Leftovers
“Amma, shall I throw out this dish that has been lying in the fridge for the past 3 days” asked the daughter.
“No dear, don’t” replied the mother.
“Why ma?” continued the daughter. It has been lying in the fridge for past 3 days. None of us want to eat it. That apart it seems to smell a little stale.”
“That is ok. We can give it to the watchman or the maidservant tomorrow. Food is so expensive nowadays we just cannot afford to throw it away. It is a sin.” said the mother.
“But Ma, the watchman has his dinner by 8 pm. Now it is already past 9.30. Even if you give it to him, he will only use it tomorrow. And the maidservant is expected only in the late hours of the morning. By then this dish would be spoilt completely. How can they eat it?”Asked the daughter?
“There is nothing wrong in that. They are a little poor. They would never mind if the food is a little stale or old. They would gladly accept whatever we give them, needy that they are” replied the mother.
Very familiar situation and happens in most houses.
“Amma, shall I throw out this dish that has been lying in the fridge for the past 3 days” asked the daughter.
“No dear, don’t” replied the mother.
“Why ma?” continued the daughter. It has been lying in the fridge for past 3 days. None of us want to eat it. That apart it seems to smell a little stale.”
“That is ok. We can give it to the watchman or the maidservant tomorrow. Food is so expensive nowadays we just cannot afford to throw it away. It is a sin.” said the mother.
“But Ma, the watchman has his dinner by 8 pm. Now it is already past 9.30. Even if you give it to him, he will only use it tomorrow. And the maidservant is expected only in the late hours of the morning. By then this dish would be spoilt completely. How can they eat it?”Asked the daughter?
“There is nothing wrong in that. They are a little poor. They would never mind if the food is a little stale or old. They would gladly accept whatever we give them, needy that they are” replied the mother.
Very familiar situation and happens in most houses.
As I opened the kitchen shelves to clean, I noticed a jam bottle lying behind. Oh god I thought, not remembering about the jam available I had bought new bottles. I noticed the date. Thank god it had not expired. I took out the bottle and decided I would give it to the apartment maid. And then it just struck me, I am giving away this bottle mainly because I hesitate to use it as it is slightly older than the one I had bought recently. I just did not feel it right. Keeping the bottle in the fridge, I took out the newer one. And taking some fruits I called the maid and handed it over to her. It sure does not matter for them, how old the stock is. All that they see is an item that they find very expensive to buy has been given to them for free. And they take it happily. Manufacturing date and expiry date is something that they never bother about. But educated and literates that we are, sure know about what to use and what not to. How could we do otherwise?
My mother’s way of doing things in this regard is so different from others. The food that we have (hot and fresh) is what is offered to the maid. There were many times that my mother came to my home in the mornings and left in the evenings. These days, before leaving for my home she used to cook rice just for the maid servant.
I am not saying we should not give leftovers to others. But at least we could check and ensure that what we give is edible and not spoilt, right?
