Jackfruits…only with you

By Priya Arunkumar

Here I stand, fridge door open, blinking at the two bulbs of leftover jackfruit — my fur boy Simba’s favourite. He had his final four bulbs last week, proudly carrying one in his mouth for hours. Jackfruit, grilled chicken (always listed as “Simba’s chicken” on our grocery list), chicken cheese escallop, cucumbers, carrots, mangoes, basil leaves — and not to forget his beloved non-food Yardley powder! He was a perfume-crazy singaravelan (dandy).

He never touched dog food, not once in his 17 years.

Food was his language, his joy, his identity.

And jackfruit was his favourite. He would spin like a whirling dervish when jackfruit was brought home.

All lingering thoughts now…

My mother’s pomfrets, fried and curried, were weekend treasures. My father would tease during our calls: “Prawns only when you come down.” I’d argue, “But you love prawns too!” He would insist, “Only with you!”

My mother-in-law, affectionate and precise, always packed rice for my dinner — even when biriyani or pepper chicken filled the table. She would say, “She is a rice eater, especially at night.” That box of rice was her quiet love.

“Sambar is not an item at all,” my hubby would say. “One more time you cook it, I will throw it out; there are so many dishes and exotic food items in both our households, how can you drool over sambar? You cannot choose such a drab dish as your favourite,” he would bully, stating there is nothing to chew in sambar! Empty food, no bites’… However, there was never a day at home, when he wouldn’t ask, “what’s cooking? Sambar?!” That was my nick name at home.

“Here is your lukewarm lemon juice,” my co-sister would say, wrinkling her nose and handing over freshly squeezed glass to me at 6am every day. “I don’t know how you can start the day without tea or coffee; I know you like it though!” And would add, “Lemons are over, don’t forget to buy when you return from office.” It was her way of knowing me.

They say you are the sum of your life experiences, but in reality, we are the sum of all our likes and dislikes, idiosyncrasies and ordinariness. While likes are easy to catalogue, the dislikes would mostly weigh heavily on the spirit. We have a profile of a person embedded in our mind, and when their name comes up, their most favourite likes or dislikes is what comes to our mind… these characteristics define us, in many life-altering moments sometimes. Do we carefully choose these likes and dislikes? Are we are born that way? Social influences? Personal experiences? Growing up environment?

A colour, an odour, a fruit, a song, a book, a dish, a moment, a breath of fresh air, a place, a person, a memory… that’s all life is about. Not money, not property, not a career, definitely not egos, or status.

A simple bulb of jackfruit, is all about Simba, and will always be. It was his all time-favourite.  Jackfruits will be jackfruits, only with you, Simba. And wherever you are having it, you must be spinning like a whirling dervish!
Rest in peace Simba boy!