There is a garden in your backyard. In it, bottle gourds have reached a state of ripeness. The pumpkins are full-grown, too. So you pluck them and take them back into the kitchen. Then, you go for a walk and chance upon kachnar, or orchid tree flowers, strewn on the ground and think, "Why not hunt for some stinging nettle as well?" This leads to a bit of foraging and when you finally reach home, you prepare a meal with all the ingredients you now have at your disposal. It's a simple, no-frills affair. But most importantly, you know exactly where all the food on your plate came from.

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal