An Analogy of Besan Laddoo

Last week I had a craving for eating besan laddoos.

It’s an Indian delicacy, a sweet dish, made of gram flour. Roasted to perfection with patience and caliber, each small portion is then manually rounded off as a small ball for final presentation.

Being a North Indian residing in Bengaluru, it has been difficult for me to identify a sweets shop that lures my metamorphosed taste-buds, especially in Covid19 days. So I decided to make them myself. (“and I wonder why I have such stupid endangering cravings”)

As an act of empathy (“and I don’t know still why I did it”) I created a post on my Society Food group, asking if anyone wants to have laddoos, I can spare.  While the intention was to help the senior citizens, when a few others reached out I had to put a price to it.

It was in less than a couple of hours I got orders for more than 250 laddoos. (“Like really? Why did you take it? How are you even gonna deliver them Girl?”) While my inner dialogues kept me busy, I had to plan out the delivery, which apparently spilled to a next few days. And guess what? People were okay with it.

That made me ponder I am not the only one craving North Indian sweets here. It definitely made me feel so much better! Bengaluru has a lot to learn from us still.

Next few days, each morning and evening had one batch of laddoos being rolled out. Each attempt of batter making was more confident and better than the previous one, learnings being gathered and finally the consistency of the batter was achieved. (“You did it Girl”)

Struggling with some disturbing news in my head, trying to overcome it, this mammoth task of laddoo making seemed to feel therapeutic and meditative now! An Escape into being with myself. A state of “FLOW” that was experienced with this indulgence was in some form a life lesson emerging from this exercise.

Observe this from the point of view of a Creator.

While the batter of the sweet dish is the same, each laddoo embarks its unique shape, size, weight. Each one is approximately the same and equally good, same taste and fragrance. Similarly are we humans. Made from the same batter, yet each having their unique set of qualities, skill sets, values, characteristics, lifestyles and aspirations.

There never was a benchmark of good or bad ever created. There never was a definition of acceptable or not acceptable in the eyes of the Creator. There were no judgements. Only equality and acceptance. The uniqueness of each individual is its individual truth. For the laddoo: Its individual shape, size, weight. The FORM is different, yet the CORE is the same.

These comparing standards were set by institutions beyond the Creator. People may have preferences of form but the core remains a constant and intact.

When questioned on our core do you doubt yourself? Yes?

Think again.

Each laddoo is equally sweet as another. If someone fails to taste its sweetness, it may point to a lack in the person itself (“their taste buds are spoilt to all the intoxication”). You do not have to doubt yourself.

What people expect from you is their predicament. Not yours. Under-rating yourself may be under playing your strengths. Your uniqueness is yours to behold, cherish and live by! You will only do justice to yourself and this earth by being who you really are! By being what you are meant to be!

I wish and pray, each one of us reading this finds their individual truth, their uniqueness and greatness within themselves. Have the courage to own your reality. Deny being someone who you are not. That’s the day, you start relishing your own sweetness.

(“This too much sweetness within me, may get harmful some day! Oh Girl, rest your mind for a bit will you”)

3AM Thoughts. 

Food Science to Soul Science.

#Covid19 #QuarantineDays #Upskilling #FoodScience #CookingExperience #SelfLove #BeYourself #UnapologeticallyMe