“Garam Garam Bhuje Badaam leh lo Ji…”
That sound from the 1970’s still resonates in my ears!
The “Rehriwalas” with unshelled warm moongfali on Majitha Road would try to outshout each other with their style that is not easy to forget. That was our prized snack during the winter evenings!
Another classmate and I would buy 100 gm moongfali and stroll along Majitha road until we finished it. Our concern was that if we walked into the hostel with that in our hands, there would be plenty of others willing to snatch it.
Between the two of us, there would be an attempt to eat as fast as we could so that the other fellow would not get a bigger share. As luck would have it, ‘other guy’ with me was a very fast eater. After losing quite a number of those fast-eating battles, I came up with an idea. HE would hold the ‘lafafa’ in one hand and I would have both hands free to match his pace. HE would not object. But after a few trials, I realized that he could unshell the moongfali and eat it faster than myself with only one hand available!
Those were unforgettable days. While my very well to do roommate in B Block would bring cashews with raisins from home over the weekend and was nice enough to let me share those with him, I have never gotten over that ‘hard earned’ moongfali. That was a delightful experience, indeed.
Who would have thought that this classmate of ours would have to pay for that extra moongfali that he ate in the 1970’s by taking us (Rita and I) out to dinners at fancy restaurants annually for the rest of his life!
We still meet every year in Jalandhar at his palatial house. While the dinner is at various expensive restaurants of his choice (and he pays every time without complaining) the snack is still the same- unshelled moongfali! In the initial few years after he got married, his wife would offer us nice snacks but we always opted for Moongfali. She has given up by now!
And believe me, his speed of unshelling the moongfali and eating it has not declined even at this age.
While there have been many other ‘Yaadgaaar’ moments, like biking up two on a bike engulfed in blankets in the middle of night in freezing wintery cold to Crystal for softy, this one stands out because we have been able to revisit those ‘good old days’ annually.
This friend of ours has a special gift. He has never been disliked by anyone – not even one person in our batch. I have been trying hard for all these years to emulate his gift but without success so far.
I guess talent can’t be taught or learned. We either have it or we don’t. It is inborn!
I am sure by now you would have guessed who He is. If not, here’s another clue- he also suffers from “Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome” which is a medically recognized disorder now with an ICD ( International Classification of Diseases) code!
-Baldev
