purported holiday and dal-baati-churma

I didn't go to any class today. Why?

My instinct. It told me to take a day off. And this was in spite of the fact that I was up and roaring to go at 8 in the morning. I was not lethargic, not even restless. This holiday came out of nowhere.

While my batch-mates were tugging their asses to L-6 (that's our classroom), I was coming back from Reliance Fresh; savouring the delicious kiwifruit I caught hold of over there. I could not help but held out a 'I-empathize-with-you' look, accompanied with a slight smirk. 'How bad on my part!', I tried to compel myself to think; but to no avail. I was enjoying thoroughly :D

Skipping lunch, I had this elaborate fruit-eating session - sort of a fruit meal - with Mangal and Prakash helping me - and themselves as well. It felt wonderful after this brunch, the kind you might feel on a bungee jump if you were so adventurous.

But the heightened energy levels were waning. Those bursts of energy you get after a fruit meal, it seemed to decrease in magnitude; and fast. The hunger returned, and the feeling was shared among all 3 of us. So, after umpteen deliberations on having mess food vis-a-vis dal-bati-churma, it was decided to hit the Thali House at Sindhi camp in Jaipur.

I was a first-timer to the place, unlike Mangal and Prakash. Also present were Anoop and Javed, who joined us on our way. The thali arrived. Unable to control myself, I gulped some churma at once. It was awesome to finally eat something. Dal, bati, curry, chillies, chutney and sliced onions followed. The entire setting was so neat, with a variety of stuff on offer. One after the other, the bati was consumed at a brisk pace. The server was obliged to serve more courtesy the unlimited thali - a grossly cheap deal compared to the quality of food on offer.

We enjoyed and ate - thoroughly. The feeling defied any expression. We looked at each other and smiled.

This couldn't get any better.

-Sumeet Seth (sumeets29@gmail.com)