.
Fresh soft dough comes from the bustling market,
skilfully hand-mixed with the colourful spices and seasoned leaves.
They are delicately played into the tawa,
our mouths water at the aroma of traditional Indian spices.
The thick red liquid stains the boring coloured pot,
the finely cut vegetables marinate in the bubbling curry.
Sipping the wooden spoon, my eyes beam with excitement
I urge my cousin to taste, shoving the spoon in his mouth.
I wanted to pass the ladle on to everyone in the village,
so that everyone could listen to the symphony of flavours in my mouth.
I was well aware my family would chow down the dish if I left it out of my sight,
I gathered the silverware and bowls, and placed it perfectly on the table top.
In the midst of all the frenzy,
the richness of the creamy masala comforted our souls.
We were thousands of miles away from our village,
My family was closer than ever.
None of our worries were important right now,
As we softly chewed our grandmother’s original recipe in the company of our own.
The poem I chose to imitate was “Cold Noodle Soup with Sephora Leaves” by Du Fu. I found this poem particularly important as it resonates well with the emotions that I feel when I eat a dish made by my grandmother, and the warm comforting feeling of enjoying her hard work and love. One line in the poem that really stood out to me was, “I eat more, worrying that it will soon be gone”. Whenever my family gathers together for a big meal, I always have to battle it out with my cousins over the chicken kabobs, rajma, and spicy noodles, as these dishes are made specifically by my grandmother and are undoubtedly the best dishes I have ever eaten. The joy and happiness painted across my grandmother’s face as she watches us duel over who gets the biggest and juiciest portion is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. While reading this poem, I enjoyed Du Fu’s use of both the objective (i.e. specific ingredients and locations), as well as the subjective (i.e. emotions and feelings) to neatly bring the whole recipe and noodle to life.
Throughout the poem, Du Fu emphasized and highlighted many important themes of Chinese food that we have discussed in-depth in class. One theme that I noticed was very much prevalent throughout the poem was this notion of balance. Each sentence was meticulously structured with this almost perfect balance of including a small detail followed by an explanation of what people are doing in relation to that small detail. Having lived in Asia (Singapore to be specific) for a majority of my life, I am well aware of the concept of yin and yang, and how important this balance, and harmony is in Chinese culture and society. Each sentence of this poem sheds light on the balance between flavors and aromas, mirroring the harmonious balance of Chinese communities. Furthermore, the importance of community building and sharing an experience with others is emphasized beautifully as Du Fu writes about wanting to share this beautiful dish with other people, regardless of how far away they physically are. Ever since the first class, we have spoken in great detail about how the Chinese view meals as an opportunity for communion and spending quality time with people they love and cherish. I have also learned a great deal about various types of noodles and how they are all perfectly connected and associated with various memories and events. Du Fu writes about eating a fresh refreshing cold noodle soup on a special occasion, and I tried my best to replicate this setting in my poem about an Indian dish my family loves to eat, especially in the comforts of each other’s company.
Each journal entry has given me the opportunity to learn more about my own multi-cultural background, albeit with my roots deep in India. Having grown up in a multi-cultural city, an attended an American international school for the majority of my childhood, I have never fully embraced my Indian culture, however I am fortunate that this class has enabled me to dig deeper into my Indian culture, and learn more about my family history. From reading Du Fu’s poem, and from sitting down and writing from my own unique perspective, I have come to understand that Indian culture very much revolves around family and creativity. When my grandmother was younger, she used to love to cook a lot for her parents, and many of the dishes she is famous for cooking are products of her just messing around in the kitchen, and using her culinary creativity to come up with her own unique twists on basic Indian food like chicken kabobs, paneer tikka masala, and spicy masala noodles. Also, it was not until these past few weeks in class have I truly come to value how close-knit Indian families are, and how much they value being together, regardless if it is for a special occasion or not.
From my observations over the past few weeks in class, and from these journal entries, it is very clear to me that there are a lot of commonalities between Chinese and Indian cultures and societies, especially when it comes to food. Like I mentioned above, one of the most common themes between the Chinese and Indian culture is the notion of community and wanting to share meals with one another. They both value meals and meal-time as an opportunity for family members and loved ones to catch up with each other and talk about what is going on in their lives. The most important aspect of meal time is just spending quality time with one another, focusing on just being present in the moment. This cultural DNA is very evident in most cultures around the world, and is not just specific to the Chinese and Indians. Throughout history, we have seen how glamorous banquets have been arranged for families and friends to get together and engage in important discussion. Another important aspect, which I wrote about in great detail in my last journal entry, as well as in my poem, is the notion of how highly versatile the noodle is. Throughout the course, we have read numerous articles and pieces highlighting various types of noodles. In China, there is quite literally a noodle preparation for every special occasion and celebration, and in Italy, we can clearly see how each region produces their own unique take on pasta, and how Italian pasta has been influenced over the years from neighbouring countries. Noodles can be prepared in an authentically Chinese and Italian way, but can also be prepared in a seemingly new, and unique way, as shown in my poem about my grandmother’s special spicy noodles. Noodles are far more than just a simple, bland, piece of dough. Each noodle dish carries with it memories and stories that have been passed on for generations, and serve as a reminder of the importance of family and friends in our lives.
Unfortunately, I could not find a picture of my grandmother’s spicy noodles, but I found this picture online that best represents her dish:
Picture credit: https://thechutneylife.com/recipes/appetizers/veg-hakka-noodles/attachment/veg-hakka-noodles-the-chutney-life-9/