Penny Wise Pound Foolish

Dear Friends,

This is an episode I may never be able to forget nor have I been tempted to attempt it ever.

A relative and an admirer of mine wanted help in cooking for a large number of people for our family function. So I suggested we all organized our workloads in such way that each will be responsible to make 2 or 3 dishes sharing time slots in the same kitchen.

It was a novel idea and was a huge success except for the main sweet dish we call 'payasam' (a porridge) with milk and sugar as base. This relative's daughter was to prepare the main sweet dish while I was concentrating on mine nearby.

The daughter kept the dish on boil mode asking her mother to keep stirring it and went on some errand. Her mother poured some payasam into a glass to taste. I saw her taste it and also saw how half spill over a dirty counter. It was scooped into the glass again. In the few seconds and before her daughter could come in, she poured the dirty stuff into the big dish saying we should not waste anything!!

I knew what that payasam will taste like later on. Sure enough the payasam curdled and the entire dish was gone as soon as the small amount of that scooped stuff was poured in.

At such times it is wise not to think of the wastage. One can keep it separately and drink it too without spoiling the entire thing meant to be served to all guests.

I still wonder about such kind of philosophy even now. Whenever I am confronted with a choice I never have second thoughts, I just junk such things rather than suffer a thoroughly spoilt dish.

The guests were commenting about the payasam. The daughter was so puzzled but dint know how it got spoilt. I dint reveal nor did her mother as she was afraid of the reaction from her daughter.

Mahalakshmi.