Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Chutney Man

He sits sullenly by the corner of Veena Stores, all by himself, perhaps smirking at the gluttons constantly swarming around him. "Swalpa chutney haaki!" some ask. Others just extend their arms towards his face with their hot idly-vade plates. Put, chutney... put, chutney... put, chutney. He can surely smell the vades - does that make him hungry? The first few days of his job, ancient times ago, they'd smelled delicious! How those chatty college boys always bit into them greedily, how those thathas gangs discussed their melting in their toothless inners. To him, the vades have always smelled that way. In fact, he can tell the exact dimensions and crispness of a vade if its smell wafts towards him even in the middle of the night. "Eshtu soft ide idly! Which batter do they use?" May be the women have always tried to snoop to know the Store's batter recipe, while cursing their husbands who always, God-knows-why, praise someone else's cooking and never theirs. He stares through the gluttons into oblivion. (When will my son send me the money order? Are my grandchildren proud of me? Will my chutney-putting diligence take me to heaven or to hell? Where does my wife wait; does she wait? Am I a robot?) Put, chutney... put, chutney... put, chutney. 

The sky is getting darker, there is a soft breeze. But nothing obstructs his gaze. His hand works mechanically. Put, chutney... put, chutney... put, chutney. Does he think while putting, chutney...? Sometimes the chutney lands right into the plate's base and splashes a little to the sides, sometimes it violently drenches the idlys but it always has to put up a fight to soak the vades. His hand moves systematically in and out of the big vessel holding the famous tasty green chutney, palm-up and palm-down. Does he feel pain in his wrist? Does he care if the chutney tastes okay, if it's a bit too dilute today? Do the gluttons like it better today? He stares past the chaos. His tranquility puts the chaos to shame with each passing day. (Will there be a nuclear war? When will the Palestinian children stop dying? Who will solve Bangalore's garbage issue? Why are some people anti-national and some not?) Put, chutney... put, chutney... put, chutney.

1 comment:

  1. A hungry stomach, eyes wide open and waiting children to be fed make me forget I am a robot or a chutney man.

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