We are all taught that Time is made up of finite, exact units – 60 seconds make a minute and 60 minutes, an hour. Then why does it seem that Time has the ability to stretch and stretch to fill up days where there is barely anything to do – like something plastic which melted in the heat of purposelessness keeps getting elongated, thinning out and yet not breaking. But then you would remark – Time has always been felt as subjective, slipping away when one is having fun and standing still, when one is waiting.
It was to break this reverie on Time that I decided to get up and do something to ensure it regains its structure and substance – and what better way to do this than by an activity that is actually measured by minutes – you guessed it, baking! With some lovely orange-red grated pumpkin lying in my fridge, I decided to attempt a moist pumpkin cake. And yet, as I began arranging the ingredients, an old lesson on Needs and Wants began buzzing in my head. On the outside I was separating the wet and the dry ingredients but on the inside, I was wondering how the same stuff can be both a want and a need in the same situation. Here I am in a COVID-19 triggered lockdown – everyone would agree that right now pumpkin cake is a want, right? And yet, consider the ingredients – eggs, flour, oil, vitamin-rich pumpkin – are they not really needs for a nutritious diet in days when going out for groceries is a health hazard? Does it make sense to douse all these items with sugar and ruin the vitamins with high heat just because I need to tame Time somehow?
As the ingredients went back to the pantry, I felt a little sad – as much for my tastebuds as for my brain which now would have to hunt for another project to get its purpose-fix. Wait a minute, here are chocolates – dark, Swiss, sinful….Oh boy, am I looking forward to dinner already !!!
Crumbs on my Notebook 