Several foreigners are often perplexed about the purpose of the finger bowl served at the end of meals in Indian restaurants. A Japanese exchange student once mistook it to be an after-meal breath freshener and gulped it down with joy. I wonder what the host did – follow the Japanese to be polite or leave the restaurant with dirty fingers. I’m sure that the added lemon slice aids digestion, but the unfiltered tap water offers little consolation. Probably the bowl wasn’t washed either, since its last use.
Yesterday, my Korean neighbour told me about the similar dilemma faced by her when she first saw the finger bowl. Luckily for her, her hosts were able to guide her - before she flushed the water down her throat. My cousin, who has an extra-ordinary memory - complete with vivid recollections of her childhood told me that even she was confused when she first saw the finger-bowl as a kid.
Can you imagine what the experience in a restaurant would be like if they actually served an ingestible breath-freshener in a finger bowl – kind of a two-in-one – wash your fingers first and then gulp the liquid down. Such a scheme would have an added advantage of reduced wastage – even the last bits of your meal would be consumed. You would also be able to taste your meal again. It’s not that gross – you did feed yourself with those hands. In fact, it’s more polite than licking your fingers. It’s not farfetched either because restaurants do serve flavoured toothpicks (the discussion on the technique used to add flavour to the toothpicks would be much too revolting to describe here – it is left to the reader’s imagination).
Leaving the repugnant thoughts aside, let’s try to imagine what conversations and situations would ensue, after the introduction of the finger-bowl breath-freshener.
- The waiter would serve you the wine list as well as the breath-freshener list.
- “What’s good in the breath-fresheners?”
- “Can you suggest me a breath-freshener to go with my meal?” (À la wine-pairing)
- “I’m too full. I can’t have another morsel. I think I will get my breath-freshener packed (parcel).”
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