It would be extreme cruelty in such a sultry country like India to forbid ice cream at all. But the legislator was condescending and therefore forbade eating ice cream with his mouth - that's all!
And this is not the most ridiculous law in force in the country. By the way, it is violated at every step by children, adults, and even Buddhist monks. And this is in front of the police, who, most likely, do not even imagine what measures to take to punish the violators: should they take away the iced dessert, or what?
It’s even curious what the law enforcement officers could have done if they noticed that the person was frank with asphalt or with socks (and is such a person in his mind?), Or someone died suddenly, without washing dishes before death and without warning relatives, or married the dog ...
Yes ... all of the above are very serious laws spelled out in the Indian criminal or civil codes. So the law prohibiting eating ice cream by mouth , not the most absurd, if you think about it.
Versions of the Law
So why is it forbidden in India to eat ice cream by mouth? Perhaps the process of eating (more precisely, biting dessert with a wooden stick) did not correspond to Hindu views on good manners.
There is another option: the Indians ranked the modern delicacy in a pack and on a stick as fast food dishes, and in India, which honors the traditions of a leisurely family feast, snacks on the street were never welcomed. And ice cream, the recipe of which has long been known in the country, was called “kulfi” and prepared, thanks to the proximity of the Himalayas and the possibility of delivering mountain snow and ice, it was always a luxury item. Therefore, eating it, according to tradition, is necessary slowly and enjoying.
And some “ice cream experts” say that the British mark is clearly visible in the ban: after all, India has been under British colonial oppression for many years and has adopted some stiff behavior.
This is very seductive!
Hot Hindu men, they say, start from a half-turn, they only need to see something even remotely resembling some spicy passage from the Kama Sutra.
And then look: a woman eats ice cream so appetizingly! From associations in men it can also take down the roof.
Well, the Hindu elders consider the law to be very appropriate and correct, because, according to all conservatives, the way a woman eats ice cream in her mouth looks very vulgar and vulgar.
For moral reasons, in India it is forbidden to eat ice cream by mouth.
Echoes of the Colonial Regime
It would be very strange in the 19th century to see an Englishman gobbling up ice cream in the middle of the street, hastily freeing it from packaging ... And there wasn’t any factory then: everything was just from the Lords’s own kitchen.
Looking at the manners of the colonialists, wealthy Hindu houses immediately adopted the habit of European table setting and European manners of behavior. It was prestigious and, according to the Indians, made them closer to the caste of white people.
Because of the desire to comply with the "powers of this world", and in the understanding of the Indians, the strongest is the one who managed to conquer entire countries, and now in India it is forbidden to eat ice cream by mouth.
Read more about kulfi: you can’t eat such a spoon
A traditional Hindu cool dessert was made from whole or almond milk with the addition of aromatic herbs, in particular saffron, rice flour, sugar, pistachio nuts and mango. All this was boiled, then cooled with the help of Himalayan ice.
Food is not cheap, so it is not surprising that most Indians still perceive any ice cream even the most budgetary and affordable for all segments of the population as kuffi, and support any relic associated with the rules for eating desserts, in particular, that in India It is forbidden to eat ice cream by mouth.
Actually, it is impossible to eat kulfi without a spoon: despite the duration of boiling the ingredients and the time of their cooling, ice cream always turned out to be liquidish.
Use the instruments, or inaccuracy of the translator
Hindi is a very melodic language. This could not be overlooked by those who had once been fond of Indian cinema and sang excerpts from obscurely romantic hits born in Bollywood: “Jimmy, Jimmy, acha, acha!” And what was this “acha" about, it was somehow not enough time to clarify.
A similar story could have happened during the translation of legislation. And the phrase "it is forbidden to eat ice cream in India by mouth" was translated too literally, verbatim, while losing its true meaning: it is forbidden to bite or gnaw, it is advisable to use cutlery.
Children and tourists are allowed ...
However, knowing to what point the mercury column rises in the Indian summer, you may not be surprised that a similar law still exists in the country: eating ice cream from a pack is extremely inconvenient, because after a few minutes it begins to melt - and not flow, but literally pour over hands.
Sticky hands, plus heat, plus dust and possible insects ... It is unlikely that such a logical chain could add the desire to print ice cream right on the street.
Although Indian children living in poor neighborhoods have no written law: it’s forbidden to eat ice cream by mouth, and they eat. And even the smell of soaking skin or the smell of a funeral pyre, which constantly hang in the air in some urban areas, can not spoil their appetite or mood.
Visitors arrive with ice cream a little more carefully: they unfold and eat cool briquettes only in places as clean as possible, cultured and without a specific amber.
And there was not yet a case where an Indian policeman, having noticed a trespasser eating his ice cream with his mouth, applied some sanctions to him. But the "illegal" eating of dessert is often practiced not only by children, but also by quite respected local adults.
Here in India they punish alcohol: they can be fined for an unopened and non-drinkable bottle of gin. Just because you carry it unpacked. And ice cream is forgiven.