Oranges

I love them. They are the most perfect fruit ever. Think about it. They look nice, bright and happy, not brown and depressing like sapota, which is quite tasty, but can put you off, especially if you think it is a potato, which in its raw form is quite ungainly and disgusting, who would guess that’s what chips are made of, and mashes, and tikkis. Unless ofcourse you’re Zo in which case you will bite into one and go ‘Mmmmm’, smile and requisite nodding showcasing enjoyment included. Potato, not sapota.

Then the fragrance. Oh My God they fragrance of oranges. Citric, fresh, just lovely. In fact, eating an orange in your room will kill your need for a room freshener. Mostly. A few weeks ago, I had just finished my orange, and my boss walked in and said sniffed the air and said ‘ Are you having candies? This place smells nice!’ And I was all, ‘Oh no, this is the very natural fragrance of oranges.’ As strong and lovely as a citrus deodorant, only much less harmful. Organic, for the posh crowd.

Then ofcourse, the taste. Who can question that? How many fruits are a beverage and a snack in one? Forget fruits, how many things are? You peel an orange thinking you’re hungry, and as you chew your way through it; you realize how thirsty you were! It works miracles for people like me who haven’t had a single drop of water through the day, and just so you know, it is almost 7 PM right now.

Next in line, convenience. You can eat an orange anytime, any place, without the need for a knife, or some extremely unfeminine (but perfect material for a Vicco Vajrandanti ad) biting and chomping, which is a necessity for an otherwise pretty Apple, or a tasty Guava. Which by the way also leaves behind an ugly rind which needs to be disposed off. It peels without a fuss, and like I said, emanates this refreshing fragrance. Unlike a banana, whose peel seems to blacken in like 5 seconds? Also, bleh, the taste is questionable, but this bit is about convenience. Also, an orange is easy to carry, just put in the bag! The only issue might be the seeds, as in, how do you eat an orange say in a meeting, because you need to spit out seeds after every piece, and there is only so much you can do discretely. The one fruit that beats the orange in this regard is grapes, but the need for a box to carry them makes it lose some weightage. Also, they are my second favorite fruit, so I am not complaining much.

Lastly, extra curricular activities it inspires. Have you made those web like things out of the juice you can squeeze from orange peel? It’s a talent. You take a plastic scale, squeeze the juice off the peel on to it, and then with some agility, tap the scale on your palm and pull it off, and voila! The juice becomes stringy. You can actually make enough string to look like a sort of web. Quite fun. The scale however after that can only be used for drawing straight lines, and not for geometry because this pretty much ruins the markings. There are also some violent fun things like squeezing this same juice into someone’s eye, but I will not propagate that. Not cool. And you can dry this peel, grind it, and use it as a pack or scrub. If you have the patience.

And that’s a lot. I am sure there is more, but if that’s not enough reasons for you to love the fruit, I don’t know what is. Oranges are the best fruit ever. My favorite. And one of them, one I had right now, just inspired me to write this whole post.

And that’s a big thing. Admit it.