this being the holy period of Ramadan [or Ramzan, however you wish to refer to it], i became particularly curious about the hype that surrounds the gallis of Mohammedali road in the southern parts of Mumbai. the best kind of foods during this fast period are supposed to be found there and i've heard tonnes. so, taking the opportunity presented, my family and i went off to Mohammedali road on saturday.
saturday = bad idea. its bad enough going to a highly crowded place with nothing to eat except for Mithais, now that i am a vegetarian, but its worse to go on the weekends, when the whole universe decides to eat there! it was jam-packed! we took a good 2 hours getting there, to start with, and when we reached, there was absolutely no space to walk, whatsoever. any the how, we ended up squeezing in and entered the galli that immediately engulfs you in its warmth, which is full of the smell of cooking oil and meat. i used to relish that once upon a time, and still do. the masalas are intoxicating, whatever the preparation!
everyone in our little group, barring my mother and i [who were decidedly the most enthusiastic about just being there], knew what they wanted to eat. i just looked around and i saw something i didn't expect in the least - it was a different meaning to life altogether. it didn't look like one big party because they had the right to party, it looked like a celebration of devotion. a celebration of having the strength to not eat or drink for hours together, and still be smiling. and that energy radiated down to me as well. i hadn't eaten anything in good 6 hours but i didn't bother in the least, because i was just happy. happy to see so many people test themselves in the name of God by putting themselves through an ordeal i'm sure most of us can't even think of managing. we cringe at the thought of no food or water till the moon comes out on karva chauth, which is a fast in the name of the husbands, but that's just one day! everyone who keeps the fast during Ramadan does the same thing every day for 40 days [if i have my facts right] and they're still smiling.
i think, at the end of the day, we all like getting a certain amount back for what we do each day. in whatever form that may be, we just like being on the receiving end. but i think this experience at Mohammadali road taught me that at the end of the day, if your work is honest, and if you do it with a smile, you're going to be rewarded anyhow because there's a lot one puts at stake to get by in a day. and i salute that. entirely.
=D
P.S.: i ended up having some great stuff. i had phirnis and a sweet spongy-cake like dessert, topped with badam, pista and rabdi [cream], the name of which i forgot. and i had some Indian chinese at a restaurant there, so i did eat something substantial even as a vegetarian, as many other happy smiley faces broke their fasts around me.
Knowing Me...
- Aakriti Anand
- If I say I'm just a teenager leading a life as normal as it can get, I sort of defy what I stand for. Its not all that easy but it has its moments. I like those moments when they come along and they bring with them a significant amount of emotion, which I only began expressing in words at age 7. Since then, its all about the writing. It gets to certain people and some just don't get it! But I think that its important for me to write because that is maybe the only talent that exists in me [not denying the presence of good enough speech to win a few here and there =P] There is little I know and there is much I simply yap about but I make sure that if its really got to be said, it better be said, however in the wrong or right. I feel much. There are lot of things I plainly observe and those are sort of the things that I adore writing about. I'm inspired by minute details and small things that have a huge impact much later on. There is much more to me that most know and many have bothered not about. Not like I want them to. But I'd like to be known. And that's what I think I stand for, being known beyond what is known. =D
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