Monday, June 18, 2007

Samosas & me!

17th June 2007
Kharagpur,India
2:00 A.M.

Reader warning: This is a general account of events that happened with me on the date mentioned.Any resemblance with any person living or dead,or any samosa,eaten or uneaten will be considered as mere coincidence.Reader discretion is adviced.


Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggg!
Damn tht alarm clock!
Ahh!nice! It was raining outside.I had just got up from sleep.It was 5 o'clock in the evening.Slept at 5'o clock in the morning after watching two great movies.This week is going great,no work.Moreover,I'll get to go early,a week before.Now,I'll have a full month of enjoyment at Delhi,yess!

I was feeling hungry,feeling hungry for samosas to be precise,after all those images of those mouth-watering samosas I used to have in delhi every few days,were popping up in my brain since past few rainy days,and to top it all,this rainy weather of Kharagpur had further wetted my appetite for them!
Last night,I had reached late at the sweets shop,about 9:30,there the shopwala bhaiya told me that the samosas don't last beyond 8 in the evening!
I had to go home with hungry and desparate eyes , cursing the shopowners."Gosh! Can't they keep it a little longer!"

Today I was determined,no matter what,I have to eat samosas....as many as I could!
A quick gaze at my watch told me it was 5:30 in the evening.It had stopped pouring,but still there was a slight drizzle....but nothing could come my way today.
Oh damn! i remembered,I had an appointment with th hairdresser at six.That stupid fellow didn't do my hair properly,the day before,so we decided for a second session today evening.
"Fine!Its cool!He won't take much time....and afterall,the samosas last till eight",I said consoling myself of the excruciating "wait for the samosas" that was unavoidable and lay ahead!

I got up in a hurry,brushed my teeth,had a nice warm bath ,got ready with my hair shampooed and well-combed and bingo! I was ready for a date with my dearly samosas....

By the time,I reached the hairdresser,it was 6:15.I parked my cycle,entered the salon,took my raincoat off and went in.It was somebody else today at his place.On asking,i came to know that the original guy had caught cold and was down with fever.That was strange.This new man was stout,slumpy with short hair and a small,but well maintained moustache.He seemed to be in his early 40s,with a bidi hanging from his mouth,just trying to balance itself amongst his two big,plumpy lips!
This new guy was very slow,it took him nearly about an hour for what his counterparts could finish off in about an half!
Anyways,all the time,I was hallucinating the smell of hot,oven-fresh samosas kept right in front of me,near the comb and the scissors."Gosh!I don't think I'm that desparate"
I suddenly realised,it is in such circumstances that the "Theory of Relativity" by our great Einstein, starts finding a sudden relevance....a theory which nobody even thinks about otherwise.

Phew!Finally,it was over much before than what I had expected!
A look at my watch,the time was 6:55. I caught hold of my raincoat,unlocked my cycle which was completely wet by now(thanks to the drizzle outside) but,nonetheless,that determination to eat samosas was still there.
The sweets shop,was situated about 10 minutes away at the far end of the Technology Market,IIT Kharagpur.I checked my cycle tyres for any air-leakage which may have been the work of some masked men conspiring to not let me reach the shop on time.To my relief,the tyres were okay.
I raced like anything.I bet had I been participating in some cycle race,I wouldn't have gone without recognition of winning the race with a margin,that could be mind-boggling enough to create tsunamis in the history of cycle races(:),:P)


"Oye! Kahan jaa raha hai bhaga bhaga?"....called a shreiking voice from behind.It was Ravi,my friend from IITKGP and labmates for the common MEMS Laboratory.
"Yaar! Kuchh important kaam tha.Jaldi me hun.Phir ghar bhi call karna hai",came a quick reply from my side,trying to discourage him from anything remotely related to chatting and talking.I was afraid,he might not start to chat again.
"Chal thik hai baad me milte hain,anyways Mukhia sir was askin for you,meet him tomorrow positively".
"Sure,I'll meet him...bye".....and I raced again with a sigh of relief.

However,I reached the shop on time,it was 7:05 by my watch.I was kind of proud of me to make it up on time besides all the conspiracies!
I was at the shop looking for the thing I came here for.
"Bhaiya! samose hain?",I enquired the shopkeeper,with my fingers X-ed.
"Dada! aakhri lot bacha hai" ,informed the shopkeeper.
"Bhaiya! Tumne to kal kaha tha ki 8 baje tak samose milte hain??" asked I in amusement.
"Dada,tumko kal batana bhul gaya tha.Sunday ko sirf7-7:15 tak hi milte hain"
"Ohhhhhh.........",came the biggest ohh from my mouth,"Just on time",and felt assured and happy,that atleast I got here in time.Had i got even a few minutes late,I would've lost the battle.
I thought at first,I'll but the whole basket,who knows "Kal ye shop band ho jaaye!Why take risks!".But being a bit realistic,I asked him to pack 8 samosas.Of those 8,I ate 2 at the shop itself thinking "Yaar,itni der wait karne ka tempo kiske paas hai,ab room jaane tak kaun rukega!"
I paid at the counter and flooded to my room where the other samosas were destined to go inside my belly one by one...huhuhuhahahaha(read as devil grin)

The people,on the road,and on my way to the room,seemed to be like hungry monsters,lurking for my innocent samosas. It seemed as if I was carrying a board with myself,with written on it in big bold letters that " THIS MAN IS CARRYING SIX EXTREMELY MOUTH-WATERING,CRISPY,SPICY,OVENFRESH SAMOSAS.BEWARE.CATCH HIM,SUE HIM AND TAKE ALL HIS SAMOSAS AWAY."
It seemed as if people were jealous-how could this man enjoy the company of six samosas in a no man's land(read IITKGP) where all there is to enjoy,are the forests around and the shrilling voice of the ever passing trains from the kharagpur station nearby,and where people are no less than machines,don't know how to enjoy life and are made sure they have some reason or the other which pisses them off!

I dont know what crap I was thinking all way.But,I was so damn excited that I could hardly remember anything on my way except that it still hadn't stopped drizzling,which further added to my excitement.

Ahh! finally I was in my room after rushing through the hostel corridors and saving my samosas from this cruel world that lay there looking for a moment to relish my samosas.
There was nothing between me and my beloved six samosas,and ,of course,the rain outside,which also made me feel a little cold.
I felt the samosas,they were still hot.I took out the tangy red chutney accompanying it in a bowl.
And ,the time was now,that moment had finally arrived for which I was waiting for about past three hours."Who needs a girl!",I wondered "When you have 6 samosas all at your disposal".Me sitting alone in my room,with six,mouth-watering,oven-fresh,samosas and the accompanying tangy red chutney that accentuated the whole ensemble.The rain outside,in the moonlit night made the moment even more eventful,not to mention,the happiness of a week long holiday and the recent permission by my internship guide to go home early.

Now there was nothing that could stop this divine reunion of man with his samosas,with the blessings of the Gods,and the whole cosmos of heavenly bodies,the angels ,the fairies,spectating this grand event.
I took them one-by-one...It seemed as if each one of'em was crying "Please eat me,o'my wonderful,kind-hearted and benevolent lord!"....
And I gulped them....and gulped and gulped......
And went to sleep with music in my ears,my belly full and my soul content. :)