Gamelle ...

I came across this old shiny mesh tin container ('gamelle' in French) replete with delicacies one early morning outside my door. Not letting this rare occurrence pass by, I jumped to the camera. It has been a while since the last time I saw such a historical, bona fide 'gamelle'. While I was playing around to get the perfect optical setting; the girl next door, appearing out of nowhere; softly asked for her food back. She could barely hide the embarrassment so evident on her rosy blushed face. I pressed on with a few questions, only to find out that her birth mother, knowing too well of her forgetfulness, had been discreetly preparing food for every ceremonious occasions at the in-laws. (It is worthy to point out that in most Vietnamese homes, the daughter in law has to prepare food for the husband's family, especially on ceremonious occasions.) At the crack of dawn, the mother would drop the feast, packed neatly in a 'gamelle', in front of the door so the daughter could set up the meal.

Before I could pass on any judgment -- what a carefree daughter-in-law my neighbor is, what an overindulging the mother was in pampering her daughter -- I asked myself a simple question: "How deep is a mother's love?". Must not be deeper than this 'gamelle'