016 Ode to an Onion (Herbs & Spices #1)

Red Onions/ Eeruli/ Pyaz/ Kanda/ Ulli-gadda

Aromatics, Herbs, Spices series #1

A red onion is akin to a woman in her 70’s. On the surface she seems fragile. Her dry, brittle papery skin is misleading. The yellow, purple, and white marks on her exterior, camouflage the thin strong lines that run along her outside at regular intervals. These lines give the ecosystem of the bulb, the family and the community, structure and rhythm. The roots cling onto her rounded shape like toddlers clinging to their mother. Yet she stays firmly rooted in the ground, and nourishes the vegetation above.

Her stories, her experiences, her lessons are hidden and have to be peeled back gently layer by layer. There is enthusiasm, elegance, knowledge, and a beguiling ability to juggle uncountable facets tightly packed inside. When an onion is cut open, her long held secrets are suddenly exposed. Their pungency may cause us to tear up, forcing our pent up emotions to come outside in a catharsis.

After the tears, after the release there is immense beauty. A cross-section of an onion is most wondrous. Lovely pale purple and white juicy rings are flattened against each other. Like a subdued lavender rose. The colours inside are those of a sunset. Lilac streaks against an expansive sky.

Photos from Unsplash

1 Bhautik Andhariya Unsplash

2 Avinash Kumar

3 Wilhelm Gunkel