ORGANIC AND ONLY ORGANIC

 Organic and Only Organic

Dinesh K Kapila

I was at a leading grocery store when a smartly and expensively dressed (top brands bag to clothes to shoes) confident and 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 an elegantly manicured hand and one diamond wearing finger in the air towards him and said ‘dekhte hain’ (let me see). I want only pure high class organic stuff. Give me jaggery (Shakar). Only organic. The Manager scooted off, brought a trolley, and plonked two packets of jaggery saying, purely organic Ma’m, she looked at it with suspicion but sort of nodded and then she said I want high quality premium Gur (solidified jaggery) but only organic, and the guy says Ma’m Gur is not actually organic, after a stern look from her and an angry face, 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 beseeching glance so as to say, please be quiet while she just stared grimly ahead. As though my loud comments were not heard. Then came a series of orders for organic pulses, organic turmeric and organic spices. Including organic cardamom. Organic milk based cheese too !! 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. And organic milk based cheese. Which annoyed the lady and made her remember Delhi again. With a loud sigh. It seemed she had moved to Chandigarh from Delhi, her loud thought was Chandigarh was just too basic and downmarket on the organic stuff.

Next in demand was organic tea and organic coffee, after a while the store 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. By now it was chaos in the store. Three assistants and the store manager were all at her command.

She gave a loud dramatic sigh and said to him, ‘mujhe Malloom tha’ - I knew it, now I really have to travel to Delhi to buy it. Only there they know what to stock ! They have the taste and stock.

Ok, then I need organic mustard oil and organic coconut oil !! The other store assistants simply 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!! When will Chandigarh wake up.

I looked around, all seemed perfectly healthy people to me, only as I looked carefully she looked a little too thin and edgy !! And maybe somewhat starved.

There was silence in the store as she looked at her trolley and its 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. Know your customers and know people like us.

But not once did she pick up a packet and check the labelling! Or for the certification. Too much to do I suppose. Or just accepted it thinking it was her right. I was wondering just how she was accepting all the products in the three trolleys as pure premium organic products.

As she exited like a queen 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. But good accents and well dressed people and premium pricing. My queries were not really welcome. I noted some names alright and passed them around and well that is another story !

In any case I enjoyed the diversion at the store and the melodrama. The snorts and faces and sighs. Sort of made my day. Where would we be without such a captivating presence.