3. Part - 2

 

Mani and Selvi looked at the potato curry on their plates. They began to eat it quickly.

 

Mani was astonished that their potato had travelled so far. Just then amma said jokingly to Selvi not to upset their foreign visitor. Selvi was pulling out a long green chilli out of her curry, and Selvi did not understand whom her mother meant. She asked amma if she meant her. Mani, who understood the joke, told her that Amma was talking about the foreign fruit, chilli.

 

 

Appa explained that chillies were popular in South America, but nobody else knew about this chilli outside their area. Appa started explaining about a sailor named Christopher Columbus who sailed to South America. Amma added that Columbus was travelling to India because he also wanted black pepper, but he sailed to South America by mistake. Due to his incorrect landing, he found the spice called chilli. Amma continued and said that he packed the chilli and took it to his country.

 

 

Mani asked how chilli came to India. His appa replied that amongst all other things brought by Portuguese, chilli was also one. Amma explained that chillies first reached Goa and the local people learnt to use the new spice in their cooking.

 

Selvi and Mani looked at chilli on their plates and astonished at the fact that those chillies had travelled so far to make their food delicious. In their excitement, they decided it would be wrong to waste it, they took a bite of the chilli and realized it was too hot and spicy!