I’m in an open relationship with the kirana store

BENGALURU: When retail supermarkets arrived in India about a decade ago, there was much talk about kirana stores going extinct due to the pressure from international retail conglomerates. However, in truly Indian fashion, we have ‘adjusted’ to both supermarkets and kirana stores. The supermarket lets me browse through my options. I can check facts for myself, thereby, letting me use my innate human intelligence and agency to make a choice. The kirana store, on the other hand, gives me credit when month-end approaches, displaying innate human characteristics such as compassion and empathy.

I like the mix, and to hop between the supermarket and kirana store whenever it pleases me. Me, the kirana store and the supermarket, are in an open relationship. Together, we have fought against the irresistible charm of Home Delivery grocery applications.I like making the small walk to the grocery stores. On many days, that is the only time I use my legs. I lead a fairly unhealthy lifestyle. I eat healthy, but I gorge unhealthy. The only workout I do is to skip ads on YouTube.

It was while walking down the aisles of my neighbourhood supermarket that I noticed something peculiar. Every single product on the racks seemed to mock my unhealthy lifestyle. Clothed in bright red, yellow and blue – nearly every single product spoke about ‘health’, ‘nutrition’, and ‘wholesomeness’. I dismissed it and walked ahead, only to find that the entire supermarket had been hijacked by the health monster.
This has resulted in the trips to the grocery store becoming a ‘guilt-trip’. Cool drinks – that had begun by including cocaine as one of their ingredients, had come out with ‘zero’ and ‘diet’ versions. Milk packets as a rule carried smiling pictures of cows; but are now ‘fortified with calcium’.

Like the Australian cricket team of the 90s, the fitness juggernaut has destroyed everything in its wake. Look around the supermarket, and you’ll find a clear push towards a healthier and livelier lifestyle. Toothpastes were always about smelling fresh, blowing cool air on strangers’ faces and surprisingly, not getting arrested for it. Now, toothpastes claim to draw from the deep well of Ayurvedic knowledge. Chips, biscuits, cooking oil, bread, jams – everything that you can buy now comes in a healthier avatar. As for someone who isn’t going to qualify for India’s Track and Field team anytime soon, it is a disturbing experience.

I sometimes fantasise that I walk into my neighbourhood supermarket, and it magically turns into a ‘time machine’. I am taken back to a time when biscuits were about more cream, and a free ticket to the Cricket World Cup.

Till then, I can always walk into the kirana store. Kirana shop uncle doesn’t seem to think too highly of the supermarkets either!