These days in Bhubaneswar I am eating a lot like pig. The result was something I ate last night tore up my stomach pretty bad. I think it was GUPCHUP (Golgappa or Pani Puri), a popular street food the culprit. I have been a stickler to eating only freshly cooked hot food and drinking bottled (mineral) water when I am eating outside. Gupchup doesn't fall under either of these categories. During my growing up days in Bhubaneswar, I would drink any food and water, rarely suffering from stomach ailments. But guess living outside India for close to 3 decades has taken the toll on my immunity. My tryst with outside food drained me out well till last drop.
During upset stomach it's not important how many times you lose loose shit, it's rather how many times you pee. I kept on drinking water until I directed the movement of liquid to the right orifice. Couple of back to back urination indicated that the worse was over. I had to skip my breakfast and took a light lunch of Dahi Pakhala, Santula (a mixture of boiled vegetables), Alu Bharta (Mashed potato) and Badi Chura, followed by a long afternoon siesta. Felt much better and lighter in the evening and a lot looser waistline. Loose motion can't be done in slow motion, but made this loser's trousers felt a lot looser.
Last evening I was standing near a GUPCHUP vendor who was busy perforating the large, crunchy, puffed shells using his long, uncut thumb nails looking dark at twilight from the dirt inside it. It was about 6 PM, the peak time when like all fast food vendors in the streets of Bhubaneswar, he got busy pouring mashed potato and chickpea paste inside the shell after carefully cracking its top with his fingers, dipping it in the spicy water stored in a large, earthen pot before distributing the dollops to the surrounding buyers.
The vendor's customers, most of them girls holding tiny plates made from leaves (more eco friendly than plastic plates) were taking their turns extending their hands to the man, demanding - "MATE AU TIKE PANI DIA. MATE SUKHA GOTE DIA" (Give me more spicy water, gimme a dry one). The multitasking man was super busy catering to their needs, counting the number of Gupchups he passed on to his customers, immaculaly keeping track of those consumed by each individual.
I heard a girl closeby talking to her girl friend in a soft but audible voice - "EI MAA, TU JANICHU NA, MU EXAM RE 2 TA QUESTION BHUL KARI DEICHI (Oh my dear, you know ?
Both girls were oblivious to my eyedropping.
As I was taking my bite, I latched on to every bit of this spicy conversation in rapt attention, spicier than the watery Gupchup I was washing down my throat. Boyfriend/girlfriend can be big distractions at this tender age when emotion overrides logical thinking as hormone in young bodies runs amock. Good luck girl ! Hopefully you are less distracted and concentrate more on your other exam papers. You should learn from the Gupchup vendor how to multitask and yet stay focused.
Done with their rounds of GUPCHUP gossip and munching, the girls left their leftover plates strewn around. A pariah dog lurking around, waiting for the right opportunity to started licking them, polishing off whatever it in the narrow window of the timeframe he had before being chased away. The irritated vendor shooed it away with "Hey JA JA (Go away), as the hapless mongrel fled with its tail well tucked behind hind legs. There was a puddle of water nearby. Feeling secured and safe from a distance of 10 feet, the dog started slurping from the close by puddle of water to quench its thirst post feasting on the spicy leftovers.
Arguably the best thing to happen here is UPI, the ubiquitous smartphone App enabled electronic payment systems like "Phone Pe" you see everywhere, used by all, from fast food stall owners to vegetable Vendors. Last Sunday I saw the huge "phone pe" bar code covered with stains of blood besides a goat torso hanging upside down at a roadside butcher shop. A customer after buying his pack of goat meat clicked his payment on the bar code, started his bike, honked twice, stuttered before Scooting away without even making an eye contact with the butcher.
For no reason the power went poof for couple of hours in the morning. There was not a bit of cloud in the sky, no sign of thunderstorms, yet power played truant. So much about the so called Smart city of Bhubaneswar where everyone roams around with smartphone. In Webster's dictionary the word "smart" means "clever, witty, brainy" etc. In Bhonsar dictionary a guy riding bike, wearing shining shoes and chasing girls is considered a smart guy. The name "Smart city" tag given to Bhubaneswar speaks for itself. More later....
Last evening I was standing near a GUPCHUP vendor who was busy perforating the large, crunchy, puffed shells using his long, uncut thumb nails looking dark at twilight from the dirt inside it. It was about 6 PM, the peak time when like all fast food vendors in the streets of Bhubaneswar, he got busy pouring mashed potato and chickpea paste inside the shell after carefully cracking its top with his fingers, dipping it in the spicy water stored in a large, earthen pot before distributing the dollops to the surrounding buyers.
The vendor's customers, most of them girls holding tiny plates made from leaves (more eco friendly than plastic plates) were taking their turns extending their hands to the man, demanding - "MATE AU TIKE PANI DIA. MATE SUKHA GOTE DIA" (Give me more spicy water, gimme a dry one). The multitasking man was super busy catering to their needs, counting the number of Gupchups he passed on to his customers, immaculaly keeping track of those consumed by each individual.
I heard a girl closeby talking to her girl friend in a soft but audible voice - "EI MAA, TU JANICHU NA, MU EXAM RE 2 TA QUESTION BHUL KARI DEICHI (Oh my dear, you know ?
I gave wrong answers to couple of questions in the exam)". The other girl absorbing every bit of it mocked back - "TU TA KHALI TO BOYFRIEND KATHA BHABUCHU. EXAM RE TO MANA AU KOUTHI" (You are only thinking about your boyfriend. Your mind isn't in the exam, rather somewhere else). Her answer led to giggles among other girls, one of them burst into laughter, almost pouring out the half eaten Gupchup stuffed inside her mouth.
Both girls were oblivious to my eyedropping.
As I was taking my bite, I latched on to every bit of this spicy conversation in rapt attention, spicier than the watery Gupchup I was washing down my throat. Boyfriend/girlfriend can be big distractions at this tender age when emotion overrides logical thinking as hormone in young bodies runs amock. Good luck girl ! Hopefully you are less distracted and concentrate more on your other exam papers. You should learn from the Gupchup vendor how to multitask and yet stay focused.
Done with their rounds of GUPCHUP gossip and munching, the girls left their leftover plates strewn around. A pariah dog lurking around, waiting for the right opportunity to started licking them, polishing off whatever it in the narrow window of the timeframe he had before being chased away. The irritated vendor shooed it away with "Hey JA JA (Go away), as the hapless mongrel fled with its tail well tucked behind hind legs. There was a puddle of water nearby. Feeling secured and safe from a distance of 10 feet, the dog started slurping from the close by puddle of water to quench its thirst post feasting on the spicy leftovers.
Arguably the best thing to happen here is UPI, the ubiquitous smartphone App enabled electronic payment systems like "Phone Pe" you see everywhere, used by all, from fast food stall owners to vegetable Vendors. Last Sunday I saw the huge "phone pe" bar code covered with stains of blood besides a goat torso hanging upside down at a roadside butcher shop. A customer after buying his pack of goat meat clicked his payment on the bar code, started his bike, honked twice, stuttered before Scooting away without even making an eye contact with the butcher.
For no reason the power went poof for couple of hours in the morning. There was not a bit of cloud in the sky, no sign of thunderstorms, yet power played truant. So much about the so called Smart city of Bhubaneswar where everyone roams around with smartphone. In Webster's dictionary the word "smart" means "clever, witty, brainy" etc. In Bhonsar dictionary a guy riding bike, wearing shining shoes and chasing girls is considered a smart guy. The name "Smart city" tag given to Bhubaneswar speaks for itself. More later....
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