Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Masala Mundanity

As a housewife, there are a number of soul-sucking endless repetitive chores that one has to do, and do and then do again. Like cleaning, and cooking and sorting the clothes and making the bed, and then redoing them all over again the next day, or the next week. However, in my experience as a housewife, I have found some chores that are more mindnumbingly tedious than others (though they all are). And the winner is: (drumroll here)- refilling the Masaledaani.


That small little round box, which has those even smaller compartments in which you fill your namak, lal mirch, haldi, jeera and whatever other spices you use. First fill it with the masalas you use daily, and then replenish time and again as and when they get depleted. Mine usually takes about a week or ten days, depending on how much I've cooked in that time. Pick up the larger spice receptacles and restore the masaledaani to its former glory.

Every few days that I do this, I feel like this has to be the most mundane of all tasks that fall into the oeuvre of household tasks. And yet, I remind myself that no food can be cooked without spices. This boring little task is what adds taste to everything I cook. However and whatever I cook will be incomplete without spices and salt.

That is the lesson that I need to apply to my life as well. It is the boring and mundane tasks of everyday life that work together to create something complete and appetizing, that add taste and spice to everything I do. Things that are bright and brilliant are but a flash in the pan. They are not sustainable, it is perseverance and persistence that yields the best results. Yes, I need to realize the importance of the mundane.

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