Psychology

Our first experiences in any field are always exciting and colorful. Tastes, smells , sounds, touches, glances  all around you, all are new and unknown, seem to immerse you in a new unfamiliar world, pulling you out from your habitual environment, granting possibility to feel something you have never felt before, making you a man whose experience is number zero. This kind of new feelings each of us is able to experience daily. Actually, new impressions and emotions follow us all along our routine life, they can wait for us just across the street in a local scydiving club, look at us through the cold glass of hunt-shops, reach our sense of smell with an unknown captivating aroma. New impressions never avoid us but we are who delays the moment of our facing them.
             
So, I decided not to make this evening one more point in favor of my habitual routine life.  Evening lights just around the corner are like an Eastern bazaar which beckons me so strongly. The world of new feelings in Columbus, Ohio is everywhere, as well as in any other densely inhabited point of the world, and just awaiting our decision to get rid of our dull daily duties and try them. As Im from the West (Brazil) so The East is my destination point in search of fresh impressions. Due to the modern well-developed international relations the East can be found even in Ohio of the US thanks to a wide net of restaurants of Eastern cuisine. If you are not Hindu, so the best choice to get completely new experience is Hindu cuisine or, to be more particular, an East Indian restaurant. This evening some enigmatic ghost of one of the most ancient lands of all times penetrated my mind and raised the bright image of India in my thoughts.
         
India has always been attractive to me. The most familiar to me of this mysterious country was that of so called Ayurvedic knowledge which is based upon purely vegetarian cuisine. But as they say personal experience is better than any outside source. I and my colleague directed our steps to an Indian restaurant situated not far from our office. The Maharaja restaurant met us with a muted measured rumbling, slight smell of spices and some mysterious illumination. By some strange reason having made the first step in this restaurant it became completely clear to me that the common well known rules of attending restaurants are not valid here. After checking menu it was rather difficult to make final decision as for the order. Numerous lentils, herbs, cheese, coconuts, vegetable pyramids with peas, spices potatoes are able to make you completely confused. I knew before that there are many castes in India each having its own strict cuisine rules. Hindus do not eat beef as cow is a sacred animal over there. I remembered as well that rice, vegetables, peas, milk are the most well spread foods there which are always cooked in vegetable oil only. But my knowledge seemed to be disappeared when I got acquainted with menu. Before revealing details of my final order would like to give out some details of my entire perception of that environment. First of all it is necessary to point out that the most visitors were native Hindus and waiters were all Hindus as well. It was about half past seven in the evening and almost all tables were already occupied by visitors. The waiters all spoke English but their English was not good enough to understand some specific details of an European visitors order as well as my Hindi was not much better, to be exact I knew only one word in Hindi shukriya what means thanks though this word is rarely used in India as their notion of gratitude and appreciation differ a lot from its European analogue. Surely, when I started pronouncing the names of some Indian dishes in English I became at once an object of local frequenters concerned glances. Its always uncomfortable to be minority, particularly if you are a Brazilian in Hindu restaurant in the US.

That moment I was in an Indian restaurant in Ohio being Brazilian but so far both from Brazil and from India - really a multi-national mixture. Actually Indians are not involved in some global racial conflicts and there was no place for any kind aggression in this restaurant. Just when you do not speak Hindi and cant understand any word coming from Hindus rumbling all around you, when you cant spell names of Indian meals correctly and even do not know exactly what these meals are  it really makes you fill small even in this small slightly illuminated building of Maharaja. As it is well known that the US cuisine is famous all around the world mostly thanks to McDonalds so it seemed more logical to me to compare Indian cuisine with the Brazilian one which is my native. But to be frank it made me feel being even more minor as Brazil was so far and unknown Indian environment was right all around me. To be short, the language, culinary and purely racial barrier made me feel not too good within the first moments of staying in the restaurant. So, sincerely speaking, the feeling of being alien in this place did not allow me to feel completely relaxed but generally the whole mood of Maharaja restaurant inspired with some pleasant calmness and some enveloping tranquility. I had even thought that it was just a smell of hookah what made me feel relaxed but as I noted later there was none of them at that moment. So, finally I ordered Naulakha Pulao  those are vegetables in rice, Naan  its a kind of white bread, Chicken Tikka - chicken marinated filet and Hot Pickles  mangoes within hot spices. Have to say that everything was rather delicious. Nevertheless, the main warning with regards to Hindu cuisine I had heard before resulted to be truth. For example, vegetables in rice were shown as mildly spiced but the first reference which crossed my mind after having eaten some of them was too spicy. I sincerely suggested that moment that the restrained use of meat (I mean beef and pork) in Indian cuisine is generously compensated by spices.

My colleague ordered Chicken Madras  a kind of spicy chicken with special mixture of spices which, as I revealed later, was more even spicy than my meals. Having finished with hot pickles I did not have feeling of being completely fed up though was not hungry as well. To say truth the main point I learned is that an Indian restaurant is not place for too abundant meal if you want to try really traditional Hindu foods which are mostly vegetarian. There is a very nice ancient tradition in East Indian cuisine according to which a portion of meal for human being must not be bigger than two of human palms can hold. Surely the volume of my order was bigger that this recommended volume but would like to point out again that meal in Indian restaurant is not aimed to make your stomach full  that is my personal opinion at least. Naturally, people all around me in this restaurant were also eating but the whole perception plot of the environment was not of a restaurant but of some quiet peaceful place where people are sooner thinking and discussing rather than eating. So the entire emotional range of impressions of this small but significant event in my life can be completely defined as positive and useful.
             
It is not so simple task to give some certain definition or characteristic to Indian cuisine after the first visit to Indian restaurant only. It is not simple first of all because Hindu cuisine is closely related with philosophy and perception of the world by Hindu nation. One can feel Indian meal as deeply as deeply he is initiated into Indian mentality. Surely any other national cuisine has its own specific traits which can be fully understood by a representative of this nation only. But my personal strong belief is that in case of Indian cuisine we have to deal with special relation between foods and nation mentality. Making conclusion to the all mention above would like to state that this first visit to the Indian restaurant I can definitely evaluate as fully successful, pleasant and uncommon empathy. Though to be just would like to mark out a negative point as well - first of all it was rather dirty in the restaurant. Some napkins and table-cloth were also spotted in some places with strange stains. Nevertheless this fact did not spoil the whole picture too much as frankly speaking knowing mentality of Hindus some mud on the floor did not became a big surprise.
         
After meal in a restaurant the bill must be paid and Maharaja did not become exclusion. Speaking about cost of Hindu meal in a Hindu restaurant, need to say that its neither more expensive nor cheaper than a common meal in a restaurant of European cuisine. Naturally, it also depends on the level of Indian restaurant you are going to attend. Maharaja is a kind of middle-class restaurant and the total amount I paid for my meal was twenty eight dollars excluding tips  not too cheap but not so big amount as well for such a marvelous experience. So, evaluating finally our visit to Maharaja by ten points scale I would state it as nine, one point being taken off for rather a muddy environment. The rest impressions are bright and spicy. Surely, I will visit Hindu restaurants again in future as Hindu cuisine is so various and need to attend Hindu restaurant five or six times at least to taste its most famous meals if full measure. Vegetarian shish kebab (without meat) or vegetarian stuffed cabbage-rolls  Ive heard they are just splendid. So there is still a huge field of action with regards to Hindu cuisine and my first visit to Maharaja restaurant became the first but pleasant experience.