Does any one remember life before a fridge?  I can.  My maternal grandfather was the first to get one in our residential area about 50 years ago. 

Consider it, 50 years ago fridge was a rarity in India.  People in India were great fans of fresh food and home made snacks.  It is not too long ago.  I can remember sleeping along with other cousins on the roof in Delhi summers and waking up early in the mornings to the fragrance of mogra flowers and the sound of bells that were attached to the strings of the churner that my maternal grandmother used to churn buttermilk.  That white butter was consumed during the day, any surplus was then put in an earthenware pot on the coal stove to cook, which became clarified butter which was used to cook.

Food was fresh, just enough for the meals consumed by the family – with a little bit extra for surprise guests, which was given to the household help the next morning for breakfast.

My grandfather bought a fridge home on a Sunday.  My mother and aunts were fond of telling us the story “When Papa brought home the fridge”

1. It came in a rickshaw
2. The entire neighborhood gathered to see it
3. The entire neighborhood wanted an explanation of what this almairah was all about.
4. They wanted a demo of the almairah’s ice making capabilities
5. The principal of their school requested permission to get students over to show them the fridge.
6. My grandmother hated it on first sight – it was not attractive and it would encourage the cook and the maid to be lazy and feed everyone stale food.  No one listened to her anyway, not surprising!  She once turned up her nose and told the salesman who tried to sell her the grand new invention, the pressure cooker “I put pressure on the cook, and he cooks!”
7. The fridge was cleaned up every day – and in the winters, it was disconnected and doubled as the spare almairah for winter clothes.

Now we have hand held blenders, instant ice-making refrigerators, microwaves, grills, air-conditioners and other conveniences.  We also have nostalgia.  I miss the sweet smell of mogra flowers and the sound of the bells of the churner.