Pomegranates, and a memory

These pomegranates were sitting in a dark corner at a Turkish greengrocer's. I was fascinated with their skins, which seemed to be glowing in the gloom. The people in the shop were amused that anyone would want to take so many photographs of fruit.

An elderly Iranian lady told me about the different Persian dishes that use pomegranates. Fingers flying, she described her grandmother's techniques for separating the arils from the rind. I would have written down some of what she said, only she was going so fast, and anyway I couldn't take my eyes off her. I was completely entranced by how animated and young her face became while she was talking, and briefly considered asking if I could take her picture. In the end I decided not to, because I felt she would have turned shy in front of the camera.

A happy memory, nonetheless, of the kind of encounter I have never experienced in a supermarket.



The pic is straight from camera, but somehow looks treated. Don't know why that is.