Letter from a Tomato Festival Organiser to All Indians

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Friends, we are a little taken aback by the protests by some of you. Due to unnecessary allegations and intervention raised from various groups, the Bangalore event was called off. (The Karnataka chief minister actually took those protesters seriously? And all in the name of Indian culture?)

And now we are doubtful about Pune too. Thankfully, the Mumbai one is still safe.

We are a group of cool people and we understand our social responsibilities and that’s why our motto has always been ‘Fun with a purpose’. Why don’t people understand that?

In addition to incorporating some of the super fun element of the famous tomato food fight that you all loved in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara — albeit branding it in our unique way — we have been promoting social awareness as well.

I think this is the doing of our competitors, who themselves had planned on organising their own version of the popular Tomato festival. They had even entered our Facebook page and started disturbing our peaceful, little group with their comments about food wastage.

Extremely shocking and appalling!

What has food wastage got to do with this?

How many times do we have to tell people that we are not wasting food in anyway? We tried telling people we will not use fresh tomatoes. Immediately, some people (I think those who had infiltrated our group) said that rotten tomatoes will be used. Now, this was enough to scare off some of our supporters who were worried of skin diseases.

There was a flurry of activity over this and finally we had to post on our site explaining the nature of the tomatoes we would be using: “When you go to buy a tomato, wat (sic) kind do you buy? The tomatoes we usually purchase for consumption are red, juicy and hard. Now, there are some tomatoes which are red and soggy. No one buys these tomatoes even though they are not rotten. These tomatoes are soggy which no one eats.”

This is the kind of tomatoes we said we would use.

But after that some of the comments said there were so many people in our country who don’t get to eat those soft tomatoes also. Really? If there is demand why such tomatoes are sold at throw away prices at the mandis?

For everything they seemed to have a question or a protest. Why did they enter our group if they didn’t support what we were doing?

Now, the Bangalore organisers had provided such wonderful facilities for everyone this Sunday. Let me list them for all those who have only criticised the fest:

1. Rain dance (which you can use to rinse off the tomatoes on you).
2. Changing rooms while exiting (you can go home fresh).
3. Food court (stalls like little Italy, Baskin Robbins, Barista, etc).
4. Massive pools.
5. Separate entry for couples & stags.
6. Security arrangements by one of the best security agencies

Wasn’t this a perfect recipe for some undiluted fun? But no, people had to ruin it. In fact, this wasn’t all we had some good Samaritans who had yet more ideas. Again, for all those who think that there was no mass support for the fest, let me tell you that the excitement was awesome. Some suggested that we have locker facilities to keep the phones and bags and extra clothes. Someone asked for food coupons.

We even had one gentleman listing some wonderful ideas:

1. Scanners at entrance to detect people with deadly skin diseases just so they don’t spread scabies, eczema etc to the fun loving souls.
2. Rubber coating on the walls of the ketchup pools just so people do not hurt their heads when performing an “Abhay Deol” stunt of skiing in the Tomatina fest.
3. Air fresheners to neutralise the stink from about-to-rot tomatoes (I am saying here again, the tomatoes would be just soggy and not rotten)
4. Good supply of “edible” tomato ketchups to fulfil the tomato craving to our stomachs.
5. Extra protection for our girls from the likes of wannabe/disguised/deputy Muthaliks that sneak through to the show.

I found it to be a very useful list. It’s sad the Bangalore event is called off, but I have taken note of some of the things (particulary point no. 1 about the skin diseases. Well, no one thought about it actually.)

Has anyone every heard of the Pink Tomato Festival in Arkansas (US)? In 1956, a group of merchants decided to host an event to celebrate the tomato industry and help promote business in the area. Founded as a one-day event, it has now grown to a week-long celebration attracting more than 30,000 visitors each year. I read up somewhere the Pink Tomato Festival site has tremendously helped economy of the county by boosting their tomato industry. Do you think we can achieve something similar for our state?

If you still are not convinced, did you know tomatoes have so plus point? Did you know it is second only to the potato in terms of the top vegetable consumed in the Universe?

To decrease hangover severity, a cocktail of tomato juice (100 ml), cucumber juice (100 ml), spinach juice (10 ml) and olive oil (1 tbsp) should be taken before going to sleep.

Tomato juice is obviously one of the most popular juices throughout the world. Homemade tomato juice contains a wide variety of nutrients associated with certain health benefits.

Raw tomato juice does not have side effects and is considered to be safe to drink in large quantities. However, if you have gallbladder diseases tomato juice should be avoided.

Tomato is a very good source of vitamin C and vitamin A, it helps to get rid of acne and promotes great healthy skin. The acid in tomatoes helps to balance the skin tone, reduces excess oil, and fights against dull skin and acne breakouts. Mash a tomato and apply the pulp to your face. Leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. Try this treatment regularly for a week to have a clear and glowing face.

Applying slices of tomatoes, tomato juice or tomato paste to your hair enhances the natural PH of the hair and helps in getting back its natural colour. Tomato acts as a conditioner and brings shine to luster less hair. To fight dandruff, apply tomato pulp to your scalp and leave it for half an hour and then shampoo your hair. This is a very effective way and time-tested remedy.

Tomatoes help you to a remove those extra pounds you have been carrying around. So if you want to lose weight easily and quickly, eat a raw tomato early morning everyday and try to drink tomato juice twice in a day, but make sure it does not contain any sugar. The important tip is to have one glass of tomato juice 10 to 20 minutes before you eat, as this reduces your appetite.

In a country where so many people go hungry, it is a dark irony that up to 30 per cent of the fruit and vegetables grown in India goes bad before reaching the market thanks to a combination of bad roads and a lack of refrigerated trucks. We are only trying to help. By picking up these tomatoes and paying the farmers fair price so that they do not make a loss. Why don’t the protestors understand that?

We will ensure that a part of the earnings are donated to NGOs or foundations which feed the needy. Details will be posted once things are concrete.

Request you to please not argue or comment to any protest related comments. Let them be. Let us be.

We are very happy that you guys are supporting us here and we are sure we will have lot of fun and the event will ROCKKKK!

We can not reveal too much about the event at the moment but we want each one to be a part of the event and it’s gonna be ROCKING than ever!!!!

Regards,
A (very melancholy) Tomato fest organiser