ELLARUM VAANGO
“To
win the people, always cook them
some
savoury that pleases them.”
Aristophanes,
The
Some
months ago, when I first came across a YouTube video by the name ‘Village
Cooking Channel’, I instantly fell in love with it. Village-cooking videos on
YouTube are not a novelty… There are thousands of them. But, this one was distinct
and special in many ways. It was brisk, it was authentic… and, it filled the viewers
with energy and joy. So much so, one felt like not only visiting such villages,
but settling down there, permanently.
I remember watching
a couple of videos from this YouTube channel some days ago… It was late night,
and I was feeling extremely low. These guys brought a smile back on my face,
and fired energy back into my heart! The very night, I wanted to blog about
them. Somehow, the night passed and days, too, without a blog on them. And,
just a while ago, I watched this one, their latest…
So
many of us wish to showcase our talents on a platform like YouTube. We make
videos – singing, playing some instruments, speeches, poems, stand-up comedy, acting,
dancing, drawing and painting, cooking, teaching, training, sports, even weddings,
birthdays and anniversaries, funeral services, adorable babies and pets…
anything and everything, these days, walks into YouTube videos. It doesn’t end
there… like true humans, we are desperate to have more and more viewers, more
and more subscribers.
Then?
Some videos go
viral… Some YouTubers make lots of money.
Well, personally,
I do not know how it all works. I think, videos like the ones from ‘Village
Cooking Channel’ become popular – viral – organically. I mean, on their inherent
merit. They are inherently – and unmistakably – unpretentious and unpolluted.
Hence, they touch most of us, cutting across our ethnic, linguistic and other
barriers. For example, I don’t understand a word of Tamil. But, when I watch
these video, I understand everything. I am sure, the pure vegetarian people,
when they view the non-vegetarian cooking from these guys, may love them for
their enthusiasm and talent.
What makes most
of us salute these guys is what comes at the end: They serve the freshly-cooked
food to the destitute from the nearby orphanage!
And, they do it
is quietly…
That is a tough
act to follow, Sir!
Our
talents are like lamps. “No one lights a lamp and then hides it under a basket,”
said Jesus Christ, “It is placed at a high stand so that it can give light to
others.”
God has endowed
each one of us with one talent or the other. Rightly, we call them ‘God’s Gifts’.
Recognizing these gifts and using them to spread light around us – making people
around us feel happy or enriched – is what the true purpose of God’s Gifts. As
it’s said, “Our talents are God’s gifts to us; but, what we do with our talents
is our gift to God.”
The infectious
love and energy, with which this grandpa and cousins from the village Chinnveeramangalam in Tamil Nadu are using
their ‘gift’, is a testimony to this. They cook food with a great heart and they
serve it, too, with one. And, they serve
it to those around them, who God wants them to…
“Ellarum Vaango”…
“Always welcomes you”…
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pic.: www.onmanorama.com
Videos: Village Cooking Channel
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