Life is like Groundnuts

Groundnuts boiled in salt water

There's a certain magic to winter evenings that becomes complete with a bowl of freshly boiled groundnuts. The ritual starts with cleaning off the mud and scrubbing the groundnuts clean. Then into the pressure cooker they go with generous amounts of water and salt, hissing and steaming to several whistles, filling the home with the aroma of cooked shells. Inside the cooker, salt works its magic, seeping through those hard shells to season every nut inside.

The real joy begins when you take a bowl of these warm pods and settle into your favorite spot at home, undisturbed. You pick a nut, press it between your fingers, and it splits open with a spray of warm, salty water. Now comes the choice - either open the pods completely or hold them between your teeth and pull in the salt water with a whoosh, just like drinking through a straw. The saltiness spreads quickly throughout your mouth as you discover the soft, tender nuts inside. Pop them out of the shell with a small thrust into your mouth, and your teeth crush the soft nuts, bringing a burst of satisfaction.

It doesn't stop there. Before you've even finished chewing, your fingers instinctively reach for the next pod, eager to continue the rhythm of cracking, savoring, and relishing. Sometimes you get a shell with just water inside. Even that tastes good. You squeeze it straight into your mouth, making that satisfying squishing sound. Each shell is different, just like days in life. Some are packed with plump nuts, others are half-full, some have nothing but water, and then there are those tricky ones where the soft nuts stick stubbornly to the shell and won't let go.

The best part is you can't do anything else while eating these boiled nuts. No checking your phone, no watching TV. It's just you, focusing completely on each nut, each crack of the shell, each salty bite. It's meditation- but the kind that fills your mouth with happiness.