Yummy yum!

Panipuri, Golgappa, Gupchup (I wonder why they call it that). Something us Indians can absolutely not live without. I mean have you ever seen anybody in this country hate it? I'm also sure if somebody from any other part of the world tasted it they'd love it and soon get addicted. Now I (a panipuri lover and addict), have always wondered what made this light brown, round thing filled with aaloo, bataani and masala water so special. Answers came rushing into my head. According to me, this is what makes panipuri irresistible.

First thing. The smell! The moment you pass a panipuri stall, the aroma of the hot curry wafts into the air and forms an invisible hand beckoning you (more like pulling you) to come to it and devour it. Once you pass that place, you're trapped! You can't get yourself to leave without having it. The smell is enough to make your mouth water. And that is what I call, the magnetic power of the smell.

The way one's mouth puffs up to accommodate the panipuri. When you see someone's mouth like that you can literally feel the panipuri breaking and all the pani flooding into your mouth. Makes you want to run like crazy and grab the panipuri from the panipuri waala bhaiyya and feel it for real in your mouth!

The anticipation and excitement you feel when you're the last person in the queue, when the queue is long that is, and the elation you feel when you are the first person in the queue. This is definitely an important contributing factor to the experience. Long queues are always the best. You get enough time to chew and swallow before another puri is given. Short queues are also nice. When there are only like two or three people or you are the only person in the queue, it becomes a very exciting and challenging race between you and the panipuri bhaiyya. You gotta finish the puri before he gives another one! This competition is always fun but one musn't get too ambitious and eat so fast that they either choke on the puri or forget to enjoy the experience.

The heavenly feeling you get when you feel that outer shell break in between your teeth and the water rushes into your mouth like water let out of  a dam. That feeling is indescribable. It can't be put down in words. And finally, the Burps! The best thing about the whole experience are the burps. They are even tastier and you'll surely find yourself trying to burp deliberately to feel that taste in your mouth. Your excitement starts waning slowly as the burps lose their taste and finally you start getting tasteless or mixed taste burps. That, marks the end of the whole experience. That, is also when you want to go and eat again! A vicious cycle. :P

Panipuri is something to be eaten messily. The more messier you eat, the more satisfaction you get. When a little pani escapes from your mouth and dribbles down your chin! That is the best thing that could happen as you can keep sweeping your tongue over that area to relive the taste even after you are done eating. I still wonder how people in other countries can live without knowing it's heavenly qualities. Well, in a way they're lucky to not be addicted.

All this writing is making my mouth water. Gotta go and have some immediately!


P.S. This entire thing was written assuming that people know about panipuri, the way it is served and eaten and all the other basic terminologies related to panipuri eating. So basic knowledge is mandatory or you wouldn't be able to appreciate this masterpiece. :P

Read it to find out..

Another something I've written.. Sorry.. Typed! :P

If only I had realised my mistake then I wouldn’t be doing what I’m about to do. I’ve committed a great mistake and I’m so sorry! But it’s too late. I’m helpless. I’ve no other choice.

We had been going out since college. She loved me and so did I (or maybe not). That day we were really happy. We had been doing well in our jobs and we had finally convinced our parents of our love. They had agreed and we were engaged, soon to be married. We went out to celebrate our success both in our careers and our personal lives. We went to a small restaurant which in spite of the lousy ambience served great, tasty food. We spent time there talking about how great everything turned out to be.

I sensed a little discomfort in her manner but I didn’t ask her and she didn’t speak about it. Then I heard my phone ringing. I picked it up and learnt that I had to immediately attend to an emergency in my office. I told her I had to leave immediately. She seemed a little unhappy about it but said that she would go home by public transport. I finished my food hurriedly and left. I was so tired after I came home that I went straight to bed without even bothering to ask if she had reached home safely.

After I woke up, my mother came running to tell me that she was in the hospital. I was shocked and went immediately to the hospital along with my parents. She was lying on the bed, weak and bruised. I wondered what happened.

When I went to her parents they were crying hysterically. They didn’t want to see me or talk to me. I left them to that and went home. My mother later told me that she had been raped on her way home. She also said ”It’s a pity the poor thing didn’t die. Now who is going to marry her?” It then suddenly struck me that I was the one supposed to marry her. I didn’t feel so sure about that now.

People had been saying various things about her while she was in the hospital. “How will a rape victim survive in this society?” “They should have killed her. They’d have done her a favour.” People also came to my house, when they came to know that we were engaged, telling my mother that it was all God’s plan and this marriage was never meant to be. Whenever I passed in a street, people gave me kind and sad looks. But then a few months later I came to know that she had recovered and was going to be discharged that day. I didn’t know what to do. I stayed at home.

In the afternoon, I heard our doorbell ring. I opened it to find her in tears but happy. She fell on me and hugged me. “It was them who were sitting beside us in the restaurant. Oh! It was horrible. I’m so glad I didn’t die. All the time in the hospital I was thinking about you. My parents kept telling me it’s all over, that you wouldn’t accept me anymore but I know there’s more to our love than that. I told them that you are different and would accept me even in my worst form. I still love you and know you do too. Let’s get married.” I had grown stiff from shock and the hug. I sensed my mother standing behind me. She was staring at her, not speaking a word. Many thoughts were going on in my mind then. I didn’t expect her to still have hopes of getting married. I thought for a moment and hesitantly said,”W-we can’t get married.” On hearing my words her eyes went wide. I continued, “Our family is prestigious. I don’t want anything to happen to that. People are talking bad about you. I’m sorry but this is not meant to be.” She stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. The words that then came out of her mouth were barely audible. “I thought you were different.” she said. She left my house without saying another word.

The next day I heard the news of her death from my mother. “Suicide”, she said. Sensing my shock she said, “Don’t feel guilty for her death. That’s how rape victims are supposed to be. They can never lead a normal life again. It’s a good thing that happened. It’s not your fault.” This made me feel a little better. I was still disturbed for a few days.

A few months later, I felt better. A year later, much to my mother’s happiness I fell in love again. We got married and lived happily for quite some time until one evening when I was taking my two year old son out for a walk I saw her walking on the street. I immediately broke into a sweat and kept staring at her. She went on walking without noticing me. Many possibilities started springing up in my mind but I finally blamed it on my imagination and went home. During dinner, my wife kept asking me what was wrong. I told her it was nothing and kept telling myself the same. That night I saw her in my dreams. She kept crying and I was standing doing nothing. I woke up suddenly to realise I was sweating fiercely. I saw my wife beside me who was sleeping soundly unaware of anything happening around her. I got up and went to a table in the corner of my room to drink some water. Feeling much better I was returning back to my bed when I saw something obstructing the way. It was her, standing right in front of me with the same expression she had the last time I saw her. I rubbed my eyes and opened them to see that she was gone, nowhere to be seen. This time, I blamed it on the stress I was undergoing at my office lately and thought that might be the reason why I was hallucinating. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I kept tossing and turning on my bed. I wondered why I was suddenly hallucinating about her after such a long time. I didn’t have a good feeling about all this.

The alarm rang suddenly. It was 7AM. I was very late. I might have fallen into a disturbed sleep the previous night. I looked at myself in the mirror. My eyes had dark circles underneath and my face was all swollen and puffy. I dressed up quickly and ran downstairs hoping my wife wouldn’t notice my face. She didn’t notice me as she was engrossed watching the TV. I went to what was so interesting and saw two pictures in the news. Those faces looked familiar. I asked my wife what happened to them and she said they both died the previous night under mysterious circumstances. The murderer was very clever and didn’t leave a trace. The post mortem reports also couldn’t reveal the cause for the deaths. Suddenly it struck me. They were the two people who were there that day. The last day I went out with her. I was dumbstruck. I stared at the screen for a few minutes and without looking at my wife’s face said I had to leave soon and I was very late. I left home in a hurry.

From that day I’d no peace of mind. I kept seeing her everywhere. The nights were the worst. I kept having the same nightmares over and over and every dream had her in it. My wife started getting worried. She kept asking me what was wrong. I always eluded her questions, found some way to not answer them. I somehow didn’t want to share all this with her. The whole day her voice kept echoing in my mind. Her last words to me. “I thought you were different”. My whole world was falling apart.

 I can’t take this anymore. I hope my wife finds this. I hope she’ll understand and not hate me.

I AM NO DIFFERENT. I’m going to die!

A "SHORT" thought

" Their heads may look down to me,
but their minds will look up to mine
and deep down inside they'll know
that here's a superior creature who is as humble as her height."

Defying the fairytale laws...

Here's a little something I've written.... You could call it a small narrative..
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I stood there, with the cool breeze caressing my face. A strong wind was what I wanted instead of a mere breeze to match the rush of adrenaline inside of  me but you don't always get what you want, do you?
  I don't have many memories as a child. All my memories mostly comprised of my bed and the small table beside it and a little window which allowed very little light into the dark room. All my life I've known only fear, terror and anger. Happiness was never a part of me or maybe I had forgotten what it felt like to be happy. I was kidnapped as a child, I guess, and was locked up in the dark room of this very high tower. A few men tried to rescue me, or so the Dragon says. I talk to the Dragon. Yeah, we communicate but I never really liked It.
  I've always had this urge to inflict damage to the Dragon and climb down the tower and run about wild and free. I have this faint memory in which my father told me that a man, a handsome prince to be more precise would come, slay the Dragon, rescue me and take me back home to my kingdom. We'd eventually get married and live Happily Ever After.
  I've waited for quite long. No sign of any prince. The Dragon says a few have come but they have stopped, as It is too fierce for them. "They're all chickens", It says and laughs It's wicked laugh. I waited and waited patiently in my room hoping for someone to come. No one did.
    Today, all my urges and desires took over me. I felt really determined and had made up my mind. I sat in my room, thinking, for hours together. Something had to be done. I was tired of being the damsel in distress and wanted to help myself! My patience had clearly ended and there was no use waiting for someone who would never come. People had forgotten all about me. It was about time I reminded them.
   I slayed the Dragon in It's sleep with a sword I'd found in It's room. I went directly for It's belly and pierced hard. It opened It's eyes to the pain and saw me standing with the sword. It stared straight into my eyes and became immobile.
  I'd done it. I didn't need any prince's help and I clearly didn't need a man for my Happily Ever After. I stood there taking in the breeze and my new found freedom. I had a whole life and the world ahead of me!

Hello there,
This is my new blog and i still haven't decided what to say.
Wait! I'm saying something now, aren't I?
More posts would definitely come up when i get emotional. ;) :P
Till then,
Keep waiting. :)