After I joined my work in blore…I was staying alone in J.P. Nagar for a while.I was spoilt with love and affection for 20 yrs..and for the every first
time the lil lazy bird had to fly and stay away on her own…

Traveling in the public trasportation was a new thing.. a scary adventure everyday.We had to travel long distance in the bus…many times standing
sandwiched between sweaty bodies with heads smelling of coconut oil and jasmine!!!There I found a new companion in my colleague Shilpa.
She is a reserved sober girl..and was more often than not shocked with my strong opinions…or wild bouts of giggling.She particularly resented my
ability to laugh at anything and everything.

I would lecture her about philosophies…sometimes about why women should kick men back to mars..and sometimes whine about not having a boyfriend.
Many times,we would look out of the windows..and see couples traveling on two-wheelers..the girl hugging the boy so tightly that you pitied his lungs…and
a new cycle of whining began.
Slowly even Shilpa began to open up…whine abt guys and their indifference to quality gals…about lousy conductors and people
who stamped on your feet.
The funny thing was we would whine and laugh..whine and laugh…
Sometimes..when life seemed too much for our shoulders,we would get down in Jayanagar..and help ourselves to the solution for all probelms:chaat!

Standing in front of the crowded “hotchips” mouth watering…the delicious aromas would finally
give us courage to enter the jostling crowd and then buy coupons..I could never decide whether I wanted to have samosa chaat or paapdi chaat.

sometimes,Shilpa would start salivating when he was still preparing…we both would look fascinated at his hands moving between the colorful
ingriedents..as his finger tips moved between the myriad powders at the speed of light.

Standing near the dusty road as vehicles passed by..impervious to the dust..the traffic..the people…we would
sit there..lost in the taste…and talking about our lives…why nothing ever happened…50%off-sales..you know..the usual giry stuff- with the warm spicy
chaat in your mouth life seemed an ok affair!

Then we would go for the next rounds of paani-poori.
Crisp round pooris..the color of evening sun…the guy would non-chalantly burst open ..and fill in that mixture of what i personally think is made up winks (wink->sour taste..dont ask me to explain) he would
..and then dip it once in the sour paani and once in meetha paani..and keep it in our plate(made from a leaf)..and we would gobble this globule of pure heaven and go “‘hhhhhhhhhhmmmm..so yuuuuuuuum!”

Sometimes..I would stay back over the weekends ..then Shilpa and me would go to commercial street…She loves anything which she can buy -5 pieces for 150/-.
We would then shop till we would drop..then head for Saagar chaats.
Shilpa loved the “paani-poori” there..whereas i preferred “raj kachori“
I can’t write anything more..there is only one word which comes pretty close to that experience-”BLISS”.
I think the taste in chaat…can be explained that it is eaten among loved ones and lot of dirt:)

But I am game for a plate of paani-poori anytime:)what about you?