List your top 5 grocery store items.
The content reflects on the evolution of grocery shopping from rustic village life to modern urbanization. Initially, villages relied on locally grown produce and community-based markets. As industrialization spread, the concept of grocery emerged, spurred by mass production and advertising, fundamentally altering food sourcing and consumption practices.
The road was unmetalled, covered with gravel queried from the nearby wasteland. Traffic was limited to a few Tongas, which were used to ferry people from the town area to the country area. Life was simple without the hype and showing off. The necessities were restricted to meals served twice a day. Tea and coffee were not known. It was the usual scenario of old-time villages.
Travelling on a Tonga with four to five passengers was an essential drill, not a pastime or a means of recreation for people of the time. The unmetalled road served the purpose of slow and sparse commutation. Goods were ferried by open bullock carts. Covered Bullock Carts with hanging lanterns were also used for travelling purposes. Those of my readers who have watched the iconic film “Teesari Kasam” by the great showman Raj Kapoor, can easily visualise the scenario of the olden days.
Parsimonious requirements were majorly fulfilled by the locally grown products from the fields or by local vendors who used to go door to door with their products and sell them for a few pennies. The society was well knit and almost every person knew each other and their necessities. There was no such concept of “Grocery items”.
A pond, a few bamboo plants, Azadirechta (Neem) trees, and vast campestrals dotted with mango orchards were the well-known elements of the village. The organic waste used to be dumped in a pit near the house, which served as fertile piles for vegetables like pumpkins, bottle guards, ridged guards and bitter guards to grow on their own. These vegetables served the purpose of the daily needs of the family. Villages were self-contained. They didn’t need supplies from outside.
As an extended form of rural “economy”, a “Haat” (Local Bazaar) used to be organised every weekend. No special arrangements were made. It functioned amicably by mutual understanding on an open patch of community land. The day was like a mini celebration for the rustic people. The “Haat” served the purpose of recreation and breaking the monotony. Besides everyday items, people also purchased other nonperishable goods.
With the increased industrialization, the city boundaries started expanding. Increasing attractions towards glittering things and “Vilayati” (Foreign) goods started waning the charm of “Haat”. Independent villages became slaves of cities. Attracted by the artificial glitter of city life, rustic people started migrating from villages. The countryside was regarded as the symbol of ignorance, backwardness and illiterates. The swelling cities, lacking basic amenities, become filthy dens.
Villagers, who used to be a free community, growing and consuming locally and who never felt the dearth of consumables, became slaves of the city conditions. They started buying commodities on a weekly or daily basis. The insidious creeping in of the concept of grocery started. The commodities, except for perishable items, when purchased for a month, were to be prioritized and purchased in bulk. To buy the otherwise lucrative items they need money. The thing which was inconspicuous in their lives started making inroads.
Let us not be distracted. The grocery concept is the outcome of mass production. More and more markets were created to cater for the ever-increasing consumer population. The producers, who are primarily big industrialists, first created the necessity and then lured people with attractive packaging and aggressive advertisements. It established the dire necessity and urgency of the product. Perishable products like Milk and Cheese, are now prepared with additives to increase their shelf-life. Almost everything, from vegetables to flour, toothpaste to bathing soaps, and detergents to shampoo, is supplied in attractive packaging. Aggressive promotion and attractive packaging have now become the guarantee of good products.
My aim is not to demean city life and the concept of grocery. What I am trying to figure out is how this change occurred and what their natural fallout is. I am not trying to say that earlier rustic life was better, and city life is bad. It is an endeavour simply to trace the evolution of the grocery system. As has been said, change is the law of life. Change is, thus inevitable. Yet, like every change, this change also has good and bad sides. The side effects of urbanization have been a much-debated topic.
Urban life has certain limitations about the freshness of food. Terms like “fresh vegetables” and “fresh dairy products” have become fashionable. Access to fresh food is essential for good health. Freshly cooked food using fresh ingredients is the prerequisite for palatable and healthy food. This is why videos about preparing fresh food using freshly picked-up ingredients and enjoying it in a rustic setting are gaining popularity on social media platforms.
Food is region-specific. Every country or region has specific food habits. Food items like Pasta and Pizza are specialities of Itlay but in our country, it is prepared in a “Desi” style. It is quite obvious why such delectables lose their nutritious value. India is famous for its spices and delicious food. Delectable food results from a perfect blend of herbs, processing of its ingredients and ultimately, its cooking. The ingredients are collectively called grocery. So, while preparing a particular food one needs proper ingredients. If one wants to prepare an Indian dish “Dosa”, specific ingredients like ground pulses, vegetables, edible oil, spices et cetera will be required. One has to have a list of groceries containing the ingredients necessary for the preparation of “Dosa”. It construes that there is not a specific or preset list of groceries.
Listing out items for grocery shopping will, therefore, depend upon the food one wants to cook. In general, what an average Indian family requires is cereals and pulses, spices and herbs, seasoning and condiments and some special items to satiate the taste buds on special occasions. The grocery items are not limited to food items and ingredients for food preparations. It encapsulates other daily-use items like detergents, cleaning agents, toothpaste et cetera. Listing a few of them is not a practical idea. However, if choosing five items is mandatory, essential nutritious items must be prioritized. Millet flour, Rice, different pulses, Spices and herbs, Eggs and Dairy products are rich in their nutritional value and give a square meal.
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