Once again, it is a problem with onions that we are confronted with. With the Indian government clamping a sudden ban on onion exports to Bangladesh, we in this country are yet again falling prey to the capriciousness of our traders, who have already begun hoarding the bulbs and sending prices through the roof.
The bad part of the story is that the Indian authorities did not inform the Bangladesh government of their move before they began implementing it. Worse is the predicament into which our citizens have now been put by our traders, despite all those reassurances about a good stock of onions the country has and the possibility of onions coming in from other countries soon. The prices are always skyrocketing, with the result that families are in a proper crisis as to what to do. With prices ranging between Tk 130 and 140, even as high as Tk 200 for a kilogramme of the item, one can imagine the problem. Onions are turning out to be a source of pain.
Think of the tears which flow freely when onions are being peeled. We weep when we go through heartbreak. And heartbreak can come in a variety of forms. But with onions it is not heartbreak that draws out the tears from our eyes. Onions are God's gift which gives us tears of joy. Look at it this way. The tears flow incessantly as a housewife peels all those onions and yet she does not complain, for she knows that these onions will enrich the food she is about to cook. Onions, then, are a mark of the sophistication an individual scales in culinary skills.
But, again, there are all the moments in our lives when onions make us weep without our having to peel them. Observe the kitchen markets in Bangladesh in these present times. Better yet, take a walk down to your local market, a place redolent of the beauty which comes of the fresh vegetables, rice, lentils, the many manifestations of meat and fish that are on offer. In our country, be it in the towns or in the villages, a market is always a symbol of joy. A haat has always been part of our heritage. You are there not only to associate with others who, like you, are out on an errand for food items their spouses and children mean to have at home on the day. It is an occasion when you develop an instant camaraderie with all these people, whose concerns are similar to yours. Rising prices are what you talk about. And then there are the pretty friendly arguments, indeed banter, you engage in with the sellers of the items.
But in a land where corruption seems to be seeping into every aspect of our lives through the misdemeanor of others, visiting a kitchen market can have a devastating effect on your health, physically as well as psychologically. Take the crude ways in which onion prices have been shooting up in these past few days. The price range for this essential item of cooking is unimaginable. That causes the tears to flow. And these are tears not of joy or sadness. They are a reflection of deep, justified anger on your part, indignation directed at a society which has become hostage to the predatory instincts of the unscrupulous and the corrupt. The proper term for them is 'syndicate'; and the Almighty knows how many syndicates, straddling so many areas of life, we have operating in the country in these times.
The vegetable sellers in the market will tell you, with a dash of helplessness as also a twinkle of wickedness in the eye, that it is the fault of the syndicates which causes them to raise the price of onions. So what happens now? You are in sore need of those onions, which in essence means you have to cough up the money you thought you would spend on some other item, perhaps on some green leafy vegetables or a bunch of bananas for the children at home. None of your remonstrance with the seller will help, for those onions need to go into the rather empty bag you hold in your hand. You decide, even as those tears of anger well up in you, to buy a half kilo of the valuable product instead of the full kilo you thought you would go back home with.
How do we handle the situation, now that onions are becoming elusive for us?
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