Hunger, Hotel, Humans — Part 1
There is a quote that goes something like this: “In a world where you can be anything, be kind”. I had heard enough from my school teachers that money, status or power does not define a person as much as kindness does. I try my best to be kind whenever possible. But enough about me. Today’s story is about a particular hotel that I visited with my friend in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, and why it mattered to both of us.
In March 2016, for the first time, my friend and I decided to travel after convincing our parents that we were a bunch of 5 girls going on a trip while in reality it was only the two of us. Let us call this fellow friend as “peace”. Peace and I were way too excited about going on a trip but as young women, was it safe for us to travel? We weren’t really sure about how the world would treat us. So we decided to visit a much safer place to guard ourselves. We decided to go on a 3-day trip to Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and surrounding areas. We were stunned by the beauty of the historical monuments and the rich culture that surrounds these temples. But most importantly, growing up in a metropolitan city made us realize that people in these places were kind enough to help us out and were also protective about us.
On day 2, we decided to visit Kumbakonam and from there, we took a bus to Oppiliappan temple located in Thiruvinnagar, on the outskirts of Kumbakonam. My mother insisted that we visit the temple at least once as it was an important deity of my maternal family. The journey went smooth but by the time we returned it was almost 2 pm and we were famished and tired from the Kumbakonam sun. We looked for a good restaurant couldn’t find anything. I refused to walk any further and we happen to chance upon a small hotel that still cooked food using wood as fuel. I couldn’t contain my hunger and we just walked in. The hotel was empty as it was way beyond the lunch hour.
We asked them if they had meals, they looked at both of us and welcomed us with a smile. As women, it is important for us to feel comfortable in spaces like these especially when we haven’t explored much on our own. As they lay the banana leaves in front of us, they asked us if we would prefer chicken or fish kozhambu (a spicy gravy)? My friend and I looked at each other questioning ourselves if we had made the wrong choice of coming here as we both were vegetarians. We shook our head as we didn’t know what to say. My friend sheepishly said that we don’t eat them. And the man who was serving was like, “Oh, neenga saivangala?” (Oh, are you vegetarians?). It took me a while to comprehend the term ‘saivam’ means vegetarian in Tamizh but sounded more like devotees of Shiva.
They wasn’t much vegetarian items on the menu but they were happy to serve us. Me and my friend were super hungry and ate whatever was placed on the leaf. The power that food holds over us is invincible. That day, the food they served tasted so good not just because we were hungry but because they were kind and hospitable. There was something about the way they served that felt like home, we did not feel like we were in a hotel. It’s this hospitality that is difficult to come across in many hotels in Bangalore. My meal is incomplete without curd rice and I asked them if they had curd. I could sense regret as the person serving us shook his head. He asked if I could wait as if he would go to a nearby store and get curd, for which I refused. He did not give up and offered buttermilk as an alternative and that buttermilk was the best one with rice. The heat from the crushed green chillies added to it, perfectly balanced the buttermilk and rice.
This may seem like a very ordinary story to many but it mattered to me a lot because I never knew that I could be humbled by hunger and kindness at the same time.
