Double Treat

Banoo Apa serves us aloo chaat with sweet curd

We know that some people call us ‘bhukkad’. But we take no offence. Hindi does not have a word that adequately captures the spirit or meaning of foodies. So whenever Fahmida Khan and Yusuf Rassiwala go about playfully exchanging taunts and calling each other ‘bhukkad’, we too would happily join the madness.
Today we took this juvenility to a still baser level. Without realizing it we were decimating our very existence to the bags (or thailis) holding something nice to eat and drink. Thus when Banoo Apa landed in the

Kajal Babani pitches for kanji

Garden this morning with her bag of goodies – obviously stuff for a treat – word instantly got around that thaili had arrived!
For that moment, the person bringing the eats had ceased to exist. Thaili assumed precedence over Banoo Apa. Some even inquired greedily about the contents of that big bag. And when it turned out to be aloo chaat, the news was promptly relayed

Santosh Tyagi with glasses of refreshing kanji drink

round the exercise circle as though nothing else in the world mattered then.
This fixation for food is unprecedented. In the past, treats were always a surprise. Nobody asked what it was to be, even as some would have known or noticed the tell-tale bag arriving in the Garden. And if there was a delay in revealing its contents, a genial Tara Chand would perhaps politely ask the carrier of the bag if she/ he had “forgotten to tell us something”. That was as shameless as we could get. To say “Thaili is coming” instead of naming the person was unthinkable.
Fact is, one Thaili did not come today. Another Mr Thaili arrived while Santosh Tyagi lived up to her commitment of treating us to her annual kanji drink. As mentioned in blog posts in earlier years, no compliment is adequate enough for the way Santosh prepares this ethereal concoction of carrot and beetroot extracts, fermented to perfection. Some brave ladies thought they would be let into her “secret recipe”, only to be rebuffed with a cryptic, “You will have to take classes from me first”!
Some things in life are meant only to be enjoyed with no questions asked. Santosh’s kanji is one.
Lt Col Angad Singh (retd):
Kanji is a special drink liked by everyone. Thanks a lot, Santosh-ji for the treat. The aloo-chaat from Banoo Apa added a special flavour and was also appreciated by all. Thanks for the same.