Myself Kamalamma from Karnataka, Udupi.
You know nowadays I am thinking to grow vegetables in my house only.
I am telling this to my Mister and he is saying ohoho Kamalamma is becoming farmer or what? Better book one stall in market now only to sit and sell your vegetables!
Really sometimes I am not knowing if he is joking or serious!
But you have seen price of vegetables in market these days? Abbabba! How it is going up and up, like Mangalyaan! Yesterday I am asking price of onion in the market and that vegetable fellow is saying Rs 180/- per kilo!! I am so shocked I am also about to take off like rocket! I am asking him what Anna, you are telling onion price or number of runs Virat Kohli has made in IPL?
What I am telling is, if price of even ordinary vegetables like kanda and batata is going up like this then what ordinary people like us have to do!!
The Mister is telling what rubbish is this, I am crying when buying onions, you are crying when cutting onions, why to buy? Let us wait till price comes down.
But price of vegetables, like Chandrayaan is only going up with no soft landing anywhere!
And really I am not knowing how to live without onion!
To tell the truth Kamalamma is big fan of onions!
Whenever I enter the kitchen I have to see nice pink onions sitting in the basket in the corner. Every morning it seems all women are getting up from bed and thinking what breakfast to make today. But Kamalamma what she is doing? She is first taking 2 – 3 onions from the basket and keeping ready on kitchen platform, then she is thinking what to make.
In our tradition onion is not much used in daily items but I am putting little bit onion in my upma and my uthappa, in my chutney and in my kosambri also. One afternoon my Mister is saying what, no onion in rasam!! Now he is giving me idea, maybe I will put little onion in my tomato saar also. How I did not think of it before?
Sometimes I am getting religious like thoughts and then I am thinking I will not use onion on special days. But what to tell you, I am remembering all good intentions only after the day is over and all onions are nicely sitting in stomach.
And in the evening I am meeting some neighbor friends and we are all talking about this and that, like what our children are doing and what our maids are not doing and like that topic will come to what we cooked for breakfast and lunch and what not. And other ladies are telling oh today ekadashi no, so onionless cooking. And then they are all looking at Kamalamma.
Yebbe! Then I am feeling so guilty, my face you should see, it is pink like one onion only and already eaten onions are doing onion dance inside stomach. Then what to do? Before they ask about my menu of the day I am quickly putting my hand inside my bag and saying loudly, oh phone is ringing, maybe it is my Mister calling, ok bye see you!
And I am moving backwards quickly in full reverse gear.
But now the Mister is saying there is maybe no need to grow onions in the house because Government is importing 2400 tons from Egypt. He will buy 5 – 10 kgs for me it seems when they come into market.
Maybe he is hoping after eating Egypt onions then Kamalamma is becoming beautiful like Cleopatra!
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Originally appeared in the Times of India on 5/12/2019.
