Frugal feasts and fitness

Whatever little I ate in the morning, much of the energy was consumed to make it to school. I had to cover a distance of more than five kilometres to reach my school. For some, the distances were much longer. We would literally sprint across the hills and valleys. Returning home was at a slower trot.

The much-anticipated lunch break was only after the morning prayer and five different subject classes. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” I read much later.

Our lunch consisted of either makki ki roti or chapatis. On rare occasions, we’d get sabji made from sarson ka saag or another dry seasonal vegetable. A vegetable with roti was a rare privilege for a select few. For most of us, it was achar (pickle) only.

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Every student carried their lunch wrapped in a cloth. The terms ‘lunch box’ or ‘pocket money’ were unheard of. A few sometimes brought nothing for lunch, but friends could always be helped with a shared lunch. Ripe mangoes of the tapka variety added to the taste during the season. After monsoon break, roasted corn on cob and desi kheera (cucumber)
or an occassional kimb aka turunj (citron)—girls seemed to enjoy this more—made the fare enjoyable.

Once in a while, one would indulge in a plate of aloo-chhole or a samosa. Fresh hard candy made from jaggery was a big draw. It was made from gud and called gud-gudhi. We could buy a candy three-inch long for two paisas. I doubt if any of us had even heard
of chocolates.

Present-day public schools have a predetermined lunch menu for the week, and all mothers check the lunch box for abandoned food. The children get assured pocket money, and junk food is now a national concern.

Even government school students today receive a free midday meal. I wish we had this programme for the ‘real have-nots’ in our time. For about four months, we also had the luxury of free milk at school. It was skimmed milk powder received under the aegis of the United Nations. It was celebration time every time the milk powder was dissolved in water in a big karahi and slowly heated to boiling.

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Each of us would then get a glass full of it during lunch. That was the only time we had our lunch like princes. Frugal meals and daily sprints to school kept us fit. All the boys and girls were lean and active. I can’t remember an overweight classmate, however hard I try, for we always ate like paupers, from breakfast to dinner. After more than fifty years, everyone I remember and know is still as fit as a fiddle. Our health and our motivations were born out of hardships. Regrets? None whatsoever!