‘That is enough for you?’, asked my team leader Shravya as I bit into my sandwich.
‘ummm, yes’, I said.
She scrutinized me and said, ‘Really?’
Well, I couldn’t blame her. People usually assume I eat truckloads looking at my figure.
‘Yes’, I said and watched as she took out her dabba. It had two layers. One had roti-sabji and the other had some sort of rice.
The aroma was tantalizing. How could I tell her that no the sandwich was not enough for me. But my budget only allowed me that. I stayed in a Working women’s hostel which fed us nicely morn and night. Afternoons we had to fend for ourselves. I had my educational loan installments to pay and had to support my younger brother with his school fees and also had to send mom some amount for the household expenses. Our father had departed the previous year.
I sucked in my breath. I love Gujarati food and the aroma was too much for me to bear.
Shravya and me shared a very difficult relationship. We had not yet discovered whether we loved each other or hated. She hated that I was a Management graduate while they all were from an Audit one. The Boss had taken me in so that I could give a management angle to their Internal Audit firm. So we had our tiffs.
‘Aditi, you don’t know how to make a simple report’, she would shout.
‘I know but I don’t know how Auditors make reports’, I would retort.
She believed in finding faults, I believed in making the team work. And the Boss had a merry time watching us.
But then she was our team leader I had to obey her.
Being the introvert type I would be stuck in my cabin. Cabin being the place were internal auditors were given space in the client office. As soon as it was 6 p.m I would leave. ‘Stay a bit late, strike up a conversation, get some info’, she said one day.
‘I may miss my train and if I do I may miss dinner at hostel’, I replied
‘Why’, she asked.
‘The refectory opens at 7.30p.m. If girls are real hungry food gets over by 8’, I said. She never asked me to wait after that.
Soon after I started taking rotis from a Gujarati lady for afternoon. 3 chappatis and some sabji. If you know Gujaratis, then you may know that they make tiny chappatis. And so when I put the first bite inside my mouth, Shravya raised one eyebrow and was about to ask, When I replied, ‘enough for me’.
She shrugged. No wonder… since that morning we had had a massive showdown in the … ahem.. loo. In case you get ideas, let me clarify.. since we work in the client’s office we could not argue/fight in front of everyone could we. In front of everyone we were the perfect team mates.
Next day she brought an even larger dabba. I seriously wonder how she managed to be so slim after eating so much. Β ‘Here have some undhiyu’, she said.
‘No, no, I have had enough’, I made a feeble protest.
‘Ma has packed a lot for me, I can’t have that much, at least help in finishing this dabba’, she said.
I had memories of my own mother who never found me fat and fed me to her heart’s content.
I took some and had. After all who can resist undhiyu.
It became a regular affair. She would always get something extra. And I would gladly eat.
It was the fest at Mahim Church. I went along with my hostel mates. Shravya was there too with her mother.
She introduced me to her mother. ‘Is she the one who loves my cooking and for whom you take extras’, she said.
Shravya expertly changed the topic.
Next day I asked her, ‘Why?’
‘What’, she replied.
‘Why do you bring food for me?’, I asked.
She let out a sigh and said, ‘I really couldn’t see you starving Aditi and don’t you see after I started bringing food for you, your work has improved!!’
She was right.
I didn’t have words, I just hugged her.
As Amitabh says in the Daawat ad, we Indians really bond over food.
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I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words 8th β 14th December 2013 and today’s topic is food.
Lovely heartwarming post, and that last line is so so true, we do bond over food, don’t we π
really an emotional take on the prompt…
Thanks Pratikshya
Absolutely relationships are built over food π
That was so sweet a gesture by her! Indeed we Indians bond over food!
Yes we do. I used to wonder why festivities meant cooking and eating for womenfolk but now I understand its importance π
Very sweet post.I loved your friend’s approach. Nice bonding!
Thanks Mrs. Menon. Glad that you liked it.
really nice.. there were friends who used bring me home food when i stayed in my hostel.. I used to enjoy that once in a while home food.. :)..
I used to be invited to my friends homes every now and then and used to be pampered by their moms π
That was heartwarming. Made me remind me of my college days were the whole class could share their lunch. Beautiful take on the prompt. π
In college I rarely had that privilege becoz no one brought their tiffins. Our college would get over by noon. PG was residential so all had food in the canteen. But yes school we had a good time.
Aha! That’s so sweet and perceptive of Shravya. Yes, we do bond over food! π
Absolutely π
Lovely story!:)
Thank you Tarang
Wow. A lovely post for the prompt. You are right we sure bond over food.
I mean to post a story every day on the prompt and this story looked apt so…
Oh yes we do hi hi. Being a foodie is genetically wired in all of us ha ha
Absolutely, who can resist good food π
It is very sweet of Shravya to bring some extra food. In my office there was a girl who lived at the working women’s hostel and we all of used to carry extra food for her. After 2 months her sis told her that her office mates were nice ladies as our colleague had put on some weight, Indians bond over food.
Ha ha. Usually people do share food in the work place. My brothers colleagues usually give a hint the previous day if something he likes is being cooked in their homes and he goes to office with a loosened belt π
Your post left me with such a warm feeling. Lovely idea.. Bonding over food.
Thank you π
That was a wonderful story.Shravya was smart and generous girl.I think youngsters in school or college these days carry extra food to share amongst themselves though Shravya got nothing except a hug from Aditi
Yes most of us have carried something extra for our friends, But here was a team leader who forever criticised and yet thought that her team member was hungry
Wow..Its a lovely post.
Thank you Harini
We do bond over food, well said by Bachchan Sir:) Love this simple shortie about food. Beautifully written as food has created several life long friendships::)
Oh yes. In fact we do know about so many cuisines today because of our friends.
Such a sweet story, Bhagya and so true to life. I’m wondering whether is autobiographical? π
π Some parts of it
Not only do we bond over food, but also we get to know each other over food apparently π hehehe! Nice story Bhagya.
Btw, changed your gravatar recently? π The old one had become much familiar!
Yes Leao absolutely right.
I have this gravatar for about 2 months now π
Wow π That puts my writers block into even more perspective. Its been that long since I wrote or bloghopped properly.!
Thats okay. what matters is that u are back in action :). Every year I take a compulsory break from blogging during summer, it refreshes me π
It can also be extrapolated to, we humans really bond over food !
Beautiful story. Friends who bring you food while you are hungry are angels in disguise. π
Oh yes. In school we used to have such an assortment of foods, I became a foodie then I guess
such a sweet story….really touching
Thanks ra
That is such a cute story!! And yes, friends who bring food are the best!! π
Absolutely π
What a sweet post. Team leaders like that are worth their weight in gold. I love undhiyu too.
Same pinch, I eagerly await for winters just to have some undhiyu π
Such a lovely post. We absolutely do π (bond over food, I mean)!
Thank you Sid
A very thoughtful gesture. Lovely story π and a great point…well said.
Thanks Preethi π