Biryani was not always my favourite food, as a child I was unimpressed by the heap of rice and meat on my plate. But growing up there was a phase when Biryani was a weekly affair, dreary Sunday Mass followed by Biryani for lunch, for my aspirational father Biryani was a symbol of prosperity and for my culinarily gifted mother it was her prized blue ribbon.

Rajni fans knew it best.

When in 2013 Rajnikanth's fans got wind that the ambitious Kochadaiiyaan was probably going to flop really badly at the box office, the fan clubs in and around Austin Town and Vivek Nagar, Bangalore, rallied together to generate interest and promised the locals free biryani after the show if they went to watch the film.

Biryani in exchange for cleaning a lake.

In another instance, in January this year, the Kozhikode IAS officer Prashant Nair mobilised volunteers to clean a 14-acre lake in exchange for a plate of Malabar biryani. The task of ridding the lake of water hyacinth and slush was not easy but was a resounding success and all it took was the promise of biryani.

Biryani bribe.

Or the time in Baroda before a Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda, a man with a casserole emerged from the crowds and shouted to get Yusuf Pathan attention, "Yusuf bhai ek autograph de do, aapke liye biryani laya hoon." Or when Sania Mirza visited the sets of Dilwale with a box of Hyderabadi biryani for Farah Khan and the rest of the crew.

And as the times get increasingly volatile for our country, we must note that biryani has the power to unite people, families gather around tables, communities come together and work hard for each other, fans and friends are one, and the meal is a means of tribute and thanks. So just for once, let's all just agree about biryani.