“To pack one’s own food is to pack
a little discipline, a little memory, and a lot of love.”
Every journey begins with a simple
ritual — slipping a water bottle into my bag. It’s the first companion I trust,
an unspoken assurance against fatigue and thirst. Then come the biscuits, crisp
and light, along with a couple of fresh fruits, enough to tide over hunger between
stations and stops. These modest travellers’ foods have a quiet wisdom — they
nourish without fuss, ask for no preparation, and remind you that simplicity is
a kind of abundance.
When a journey spans meal hours, I instinctively turn towards home-cooked tiffin, never the heavy
comfort of rice. Before leaving home, I pack food that carries the fragrance of
my kitchen — warm, reassuring, and unmistakably mine. On the way back, I
surrender to what the road offers — a tea stall’s humble snack, a restaurant’s
quick thali, or even the silence of an empty stomach soothed by water and
patience.
My tiffin choices are humble but
heartfelt — idlis dressed in dosa milagai podi, that fiery blend of roasted
pulses and red chillies mellowed by a touch of ghee or oil. Sometimes, it’s dosa,
adai, or chapathis neatly folded and wrapped with care. On days when the batter
has run out or the dough isn’t ready, uppma steps in — soft, sustaining, and
forgiving — the traveller’s last-minute ally.
Carrying one’s own food is more
than convenience; it is a quiet statement of trust and discipline. It ensures hygiene
and health, yes, but also preserves the intimate comfort of our own taste — the
particular blend of spice, the sparing use of oil, the familiar brands of
ingredients that our bodies know and respond to.
In a world where fast food and
faster lives rule the road, packing your meal is almost an act of mindfulness.
It saves not just money, but waste — of food, time, and health. It teaches
restraint, self-care, and gratitude for what we have cooked with our own hands.
To carry one’s own food is, in
truth, to carry a piece of home — folded in foil, fragrant with memory, and
seasoned with care.
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