Chai, biscuit and heart-shaped moth balls

Well, that’s not quite an appetizing title. On the contrary, that might just put you off food. But pardon me. That was the least of my intentions.

I am not suggesting here, a case of food-adulteration or anything of the sort that one hears from hostel friends. (God save you, if you find your tea smelling of naphthalene!) Chai, biscuit and the moth/naphthalene balls are simply three independent yet related themes in my life currently.
After having spent almost a month lazing at home post-*TYBMM, I got a much awaited opportunity to work for a month until college began. Well, since the job profile was suited to my interest areas, I was more than glad. Added to this the fact that, in my present state of bankruptcy (and anticipated expenditures!), any remuneration is welcome. And well, luckily I was promised a more than decent pay-check. Without diverting any more from the topic, let’s start with the chai…

So, I leave home for work at around eight in the morning. The wait for the bus and the ride to office leave me sweating and hurrying to get into the air-conditioned comfort of my office. Phew! From Sahara to Antarctica (that’s how my sister puts it… Oh yeah, my kid sister also works with me.) A few minutes into work, I start feeling cold. In fact, so cold that I am forced to wrap a stole around myself. As one senior colleague put it, there’s a “BLUESTAR” kinda problem with the office air-conditioning which needs to be fixed. Added to this the fact that I have low-tolerance for cold—I complain about the ‘winter’ in Mumbai!!! So well, the end result is that I soon feel sleepy because I’m cold and snug, and yeah, the work is also quite monotonous. Therefore, the next plan of action is to get my a** up and make some hot piping chai that’ll keep me wide-awake and warm too.

During the initial days at work, I wouldn’t even consider drinking tea, because well, I’m not a tea/coffee drinker. I have often received wide-mouthed reactions to the above statement. Being a “South Indian” how can I deprive myself of my ‘birth-right’ to excellent tea/coffee?! Yeah, whatever! So the first few days, upon feeling drowsy, I would go into the pantry and pour myself a cold glass of TANG instead. Ahem! I realized soon enough that TANG did not solve my ‘sleepiness/coldness’ issues. In fact, it just added to the ‘chill’. I ended up visiting the ladies room more. So, in the end I had to succumb to the chai. Now two cups of very strong chai everyday, ensure I remain awake.

Biscuits are a must-accompaniment with chai almost everywhere. That’s the case at work too. All are free to help themselves to an assortment of biscuits kept in the pantry. But the Good-Days and Bourbons and Milk-Bikis have never quite fancied me. Since time immemorial, I can remember our Mom complaining about how spoilt we brats were and so unlike all the other children in the world. After all, who does not like biscuits? But well, we liked only noodles and fries and oily/tasty, spicy, roasted stuff. Sigh! But when one has access to nothing but biscuits, what to do? Today, biscuits are an integral part of my diet. Gulp!

So, what role do the heart-shaped moth balls play? Well, nothing really. Lately, we have found that the moth balls being used in the wash basins and elsewhere in the office are tiny heart-shaped ones. A colleague expressed her shock thus: “Who in the world would think of making moth balls (of all things) in this shape?”

Sigh! I wonder what those manufacturers had in mind while conceptualising this unique idea.



(*TYBMM-Third Year Bachelor of Mass Media, University of Mumbai.)