Today morning, I was requesting my mom to prepare some ‘Kheer’ for me. And I wanted something to be added in the Kheer, so I started vaguely hinting towards this word for that ingredient; at last my mom understood that what I meant was ‘Charoli’. Yes, I wanted Charoli in my Kheer.
But, wait. I now remember something else from ‘Charoli’. Is it ‘Chaar’? I have come across this, I mean not just the word, but those Chaar seeds, and fruits, and the entire tree, and trees of it.
Couple of years ago when I used to work with Maharogi Sewa Samiti (MSS), in Chandrapur, I came across Chaar trees - Buchanania cochinchinensis.
I had tasted the fruits of Chaar back then. They always felt inadequate, making me want more of them to savour.
These memories of Flora and Trees of Central India made me think about how food and ingredients that we consume, which are on our tables, may come from elsewhere. But the connection between man and nature, and the dependence of humans on nature is never lost.
From wandering below the trees of Chaar to sitting at home and having Kheer with Charoli in it, two different kinds of experiences I had.
(‘Charoli’ are the seeds that are added in Kheer and other food, as an ingredient. Seeds of the fruit ‘Chaar’.)
- Dhairyasheel Dayal