Three memoirs around the Humble Chapati(Flatbread)

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Tale 1: My first lesson in Time Management

Mummy used to work as a school teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya in the city that I spent my childhood in. She used to be and will always remain my idol.

Daddy used to come home for lunch hour between 1 and 2 pm. He loved his chapatis fresh and hot, straight from the tawa.

I was in class 5 and decided to do my bit to help mummy. I volunteered to make fresh chapati for daddy as soon as I was back from school around 1:30 pm.

That was my first time management lesson. Starting from school to cycle and reach home in time, serve daddy his lunch before he left for his office sharp at 1:45 pm on his scooter. That sense of being able to do my bit for mummy took my self-esteem a notch higher.

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Tale 2: The first lesson on being the Annapurna.

Transition from school to college brought a sense of freedom for us. Me, along with Arti and Abhiruchi, used to cycle to our college. It took 45 mins to reach from our place.

Me and Arti started from our colony, picked up Abhiruchi on the way, and rushed to the college. But while coming back, we were in no hurry. Often, we would stop by Abhiruchi’s house and would, at times, accept aunty’s offer to have a meal at her place before heading back.

Mondays were a bit different.  Aunty had a fast on that day. That’s when we started this game. Each of us would cook 2 stuffed paranthas, but was not allowed to eat the one we cooked. For example,  if I cooked two paranthas, I would share them between the other two, and so on.

Trust me, we loved the fun as we mastered the art of making stuffed paranthas.

“The past beats inside me like a second heart.”

John Banville

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Tale 3: Another Inspiration around Chapati

I was always very close to the few friends I had in this lifetime.  One of my friends I always looked upto as the most responsible of the lot.

Her mother used to have her supper before Sunset. So when we were busy playing among ourselves, she used to ensure that she cooked a simple meal for her mother.

I loved being with her. So I would cycle to her place, stand in the kitchen with her as she made the delicious meal, and chatted away.

I don’t know whether she liked it but I loved each bit of it and I am always so proud of her.

So these are three different tales from different stages of my life, yet absolutely close to my heart.

Thanks for your precious time.  Have a great day ahead. God bless.