<p>It was a small family gathering, and like all gatherings, a lot of conversations revolved around food. </p><p>Suddenly there was stunned silence when a cousin casually mentioned that she usually made one-pot (read pressure-cooked) meals and quite a few vegetable curries/palyas in pressure pans. </p><p>Twenty-three pairs of eyes looked at her in disbelief; then suddenly there was laughter all around, with jokes on her “pressure-cooked” food: “Oh…so you make cauliflower in a pressure cooker? Oh…what about brinjal? And ladies’ fingers? I am sure you pressure cook the greens as well as other tender vegetables.” Everyone was in full steam on their cooker jibes.</p>.<p>Today, suddenly, pressure cooking everything has become an advisory, considering the LPG shortage in the country. Maybe the cousin is having the last laugh after all those jokes on her.</p>.Domestic LPG users unaffected, commercial gas controlled in Karnataka: Meyhul Patel.<p>Don’t we take whatever we get for granted? Fuel, water, power. When the current crisis first crawled into the kitchen, we felt the twist in our stomachs. </p><p>Suddenly, newspapers and social media began talking about the careful use of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lpg">LPG</a>, the need to switch to induction stoves, and most importantly, a sudden realisation of the effectiveness of pressure-cooked meals as a means of saving fuel—not to mention the additional advice of soaking pulses and rice a few minutes before the cooking process.</p>.<p>With the war guzzling the global oil supply chain and burping out a severe crisis, vehicle users have pressed the panic button. Now, the public discourse is being steered onto the path of austerity. </p><p>There are loud murmurs in the long petrol station queues about thoughtfully using cars/scooters. </p><p>There seems to be a sudden awareness to become austere and not switch on the car ignition to the nearby grocery-vegetable store; that’s how important it is to walk to preserve one’s health as well as that of the planet. These are now becoming a war cry in a zone of a threatening fuel supply.</p>.<p>Isn’t it the same for water? The summer is now in second gear, and the water sources and water table are slowly showing signs of depletion. It is still in a nascent stage of crisis. But soon, there will be a clarion call for judicious use of water, and public service campaigns will focus on water conservation.</p>.<p>Now, isn’t it possible for us to become more sensitive about the limitations of natural resources and carefully spend them? Or do we always have to wait for a war or an inevitable water-table threat to wake the eco-warriors in us?</p><p><em>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</em></p>
<p>It was a small family gathering, and like all gatherings, a lot of conversations revolved around food. </p><p>Suddenly there was stunned silence when a cousin casually mentioned that she usually made one-pot (read pressure-cooked) meals and quite a few vegetable curries/palyas in pressure pans. </p><p>Twenty-three pairs of eyes looked at her in disbelief; then suddenly there was laughter all around, with jokes on her “pressure-cooked” food: “Oh…so you make cauliflower in a pressure cooker? Oh…what about brinjal? And ladies’ fingers? I am sure you pressure cook the greens as well as other tender vegetables.” Everyone was in full steam on their cooker jibes.</p>.<p>Today, suddenly, pressure cooking everything has become an advisory, considering the LPG shortage in the country. Maybe the cousin is having the last laugh after all those jokes on her.</p>.Domestic LPG users unaffected, commercial gas controlled in Karnataka: Meyhul Patel.<p>Don’t we take whatever we get for granted? Fuel, water, power. When the current crisis first crawled into the kitchen, we felt the twist in our stomachs. </p><p>Suddenly, newspapers and social media began talking about the careful use of <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/lpg">LPG</a>, the need to switch to induction stoves, and most importantly, a sudden realisation of the effectiveness of pressure-cooked meals as a means of saving fuel—not to mention the additional advice of soaking pulses and rice a few minutes before the cooking process.</p>.<p>With the war guzzling the global oil supply chain and burping out a severe crisis, vehicle users have pressed the panic button. Now, the public discourse is being steered onto the path of austerity. </p><p>There are loud murmurs in the long petrol station queues about thoughtfully using cars/scooters. </p><p>There seems to be a sudden awareness to become austere and not switch on the car ignition to the nearby grocery-vegetable store; that’s how important it is to walk to preserve one’s health as well as that of the planet. These are now becoming a war cry in a zone of a threatening fuel supply.</p>.<p>Isn’t it the same for water? The summer is now in second gear, and the water sources and water table are slowly showing signs of depletion. It is still in a nascent stage of crisis. But soon, there will be a clarion call for judicious use of water, and public service campaigns will focus on water conservation.</p>.<p>Now, isn’t it possible for us to become more sensitive about the limitations of natural resources and carefully spend them? Or do we always have to wait for a war or an inevitable water-table threat to wake the eco-warriors in us?</p><p><em>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</em></p>