Skip to main content

Organic and Only Organic

Organic and Only Organic

Dinesh K Kapila

I was at a grocery store when a smartly dressed, confident, rather pleasant looking young lady around forty years walked in and straight away went into action with the Manager.
Do you keep organic stuff, I do not want any of the regular, unhealthy stuff you sell to people. I want good quality products, the poor guy simply said all our products are the best brands or our own tested and procured products. She waved one diamond wearing finger, dekhte hain (let me see). I want only organic. Give me jaggery (Shakar). Only organic. The Manager scooted off, brought a trolley, and plonked two packets of jaggery saying, purely organic Ma’m, then she said I want high quality premium Gur (solidified jaggery) but only organic, and the guy says Ma’m Gur is not organic, after a stern look, hey presto it was there !! Then she went on, organic wheat, organic rice, organic millets, organic sugar and organic besan (gram flour). So I tried asking the manager directly, is wheat and paddy really organic and what about the millets, the guy gave me a glance so as to say, please be quiet while she just stared grimly ahead. As though my comments were not heard. 
Then came a series of orders for organic pulses, organic turmeric and organic spices. Including organic cardamom. The Manager scurried around the shelves and in between into the basement. But he would bring something or the other but gave up on organic chilly powder. Which annoyed the lady and made her remember Delhi.  She remembered Delhi again and again. 
Next in demand was organic tea and organic coffee, after a while the guy came back quietly and said Ma’m this is just not there. We don’t have it but we have all the major brands. Kindly do have a look at them. I will show the entire range. 
She gave a loud dramatic sigh and said to him, mujhe Malloom tha - I knew it, now I have to travel to Delhi to buy it. Only there they know what to stock ! Ok, then I need pure organic mustard oil and organic coconut oil !! The other store assistants also now stood and looked at the Manager, who quietly thought it over and then said I think I have organic coconut oil but not the organic mustard oil.
There was another loud exclamation, what nothing organic in mustard oil, how do you run this store !! All of you are consuming this unhealthy mustard oil since ages!! I looked around, all seemed perfectly healthy people to me, only as I looked carefully she looked a little too thin and edgy !!
There was silence as she looked at her trolley and it’s contents and then looked around, as if making up her mind. Finally she said ok let me buy this stuff at least, for the rest I will go to Delhi. This should do but you people should wake up.
But not once did she pick up a packet and check the labelling! Too much to do I suppose. Or just accepted. it as organic But as she exited I was reminded of a weekly market in Chandigarh where many claim only organic produce is sold. I went there once but found no certification. I noted some names alright and passed them around and well that is another story !
In any case I enjoyed the pleasant diversion and the information. Sort of made my day.
PS
I had a similar experience, years ago too.  We used to go to a shop in Sector 35, the stores were few then . At this shop, I saw  as I could make out, a lady who seemed to have shifted recently shifted from Delhi was ordering around the shop fellows and running them down now and then saying every now and then that Chandigarh shop owners have a lot to catch up as compared to Delhi. She looked at all the lesser mortals in the shop, including us other customers with an air of superiority, before settling her bill and then said loudly, I do hope you will help me load the stuff in my car. After she left, the shop assistants had a hearty laugh imitating her, while the shop owner, mindful of other customers listening, mildly rebuked them, but with a smile. The last one, thirty odd years ago, a young lady walks into a better than other grocery shops, with a pronounced accent she asked for a cooking medium bottle. The owner was not there, the assistant said "nahin haai: (not there), she just snorted and walked away. I told the assistant in Hindi, oye, she is asking for cooking oil ! The assistant just ran after her, Madam, we have cooking oil, we have cooking oil ! . 

And ! 
What is the difference between
Factually Correct
Actually Correct
Absolutely Correct
Legally Correct
Ethically correct

Let me share my perspective, I am sure there would be other definitions too. Klaas said there is one truth that will set you free but it pisses you off first so nobody pursues it to the end. Several truth arise because people put on different lenses.

1. Factually correct when viewed through prism of available facts
2. ⁠Actually correct when viewed through prism of perceived facts
3. Absolutely correct when viewed through a prism that is applied across situations
4. ⁠Legally correct is when viewed through the prism of what is understood as law
5. ⁠Ethically correct is when viewed through the prism of “contemporary” morals in society

Another take
Any adjective such as the above before correct is incorrect.

My son’s (who Is an advocate) take on this -
Papa, seems you are totally free this Saturday ! I am not defining this for you 🙂

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Forgotten Unsung Heroes of the Battle of Madhumati. 1971. Bangladesh. 45 Cavalry.

  The Forgotten Unsung Heroes of the Battle of Madhumati. 1971. Bangladesh. 45 Cavalry. By Dinesh K Kapila  (Chief General Manager (Retd). NABARD (As discussed with Major General (then Major) Pramod   Kumar Batra, Retd and Other Veterans)   Just a Glimpse – Cdr 62 Mountain Brigade – “Pramod, I believe it is hard to maneuver PT 76 tanks in this terrain and waters”. Pat is the answer, “it is hard and I may struggle, but you will never see me to give up or fai”l. They stood together, on the edge of the swift flowing Madhumati, the staff and soldiers waiting. It was dark. Very Dark. After waiting for some time the Bde Cdr had said, “lets go”. Major PK Batra vividly recollects even now watching the Cdr's face as he looked at the map with a torch. He was calm and very quiet, showing ,no fear or afraid and maintaining a dignified silence. He remembered the old saying, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown". It was a moment in not only the life of the Brigade Co...

A Knock on The Door and a Memory

  A Knock on The Door and a Memory A Short Story By Dinesh K Kapila  (written for a contest, had to start with Knock Knock ...) Knock knock. The sharp rap shattered the silence, jolting her from a restless daze. Who would knock so late ? Open the door ! The voice, urgent, cut through the stillness. Her breath hitched. That voice ……. Unmistakable. She froze, heart pounding, hand inches from the knob. It could not be…. It sounded just like Dheeraj. How could it be? Just could not be. She was wondering, in the meantime, the knocking continued. Sharp raps. Relentless. She stood back a couple of steps. Wondering. Thinking should she open the door. It was late. Very late. ‘Wait’, she shouted loudly. ‘I will just take a minute”. That would buy her time. To think. What did he look like now. It was now more than three decades since they last met. She had moved on and so had Dheeraj. Life, it gives chances, you grab some, some you let go. On an impulse she steeled herself and o...

Appearances ! Oh Chandigarh !

  Appearances ! Oh Chandigarh ! Dinesh K Kapila Appearances. The real self. The perceived self. The public self for the world to see, sometimes multiple selves. That is us. Surya felt only Chandigarh took it at times to another level. Surya was with his wife Annie at a house in a tony locality in Chandigarh. Visiting. For those who do not know, Chandigarh has a clear cut demarcation. Here localities are called Sectors. Sector 1 to Sector 30 are directly maintained by the Chandigarh Administration, they are visibly cleaner. Sector 8, Sector 9, Sector 6 are viewed as exclusive. It’s deeply rooted, this degree of exclusivity. The accents are apparently plusher and softer and lifestyles more lah de la, that is the refrain. Then come the other sectors. As you cross over from Sector 30 onwards, maintained by a private company, the perception itself changes, so goes the wisdom. One old timer, a hard nosed businessman from Sector 6 once told Surya, you guys in the Sectors such as 33,3...