Yearning for the decadent yum

Just as television and music help to de-stress our minds, a time comes when man tires out of his daily diet of mostly bland food. Running to a fast food restaurant is quite similar to taking a taking a vacation or immersing oneself in a sensational novel. However, contrary to the healing and educational effects of a vacation or book-reading, consuming fast food is more a bane than a boon, though temporarily therapeutic, nevertheless.
The lust for fast food primarily comes out of boredom with home-cooked meals. People conveniently choose to forget the bitter truth that fast food is greasy, spicy, loaded with trans-saturated fat, and even food colours. It seems that the only thing they care about is the lip-smacking taste of cheese burgers, rolls, shakes and fries. It takes them to a world of pure bliss, where food serves to drown all their fears, sorrows and inadequacies, filling them with ecstasy that was hitherto unknown. In other words, the urge to consume fast food is more psychological than gastronomical. After all, a tub of ice cream with a sprinkling of chocolate sauce and nuts is a great way for many, if not all, to deal with relationship issues, trouble at workplace, and loneliness.
The other likely cause of the growing popularity of fast food restaurants is the pressure to keep up with the latest trends. The modern man leaves no stone unturned to savour the taste of all that is offered by mushrooming junk joints, and updating his culinary conquest all the time, by posting pictures online, of himself sipping on a smoothie, or devouring on the mouth-watering short ribs or lamb chops, sedately nibbling on a hot samosa, or taking generous helpings of the comforting biriyani. From continental to local, fusion to ethnic, patisseries to cafes, branded junk to roadside stalls, nothing escapes the attack of the fast food loyalist.
A relevant cause behind fast food mania is the fast pace of our lives - it is more of a need and compulsion rather than a luxury. The urban working class is overburdened with work and studies, and has little time to cook, let alone cook healthy meals. Sometimes, his only option is to queue up to a restaurant or stall to feed his hunger, especially at important meal times like lunch or dinner. As long as it meets his daily caloric requirements, one does not care if those are bad calories.
Fast food joints mostly come up near or inside shopping arcades, office neighbourhoods, schools, colleges, railway stations and airports. Perhaps, the major reason why people are drawn to these restaurants is because they find it hard to resist the plush interiors, the air-conditioning, the warm hospitality, the inviting posters - all of these catalyze the process of unrestricted consumption. Shopping is fun, but shopping coupled with eating out is an experience, one of extravagant totality. Restaurants thereby have a way of luring their customers in; together with advertisements of their upcoming dishes, discounts galore, and membership and review blogs, restaurants provide the kind of offer that is not easy to turn down. Above all, it does provide the perfect ambience for birthday parties, dates and proposals, gossip hotspot and family gathering, making each gormandizing experience complete and memorable.
It can be inferred that fast food restaurants are here to stay. It might be sinful in many ways but it has become indispensable, nonetheless. To renounce fast food would be suicidal for many.If only people were half as loyal to exercise, yoga and detoxification, fast food restaurants would not be the kind of culprits they are made out to be! But alas! self-control is a virtue that is more often overridden by gluttony. The urge for fast food is irresistible, irrevocable, and irreparable, as proven by many...
Having said that, I must confess that I am a foodie, with great appreciation for culinary inventors. I live to gorge on the delectable delights of the home and the food hubs outside, knowing where to draw the line though! Call it guilty pleasure but you can't agree more with Julia Child :  whatever the reason, "People who love to eat are always the best people", be it fast food or healthy!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monsoon diaries

I care not for your consent or readiness Though I come mostly to lessen your distress. As the scorching summer pricks and burns you And your skin stays aglow with briny dew! You pray for the heavens to pour down her manna But your blessing granted, you rummage for an umbrella. I cause the seas to squall, and toss and turn the ships, As the rising vortex with its lightning rips The black and grey of the cloud-laden sky, Pealing and crashing in derision sly! You approve of drizzles, and light spells short-lived As my passion surfeited can destroy all you’ve built. Some roots get shaken, some leaves bejewelled, As Mother Nature I paint in hues iridescent! Along delicate cobwebs I split into beads And stay immortal in snapshots and memories. A friend to your skin, a foe to your wallets, I test the strength of your urban gullets. You accuse me of floods, of endless casualties But wetlands you fill, with real estate deals! I tap to the beats of your ...
Read more

Leisure

  When my eyes grow tired of the glitz of social media, I look up, and discover, what, to many, is mere trivia – The tireless crow carrying twigs to the tall tree, For fledglings yet unborn – the nest must be ready. My nest, I noticed, was in need of a facelift, The bare wall, I adorned, with old pictures, framed and spiffed! A much-needed de-cluttering, and piling and stacking later, Even the critic in me agreed – my nest, indeed looked better!   Charcoal sticks glided effortlessly over my canvas affixed to the easel clamp, As my brush-strokes brought to life Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Narrow streets of cobblestone ‘Neath the halo of a street lamp…’   In languages, foreign and vernacular, In themes of love, peace, sorrow or languor, Many words echo in my head, Of songs I have heard and tales I have read, Such that I pour my heart out in diaries guarded like treasure – My angst, my fears, my inner turmoil – vented out in good measure … ...
Read more

Womanhood!

Mini’s eyes were focussed on the mirror. For a moment, it seemed that her eyes had lost all life. She looked intently at the haggardly image of a twenty-year old – sombre, defeated, unsure, lost, in search of something she couldn’t quite define. Was she inadequate? Maybe she didn’t give it her all. Perhaps, she had missed something – some detail, that could have saved her first and only relationship so far. What more could she have done? Could she have been more brazen? Or more attractive? Maybe, she was just not cut out to be a good life partner! Then again, this was not even her home or her mirror. If she looked into her own mirror, she would surely find all the answers. This was Aditi’s home. Aditi was in Class six. Every week, Mini would walk to Aditi’s home to help her with her studies. Aditi was the daughter of a young widow, Babli Aunty, who had taken up a job offered by Eastern Railways, upon the untimely demise of her husband who worked there. There were evenings w...
Read more