“Bharat Mala” and the possibility for a Sino-India détente!

More than 5000 km long connecting corridor between the western border with the eastern border, touching all  the border states in between, named “Bharat Mala” will not only bring in economic prosperity in the region but would be a game changer for the movement of personnel and goods during emergency either natural or man made. It would also be useful for promoting border trade with almost all the SAARC countries. Considering, however, that such a big project was announced just before Mr. Modi’s visit to China on 14th May’15, it may also be having some other wider ramification.
Except for the border clashes with India and Vietnam, rise of China particularly during initial phase was quite peaceful and most of the neighboring countries were benefited from its development. Once, however, China felt herself to be sufficiently powerful both economically and militarily, it started behaving like an arrogant rich bully trying to pick up disputes with almost all the neighboring countries either on account of land or sea boundaries. China was always trying to justify its claim based on some historical events without giving credence to reality on the ground or International Laws. In the process, today China is in an unenviable position of not having any friends worth the name except North Korea and Pakistan, both of whom are either a friendless, failed state or heading for the same. During peace time it could still be alright but things could be precarious in case hostility breaks out. The entire south-eastern rim of Chin, its industrial & economic hub, facing East China Sea and South China Sea is practically blocked by the island-chains and land boundaries of its hostile neighbors like Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam etc. not to mention about the combined force of USA and its ally Australia
Indian Ocean is very vital for China for meeting her energy requirement. But the route is not only very long with two choke points at both ends (Strait of Hormuz at the entry and Strait of Malacca at the exit) but is also virtually controlled by India who is constantly upgrading her sea control and sea denial resources. As explained above, things are manageable during the peace time but could be difficult otherwise.
To take care of the above mentioned problems, recently China has signed a MOU with Pakistan to construct a “China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” (CPEC), connecting Gwadar port in Balochistan province of Pakistan with Kashgar in Uygur Autonomous Region in Xinjiang province of China via POK and Gilgit & Baltistan. China has pledged about 40 Billion USD for constructing this CPEC! But not everything is very rosy about this project, as for example:
- Balochistan is in flames and but for its scanty population it could have easily got its independence like Bangladesh with some tacit support from India who would be willing, if provoked further.
- Since Balochistan is having a long land border with Iran, any deterioration of relation with Tehran will spell doom for Balochistan.
- Pakistan might have taken the right decision in not joining Saudi Arabia in its war against Yemen but turning a blind eye to your friend and chief financier may have far reaching consequence particularly since ISIS is financed by Saudi Arabia. Predicted loss of face of Saudi Arabia in war with Yemen may start the blame game & witch hunting.
- Uygur Autonomous Region is always a constant headache for China for its rebel Muslim population. Since Uygur rebels use Pakistan as a sanctuary, it is having the potential of spoiling China-Pakistan relation as well.
- Gilgit-Baltistan province of J&K is illegally occupied by Pakistan and China tacitly accepts that it really does not belong to Pakistan. People of GB are also trying to merge with India and would remain a hot bed of trouble.
- GB being earthquake prone, extremely mountainous with high altitude, road building will not only be extremely difficult & hazardous (danger of avalanche) but it cannot also remain usable for more than five months a year. Tunneling will be cost prohibitive besides technical challenge.
- Transporting goods from Kashgar to south-eastern region which is the industrial & economic hub of China would also take considerable time.
- The entire corridor is within the striking range of IAF and some portions are even within the range of tactical missiles or MLRS ( reverse situation of Pakistan army occupying Kargil heights in 1999)
- Navy is making a base at “Porbandar- Dwarka II” named INS Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel mainly to protect the coast of Gujarat and mount operation across the bay.
- India is negotiating with Iran and Afghanistan to develop Chahbahar port in Iran, just 75 km upstream of Gwadar and build a corridor up to Afghanistan and then to Central Asia. Since India will be controlling a sea port upstream, it will have better chance to control the Strait of Hormuz.

As against all these headache will it not be prudent for China to shake hand with Mr. Modi and settle the boundary issue (may be at the existing LAC) and use Bharat Mala for its logistic supply?
Entry point could be any port in Gujarat (all ports will be connected through road network as per Sagar Mala, as conceived by another visionary Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee)   and exit will be at the Myanmar border which is near their industrial & economic hub in the south-eastern region. China may even be willing to foot the bill which is estimated to be about 2.5 Billion USD….peanuts compared to CPEC! If need be, China could also use much shorter East West Corridor  connecting Porbandar  with  Silchar. This corridor is only 3300 km long and is nearly ready.
It’s a simple cost benefit analysis for two alternative investments. In one the investment level is very high coupled with very high risk and low expected return and in the other the investment level is very low with practically no risk and high return.
Sino-Indian relation is also passing through a transitional phase with immense possibility of going forward or heading for the doom. We could neither be called friends or even enemies. The vast border over which we fought in 1962 remained tranquil ever since except some flair up in eighties. Occasional incursions from both sides are more of rhetoric and were solved without firing a single shot, though it always had the chance of unfortunate consequences. If this border problem could be solved and we finally become friend, it will have profound positive effect not only on the region but the entire world! There are already plenty of occasions where India and China helped each other on international arena with profound effect.
For China who is really not having too many friends, it will ensure friendship with biggest democracy in the world with international standing and one of the fastest growing economy, having vast resources, skill manpower and huge market and land accesses. Considering expected labor shortage in China from 2040 and which is likely to become critical in 2050, it may be prudent for China to start shifting its labor intensive industries to India which will have labor elasticity even beyond 2050!
For India, solving problem with China will automatically solve the problem with Pakistan to a great extent and would free her resources for development. It’s a win-win situation for both!
 

My Day Out at Kolkata Zoo, India!

Don't be fooled...it's only a Poster!

More Real Life Stories on Human Values

A very strange incident happened to me on 13^th of April’13 which could best be described as partly of human values like honesty, sincerity and work ethics and partly a miracle. I post the incident in Facebook on 13^th itself. My friend Indra also circulated my real life story through e-mail to some of my friends. Since then some of my friends have also written to me describing similar incidents as happened to their own life. I thought it prudent to reproduce them in my Blog for my other friends as well. Meanwhile my daughter Sudeshna Sengupta (Rini) who stays in USA has also post an article on human values in Facebook which of course, is in a different platform altogether.

From Sudeshna “Rini” Sengupta:

 Miracles do happen every now and then – One Father Sebastian – a 41 year old Catholic Priest from Kottayam donated one kidney to one Rasad Mahammed – a 30 years old Muslim from Alappuzha! Except human bondage their only other connection was sitting next to each other in a Kerala State Transport Corporation’s bus on their way to Kochi!  (http://m.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-heartwarming-catholic-priest-donates-kidney-to-muslim-man/20130418.htm )

From Subhas C Majumder:

One circa, 1970 I went to Baltimore, a pretty rough place, was much rougher in those years.  I took a taxi to go to a house sometime after dusk.  I was still quite new and especially much less exposed to many humongous looking black folks south of our border. The driver was, as expected a huge black guy, heavy baritone voice. I was quite scared, to tell the truth, and was sitting pretty quiet.

As soon as we reached the destination, I quickly paid my bill, and just about jumped out of cab in utter relief. As I was nearly running away, I hear this baritone voice calling me back, 'sir, you left your camera here'.   It was an expensive camera, considering my resources then, for sure. 

In a moment my expression for blacks took a 180 degree turn. 

One circa 1977, I went to pay my phone bill to the phone office.  I took out my wallet, pulled out a single blank check, wrote the payment, submitted at the wicket, and left, not realizing I left the wallet on the table I used. 

Half an hour later, when I reached home, there was already a phone message for me, explaining that my wallet has been deposited by a stranger in that office, now to be picked up by me.  Later I got my wallet back, not a thing missing.

From Tapan Kumar Ray:

I remember a similar incident at Puri station years back in 1981. Tickets during those days were small little hard stuff. Names etc. of the passengers were written on the reverse side of the tickets. While getting out of the station after arrival at Puri I handed the return tickets to the staff at the gate and realised my mistake while checking the tickets in the morning on our day of return. I then rushed to the station and approached the station master who happened to be a Tamil gentleman. He kept me waiting for a couple of hours and kept himself busy with other works. I thought he was expecting 'lubricant for his palm'. 

To my utter surprise I found a lower grade employee handing over all the tickets in tact to the station master. Before the tickets were handed over to me the Station Master asked me to prove my identity. Alas! voter cards were not in existence those days. I had some visiting cards of my company. As an acknowledgement of his services I offered him a hundred rupee note. 

The gentleman was still polite and explained to me the process of recovering such tickets with punching machines. He asked someone to buy sweets from a road side shop and handed over the entire quantity to me along with our return tickets.

I still remember that station master of Puri Station. 

From Indrajit Bhowmick:

I had a similar experience here in Kuwait (around 1988) when I got cash from a customer for the sale of a PC (quite expensive then) and put it in the pocket of my jacket.
 

When I remembered about the money a few weeks later, the suit was given to the laundry just the day before. We rushed to the laundry, and there was a young fellow there who smiled and said he had found the money and secretly kept the money with him without telling any of his colleagues lest they forced him to usurp it. 
 
We felt extremely grateful. The guy would not accept any reward or gift from us. We eventually presented him with a small tape recorder/radio set, as far as I can remember, as a token of our gratitude.
 

Strange things do happen even these days ……even in Kolkata!

When there is nothing to write home about in India and about Kolkata in particular, a strange incident just happened to me on 13^th of April 2013 which I will remember fondly till my dying day!

I use public transport quite often in Kolkata and enjoy my status of a “Senior Citizen” quite freely …rather to my advantage according to my daughter “Rini”. While travelling I always carry a “Shantiniketan” style shoulder” fabric bag which normally contains essential items like a small folding umbrella, a Cap, my house key, my second mobile phone   and of course my wallet containing some credit and debit cards besides money.

On 13^th April in the morning I entered   “Rabindra Sadan” metro station in Kolkata to catch a train to “Sahid Khudiram” station which is nearest to my residence at the southern fringes of the city of Kolkata. While taking the stairs down to platform I found the time to be 10:56 and next train to my destination will be at 10:55 which normally means that the train has just left the platform and the system is getting adjusted for the next train. Considering that I have about ten minutes for the next train I was taking it easy while climbing down. But when I was near the last few steps, I saw the train still on the platform and gate of the first coach was hardly 15ft away! I ran for it (which theoretically I shouldn’t have done) and the passengers standing near the gate were also trying to hold the gate so that it would take a little more time to close. With these combined effort I could enter the compartment but my shoulder bag just slipped away and fell in between the gap of the compartment and the edge of the platform! Finding some resistance while closing, the door opened automatically and I also got down so as to collect my bag from the track once the train has gone. But to my utter horror I found that my newly acquired bag was travelling with the train. A ticketless traveller hanging on to some projection on the boggy-assembly!

By that time a sizable crowed  gathered around me and free advices like what I should have done and what I should do ( to complete the decent burial) were just pouring in! Then a middle aged man (whom I was later introduced to as Mr Barick, Dy. Supdt. Rabindra Sadan Station) approached me and on hearing the details sent down a railway staff on the track and inside the tunnel for some length to locate my bag but without any successes.

I then decided to meet the stationmaster to make a formal complaint since my wallet was containing some credit cards and debit cards and my formal complaint will be required for making FIR to police.

As I entered stationmaster’s office at the other end of the station, I found Mr Barick frantically talking to stationmaster of the next station (Jatin das Park) about the incident and was informed that the train just left the station and nothing has been deposited there. I then narrated the incident to the Stationmaster (of Rabindra Sadan Station, Mr Mondal) and he informed the control room immediately. By then I was more or less resigned with the reality and took a seat next to Mr Barick. Immediately one of the phones started ringing and it was picked up by Mr Barick. I found Mr Barick to be quite excited and uttering “Yes, he is by my side…..Kalighat Station……stationmaster……we are sending him right now”. Mr Barick then put down the phone and told me with a smiling face “The Motor man of the A.C Coach which left Rabindra Sadan station at 10:56 has deposited your bag to the stationmaster of Kalighat Station. Please go to Kalighat station and collect it. Best of luck”.

I thanked both Mr Barick and Mr Mondal for their efficient handling of the case and took a train to Kalighat Station still little anxious about the condition of my bag……probably it is utterly mutilated and everything inside damaged or lost!

When I met the stationmaster of Kalighat station (Mr Kamath) he was busy counting collection but on my introduction showed me my bag lying on a nearby table. I just grabbed my long lost companion and was surprised to find it in perfect condition without a scratch or a stain and everything inside in perfect condition….without any loss or damage!

In these days of utter callousness, negligence and dishonesty I really do not know how to thank enough the entire staff members of Kolkata Metro, particularly Mr Barick and Mr Mondal for their efficiency, work ethics and culture and that unknown motor man (of the A. C Coach, leaving Rabindra Sadan Station at 10:56 on 13^th April 2013) as well as Mr Kamath and all his staffs for their honesty and work ethics! They really make us all proud in this world of disunity & dishonesty! Their efficiency could be more appreciated if we understand that the entire operation was executed within the running time of the train between three stations which cannot be more than seven minutes! The whole incident was just bordering “Miracle”!

I feel we are all having our share of good and bad incidences but unfortunately we normally do not remember those good incidences which manifest human values or give us a fresh lease of life. I was pondering about some of those happy  incidences that have happened to me…..when as a small child I was hit by a swing and a complete stranger carried me running to the nearest hospital to save me, even though he got drenched in blood on the way ……just a couple of minutes before IIT interview when I was in tears due to a small bone stuck in my throat during lunch, my school friend “Gora” offered me a ripe banana to swallow and solved my problem…..a friendly pat on the shoulder from the doctor during IIT entrance medical examination to help the needle move away from underweight to right weight.....Ticket checker in Germany helping me to cross the railway lines and climb over the station wall to catch the last rail-bus in an unknown city….Receptionist in a hotel in London letting me sleep in the TV room when the hotel was full and taking  me to his home in the morning for breakfast…..staff members in CMDA (now KMDA) congratulating us when we got our plot of land in a most ethical transaction…..my various happy interactions with police forces both in Kolkata and Germany….the list is unending.

These are my “…brown paper packages tied up with strings...”….“My favourite things” and “…when I’m feeling sad….. I just simply remember my favourite things and I don’t feel so sad…”  

When I was thanking my late parents for their blessings for such a wonderful experience, I then realised that the day was my father’s birth day and probably it was a little gift from him! 

Unusual Courtesy

My friend Palash is a prolific “friend maker”. But for the difference in time period, I am sure he could have easily given some tips to Dale Carnegie.

He is fortyish, medium built, slightly pot bellied with a well trimmed “Baby Walrus” mustache. By profession, he is a career agent with the Life Insurance Corporation of India and could easily boast of more than five thousand extremely satisfied customers who literally consider him as a friend, philosopher and a guide. Like we try to preserve so called useful articles in our house lest they come in handy some day, Palash nurtures friendships by helping others during their hours of need. His customers are not only satisfied with his professional service but more for the “additional” service he can provide through his numerous “contacts”. They would not do anything worthwhile, be it children’s education or extracting a tooth without consulting him. Palash is always obliging!

Though he can now boast of a long list of rich clients, he had not forgotten those Muslim tailors behind the New Market in Kolkata who were his initial clients and who helped him during his hours of need. Although he has now a staff of ten to help him, he personally visits the tailors in New Market once a month to collect premiums as well as to enquire about their well beings.

It was a late afternoon in November when Palash was waiting near a street corner behind the New Market, for one of such clients. The day was coming to an end and he was worried since his client had not yet shown up, when he noticed somebody was watching him across the street while puffing a bidi (unroasted tobacco wrapped in dried kendu leaf). The man was of dark complexion, with shoulder length curly hair, clean shaven except for a thin mustache. He was bare footed and was wearing a blue and green striped lungi and a red T-shirt.
After a few minutes the man crossed the street and came and stood by Palash.
“Are you from police?” the man whispered without any preamble while puffing the bidi.
“No! But why?” Palash was startled.
“I saw you standing here for quite sometime while watching all the corners” the man replied with some authority in his voice.
“I am a LIC agent and was waiting for one of my clients” Palash replied with a wry smile.
“Then this place is really not very safe for you. There is a chance that you might get mugged or pick-pocketed” the man replied in a matter of fact voice.
“Most of the Muslim tailors in this locality are my clients for a very long time. I always come at least once a month to meet them. Frankly speaking, I never had any problem so far” replied Palash nonchalantly.
Mention of his local Muslim clientele apparently softened the man somewhat and he was no longer aggressive.
“Are you also from this area only” Palash asked the man after a while.
“Yes”
“What do you do for a living?” asked Palash tentatively, just to keep up with the conversation.
“I pick pockets” replied the man hesitantly
“What?” Palash was shocked!
“These days I really do not pick pockets myself” replied the man as if to pacify Palash “I control a gang who operates from Lindsay Street till S. N. Banerjee Road” he elaborated further.
Palash was stunned and did not know what to say!
“I think I must leave” Palsh said thinking he had enough for the day.
“My name is Habib. Come to me if you need any help anytime” said the man. “Come, I will introduce you to Munna” added the man as an after thought and took him to a nearby kiosk where a young boy was making bidis.
“Selam Alaykum, Habib Bhai” said the boy with a broad smile while still continuing with his work.
“Aleykum Selam” said the man and then added, pointing to Palash “Munna, recognize this man. If he enquires about me, just inform me”
Munna looked at Palash with a smile and gave him a nod.
“Khuda Hafez, Habib Bhai” said Palsh before taking leave
“Khuda Hafez, Sab (Sir)”

While going home, Palash wanted to forget about the whole incident without knowing that destiny was going to be different!

Next day during the afternoon, Palash had a chance meeting with one of his very important client, Mr. Bose.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bose. How are you” said Palash with his infectious smile while extending his hand.
“Good afternoon, Palash” replied Mr. Bose while shaking his hand with a glum face.
“What happened? Why are you looking so sad, Mr. Bose” Palsh was worried.
“To-day was a bad day for me. While coming to office via Lindsay Street, I parked my car opposite to the New Market to purchase some medicine. While returning to the car after purchasing medicine my purse was pick pocketed” replied Mr. Bose with annoyance in his voice.
“Oh! Did you loose a lot of money?” enquired Palash with concern
“Not really much money as such. Say about two thousand. But I lost a talisman which always brought me good luck” replied Mr. Bose ruefully.
“Did you report it to the police?” asked Palash
“Oh, come on! They are not likely to break their neck locating my purse” replied Mr. Bose with frustration.
Palash thought for a moment and yesterday’s incident came to his mind.
“Mr. Bose, please come with me. Let me give it a try” said Palsh
“Don’t tell me that you have got connections with the underworld as well?” exclaimed Mr. Bose with surprise.
“Not really underworld in true sense. But I did make some contact only yesterday. Let me find out its effectiveness” replied Palash while hailing a passing taxi.

Palash along with Mr. Bose went to Munna’s kiosk and found Munna absorbed in his traditional work of making bidis.
Munna could recognize Palash and welcomed him with a broad smile “Selam Sab! Are you looking for Habib Bhai?”
“Selam Munna! Yes, I am looking for him. Could you please inform him?” replied Palash.
Habib came to Munna’s kiosk within a couple of minutes and greeted Palash “Selam Sab! Are you looking for me?”
“Selam Habib Bhai! I need your help” said Palsh with a smile and shook his hand. Then he introduced Mr. Bose to Habib and narrated the incident in brief.
Habib was listening to him very intensely and then asked Mr. Bose” Are you sure that you lost your purse at Lindsay street only?”
“Yes, I am very sure” said Mr. Bose emphatically
“Could you please tell me approximate time when it happened?” asked Habib
“Say about 10 AM!” replied Mr. Bose
Habib thought for a moment and then said “Come with me” and gestured them to follow.
Both Palash and Mr. Bose followed him hesitantly.
Habib crossed many lanes and by-lanes and stopped near a shanty which was locked from outside.
“Akram!” shouted Habib in general direction.
A lame man with a crutch came out from another shanty and said “Selam Habib Bhai” while casting a suspicious glance towards Palsh and Mr. Bose.
“Akram please open the door. Don’t bother about them. I know them” said Habib with authority.
Akram opened the door and stood aside.
Habib gestured both Palash and Mr. Bose to follow and entered the shanty.
Inside the shanty there were a number of bamboo baskets, all full of wallets, ladies hand bags, jewelry and other articles.
“Based on the area and the timing we always segregate the stolen items and keep them in the designated baskets for three days in case we have to return them due to connections at high places. After three days they are all disposed” said Habib in a matter of fact voice. He then located one basket and told Mr. Bose to search for his purse. Mr. Bose was really elated when he could locate his purse within a couple of minutes!
“Please check whether anything is missing” instructed Habib.
“Everything is intact” declared Mr. Bose after checking.
“You are lucky! Now you go home and don’t tell it to anybody” said Habib with a smile.
Palash was simply overwhelmed. He took Habib’s both the hands in his hands and said “Thank you very much Habib Bhai. I do not want to disrespect you in anyway but may I offer anything to you or to your colleagues?”
“Sab, I did it only as a good gesture. Take it as a courtesy from a friend!” said Habib, still holding his hands.

Nizams' Roll

I am sure Calcuttans of any age will still remember with nostalgia our once famous “Mughlai Paratha”! There is no historical record whether Mughal Emperor Babur or his last known descendent Bahadur Sha had ever tasted this heavenly delight. Their souls must surely be repenting if they didn’t!

Special dough made of flour, water, yeast and oil is stretched thin like a big saucer; a raw egg is then splattered at the centre, a dash of cooked minced meat, some chopped raw onion, green chili and salt added, and then the ends folded to make it to an eight inch square shape which is then fried to a crispy brown color to give the final shape to a Mughlai Paratha! There are, however, too many ifs and buts and I am sure nobody will be trying my recipe.

There used to be a number of local joints but Anadi’s Cabin at Esplanade was renowned to be one of the best. Chowringhee Restaurant, another famous joint, was right next door but we had unquestioning faith in Anadi. Mughlai Paratha with Kasha Mangsho (Bhuna Ghost or Stir fried mutton are only translation but can not match the taste!) at Anadi’s Cabin used to be our cherished heavenly meal!

Unfortunately the process of making Mughlai parathas was rather elaborate, requiring special skills and it could not even be partly prepared in advance. Also it was not possible to eat it while walking. Culinary experts in Calcutta were searching for something which could be equally tasty but could be made in a jiffy and could be eaten while on the move.

The Roll, which could be a fusion cuisine, was thus born to give hot dogs, burgers, and wraps a run for their money.

Succulent pieces of mutton or chicken are marinated for hours in tandoori spices, salt, yogurt, grated green papaya, skewered in thin bamboo or metal skewers and then roasted over a charcoal fire. The wrap is from dough made of flour, water. yeast and plenty of oil. Once the dough gains a certain elasticity it is flattened into the shape of a pan cake and then shallow fried on a flat griddle to make the outer surface slightly crisp. The roasted meat is then lightly fried on the griddle and rolled into the wrap with chopped raw onion, green chili, lemon juice, tomato-chili sauce and rock salt. The whole thing is then wrapped with paper and sealed at one end so that it can be eaten without dirtying your hands. The taste is simply heavenly!

Besides famous joints like “Begam”, “Badsha”, “Bedwin” and “Bawarchi” there are lots of roadside mobile eateries, operating only during evening, which are specialized in different type of rolls like mutton roll, chicken roll, egg roll and their combinations, adding to the gastronomical delight to the Calcuttans.

Though experts may differ, I feel Nizams in Esplanade is one of the best joints for rolls in Calcutta and could also be the pioneer. In the sixties they used to call it “Kati Roll” since the skewers were made of thin bamboo sticks (Kati in Bengali).

I was very fond of Nizams’ rolls for their heavenly taste. In mid-seventies I used to come to Calcutta almost every month and frequented Nizams along with my friend Debu (D. M. Mitra from L&T). We would go for some English movie either in Metro or Light House carrying ”to go” packs from Nizams and open the packs as soon as the lights were dimmed to fill the enter surroundings with the special aroma of Nizams’ roll. The collective sigh of despair “Oh! Nizams’ rolls” from the rest of the deprived audience used to add to their awesome taste!

That day, we were a little late for a movie and decided to visit Nizams after the show was over. The place was quite crowded but we could locate some vacant chairs near a corner where one guy was already munching a roll with his eyes shut with satisfaction. We quickly ordered two mutton rolls and headed for the vacant chairs.
“Are these chairs vacant?” Debu asked the guy very politely
Most reluctantly he opened his eyes and gestured in the affirmative.
Service in Nizams was extremely fast and we got our rolls nearly as soon as we sat down.
We just managed our first bite when that guy opened his eyes once again and asked
“What type of rolls did you order?”
“Mutton rolls” Debu answered innocently
“Are you really sure? I don’t think they are serving you mutton at that price. It must be beef” the guy stated like a “Mr. Know-It-All” .
Not that we were much bothered about having beef, but we could suspect that he was up to something.
“What type of roll have you ordered?” Debu asked him still sounding innocent.
“I did not take any risk and have ordered Chicken roll” boasted the guy.
It became clear that he was trying to spoil our fun and we decided to retaliate. As usual Debu outsourced the dirty job to me.
“I do not think a reputed joint like Nizams will ever serve beef instead of mutton for fear of communal backlash. Though we don’t mind even if it is beef. It could also be buffalo meat” I said nonchalantly while taking a bite of my roll.
“Why buffalo meat?” the guy asked with surprise, pausing in mid-bite.
“If they serve buffalo meat there will not be any religious backlash. Moreover buffalos are healthier so the quality of meat is excellent.” I explained like an expert.
The guy seemed to be convinced with my argument but was visibly disappointed that his initial move to spoil our fun had failed.
“By the way are you sure you are having a Chicken roll” I asked him with a tone of deliberate suspicion.
“What else could it be?” the guy replied with a hint of suspicion and stopped half way from taking his bite.
“I read some report that population of Cheel (Perrier Kites) near the trash dumping yards are dwindling. People are poaching them and selling them to railway caterings and restaurants. I was told they taste exactly like chicken and nobody could find the difference” I replied casting a doubtful look at the roll he was holding.
The guy made a face as if he was abut to throw up, gave me a dirty look, dropped the partially eaten roll on his plate and ran for the wash basin. We did see him stopping briefly to settle his bill on his way out.
Debu and I were very hungry and went on to order a second round of “mutton rolls”.