Just came across this story I wrote last Summer. It was supposed to be on the theme of heartache. I grew up in a town in New Jersey not too far from here called Edison. When I was younger, Edison wasnt the most diverse place in the world, especially when it came to South Asians. We had one Indian store on the now infamous Oak Tree Road that was called Bharatis Bhans (sister Bharatis) for years that everyone went to to buy spices, and curries and basmati rice. In the 90s there was a sudden overload of brown people that Edison just wasnt ready for. The local public school started teaching classes in Gujrati, the hilltop apartments became a haven for immigrants and the home base for a gang called the Hilltop Posse that rivaled the Dot-busters, people who werent so happy with Edisons shift to Little India. Eventually tensions died down and a robust South Asian community developed around Oak Tree Road which now boasted hundreds of restaurants, markets, clothing stores, and much more. When I was 10, my mother used to take me shopping at Oak tree a lot and when she would go to get groceries from the Subzi Mundi, I would take a walk down the street to a convenient store called Hilltop Card, also owned by Indians. Hilltop card was like most convenient stores, offering a selection of magazines, candies, and drinks. I frequented there mostly to buy Rice Krispy treats and I wouldnt just buy one or two, but Id get ten or twenty at a time, and my mother never really stopped me. One day I came home with a bag of a rice krispy treats and my sister sat me down and said that I couldnt eat them anymore because they have gelatin in them and gelatin was made of pork and Muslims dont eat pork. I really had no idea what to do and in my panic I grabbed the bag, ran up to my bedroom, locked the door and ate all of them at once. It was a really sad day. The worst of it was yet to come though. Shortly thereafter I realized that lucky charms had marshmallows and surprise, surprise, they too had gelatin in them and I also had to let them go. Im sure most of remember and can relate to the pain of losing lucky charms. By the time I was 12, my family had all started to eat only Zabiha meat, essentially meat that was slaughtered according to Islamic dietary restrictions in the most humane way possible, somewhat similar to the process of Kosher. I can remember going to McDonalds and everyone ordered a fish sandwich and I ordered chicken nuggets. My father then suggested I too follow suit and I at the age of 12 gave up my chicken McNuggets, my sizzler steak, my whoppers and chicken sandwich, and a long with it all a part of my heart. These days Ive come to terms with a lot of that loss. Thank God, there is a Halal version of rice krispy treats now and my frequent visits to the middle east allow for me to get my fix of Shake Shack and Fuddruckers. I thought I would never have to feel that kind of separation again. A few weeks ago my wife, Priya, and I went with our daughter Madina to see my parents in New Jersey. My mom had made amazing food like always and she specially made spinach for me. I really love all of my moms food, but her spinach is something that I could eat for every meal, day after day. Its not just the way she makes it, but really the way she makes it. My work keeps me from going home as much Id like and at times I might only be able to stop there for an hour or so in between travels or when things arent so busy here. Ill show up in the middle of the night and the whole house is asleep except my mother. Shes just standing and stirring, getting things ready for no other reason than itll make me happy. How could I not love that food when the person making it is putting so much love into it? As we sat down to eat during this last visit I noticed that my mothers hand was trembling a little and at one point she had to let go of her fork because her hand cramped up and she couldnt hold it anymore. It dawned on me then how old my mother was getting and that more likely than not I would have to brace myself at some point in letting go of another food, because she wouldnt be there to make it for me any longer. I havent felt it yet, but Im guessing its going to be the most painful separation of all, as with the others I had a choice in deciding whether I wanted to keep eating it or not. Here, Ill have no choice in the matter. One day, itll just be gone. And most definitely my heart will ache. You can check it out on video at youtube/watch?v=nQoqFbNmTA8. Its a little different than what I wrote.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 04:30:00 +0000
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