Bhaktimarga Swami: KICHARI

Bhaktimarga Swami

Sounds like the name of an Indigenous girl
Perhaps appropriate as a precious pearl
It’s not a mammal, bird, rock, or tree
You’re getting close if you say “herbal tea”
It’s something satisfying to the appetite
Yummy to the tummy to the very last bite
It’s a food preparation – *kichari*
The problem is, between you and me
It suffers from a bad reputation
A poor man’s food is its qualification
When you go to an eastern monastery
Whether April, June, or January
The monks will just devour it up
At breakfast, lunch, or for sup
If absent you can get so suspicious
Because it’s so darn damn delicious
Traditional recipes will reveal it all
Rice, veggies, something called *dahl*
Spice, greens, ginger, turmeric too
*Kichari* is king, a healthy eastern stew
Let’s get that word right – *kichari*
Should go beyond a monk’s monopoly
It has appeal at any time of day
Let the rich get sick on their special entreé
And eventually become a *kichari* fan
The miracle meal that shapes Superman