My annual nightmare

 If you call it a national vegetable, there are still people who have no access to it. It's all about fun summer, which is of course associated with Ghiraula as curry, chatni, dal, salad and whatever dish that is possible all over the Kathmandu valley.

It's summer, lets take a look around the backyard, in the front yard, beside the gate all we see are vines covered with green round leaves and yellow flowers. A signal that sponge gourd, Ghiraula is ready to haunt us.

"Sponge guard has such a mild flavour blends with every vegetable in the kitchen and has a delicious flavour and spongy texture", my mom nags me the same way my grandmother does. But trust me when I claim Ghiraula is not mild-flavoured it’s tasteless.

Be it at your relative's house or your friend's and with no exception yours own for these few months, it's going to stick with you like your tail. The smooth-skinned and the rough-skinned sponge gourd are going to cooperate and guard against other vegetables or curry from being cooked in our kitchen.

The long, thin, dull green cylindrical vegetable can sometimes be arrow straight while can also be curled as S. It can grow up to a meter in length. They look like green snakes hanging on the vine. 

The vegetable that grows without boundary that is Ghiraula is edible while young but later acquires fibrous texture. The fibrous one being bitter and inedible. Even after being labelled as inedible, it doesn't stop haunting us. The bathroom will be equipped with a bath sponge, don’t misunderstand it's not the bath sponge you are thinking of. It’s the fibrous mature Ghiraula that is used as a bath sponge.

I  pass through mart, the vegetable section, then stop at the sight of the nightmare that has been haunting me. Then I wonder will anyone ever buy it? 

The longing for another vegetable, another dish rises to the peak. People who love summer but not the dull green long vegetable then start thinking. If only, if only summer could take sponge gourd away with it.

..Photo credits to the owner...