MASALA RESTAURANT

MASALA RESTAURANT

One fine day, Ravi decides to go abroad to stay with his son in Switzerland. His son Aditya was a dentist there. He had invited his father several times and now the wavelengths met. One Sunday morning Ravi landed in his son’s place. The warm welcome by his son in the coolest place, the mesmerizing ambiance, and the strange kind of fusion of thoughts-altogether he was on cloud nine!  Mind and environment both extremely cool and extremely blissful.

Father and son exchanged their way of life. Both lived a single life coping up in their own odd ways. They were mentally ready to accept individual differences and accompaniment each other.

One day, Ravi stepped out alone just to roam around the city. He walked a hairbreadth away reading every new boards of the neighborhood. His eyes were on stalks as he read “MASALA RESTAURANT”. The name itself flaunted an Indian aroma. Without a second thought he rushed in and ordered for a plate of steaming idlis and sambar(a famous south Indian dish).

The aroma of the sambar took Ravi to his high school days. He remembered Sharda’s lunch box. “Same aroma! same taste! It’s a peach of a meal.” he said to himself. Am I dreaming or what! Why this Sharda in my mind after 35 years?

The middle-aged lady at the counter looked so familiar. The large brown eyes, Indian fair complexion, very familiar chubby cheeks, tall and bold physique gave him a sense of Déjà vu. He wanted to inquire about her. But no, he didn’t get the courage. Because Sharda was his dream girl during his high school days which remained unexpressed and had remained a dream. He put his head down on the table, unveiling his high school dreams. It was the first time he had allowed his thoughts to flow freely, undisturbed.

   In a little while, “Are you okay sir? A gentle feminine voice knocked him down with a feather. “I’m fine I’m fine…” he said without even looking up, which was very clear that he was not fine. But the voice seemed familiar. Heartbeats increased, legs trembled, beads of sweat dressed his forehead in the cold climate. His inner conscious screamed and confirmed it was his dream girl Sharda. Sir, do you need any help? She asked again. He looked up anxiously. YES, it was none other than her. Face, the index of mind revealed the excitement within him. It was not very difficult for her to identify him after looking at him closely. She literally jumped out of her skin to find her high school classmate.

Hey Ravi, what a pleasant surprise man! Where? Which? Why? When? All interrogatives were sped one after the other. After answering one by one Ravi experienced the free air, the same freedom of the teenage was felt.

Both bridged the long gap of 35 years.

Ravi had joined a multinational company after his B Tech. Married Maya, his own maternal uncle’s daughter. She passed away when Aditya was studying dental. Then he had to stay all alone till his retirement. And now he decided to live with his son in Switzerland.

Sharda had completed her masters in English. She married Ashok who had ventured to find job in Switzerland and was saddled with debt.  To set right the things they decided to paddle their own canoe and started MASALA RESTAURANT which was and is a great success.

After bridging the unknown gaps, the common old memories flooded.    

  Ravi: You were the most talented girl of our batch. A TOM BOY of the class, super athlete, and a good cook too. I never forget the lunch we shared during the lunch break.

You really had the nerves of steel. you remember… we had been to Delhi for a sports event. We traveled by train. We had been to the station just on time and you had pushed everyone of us and our luggage into the train and managed to board the moving train. We were packed like sardines. I was too shy natured and had cornered myself. Amidst that, A gentleman had asked us where we were heading to. And you had told him, “we going to Switzerland.” By train? He interrogated. And you gave him a crisp answer, “Yes, we’ll go to Delhi, then we’ll take a flight.” We were all in laughter. Once that man got down you had expressed your fury, “as it is, we are jam packed and this fellow wants our details.” I just can’t forget that entire trip.

Sharda: very true Ravi teenage memories really keeps motivating. Of all my talents my cooking skills are still alive and are symbiotic to my life. Ravi, do you remember Kitty, who used to sing and mimic everyone.

Ravi: Ha ha Yes.... how to forget her? She was the nightingale of our school and such a funny character. She had not spared even the tap water flowing down to mimic.  I think she settled as a music teacher in a music school. She didn’t get any good opportunity.

There was an ocean of nostalgia exchanged between the two friends. They had bundles of laughter and anxious moments to share. The strict English teacher who was a nightmare, had proved to be the best person during farewell day. The mathematics teacher who was so stingy person, he had thrown a party the day before the farewell. And the art teacher still evergreen. Everyone took advantage of her lenience.  

Ashok, Sharda’s humble husband gives an entry with three cups of strong coffee. At every sip of coffee, Ashok had a wise thought to share. “self-management, time management, happiness, esteems, efficacy, responsibilities, directives and goals are every individual’s responsibilities.” He asserted. Ravi realized the   true wisdom which he had learnt through hardship.

 All said and done, Ravi’s single-track love, buried within himself did not find any outlet to flow. His hypocrisy deceived him. He always tried to prove himself good than being truthful to his own conscience. He never tried much to get what he wanted instead allowed things to happen. One thing he was satisfied was about Sharda’s accomplishments. He whole heartedly wished her and her family the best in their endeavors. He was in a dilemma when he decided to come to Switzerland. But not anymore. He had found his long lost, friend in the new place. 

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