A Pinch of Salt

1.

Mr. chetan bajuria was a true foodie like any other but with a difference - He was the biggest foodie ever. An ardent follower of all cooking shows and food chains - his sole mantra for life became ' Eat Wait Repeat’! His day revolved around thinking about the next big thing he would be treating himself with and the measures he should employ to make it as memorable as possible ; like for example : planning all along to eat a double grilled cheese burger but switching to double magaritha pizza at the moment as an act of 'self-surprise' really amused him ! He didn't cook himself, for he believed cooking to be a pious profession and as such, he stayed away from this holy cause lest he dishonour it in any manner! His most memorable stories from school life had always some food as an important character like - " ....remember the time we used to jump the fences only to relish 'Golu bhaiyya's aloo chat' and that too for just two rupiyaah !!.....and ....and remember that time I was crying after getting beaten up by one of our seniors who thought that it was me who replaced his toothpaste with 'odomos' ! Funny he went on brushing for two days without realizing ! ; but afterwards you did propitiate me by offering a bite of your blueberry ice-cream !! that was the first time I had that flavour , that helped a lot man , still one of my favourites ...Ha-ha !! ".

Mr bajuria was a slap on the face of those who advocated the theory of evolution - that humans have evolved to live on food and not for food! He was the living example of one who took the nature's greatest survival instinct - instinctively! Mr. bajuria lost his mother at a tender age and sadly enough he lost out on the experience of enjoying his 'maa ke haath ka khana' - an irreparable loss in an Indian society ! His aunties did try their best ( mr. bajuria lived in a joint family) , but were no match for his late mother. Born in a small city and in a middle class family, mr. bajuria completed his school life from a government boarding school, and within days Mr. bajuria realized that the food in the hostel's mess was no more than a mess! Therefore it was natural for any kid from that school to develop a strong sense of palate for a decent food, and so it must have been the case , who knows. But for mr. bajuria that palate got stronger - stronger like a tide that starts with a lump but rises slowly , both in determination and size . It was as if he was on a quest for something, a recipe perhaps , unfathomable for normal beings and petty cooks.

Mr. bajuria started his life with a slender physique, athletic as one might call , that got him admitted into the school's NCC camp and got his hopes high for joining the army. Guys in the school invigorated mr. bajuria's already heightened spirits with stimulating words as such ," ....you see chetan , the army recruiters won't go for brainy guys , so dunno worry ! they only see your knee - caps ! The thing about knee-caps is that they shouldn't touch each other while you stand and that's all 'you and they' need ! no touchy knee-caps !". But the love for food got the better of mr. bajuria and within months of joining the camp - his knee caps couldn't resist but to start embracing each other in full public view ! ; Period.

Now with thirty years of life behind his back Mr. bajuria worked as a simple consultant in some big insurance company. His life was pretty much mundane except his remarkable eating habits , until an extraordinary incident happened one day that cemented his shakeable faith in God. It was on that

day the true meaning of the phrase ' God works in mysterious ways!' dawned upon him, and the very mysterious way by which God made him to believe so was ' experience!'. The experience of sheer happiness and joy as if life has just decided to play a Santa to him . The reason for all this was pretty much clear from the telephonic conversation Mr. bajuria had with one of his school friends that very night - " Hey Rajiv ! how are you ! I am doing good too ! the best thing happened today ! Believe me! i'll tell you ! So i went to this 'dhaba' for the first time ! It's just situated round the corner of our main office road ! the right one , yes! I never went there before , as you see , it was pretty much of a dull place , and I mostly ate from our office canteen or from petty food chains lined up in front of our office ! you know me!" he paused , taking a deep breath for the next course of action , he continued ," So on this particular day after a long and tiring work hours , I realized I was craving for something special without much money in my pocket ! And so this guy from the sales department Amit , no no , Ajith yes! Ajith was his name ! he took me to this dhaba and 'wow' man I swear on my dead mother's grave i had this best ' aloo ka parantha' in the world ! " he chimed along , " ....and not just the best parantha but the best food I ever had in my life , and that too for ten apiece ! I am seriously left out with no regrets in my life after this! “ he exclaimed , “ and the best part of all was this ' raw green mango chutney' they offered ! Sweet, sour, tacky, lustrous and whatnot! I feel it was this combination of ‘parantha and chutney’ that did the trick! “He chuckled and continued, " yep ! Sure man!! Next time the treat is on me....ha-ha ", mr. Bajuria gibed, "... And by the way you should have seen this woman who made these 'paranthas' , Lakshmi was her name , yes!! , very soft spoken and beautiful, so humble and so warm, pretty much not aware of her talent! " his voice softened , "... No, she didn't own the dhaba , it was her father's I suppose. It was after I went on a rant of how delicious those paranthas were that he had to call her in! and then I got to see her ...I never believed in miracles but now i do , right after this evening ....... "

2.

Lakshmi stood baffled in one of the corners of the kitchen , mulling over the situation so sparked. She saw the letter again, improperly sealed and addressed to her, but she couldn't garner enough strength to open it. She doubted her feelings. It had been two months since Mr. bajuria became a permanent customer of 'Sarovar' dhaba. 'Sarovar' was her mother's maiden name, and like mr. bajuria she also lost her mother at a very young age and was too raised by her father. She knew about this and the fact that they have gone through the same predicament made her feel closer to him. It didn't feel like two months, it felt ages! She distinctively remembered the evening when one fine gentleman went on showering praises upon her. It wasn't like she was never appreciated, but there was a marked honesty and a sense of frankness in mr. Bajuria's words. Words that knew no face or body but a genuine acceptance of a true talent; an honest appreciation indeed! Within weeks mr. bajuria became good friends with her father and a subject of interest and wonder for her. He visited twice daily like clockwork and smiled at her every time she was around! They hardly ever talked and a part inside her firmly believed that the feelings she garnered for Mr. bajuria was pretty much one sided, but then, she also felt a strong connection, mutual at that one, " you don't necessarily need words to explain your feelings when you have ample amount of looks and gestures

flying around!" she often reminded herself, and besides, it was difficult for Mr. bajuria to approach her in front of her father! Sometimes she heard him talking about her to her father and she couldn't help but smile her way around. He often left notes of appreciation when she made an extra effort in her cooking prowess to impress him. All her life she never believed cooking would become something more than a responsibility for her; it became her passion!

But God mysterious ways took an unexpected U -turn, when only this evening Mr.bajuria announced that he was being transferred to some other city and he had no choice but to leave in a few days. The news broke her heart but she also sensed an undertone of distress in mr bajuria's speech and demeanour that very evening. He didn't say anything. When he left, he folded his hands and bowed his head to her father. He didn't even enjoy the food as she noticed him lost somewhere in a whirlpool of his own thoughts. It was only afterwards when she went to pick up his plates from the table she found a note sticking out from mr. bajuria's plate. She quickly hid the letter in one of the loops of her sari and went ahead with the other chores before calling it a day. Now standing in the corner with trembling hands she finally found the strength to open the letter! And it went like this -

Dear Lakshmi ,

I didn't know how to bring up this matter with you before, so I never did. It all happened so fast, so sudden! you never realize how life can suddenly change for you. It was the first time in my life when i was into for something like that! Going against my ideals and finally finding the strength to listen to my heart! I tried so many times, but every time I tried I failed! Some or other things always went ahead and stopped me in my path. No matter how much I tried I could never get the salt or the ingredients in the right amount. Yeah! i finally tried my hands on cooking but I failed miserably and believe me , it was just for your paranthas ! I didn't ask you at first as i wanted to figure out the recipe myself as to what exactly made it so tasty .You are a sure one hell of a talent! But before I go, I just want you to write the exact procedure for making those paranthas on the back of this letter. I’ll come tomorrow to take that from you .I would be extremely obliged for this gesture.

Your food-fan,

Chetan Bajuria.

-By aditya prakash....