I grew up in a typical South Indian middle-class family. Our kitchen was not fancy, but it was full. Big shelves, so many utensils stacked one above the other, different sizes of vessels for different dishes, a proper stove setup… everything had its own place. Morning filter coffee smell, afternoon sambar boiling sound, night dosa on tawa, that was my normal life.
But honestly, I didn’t know cooking much in my teenage days. Somehow, after my 20s, I slowly started learning. First from my mom, then from random YouTube videos… trial and error, mostly error 😅 But over time, cooking became something I really started loving.
More than cooking, I love feeding people.
Everyone usually says my food is good (I will believe it only 70% 😂). But the truth is, I mostly cook for myself. Because only we know what our tongue is craving that day- sweet, spicy, sour, simple or heavy. So I put that extra effort when I cook for myself… and others get to eat also.
Special mention to my brother Sakthi from my first disaster dish to now, he has eaten everything. My first tomato rice was honestly not good. Even I didn’t eat it. But he finished it fully and said “wow, delicious” 😄 That confidence boost only made me continue cooking.
Now coming to present…
I am in Chhattisgarh for my fellowship. Five of us are placed in different areas: Me in Sukma, Priyanshu in Kanker, Kushal in Narayanpur, Subir in Dantewada, and Seema in Gariyaband.
We planned to meet and celebrate Holi at Priyanshu’s place.
I reached around 4 am after a 7-hour journey. Kushal had already reached, and both of them came to pick me up. We spoke for some time and then slept, waiting for Seema. Subir couldn’t make it due to work.
We woke up around 10 am and started discussing breakfast, order or cook?
I casually asked Priyanshu, “What all do you have?”
He confidently said, “Everything is there.”
In my mind, I imagined a decent kitchen setup.
But when I went inside…
4 plates.
4 glasses.
1 cooker.
1 kadai.
That’s it.
For him, that is “everything.”
For me, I was searching where the kitchen is 😂
And the best part, he was making tea in a kadai. I laughed like anything. Here, kadai is multipurpose hero.
After Holi celebration, by 4 PM we were all super hungry. So we decided to cook.
I kept rice… but nobody knew the proper measurement. The cooker also didn’t have capacity for more than 2 glasses. Suddenly it started making a scary sound like it might burst.
All of us ran and switched it off 😄
We just stood there and laughed.
Finally, somehow we made dal, rice, and ate together.
Simple food. Messy kitchen. No proper vessels. No proper measurements.
But that moment?
It felt full.
Sometimes it’s not about perfect cooking or a full kitchen setup… it’s about how you manage with what you have.
That day I understood something, the confidence of saying “I have everything” with just one kadai is a different level 😄
Honestly, kudos to all the bachelors out there. Managing, adjusting, cooking, surviving with minimum things… it’s not easy. I know for sure, most girls (including me) will try to have everything properly. But you guys? You make everything work somehow.
And that attitude… I really loved it.
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