Joys of Picking Tamarind

--by guin, posted Jun 8, 2007

There is a big tree in my house where several kilograms of tamarind are available during the right season.

Since tamarind is staple food for the South Indian diet, many poor people collect fallen tamarind fruit and dry it to preserve it for the next year. That way they don't need to buy it from the shops. Unlike other houses that have tamarind trees, my parents never shoo away the tamarind pickers from our house. In fact, several urchin children come to my house too and they happily collect the tasty fallen tamarind and nibble them like candy.

It's almost become a kind of tradition. I even remember my grandfather actually opening the gate for the street children to pick tamarind!

The other day, my mother called an old lady who had come near our gate to discreetly pick tamarind. My father looked aghast, thinking that she was calling the old lady to tell her not to pick the fruit. It turned out that my mom had collected a heap of tamarind that would have otherwise been crushed by the tires of a car, and was calling her to hand it over.

The lady left looking pleased as you could be. Sometimes all is takes is a little bit of tamarind.

5706 Reads

Posted by guin
Jun 8, 2007
Comments (13)

Readers Comments

AURELIA wrote: Guin,I see you have generations of family who have showed how to be such a caring person. I wish I could taste that sweet tamarind...never heard of it here. I hope my children learn from me as you have learned from yours.~Aurelia

afriendlysmile wrote: Hi guin

Good to your name back on,

Really Nice of your family to share the
tararind, like Aurelia I have never heard of them.

Thanks for sharing and caring.

afriendlysmile:)

ieiblue wrote: hi guin!.. we do the same thing.. we don't sell it and just give it to people who want it.. anyways.. so nice to be sharing what we have!.. god bless you and your family! :P

astrocrazy2005 wrote: Thats so sweet of your family to help the community.
God bless you!!!

irongrace wrote: sharing if only everyone would do it. when we have an extra abundance of something don't let it go to waste there is probably someone out there who really needs it

speedi wrote: how wonderful of your family to share what otherwise might go to waste,,,communties that have this type of program are a real blessing to society
Bless you

wings wrote: may people like you spread. nice.

tequilla_r wrote: OFTEN TODAY WE SEE MORE AND MORE OFFERS OF KINDNESS LIKE THIS PERHAPS ITS BECAUSE OF THE GUILT OF THE WAR OUR BOYS ARE IN

unknown wrote: Thats a really good life lesson. Because its better to give than to resseve.

JuneBug wrote: Such a wonderful story! How much we take for granted!

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