Respected Sir/ Madam,

If you have been wondering if the second wave had hit me, luckily none of that happened. Now when I thought the COVID news is no longer in the headlines, and I can go back to my old books and videos, the Afghanistan news is keeping me busy.

When the Afghanistan news came , I was eagerly consuming all of it just to not appear dumb among my friends ( ?) in my school Whatsapp group. When I had the Afghan news on on the TV, Mangalam became irritated saying why I was wasting my time over this event.

But now even Mangalam is eager to know, what is going on. Let me tell you how this change came about. Here is a summary of the short discussion that we had.

MB : Old man, why are you following this Mannangkatti Afghanistan news like the Kargil war ?

JB : Geo-politics madam. Kargil war was nothing. It was just a short street-fight between two neighbours. Maybe there will be a world war..who knows.

MB : Pandemic is not even over yet. Sowmya says third wave may come.. And now you are talking about a world war... All those Alistair Maclean books and James Bond movies have just corrupted your mind. You are just imagining things in your idleness.

JB : Do you realise that these Talibans have defeated the world's biggest super power ?

MB : These Talibans look so dirty and ugly.. with their height and built and colour, they would look so handsome if they were clean shaven and wear clean clothes.

JB : Please keep quiet with your bizarre advice. Do you even know, what all they can do to women ?

MB : Why should we bother about them ? Do we have any connection with Afghanistan at all ?

JB : If I tell you that if this crisis becomes big, your sambar and rasam will not taste the same.

MB : What has Afghanistan got to do with my sambar ?

JB: Yes..there is...an important spice.

MB : I make my own sambar powder.. I dont use any 777 or Aachi masala sambar powder.. I crush my own powder based on my mother's recipe.

JB: I know that... What is that brown powder you add with LG written on it.

MB: That is perungayam... what about it ? It is a flavoring agent. It is also supposed to help digestion. LG is a company that makes it.

JB : Madam, perungayam ( Hing / asafoetida) is not made by LG..Laljee Godhoo & Co. just import it , pack it and distribute it. Do you know where they import it from ?

MB : No, I don't know.

JB: Mostly Afghanistan. I read it in the papers that India imports almost 100 mn $ of Hing or perungayam every year. It is one of the biggest imports from Afghanistan.. Afghanistan is the biggest supplier of Hing.

MB : Oh.. Did not know that.. why can't we grow them here.

JB : That gum tree from which the resin is taken out only grows there.. Some neighbouring countries like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and one more of those 'stans' also grow it. But they also depend on Afghan labour.

MB : Then we will not get any perungayam henceforth.

JB: Maybe, you will continue getting it for sometime till stocks last.

MB: What after the stocks are over ?

JB: Then you will have to make your sambar without perungayam .

MB : Better this Afghanistan crisis blows over. I dont care who their leader is.. I should continue getting my perungayam.

JB : Now I hope you will allow me to watch my news.

Through the pages of your newspaper, I want to appeal to the Indian government that even if they have removed all the staff from the embassy in Kabul, they must allow unhindered import of Hing ( asafoetida). After all,the taste of the food of millions of Indians in North and South India depends on Hing.

Yours in anxiety,

J Bhoothalingam