Samosas

Ramzan is a time all of us look forward to. The narrow streets are well lit, stalls appear almost overnight selling different kinds of kebabs,  fried meats,  rose milk with khus khus,  caramel custard,  samosas with different kinds of fillings, even exotic camel meat. We, the kids, my wife & I go stall to crowded stall, savouring a little bit of everything. 

It is an Aladdin's cave for all the senses,  walking through the smoky road, smelling kebabs in the oven,  savouring small leaf plates of meat piled high with sliced onions,  along with Semiya (We refer to it as Idiappam), watching them skewer  or fry the meat,  filling hundreds of samosas, is an experience that everyone of us enjoy. 

Usually, the activities are concentrated a long way from home, and we drive all the way there, park wherever we find space, and walk stall to stall.This time, it was with a lot of anticipation I watched stalls being setup in my route from work to home.  On the first day of the stalls being setup,  on my way back from work,  I stopped for some hpt samosas. Usually,  the Samosas I get have a tough hard shell, hard enough to hurt the unside of your mouth,  but during the festival time,  its crisp and soft at the same time. I always wonder how can they fry it crispy and yet keep it so soft. 

Each shopkeeper has his own unique recipe,  so at each place the kababs, samosas and fried meat has its own unique taste. If I bought samosas from three different stalls,  each one would look, feel and taste different. Since, the whole concept is meant to keep it affordable for the masses, most places don't offer Tissues/Paper napkins. Instead, sheets of Newspaper pages are cut into small squares. These newspapers form the Paper plate, and Napkin rolled into one. 

I packed some kebabs the first day of the festival, and everybody loved it at home. The next day on my way back, I stopped to buy Samosas. i ordered 4 and while the boy was packing it, ordered one to eat. Since the helper boy was already busy packing my order, the owner took it upon himself to give me my Samosa. 

From his perch he reached out his chubby fingers to take the newspaper square from the bunch kept there. The newspaper sheet stuck stubbornly to the bunch. Then in slow motion, the owner raised his thick Thumb to his mouth, licked it liberally,  extended the now wet dripping Thumb to the Newspaper pile,  pushed his Thumb onto the pile, stuck one sheet to his wet Thumb, brought his Thumb & the sheet sticking to it close. He placed one Samosa on this newspaper sheet, and extended a chubby arm with the Samosa to me. 

Miraculously, my stomach was already full and I didn't want to eat anymore.

Ambushed

On my morning walks with Tommy, we meet other dog walkers. Usually a safe buffer zone is maintained by both parties,  to avoid any over enthusiasm. There are people who walk dogs, and dogs which walk people. The difference is in who is leading the walk. 

The first scenario is usually a peaceful passing by,  both dogs acknowledging or ignoring the other party. In the second scenario,there is no safe buffer zone. The dog leader usually becomes very protective about his human, aggressively lunging at other dogs. The dog drags the human wherever he fancies,  and the human usually appears to be hanging on for dear life on the ride.

There is a couple who I keep meeting. They have a German Shepherd & a Labrador. The dogs walk the owners. The husband seems slightly more in control. The wife is short, slightly plump and wears short skirts and tight T shirts in luminous colours.  

When I pass them,  usually we smile at each other,  or mouth a Good morning-without any sound. They are usually busy, fighting to control the dogs who are leaping and dragging them around. Tommy being very smart, pretends he can't see larger or aggressive dogs,  ignoring them completely. 
A few days back, we were driving back home in the evening, and just outside the lane leading to our apartment, I stopped to let my son buy Momos from a roadside vendor. As my wife and I sat in the car, on the opposite side of the road, the lady in her luminous short skirt appeared with her dog. She saw me, smiled, nodded her head and mouthed a silent Hello.I smiled back. And..then...my left ear exploded 

"WHY IS THAT WOMAN SAYING HELLO TO YOU? WHO IS SHE ? I DON'T KNOW HER. HOW DO YOU KNOW HER ? HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT HER ?" I was carried away in the flood of questions, gamely trying to stay afloat. Unexpected as it was, I was caught unawares. I started to stammer, "That is....who is....the dog......woman who walks." It didn't sound convincing to me, let alone a suddenly possessive wife. I spent the next 5 minutes on the drive home explaining to a suddenly silent and chill wife.

We reached home and after the rest of my family went upstairs,  I sat in the car wondering what the hell just happened ? I didn't do anything. Felt like I was crossing an empty road,  when a road roller suddenly appeared and ran me down