Indian
Tradition
All Indian
traditions have a reason behind it. Let us start with basic need for life -
Food ☺
"Eating
food with hands feeds not only the body but also the mind and the spirit"
Why Indians
eat their food with hand?
Most of the
food are eaten with hand in India. It is a customary practice followed from
ancient time. Hands are washed clean with water both before and after eating.
Food is treated as God in South India and hence people sit on floor when eating
as a respect to food. Meals are served in clean banana leaf and in some places
in leaves stitched together. Mostly the lady of the house serves food for the
family members and guest. She serves the food in proper order and makes sure
the dishes eaten are refilled appropriately. In functions or festivals, food is
generally served by volunteers.
We hear people say don’t play
with food. In India it is even stricter and people are taught to respect food
from childhood. Eating with hands is a custom but it also has many uses.
Secondly it adds to the taste of the food. When people eat with spoon and fork or knife, they get only appearance, smell and taste. But when we eat with hand, we could also feel the texture and temperature of the food which will definitely make the food tastier. Thus four senses are involved when eating with hand: sight, smell, taste and touch. And ears too when we eat papads or appalam which is also part of the meal.
Thirdly it
is fun. Indian foods are always combination
of all texture. Meaning it has solids, semi solids and liquid. Example, if we
take a typical south Indian thali, it has rice as major ingredient which is
solid, sambhar or rasam which is in liquid form and kootu vegetables which
would be in semi solid form. So to enjoy each serving by mixing them separately
definitely eating by hand is must.
Fourthly,
considering the ayurvedic point. Our hands and feet
are said to be the conduits of the five elements. The Ayurvedic texts teach
that each finger is an extension of one of the five elements. Through the thumb
comes space; through the forefinger, air; through the mid-finger, fire; through
the ring finger, water and through the little finger it is earth.
Each
finger aids in the transformation of food, before it passes on to internal
digestion. Gathering the fingertips as they touch the food stimulates the five
elements and invites Agni
to bring forth the digestive juices.
Finally, considering the
scientific point of view, the fingers are effective end effectors and hence
using them to eat involves not only the body but the whole brain. Thereby making
the food we eat healthier.
In India,
food is treated as medicine - "Unave Marundhu". So let us take
the good from our history and teach our kids to eat with hands, sitting on the
ground with folded legs, give proper respect to food and never waste food.
The act of eating is spiritual feasting.
