J - Big Names

Another journal, sitting here I am tapping on the keyboard and
working on alphabets, end result ? want to upload my writing once I
have typed the last word and put a full stop to it. Poor keyboard, if
it could speak it would have cried for help ? Here is this big question
mark. Why? ?the fingertips are beating the face of this feather touch
keyboard @ 40 words per minute. 'It hurts, it hurts', it cries, and,
the cry lost in the tak tak tak rhythmic beats resounding in my ears.
'Gouri has gone mad and thinking about the keyboards. She is a big
bore', this question springs up in your mind. No, I am not a student of
the College of Boredom. You will find this a 'Mirch Masala' (hot and
spicy) stuff as you move on.


I love to go shopping when I have a fat amount with me. In
this age of credit cards I may sound ridiculous, carrying a big amount
and moving about. If I pay in cash I know my limits, but at times I
make use of the card that is always ready at hand, lying dormant in its
dark resting place, seldom getting a chance to show its face and
inspect the outside world.


Last month I bought two pair of shoes. I got them from the
Bata showroom. Bata shoes have got international standards; no fear of
any sort of foot infection ?stays longer and has a good finish. These
are the advantages I have got from Bata products. I always prefer to
buy things which give me full satisfaction rather than cry over spilt
milk after facing problems with very cheap common
brands.


Today I had gone shopping. My shopping bag was full. As I
carried the shopping bag to my car I gave a quick glance at it. Packed
to the brim I felt sad at the conditions of those things lying at the
bottom and the lucky ones at the top smashing them under their weight.
Today I am very thoughtful about inanimate things. I gave another look
at the bag and there was the Amulspray refill pack, winking at me and
saying, 'I know you love me, so you buy my pack every month. Isn't it?'
I was confused for a moment, a packet talking to me. Too much thinking,
is it hallucination? There was the Ponds Dreamflower Talc pack, showing
a part of its plastic body frame and reminding me of its famous jingle
shown in the ads on the television. So was the case of the Close Up
Toothpaste pack ? trying to remind me of the beautiful set of teeth
shown on the T.V. Screen, the Surf Excel Detergent pack ? the stains
vanishing in seconds, so says the ad, Pantene Pro V Shampoo bottle ?
reminding me of the beautiful lustrous hair of the models and letting
jealousy creep in for my hair is not so beautiful, these things jutting
their heads from the crowd in the shopping bag. The ads associated with
these names sang their tunes to make them popular among the users.



After dumping the shopping bag in the car I decided to walk
down the street. A few yards walk and the air was filled with the aroma
of the Bhaji of the Pav Bhaji food stall. The street lined up with
shops on either sides, while men, women, children; young ones ? lovers
in pairs thronged the street. The Pav Bhaji man sold his foodstuff in a
Thela (kiosk). 'Kailashnath Special Pav Bhaji' was the name of the
Thela.The kiosk had a rectangular table top. A compartment just below
the top, three sides closed by wooden panels and the longer side having
the facility of sliding boards to open and shut. The man in dhoti and
kurta, short, stout and baldy owned this kiosk. On the top of the
wooden platform were the burning stove and the big tawa on which
Kailashnath cooked the bhaji. The rest of the space occupied by ? a
stack of plates, spoons, glasses, a knife, a ladle and his cash box. In
the closed compartment was kept all the things necessary to run this
brisk business. The whole wooden framework sat on an iron frame and the
whole structure sat on four wheels, constructing it into a mobile
foodstall. The four wheels ? not the common bicycle wheels but cycle
rickshaw wheels, the metal rims stronger and the tyres and tubes
sturdy. Four poles from the four right angles of the wooden top raised
a couple of feet higher and there sat the roof of this kiosk. It was
strong enough to withstand a strong wind and shelter from the glaring
blaze of the sun, the downpour and the cold.


Pav is bun and bhaji is curry. It is a special preparation,
bun served with curry. In this curry the base is boiled potatoes,
mashed and cooked on a big Tawa (a big iron plate) finely chopped
vegetables like capsicum, cauliflower, and some seasonal ones, added to
it and cooked over a high flame and a special masala added to increase
the taste . The bun is horizontally cut into half and toasted with
butter to be served hot. The bhaji is garnished with freshly chopped
coriander. I had to wait for sometime before being served. As it a
roadside foodstall, I stood near the thela and ate the tasty stuff.
This man had his secrets in the special masala, 'Special', that made
all the difference in the taste.


I must have disappointed you with my narrative. So let me
give you a 'cool touch'.


My eyes caught the man selling Barf ka Gola. Braf ka Gola is
instant ice candy made with crushed ice and sprinkled with colourful
syrups. In my childhood I preferred a barf ka gola to an ice-cream. It
is not available anywhere and everywhere. This man is a specialist in
the making of this special ice-candy. Ice-cream is available anytime
but the Barf ka Gola, only when the maker is around. Bhola, around
sixty years of age had stood at this place throughout the year except
those days or months when he went to Bihar, his hometown. People like
me and others, his regulars, missed him when he was away but those days
he enjoyed the company of his family, back in his small village. Bhola
had a pushcart that moved on two wheels and two hand bars to push. A
small square sized pushcart and on the right hand was his ice crushing
machine, manually handled. He would take a block of ice and rub it
against a metal sharp edged blade fixed to the top. Just below the
blade he placed a container where the crushed ice was deposited, He
would take a stick, and press the crushed ice around it giving it the
shape of an ice-candy. Next he would sprinkle the red, green and the
pink syrup and hand it over to his customers as his 'special three in
one ice-candy'. His syrup had natural colours and flavour ? not
harmful. I had my fav barf ka gola, paid Bhola, walked back to the car
park and with the help of the ignition key roused the sleepy engine
back to life.


Big names stand out. You can get them in every town or city ?
but Kailashnath Pav Bhaji and Bholas Ice-candy has a specialty of its
own ? remarkable, satisfying. To get the tangy taste of this pav bhaji
and ice-candy you have to travel all the way to my city. And then we
can also meet and know each other. Don't forget to inform me before you
land up here.