The significance of a ‘Pakkad’ or a ‘Sansi,‘ which are prevalent and helpful item in Indian kitchens, may not be apparent to many. The Pakkad is useful for removing hot pots and pans from the stove, holding veggies in place for grilling over an open flame, or occasionally lifting a bowl of burning embers with smoldering incense over it to get rid of the musty odor from rooms during monsoons, and of course it can be used for contactless cooking in the current COVID scenario.

Although the tongs are somewhat more ingeniously constructed than our “Chimta,” the scissor-style pakkads or other claw-like variants are nowhere to be seen. With the exception of the flimsy, scissor-like barbeque tongs that don’t hold the food like the pakkad, it’s a little unexpected to not see the pakkad in other nations. It is understandable that Indian cooking pots lack a handle, while cooking pots in other countries do, but the usefulness of the simple pakkad becomes apparent when you consider that hands spread infection.

Contactless and contamination-free cuisine is logical when it comes to Indian cooking, tasting, and eating methods. ‘Kulhad’ refers to unglazed terracotta drinking cups that were used for centuries along with plates made of banana leaves or other non-toxic leaves. Being biodegradable, they didn’t present any environmental risk and were truly disposable. In a similar way, food sharing from one another’s plates was not permitted since it risked contamination, and it may not be today either, now that restaurants have reopened after a lengthy shutdown. Restaurants must have restrictions on sharing food from one another’s plates, as well as on the servers replenishing the thalis. They should also be properly stocked with masks and serve from a distance.

Indians are rather concerned with what is called “jootha,” which is the transmission of saliva, and for the same reason, using a used water cup or sharing meals from one another’s plates is severely prohibited. In the same manner that many family women do not taste the food while preparing it, if they must taste, they will use a spoon, wash their hands, and only then continue cooking. Some very strict families, notably Tamil Brahmins, eat their food by rolling it into little balls and throwing it into their mouths without using their fingers to touch their mouths.

Additionally, in earlier years, the kitchens were on the floor, and contactless cooking was encouraged since the cook would sit on the floor with their hands moving horizontally. When placed on a wood or cow dung fire stove, earthen or metal pots would heat the handles, rendering them useless. In India, cholera and other diseases are fairly prevalent, but there has still been a strong emphasis on the survival of hygienic systems.

However, things are made a little bit more difficult in India because of the caste system and caste separation. Touching causes caste contamination, which is reduced by the non-contact technique, and everyday relationships are facilitated. The pakad enables one to avoid contacting the handle that several people have touched and perhaps pour tea straight from the vessel into distinct cups that are kept for family members and separate drinking cups that are typically kept for visitors and guests. There is an additional distinction between dishware used by household help and servants who do routine tasks.

Ignoring caste defilement and concentrating on more practical considerations is one way to overcome such cultural obstacles. The reasonableness of justifications shows that Indians are the best at understanding Indian culture and its sanity, and any other recommendations are considered contradictory to branding it as antinational, making it simpler to introduce justifications for practices like caste aloofness, the original ‘Social distancing‘, on social media today.

Without considering its useful applications, the caste system is a source of ridicule and has its own negative consequences. In the past, several politicians were seen using hand sanitizers, maybe purifying themselves from caste contamination, when they ate with Dalits or members of the lower caste in the Indian caste system in their homes only to make a superficial show that they were free from caste barriers. Until the COVID, which gave hand sanitizers a new recognition, sanitizers were treated with the utmost skepticism, causing our hands to automatically advance for a surge of hand sanitizers.
In addition, there has been a heated discussion during this pandemic about if non-vegetarian cuisine is to blame for the virus in China’s meat market. An example of this is evaluating India’s vegetarian cuisine and criticizing those who consume meat. One theory was that vegetarianism is a characteristic of the higher caste in India, whereas non vegetarianism is a trait of the lower caste. However, India, which has a well-established and well-known vegetarian cuisine, doesn’t require viral caste endorsements.

The valuable consideration is India’s non-contact cooking practices, the use of throwaway food plates and cups rather than plastic throwaway plates, cups, and delivery containers. For these types of disposals that are both environmentally friendly and generate employment opportunities in rural areas, we must take note and accept to pay a price. Restaurants are also required to adhere to the thalitype cuisine, which prohibits sharing meals from one plate to another. Finally, in order to address the risks of COVID, make an effort to encourage greater use of pakkads, particularly in nations outside of India, to promote contactless cooking.