Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway
Well worth your time
After reading about yet another abduction (I would like to call that) of a child, this time by the German authorities from another “lactating Indian Mother” I am wondering if something is seriously wrong with the Pediatric practices of these so-called developed nations. This film that I watched when it was released on Netflix, weeks ago, tells it all.
At a time when the West is realizing the value of eating with hands (bio-energy as mentioned by Dr. B. M. Hegde), using the squat toilet (a study in Israel has found out the rate of developing piles is almost zero in people who have constantly used the squat or eastern toilet), the health benefits of eating by sitting cross-legged on the floor and numerous other habits from our culture it is surprising how Child Services in Norway and countries in the West thrive on practices contrary to our culture and violations are dealt with the extreme of punishments, namely, taking the children away from the parents.
Lee Iacocca in his autobiography even mentions how America would be a better place if only parents hugged their children once everyday. Probably that is why they overdo hugging now but sleeping with your children (the very little ones) is considered bad or harmful?
And teaching a mother how to breast feed her baby? They do that in the U.S. but not with such seriousness as shown by the film, in Norway. While in the U.S. many years ago, my friend’s wife literally had to go through that travesty. By the way, if you live in the U.S. be very wary about applying “kajal” in your children’s eyes when you take them to your pediatrician. These practices are highly frowned upon in the U.S. and in the west and you could be taken to task severely for it. Ask me how I stunned my pediatrician with my son’s stunning glowing skin. Amma had got the entire baby grooming and rearing kit from India, including virgin coconut oil, kajal, black bangles, massaging oil for the mother, even original sandal stick and stone, the spring and hook to hang the cloth to put the baby to sleep (didn’t that Indian child in the U.S. die to the crib that collapsed on it, the infamous crib-death?) and another concoction that she would apply to the baby’s joints. Here is another tall claim that my Mother would make that will stun Pediatricians anywhere in the world. “Bring me a newborn and trust me in that child’s care and I guarantee 100% the child will not develop bowlegs as it would grow older”, she would say. Millions of ladies from Kerala who are aware of the traditional oil massage for babies will attest to and also stand by this claim.
Now, let’s cut to probably the most dreadful and disgusting scene in the rigged show (yes, I have solid proof!) Masterchef. Contestants and even seasoned Chefs are seen tasting the food by directly taking it to their mouths from the cooking utensils using the spoons, spatulas or ladles and then after tasting the food, these spoons, spatulas or ladles are inserted back into these cooking pots. Nothing can be more disgusting than this to an Indian, simply because WE INDIANS DO NOT DO THIS DISGUSTING THING, PERIOD. Now wait a minute, is this how food was cooked in these western kitchens and homes when we went there to eat? And let me tell you what my Singaporean Chinese friend had to say when I took him to an Indian restaurant there, “Food tastes much better when eaten with one’s hands”.
In Indian cooking to taste the food, it is dropped on the palm of the other hand using the spoon or ladle and then tasted from that hand. No one, tastes it by licking it off the spatula, ladle or spoon with one’s tongue or using one’s mouth. At ISKCON and in innumerable homes and temples in India the food that is offered to Krishna or the deities of Gods and Gurus are not even “tasted”. They are cooked in separate utensils and these utensils are not used for cooking food for the members of the family. I recall at a Puja ceremony at my home how the priests were scolding and preventing people from even inhaling the aroma of the food cooked for the deities. Cooks would put a bandage across their mouths and noses while preparing dishes. Such is the purity.
People in the West cannot do or will not realize the sanctity, usefulness or love behind these acts although gradually they are becoming aware of them. Cannot eat using hands? Cannot feed your own child using one’s hands? The Norwegian Child Welfare Services just push it too far when they do not realize how well children are brought up in India or should I say the Indian sub-continent.
Now that the movie also highlights a money-angle it is no wonder such child rearing practices are being patronized in countries such as Norway.
Rani Mukherjee does a fabulous job of the mother whose children are taken away from her for the frivolous reasons discussed earlier. This is based on a true story and even after the Norwegian embassy clarified on this matter, the original mother, Sagarika Chakraborty on whom this story is based, talks of the dreadful ill-treatment meted out to her by the Norwegian Government in this regard, to this very day. The film has become the biggest selling films for the Indian diaspora in Norway this year.
Gripping till the end. A lovely watch for the entire family.
