The fruits of labour

There is something about whats available by the street, that excites the taste buds. Lets leave alone the samosas, jalebis and such else. Those deep fried grenades. That will sit two minutes on the lips, and blast into fragments that etch a permanent place on the hips.
This blog advocates healthy living and healthier eating !

So, Lets stick to, good for the body stuff : Fruits ! The varieties of fruits that are available for a roadside snack, is not only mind boggling but also, mouth wateringly awing.


For you could choose from Apples to Oranges. From Jack fruits to Mangoes. And from sweet ripe mangoes to unripe sour ones. And many more.

The mind wonders how it is with you. If you lay all these fruits side by side, and you were to pick one, which one would you choose ?

Ask that question in a MBA class and in nine cases out of ten, the answer begins with a ‘it depends’. And dependencies will stretch from global warning to Bernanke to Osama Bin Laden !

Lets leave that aside. And think, which one would you choose ?

Well, actually…. hmm…it depends. On the weather. On the mood. On what was had before. On what is to be had just after. And so on. Hmm. The MBA types with their ‘it depends’ seem to have a point. After all !


My all time favourite though is this. Cut (artistically so). Salted. A little bit of chilly powder. Throw in some winter chill. Ooh my mouth is watering already.

In my ‘wonder years’, three slices of unripe mangoes came for a rupee. Of course salted with garnished with a dash of chilly powder. Of course, it was forbidden. By ‘authorities’ at home. And at school.

Of course, it was mentioned that it was unhealthy. Flies and ‘exposed’ food were topics discussed. In all classes. Including moral science ! (yes, we had a class called ‘Moral Science!’).

Of course, the security guards at school, would whack your behind if they spotted you any close to the mango vendor.

But then, that was the most delicious of fruits. For it came by saving up those small five paisa, ten paisa and 25 paisa coins. With a sprinkling of labour !

Of distracting the attention of security guards enough to sneak out and buy. Through pacts with others for a share of the bounty.

Some of it was redistributed. Never for money. But for the odd favour, like a deal with the boy who sat in the first row to carry an extra pencil for me. Always! And of course, there were girls. I leave it there.

After a while it all became boring. For, whats to be done exactly to distract the security guards was known. The negotiation with the vendor was fairly straight. So, pronto, the only thing that needed to be done, was to induct others into doing it.

The other day, a slice of cut mangoes caught the attention of the camera. A flood of thought came rushing back. It was sweet. And sour !

For along with the lip smacking taste, came the lessons: Maths. Thrift. Saving. Marketing. Distribution. Positioning. Induction. Team Working. Oh boy. That sounds like one heck of a MBA curriculum.

It disturbs me. To think, that i went through two years of studying a formal MBA after having gone some distance with it in class three!

16 thoughts on “The fruits of labour

  1. Rush says:

    The Kacchi Keris of life that u grew up living is a crash course on MBA practicality which will never be found in the closed classroom degree programs!!

  2. 3 slices of kairi for 1 Re simply confirms my membership of the generation previous to yours. We got an entire paperful for 25 paise , and it was devoured in the 10 minute break at school, after buying it from a very old toothless lady, who sold portions in the school compound. She would have not only beaten all your MBA’s hollow, but her knowledge about creating monopolies was amazing.

    Which brings me to something I’ve said before. You can learn all that MBA stuff at home by watching the appropriate people at the appropriate stages in your life…. (even now :-))

  3. sujata says:

    kacchi keri was free for me..plucked from the trees that abounded in our school and often punished too for the act, the thing I did buy from hawkers for Re1 was a gola, or an imli paste mixed with spicesw, and at time a thing we used to call pepsi cola, it came like a slush in a transparent plastic. You should have taught mba students, not taken the class with them

  4. Neha says:

    aah, wo pathar phek ke kacchi kairi todna…I m feeling all nostalgic now…I was always upto doing something destructive most of my childhood…but nothing came home, so in that area I was pretty smart…;)

    we even used to get that star shaped fruit outside our school, then imli ki goli, etc etc…i want it now…:))

  5. manju says:

    Ha ha! I agree about the MBA. No disrespect intended to you, Kavi- but the previous generation possessed a lot of worldly wisdom without an MBA degree!:)

    Nice Fruity post!

  6. Kumaran says:

    Nice onw kavi.

    What about the yelanda pazham and naga pazham. Its kind of funny they were ultimate things which money could buy at a point in life.

    wonder how the things which look the same now will look some years down the line?

  7. cyber gipsy says:

    Dr.Herbert Shelton , in this article linked below , tells us the correct way of eating fruits and also the ideal time to eat fruits.

    http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/fruit.asp

  8. KAvi, you need Grapefruit as it is the only one for us at this age…..its a fat burning fruit. The rest have the ability to add to your waist line if your not careful.

    However Go fruitty on certain fruits like oranges, Watermelon and Honeydew. See my blog for a list.

  9. Arunn says:

    i agree to ur choice of MANGA (raw mango) without applying my so called ‘MBA brain’…. but still it depends on, if my smomach is empty or not…. MBA haunts!!… hahahaha…. thanks for making me remember my mba class mates….. bytheway, i am curious to know who is the 1st row boy u r referring…. is it from the school or college we studied together…..????!!!! sure its not me!!! hahahahaha

  10. amreekandesi says:

    Wow…i didnt know you were an MBA, Kavi!

    And on fruits, these days i find it hard to eat anything from the roadside. Call it paranoia, but i spent a month jaundice stricken once, and once bitten now i am twice shy.

  11. amreekandesi says:

    Wow…i didnt know you were an MBA, Kavi!

    And on fruits, these days i find it hard to eat anything from the roadside. Call it paranoia, but i spent a month jaundice stricken once, and once bitten now i am twice shy.

  12. Anjana R says:

    east or west street food is the best! pigs may fly but we’ll never get sick from eating street food!

  13. nsiyer says:

    MBA course has never been as interesting as ‘M’ango ‘B’reaking ‘A’ssignment we undertook when young.

  14. Kacchi Keri reminds of my childhood…what fun we used to have!!
    Oh ya in a MBA class u have opinion on each n everything n even the driver of that car has no idea where the destination is..lol!!

  15. Lou says:

    Mangoes with chili powder..?!? I will have to try it before I say it is no good!

  16. Kavi says:

    Rush : Kacchi Keri. One benefit from this post, there is a new word that i have picked up ! Kacchi Keri ! Indeed rhyming and nice.

    And i wonder why they are not part of the syllabus !!

    🙂

    Ugich Konitari : well, i am not so enamoured by the old lady beating up the MBAs hollow. Anybody can. And i guess, everybody SHOULD !! 😉

    Many of the lessons learnt are always learnt in observation and experience. I had a prof, who long back told me that MBA was nothing but a personality development course !

    There is nothing more apt than learning by self. Observing, reflecting and assimilating !

    Sujata : Was free ? Which school did you go to ? HOw wonderful would it have been to go to school ! They sure could have used it as some kind of a promotional tool !

    😉

    And the Pepsi, was a favourite too. Many years later though. Somehow, i have stayed far away from a drink of the same name 🙂

    Neha : Nothing came home. no wonder you are a lawyer now !! ;))

    Memories of the childhood always evoke a sense of loss. I wondere how it is with you.

    Manju : I have no doubts about that. At all !! That previous generations were far better off than where we are. And that i guess is so true of every generation. Wonder whats happening to us !

    Kumaran : Ah, the pazhams ! Salted. Rolled in an old newspaper. The other day around office, i had it. And man, dare i say, i was the one adult among hordes of children crowding the vendor.

    Or maybe we were all children then !

    Cyber Gypsy : Fruits are our future. And sometimes they defined our past too ! No matter what Dr.Shelton thinks ! 🙂

    Ryan : Oh man ! There you go. I am so envious of the focus you have in life on diet and nutrition ! 🙂

    Arunn : Ofcourse, it was not you. Ofcourse !! And no living MBA being, can live without being haunted. Thats a hypothesis that i carry. And it seems to be true. thus far ! 🙂

    Amreekandesi : I dont know if the first line was a compliment or otherwise !!! ;D

    I have fallen ill to these roadside treats as well. But i fell and i got up. and went straight back to them !

    Anjana : And even if we get sick…we will be right back there ! 🙂

    NSIyer : Mango Breaking Assignment ! Sir, i rest my case !!!!

    NR : Absolutely. As they say…’it depends’ ! 🙂

    Lou : Raw mangoes ! that are slightly sour, go with chilly powder !! Try !! 🙂

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