菜市场与食品安全

Only last week I was standing in the queue at the Dimapur bus-stand shop, flipping over a packet of "instant chicken masala" to read the ingredients list — twenty-three items I could not pronounce, la. My sister’s old aunty cooks with four things: salt, chili, ginger, and whatever green grows behind the Mission Compound. I am not saying all chemicals are bad, only that if the packet needs a glossary, maybe we should trust the vegetable vendor who still wraps your beans in a banana leaf, what to do.

Ka jingkyrkhu jong ka riewpyrkhat, ia ka saiñ ha Iewduh — ngi tip shisha ba ki kiba ngi thung mynta ki long kiba kynjaheh na ki briew kiba la iehnoh ia ki kynja siat. Hynrei, kaei kaba phin leh lada ka sngewbha ka pliñ sha ka jingthung u syntheng uba la don duma? Nga la iohi ki umwah ka jingthung mynta, ki da thung da ki ‘organic’ mynsiem, hynrei shisha ki long ki jingthung ba la pynkylla ka jinglong jong ki. Nga kwah ban shemphang — hato ngi shah ia ka jingthung ba mynshuwa ne ngin bud ia ka kot pisa?

In my Goa, bhau, I watch the fish market ladies every morning—they argue over a single prawn’s freshness, no label needed.

ହଁ, ଏଇଟା ସତ ଯେ—ମୋ ବଡ଼ ଭଉଣୀ ବଜାରରୁ ଆଣିଲା ଦି ପ୍ୟାକେଟ "ତତ୍କାଳ ରାଇସ୍"। ପଛରେ ଲେଖା "no artificial colours" means କିଛି ନୁହେଁ, ଯେତେବେଳେ ingredient list ରେ maltodextrin, disodium inosinate, chaar-पाँच E-number ଗଦା ହୋଇଥାଏ। Railway Colony stall ର ଚା' ଖାଲି ଲେମ୍ବୁ-ଅଦା, କିନ୍ତୁ ସେଇ "fresh" prepackaged soup packet ରେ guar gum ଆଉ तीन months shelf life—ଏଇ disparity ଟା ମୋତେ tapori ଲାଗେ।

ఇవాళ మా వాడలో వేపుడు చేసిన కరివేపాకు కొన్నాను. ఆ మధ్య నగరం లో నా స్నేహితుడు చూపించిన రెడీ-టు-ఈట్ కూరల ప్యాకెట్ చూస్తే, ఇంగ్లీషులో ఎన్నో రసాయనాలు... ఇంతకీ బజార్లో పాత తరం వారు ఎలా ఎప్పుడూ నమ్మకంగా కొనుక్కుంటూ వచ్చారో అదే ఆలోచన.

Ha ji, Christopher Nolan—usne *Interstellar* mein dikhaya tha kheti ka future, par idhar Ludhiana factory ke bahar jo bhaiya sabzi bechda hai, uske tomatoes dekh ke lagda hai Nolan ne bhi CGI use kitta hove. Mummy ajj vi kehndi ne, "beta, PG da tiffin khaan ton pehla label parh liya kar, je BHAI-ji likhya hove taan samajh lo 50% maida hai." Par sach, jab main ghar tarrka daal banaun, taan local dukaan ton loose masala laanda haan—packet wale spices vich preservatives factory wali shift jyaada lagde ne.

यहाँ बारिश के दिनों में कभी इंटरनेट ठप हो जाता है, तो मैं दुकान से सामान लेने जाता हूँ। मैं हमेशा उन आम के अचार की शीशी पलटकर देखता हूँ जिसमें नमक, मिर्च, हल्दी के सिवा और कुछ नहीं होता। बाकी चीजों के लेबल पर लिखे लंबे नाम मुझे हैरान कर देते हैं – हम जो खाएं, वो साफ-साफ समझ आना चाहिए।

My mother still buys vegetables from the same sabziwala near the Gaula bridge, the one whose father sold to her father. She says the frozen aloo tikki from the new supermarket has too many things she can't pronounce — I trust her instinct more than any label. If the government wants to help, they should first fix the drains in our mandi so the fresh greens don't rot in the afternoon heat, not chase after some distant factory regulation.

படம் வரைய, பிளாஸ்டிக் ஸ்கேல் வேணும், பென்சில் sharp-a இருந்தாத்தான் demand curve-னு நேரா வரும் – ஆனா எனக்கு அதுக்கு நேரம் கிடைச்சது எப்பவுமே வீட்டு வேலை முடிச்சதும் தான். நான் இப்படித்தான் வரைஞ்சேன், diagram ஒரு எட்டு மார்க்கு வாங்கிடுவேன் – full marks-னு சொன்னா, அதுக்கு வேற சில விஷயங்களும் நடக்கணும். என் மகன் Aditya drawing படிக்கிறபோது, எவ்வளவு அழுத்தமா colour பூசுறான்னு பாருங்க – அதே மாதிரி, நீங்க label கூட சரியா போடணும்.

Arre, Economics diagram? Upar-se straight lines, niche-se demand-supply... main to yeh kehta hoon, sabse zyada marks clear label aur dark lines se aate hain. Mere papa kehte the, "Kaam poora dikhna chahiye." Jaise monsoon aane se pehle, humne jo ghar ki chhat ka estimate banaya, usme har cheez alag-alag rang se likhi thi, taaki mistri bhai confuse na ho. Waise hi, diagram ko aise banao ki examiner bina soche samjhe le!

For full marks, always draw with a sharp pencil, label every axis and curve clearly, and shade key areas precisely. But beta, I must say, the real trick is to explain the diagram’s story in your own words—examiners cherish that understanding over mere neatness. I learned this watching my daughter debate; her clarity on that cracked screen matters more than any perfect prop. So practice explaining each line as if teaching a customer, not just drawing for the examiner.

बेटा, साफ-साफ लेबलिंग और सीधी-सीधी लाइनें ही अच्छे अंक दिलाती हैं। मैं यह सलाह इसलिए दे पा रहा हूँ क्योंकि पिछले साल मैंने 'जल्दी में' गलत अक्षर लगा दिए थे, और नंबर कट गए। अब मेरे बेटे की कॉपी में जैसे चित्र बनाता हूँ, वैसे ही परीक्षा में बनाता हूँ – धैर्य से।

Arre, diagram ta crystal clear honu parchha, jastai meri thukpa ko broth! Always use a pencil, label each curve and axis properly, and shade the areas if they ask for surplus. My economics teacher in Delhi insists neatness is half the battle, because last year my friend lost marks when his "Demand" and "Supply" labels got mixed up like chutneys.

My friend, for full marks, always use a pencil and ruler, and label every curve clearly with a pen. But I must say this, the diagram is nothing without your explanation—my own labels were perfect, but I wrote 'demand' where I meant 'supply' in the text. My mother still keeps that paper, a quiet reminder from my last attempt.

Our village market now has a stall selling ready-made uniforms. The price is less, yes, but when I hold the cloth to the light, the threads are so thin you can see the sun through them. My ammma always said, "If the tailor cannot see the hole in the cloth, the child will feel the wind." I would rather stitch one strong seam with my own hand than trust a machine that does not know the child's shoulder.

அந்த Lock Upp season 2 பார்க்கும்போதே தோணுது—இங்க தினமும் காலைல அம்மா குடுக்கற filter coffee கப் பக்கத்துல வச்சு, sketchboard-ல பேனா தேய்க்கறப்ப, இந்த public figure-களோட drama-க்கு இடையில என் deadline-ல இருக்கற சிறு சிறு meal prep struggles-க்கு என்ன correlation? ஆனால் நிச்சயமா, இ

My granddaughter reads me the ingredients on the packet-biscuits she gets from school mid-day meal—things I cannot pronounce, bhaiya. In our village, we know exactly what went into a vegetable by looking at the mud on it. But these big companies write small words so nobody asks questions; the court should force them to write in Chhattisgarhi too, na?

When I buy my small portion of fermented bamboo shoot from the Maijan village market, I ask the old woman which bamboo clump it came from, because the variety changes the taste. Your printed labels tell me a list of "E numbers," but I want to know if the salt used is from the local salt licks or some factory far away. The mon of the food matters as much as its chemical composition—bota of pura maas steamed in banana leaf remembers the hands that wrapped it.

मेरो सैलुनको छेउमा एउटा सानो तरकारी पसल छ, त्यहाँको बूढी दिदी आफैंले खेतमा उब्जाएको भन्छन् — तर उनको प्लास्टिकको प्याकेटमा 'मिक्स्ड फ्रोजन सब्जी' को लेबल टाँसिएको छ। मैले पनि एक पटक त्यो किनेर हेरेँ, तर स्वादमा त्यो पुरानो बजारको हरियो खुर्सानी जस्तो केही थिएन। अब म सोध्छु, कसले जाँच गर्छ यो लेबलको साँचो? यो त ब्लो-ड्राइको फोम जस्तै हो — बाहिर च

Aaj mausam bahut achha hai, and I was just checking the packet of a simple biscuit my wife bought. I read the list, very long with so many English names, but my old neighbour’s son, a chemistry fellow, explained each one to me. If they have the data and the number of tests, only then I can feel at peace—like balancing my ledger at day's end, everything must be clear.

In our little library's afternoon snack, I see the difference between my homemade pitha and the packaged biscuits. One has maida, palm oil, and numbers I cannot read, while the other has just rice, coconut, and gur. For our children, bhal lagise naki, that taste tells the whole story.