Updated on Sunday, August 13, 2000, 00:00 IST

It's a long weekend. You need a break from nagging colleagues and from the pollution of city life. Think of a cosy little place where you can spend your weekend either with your friends or with your wife and children or with your sweetheart, as the case may be. Imagine spending the whole day with your loved ones! Now, the most important part of your planned picnic: Food. The place you have chosen is so far away from civilization that you need to pack everything from your house. Or, you are a health-conscious person who would think thrice about gorging on anything that comes your way. So, here is a list of the things you can pack in your picnic hamper. If you are a die-hard Indian food fanatic, settle for pulav - vegetarian or non-vegetarian is left to your choice - and raitha. While a steel box is ideal for taking pulav, be careful while packing raitha. If there is too much curd in it, there's every possibility of it creating a mess in your basket and putting you off for the rest of the day! One solution is to take chopped cucumber, onion and tomatoes in a container and a packet of curds separately. You can mix it just before the meal.

Create a home away from home

If you're not very particular about rice, you can pack rotis or chappatis in a hotcase. But make sure you take an adequate amount of sabzi, chutney, curry… whatever you like to have your rotis with. Take some hot pickles with you to spice up the meal. It's definitely an effort to create a home away from home! Alternatively, you can take sandwiches, with plenty of cucumber, tomato and onion slices. You can either settle for a plain sandwich or a toasted one. And if you have enough time before leaving for the picnic, go for a grilled sandwich. Packing this should pose no problem. You can cover the sandwiches with tissue paper and then put them in a plastic cover.

Fruit for all reasons, especially hunger

Now, for the snacks. How about delicious samosas and chutney? Eat them when you feel like nibbling, and sure enough, the spicy taste will linger on your tongue for quite some time! If you are taking kids along, make sure you have enough junk food as well - like potato wafers and jellies. Better still, take plenty of fresh fruits and feed it to the children when they complain of hunger. Even if they detest fruits and vegetables, hunger and the stark reality that they don't get anything else to eat in the middle of a place far away from civilization, will force them to eat it without pulling a long face.

Don't forget the drinking water

Most importantly, take plenty of drinking water with you. You never know what kind of water is available at tourist spots, even if they come in sealed bottles. There's nothing worse than returning from a picnic with an upset stomach and a queasy feeling. And yes, even if you are against fizzy drinks, just keep a few cans. If someone in the group is low on sugar, it will be of some help till you return from the picnic. It will also add a carefree sense to the ambience. What's more, the kids will just love it!! One last thing. Don't forget to keep a little trash can/ packet handy to dispose of all waste hygienically. It's a good idea to collect this and save it to be dumped at a garbage bin near home or close by. It's very wrong to pollute picnic spots and ecologically unsound too. So while you enjoy nature's bounty, make sure you give Mother Nature some dignity too.

ZeeNext Bureau