By Swati Maheshwari, Corporate Communications, Holachef

Since the time I can remember, I have disliked fruits (Mango is an exception). Fruits in any form seemed repelling and I could not stand their taste or even smell. It was always a bone of contention between my parents and me – they would force me to eat grapes and cheekus and oranges while I would throw tantrums for not eating them. Growing up, I realised I would not win this battle for too long and chose the path of least resistance. I  gave them a list of fruits that I ‘wouldn’t mind’ once in a while. This essentially meant I would eat bananas with honey and strawberries if mango weren’t available.

When I moved to another city for college, I hated to see friends being righteous and buying fruits regularly. It made feel me guilty in a way although I did not miss constant bickering to bite into an apple (eww) or peel off an orange (so messy) to load up on the much needed nutrients. Again, I chose the smart way out and took to having fresh fruit juice in college canteen or restaurants (hah.. who’s more righteous now!).

Then marriage happened! HE is a worshiper of fruits. They are his favourite snacks, mid-night meals, desserts, appetizers and in-between bites. Basically, I was screwed!  

When bargaining something with him, I am often made to have ‘an apple and a pomegranate’  in return of the favor I need. Making faces doesn’t help either (it worked with my parents at times). Turned out that he is far stricter and a better negotiator than anyone I had known.

On our first holiday after the wedding, we were on a 10 day trip to Thailand (of all the places we had to pick the one which boasts of ‘exotic’ fruits..).  And so it was platters after platters of dragonfruits, pomelo, rambutans and rose apples. I was traumatized.

I would pretend to look the other way with a philosophical expression every time fruits were on our table. It worked a few times but soon enough he realized that I resisted fruits and instead gorged on breads, pastries, pan cakes and eggs at breakfast.

Now, which doting husband would be OK when his wife is treading on the troubled path of sinful chocolate waffles?

Then the dreadful moment came. He confronted me over a cup of hot coffee as I was admiring the beautiful Koh Samui from a restaurant table. My heart skipped a beat because I did not expect it to come so soon. I put up my ‘abla naari’ face and poured out my tryst with fruits – bit by bit, from childhood till date. He listened patiently but as my sob-story came to an end, he had exactly this expression on his face:

Basically, he did not even understand the big deal about the whole thing. One had to eat fruits and that was all. I could see my future at that very moment and it did not look fun at all. It was time to accept what was destined.

He did not even wait for us to return from the supposedly relaxed holiday in Thailand. Under his watchful eyes, I was made to eat some of these exotic atrocities every day. While he indulged in buying them from the local markets or at the restaurant table, I liked to see them from far – can’t deny they all looked so pretty. Plus, I had not seen some of these varieties earlier except, may be, on the internet.

It’s been over 2 years since then and I have been subject to eating fruits almost every day under close supervision. It’s done more good than harm (although I would like to believe otherwise). I am still not OK with the juicy – sourly – sweet taste but I have made peace with the fact that I have no way out. Fruits are here to stay in my life and no amount of sobbing helps me escape from them anymore. :/

Here are some those fruits that I had seen in Thailand. I liked mangosteen the most.

(This post was originally published on http://www.coleswa.com/)