Before that, I had been to Italian and Mexican restaurants. Slowly, I had to stop eating outside. This created many hurdles during travel. We had to look at different options and solutions. In Seattle, there was a Thai restaurant that was entirely vegetarian. That became one of the best options for me. Otherwise, I didn’t mind taking home-cooked food or managing with bread, sandwiches, or soups.

We got lessons on the art of eating pizzas, pastas, and burritos—I hope I got the spelling right. It was easy to use our hands, tear the pizzas, and gobble them down. But this would have caused embarrassment to our children. So we learned. It was tough. Using tissues—how does this ubiquitous tissue find its place everywhere?—using forks, knives, and spoons; initially, this process of eating never satisfied our hungry stomachs. Aren’t we all pliable, malleable, tameable, and adjustable? Out of habit, hunger, or both, this way of putting food into our mouths through intervening equipment became our nature.

I knew how to eat now but had stopped eating outside. Much, much later, our kids started making bread, pizzas from scratch, various types of pastas, quesadillas, and all sorts of Mexican, Italian, Thai, and Chinese dishes at home. Now I could taste these dishes with relish and without fear or nervousness. To be frank, they did make wonderfully delicious meals. And oh, God! No restrictions on how to eat or what to use. Everywhere you turn, there’s cheese, jalapenos, olives, and veggies. Despite all efforts, my expertise in using a knife and fork is still in a very nascent stage. And I can never figure out how to eat spaghetti. Are these noodles and spaghetti a single, continuous thread-like substance that coils around itself? A great maze indeed.

And how to eat pizzas without dropping some of the toppings or without the cheese pulling like a thread from your mouth? Or how to scoop up the last remnants of the tasty soups with a spoon? How to handle the sticky Thai rice, making them into swallowable pieces? How to avoid momos slipping out?

I should not fail to mention the Chinese Auntie who owned a tiny cafe and served really tasty vegetarian Chinese food.

In the last two decades, many developments have taken place, and the city and suburbs are mushrooming with almost authentic Punjabi, South Indian, chaat, and other such restaurants. Of course, this is true of almost all cities in the USA. Now, I can safely and confidently go out and visit places without having to eat only sandwiches, chips, salads, and soups.

To be continued... 61. How and How Not - Pain and Pleasure - Part 1.